Chapter 16 - Slime Beast Mode
Lucien's breath hitched. His heart thundered in his chest.
"What the hell... is this?" he muttered, staring at his trembling hands.
[Ting!]
[Slime-based skills now linked to Slime Beast Mode...]
***
Skill (Active/Passive): ★★★★★
Illustration: A humanoid slime shrouded in a fierce, radiant aura.
Name: Slime Beast Mode
Description:
• Active – Temporarily gain the physical nature and instincts of a slime. Amplifies all slime-based skills by 100%.
• Passive – Slime skills can be accessed without activating Slime Beast Mode. All linked abilities are stored within.
***
• Doubles the potency of slime skills within its area of influence
• Reduces negative side effects while in range
When the notifications disappeared, Lucien couldn't help the grin stretching across his face.
"My first five-star skill! Hah—HAHAHA!" His laughter echoed through the trees. "This is huge!"
He glanced at the earlier notification. The Rainbow Slime Lord Statue… whatever it was, its buffs were insane. He made a mental note to track it down later.
If he calculated it right, the skill and statue together multiplied his slime abilities by fourfold.
Lucien felt unusually lucky this time.
He didn't hesitate.
"Slime Beast Mode Activate!"
A surge of unknown power erupted within him. He could feel his body changing, reshaping into something new yet he couldn't quite grasp what had transformed.
But one thing was clear. A powerful aura now radiated from him.
Then he looked down.
His eyes widened.
He had become... translucent.
"W-What the—?!" Panic started to rise—until he remembered the skill's description.
It's temporary.
He exhaled in relief.
To test his new strength, he leapt.... and nearly shot into the trees.
"…I'm bouncy?"
Before the enemies could catch up, Lucien took a moment to test his newfound strength. Slime Beast Mode had given him more than just power. It granted him unbelievable mobility!
His body moved with a strange fluid grace. Every joint felt loose yet responsive. He darted around the forest, leaping from spot to spot with ease. Each bounce carried him farther than expected.
He twisted mid-air.
Flipped.
Bent.
Rolled.
His body moved almost like liquid.
More than that, his instincts were sharper. Danger felt louder and movement clearer. It was as if his entire body had become a living sensor.
The enemies were closing in but Lucien no longer felt fear.
The strongest among them was a Tier 4 but with his slime skills now amplified fourfold, he wouldn't even need the traps he had laid earlier.
Finally, the two assassins emerged from the trees.
They froze the moment they saw him.
Wide-eyed, their expressions twisted in disbelief.
Lucien stood still, his form almost invisible. His body shimmered with a translucent and eerie glow that made him blend into the forest like a living mirage.
They immediately fell into a cautious stance. They hadn't heard of this skill before but their instincts screamed danger. These were trained killers, honed by the Coalhearts to follow orders without question. They didn't flinch easily.
But this time, Lucien didn't wait.
Without warning, Lucien unleashed his attack.
The skill echoed in the air as he fired twice.
The enemies tensed. They we ready to dodge as they expect the usual slow-moving blobs of goo.
But what shot out was anything but ordinary.
Two massive blobs... thick and gleaming... blasted forward like cannonballs.
Fast.
Heavy.
Unrelenting.
Even Lucien blinked in surprise.
"Whoa-whoa-WHOAA! What a big, sticky fluid! GAHAHA! Taste my sticky fluid, you bastards!"
What was once a minor nuisance had become a battlefield menace.
The oversized shots slammed into the assassins before they could react.
"AGHIKK!!"
Both were struck dead-on.
Their feet lifted off the ground as the slime blasts launched them through the air like ragdolls. They flailed mid-air before crashing into a nearby tree with a loud thud.
But the goo wasn't done yet.
The viscous slime spread like living glue, pinning them to the bark with sticky tendrils that clung to their limbs and armor. They squirmed and struggled to tear free.
Lucien didn't give them the chance.
He bounced forward... literally. His elastic, slime-enhanced body launched him in a blur toward the Tier 4 warrior.
He landed beside him with a grin.
"What a sticky situation you're in."
And with that terrible dad joke, he drew his Ironbite from storage and slit the man's throat in one clean motion.
Warm blood spilled. The body slumped.
But Lucien's grin faded. His instincts screamed.
