In less than five minutes, the three summoned slimes killed eight wild slimes.
The slime souls were finally collected to 100!
[Consume 100 slime souls to learn Devour?]
[Consume 100 slime souls to learn Basic Perception?]
[Consume 100 slime souls to learn Acid Spray?]
"It's here!"
Anno, who was lying in the grass, brightened up and immediately chose to learn [Acid Spray].
With a thought, 100 slime souls were depleted.
Anno felt as if he had been struck by electricity.
A tingling, numb sensation, almost like reaching the pinnacle of life.
It was like receiving a full-body massage.
No pain, just pure bliss and comfort.
This process lasted very short, only about three seconds.
When the tingling sensation subsided, Anno looked at his right hand.
It was as if it were etched into his DNA.
He could now use [Acid Spray]!
Since [Acid Spray] consumes 10 mana points, and Anno only had 2 mana points recovered, he couldn't use the skill at all.
Patiently waiting for his mana to recover to 10, Anno was eager to try out his first skill.
"You're the one!"
Anno fixed his gaze on a level 2 slime.
The slime was less than five meters away from Anno, and with a few quick steps, he was within three meters of its range.
Reaching his designated spot, Anno held out his right hand, palm facing the target, and raised it slightly.
"Acid Spray! Hit me!"
With a low murmur, a stream of acid suddenly shot from his right palm.
The acid landed in a parabola on the target's round body, corroding a hole in it.
Watching the target's body deflate, Anno couldn't help but smile.
"Haha, I finally learned the skill!"
Although Anno had killed many slimes with wooden sticks before, this was the first monster he had killed with a monster skill!
In terms of power, his [Acid Spray] was about the same as the slime's.
The only drawback was that it consumed too much mana.
Ten mana points per shot was less efficient than summoning a slime.
The summoned level 3 slime had 30 HP and 150 mana!
Race: Slime
Level: 3
HP: 30/30
Mana: 150/150
Skills: [Devour] [Perception] [Acid Spray]
This was much more cost-effective than using [Acid Spray] himself.
"However, the skill I learned can be used as long as I have mana. Unlike [Spirit Offering], which has prerequisites for activation!"
"I'll still summon slimes to fight from now on!"
Anno felt that summoning slimes was much more worthwhile than personally fighting the enemy.
After that, every half hour, when his mana recovered to ten points, Anno would summon a slime to assist in the battle.
Anno could only summon more slimes when there were five summoned slimes simultaneously.
Simply put, he currently only had five summoning slots!
But even with only five, these level 3 summoned slimes could easily hunt down level 1 and 2 slimes.
150 points of mana could sustain them firing [Acid Spray] 15 times consecutively.
Including the time spent searching for targets, they could kill about 60 wild slimes in about twenty minutes!
However, slimes only regenerate one point of mana per minute, and once their mana is depleted, they need to rest for two and a half hours to fully recover.
During the mana regeneration period, Anno would only attack if a slime was alone; otherwise, he would remain hidden in the grass.
He didn't want to get injured again and waste his afternoon's harvest.
Fortunately, the giant slime didn't appear all afternoon.
By evening, Anno had collected 214 slime hides!
A large area of the grassland had been slaughtered by Anno, making it much emptier.
"Chirp!" "Chirp!"
The five summoned slimes, having exhausted their magic power, now surrounded Anno.
"Well done!"
Anno picked up the slime skins from the ground, touched each summoned slime, and then put them away.
This was an ability Anno had discovered this afternoon; as long as the summoned creatures hadn't died in battle, they could be stored in a place similar to a summoned creature space.
Anno was now preparing to return to town and certainly couldn't take a bunch of slimes back with him, so he naturally put them away.
"I already have 214 slime souls?"
Anno looked at his soul reserves. He had consumed 100 slime souls to learn the [Low-Level Perception] skill for slimes.
At this moment, Anno's stats changed once again.
Name: Anno.
Race: Human.
Level: 3.
Experience: 281/300.
Class: None.
Magic Power: 30/30
Skills: [Low-Level Perception] [Acid Spray]
Talent: [Spirit Sacrifice]
[Slime Souls x114]
At Anno's current level, killing a level 1 slime only yields 1 experience point, and a level 2 slime yields 2 experience points.
