This was the song of a blind poet.
He sang of the master of the heavens who grasped thunderbolts and commanded the clouds.
「O you who sit upon the highest seat, your wrath is the light that cleaves the earth.」
「Your breath is the storm that summons dark clouds, so let foolish mortals cover their ears and prostrate themselves before its roar.」
「O master who grants light to the blind and judgment to the proud.」
「Only the brave shall offer their souls to your radiant feats and seize the glory of the heavens.」
A gaze looking down from the highest peak, an authority none could defy.
That hymn had begun at the Empire's frontier and set the hearts of countless heroes ablaze.
Thunderbolts that split the sky are always objects of both fear and awe.
The opportunity before me now might also be a fragment of that distant legend.
Now then, what inspiration would this radiant thunderbolt awaken along my journey?
It was time to find out.
***
Inside the small hollow.
I discovered a gently glowing, lightning-shaped essence.
Without hesitation, I hurled my adorable jelly body at it and gulped it down.
FLASH! RUMBLE, CRASH!
My vision flashed. Lightning struck within my body, and violent sparks battered my core.
"Oh, oooh, whoaaaaa—!"
Even though I had not employed the breathing method of the Lightning God Style.
The mana boiling within me.
The primordial lightning dwelling in my squishy flesh was expanding my circuits without restraint and erupting through them.
The shock felt as if it would make my body burst.
An ordinary low-level demonic beast's core would have shattered into pieces.
But I endured it......!
I had digested Mana Stones while cleaning a Dragon's nest.
I had swallowed red crystals from the furnace and taken flame mana into myself.
In the Underground Garden, I had chewed and swallowed blue mushrooms to overcome the bitter cold.
And on top of all that, there had been the Dream Tree tea and Nebula Candy Airi bestowed upon me.
Those elixirs had tempered my mana circuits until they were as sturdy as steel.
A body that had already governed the forces of extreme yin and extreme yang could easily tame lightning of this degree.
[ Item ] Blessing of Lightning (Special)
▸Base Effect: While active in the Forest of Beginnings, your movement speed increases and you deal lightning-attribute damage to your surroundings.
▸Active Effect: Temporarily strengthens the Blessing of Lightning and rains powerful bolts upon your enemies.
▸Restriction: The Blessing of Lightning automatically disappears upon leaving this field.
What a thrilling sensation.
Faint electrical currents rippled across the surface of my blue jelly.
My body had grown as light as a feather, and the force propelling me through the air had become even stronger.
'Heh heh heh. With this, I can really go wild...... can't I?'
Now that I had obtained this ability, it was time to test it.
I lightly launched myself toward a thick rock inside the hollow.
I moved faster than the eye could follow.
The instant I realized I had kicked off the floor, my body was already touching the opposite wall.
The nature of lightning had settled within my jelly body and was assisting its contraction and relaxation.
With mobility like this, I could toy with any enemy I encountered.
Since I was already here, I decided to explore a little deeper into the cave.
I needed a clear sense of how to weave this power into actual combat.
I kicked off the floor and leaped into the air.
My blue jelly ricocheted like a ping-pong ball between the stalactites on the cave ceiling.
It traced a bewildering zigzag trajectory.
At the end of it, a tightly sealed bronze door blocked my path.
[Those who have not passed the Trial of Lightning shall be scattered as ash.]
A warning was engraved upon the door's surface in the language of the ancient Empire.
This was a mechanism I had challenged once and been annihilated by during my days as a Hunter.
After I grew stronger, there had been no particular need to challenge it, so I never returned.
But the current me had no reason to hesitate.
I spread the lightning circling my core thinly and evenly across my jelly's surface.
Leaping powerfully, I drove the Smash Skill into the center of the bronze door.
CRASH—!
The heavy door caved inward and opened with a deafening roar.
Inside the room, once the dust had settled.
A single metal golem stood tall at its center, dormant.
Blue lightning ran across its entire body, tangled like a spiderweb.
