Adam quickly dealt with the two blue slimes that appeared along with the green ones. He grabbed their cores while moving to avoid the barrage of highly-corrosive acid that tracked his movements.
Plop-plop-plop!
He frantically moved the barrier in front of him as four of the six projectiles came dangerously close to him.
The barrier survived the first hit, before breaking against the second.
Adam dove out of the way, turning it into a roll and springing back up.
This body is too slow…
He jogged over to the great tree while summoning a new barrier.
[Warning! Mana below 60%.]
The momentary dizziness hit him and he almost stumbled, but managed to catch himself.
He stopped in front of the tree.
“Come on, you fuckers! Shoot me!”
Plop-plop-plop!
The barrage of acid flew towards him and he quickly went around the side of the trunk, just as they struck the bark.
The smell of chemically-burnt wood filled his nose, while the ravenous acid hissed like angry serpents
The tree creaked loudly.
It’s working!
He went around the front of the tree again and saw that a half-metre-deep chunk was missing.
Plop-plop-plop!
The slimes fired off their projectiles at the same time and he scurried around the tree once more.
Somehow this feels like a bizarre way to engage with this Stage.
Hats off to Mori for finding this.
I wonder why he even thought to chop down the tree. Maybe he used it to squash the Slime King.
I wonder if I can use the cracked cores to instantly kill the boss. That’d be one hell of an exploit.
Plop-plop-plop!
The green slimes shot at the tree again, without Adam even leaving his hiding spot. As the projectiles struck the other side of the trunk and ate through the organic material, the whole tree creaked ominously.
Then the ground shook.
The apple tree started to lean in the direction of the two slimes and the bark was tearing itself apart like strands of fabric.
[40 seconds remaining of Wave Four.]
The tree continued to lean and split, with the top pulling itself free of the bottom of the trunk and its extensive root system underground.
“Timber!” Adam yelled, with a shit-eating grin on his face.
The great tree struck the ground between the two green slimes with enough force to make Adam jump half a metre off the ground and send the slimes flying to the sides.
Left behind was a stump with a sword sticking out of it, like Excalibur in the stone.
Adam hurried over and grabbed hold of the petrified blade. It was covered in more stone than when Mori had showcased it to him. In fact, there wasn’t even a speck of gold visible on its handle, crossguard, nor scabbard. It was all just covered in a layer of dense and heavy rock.
He pulled it out of the stump and struggled to lift it above his head.
< < Secret Weapon Obtained > >
< Gram (Rare) — The ancient sword of a Mythical Hero >
< Unique Skill ( Anvil Splitter ) | Perform an overhead slash powerful enough to cleave an anvil in twain >
[You have discovered a Secret Weapon. This weapon starts with the Unique Skill ‘Anvil Splitter’.]
I feel like the chosen one, he mused to himself, as he stood there with the ridiculously-heavy blade lifted over his head.
I wonder if the Unique Skill only has a 10-minute cooldown, similar to the ones from the final evolution of the Lancer.
[25 seconds remaining of Wave Four.]
Oh right, the Wave isn’t over…
< < Second Sheath Activated > >
< Would you like to swap to the Mythical Hero Weapon Type? >
“Show me the Weapon Type’s stats first,” he said while moving towards the nearest slime.
His spell-tome was now hanging from the left side of his belt. It had teleported there as soon as he picked up the secondary weapon. The barrier also wasn’t responding to his commands and just remained fixed in the same spot relative to him as before, which meant it still moved along with him, which was a curious and potentially exploitable thing.
< Mythical Hero >
< Level 0 >
< Stats >
< Health — 200 >
< Stamina — 200 >
< Mana — 0 >
< Damage — 100% >
< Defence — 50% >
< Speed — 100% >
< Luck — 0 >
Hmm, if I swap to this, then I won’t be able to use the Spell-Tome at all…
“I’m sticking with the Warder Weapon Type for now.”