While a level 3 slime yields 5 experience points and is easier to kill, the key issue is that level 3 slimes are rare on the grasslands; Anno barely encountered any all afternoon.
Despite killing quite a few slimes that afternoon, his level still hadn't broken through to level 4!
Having learned the new skill, Anno immediately tried it out.
However, the slime's passive skill became an active skill after Anno learned it.
"Low-Level Perception, activate!"
Closing his eyes, an invisible magical force spread outwards from him.
The surrounding environment immediately appeared in Anno's mind.
Grass, stones, crawling insects—all appeared in grayish-white.
Just like the scene Anno 'saw' when he took over Little Mu No. 1's body.
The only pity was that the range was only three meters in radius!
"Damn, at this close range, do I even need to use perception?"
Anno was a little annoyed.
But upon closer thought, how strong could a slime's skill be?
However, the cost of [Low-Level Perception] wasn't high; it only consumed 1 drop of magic power and lasted for ten seconds.
"Just 19 more experience points, and I can reach level four by tomorrow morning."
Anno, carrying a thick stack of slime hides, headed towards Gruul Town.
He easily found his way to the blacksmith's shop, left 5 slime hides, and sold the remaining 209 to Old John.
Old John's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw so many slime hides.
He thought he had already reached his limit by selling so many in the morning.
He didn't expect to double that amount in the afternoon!
Moreover, when Anno came in the morning, his arm had clearly been hit by the slime's acid and was injured. But
in the afternoon, he wasn't injured at all.
"What a little monster! Could I have misjudged him? Is this kid actually a professional? But his body doesn't look like that of a trained professional!"
Old John muttered as he took out two silver coins and nine copper coins for Anno.
"Kid, I still have to remind you,"
Old John suddenly said as Anno was about to leave. "There's a Slime King deep in the grasslands! Even low-level professionals would be in mortal danger if they encountered that guy. If you run into him, remember to run for your life!"
"A Slime King?" Anno thought Old John was referring to the giant slime he'd encountered that morning and quickly asked, "Have any professionals fought the Slime King before?"
Old John was silent for a moment before slowly nodding and saying, "Two years ago, slimes were rampant, destroying many crops and frequently appearing on the roads.
The townspeople pooled their money to have the mayor hire a mercenary group from Valkam to deal with the slimes.
This mercenary group thought the slimes weren't a threat, so they sent a level 5 warrior to handle it.
The first two days went smoothly, but then the Slime King appeared, and the level 5 warrior was no match for him. He was eventually eaten by the Slime King!"
"Eaten?"
Anno was taken aback. A level five professional was definitely much stronger than him.
Even so, he was still eaten by the Slime King; one could imagine how powerful this Slime King was.
Anno continued to press
, "And then?"
"And then?" Old John shrugged. "The mercenary group that died, belonging to the fallen warrior, came to Gruul town. There were nine of them, and the most powerful leader was supposedly level ten, a hunter!
They hunted slimes on the grasslands for days, almost wiping them out.
But they never found the Slime King, and in the end, they had to give up.
The mayor warned everyone not to venture too far into the grasslands, as there were very strong monsters there.
That's when the name 'Slime King' spread!
Now it seems that the Slime King really didn't die, otherwise there wouldn't be so many slimes.
In less than two years, slimes are swarming the grasslands again.
Sigh~, it's time to discuss hiring a mercenary group with the mayor again. A few days ago, when I went to Valkam, I was almost attacked by slimes along the way."
"What does the Slime King look like?"
"I don't know!" Old John shook his head and explained, "No one has seen the Slime King. But at the battle site, there's a huge crater several meters in diameter, and large areas corroded by acid.
The level of destruction is definitely not something an ordinary slime could create!
Besides, there's the warrior's weapon nearby, and... the severed arm holding the weapon!
The cross-section of the severed arm shows obvious signs of corrosion, so we guessed he was swallowed!"
Anno frowned deeply after listening to Old John's explanation.
According to the latter, a level five warrior was no match for the Slime King and was directly swallowed.
Then he was even less of a match.
Neither the several-meter-wide crater described by Old John nor the giant slime's strength seemed to fit.
This meant that the giant slime he encountered that morning was not the Slime King, but rather of a lower level.
"In that case, there are far more dangerous monsters on the grasslands than I thought!"