It was the Lightning Golem, the guardian protecting the essence of lightning.
Sensing my intrusion, the creature flashed its crimson eyes and set its massive body in motion.
WHIR—! THUD—!
When the golem raised both arms, thick bolts of lightning poured from the ceiling.
It was an area attack that did not even grant me time to dodge.
Blinding flashes flooded every direction, scorching the cave floor black.
But I did not dodge or retreat.
Instead, I drew the Blessing of Lightning to its limit and leaped straight into the heart of the thunderbolts.
CRACKLE—! FLASH—!
Rather than burning me, the lightning that struck my body flowed smoothly along my jelly's surface.
Mana of the same nature.
The breathing of the Lightning God Style had converted the external impact into pure energy.
"Heehee! That does not even tickle!"
I raised the rotation of my core to its limit.
I used the golem's thunderbolts against it, explosively increasing my speed.
Turning into a blue flash, I easily evaded its metal fist.
I twisted my trajectory in midair and slipped behind the golem.
The joint at the nape of its neck, where its power source was housed.
I concentrated my core's mana and forged my jelly into a solid hammer.
Adding the acceleration of my fall, I brought it down without mercy.
THWACK—!
A heavy sensation like bones being crushed.
The lightning that seeped inside alongside the tremendous physical force savaged its internal circuits.
BOOM—!
A dull explosion.
The golem's crimson eyes flickered, and it soon shut down with a hiss.
The heap of scrap metal collapsed helplessly onto the floor.
[You have destroyed the Lightning Golem.]
[Your proficiency with the Blessing of Lightning has increased slightly.]
A Thunderstone the size of a ping-pong ball glowed where the creature had fallen.
It was a Mana Stone formed from condensed lightning mana.
Without hesitation, I picked it up and gulped it down.
GULP.
The sharp scent of peppermint and the biting tingle of carbonation filled my mouth.
It was the invigorating pleasure of downing an ice-cold beer in midsummer.
My core trembled, and it felt as though my Soul Rank had risen by another stage.
This was the moment that the extraordinary power of lightning proved itself in actual combat.
An iron chest abandoned in a corner of the cave caught my eye.
It had to be the reward the golem had guarded.
I bounced lightly over and climbed atop the chest's lid.
Its heavy lock bore the marks of long years.
When I tapped it with the tip of my jelly clad in lightning, the lock shattered helplessly.
CLICK.
Inside the chest lay a sheet of parchment imbued with blue light and a small ring.
[You have obtained an Old Scroll of Lightning (Common).]
[You have obtained a Ring of Static (Common).]
[ Item ] Ring of Static (Common)
▸Effect: Grants a very low chance of paralyzing an enemy for 0.5 seconds upon striking them.
Although it was only Common Grade, it was a piece of equipment capable of producing some useful twists in the early floors of the Black Tower.
Without hesitation, I gulped the ring and the scroll into my jelly.
I stored the scroll in my subspace.
The Ring of Static orbited my core and formed a faint magnetic field.
My core trembled at the useful haul.
Now then, my preparations were complete.
It was time to begin the hunt, and I slipped out through the gap in the ancient tree.
The forest was filled with faint commotion.
The sounds of branches snapping and tough boots trampling the soil.
The Hunters were starting to comb through the field.
The air of approaching battle began to settle over the Black Tower.
I leaped atop an ancient tree thick with leaves and concealed my presence.
Propelling my jelly, I moved toward a clearing where the flow of mana grew denser.
That was when it happened.
"Oh, a slime."
"Heh heh. Looks perfect for a warm-up...... doesn't it?"
A group of Chinese Hunters emerged through the underbrush, their red armbands gleaming.
Two Hunters in expensive magical gauntlets approached with arrogant swagger.
When they spotted me, relaxed smiles spread across their faces as they closed the distance.
'That arrogant look. You really think I am an easy target, don't you?'
A splendid golden dragon emblem was embroidered across their chests, and their gait dripped with the continent's characteristic conceit.
