Paying homage to Seguna, even revering the Night Sister, is considered a gray area morally. It's believed that only killers and thieves worship this goddess, which makes most of the population of Ain wary, to say the least, of those who practice Shadow magic. Therefore, I shouldn't display the ability granted by the Echo of the twilight deity in public unless necessary.
At first, I planned to ask for the "Cloak of Shadows" at the first altar I found, but given the current situation, I had to pray for a different gift. And I got it, which was to be expected since I have an affinity with Shadows. The Echo of Seguna still remained in the "memory of Ain" and its energy sphere even after the Fall of the deity, and it granted me what I asked for. Without the "Shadow Leader," I wouldn't dare claim that I could kill the Slime King alone, but having this achievement, I knew I would receive exactly what I asked for. And so it happened.
As for the new task given to me by the quester, it wasn't as easy as it might seem at first glance. More precisely, if it weren't for my "memory of the future," it would have been nearly impossible. For example, this altar, where I just offered my prayer, wouldn't count among the ten that I needed to find because it was known and did not fit the "forgotten" requirement. This means that within a year, I need to find ten altars of the Night Sister that are currently unknown to anyone. If I didn't know from my "past life" where six of them were, I would most likely fail the quester's task. Or I would have to spend an entire year digging through archives, researching rumors and local legends, like some kind of folklorist. But the "past me," since my primary magic was Shadow, diligently searched for these altars, and the memory of their locations is with me now. So, I need to personally visit six already known locations and find only four on my own. It's not easy either and is akin to finding a needle in a haystack, but it's feasible within the allotted time. Moreover, when I was searching for altars in the past Cycle, I noticed certain patterns in where they could be found and in what places they were placed in ancient times.
For example, this altar fits that pattern. It was located near a dungeon, in a spot that wasn't easily noticeable. It was situated in such a way that direct sunlight could only reach it when the sun was at its zenith. There were a few other, less important nuances that I remembered.
Before returning to the platform before the dungeon gate, I covered the altar with moss again. If there were any worshippers of the Night Sister among the locals, they rarely visited her place of power, so let everything continue to look the same on the outside.
The quester's visit completely threw me off track! I had planned to train my newly acquired skill until dawn, but now all my thoughts were about something else. Individual assignments are extremely rare; half of the earthlings never received them in the last Cycle. But for the likes of Nate and Arien, such assignments were not unusual. I could interpret this visit from the quester as me developing at no slower pace than the Shards at the moment. Yes, for this, I have to strain every nerve and sometimes take excessive risks, but as they say, the results speak for themselves! And this means only one thing; I am on the right track and must not slow down. Power is like a snowball: the more you have, the more eagerly it comes to you. With one nuance: Shards are not just any snowball - they are damn avalanches! They don't seek power; power clings to them.
Right now, I am much more powerful than many earthlings. To put it bluntly, I outclass almost all the test subjects. I am even stronger than Ronin, my fencing teacher and a sword master. Compared to the last Cycle and the "old me" at this stage, I am incredibly badass. But I should not forget that I am far from being the biggest shark in this pond. First, the Shards. I'm sure they are all at least on Iron too, and they likely have many more bonuses than me. Take, for instance, the Ishia's set that Lan Lin got in the initial Arsenal! I won't be able to get anything like that for at least another two or three months if at all, provided I survive. Secondly, one shouldn't underestimate the local heroes. One annoyed sneeze in my direction from someone like Larindel, and my "great Path" would end here and now.
I greeted the dawn with these thoughts. And with the first rays of the sun, the villagers began to gather on the platform in front of the Door to the Slime Dungeon.
The blacksmith was the first to arrive, and we discussed the stakes. The rematch I proposed, especially the conditions of the new bet, was met with tremendous enthusiasm by the locals. They got so carried away and placed such amounts that when I emerged from the dungeon holding the Slime King's heart, the villagers might be tempted to bury me right here just to avoid paying their losses. They would then tell Larindel that Raven did not return from the dungeon. I had no illusions about my skills; if they attacked me in a mob, they would simply crush me. Or, more precisely, everyone would die after I, realizing that I'm losing, activate "Fire Tornado." The trouble is that after casting this spell so close, I won't survive either.
To prevent this from happening, I asked young Sun to go to the "Defector" with a request to send an observer. I highly doubted that Maestro Larinder himself would leave his ship, but I think he won't refuse the request and will send a couple of sailors. And in their presence, the locals, no matter how furious they might be, won't attack me. The wrath of a Ruby mage is not something the village population can withstand. However, counting winnings beforehand is a bad omen; one shouldn't count one's chickens before they are hatched, a very apt saying in my case.
Allowing the head of the local Tunnellers' Guild to inspect me, I repeated the conditions of my dungeon expedition in the name of Kamo, then turned to the Gate and touched it.
"One of the twelve?" I think I'm starting to get used to this question.
"Yes."
The inside greeted me with dim light and near-total silence. I had to strain my hearing to catch the faint rustling that wandered through the dungeon corridors. The passages were quite wide, with a height of about three and a half meters. Their walls, floor, and ceiling were uneven, with rocky outgrowths, stalagmites, and stalactites sprouting here and there, as well as numerous colonies of multicolored luminescent moss.