< < Second Sheath > >
< Weapon Type set to Warder >
Adam took the Spell-Tome from his left hip, but as soon as it was back in his hands, Gram went into a horizontal holding position on his lower back.
Damn, no dual-wielding these two then…
He used the barrier to cut the green slime into two, which turned it into two smaller green ones. With two efficient moves, he carved through both of these before they could even think to retaliate. Their bodies fell apart and sizzled loudly as they dissolved the moss underneath them.
[10 seconds remaining of Wave Four.]
Adam hurried towards the one on the other side of the fallen tree, but he knew he wouldn’t make it in time, since the Warder’s speed was way too low.
It’ll be bad if the Wave carries over into Five!
I’ve gotta use a cracked core.
He pulled one of the hissing stones from his left pocket as he climbed up onto the fallen tree. Nearby lay the branch with the healing apple, but the apple was squished and probably wouldn’t heal him anymore.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I guess destroying the tree prevents the Healing Apples from working… Unforeseen consequence, but ultimately not a big deal.
Unless the Secret Boss is really hard…
Adam stopped when he was at the top of the fallen trunk and then pulled his right hand back and threw the hissing core at the green slime nearby.
It noticed him and fired a barrage of acidic projectiles in his direction. Adam was forced to throw himself off the side of the fallen tree, while hastily covering his body with the barrier.
He landed hard on his stomach, knocking all the wind out of himself. Only a single projectile struck the barrier over his head, and it wasn’t enough to break it.
Phew.
A loud pop came from nearby when the slime exploded and acid rained down around him, hitting his barrier twice and causing cracks to form.
Oh shit!
Adam army-crawled out from under the barrier just as it shattered and the acid on top of it fell down unto where he’d just been.
< < Wave Four Complete > >
< Choose your Upgrade >
That was a bit too reckless perhaps.
But, hey, I did it. All without taking damage too.
Adam went over to the remains of the exploded green slime. Just like the purple one from earlier, it had left behind two cracked cores, which he picked up and added to his left pocket.
He headed back to the other green slime’s remains, climbing over the tree to get there, and looted the two intact cores it had dropped.
I now have a total of 11 cores to sell, that’s 825 Points right there. Pretty good haul.
Although, I’ll use at least one to trigger the Secret Boss.
I really hope Lenard was right about that, but I can’t think of anything else that could trigger the Secret Boss in this Stage.
Adam walked over to the stump of the tree, where the Eye had unfolded into a podium. The rewards were for the Spell-Tome, perhaps because that’s what he’d used when he completed the Wave.
He switched to Gram to see if that changed the options, but nothing happened.
I need to keep that in mind.
Gram probably has a lot of potential, but I want to at least evolve Warder once before I figure out what direction to take my build this loop.
Adam sat down while looking through the upgrades.
< < Upgrades Available > >
< Barrier Durability (Rare) — Increases barrier health by 35% >
< Manipulation Range (Uncommon) — Increases manipulation range by 20% >
< Damage (Rare) — Increases all damage by 15% >
Huh, wait, I just realised something. All of the rewards up until now have been at least Uncommon in rarity. Is that because of Warder starting with a Luck score of 5?
I guess that means that 5 is high enough to guarantee uncommon rewards?
I wonder if it applies to Relics in the same way. If so, I shouldn’t see any Healing Apple in the Relic Chest.
Hmm, 15% increased damage is pretty good, but the rare Durability means my barriers will have 55% increased health.
The manipulation range might also be useful. If the current maximum is 10 metres, then that would turn it into 12, which is a pretty significant boost. If I have a high enough range, I could just sit atop the tree in Stage Four and kill everything from afar, that’d be pretty cool.
Adam was torn about which to pick. Fortunately the tesseract helped him along with its annoying timer.
[10 seconds remaining.]
I’ve gotta pick Durability, it just unlocks so many more options for me. Not to mention getting me one step closer to being able to have my own flying carpet!