Feigning nonchalance, the pair moved to block my escape.
Their shallow plan was to treat a low-level monster like a toy and pick up some easy experience.
Mercy did not suit men like these.
I could clearly picture in my head exactly how I would crush their arrogance.
FLASH—!
I did not hesitate.
I kicked off the ground and shot into the air.
The Blessing of Lightning transformed my jelly body into a projectile of lightning.
CRASH—!
I slammed straight into the chest of the man in front.
Violent discharges sprayed in every direction, instantly collapsing the enemy formation.
"Gaaaaagh! Wh-what is this......?!"
"This is insane! A slime on the Black Tower's second floor can use lightning? That is impossible!"
Their panicked screams rang through the forest.
It was a lightning-fast ambush that gave them no time even to raise a barrier.
Unable to utter so much as a scream, they scattered into dazzling clouds of light.
[Slime (Common) has defeated Player Zhao (China).]
[Slime (Common) Player Liu Fang (China)......]
[Slime (Common)......]
[You have obtained a Minor Mana Potion (Common).]
The sound of loot falling.
'How sweet.'
I swallowed the potion and sought my next prey.
A faint scent of cherry blossoms drifted past on the wind.
"What, a slime?"
"Haha, it will be perfect for warming up before the hunt."
This time, Japanese Hunters wearing cherry blossom emblems appeared.
Three men dressed as warriors, sharp swords hanging at their waists.
They exchanged jokes with one another and casually rested their hands upon the hilts of their swords.
Their hakama were neat, but their eyes glittered like blood-starved jackals.
It was the childish behavior of men trying to flaunt their swordsmanship against a low-level monster.
Arrogance dripped from every step they took.
CLANG—!
A sharp katana flew toward me, tracing an arc through the air.
I flexibly twisted my body aside, let the sword energy glance past, and slipped into his reach.
SWISH—!
The lightning honed at the tip of my jelly struck him squarely beneath the chin.
Paralysis and shock struck at once, and his eyes rolled back as he collapsed.
Unable to maintain his form, he turned into blue particles of mana and was forcibly ejected.
The Black Tower's merciless system had declared his defeat.
[Slime (Common) has defeated Player Suzuki (Japan).]
[Slime (Common) Player Yamada (Japan)......]
[Slime (Common)......]
[You have obtained a Minor Health Potion (Common).]
I bounded across the ground and raced through the forest without restraint. Blue lightning sharply carved through the forest's silence.
The system messages appearing at the edge of my vision accelerated my heartbeat.
[Enemy defeated!]
A single kill.
Foolish Hunters tumbled across the ground.
[Double Kill!]
Two consecutive kills.
The knees of the tank who had endured behind his shield buckled.
[Triple Kill!]
I turned 3 Hunters in succession into clouds of light.
A blue thunderbolt slammed into the back of a fleeing mage.
[You're on a Roll!]
The system began broadcasting my might across the battlefield.
The triumphant announcement rang out the instant my kill count exceeded 3.
[Quadra Kill!]
The fourth Hunter swallowed dust as he tumbled across the ground.
Despairing screams filled the forest.
[Massacre in Progress!]
The relentless devastation continued.
Once I had defeated 4 of them, the modifier turned chilling.
This was no longer their hunting ground. It was merely a stage prepared for me......!
[Penta Kill!]
Five enemies scattered into clouds of light.
Exhilarating.
I landed lightly atop an ancient tree.
I had a clear view of the backs of those fleeing in terror below.
'Hmph. As if I would stand by and watch you rule the Black Tower.'
The Japanese and Chinese Hunters who had crawled into this forest.
I planned to expel every last one of them.
I hereby proclaimed that this was my territory, and they were nothing more than unwelcome guests.
My transparent jelly trembled as my core spun furiously.
A sound boiled up from deep within my core and rang out like uncontrollable delight.
"Heehee, this is so fuuuuuun—!"