Physical Immunity!

"Fuck! It can talk!" James yelled, his heart leaping into his throat. Without hesitation, he spun on his heel and bolted in the opposite direction.

This was the first time he'd encountered a talking alien; well, more accurately, a talking monster. His instincts screamed danger.

"…Don't…run!" the gelatinous creature called after him, its grotesque, bubbling mouth stretching into what could only be described as a warped grin. Its voice gurgled as it tried to form words. ".I.am.not.a.bad.guy.!"

"You're not even a guy!" James shouted back over his shoulder, his heart racing. Without wasting another moment, he activated his 'Night Step', disappearing from the creature's sight in an instant, blending into the shadows of the stalactites.

".Wait. Wait. For me. Ah.!" The distorted voice of the jelly monster echoed again as James crouched behind a stalactite, catching his breath. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

'Damn it, this thing never gives up!'

He glanced back, and to his shock, the massive slime was squeezing its way through the narrow gaps between the stalactites with alarming speed. Its bulky form seemed to defy physics, sliding through spaces far too small for something its size. All the while, its voice called out, relentlessly pursuing him.

"..That.side.is.dangerous. Come.back.!"

James's eye twitched in irritation. 'You're the dangerous one!' he thought bitterly.

Watching the slime approach with disturbing agility, James made a quick decision; running was pointless. The creature was too fast, and he couldn't afford to keep using 'Night Step' and depleting his already limited energy. If he wanted to escape, he'd need to confront it head-on.

'Better to strike first,' he decided.

In a flash, James teleported, reappearing directly in front of the massive jelly-like creature.

".?" The creature's body halted abruptly. Its entire translucent form tilted slightly, as if trying to comprehend James's sudden boldness. Its two rolling eyes, suspended in the jelly mass, focused on him, an almost human-like expression of confusion etched across its grotesque face.

"Let's see how you handle this," James muttered, his grip tightening around the handle of his Death Scythe. Without hesitation, he raised the scythe, its blade gleaming as it sliced through the air with lethal precision.

"Plunder!" he roared, diving toward the creature with a swift, deadly strike.

The scythe, imbued with a dark aura, cut through the jelly monster's body like butter, leaving a massive gash in its side. James landed lightly on the ground, turning to assess the damage. The slime had been almost completely severed in two.

But instead of the creature collapsing, something was off.

James stared in disbelief. Despite the huge wound, the slime's life force remained unchanged, completely unaffected. The massive gash in its body began to close, the jelly reforming as if nothing had happened. Its body continued to squirm and writhe, slowly returning to its original shape.

"What the—?" James muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing in confusion. He tightened his grip on the silver-black scythe, frowning deeply.

'The system isn't wrong,' he thought. 'So why didn't my attack do any damage?'

Both his 'Death Scythe' and 'Erosion' skills should have activated upon inflicting harm, but neither ability had triggered. It was as though the jelly creature hadn't been injured at all. His scythe, which had torn through countless enemies, now seemed useless against this strange opponent.

"What the hell are you?" James asked, frustration creeping into his voice. He glanced at the scythe in his hand, then back at the slime that was steadily regenerating. "I just cut you in half, but you act like nothing happened."

The slime continued to bubble and squirm, its body rapidly reconstituting itself. As it pulled itself back together, the creature responded, its voice thick and wet, sounding like someone trying to speak while submerged in a swamp.

"I... am not a thing," it gurgled, its eyes slowly swiveling to meet James's. "I... am a human being."

James blinked, momentarily stunned. "You're kidding me," he muttered, disbelief washing over him. 'A human? This thing?'

Once the jelly monster had fully reconstituted itself, its bulging eyes, which had been staring at James from the front, slid through its translucent body, now peering at him from the back. The absurd sight was enough to make James pause, though the creature still made no move to attack.

"Huh?" James let out a sigh of relief, his guard lowering slightly. The jelly didn't seem hostile after all. However, its next words caught him completely off guard.

".You.are.a.human.?" The jelly monster asked, its voice still thick and garbled. Its already large mouth stretched even wider in what seemed to be surprise, nearly splitting its body in half.

James couldn't help but burst out laughing. "'You' think you're a human? Even I don't claim that!" he said, still chuckling at the absurdity of the situation.

".You.are.not.a.human.?" the jelly responded, the surprise in its voice obvious. The gaping mouth seemed to open even wider, practically threatening to tear the creature in two.

Shaking his head, James decided to humor it for a moment. He took off his cracked orchid mask, revealing his face. "Nope, not human," he said with a grin. "So you can stop bothering me now."

".Huh. Huh. Huh...?" The jelly creature quivered violently, clearly startled by the revelation. Its body wobbled as if it couldn't quite process what it had just learned.

With an exasperated shake of his head, James put the mask back on and turned to leave. The creature didn't seem to mean any harm, so there was no reason for him to waste more time here. It wasn't like he needed to keep his guard up if it wasn't going to attack him.

"Where are you going?" the jelly called out, sliding after him with surprising speed.

James glanced over his shoulder, annoyed. "Why does it matter to you? And why are you following me?"

"I've never met anyone like me before," the jelly creature replied, its voice still garbled but carrying a hint of eagerness. "I want to be friends with you."

"I refuse," James said flatly, not even pausing to think.

".Why.?" The jelly came to an abrupt stop, its body shaking violently as if James's rejection had been a shock to its system.

"Because I said so." James waved dismissively as he continued walking, paying no mind to the quivering creature behind him. He might be the first monster-like being the jelly had met with human-like thinking, but that didn't mean James was about to trust it. The truth was, he didn't have any effective means to deal with it if things went south, so keeping it around felt like too much of a risk.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack as one of the stalactites nearby shattered violently. A massive mantis-like creature burst forth, its sharp forearms gleaming as it dove toward James, aiming straight for his head.

James's lips curled into a slight smirk. "Another F-grade creature," he muttered, already preparing for the confrontation. He raised the Death Scythe, ready to meet the mantis's deadly blades with his own weapon.

".Careful..." The jelly monster's voice gurgled in warning, but James had no time to react. Out of nowhere, a thick, translucent arm shot out between him and the mantis.

"What the—?!" James's eyes widened in shock. He was mid-air and couldn't stop his momentum. His scythe, along with the mantis's two bladed arms, collided with the jelly's outstretched limb.

The sickles struck the jelly's flesh, but there was no impact; no damage. The translucent arm absorbed the blow, and the jelly barely flinched.

Before James could comprehend what was happening, the jelly monster's other arm reached out, grabbing the alien mantis by the neck. In a disturbingly casual motion, another arm grew out of its body and, with terrifying strength, it tore the mantis in half, spraying blood and ichor across the cavern floor.

[Host devours 173 points of life force, life purification activated. Growth value +346 points