Chapter 11

Chapter 11

[You have entered the 3rd Floor.]

Whew, this acrid air.

It had been a while.

If there were an air purifier here, its red light would probably start flashing immediately.

It felt like my lung health was getting worse in real time.

“Cough, cough.”

When I coughed lightly, I tasted the fishy tang of iron.

I wiped at my mouth, and blood smeared onto my hand.

My heart pounded, and my hands trembled.

Only then did I realize it.

Ah, it wasn’t just a feeling. My body really was getting worse.

‘No wonder my chest was hurting so strangely.’

This was insane.

It was all because of this cursed body.

[Sung Ha-jin]

[Health [F], Strength [D], Endurance [F], Stamina [F], Luck [D], Wisdom [B]……….

-You are afflicted by the Lich King’s Terminal Curse!

-Remaining time: 73 days. Death will approach if you do not lift the curse.

Just what had this body been doing?

It had nothing but bad things attached to it.

On top of that, the terminal deadline was seventy-three days.

“Two months and a little more.”

In other words, within two months, I had to reach the middle floors of the Tower, find the bastard who had placed this terminal curse on me, and kill him.

Unless I wanted to drop dead like an ocean sunfish.

‘It’s not impossible.’

There was nothing I couldn’t do.

To make that happen, I planned to climb at least six floors today.

The key was how much time I could save on the lower floors.

The moment I turned my head like that, someone caught my eye.

“A child?”

Was the child about five years old?

A blond girl with swaying hair was standing there.

The baby fat that had not yet faded from the child’s face stood out.

The eyes were reminiscent of a rainbow.

Their color shifted faintly depending on the angle, giving off a mysterious feeling.

Wait, five-colored light?

“Don’t tell me you’re the slime I met back then?”

I said it just in case.

Boing!

Somehow understanding my words, the girl nodded.

There was a jelly-like springiness in those wobbling cheeks.

When I had climbed the Tower last time, I had saved a slime that had been imprisoned by goblins.

It seemed to be that slime.

But it was slightly different from my memory.

‘It was a slime last time, though?’

Humanoid monsters did exist in the Tower.

Harpies and doppelgangers, for example.

But those only imitated the shape of humans.

Strictly speaking, they could not be considered human.

Even if their appearances were similar, if one dug into the details, they possessed the traits of monsters.

So what had happened here?

Despite being a slime, its appearance was the spitting image of a little girl.

[Rainbow Servant Slime]

Just then, the individual name appeared over the girl’s head.

“Evolution! I evolved!”

“You changed because you evolved?”

“Yeah!!”

Boing, boing!

As if it had somehow read my thoughts, the girl nodded up and down.

Evolution, received as an MVP reward.

Apparently, that was the benefit it had received.

The girl jumped in place, then changed into the form of a slime.

Seeing that made it sink in.

The girl really was a slime.

“Well, does it matter?”

All I had to do was climb the Tower.

I ignored the slime and walked forward, and it bounced along behind me with little boings.

When I moved forward and then stopped in place, it stopped too.

When I took a few more steps, it bounced after me again.

After repeating that little farce a few times, I came to a sharp stop and turned around.

The creature bumped into my leg.

“How long are you planning to follow me?”

“Huh! Can’t I follow you?”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

Well, it wasn’t as if it couldn’t.

On the other hand, there was no reason for it to follow me either.

“Ha-jin saved me. And Ha-jin evolved me. That’s the whole reason. Is that not allowed?”

This time, its speech was fairly fluent.

I was secretly surprised.

I had not known a monster could speak human language this precisely.

Even the goblin I had met before had only managed to speak in bits and pieces.

Was it because of evolution?

I did not know because I had no interest in monster evolution.

I had only ever killed them. I was not particularly interested in their ecology.

“Do whatever you want.”

I replied indifferently.

“But if you fall behind, I’m leaving you.”

I made that much clear.

No matter who the other party was.

If they dragged me down, I would leave them behind without hesitation.

***

I confidently warned the slime, but there was one point I had overlooked.

No matter who the other party was, there was no way they would fall behind when compared to my stamina.

‘Good grief. If only I hadn’t been cursed….’

I was already out of breath.

