Cubing the Black Slime

It was only after hitting the "I'm not some talent freak" button that the tension really hit me.

'Regretting it already would make me a total idiot, right?'

The gallery veterans had all warned me against this in unison.

But still. Better to go fight than sit around leaving it to luck. I gripped the scythe's haft tight.

I stepped onto the stone stairs descending from the ceiling and headed upward.

Screeech.

The moment I entered 2F, humidity hit me.

Something was wriggling on the stone floor.

"......"

A slime. About 1 meter in size.

I had no intention of planting a flag, but it didn't look all that threatening. The slime hadn't noticed me yet. I held my breath and raised the scythe high.

First strike, no matter what.

"Hup!"

"Huh?"

The instant I swung down, the slime flattened out and dodged. A complete whiff.

Clang!

The scythe blade slammed into the floor. The recoil made my wrist sting.

That was when it happened.

The slime sprang up and launched itself at me.

"Eek!"

No time to dodge.

Splat!

The black blob stuck to my thigh.

"Wh-what the hell, get off!"

I tried prying it off with my hands, but it wouldn't budge.

"Ugh..."

A gross sensation. Its slimy mucus was eating into my skin. It was cold. A chill seeped through my stockings.

Glurp... glurp...

"Ah, hold on...!"

It was trying to burrow right under my frilled skirt. I needed to slice it off with the scythe, but that risked hitting my own leg.

"This thing's too long..."

I made my decision. Thud. I dropped the scythe's haft to the floor.

I wasn't disarming myself. Instead, I grabbed the blade directly.

"Get... off...!"

I wedged the blade between the black blob and my skin on my thigh.

And with precision.

Like filleting sashimi, I scraped it off.

Scraaaape.

"......Done."

Splort.

The bisected black mass flopped limply to the floor. No marks left on my leg.

'Feels like it even moisturized my skin a bit...'

You're dead now.

Shwick! Slash! Boom! Boom! BOOM!!!

I swung the scythe like a maniac.

"Hah... hah..."

Overdid it, huh. The slime was cubed now. I stared blankly at the pieces.

"574F was right..."

It was weak. If I hadn't whiffed from the initial nerves, it would've been a one-second kill.

Nice.

Now I guess I'm the one guarding 2F. The slime can handle 1F.

Feeling dazed, I pulled up the hologram again.

"Oof..."

The gallery was in chaos.

I left a comment.

Reactions were pouring in real-time.

Explosive reactions wondering how I took the next floor so fast.

Taking a year to beat that jelly? No way.

It was a monster with zero defense.

I'd just swung my scythe a few times.

So... 574F's theory was spot on.

"It really was that weak."

But the comments assumed I'd used some special method.

Tackling the next floor without training seemed that impossible.

Strat, huh. Just sliced it up.

I snapped a photo and made a new post.

I obviously skipped the tentacle hentai moment.

I saw 574F's comment too.

True enough.

No way the slime was putting up a real defense.

100 floors up for safety, right.

'Aim for 100F first, then...'

I made a question post on the gallery about what to do with the stuff from the slime kill.

Payday. Golden Carriage.

"This really is the army..."

The Demon King setting a payday to give soldiers perks was kinda funny. A white-collar company in its own way. No heroes to deal with except me, apparently.

Then a new strategy post answered my question. From that Reaper who'd marked me as disciple earlier.

Just as the comments predicted. I was waiting for 574F's post. It came soon enough.

This was it. The answer I wanted. But the gallery exploded again right after.

574F was getting flamed hard. But he didn't back down and addressed me.

574F was laying out a guideline. But opposition hit again.

Chaotic comments. Opinions split as expected. I sank into thought.

"The choice... is mine."

As that highnick with the fancy archaic speech—who stuck out like a sore thumb—said. No matter what anyone says, the choice is mine. It's my life on the line. Gallery's just reference.

Just let the newbie choose herself. ^^

That comment carried the meaning. Decision made. I wouldn't blindly trust 574F's words that swayed me, nor get swept up by the natural highnicks' experience and prestige. I'd view it all coldly. As mere data. And judge.

I asked a question.

So skipping Int for now isn't a big issue. In that case...

I opened my status window and dumped 1 point each into Strength, Agility, and Senses.

I could almost hear Reaper teacher screaming. But this is right. One slime's not enough data. Gotta climb more floors now, so immediate help stats are the answer.

"Huh?"

The scythe felt a tiny bit lighter. Confidence welled up. I summoned the stairs to 3F.