Sing of wrath, O Goddess of Fire!
Here was a hymn once left behind by a shaman of a forgotten tribe.
「O you who sit in the hottest place, your breath is the flame that melts the earth.
Your ash-gray shadow is the judgment that burns the arrogant.
Ah, only the unbroken shall temper their souls in that radiant flame—!」
The flames of the abyss burn while embracing the will of those who refuse to yield.
The heat emitted by the strange flame gradually stimulated my transparent core.
Now then, what story would this nameless flame leave upon my journey?
A new stage awaited me.
***
Inside the small hollow.
I discovered an essence shaped like golden flames.
Without hesitation, I hurled my adorable jelly body at it and gulped it down.
FLASH! ROAR!
My vision flashed. Enormous flames surged within my body, and fierce heat battered my core.
"Oh, oooh, whoaaaaa—!"
The mana boiling within me.
The primordial flames dwelling in my squishy flesh were expanding my circuits without restraint and erupting through them.
A dizzying sensation, overwhelming heat that felt as though it would melt my body.
An ordinary low-level demonic beast's core would have turned into a handful of ash.
But I endured it......!
I had digested all manner of Mana Stones while cleaning Airi'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 even the bitter cold.
A slime that had governed the forces of extreme yang and extreme yin.
Thus, flames of this degree could easily be tamed.
[ Item ] Blessing of Flame (Special)
▸Base Effect: While active in the Forest of Beginnings, your damage increases and you deal flame-attribute damage to your surroundings.
▸Active Effect: Temporarily strengthens the Blessing of Flame and subjects your enemies to a powerful baptism of fire.
▸Restriction: The Blessing of Flame automatically disappears upon leaving this field.
What a fiery sensation.
A faint, heat-haze-like warmth rippled across the surface of my blue jelly.
My heart grew hot, and explosive energy filled my entire body.
'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.
Fierce acceleration.
The instant I realized I had kicked off the floor.
The violent explosive force erupting from my core fired my body toward the opposite wall.
The explosive power of flame had settled within my jelly body and was granting me rocketlike propulsion.
With destructive 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 flame between the stalactites on the cave ceiling.
It left behind a red zigzag trail.
At the end of it, a tightly sealed obsidian door blocked my path.
[Those who have not passed the Trial of Flame shall be scattered as a handful of ash.]
A warning was engraved upon the door's surface in the language of the ancient Empire.
The surrounding air began glowing red-hot.
The heaps of ash covering the floor testified to the failure of previous intruders.
The mechanism appeared to be rather difficult.
But the current me had no reason to hesitate in the slightest.
I spread the heat circling my core thinly and evenly across my jelly's surface.
Leaping powerfully, I drove the Smash Skill into the center of the obsidian door.
CRAAAAASH—!
The heavy door glowed red-hot, caved inward, and opened with a deafening roar.
Inside the room, once the heat had settled.
A single Magma Golem stood tall at its center, dormant.
Red magma ran through every gap in its body, tangled like veins.
It was the Magma Golem, the guardian protecting the essence of flame.
Sensing my intrusion, the creature flashed its crimson eyes and set its massive body in motion.
WHIR—! THUD—!
When the golem raised both arms, enormous pillars of flame poured from the ceiling.
It was an area attack that did not even grant me time to dodge.
Every direction became a red sea of fire as the cave floor melted.
But I did not dodge or retreat.
Instead, I drew the Blessing of Flame to its limit and leaped straight into the heart of the pillars.
HISSSSS—! FLASH—!
Rather than burning me, the flames that struck my body flowed smoothly along my jelly's surface.
Mana of the same attribute.
My innate Fire Resistance and the blessing had converted the external impact into pure energy.
"Heehee! It only feels warm!"
I raised the rotation of my core to its limit.
I used the golem's heat against it, explosively increasing my speed.
Turning into a red trail, I easily evaded its boiling magma 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 rock being crushed.
The explosive energy that seeped inside alongside the tremendous physical force savaged its internal circuits.
BOOM—!
With a dull explosion, the golem's crimson eyes flickered, and it soon shut down with a hiss.
The melting heap of rock collapsed helplessly onto the floor.
[You have destroyed the Magma Golem.]
[Your proficiency with the Blessing of Flame has increased slightly.]
A Firestone the size of a ping-pong ball glowed where the creature had fallen.
It was a Mana Stone formed from condensed flame mana.
Without hesitation, I picked it up and gulped it down.
GULP.
The sharp scent of cinnamon and the rough bite of spice filled my mouth.
It was the invigorating pleasure of downing strong rum in the dead of winter.
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 flame 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 heat, the lock melted helplessly and broke apart.
CLICK.
Inside the chest lay a sheet of parchment imbued with red light and a small ring.
[You have obtained a Faded Scroll of Flame (Common).]
[You have obtained a Ring of Embers (Common).]
[ Item ] Ring of Embers (Common)
▸Effect: Grants a very low chance of burning an enemy for 0.5 seconds upon striking them, dealing damage over time.
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 Embers orbited my core and released a faint heat.
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 Flame transformed my jelly body into a red-hot fireball.
CRASH—!
I slammed straight into the chest of the man in front.
Violent explosions 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 fireballs? That is impossible!"
Their panicked screams rang through the forest.
It was an explosive 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 Tang Wei (China).]
[Slime (Common) Player Wang Qiang (China)......]
[Slime (Common)......]
[You have obtained a Broken Mana Stone Fragment (Common).]
[You have obtained a Forest of Beginnings Thicket Hide (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 heat honed at the tip of my jelly struck him squarely beneath the chin.
Searing burns 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 Tanaka (Japan).]
[Slime (Common) Player Yamada (Japan)......]
[Slime (Common)......]
[You have obtained a Damaged Katana (Common).]
[You have obtained a Minor Health Potion (Common).]
[You have obtained a Faint Wind Crystal (Common).]
I bounded across the ground and raced through the forest without restraint.
The red-hot sphere of flame seared sharply 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 fierce fireball 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 they 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.
Wondrous destruction.
Merciless judgment.
Red-hot flames surged up and swallowed the earth whole.
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 climb the Black Tower.'
The Japanese and Chinese Hunters who had crawled into this forest.
I planned to expel every last one of them.
At the heart of the blazing flames, my majesty completely blanketed the battlefield.
I would burn away the intruders' arrogance and engrave upon them precisely who the true master of this stage was.
My transparent jelly trembled as my core spun furiously.
A sound boiled up from deep within my core and rang out like uncontrollable delight.
"Heh heh heh, where might my next prey be—?!"