Chapter 18—Fire Ball and Mana Shield!
Thud!—Thud!—Footsteps echoed across the grassy field.
The woman entered the farm hauling a sack of garbage, yawningas she walked.
'She's bringing… trash,' Slime#47 mused with relief.
He'd worried his actions might've triggered some butterfly effect, but it seemed he'd overthoughtit.
It was rarefor slime farm owners to bring food in the morning, which made the young slime tense for a moment.
Soon, the devouring session began. The slimes absorbed their food—the filth—they only got oncea day.
The young slime never felt hungry after just one meal.
------
"Since you've acquired the fire rune mastery, you can start practicing magic," Elder Slime said, glancing at the young slime wobbling with excitement.
"Let's start with Fireball," He continued seriously, spreading his right tiny palm. "Fireball."
A red circular rune manifested on his palm, and a fireball the size of a human baby's fist formed on it.
He tossed the fireball at the wooden fence—Bam!—a scorch mark formed instantly, smoke trailing up.
"Fireball," the young slime mused with a grin. 'Finally—the basic spell one must get after being isekai'ed.'
'As I expected, the old slime lacks mana reserves,' he thought after a few moments, feeling powerless at the fate of their kind.
If one looked at that baby-sized fireball, they'd question—was that even a fireball?
Even with all his knowledge, Elder Slime couldn't get stronger—his talent meant nothing while trappedin this damn farm.
"Now you chant it," Elder Slime said in that same deep, stern teacher voice.
Focusing his mana into his palm, the young slime activated the spell. "Fireball!"
A red rune circle flashed on his palm—then only a tiny spark of flame flickered before disappearing with the rune.
The young slime blinked. His spell had straight-up failed.
'That spark couldn't even light a cigarette… pathetic,' he thought, ashamed.
The old slime burst out laughing. "Hahahaha!"
"Stop! You totally skippedthe full instructions, didn't you, old slime?" he snapped, his body bubbling with anger.
The elder replied playfully, "Of course! Now you'll rememberthis forever—magic doesn't work just by chanting runes. Vision and will matter more."
'How could I forget?' The young slime patted his jelly body with his tiny palm.
He remembered that in anime and novels, before casting magic, the caster would picture the spell in their mind—visualizeit.
"Now, picture the burning flame ball before casting," the old slime said.
'Visualize it…' the young slime murmured in thought. He pictured a burning, fierce red sphere.
"Fireball!"
A red circular rune flared on his palm, and a small burning fireball formed, little bigger than a spark.
Slime#47 hurled it at the wooden fence—Whoosh!—the burning ball surged toward the target but vanished before impact.
[ Ding! You have acquired 'Fireball Skill' {Common} ]
[ —Skills—
—Fireball {Common} Lv.1—
—Proficiency 1/100
—A ball of burning flames manifested by mana.
—Note: The power of Fireball increases with more mana input. ]
'I did it,' he laughed, eyeing the panel.
"Elder, what are the otherrunes in the spell?" he asked, curious about others.
"I'll tell you later. They aren't needed for basic spells," Elder Slime said, dismissing him casually.
------
Twenty-five days later...
In the morning, under the burning black sun, Slime#47 focused and activated the magic rune. "Fireball!"
He launched the tiny flame ball at the fence—Bam!—a small scorch mark appeared with a wisp of smoke.
[ Ding! Proficiency +1 ]
[ Ding! 'Fireball' has leveled up to Lv.5 {Lv.Max} ]
With his mana reserves, he could cast a basketball-sized Fireball once—or hundreds of small coin-sized fireballs.
Using this method of casting the spell—with low mana, he abused repetitionto push proficiency faster.
He didn't need to use full power for proficiency.
It was this method he'd used before to masteraura skills, despite low aura reserves.
When proficiency gains slowed, Elder Slime introduced new variations—cast Fireball at different distances, hit moving targets, alter the flame's heat slightly, or change its shape.
Fireball must remain a sphere, but slight imperfections around its edges made it easier to grow proficiency.
"Now, let's start anotherskill," the old slime said, trying to hold his palms behind his back—despite failing with his tiny arms.
"I want defense. One Fireball skill is enough magic offense," the young slime declared, wanting to cover his weakness.
"Not bad. You've got Acid Fist and Fireball, but nothingfor defense." Elder Slime nodded, his body wobbling approvingly, "Then we'll do Mana Shield."
"Mana Shield!"
Once activated, a blue circular rune manifested on his palm.
A shimmering, light-blue barrier—almost transparent—formed around his body, covering him 360degrees with no weak spots.
Wob!—Wob!Slime#47 circled him to test it from all angles but found no weaknesses.
'Even sneak attacks can't get through,' he thought with appreciation.
"Okay, magic skills rely mainly on visualization—same as Fireball. Invoke the spell and imagine the barrier," Elder Slime explained, tapping the glowing shield.
Young slime followed, "Mana Shield!"
He visualized a barrier formed around him as a shield.
A transparent blue circle manifested on his small fist. Next, a clear, see-through blue barrier wrapped around his entire body.
[ Ding! You have acquired 'Mana Shield' {Common} Lv.1 ]
[ —Skills—
—Mana Shield {Common} Lv.1—
—Proficiency: 1/100
—A blue transparent barrier of pure mana covering the entire body for protection.
—Note: The higher the mana input, the stronger the barrier. Mana is required to maintain the shield. ]
The young slime grinned at the gleaming panel in his vision.
------
Thirty days later...
"Mana Shield!"
Slime#47 pumped more mana into the shield, bracing as each hit crashed into it.
[ Ding! Proficiency +1 ]
[ Ding! Proficiency +1 ]
[ Ding! Proficiency +1 ]
[ Ding! 'Mana Shield' leveled up to Lv.5 — Max ]
"Not bad,…. not bad at all," the young slime smiled.
Once again, the old slime proved he knew how to train skills even with lowreserves.
Without the elder slime's methods, he doubted he'd even reach Level 2—forget maxing the skill.
The constant defense drills were grueling but effective, and the results spoke for themselves.
He glanced up at the blood-red moons hanging in the purple sky. The night felt heavy—like it knew what tomorrow was.
"It's time," he whispered, his jelly body wobbling with resolve. "Tomorrow… those brats and those soldiers show up again."
End of the chapter. _________________________________________________________________________________