I had to be very attentive; the local slimes, as young Sun had told me, possessed chameleon-like abilities. Taking into account that these creatures were far more versatile in their choice of shape than regular monsters, a tunneller might not spot the slime until it attacked him. Moreover, these mobs moved with equal ease along the floor, walls, and ceiling. The Sulfur Dungeon was a prime example of why local tunnellers didn't wear helmets. You had to constantly turn your head here, keeping an eye on the ceiling as well, and doing that continuously in classic helmets was very difficult. Also, you always needed to listen closely, as any rustle heard in time could help you dodge the shot of a slime's pseudopod.
Activating the "Perception" and "Acceleration" auras, I took a cautious step forward. Right under my feet, some dried moss crunched. Slimes sense vibrations well and are drawn to them. I can only traverse such a dungeon solo in one style: constantly moving forward, never stopping, and not allowing the sluggish monsters to gather together from throughout the dungeon. If that happens, they will simply crush me with sheer mass, and no weapon-wielding skills, unless reinforced with the most potent area-of-effect techniques, will help me. On the other hand, I can't thoughtlessly run forward either, as I might not notice a lurking slime and get a blow to the back of my head comparable in strength to a cudgel hit.
If not for my aura-enhanced senses, I would have passed right by the first slime, which looked like an ordinary boulder lying against other, smaller rocks. But thanks to "Perception," I managed to see a slight ripple running across the monster's skin. It had definitely spotted me first, but apparently, it wanted to let me get closer to ensure a hit. I didn't grant it that opportunity. A spear thrust to the full extent of my arms, and its sharp like glass tip tore through the monster's skin, sinking into its amorphous body for three-quarters of its length.
"Discharge!" I issue a mental spell command.
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Flashes of lightning - and the creature twitched. But that wasn't enough. Pulling out the spear, I struck again, but this time in a different part of the slime's body, and commanded again: "Discharge!" This time it was sufficient. The monster, which until recently looked like a stone boulder, melted onto the cave floor as a shapeless mass.
My mana reserve will last for forty "Discharges," which is almost a third more than a typical Iron-ranked warrior can afford. However, if I spend two spells on each slime, I will quickly exhaust myself and will need to meditate. That goes against the task of quick passage without breaks. As they say, "no battle plan survives contact with the enemy;" of course, this is an exaggeration, but in this case, I will have to adapt and perhaps change my strategy.
I killed three more solitary slimes that were similarly lying in ambush, two on the walls and one on the ceiling, in the same way. But as soon as I stepped onto the intersection formed by three converging corridors, four monsters attacked me at once. Moreover, the first strike was theirs. A slime's thrust is very reminiscent of a frog shooting its tongue at an insect. The difference is that slime can attack this way from any part of its body, and the force of the blow is such that, with an unfortunate turn of events, it could break a human's ankle bone. And if it hits the head or neck, everything will be over in just one strike.
I dodged the thrust at my knee by simply lifting my leg. Not too long ago, during Ender's training, I practiced this maneuver hundreds of times a day. The second "spit" also missed as I shifted my body by taking a step forward, simultaneously making a twisting semi-rotation.
"Every defense you make, every block, every dodge should carry a threat to your opponent. It doesn't matter if it's a real or a feigned one. You decide what's more beneficial at each specific moment, according to your battle strategy. Remember, static defense is a sure way to defeat!" That's what Ronin taught the "past me," and I remembered this lesson very well. The rotation of my torso not only allowed the slime's attack to miss but also served as the initial stage of another, my own, attack. The dark obsidian tip tore through the nearest slime's skin; I continued my stride, and the razor-sharp edges of the spear widened the tear. Just a little more... Yes! With a loud pop, like someone bursting a balloon, the slime's skin couldn't take it anymore and began to rip apart, like fabric tearing at a weakened seam.
If a fan of Eastern martial arts movies were watching this battle, he would be screaming at the screen: "Look, Crane style!" And he would be right. Wide steps, deep dodges, and sharp transitions from a low stance to a high. The spear thrusts in my hand resembled the strikes of a gigantic beak. Fortunately, there was enough space at the intersection not to limit me. Thirty seconds - and my opponents were dead. I only used the "Discharge" spell four times, which was quite acceptable.
My senses, sharpened by the aura, indicated which corridor had the most slimes moving toward me. I dashed in that direction at full speed and caught by surprise two enemies that crawled across the ceiling as fast as they could. This time, I didn't hold back – four thrusts, four "Discharges," and they fell to the stone floor like torn wineskins.
The action that seemed right to me gave me a tactical advantage but almost led to a strategic loss. When I returned to the intersection, I realized that enemies would emerge from two corridors simultaneously, attacking me from the front and rear. To avoid being surrounded, I dashed into the third corridor. It was the narrowest, and three enemies were already waiting for me there. I dodged two strikes of their pseudopods but had to take the third one glancingly on my chainmail. Had I been wearing the armor over bare skin, the metal rings would have been pressed into me at that moment, tearing my skin and damaging my insides. If I had been wearing a regular gambeson, I would have simply suffered a broken rib. But due to the double-layered gambeson, reinforced with thick leather inserts, I got away with just a bruise.
