Chapter 230
Chapter 230
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: 66. Slime Paradise (2)
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4.
Adventurers say it.
“Slimes are extremely troublesome monsters.”
Regarding the danger of slimes.
“Countless rookie adventurers lose their lives to slimes.”
Of course, that danger applied only to those who had just become adventurers.
Slimes were never a threat to skilled adventurers.
That didn’t mean there were no dangerous slimes.
The Maple World was home to countless varieties of slimes.
Gold Slimes, for instance, were so perilous that even 3rd Circle adventurers struggled against them.
However, even those dangerous ones topped out at around 3rd Circle level.
For adventurers 4th Circle and above, there practically weren’t any slimes that posed a real threat.
The reason was simple.
“Slimes are simple.”
From their appearance to their attack patterns and thought processes, slimes were exceedingly straightforward.
No matter how special their abilities, a predictable monster was never a threat to veteran adventurers.
That was why adventurers had been so confident upon learning the boss monster was a Guardian Angel Slime.
Impressive as it might seem, it was still just a slime.
Of course, they had steeled themselves.
They knew it wouldn’t be easy, even if they could take it down.
“……Just a regular slime.”
But the slime that appeared before these resolute adventurers was laughably pathetic.
At first, they thought it was a mistake.
But after scouting the surroundings, everyone knew.
“There’s nothing but ordinary slimes here.”
The monsters on the 1st floor were nothing more than slimes that even 1st Circle adventurers would scoff at.
“Unbelievable.”
Hardened adventurers felt bewilderment at the fact.
“We went all out preparing, and this is it? Just slimes?”
The resolve and preparations they had made to conquer this place were far from ordinary.
They had gone beyond emptying their coffers, even taking on debt to equip themselves with the strongest items possible.
Of course, everyone knew.
“It’s probably just the 1st floor. Things will change from the 2nd floor on.”
This was a stroke of luck that wouldn’t come twice.
And on the 2nd floor they reached, everyone saw it.
“Blue? Don’t tell me it’s Bubbling?”
One of the slime variants: Bubbling.
At that realization, everyone wore incredulous expressions once more.
“It’s Orange-rank, right?”
Bubbling slimes were stronger than regular slimes, but still manageable for 2nd Circle adventurers.
For this party, where everyone was at least 4th Circle, they were laughable.
“Unbelievable. Did we enter the wrong Mystic Gate? Is this really Blue-rank?”
Around then, someone joked.
“What if the 3rd floor has Firefly Slimes?”
The 3rd floor might be easy too.
Of course, it was a joke.
“As if. Firefly Slimes are a joke even for 3rd Circle adventurers.”
And on the 3rd floor they reached, the adventurers encountered.
“Cube Slimes?”
The Cube Slimes seen in Magatia’s labs.
They were undoubtedly powerful slimes, incomparable to ordinary ones.
“Are they messing with us?”
But to the adventurers gathered here, they were still laughable.
By now, everyone was thinking.
“Boss, aren’t we getting a bit too lucky?”
Dibo’s words drew nods from his comrades.
“Whatever else, not a single death so far.”
Regardless of anything, reaching the 3rd floor with zero casualties.
That was simply unheard of.
No Mystic Gate conquest had ever been achieved without sacrifices.
Of course, one person differed.
“No way.”
El Pam knew.
“The number of entrants to a Mystic Gate is absolute. Easy at the start means hard at the end.”
If anything, a greater nightmare awaited them.
Of course, his comrades weren’t unaware of this.
“Still, with our forces intact like this, doesn’t it change things?”
But with the caliber of survivors now, slimes didn’t seem unbeatable.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
“Huh?”
“With all these jackals gathered and unscathed, it’s obvious what happens when prey is in sight.”
“Ah!”
In El Pam’s view, their intact state only heightened the chance of clashes.
“With a sense of crisis, they might at least try teamwork, but there’s no time for that.”
And that wasn’t all.
“Plus, everyone’s tension is loosening.”
Even veteran adventurers couldn’t stay sharp through such pointless battles.
Crucially, El Pam knew.
“Above all, the jackals’ leader must be starving right now.”
5.
Pesson.
Among the few adventurers who ventured into Minar Forest, Maple World adventurers’ faith in him was immeasurable.
Guilds and adventurer associations alike provided him immense support.
What enabled this was Pesson’s indomitable will.
A resolve that never yielded despite dozens of failures!
A will that served as a model for all adventurers!
Thus, when Pesson stepped up as leader for this Fried’s Brooch conquest, no other adventurers objected.
They trusted him.
“Bad luck.”
But at this moment, not a trace of that indomitable adventurer shone on Pesson’s face.
“Not a single death.”
His following words were chilling.
This was the true face of Minar Forest’s adventurer, Pesson.
A hyena that fed solely on adventurers’ corpses!
“At least three digits need to drop before the 5th floor for it to be worth anything.”
