[You have reached the strength cap for Tier 3 Lifeforms.]
[Do you wish to spend 5,000,000 Evolution Points to ascend to Tier 4?]
It didn’t take Kaelen long to catch on that he was being mistaken for a hidden boss—again—which attracted even more players to the battlefield, increasing the difficulty but providing him with a constant stream of 10,000× multiplied Evolution Points, which he used to continuously upgrade his evolution attributes until he hit the bottleneck for Tier 3 Lifeforms.
"Ascend!"
Boom—
The suppressed explosion of pure energy rocked through the forest, knocking back and disorienting several players while critically injuring much weaker ones who were closer to Kaelen at that moment.
He didn’t pause for a moment, utilizing that split second to activate [Volatile Slime], evaporating his body to create a thick white mist that covered the battlefield and the entire forest at an unbelievable speed, then quickly following up with hundreds of blade-whips that stabbed and decapitated several beasts at once, spamming his vision with elite kill notifications.
[You have slain a battalion of the Demon Lord’s army!]
[10,000× Reward Multiplier Triggered...]
[You have received 120,000 Evolution Points]
[You have received 100,000 Evolution Points]
[You have received 100,000 Evolution Points]
[You have received 150,000 Evolution Points]
[You have received 120,000 Evolution Points]
...
In just a few moments, Kaelen had made back the 5 million Evolution Points spent on evolving to Tier 4, and was still counting. The battle that had become difficult due to multiple beasts attacking at once, with a few Tier 3s and Tier 4s in the bunch, immediately became one-sided as the players lost their sense of direction in the mist, while some initiated friendly fire, thinking it was the insane slime.
There were only a few beasts that had tracking abilities, but they were the first to be taken down as soon as Kaelen realized it. There were no longer the powerful roars of beasts coming from the battlefield, but the ceaseless sounds of whips cracking through the air and the sharp cries of pain and terror that died as soon as they came out.
When the beasts realized just how one-sided the battle was, they spread out and began charging in random directions, hoping to escape the mist, which should have had a limited range, then make a run for it. But what they didn’t realize was that, as far as the forest stretched across the mountain, there was nothing to be seen except the white mist that had spread as far as surrounding the city in the valley, making it harder for more players to make their way up the mountain to join the battlefield as well.
Soon, there were only a handful of livestreamers still alive in the white mist, and one of those channels was being broadcast on a massive television that covered almost the entire wall from floor to ceiling.
It was in a living room that didn’t give the TV any chance to aura farm due to the several other high-end home appliances and furniture, and anxiously standing before the TV were two women.
One had long curly hair that came down to her back and looked beautiful in every regard to anyone who saw her, regardless of gender. But the second woman standing by her side made the first woman look average just by standing next to her.
She had light cyan hair that was styled in a bob cut and stared at the TV with an unreadable expression on her face.
There was no way to confirm the rumors her guild member had brought to her without having to log out first in order to watch the livestream for herself.
Next to her was her guild secretary, who was actually her closest friend in real life and the owner of the luxury home. She was only crashing at her place after traveling across the wasteland and strongholds just to hang out with Cindra.
"It’s hard to believe this is a hidden boss," Cindra spoke up with a slight frown, gesturing at the TV. "That explosion right there was similar to a Life-tier evolution... or do Slimes now have such explosive power as part of their attributes...?"
Black Rose had the same idea but kept observing in silence, unlike her friend, who pointed out every little thing and couldn’t stop talking.
The TV screen was covered in white mist, and it was hard to tell if the streamer was moving or standing still, even while viewing in 4K HD. The stream only became harder to watch, and Black Rose was starting to lose interest after confirming it wasn’t her target.
That was when the screen suddenly shook fiercely, as though a tremor were occurring in real time, and a roar so powerful it dispersed the mist enough to restore visibility.
The roar didn’t stop. It sounded like an angry titan and blasted trees apart, causing a tremor that shook the mountain to its core.
"What was that?" Cindra quickly asked, her expression turning serious.
Black Rose’s heart immediately quickened. That didn’t sound like a slime. Slimes didn’t even make a sound. And she was certain there were no beasts around her city capable of such destruction because that was, without a doubt, a Tier 9 beast or above.
But she didn’t jump to conclusions and leaned closer to the TV, watching closely for any sign of the beast she’d spent her entire career trying to find. Her passive expression cracked to reveal the first emotion anyone had ever seen on her face.
It was fear and excitement.
If her speculations were right, she was about to make the biggest breakthrough in her career, one that could propel her several tiers higher, covering the entire cost she’d spent searching for the beast.
Boom—
A great storm of wind suddenly swept across the mist, blowing away everything in its path, including the streamer, who immediately clung onto something.
That was when everyone saw.
Everyone finally had a closer look at the slime that had been terrorizing the entire mountain.
But no one paid it any attention now because, standing at the peak of the mountain, which now had lava spilling out of it, was a mythical creature with wings that spanned so wide that a single flap was all it took to sweep the battlefield below.
"... No way... I-Is that...?" Cindra screamed at the top of her lungs, but was answered only by the sound of a slamming door from inside the house.
When she turned, Black Rose had already disappeared into her room to log into the game.
She charged into her room as well without switching off the TV, but before she slid into her gaming pod, she sent a distress message to the guild group chat instructing everyone to assemble before the city in five minutes for the conquest, then disappeared into her pod as well.
The TV in the living room was still displaying the livestreamer, who was the last streamer alive and probably the only one to have lasted this long so far. But it was obvious he wouldn’t survive for long, seeing as the dragon lifted its colossal head and its throat turned crimson with flames.
But what he never expected to see at that moment was the hidden slime boss creating another mist as it fearlessly charged toward the dragon.
"What the hell? Does that slime actually think he can kill the dragon with that damn mist?!"
He didn’t have enough time to watch the arrogant slime boss’s satisfying one-shot defeat when his entire vision was filled with crimson flames that killed him in an instant, ending the last livestream and automatically logging him out of the game.
But what he didn’t know, and never expected, was that the entire map—including the city as well—was forcibly logged out right after him after getting one-shotted as well...
...except one slime.