CHAPTER 70: SEVER, STUDY, SLICE

"Argh, fuck! What a great way to begin!" Aurelian groaned, dangling in midair, one of the mutant slime’s tentacles holding him loosely above the ground.

"Maybe jumping at it wasn’t exactly the wisest decision," he muttered, slamming his mana-coated fists into the tentacle. Faint hairline cracks spread across its surface.

"Fucking tough bastard," he cursed. That blow would have been enough to crush any other level-35 uncommon acidic slime into a mist of blood. His words froze in his throat as the slime’s green eye flared dangerously, glowing with light. A low shriek echoed from its maw before the tentacle clutching him twitched violently.

Crimson spikes, bubbling with white acid, sprouted along its length and raced toward the edge.

"That can’t be any good," he groaned, fists hammering down desperately. He punched holes through the flesh, but the sheer thickness of the damned tentacle rendered his struggle useless. In seconds, the spikes erupted outward, piercing into him. Acid surged into his body, corroding his insides, before the slime hurled him into the dungeon wall with raw force. The impact unleashed a rippling shockwave as his body smashed into the stone, leaving behind a bloody crater before collapsing to the floor.

***

"Huh? He’s... dead?"

"The mutant slime finished off the Grim Reaper in one move... we’re fucked!"

"Huh? Who’s the Grim Reaper? Is that him? Was he really that strong?"

"Wait...did that blow actually dent the dungeon wall? That’s impossible. The walls are basically impenetrable! For that to happen, both sides must be monstrous."

"Come on, get up, Grim Reaper! You can’t die on us....not yet! Kick its ass and all my life savings are yours!"

"You really think he’s not dead?"

"No, you haven’t seen him fight. Look, he’s getting up!"

***

"Good thing I boosted my toughness, or that blow would’ve flattened me like a pancake," Aurelian groaned, feeling vitality surge through him. The essence from slain acidic slimes flushed the acid from his body as he forced himself upright.

A faint outline of the beast’s power flashed through his mind. This was perhaps the strongest foe he had ever faced. The gap in strength was enough to tell him one thing, the level difference far outclassed him.

But the battle wasn’t hopeless. Not yet. In fact, it had just gotten a hell of a lot more interesting. A grin spread across his bloodied lips before he spat out a mouthful of blood. His gaze flicked behind him, catching the faint outline of a crowd forming. At the front stood a familiar face, Lena. Panic colored her features, and for reasons he didn’t quite understand, a warm feeling surged through him.

Behind her, the rest of the group shouted remarks, voices raised in desperation, cheering him on.

"Strange," he whispered, before shifting his attention back to the mutant slime. Its eye hovered on him curiously, like it was examining a specimen worth studying, as it slowly closed the distance.

Inhaling sharply, he pushed himself fully upright. "Do your thing, White Bladey," he murmured. At his call, the blade spiraled to life, glowing in resplendent light before hovering beside him. Then, it fired a radiant beam that cascaded over him.

[You have been blessed by the Light of the Blade of Light! +10% to all physical attributes while in combat!]

"My turn now," Aurelian growled. Strength surged through his veins, soreness vanishing as wounds stitched closed. His body streaked forward, appearing within range of the mutant slime just as its tentacle lashed out.

A sharp smile curved across his face. "Now!"

At once, the Black Blade that had circled behind the slime buzzed violently. A world of darkness unfurled from it, shadowy wisps smothering the beast and slowing its movements just enough. Aurelian seized the White Blade, leaping upward and cleaving down on the same tentacle that had once held him.

The strike severed it cleanly.

A high-pitched shriek split the chamber as the slime writhed in agony, flailing wildly and crashing through the dungeon like a deranged juggernaut.

"We’re almost even now," Aurelian muttered, marveling at the terrifying piercing power of the blade.

He flickered, vanishing from sight, then reappeared before the next tentacle, cleaving it apart. Then the next. And the next. He repeated the brutal rhythm, engulfing the mutant slime in a storm of pain.

With every slash, its speed waned. The Mist of Doom pressed harder, the soul-severing property of the blades cutting deeper. It was only a matter of time now, he thought smugly, until his danger sense exploded.

His Instincts screamed at him before he blinked away, vanishing just as the spikes along the beast’s frame launched outward. They tore through the air with a shriek, a storm of crimson projectiles blasting across the chamber with terrifying force.

"Cunning bastard," Aurelian breathed. "Trying to take me down with you?"

But his words froze as the slime’s body flared crimson. Its figure was engulfed, only to emerge moments later...fully regenerated.

Every tentacle he had severed... had regrown. Stronger and now sharper around the edges. Its aura now radiated with an even heavier weight.

Aurelian’s eyes widened.

"Uh... come on. That’s straight-up cheating now!" he groaned, watching the beast barrel forward before sighing.

"Time for round two then, huh?" Aurelian breathed, scanning the beast before him, his eyes lighting up with a faint ethereal glow as he activated his metaphysical vision.

Only this time, the sight was different from what he expected. The beast had two gleaming orbs rather than one, and even stranger were the glimmering strings knotted into tiny glowing dots that pulsed with energy, surging across its body.

"Hm. Strange... do they have something to do with its healing ability?" he hummed, flickering ten meters away to dodge a vat of acid that sizzled into the ground below.

His figure continued to flicker in and out of sight, slipping through each strike with ease. For something so massive, the slime was surprisingly agile, yet still not fast enough.

And just like that, a one-sided exchange unfolded. An enraged Mutant Slime King unleashed a storm of attacks: spewing vats of acid, swinging its monstrous tentacles, hurling its body in bursts of speed, and launching volleys of spikes, all in a desperate bid to crush the youth before it.

Yet Aurelian did more than just dodge. While weaving between the predictable attack patterns, he studied the strings and glowing nodes, occasionally slipping in a strike just to watch their reactions. Finally, a smile curved his lips.

"Let’s see you heal from this."

In a blink, he appeared before the Mutant Slime, his fingers outstretched, that carefree smile hanging on his face. Then he began his barrage, rapid strikes precisely tapping at the glowing knots he’d been targeting all along.

His figure moved like liquid, slipping effortlessly around the slime’s furious blows. The beast faltered, confused, its mind unable to process why the human wasn’t doing any real damage.

"Done," Aurelian muttered, reappearing behind it. He watched as what he now thought of as its healing neurons crumbled, the energy-strings tied to them unraveling into nothingness.

He could have gone further, severed the glowing orbs outright—but where was the fun in that?

"After all," he smirked, "what kind of guy would I be if I didn’t slice you up a bit first?"