Anno's eyes suddenly lit up as he imagined killing the giant slime and summoning it to fight the Slime King.
Old John, thinking Anno was scared, comforted him, "But don't worry too much. As long as you don't venture too far into the grasslands, the chances of encountering the Slime King are slim.
In a few days, the town's caravan will go to Val'kam, and the mayor should bring back mercenaries from Val'kam to deal with the slimes on the grasslands.
If the legendary Slime King is still in these grasslands, he probably won't escape this time!"
"What? They'll go to Val'kam to hire mercenaries in a few days?"
Anno became anxious upon hearing this.
He was still hoping to use slimes to grind experience and money!
If the mercenaries came, wouldn't he be too late?
Without slimes on the grasslands, he couldn't defeat the goblins in the forest.
He'd be stuck in the starting village!
"No!" Anno was getting anxious. He stared at Old John and asked seriously, "When is the mayor leaving? How long will he stay in Valkam?"
"What, you want to go to Valkam too?"
Old John said with a knowing look, "I don't know the exact dates, but it won't be more than three days. Everyone is going to Valkam to sell some agricultural products and buy some goods. They'll stay in Valkam for a maximum of two days. Including the round trip, it will take about four days to get back." "
So, I only have a week left at most!" Anno walked out of the blacksmith's shop.
If he couldn't become stronger before the mercenary group arrived—at least strong enough to hunt lone goblins—it would take much longer to become stronger, and becoming a professional would be delayed!
After all, once the slimes were all killed by the mercenary group, he wouldn't have anywhere to hunt monsters anymore.
"I'll get up earlier tomorrow and work even harder!" Anno clenched his fist, feeling his increased strength, and thought, "I can't rely solely on summons. My physical abilities have improved significantly after leveling up. As long as I concentrate, it'll be difficult for slimes to hit me with their acid."
Before, Anno relied solely on summons because he didn't want to get hurt and waste his day's work.
But after leveling up, Anno could clearly feel the improvement in all his physical attributes.
With Anno's level 3 physical abilities, he could escape unless surrounded by a dozen slimes or encountered a giant slime.
As Anno passed the only tavern in town, his stomach suddenly rumbled.
"Nothing is more important than food!"
After a 'hard' day on the grasslands, he had only eaten two hard, unpalatable pieces of black bread for lunch.
As someone who only ate solid food, he was already starving.
After selling the slime skins, plus the 16 copper coins he had left, Anno's wealth had increased to 2 silver coins and 25 copper coins.
In Gruul Town, an ordinary person's daily food expenses were only 10 copper coins.
Anno's daily earnings were enough for an average person to live on for more than half a month.
But for Anno, that was far from enough.
A fine steel longsword from the blacksmith's shop cost 15 silver coins!
After entering the Lightmoon Tavern, Anno didn't skimp on the food, ordering two meat dishes for 8 copper coins, one vegetable dish for 2 copper coins, two loaves of black bread for 4 copper coins, and a drink of unknown origin for 1 copper coin.
A total of 15 copper coins!
Although the cost was a bit high, Anno didn't feel it was a waste.
With his improved physical abilities, insufficient nutrition would definitely lead to adverse consequences.
Anno had calculated this very clearly.
As for accommodation, although the cost of staying at the Lightmoon Tavern was only 20 copper coins per day, Anno didn't plan to stay there.
He didn't have any luggage and wasn't worried about being robbed by the people in the slums.
He had kept the five slime skins he had reserved in his pocket, and he kept his money close to his body. Given his current strength, the people in the slums wouldn't be able to steal anything from him.
However, one thing bothered Anno.
After Anno finished eating and drinking and was about to leave, two women dressed as waitresses came down from the tavern.
One of them was tall and curvaceous, her knee-length skirt revealing her long, slender legs.
She had healthy tan skin, a ponytail, and delicate features—a true beauty.
The other waitress looked somewhat frail, appearing to be less than 1.6 meters tall, a head shorter than the first one. Their jet-black hair cascaded down their backs, and their magnificent breasts immediately drew the attention of the male diners in the tavern!
Despite their simple clothes, the two women's radiance was undeniable.
The delicate woman walked with her head down, avoiding the stares of the surrounding customers, her hands constantly twisting the hem of her skirt.
