Chapter 104: Thunderstruck

Chapter 104: Thunderstruck

Despite being a victim of gravity, my slime cushioned the landing, so I didn't appear to suffer much damage from the impact. I reformed my shape while I regained my bearings. I opened up my status to check my condition, as I was a little concerned since I felt odd.

Name: Syl [Dungeoneer]

Race: Chimeric Mimic Slime (Blue) LV 10

Class: Shadowcaster LV 11

Status: Injury (Minor)

Mana: Ō̵̯͇̞̜̥̜̲̬̼͉͙̻̜̉̅̈͝v̴̼̤̈͑̃̀̆͑͛̐̊̈̍̔͜e̶̢̛͖͓̦̤͉̰͍̭̣̯̔̏̓̿̋̌̓͒͛͗͝͝r̵̢̢͓͚͖͕̲̫̞̟̼̬̯͋̊ͅf̴̛̪̯͖̍̋̈́̎͐͑̈̍̇̿̐͂̚l̴̢̡̛̛̬̟̖̪̟̖̹͍̹̩̐̇̓̉̽̈́͗̈̈̔̈́̀̕ő̴̧̫̣͙̹͙̺̻̗̗̜̳̆̅̑̌̾̒͝ẘ̷̛̼̻̦͔̱͉̞̿̓̏̔̋́̊̊̚͝í̸̛͖̳͕̗̥̬͙̤͚̓̅̎͋̾͒͠͝n̶̢̖͎͚̬̯̼̘͖̳̘̜̹̯̎̂́͠g̶͖͕͕͒̓̍̽̊̆̏͌́̐̑͝

'Oh no... What's happened to my mana? That doesn't look good.' I groaned.

I had also gained a class level at some point during that scuffle, but my notifications were a mess. There was the pegasus profile, which was labeled [Equine] for some reason. I had also gained a new spell level, and... Something happened to my traits. I decided to put that all aside for now; I wanted that yellow slime more than anything else. I quickly confirmed that I could still use mana, firing an [Arcane Bolt] at the ground.

'Hopefully, it's just a visual problem... I'm sure Gramps will notice it and fix it.'

If that yellow slime was anything like me, I knew it would be heading towards the meal it secured. If I was lucky, I could ambush it while it ate and secure that delicious core for myself. I started heading in that direction while quickly examining my new spell.

The new spell [Arcane Armor] sounded great; it would create a mana barrier on myself, shimmering and protective, like a second skin. It brought back memories of the transparent slime coating I used as a goblin, which hilariously gave my previous deception a little validity. Unlike other forms of defense, however, it seemed to prevent a fixed amount of damage before expiring based on the amount of mana expended and seemingly limited by my [Arcane Magic] level.

I hesitated to experiment with it too much, but I figured a good defense would benefit me. However, when I tried to cast an empowered version, it refused the extra enhancement. I cast an enhanced [Arcane Bolt] and blasted the ground, relieved that I hadn't somehow lost that functionality with all the mana strangeness.

'I guess it's like [Decay] in that it has its own internal scaling. I'll have to see if I can take it apart or apply it in other ways later.'

I heard what sounded like an explosion going off in the distance near the yellow slime, different from the thunder cracks, but I couldn't pay attention. I needed to escape. I had a momentary realization when Alpha tried to use the Earthshaker that the description of yellow slimes mentioned using earth or nature magic against them.

I had to assume rock and wood had some protection against the ruthlessness of lightning, but without the affinities, I could only give inferior imitations. Still, it was better than nothing; even the draconic scales proved useless. I had no time for aesthetics and merged whatever was possible with the nature boar and rock bear, creating some chimeric monstrosity out of necessity and grabbing both [Barkskin] and [Earthen Carapace].

I recast my armor spell again as I scrambled away, just in time for another bolt to lash out against me. I tried to evade, but the speed was far beyond me, and I heard the familiar shattering sound again before what remained of the lightning reached me. It struck, and the pain was immense. Once again, it penetrated through me, but I noticed considerably less lightning had reached my delicate innards. The bark and rock seemed to partially insulate me against the lightning.

As I tumbled across the ground, the sound of another explosion went off. I was filled with regret at my overconfidence and my lack of preparation. I had access to the guild's library; why didn't I do research on what yellow slimes or lightning could do? Or asked Lisa about it, as it was her element. I had read the warning about using water against it, which seemed to be my primary affinity as a blue slime, and even if it was some time ago, it was stupid for me not to consider it.

I had two more [Defy Death] triggers left, so I had to make sure I got away before they expired. I heard another violent explosion going off, and I finally glanced toward the source while refreshing another [Arcane Armor]. The yellow slime was surrounded by fire, and less than half of its original slime mass remained. Something had attacked it, but I had no idea what. I saw it building up another bolt of energy, and as I turned to retreat, I noticed a large [Fireball] forming next to me.

I was confused. In this strange state of seemingly broken mana, I hadn't even noticed the spell pulling on it. I hadn't ordered an attack; why was the spell being formed? My stunned thoughts weren't fast enough, as when the bolt of lightning shot towards me, the [Fireball] launched as if counterattacking. That sparked my memory.

'Beta! No!' I screamed, unable to stop the attack.

I had remembered too late. I had given Beta a counterattack order and never dismissed or replaced it, just like how Alpha had moved to defend my life automatically under another order given at the same time back when I was confronting Krutz.

Perhaps because the attack was visible, [Evasion] had tried to give me an early warning. I dodged as fast as possible, my body practically surging out of the way with alien movement only possible as a gelatinous slime. I wanted to cheer when I saw the bolt wouldn't strike me directly when I noticed it curved partway and redirected into me.

I wanted to scream at the unfairness of the situation, but pain overwhelmed me after I heard the familiar shattering sound. By now, I had lost count of how many times [Arcane Armor] had been destroyed.

I had lost all my [Sub-Cores], and I likely only had one [Defy Death] trigger left. Then I heard the explosion. If I had a heart, I was sure it would have stopped when I saw the flood of notifications.

.