Chapter 5 Strategy Begins

He Meng took an entire sack of four-leaf clovers on his shoulder and walked out of the grass garden, coincidentally running into his father, Kari.

"Are you ready?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Good luck, and don't get hurt."

With not too many words, Kari had seen all of Yang Yu's efforts throughout the year. As a father, all he could do was silently support his child and let him walk the path he wished to tread.

Lisa watched this scene from afar, her right hand clutched tightly over her chest. She had seen all the efforts that Yang Yu had put in over the past year.

At first, she thought her son had finally decided to lead a simple and ordinary life. Little did she know, all his actions were meant to lay the groundwork for the tasks they had assigned him.

Throughout the year, Lisa had thought a lot, and with her husband's constant persuasion, she had reluctantly accepted the fact that her son had grown up.

Even so, she still hoped her son could stay by her side, marry a lovely wife, bear a chubby child, and live a simple life.

Apart from his parents, the villagers also regarded the once meek boy with new respect.

Not just because he defeated the local tyrant, but also because of Yang Yu's growth, which they had all witnessed. He had proven with his actions that no one in the village was his match anymore.

He was the hope of the entire village.

Today, everyone in the village came to send him off, presenting him with the best sword in the village.

With a sack of four-leaf clovers on his back and the Silver Sword in hand, and carrying the villagers' enthusiastic gaze, Yang Yu stepped out of the Newbie Village and came to the forest he had visited a year ago.

The sunshine here was just as bright, spilling over the lush forest.

Before long, a lump of blue jelly-like creature sprung out from the bush.

[Slime Level: LV7 HP: 230/230 MP: 70/70

Attributes: Strength 45, Defense 178, Intelligence 36, Special Defense 201, Agility 27, Endurance 30

Resistance: Physical 50%

]

A Level 7 Slime with incredible attribute values, unsurprisingly boss-level powerful. But that's where the challenge lies.

A year of farming, all for today. Staking the dignity of a player, your Experience Value is now mine to claim!

Yang Yu drew his sword.

And at that moment, the Slime was also sizing up Yang Yu.

"This human seems familiar... Oh, I remember now. A year ago, when I sneaked out, I met him twice, and he even gave me four-leaf clovers," thought the Slime He Meng.

In most people's minds, Slimes are a common and weak demon, the fodder of the fodder.

But that is just a human misconception.

Slimes had established their own city underground, with the strength to withstand any head-on assault from a human kingdom. They, too, had their own hierarchy: civilians, merchants, nobles, soldiers, and even a king and a queen.

However, there is a type of Slime that does not belong to the citizens of the Slime Kingdom. When a Slime dies, its consciousness may fade, but its body still moves and becomes a zombie among Slimes. These instinct-driven Slimes are referred to as Low-level Slimes by the Slime Kingdom.

The Slime Kingdom would expel these rapidly dividing Low-level Slimes to the surface, using adventurers to deal with the trouble, thereby achieving internal balance.

Thanks to this, most people's perceptions of Slimes remained weak and useless, which, from another perspective, protected and concealed the Slime Kingdom.

The simplest way to distinguish Low-level Slimes from citizens of the Slime Kingdom was through the use of four-leaf clovers.

Low-level Slimes had no taste buds; anything they ate was simply digested into energy for movement, everything tasted the same to them.

Slimes of Civilian status and above had the ability to discern the flavor of food and could extract essence from what they consumed to enhance themselves.

And the Clover was, without exception, the favorite food of High-level Slimes.

Although a Clover only had one more leaf than a common three-leaved one, the taste was worlds apart. If one were to draw an analogy, it was like comparing fresh Indian buffalo meat with large chunks of grilled Japanese Kobe beef – there was an insurmountable gulf between the two that certainly wasn't about whether the meat was grilled or not.

The Slime Kingdom also cultivated Clovers, but the yield was extremely low, and they were a luxury only Princes and Ministers could enjoy.

To taste this legendary delicacy, many Civilian Slimes chose to take risks and sneak out of the Underground Kingdom to the surface world.

The higher echelons turned a blind eye to this situation; after all, it was better to open the doors to a new world for the populace than to let their dissatisfaction fester within the Empire.

Thus, among the Low-level Slimes wandering outside, many Slime Kingdom citizens with self-awareness were mixed in, and gradually, rumors of Slimes eating Clovers emerged.

He Meng was also a citizen of the Slime Kingdom, but not just any citizen – it came from the Royal Bloodline of Slimes.

From this point alone, its Strength was not on the same level as ordinary Slimes.

It was easy for it, with its status, to enjoy Clovers. The reason it came to the surface world was not to search for Clovers but purely out of curiosity about the outside world.

"Meeting the same person three times is some kind of fate, I guess."

Although he had rudely swung his sword at me without distinction in the past, in consideration of him treating me to a Clover, I'll forgive him.

I wonder if he'll bring a Clover this time. If he gives me more Clovers, I might consider making friends with him."

He Meng had just thought this when the figure of the young man before him flashed, and a shiny Silver Sword swung towards it. It didn't dodge and directly took the attack from Yang Yu.

HP-4

"You've grown a lot since we first met, but you're nowhere near shaking my Defense. For the crime of daring to swing your sword at me, you shall pay with your body."

Unlike those Low-level Slimes that only knew how to defend instinctively, He Meng had been trained from a young age and knew quite a few combat techniques. Taking a Human youth seriously was as easy as turning the palm of its hand.

Adjusting its posture and bouncing up slowly, He Meng launched a warning Attack. If the warning was ineffective, it would not show any mercy in each subsequent Attack.

"Plap—"

Yang Yu dodged the Attack and threw a Clover at it.

Wriggling its body, He Meng absorbed the Clover - it was juicy and tender, and it had never tasted such a delicious Clover.

"The taste is good this time. If you stop now, I'll spare your life!"

Yang Yu had no understanding of the language of Slimes; to him, the Slime before him appeared to be just belching.

Seeing that the Slime's Status had turned friendly, he swung his sword in rapid strikes, and in a series of moves, he managed to reduce He Meng's HP by over 30 points.

"Seriously, I'm really angry now. Even if you give me more Clovers, this time I definitely won't let you off!" He Meng was very angry, but it withheld its full fury in light of the tasty Clover the other had provided, launching only a warning Attack.

Dodging the Attack with ease, Yang Yu threw another Clover.

"Just one? Are you trying to fool a child?" He Meng's attitude was adamant; its wounds would not be soothed by a mere Clover.

"Plap—"

Yang Yu threw another Clover, and seeing that the Slime ignored him, he simply grabbed a handful of Clovers and threw them.

"Plap—Plap—Plap—"

"It's too late for your bribery to work now. I know your goal, you just want to defeat me and get my Experience Value! Face my wrath!"

Originally, He Meng wanted to say this, but it couldn't help it – he had given just too many.