Meanwhile, the slime girl trotted ahead with quick little steps.

Its appearance was that of a young girl, but perhaps because it's true body was a slime, its footsteps themselves were light.

Every time it stepped, it bounced up as if springs were attached to its feet.

It was impressive.

I was watching the girl absently as I moved forward.

That was when it happened.

—Chwiik!

The bushes shook violently, and a goblin suddenly leaped out from behind the slime girl.

It was a timing no one could have expected.

On top of that.

[Elite Goblin]

Perhaps because this was the 3rd Floor, the goblin was not an ordinary one either.

Tap!

I immediately raised my wand.

The goblin was far away.

From this position, there was no way to prepare for it, no matter what I did.

However.

I had a method that made that possible.

“Blink.”

[Blink—you instantly Blink 3.7 m.]

[Remaining Blink count: ■■■□]

The distance to the goblin abruptly closed.

I snatched the spare wand I had prepared at my waist and fired magic in rapid succession with two wands.

“Lightning Ball, Lightning Ball, Lightning Ball, Lightning Ball!”

Bzzzzzzzt—

Electricity surged from the wands, and spheres of lightning floated up.

The goblin, surrounded by lightning spheres in an instant, wore a bewildered expression.

It wasn’t over yet.

This was only the beginning.

I aimed my wand at the lightning spheres.

The sight might have looked as if I were holding a firearm. I braced the end of the wand against my shoulder and pulled my chin as close to the body of it as possible.

To focus on the target, I closed one eye and took a deep breath.

I steadied my heart rate as I inhaled.

At the end of the exhale, I stopped breathing.

When the trembling subsided.

“Lightning.”

Bolt back, then forward.

One shot of lightning loaded.

Fire.

Crackle!

The moment the straight current pierced through the lightning sphere, the power of the sphere was absorbed into the current, and an intense bolt of electricity shot forward.

Its power could no longer be compared to the Grade 1 magic [Lightning].

Yes, it was like.

“Electric Shock.”

It was Grade 2 magic, advanced by one stage.

The lightning, now far stronger, pierced straight through the goblin’s chest.

[You have defeated the Elite Goblin.]

One shot.

With a single shot, the Elite Goblin became a black lump of charcoal and collapsed where it stood.

Easy. Too easy.

Even if the difficulty had risen, it would be a problem if I got held back on the mere 3rd Floor.

Considering the floors ahead of me, I still had a long way to go.

This was an obvious result, so I could not let myself get arrogant.

[You have acquired the Grade 2 magic, Electric Shock.]

[Electric Shock is recorded in the Memory Book.]

-Currently assignable magic: Static Electricity, Amplification, Lightning, Lightning Ball, Electric Shock

“Wow! Ha-jin! Amazing! You beat the bad goblin in one hit!!”

As if it were delighted for some reason, the slime girl jumped up and down in place.

Boing, boing.

Each time it did, those chubby cheeks wobbled.

Good grief, it wasn’t a child.

‘Ah, is it?’

Its appearance was that of a little kid whose baby fat had not even faded yet…

But more importantly, was it all right to apply a human appearance to a slime?

I decided to set that minor question aside.

[You have cleared the 3rd Floor.]

[Reading total subjugation score.]

[You have been selected as the MVP.]

[The 3rd Floor clear reward is being calculated. Please wait a moment.]

Because something more important had appeared.

Soon after, a system window asking whether I wanted to go up to the 4th Floor appeared before my eyes.

My hesitation was brief.

There was no value in hesitating.

“To the 4th Floor.”

The concept for this Tower climb was a speedrun.

***

[This is the 4th Floor.]

Along with that brief message announcing that I had arrived on the 4th Floor, humid air greeted me.

It was so hot that sweat trickled down my forehead even when I stood still.

I swept my gaze over the surroundings.

A jungle-like forest stretched onward.

Compared to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Floors, the undergrowth was thicker.

“Whew….”

I peeled off one layer of the clothes I had worn.

I had deliberately put on a windbreaker in preparation for insect bites.

But before the insects could sting me, I was going to die from the heat.

Just as I was fanning myself with my hand, I sensed a presence beside me.

I turned my head without thinking.

