Chapter 22 Unreasonable Threat

"As you said previously, are you seriously going to protect them?"

On the way to the place where Alice was attacked, the butcher speaks to me.

"Un? Well, I am trying to stick to my promises."

I promised to return once the viper has been defeated but I did not say that I will return immediately after.

And so, I have made up my mind that I will not return to the village but instead head north towards the desert.

I will roam the world and of course if I am alive then the there is a possibility that we will see each other again even though it is low.

I feel sorry for Mira but we will never meet again. She was a valuable partner who I can talk with, she honestly talked to me even though I am a slime. She is without a doubt a good person.

That is why we should not be together. I have no intention of binding Mira with things such as grat.i.tude, it will only be an inconvenience if we decide to travel together.

Mira will not be restricted if I, the person who she is waiting for, will not show up. It cannot be helped but to unexpectedly detach myself this time for I do not have a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic hobby in putting someone else's life pointlessly in danger.

"For now, let's just raise our level and evolve."

In fact, I can evolve into 2 different types.

It was intended that I would meet evolution conditions with that simple job in the village. I want to evolve quickly since it is convenient.

In addition, it I am able to predict the evolutionary conditions judging from past evolutionary tendencies. It is a favorable pace in this aspect as I can grow as fast as I can.

I jumped a little bit as I noticed a smell.

"This way huh."

As I began heading into its direction, I noticed that he went towards a strange place. It is as Mira said, the trees are broken as far as the eye can see and the ground has turned black due to poison.

A poison that can even erode the ground, Alice did well in surviving such a thing. Normally, there would no longer even be a human ma.s.s if you touch it.

Is Alice slightly resistant to poison, I do not think that someone can get away with only that if you are not.

"Well, it is a good thing that she is safe."

Whatever the reason may be, my goal to defeat the Viper still remains. I may understand once I meet it directly but now it's time to find him.

"You said that you cannot find it even when searching the surrounding area, does it mean that it moved to another place far away from here?"

The Butcher said so while walking around finding clues. 

"You could say that, although it is also possible that it went underground. I won't know until we find a clue."

Having said that, it made me realize that the Butcher is not almighty. After pus.h.i.+ng aside trees for some time, I found some scales which I saw earlier under the shade of a bush.

I would not know if I do not look at it closely but it was like a guidepost. If I follow this then I expect that I will encounter it. 

We carefully advance the chase, the clues unexpectedly broke off after a certain point.

"Is it only up to here?"

Even after carefully looking around, we could not find anything anywhere. There were no other clues anywhere and thus we have reached a dead end.

Or perhaps it went underground here, if it  then it cannot be helped since it is impossible to reach. The only conclusion at this point to wait for it to come out of the ground since it cannot be helped.

"Butcher, is there anything else?"

When asked the butcher if it is no good,

"Maa, it's not like there isn't any good."

"Seriously?"

It is too convenient. Somehow in many ways things came together which is just way too convenient.

"Since there is meat then you can use it to attract monsters with it's smell. I can't guarantee that it is possible for the smell to reach underground."

"What, you should have said it sooner if you have such a convenient meat."

Then suddenly, something caught my attention. I made me wonder why the butcher didn't use such a convenient thing up until now.

"I dunno but I will only ask you one thing.  After you met me, is this the first time that you have used this meat?"

". . . . of course."

"Meanwhile, during that time. "(TLN: anything better? その間はなんだ、その間は)

If it is this fellow then I undstand the reason and that he did not intend to hide it.  I was just playing around and enjoying his reactions. It is really bad.

The angel rabbit was not in that place by accident, it is not wrong of me to think that this guy dragged it to bait me. That seems to be more likely.

I do not know about the truth but now is not the time to blame him. Let's finish our job quickly.

After the butcher installed the meat in the surroundings, we went slightly far away from it and wait. A goblin came over lured by the smell, it came a few moments but we handled it without giving it time to touch the meat.

Soon the ground cracked unnaturally and then a big snake came out from there. It was the Viper, it looks strong. I understand that is different just by seeing the status of the goblins.

It would have been desirable if I fought it after I evolved into a neo slime and judging by the tendency so far it should have enhanced poison resistance, though I cannot say for certain.

There is no guarantee that we will meet next time if you escape here. There is no choice but to kill it here. 

"Let's start"

Now is a good opportunity since it is distracted by the meat, there is no way to miss this chance.

I extended my tentacles as fast as I could and tried to penetrate its body from behind. It is unlikely that this sort of attack will hit this type of opponent in the back since there is a high probability that it will no longer be a surprise attack due to the problem of distance and speed.

And besides a whip like blow on that body covered with scales would seem ineffective. So I added poison and paralysis that I generated at the tip of my tentacles. I do not know if it works but, since you can administer in with a slight stab or even a wound, then it should have an effect even with a small amount.

It was but, at the moment the attack was about to hit the viper, it bent it's body with such dexterity that it barely evaded it. The evasion was intended and not coincidence.

The intention to sneakily attack it has been found out, the advantage at this point has already disappeared. We have to win with strength after all.

The viper turned around to the place where we were hiding and stuck its tongue out as a threat. Even if we are hiding I judge that it was not easy to move since it is narrow, so I quickly jump out of the bushes.