< < Upgrade Selected > >
< Barrier Durability (Rare) >
The clasp on the book was almost completely rid of rust as the upgrade took hold.
Hmm, question now is whether it applies retroactively to the barrier I’ve already got summoned.
Adam beckoned it over to him and flipped it horizontally with a gesture, before climbing on top.
He sat down on it for a few seconds, until cracks started to form.
Retroactively, it looks like, he concluded.
< < Wave Five > >
< 180-Second Timer >
The barrier broke and he summoned a new one.
[It may be useful—]
“Skip.”
The Eye stopped talking.
“Mana?” he asked instead, as the ground shook from the approaching boss.
[Your Mana is at 77.5% or 155 points. Currently recovering 0.5% or 1 points every second.]
Thanks to the efficiency upgrade the barrier now costs 45 Mana. That’s not a huge difference, but still better than nothing.
Another quake rolled through the ground, then a large shadow appeared over the fallen tree.
Ah shit, I forgot to look for the Glass Acorn.
I hope it survives being crushed by a big fat slime…
Adam retreated several steps away.
I should summon a second barrier for this, he realised.
When he summoned another barrier, the first one disappeared.
[Warning! Mana below 60%.]
Shit… Should’ve probably tested if that would work earlier.
The Slime King landed on the fallen tree with a loud boom, pulverising the wood and bark under its weight.
Alright, here goes nothing.
Adam pulled an intact core out of his right pocket and threw it right into the big blue blob.
Slurp!
The core was sucked into the Slime King’s body, bringing its total to four.
Then it started to vibrate and transform, somehow becoming smaller in mass, though it was likely it was just consolidating its mass to become denser.
When the transformation was finished, the slime had a humanoid shape and was the same height as Adam, which was unsettling. It’s colour had also gone from dark-blue to milky-white. Two of the cores moved up into its head, looking like eyes. The other two settled themselves into the left and right sides of its torso. The rusted crown sat atop its head, now the perfect size for its body.
What the fuck is that?
< < Secret Boss Discovered > >
< Slime Emperor >
< Wave Timer extended to 300 seconds >
[You have discovered a Secret Boss.]
[Secret Bosses pose a significantly higher danger to Players than normal boss encounters.]
[Defeating a Secret Boss awards additional rewards.]
Adam immediately dug out one of his three cracked cores and threw it at the boss.
The hissing stone entered its body right next to the left core in its chest. Then it popped and destroyed the core, while also removing a chunk of its jellied flesh.
Unlike the Slime King, the Emperor did not split into lesser slimes, but instead just charged right at him with astounding speed.
Oh shit!
Adam made his barrier spin and flung it out to meet the boss. It carved through its body, producing a sound like shredded metal and left a deep cut above its hip, nearly cutting the humanoid slime in two.
But then its body pulled itself back together.
Fuck, okay… Gotta aim for the cores to take this one out.
He brought the barrier back while trying to move out of the way of the slime’s punch aimed at his face.
Adam avoided the first swing, and then the barrier flew back to him just in time to block the second. He summoned another barrier and immediately felt woozy.
[Warning! Mana below 35%.]
The Slime Emperor struck the yellow pane of energy, but it survived the hit, though a big crack formed.
Adam grabbed the sword attached to his lower back and the spell-tome went to his hip.
The moment the boss struck the barrier again it shattered, but Adam was already swinging Gram right into it.
The heavy blade would not pull out of its stone scabbard, but the impact was strong enough to cut all the way through the slime and strike the other core in its chest. The stone broke apart and the Emperor was turned into two separate slimes for a second, but then it reformed itself a moment after.
Let’s try out this Unique Skill.
Adam lifted the sword into the air before the boss could fully reconstitute itself.
“Anvil Splitter!” he yelled.
It felt as though the sword gained three times its weight as it was pulled down into an overhead chop.
The scabbarded sword travelled right down through the boss, bisecting it.
