Primordial Slime: I Devour The World

The next morning. Tanaka stood in front of the entrance to the second floor. Behind him were the village’s strongest hunters. The veteran slimes. The little slime. The Alpha Wolf and six others of its pack. Nobody moved. They all remembered what occurred the last time. The Crystal Golem

Their strongest foe till this day.

Tanaka glanced at everyone. And suddenly, a thought ran through his mind, using the telepathic connections that had formed between them overnight.

”Fight together.”

The wolves all lowered their bodies. The slimes bounced once. The hunt began.

---

The chamber was exactly as they left it. Blue crystals littered the walls. Swirling mana lazily floated in the air. Otherwise, there was nothing. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then, the floor trembled. Cracks formed at their feet. A giant crystalline hand broke through the floor. Another followed soon after. The Crystal Golem was rising from the depths of the earth once more. The guardian raised one arm.

BOOM!

Its fist impacted the floor, sending concussive waves rippling through the chamber. The slimes all scattered before the shockwave could hit them.Not a single one was hurt. The Alpha moved. It circled around the guardian’s legs. The golem turned. At once, three slimes shot forward from the sides.

Earth Impact!

Tiny cracks formed on the guardian’s body. It retaliated by sweeping its arm, forcing everyone back. The little slime jumped over the attack this time. Its landing was perfect. Tanaka blinked.

You’ve been practicing.

The little slime looked incredibly proud of itself.

The battle raged on. Minute after minute. The guardian was strong, but it was slow.Every moment it missed, an opening formed. The wolves took advantage of those weaknesses. The slimes expanded the damage. No one fought alone. When one slime was caught in the guardian’s grasp, a wolf leapt in to distract it. When a wolf was caught off guard, two slimes crashed into the golem’s chest to create an opening. Their teamwork had improved immeasurably.

Tanaka watched the battle with great care.

The regeneration on the guardian’s body... It wasn’t perfect. Small gaps appeared between the crystal plates. His eyes narrowed. He needed a real weakness. The Crystal Golem suddenly thrust both of its arms forward. A thick coil of blue mana surrounded its body. Tanaka’s core shuddered.

”Back!”

The mental command was rough. Unclear. But it still got across. The slimes and wolves all withdrew. A heartbeat later, hundreds of crystalline spears shot up from the floor.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The chamber was now covered in glowing points. One of the slimes was too slow to get out of the way. A spear went right through its body. It let out a silent cry of pain before the little slime rammed into it. The two rolled away from the danger. The Alpha was right there to cover their retreat. Tanaka was already at their side.

His gelatinous body wrapped around the wounded slime, extracting the mana embedded in its wounds. Devourer consumed that mana, peeling away the crystal shard from the slime’s body. The slime’s body slowly healed. It was still barely conscious, but at least it was alive. Tanaka exhaled. No one was dead... today.

The battle continued. The Crystal Golem’s movements had started to lag. Its mana consumption had grown. Tanaka noted it at once. It was tiring. Even monsters had their limits. He gave a mental grin.

”Keep moving.”

The wolves and slimes obeyed. Meanwhile, the guardian raised its arms to strike again. It missed. Turned. Missed again. Its attacks were becoming sluggish and inaccurate. The pressure was beginning to tell. The Crystal Golem let out a silent roar. Its core glowed brighter. It gathered all of the mana it could and prepared to unleash another powerful attack similar to the one before.

Tanaka recognized the maneuver. He knew what was coming.

A last ditch attack.

”Everyone... scatter!”

The mental command rang out through the battlefield. This time, the monsters didn’t hesitate. They all moved at once. The chamber emptied of all creatures, save for Tanaka himself. The torrent of mana shot toward him. Devourer opened, consuming the incoming energy.

Tanaka gritted his teeth under the sheer pressure. He pushed through the pain, redirecting the energy into his body. When the glow dissipated, he was still standing. His body trembled from the strain.

Several cracks formed on his Magic Core before slowly vanishing. He had taken the hit... and lived. The Crystal Golem was not so lucky. Its core flickered erratically for a moment before ceasing altogether. For the first time since the battle began, the guardian’s regeneration failed to activate. Tanaka’s thoughts sped up.

Now!

The Alpha tackled the guardian while the wolves did the same. The slimes leapt and launched Earth Impacts at point-blank range. Even the little slime joined in on the assault. Dozens of attacks crashed into the Crystal Golem’s body at once. It staggered, its chest opening up. Tanaka took aim. He compressed his body, gathering as much mana as he could.

Leap!

EARTH IMPACT!!

Tanaka’s body impacted the glowing core dead-center, shattering it into countless pieces.

CRAAAAAASH!!

The guardian’s body erupted in bursts of blue light as its mana was drained. It stood frozen for a few seconds before collapsing onto the ground. The entire room trembled under its weight. Silence fell over the chamber. Everyone stared at the fallen giant. Then, glowing motes of gold rained down from the ceiling, filling the monsters’ bodies with warmth.

More than any of them had seen before.

Tanaka felt his body grow stronger.

His Soul Record flared for a moment.

Devourer Lv.2 - Lv.3

Thought Acceleration Lv.1 - Lv.2

The slimes bounced happily nearby. The wolves howled in triumph.

Even the little slime rolled over a sparking piece of crystal nearly twice its size, shoving it gleefully into Tanaka’s direction. Tanaka looked at the crystal, then at the little slime. Despite the dangers of this dungeon. Despite the strong enemies they fought... Some things never changed. He happily stored the prize.