We placed a bit of distance from each other and glared at one another.

While I was thinking, the viper roars and whip it's tail around like a whip. Apparently it can manipulate its body freely like my tentacles although the upper part corresponding to its face is hardly moving.

It suddenly attacked while we were glaring at each other. I tried to jump sideways to dodge it but could not make it in time. The conclusion, I managed to avoid the attack by shrinking in an instant. Just that, the attacks did not end there.

I managed to avoid another sideways attack by sticking close to the ground that it looked like I have merged with it when I landed. It was a unique method of evading that is only available to a slime. Others will not be able to imitate it.

Still the timing was bad. The other party will keep attacking relentlessly and soon it will turn into a one sided defensive battle.

I jumped backwards greatly before the next attack came. But this time once again it became a standoff and did not attack.

Unless it has a body of a slime like me, its s reach should be at a certain limit. It appears that its attack will not reach me at this distance.

In this situation there is no chance of victory. The flow will change if it supposedly have an attack that would reach here.

"Phoey!"

I spat out the poison I generated quickly.

However, the opponent also had the same idea and did the same thing. As a result of releasing similar attacks on each other, they collided mid air.

The result was a disastrous defeat, the poison that I spat evaporated in an instant and disappeared without a trace.

I won't be able to attack at this distance if it is only on this level, that alone is not enough. The attack from the other side on the other hand is effective, I have yet to deal any damage from my attacks. Sooner or later I won't be able to dodge it and that would be the end of me.

So, if I am unable to fight mid range then the only thing remaining would be is to attack from up close. In other words, I have no other choice but a resort to a close-up fight. But, mid range is the limit to my ability to dodge an attack from its tail. The closer you are, the easier it is for the other party to attack and I would no longer be able to dodge it.

I sustained the accelerated thought at the same time.

(Think)

The power of thought is the only skill that was given to me from the beginning. It was the only skill that had the lowest level even though there were other skills. Also, it never changed dramatically even though it  became a lot better than before.

Actually it is obvious that there is no way to achieve a similar strength as your opponent. Even if the attacks are similar, it can differ in both power and speed by a lot.

(Think!)

It is over if I get caught by a powerful blow. I understand that if the next attack is not avoided, even if I did not die, my movements will grow dull due to damage. It is the same if I catch it with my tentacles. I do not think that I can stop the attack in the first place.

(Kuso, could it be strong at this distance? Alice was able to survive, I thought it was not much but it was a grave miscalculation.)

I  should reflect and not be too optimistic. The first thing to do is to find a method to win and defeat this fellow.

(Viper, what is the weakness of this guy?) 

If I cannot defeat the enemy with power then there is no other choice but to poke on its weak spot. The problem is what that weakness is.

Although I can find out just by asking the Butcher, but if I rely on him only at this level, then I will not be able to survive. Most of all, the Butcher will abandon anyone without hesitation if he or she is only up to this extent.

Well that will not be the result if I am able to win here. Then it is no good.

If I win here then I can show my power off to the butcher that it is possible for me to win even though I have low power. I have to win by myself in order to prove my future potential.

(Abandon your prejudice of monsters. What if this guy dives down into the ground?)

At least as far as the physical law is concern, it is the same as the previous world. But I have the skills, so in this world a slime is a very weird creature in various ways. For example, food and water is necessary for an organism, if your body is damaged then it will lead to death.

That is, it can be said that it cannot escape from such laws. Like how I need a skill in order to make my tentacles, then there is a particular racial characteristic or skill that enables this guy to burrow into the ground.

It is unlikely that it sees its surroundings using its eyes since it can act underground where light does not s.h.i.+ne. Then the answer is that it is naturally a snake.

I will wait for the right time to dodge its poison, I breathed in deeply.

Then,

"Haa!"

I spit out flames with all my power. I am aware that this place will become a sea of fire but I am not concerned.

If I am right then the viper should have a pit or an organ like a snake that enables it to sense heat. It must have been correct because it should noticed me by sensing my heat and not get caught by surprise from behind.

It seems that my guess was right. The Viper's attack which should have been accurately aiming for me quickly falls. Did it go haywire because of the high ambient temperature that it cannot get a good grasp of my form?

However, I cannot spit out anymore flames since this is a forest. There is a risk of it becoming a forest fire if I overdid it.

(It is decided here!)

There is a limit to using fire. The longer it is the more disadvantageous it is.

I disappeared from the sight of the Viper by diving into the flame, I aim two tentacles towards its head. Any creature should die if their head is crushed.

Even though I made two simultaneous attacks, the attacks   towards the viper did not reach it.

Indeed, the tentacles were repelled by the tail which was aimed carefully. Of course I cannot give up, I manipulated the tentacles to pressed on the attack.

The viper swings its tail the same way to prevent the attack, poison will probably be shot out soon since the flames have finally subsided,

"Ga!?"

(to be continued. . .)

Translator's Corner:

Happy New Year! Sorry it took so long. I have been out looking for an interns.h.i.+p place but even up until now, I cannot find any and the deadline is coming soon.

Also this chapter is 4 pages shorter since the internet café closed down for the new year so kindly refresh this page at Jan. 2 for the rest of it.

I would like to thank Pete H. for his donation. Sorry it took so long.

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