A Mega Ruby Slime was, just as its name implied, the Mega version of the Ruby Slime. That meant all its abilities before were greatly enhanced! But that itself wasn't the cause of Aster's despair.
Ruby Slimes were known to be the complete opposite of normal slimes. They had bodies that were soft at a glance but were tougher than even diamonds. It would be hard to injure it unless you used magic or defense-ignoring attacks.
But field bosses gain extra resistance too, just like normal bosses. And since it already had basic projectile resistance by default, that meant the slime before him would either be immune to physical attacks or magic attacks too.
"..."
Of course, fighting it is out of the question.
Even without taking into consideration its immunity, the weakest Mega Ruby Slime would be around level 40. The gap between their levels was just too much!
Aster carefully backed away, making sure that the slime wouldn't notice him—but as if it were divine intervention, or maybe just plain carelessness...
*CRACK!*
He stepped on a dry branch, which released a loud, crisp-breaking sound. The Mega Slime stopped jiggling, and Aster quickly turned around and ran.
"SHIT!"
Of course, Slimes have no eyes, but they could feel vibrations in their surroundings. As such, wide movements would make him a lot more visible to the slime instead.
*WHOOSH!*
Tentacles flew, faster than even bullets, and hit the spot Aster was in a few seconds earlier. Of course, it didn't end with just that. The tentacles gradually closed in, making him curse even louder.
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! GO AWAY!"
As he ran, he scanned his dark surroundings, looking for traces of any of the girls. However, there were none. He was literally left alone in such a dangerous place.
*JIGGLE!* *JIGGLE!*
His speed more than doubled, and the Field Boss got slowed by the trees that Aster fell with his attack earlier. Thanks to that, he managed to escape in one piece.
Of course, he didn't lower his guard. Thanks to his senses being heightened after facing a threat to his life, he was able to locate normal Ruby Slimes jumping around.
Of course, he didn't avoid them. Slimes were practically the weakest enemy on any floor, so if he wanted to survive, then he would need to level up faster. "Give me EXP!" He growled as he ran like a madman, destroying any slime he met.
However, as expected, fighting the slimes head-on wasn't efficient.
He almost got killed by a group of three slimes, who managed to surround him, tackling him as if they were playing soccer. If he didn't luckily point his sword at one of them, and if it didn't jump straight into the sharp blade, then he would still be stuck in their midst, unable to escape, until death.
From then on, he carefully sneaked up on slimes, just like he did with Cassy on the first floor, and killed them in one swift attack.
Still, despite his pace dropping, his level was soaring fast. In just two hours, he was already at level 19! The level gap was giving him a great boost in EXP, causing an explosive increase in his level.
After clearing the slimes in his immediate surroundings, he sat amid tall grasses and started to munch on raw vegetables, staring at the starless sky. Cooking would release so many signals that he feared even wolves would find him if there were any.
"This place... is it the 25th floor?"
Based on the level of enemies, he couldn't be mistaken. However, they seemed to be too "soft" for monsters that were over 20 levels higher than him.
"No, stop thinking about useless things." Aster shook his head, dismissing the thought. "I should simply raise my level, and head to the portal leading outside fast."
He wasn't sure where that was, but he had a map of the 25th floor stored on his Holo Tab. As soon as he finds some sort of landmark, he will be able to pinpoint his location.
'But still... I wonder if the girls are alright.'
From his guess, all of them were randomly teleported into floors within the dungeon. Kali, Tina, and Liz might be fine since they're melee classes with the capability of fending for themselves, but Cassy and Lory were in danger.
"Hmmm... But Cassy might be able to outrun the monsters chasing her, so I guess she'll be fine too?"
While hoping that everyone wasn't in danger, Aster slowly dozed off and took a shallow nap.