Chapter 21— Trapped!
"They're coming," Elder Slime growled, hiding beside the entrance.
Young Slime#47 and Mama Slime stayed low on the opposite side.
Thud! Thud! The bulky armored man stepped into the field.
"Fireball!" Young Slime fired the spell straight at the man's unprotected face.
Gzz! His face melted as he dropped—Bam!
"Gf6&^!" the red-haired woman snarled as another bulky man rushed in.
Only one human could squeeze through the entrance at a time—their muscles and armor made them huge, which is exactly why the slimes picked this spot.
Boom!"Fire Lance!" Old Slime hurled a burning lance at the rushing man's face, ending his life in an instant. He fell to the ground—Thud!—his head scorched pitch-black.
'Here she comes,' Young Slime tensed, eyes fixed on the fence. The red-haired woman was already leaping over it.
"Acid Fist!" He didn't waste even a heartbeat, pumping all his mana into his fist as he charged, hoping to strike before she could react.
But Thud!—she moved first. She caught the glowing grey fist with her one hand and landed calmly on the ground as dust rose up from the ground.
Gzz!—Smoke rose from her palm as it burned red with blisteredmarks.
'That's it? A light burn? Fist Mastery my ass… right, slimes don't even have one,' he snarled internally—Pik!—as a dagger punched straight into his core.
[ Ding! Your core is shattered! ]
[ Ding! You have died! ]
------
In the nothingness!
"So leveling up gives real power… mastery's just a booster," he muttered to himself, his eyes dim.
He finally got it—without real stats, even a giant multiplier was useless.
'How the hell do I beat her… and then that monster of an owner?' he bit his tongue, lost deep in thought.
------
Timeline 78521452224.17...
He went back to grind, masteries again.
[ —Masteries—
—Fist Mastery—
—Tier One
— Proficiency: 1/100
— Fire Magic Rune—
— Tier Zero
— Proficiency: 90/100 ]
He'd felt he could gain something if he pushed it to Tier Two.
Death by dagger.
------
Timeline 78521452224.18...
[ —Masteries—
—Fist Mastery—
—Tier One
—Proficiency: 1/100
—Fire Magic Rune—
—Tier Zero
—Proficiency: 92/100 ]
Dying didn't botherhim anymore—training was the real torture.
After fifty days of nonstop effort, he didn't even gain a single proficiency point in Fist Mastery.
'I didn't expect it would become this brutal after reaching Tier One,' he mused, bouncing up and down—Wob!—in the void to calm himself.
Death by sword.
------
Timeline 78521452224.19...
[ —Masteries—
—Fist Mastery—
—Tier One
—Proficiency: 1/100
—Fire Magic Rune—
—Tier Zero
—Proficiency: 94/100 ]
"Acid Fist!" The young slime shot over the fence like rubber, using Mama Slime as a springboard.
He wanted to catch the red-haired woman off guard—but Whoosh!—she casually sidestepped left, letting him miss completely.
Thud!—He fell flat on his face.
Puk!And that was that—kicked straight to death.
He'd tried multiple attack variations in different loops, but nothing worked. He simply lacked power.
------
Timeline 78521452224.20...
[ —Masteries—
—Fist Mastery—
—Tier One
—Proficiency: 1/100
—Fire Magic Rune—
—Tier Zero
—Proficiency: 96/100 ]
'No freebies this time? All that ten loops pain…. wasn't enough to grow?' he sighed bitterly.
The Will upgrade he'd gained in the tenth timeline had been permanent—and he wished for another.
"They've lowered the barrier," Elder Slime said seriously.
He didn't understand why Slime#47 wanted that information so badly.
'Good…' the young slime grinned. He'd asked Elder Slime about the barrier for a reason—he wanted to testsomething new this time.
Because of the old slime's barrier-sensing skill, they were never caught while training.
The elder would always inform him whenever humans approached, and they would pretend as if nothing had happened.
Whoosh!—He leapt over the fence using another slime as a springboard.
He landed—and froze instantly.
He wasn't in their section anymore—he had jumped into the neighboringslime farm.
Wob!—Wob! Many cutie slimes were bouncing all over the field.
Bouncing to the corner, he tried jumping again, using another slime for leverage—but Thud!—he was pushed back by a transparent barrier.
He tried on all sides except from where he came in, but met only resistance.
'Each farm… has its own barrier. They only deactivate it when entering,' he realized grimly.
He returned quietly to his own farm. In the next few days, he explored the perimeter—every side except the front entrance, since the owners would instantly spot him there.
Each border connected to other farms; even the back of his farm opened into another one.
He spent the following days training, exhausted, finally realizing there was truly no escape—only the choice to fight and defeat them.
"Fireball!"
He hurled the spell, killing one man instantly.
Whoosh! 'Here she.... comes,' he thought, glancing at the red-haired woman leaping over the fence.
Crack! Crack!
The ground beneath her softened once she landed, and she dropped straight into a pitof spikes.
"Quick, do it!" he yelled, signaling to Mama Slime.
He wanted to test a new plan in this loop.
"I'm on it—Earth Spikes!" Mama Slime said. She was pulled slightly by the young slime, which saved her life.
Slime#47 understood that the armored woman could sense their presence.
That's how she kept finding and killing them, no matter where they hid.
A brown magic rune flashed on the ground at Mama Slime's command.
Puk!—Puk!—Puk!
The ground in the pit turned into several sharp spikes, striking at the stunned woman.
The red-haired woman hadn't taken the situation seriously; once she realized it was slimes attacking her, she underestimatedthem.
After all, slimes were the weakest creatures known to mankind—the perfect preyfor beginners to level up.
That overconfidence let the slimes catch her off guard.
'Some damage…some…' he thought with a trembling core. He knew she was powerful, but this would help him gauge her tolerance.
"^&&^!" the woman roared, and—Whoosh!—she jumped out of the pit.
'Tch... what a damn tank.' His eyes twitched as he saw her completely unharmed.
The spikes inside the pit had snapped midway—they were far too weak to pierce her skin
.….
Death by a clean punch to the core.
------
In the nothingness again!
'I'm trapped,' he thought, trembling slightly.
Finally, he understood why the Elder Slime, so wise and so full of knowledge, had nevertried to escape—because he had already failed.
And now, Slime#47 had learned that same bitter truth with his own experience.
End of the chapter.
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