The woman with the tall ponytail also frowned, clearly annoyed by the aggressive gazes around her.
Anno, who had already reached the door, froze at the sight.
Weren't these the bikini-clad woman and the girl in the dress he'd encountered when he woke up in the church?
How did they end up working as waitresses at the Light Moon Tavern?
Although Anno
saw the two women, they didn't seem to see him.
"They're still alive, and they've become tavern waitresses again. Things will gradually get back on track!"
Thinking this, Anno turned and left the tavern.
Anno wasn't familiar with them to begin with; aside from some 'connection' from their shared escape, they were all strangers.
Now he needed to level up, earn money to heal his severed finger, go to Val'kam to become a professional, and even open the first adventurer's guild in this other world.
Perhaps they would never cross paths again.
Lü Yan, holding Liu Rongrong's hand, seemed to sense something and turned to look towards the door, her ponytail trembling.
Liu Rongrong asked softly, "Sister Yan, what's wrong?"
"Nothing!" By the time Lü Yan turned around, Anno was already gone, so she naturally hadn't seen him.
"Work hard! The boss kindly took us in and even provides food and lodging, we can't slack off."
"Understood, Sister Yan!"
...
Anuo returned to the slums and found the spot where he had slept the day before. Finding it unoccupied, he went inside and leaned against the wall to sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already turning white.
Anuo shivered, rubbed his shoulders, and cursed, "This weather, it's so cold!"
His short-sleeved shirt, though washed, was tattered and offered no protection against the cold!
"If only my trench coat hadn't been lost!"
Anuo sneezed, checked that nothing was missing, and then left the slums.
It wasn't that Anuo didn't want to buy clothes, they were just too expensive.
A simple, coarse cloth shirt cost 80 copper coins at the tailor shop!
But given the current situation, he had no choice but to buy clothes this afternoon, otherwise catching a cold would be a huge loss.
Seeing the bakery was open, Anno bought three loaves of black bread and a bowl of water from the shopkeeper. Having solved his breakfast problem, he headed towards the grasslands outside town.
Upon arriving at his destination, Anno immediately released the five level 3 summoned slimes he had collected the day before.
"Alright~, for Lord Anno's advancement, summoned slimes, attack!"
Anno held his stick in his right hand, his eyes glowing red as he looked at the slimes on the grassland.
"Chirp chirp!"
The summoned slimes obeyed Anno's command without hesitation, immediately approaching the surrounding wild slimes.
Anno himself wasn't idle either; he swung his stick, constantly searching for targets.
Now at level three, Anno's reaction speed had improved considerably.
Even when slimes sprayed him with acid, he could dodge in time.
Any slime whose information panel he could see, Anno took down with a single blow!
As for the high-level slimes whose information panels he couldn't see...
Anno simply wouldn't approach them. Sigh~, just playing around!
What can you do to me, Lord Anno?
"Wow, I'm still pretty good!"
Anno was pleasantly surprised as he bent down to pick up the slime skin he had smashed to death.
Perhaps the giant slime had put too much pressure on him last time, causing him to hide in the back and pick off lone slimes even after reaching level three yesterday afternoon.
Just now, he charged directly at three slimes, instantly smashing one to death, then using [Acid Spray] to finish off another, before perfectly dodging the last slime's acid spray and smashing it to death with his club!
Although they were all level 1 slimes, each one still gave him 1 experience point and 1 copper coin!
At the same time, his five summoned creatures killed several slimes in quick succession.
His experience points instantly increased by 8!
"11 more experience points to reach level 4!"
Anno licked his lips, picked up his club, and transformed into a slime killer, beginning his slaughter.
[Gained 1 Slime Soul, Experience +1]
[Gained 1 Slime Soul, Experience +1]
[Gained 1 Slime Soul, Experience +2]
...
In just a few minutes, Anno leveled up.
Name: Anno.
Race: Human
Level: 4
Experience: 0/400
Class: None
Magic: 12/40
Skills: [Low-level Perception] [Acid Spray]
Talent: [Spirit Offering]
Magic cap increased by another ten points!
However, looking at the attributes of the level 4 slime he had just summoned, Anno couldn't smile anymore.