The slime girl was clinging close to me while holding the hem of my pants.

“What? Why are you here?”

“Ha-jin, I followed you! Why can’t I follow…?”

At my question, the slime girl shrank back and watched my expression.

That hadn’t been my intention.

I felt guilty for no reason.

“Do what you want. Like I said earlier, as long as you don’t hold me ba—”

“I won’t hold you back! Don’t worry!”

“Uh, sure.”

At the girl’s spirited reply, I nodded awkwardly.

If it was going to say that much, it would probably manage somehow.

I moved forward while keeping watch over the surroundings.

That was when it happened.

“Ha-jin, be careful!”

The slime girl following behind me shouted urgently.

I turned my head.

Whoooosh!

A blazing red fireball flew toward me.

Damn it.

I couldn’t dodge this.

The moment I made that judgment, I quickly gripped my wand.

“Blink.”

[Remaining Blink count: ■■□□]

I quickly evaded with Blink.

The fireball slammed into the spot where I had been standing just moments ago.

A huge crater formed, and flames surged upward.

That was close.

If I had been even one second late, it would have been fairly dangerous.

It was thanks to the slime girl’s warning.

But more importantly.

‘How did it know?’

Even I had not known until right before it happened.

But the slime girl had noticed.

It had not exactly seemed to be watching the surroundings either.

That question was soon answered.

[Rainbow Servant Slime]

[Owned Skills: Devour, Become Flexible, Acidic Fluid, Killing Intent Detection]

When I focused on the girl, a system window appeared.

Apparently, it was thanks to Killing Intent Detection among its skills.

Of the things I could infer right now, that seemed the most reasonable.

Of course, asking would have been the fastest way to resolve the question.

Unfortunately, I had no time for that.

[Goblin Shaman]

In the distance, the enemy’s form flickered into view.

It was a monster that would only appear around the 9th Floor in a normal Tower climb.

‘Is it already appearing because the difficulty went up?’

A Goblin Shaman was a fairly troublesome monster.

Despite being a goblin, it knew how to use two types of magic.

The fire-type magic it had just used and earth-attribute magic.

To be blunt, its compatibility against me, an electric type, was not great.

If I wanted to bring it down, I needed to rethink my strategy.

Just as I clicked my tongue and tried to revise my strategy.

Boing—!

The slime girl vigorously moved toward the goblin while swinging both arms up and down.

Naturally, the goblin was not about to just watch.

“⎯!”

When the Goblin Shaman finished its chant, several fireballs flew over.

Crap. There was no way it could dodge th—Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fireballs struck the slime girl directly in the side.

No, they seemed as if they had struck directly.

Boing.

At the exact moment the fireballs collided, part of the girl’s body rebounded like pudding and caved inward.

Then the fireballs passed through that space.

‘Holy shit.’

That was possible?

My jaw dropped at a tactic I had never imagined.

Come to think of it, I remembered that one of its skills was [Become Flexible].

I had never imagined it would be used like this.

The girl freely changed the shape of its body, dodging the flames as it swiftly approached the goblin.

Its speed was enough to surprise even me.

It was that fast?

Boing, boing.

In the blink of an eye, the girl approached the goblin.

“Anyone who attacks Ha-jin is a bad guy! So take your punishment quietly.”

Slime gushed from the girl’s hand.

At a glance, it looked like pudding, but its power was completely different.

Hissssss!!

The shaman, covered in slime, gave off steam and screamed.

Looking closely, the shaman’s skin was melting.

Apparently, that slime was highly acidic.

Soon after.

The girl changed into the form of a slime and swallowed the Goblin Shaman whole in one gulp.

[Rainbow Servant Slime uses Devour.]

[You have defeated the Goblin Shaman.]

My mouth fell open without me realizing it at the sudden event, which happened before I could even react.

Before I could fully understand what had happened, a system window appeared.

[You have cleared the 4th Floor.]

Huh? Wait.

[The achievements of monsters under your command are counted as your accomplishments.]

[Reading total subjugation score.]

[You have been selected as the MVP.]

As I watched that sight, one word appeared in my mind.

This was…

Yes, what I had imagined was right.

This was auto-hunting.