He turned.
Something was coming.
Fast.
A barrage of fireballs streaked through the air, crackling toward Lucien like comets.
The mage had freed himself. 'This clever bastard must've burned through the goos.'
Lucien didn't panic. With a flick of his wrist, he called out instinctively.
"Gelatin Shield!"
But nothing happened...
"Eh? …Shit. I forgot it got blasted earlier—"
BOOM!
A cluster of fireballs struck where he stood. The explosion rocked the trees, throwing smoke and debris into the air.
For a moment, silence.
Then... fwip!
Something burst from the smoke.
It was Lucien.
Completely unscathed.
He slid across the ground like a rubbery bullet. His body stretched thin. His limbs flopped weirdly as he rebounded off a nearby rock and landed upright with a wet plop.
He blinked. "Whoa… okay, that was not on purpose…"
Turns out, his new body was far more flexible...and slippery... than he thought.
"I guess I am a slime now," he muttered, wiggling his now slightly wobbly arms.
And then...
"No more playing around," Lucien muttered.
He leapt.
In a blink, he was in front of the mage.
"You almost killed me twice," he said coldly. "Don't expect to die easy."
He crouched down and...
"SLIME SHOT!"
The blob struck the mage in the gut and launched him skyward.
Lucien made a stance. He then straightened with his fists ready. A dangerous glint lit up his eyes.
"Gomu Gomu no…" Tension gripped the atmosphere. And... "GATLING!!"
A flurry of rapid punches barraged the airborne mage.
"ORA ORA ORA ORAAAA!"
Each blow hit with bone-crushing force.
Keeping him aloft.
Bouncing him higher.
Blood spraying with every strike.
The mage wheezed. He twisted his body midair trying to cast but...
"Too late."
Lucien ended it.
He leapt once more, palm flat.
WHAM!
He slammed the mage's head into the dirt like a hammer to a nail then immediately followed up with a point-blank
Silence.
Lucien stood over the mangled corpse, brushing off goo and grime.
"Oh how the tables have turned," he said, grinning.
No guilt.
No hesitation.
Just a clean kill.
Lucien stood in silence, his gaze lingering on the fallen enemies.
He couldn't shake the feeling. These killers had stories of their own. There was something off about their status. When he had used SCAN earlier on the three that chased him, the answer had been clear.
[Status: Brainwashed]
That was it.
It seems that the Coalhearts hadn't just trained assassins… they manufactured obedience.
"A skill, maybe? That would explain it... Dreggor and Rodyart didn't have that status though," Lucien muttered to himself, eyes narrowing. "But that Rodyart… he's different. Smart. Reluctant. Maybe the Coalhearts got some dirt on him. Sigh..."
He let the thought trail off.
It didn't matter.
Not right now.
Lucien had long let go of the idea of clean hands. Sympathy? It was a luxury he couldn't afford.
Not in this world.
Not anymore.
Not with killers knocking at his door.
Anyone who threatened his life... would be erased.
With that, Lucien turned and walked toward the manor, his steps quiet but his thoughts loud. The battle was over but the questions it left behind were far from answered.
And something told him... this was only the beginning.
Lucien sighed, letting the quiet settle around him as he took a moment to assess the aftermath of the battle.
There were too many variables.
Still, he felt a small comfort. His Life-Link Talisman hadn't activated.
His thoughts then drifted to AUTO-COLLECT.
It had been more useful than he expected. Who would've thought he could target an object and have it collected? It had even saved his life earlier by retrieving the dagger that almost killed him.
But it wasn't flawless.
"If the inventory's full, auto-collect fails…" Lucien muttered to himself, mentally noting the risk.
Good thing he had dumped all those useless drops earlier.
Speaking of the slime plushies he'd thrown from the cliff, he wasn't that far from the spot now. Maybe...
His eyes widened slightly.
"Wait a minute...The plushies and the Rainbow Slime Lord Statue… Was there a connection?..."
The thought lingered, tempting him.
But no. He couldn't rush it.
Not yet.
He exhaled, grounding himself. Curiosity tugged at him but so did caution. Whatever force he had brushed up against earlier... it wasn't ordinary.
"Later," he whispered to himself. "I'll come back prepared."
And with that, he continued toward the manor with his mind racing.