This time, instead of immediately pulling itself back together, the two halves, each with a core inside their halves of the ‘head’, started to shamble towards him.
Adam grabbed the spell-tome and Gram returned to his lower back in an instant.
This rapid weapon switching is pretty powerful.
He summoned a barrier and made it spin, while backing away. The wooziness quickly overcame him.
[Warning! Mana below 15%.]
Adam directed the barrier into the slime’s left half, which was about to swing for him.
Bits of the milky-white slime flew all around him, some even hitting his hair and face. It wasn’t acidic like all the other types of slime and felt just like gelatine.
Then the spin barrier struck the core inside its head, cracking it.
The left side’s head popped.
No sooner had the core been destroyed than the right side absorbed the other half. It immediately swung out and struck the barrier, breaking it.
Adam stumbled back a step.
I think I still have enough Mana for one more summon!
He concentrated on the exact orientation and position he wanted the summon the barrier in, just as his back hit the dense treeline.
Oh fuck.
Adam summoned the barrier right as the Slime Emperor swung its fist at his face.
[Warning! Mana at 0%. Overconsumption triggered!]
[You have been afflicted with Mana Exhaustion. Stamina reduced to 0% and all recovery rates lowered by 90% for the next 20 seconds.]
Adam passed out for a second, expecting the punch to kill him.
The Mana Exhaustion made his whole body shake and it felt like the ground under him was moving up-and-down. Even though he knew he should’ve collapsed, he remained standing somehow.
[Congratulations! You have defeated the Secret Boss, Slime Emperor!]
Adam opened his eyes, seeing bright dots everywhere and feeling light-headed.
The barrier he’d summoned was pressed into his torso, effectively pinning him against the wall of trees. At the other end of the two-metre wide pane of energy was the Slime Emperor.
He’d managed to summon the barrier directly in front of the boss as it leapt in for the attack, such that its corner split the last core in half.
The spell shattered and Adam collapsed onto his knees along with the coreless husk of the Secret Boss. The rusted crown atop its head popped off and rolled towards him.
He reached out to touch it.
< < Collectible Relic > >
< Rusted Crown (Common) — A crown does not a king make, but for some the symbolism alone is sufficient >
That has got to be more than just something to sell, he guessed.
< < Wave Five Complete > >
< < Stage Complete > >
< Tallying Score >
Adam shifted from his knees and onto his ass while waiting for the results, his head still swimming from the Mana Exhaustion.
That was a total mess of a last fight, but I made it through without taking damage.
< < Score > >
< 305 Seconds Completion Time >
< 400 Point Secret Boss Bonus added >
< 300 Point Flawless Bonus added >
< 0 Damage Received >
< 1240 Points Awarded >
Woah, what!?
That’s almost twice what I got last time! And four times what I got on my first completion!
He held the rusted crown in his hands.
“Aside from this, what other bonus rewards do I get for defeating the Secret Boss?”
[You will receive two Upgrade rewards, as well as a Relic Chest that will allow you to pick between three Relics. Once you have selected your rewards, you will be transported to the Interim Island.]
So, the bonus is this crown and a second upgrade.
Feels kind of disappointing.
Although 400 extra Points this early on is pretty huge.
Plus, the bonus upgrade allows me to evolve before I even get to the Market.
“Alright then, let’s see the upgrades.”
The Eye unfolded itself into a podium and a treasure chest with a slime symbol appeared next to it.
The poll on last chapter about which cover to use ended up really close, so I think
I'll return to the original cover, since a few people pointed out that it currently matches
the expectations of the story, by portraying Adam in an action pose, rather than
in some philosophical man-vs-System type setup. That will come later for sure, but
for Book 1 it definitely feels like it's more action than anything else
Thanks everyone who voted on the poll. I haven't run a lot of those on RR, so it was cool to see
over 400 people vote, since that's about 8-9% of everyone who read the chapter.
