Nobody moved for a long time.
The Slime simply remained in the middle of the clearing, wobbling gently from side to side. It looked as innocent and harmless as a creature could possibly be, as though it couldn’t hurt a fly.
...Considering that a fly could, well, fly, one might jokingly wonder how the thing would even manage to catch one.
’That’s it?’
For a moment, Dan wondered if the commotion had attracted something dangerous that had come to investigate, only for the supposed threat to turn out to be a Slime.
Wasn’t this something he could casually kick without even thinking about it?
Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who had reached that conclusion.
"Tch. Here I thought it was something else. Just a stupid Slime."
The spearman clicked his tongue in irritation upon realizing the source of the disturbance, his previous caution disappearing almost immediately.
Lowering her bow, the archer glanced at him with a teasing smile and said, "Seriously? You sure made such a big deal over a Slime?"
"I didn’t make a big deal out of anything."
"Oh, really? Aren’t you the one that nearly jumped out of your armor? Or am I mistaken?"
"W-what... what the hell are you talking about, you little shit!? Wanna fight?!"
"Ready when you are!"
"Ugh. Can you two shut up for five seconds?"
These guys...
Furrowing his brows, Dan wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by their nerves in this situation or concerned about their intelligence.
The Slime, meanwhile, seemed completely oblivious to their conversation.
Boing–! Boing–!
Bouncing up and down, the gelatinous creature slowly approached one of the jackal corpses and stopped beside it.
"Looks like it’s hungry."
"So? Let it eat. There’s no need to disturb it."
"What are you talking about? If we let it be, wouldn’t it be a waste of EXP?"
"Huh? Are you seriously planning on killing a Slime for EXP?"
"Yeah? What of it?"
"Um... isn’t that a little pathetic? Or, wait a minute. Are you the type who secretly enjoys bullying things weaker than you?"
"S-shut up, alright? If you don’t need the EXP, I do!"
"He’s got a point, though. We came here to hunt monsters, didn’t we?"
Perhaps encouraged by the Group Leader’s words, the spearman pointed toward the Slime.
"Exactly! Why leave free EXP sitting right in front of us?"
However, the female archer seemed considerably less enthusiastic.
"Because we’re already carrying enough Soul Cores, and a Level 1 Slime is barely worth anything."
"Experience is experience."
"Not when killing it takes longer than the amount you get."
"I can kill it in one hit."
The spearman confidently spun his spear before lowering it toward the Slime.
"Watch."
"Do whatever you want." The archer waved her hand dismissively, as if washing her hands of the matter.
Meanwhile, the hammer wielder merely rubbed his temple and sighed. It seemed this wasn’t the first time he’d had to deal with this particular brand of stupidity.
The spearman, however, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
As if determined to prove his point, he approached the Slime with his spear resting casually against his shoulder. The creature, on the other hand, didn’t react to his presence which probably filled his confidence and his not-so-friendly smile widened too.
Dan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
There was something strangely unsettling about the scene.
Perhaps it was because the Slime looked so harmless. Or perhaps it was because he had already learned the hard way that appearances in this world could be deceiving.
Either way, Dan didn’t take his eyes off the creature.
Stopping within perfect stabbing distance, the spearman drew his arm back and thrust forward.
The tip shot directly toward the Slime’s center.
"See? Piece of—?!"
Shocked, the spearman trailed off. The seemingly killing blow had failed to pierce the Slime’s core, as the creature simply moved it to the side the moment the spear entered its body.
It was an absurd reaction speed that didn’t fit a mere Slime.
A second later, while its assailant was still stunned by this development, the Slime spat out a small glob of translucent liquid directly toward his face.
"Wh—?!"
Before the young fellow could comprehend what had transpired, he immediately let out a shrill scream.
"AAAAARGH! H-HOT! HOT! HOT!"
The spearman dropped his weapon and frantically clawed at his face as he stumbled backward, eventually falling onto the ground in an utterly ungraceful manner. But the spearman didn’t seem to care about his unsightly appearance as he continued rolling around in agony.
Steam began rising from his skin.
"What the hell?! Acid!"
"Damn idiot! Quickly, get him away from it!"
Without thinking twice, the archer rushed forward with a sense of urgency and grabbed the fallen spearman by the back of his armor before dragging him away from the Slime.
The Group Leader immediately stepped forward and crushed the Slime with its hammer.
Spurt–!
Under the heavy impact, the Slime’s gelatinous body burst outward beneath the hammer, splattering across the ground like a puddle of blue-tinted jelly.
But that wasn’t the end of their troubles.
More Slimes of different sizes slowly emerged from the surroundings. It was almost as if they had sensed the murderous intent directed toward their brethren and had come to teach these nasty lots a lesson or two.
For some reason, the sight reminded Dan of a group of thugs arriving to avenge one of their own.
Now, one might wonder how something as harmless-looking as a Slime could remind him of a gang of thugs. Dan wasn’t entirely sure either.
But whatever the reason, this wasn’t good for the three hunters because within moments, they found themselves surrounded on every side. Every possible route of escape had been sealed off one after another, while more than a dozen Slimes continued arriving and gathering around them.
’Yep. They’re screwed.’
He couldn’t imagine a scenario in which those three were coming out of this alive.
Not only was one of them already down for the count, but the archer didn’t seem particularly adept at close-quarters combat, which left only the hammer-wielding leader. But even he wouldn’t be able to defend himself, let alone his companions, against a barrage of acidic fluids coming from all directions.
These Slimes weren’t playing around.
If you were going to commit to an assault, you had better destroy their core in one hit. Otherwise, make a run for it.
There was nothing they could do, and nothing Dan could do about it either.
The thought of going down there and helping them himself crossed his mind. After all, he could always make a dramatic entrance, save the three helpless hunters, and paint himself as some mysterious Savior.
It was completely out of the question, though. Even if he was lucky enough to kill one or two Slimes, what would he do about the other fifteen or so?
There were simply too many!
’This is what you get for being arrogant. Why the hell don’t you have a healer, or is that too far above your budget? Not that it matters since you’re going to be dead. Killed by freaking slimes. How does that make you feel, huh?’
Roles were extremely important, regardless of whether this was reality or an MMORPG. Healers and DPS were essential to any well-balanced party.
Even if you didn’t have a ranger or mage capable of dealing AOE damage from long range, you absolutely needed someone who could heal the party in the event of unforeseen circumstances or devastating injuries.
... Alas, these lads had none of that and were now paying the price for their short-sightedness.
With a sigh, Dan quietly left his position, not wanting to stick around when the inevitable happened.
It only took a few moments before dying screams stabbed into his fleeing back.