Without slowing down, I continued to move forward, launching my attacks. I didn't manage to finish off one of the three enemies, but I didn't linger. I needed to get to an open area and avoid being pinned down; as for the remaining wounded one, it would catch up to me later.
And here's a new intersection. I paused for a moment, listening, determining the most promising direction.
This is the advantage of a loner. I am incredibly mobile compared to even the most tight-knit and well-coordinated squad. The complexity of these slime dungeons is that as soon as your group engages in battle, the fight won't end until either you are all defeated, or there are no more monsters in the dungeon. The slimes will simply keep crawling and crawling toward the noise. And they won't just attack one by one but will accumulate into huge clumps and roll over you like giant ocean waves. Initially, it seems optimal to meet them in a narrow corridor with shields raised, but in practice, such a formation will lead to you being crushed by their mass. A squad needs to break through to an intersection or large cave and establish an active circular defense there. Operate like a small Viking hird. Yield and defend one side with a shield wall while attacking from the other. Like a giant, biting hedgehog. And fight tirelessly until all the slimes in the dungeon are gone. The key here is not to get tired and not to make a mistake in group commands.
The Sulfur Dungeon of Quad turned out to be quite challenging for its rank. But the local monsters were not prepared for my strategy. I acted like an ace fighter. I launched swift strikes, killing one or two, and immediately broke the distance, instantly disappearing into the maze of tunnels and corridors. An ordinary person would not be able to sustain this for long, especially with armor weighing about thirty kilograms on my shoulders. A regular warrior would have lasted in this rhythm for no more than half an hour; then fatigue would set in. Movements would slow down, the mind would become foggy, and mistakes would be made. However, thanks to my achievements and their bonuses, I only grew tired when I cleared the dungeon. That is, all the common monsters in it were destroyed. This took me four hours, three of which I spent just running, avoiding clashes, meditating on the go, and restoring mana for the "Discharge."
The slimes managed to hit me six times, but I took all the hits on my chainmail. It was painful and resulted in huge red bruises, but my internal organs were not damaged, and not a single bone was broken.
Before heading to the boss room, I spent more than five hours in meditation, healing all my injuries with the "Lesser Healing" spell I learned thanks to Ximi. Yes, it took a long time, but going into battle with the Slime King without a full mana reserve and with a body aching from injuries wasn't the brightest idea.
When I finally approached the boss' room, I was prepared. First, I threw stones with the Sign of Des, drawn in the slimes' blood, at the Slime King. These peculiar runic bombs were too weak to damage such a large and sturdy monster. But that wasn't my intention; I needed to deprive him of his senses and cloud his perception briefly. The bombs worked perfectly for this. The disoriented Slime King couldn't figure out where the main attack would come from, and I struck him with a powerful blow right in the center of his massive body.
Even a material as sharp as dark obsidian barely pierced his skin, reaching only five centimeters into the inner part of the slime. But even that little was enough for me.
"Kiss of Seguna!" I mentally shouted.
The currents of mana and winds of prana whirled through my body, intertwining in precisely the right proportions and with the necessary rotation speed, instantly transforming into Shadow energy that imbued the tip of my weapon.
The ability "Kiss of Seguna," granted to me by the altar, works excellently against natural regeneration since an enemy damaged by this spell starts to lose the winds of Spirit rapidly. Almost all warriors and mages on the precious ranks know how to defend against this. Still, such protection requires resources, energy, and, most importantly, attention, making the use of the "Kiss" beneficial even on the middle Coil of the Spiral. However, those opponents are humans, while monsters that can resist Shadow skills are extremely rare. The Slime King was not one of them.
Inflicting five more wounds on the dungeon boss and applying the "Kiss of Seguna" just as many times, I leaped away from him, turned around, and ran out of the hall. I returned to the King's lair only an hour later. Of course, the boss was not dead. He remained a formidable adversary. Huge, like an elephant's carcass. He could simultaneously shoot a dozen pseudopods. His skin remained thick and sturdy. But during this time, he lost his main characteristic and primary strength - regeneration. He lost it because this unique skill of his worked on the winds of the Spirit, which had been depleted by the "Kiss of Seguna."
It was a long and exhausting fight. But I had nearly two hours remaining before reaching the dungeon's time limit, so I was in no rush, acting methodically and relentlessly. First, pelt the enemy with stones inscribed with Des to disorient him temporarily. Then get close and land several powerful attacks. Break the distance and flee the hall. Afterward, pick up a new batch of stones and repeat the cycle, widening the wounds already inflicted on the boss. After the sixth such approach, the Slime King died. He melted into a thick puddle on the cave floor and ceased to show signs of life.
The heart of the boss turned out to be a jelly-like cube the size of a fist. The liquid inside it was highly prized as the base for alchemical inks. At least five gold pieces in the Deytran market. Taking the cube with me, I made a bag from the skin of a regular slime and collected as many sulf crystals as I could, then calmly left the dungeon. The whole expedition took me eleven hours.
Too long? Well, so what? But it was reliable!