Chapter 20—Grinding
[ Timeline 78521452224.5 ]
"Hello, my child, I'm your mama," the cute blob cooed, rubbing her soft body against him.
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"By the way, Elder… ever heard of a trait or skill that lets someone travel back in time?" Slime#47 asked casually.
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"Elder, teach me any skill that can increase aura and mana reserves," the young slime pleaded with the old slime after their discussion, same as in the previous loop.
"Skills that increase mana or aura require some externalobjects like mana crystals or aura crystals," the old slime lamented.
'Of course… if they existed, he'd have used them already.' Slime#47 patted himself for asking a silly question.
"Any way to breakthe situation?" he asked hopefully, praying for a solution. He'd already explained everything.
This was the second time he told him about going back in time—not looping, but that spider Eldritch didn't appear. He understood now—she only appeared if he mentionedthe Time God.
"Yes, gain masteries and a few other skills…" Elder Slime offered some advice.
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[ Ding! You have acquired the Skill Meditation {Common}! ]
The young slime meditated, focusing on his breathing.
[ —Skills—
—Meditation {Common} Lv.1 —
—Proficiency 1/100
—Aids in the recovery of mana and aura.
—Recovery speed +10% ]
He grinned as the skill panel popped up in his vision.
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[ Ding! You have acquired the skill Iron Body {Common}! ]
[ —Skills—
—Iron Body {Common} Lv.1 —
—Proficieny 1/100
—Coats the body with the aura for protection and strength.
—Increases endurance, agility, and strength by 10%. ]
Fifty days slipped by in a blur of training.
[ Ding! Iron Body leveled up to Lv.5 {Lv.Max} ]
[ Ding! Meditation leveled up to Lv.5 {Lv.Max} ]
[ —Masteries—
—Fist Mastery —
—Tier Zero
—Proficiency: 71/100
—Fire Magic Rune —
—Tier Zero
—Proficiency: 31/100 ]
Slime#47 spent all his time training hard.
When he'd started the fifth loop, his Fist Mastery had fallen to 18 — only about 25% retained—but he wasn't worried.
He realized he could easily re-train the masteries' proficiency to reach the previous level as previous loop by his memories. Beyond that, however, the grind became brutal.
'It's getting stupidly hard,' he mused, feeling exhausted.
The higher his mastery proficiency rose, the harder the improvement became.
'Tomorrow's the day…' He glanced at the fence, determination burning in his gaze.
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"Fireball!"
"Fire Lance!"
Two bulky soldiers dropped dead on the ground to magic before he, Mama Slime, and Elder Slime were all killed by the red-haired woman.
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[ Ding! Timeline 78521452224.5 has ended! ]
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Timeline 78521452224.6....
[ —Masteries—
—Fist Mastery —
—Tier Zero
—Proficiency: 77/100
—Fire Magic Rune —
—Tier Zero
—Proficiency: 40/100 ]
In fifty days, he skipped language training and other skills, focusing solely on the masteries.
Core was shattered by the red-haired woman.
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Timeline 78521452224.7....
"Fireball!" the young slime yelled, activating his rune.
A basketball-sized fireball rushed straight at the farm woman carrying a sack of trash.
Boom!
The woman's upper body burned away as she fell to the ground.
"Whaaa—" Elder Slime's mouth hung open in shock. Mama slime also widened her mouth in disbelief.
Mama Slime and Elder Slime had never seen a slime attack a human using magic skills right away after birthbefore.
"@**HBVV!" the middle-aged farm owner roared with wrath as he rushed forward, his body blazingwith red aura.
"Acid Fist!" Young slime's tiny hands glowed grey as he leapt at the man.
'Too fast!'
But before his punch could land—Thud!—the man struck his core, shattering instantly and turning him into a pile of goo.
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Nothingness!
"No! No… he's even stronger than that red-haired woman!" Slime#47 yelled in fury, clenching his tiny fists.
He wanted to smash something—but there was nothing in the void to punch. He'd grown overconfident from killing humans in earlier loops, so this time he had attacked right at the beginning. But the truth hit harder than any blade—that farm owner was stronger than even the red-haired woman.
'Damn it, damn it!...' He exhaled slowly to calm himself, sorting through his thoughts.
The repeated failures were getting to him, especially the unbearable agony of his coreshattering over and over.
He decided this time to tier up his masteries and see if that would tilt the odds in his favor.
He would first become strong enough to crush the red-haired woman, then end the farm owner.
And he hadn't forgotten that bratwho killed him in the first loop either.
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Timeline 78521452224.8...
[ —Masteries—
— Fist Mastery —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 85/100
— Fire Magic Rune —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 64/100 ]
Core was shattered by a punch from the red-haired woman.
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Timeline 78521452224.9...
[ —Masteries—
— Fist Mastery —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 87/100
— Fire Magic Rune —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 67/100 ]
Core was pierced by a dagger from the red-haired woman.
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Timeline 78521452224.10...
When the tenth timeline began, a notification finally popped up that brought back a long-lost smile to his cute face.
[ Ding! Your Will has increased! ]
[ Will: G+ → F- ]
'Pain… really does make you mentally strong…' he thought bitterly. The repeated deaths had slowly been wearing him down, but also forging his will.
[ —Masteries—
— Fist Mastery —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 89/100
— Fire Magic Rune —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 71/100 ]
Kicked in the core by the red-haired woman.
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Timeline 78521452224.11...
[ —Masteries—
— Fist Mastery —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 91/100
— Fire Magic Rune —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 77/100 ]
Died at the hands of the red-haired woman.
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Timeline 78521452224.12...
"Fireball!" Slime#47 activated the rune just as the farm owner held him up to name him.
Boom!
Gzz!
The fireball hit directly at the owner's face. Smoke filled the air, blurring his vision.
'Die, damn human…' he roared internally.
But before he could celebrate, he felt himself lifted—his body caught in a crushing grip.
The middle-aged man clenched his hand tightly, and the slime's core shattered into pieces.
"I… lost…" Slime#47 whispered as he turned into a puddle of goo.
He'd just wanted to test if sneakattackscould work, like they had against weaker humans—but the farm owner was far too powerful.
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Timeline 78521452224.13...
He went back to focusing on training masteries.
[ —Masteries—
— Fist Mastery —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 93/100
— Fire Magic Rune —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 82/100 ]
Core shattered by the sword strike.
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Timeline 78521452224.14...
[ —Masteries—
— Fist Mastery —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 95/100
— Fire Magic Rune —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 84/100 ]
Killed by the same enemy again.
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Timeline 78521452224.15...
[ —Masteries—
— Fist Mastery —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 97/100
— Fire Magic Rune —
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 88/100 ]
Death by a sword.
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Timeline 78521452224.16...
Bam!
The young slime smashed his fist into the fence, controlling the wisp of aura swirling inside him to enhance his tiny fist.
He adjusted his posture, aligning his strike perfectly.
[ Ding! Fist Mastery Proficiency +1 ]
[ Ding! Fist Mastery Tiered Up to Tier One! ]
[ —Masteries—
— Fist Mastery —
—Tier One
—Proficiency: 1/100
—Effects: Increases fist power by 500%.
—Reduces all mana and aura fist skills' cost by 5%. ]
'Fivefold... good, very good. Let's smash that woman's head..' he thought with a grin, his tiny eyes blazing with wrath.
He'd diedmore than ten times by her hand.
Now, he'd felt he could take vengeance—and that red-haired woman would finally pay.
End of the chapter. _______________________________________________________________________________