From Pesson’s perspective, the current situation was utterly unsatisfying.
Adventurers had to die first for him to loot their items, and he hadn’t gotten a single one.
“Then they’d band together under me.”
Only with that level of crisis would they rally around Pesson.
That was crucial.
Only if they followed his orders could Pesson easily send them to hell.
“And yet they’re all full of vim and vigor.”
Worst of all, from Pesson’s standpoint, the other adventurers—little more than prey—were still in perfect shape.
No beast in the world wanted to hunt lively, spirited prey.
Still, he couldn’t act rashly yet.
“Let’s head to the 4th floor first. Things might change there.”
One more floor remained.
It could still yield the results Pesson desired.
In other words, Pesson planned to hold off unless the 4th floor delivered.
“4th floor!”
“What slimes are here?”
And on that 4th floor, everyone saw.
“It’s huge! Blue?”
A group of slimes several times larger than normal, with lantern-like lights on their heads like anglerfish.
“Ancient Blue Slimes!”
“What kind are they?”
The moment they saw them, everyone was certain.
“Any 4th Circle or higher adventurer who loses to those would be a laughingstock forever.”
They would all reach the 5th floor alive.
Thus, Pesson made his decision.
“We hunt adventurers on the 5th floor.”
And five days later.
“The exit to the 5th floor!”
Everyone ascended to the final stage.
6.
5th floor!
The moment they reached the final floor, tension rippled through the adventurers.
It came in two flavors.
‘Finally here.’
One was the tension of reaching the ultimate stage.
‘Fried’s Brooch is here.’
‘Get through this, and we get everything.’
This was the tension they had anticipated before entering. Nothing surprising.
The problem was the second kind.
‘But to arrive with everyone still alive.’
The tension from reaching the 5th floor without a single death.
‘This is eerie.’
No one had expected it.
Some thought surviving half would be a success.
Of course, it was positive.
More survivors meant higher conquest odds and fewer sacrifices.
So up to the 4th floor, they had been surprised but welcoming.
‘They’re all too intact.’
But on the 5th floor, it was different.
Now, everyone was a rival. Rivals to fight over Fried’s Brooch.
Having such rivals unscathed wasn’t something to celebrate.
They grew wary too.
‘Anyone could cause trouble, and it wouldn’t be strange.’
They had verbally agreed to fight the boss together before entering, but it was just words.
Above all, this was a Mystic Gate.
Where survivors’ words became truth!
In this tension-filled moment.
“Something’s coming!”
A thief adventurer, who had been scouting immediately upon entry, shouted.
Everyone snapped to alert.
‘This is the 5th floor.’
So far, only pathetic slimes, but nothing pathetic would appear here.
“It’s slimes!”
The report brought images of the strongest possible slimes to everyone’s minds.
Some asked.
“What kind?”
“W-Well…….”
The thief adventurer’s response left everyone incredulous.
“Don’t tell me it’s just Normal Slimes? Green ones?”
“Yeah.”
The weakest slimes appeared again.
Of course, everyone knew.
The 5th floor couldn’t have only those weaklings. This was just the weakest, Normal Slimes, for now.
But still, it was deflating.
Thud!
Seeing the green slime, even El Pam’s party relaxed.
“This is ridiculous. Did we accidentally enter a Red-rank?”
“Even Red-rank would be tougher than this.”
Dibo and Miner’s reactions prompted El Pam to speak.
“Everyone.”
“Yes, we know. Staying sharp.”
“Prepare for battle.”
“Huh?”
His comrades tilted their heads at preparing for battle against the weakest slimes.
“Against that?”
To their question, El Pam replied.
“It’s a Mischief Slime.”
“Mischief?”
“Sounds silly, but it’s incredibly powerful. Looks just like a regular slime.”
By then, El Pam’s comrades were in battle stance.
They didn’t understand.
But understanding aside, when El Pam said it, they had to go all-out even against an Orange Mushroom.
So they asked.
“How strong?”
“One Mischief Slime is stronger than a Green Konyan.”
“Huh?”
That was the moment.
“How many?”
“About 2,000?”
Hearing the exchange, Dibo and the others gulped.
That meant 2,000 monsters stronger than Green Konyans were coming!
‘My god.’
The scale was beyond imagination.
And El Pam’s party’s imagination became reality.
“Hey! I’ll handle it!”
A bold warrior adventurer charged at the oncoming 2,000 slimes.
“Watch me!”
With that shout, he swung his sword at the lead slime.
Everyone expected it to cleave in one stroke.
Clang!
“Huh?”
But what they saw was the warrior’s sword bouncing off.
Boom!
Then, the slime’s body slam sent the warrior flying like a toy.
Crash!
After flying dozens of meters and snapping several trees, the warrior stopped.
Instant death.
A shocking result that should have frozen everyone in horror.
But the adventurers here were different.
The moment death struck, they shouted.
“Battle stations!”