Race: Slime
Level: 4
Health: 40/40
Magic: 200/200
Skills: [Devour] [Perception] [Acid Spray] The
level 4 summoned slime was significantly larger in size. Before, it was only the size of a vegetable basket, but now it had reached fifty centimeters, and Anno had difficulty even picking it up!
The reason Anno couldn't smile was because of the increase in the slime's magic cap.
"I know slimes are monsters, so it's normal for them to have higher magic power. But why do I only gain 10 magic power per level, while they gain 50 points at a time?"
"Does this mean I have to be a summoner hiding behind my summoned creatures?
Damn it, there's no summoner among the six classes!"
Anno was both angry and delighted.
He was angry because he couldn't last long!
He was delighted because the more magic he had to summon slimes, the more acid he could spray.
"Ah! I need to go to town!"
Anno smashed a level 2 slime to death.
"I need to heal my left hand! " Anno
smashed another level 1 slime to death.
"I need to make money, I need to become a professional!"
Anno smashed yet another level 1 slime to death.
"So, slimes, don't blame me! Your sacrifices are all for the great Lord Anno~!"
The neurotic Anno kept talking to the dead slimes, and the slimes on the grassland were turning into slime skin at an extremely fast speed!
Half an hour later, Anno's magic was fully restored, and he replaced all his summoned creatures with level 4 slimes.
Level 1 and 2 slimes on the grasslands only provide 1 experience point each, and level 3 slimes only provide 2.
But you might only encounter one level 3 slime after killing dozens! As for
level 4 wild slimes, he'd only seen one since morning.
He'd collected quite a few souls and hides, but the experience points were increasing too slowly.
After more than three hours, he'd only gained 220 experience points, still 180 points short of the next level.
Anno, who'd been wielding the stick for a while, felt his arms getting sore and decided to take a break.
He'd let his summoned slimes continue to harass wild slimes while he collected and organized the slime hides.
"201 slime souls added, total 310! 206 slime hides? Hmm? Oh~, I kept five as spares yesterday. Hehe, I earned two more silver coins this morning!"
Anno, his eyes practically glowing with greed, was grinning mischievously when he suddenly realized one of his summoned slimes had lost signal.
As a summoned creature, Anno could always sense the presence of his summoned slimes.
There was only one situation where the signal would be lost!
"What was that? How could it kill my level 4 slime?" Anno immediately looked towards the location of the slime that had lost signal.
After leveling up, although summoned slimes were still fragile, they were much faster.
Unless ganged up on, they were unlikely to be hit by the acid from low-level wild slimes!
Anno had just turned around when he saw a giant slime dozens of meters away leaping straight towards him.
"Hiss~, it's it!"
Anno grinned, immediately getting up from the ground and gripping his wooden stick tightly.
Although the giant slime was expressionless, Anno seemed to sense its boundless rage.
However, this time Anno didn't run away. Instead, he immediately called back the four level 4 summoned slimes scattered around him.
Anno was going to try and defeat this giant slime!
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Each time the giant slime bounced and landed, it made a loud thud.
When it reached about ten meters in front of Anno, the giant slime stopped, facing off against the wary Anno.
This time, Anno had ample time to observe the giant slime.
From its appearance, it was just an enlarged version of a low-level slime, a meter in diameter!
But Anno's previous experience of being injured told him that this opponent was not easy to deal with.
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The distance was too great, and Anno dared not approach rashly, so he could only wait for the opponent to attack first.
Fortunately, he had rested for a while, and his 40 points of magic power had been fully replenished!
"If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move!"
During the standoff, Anno's muscles were tense, ensuring his body could react instantly if the giant slime attacked.
A few seconds later, the giant slime couldn't hold back any longer and spat a mouthful of acid at the motionless Anno.
Like a high-pressure water jet, the acid immediately rushed towards Anno, who was ten meters away.
"Dodge!"
Anno moved, rolled to the side, and rushed forward after getting up.
"100%, full power!"
Anno shouted loudly, slamming his club down hard on the slime in front of him!
But just as the distance between them was about to close to the club's attack range, the giant slime leaped up and charged towards Anno's face.
A giant slime with a diameter of one meter was no small feat!
"Thump!"
Anno felt as if his head had hit a stone wall, and he stumbled back two steps and fell to the ground.
Getting up from the ground, Anno felt dizzy and his body was somewhat unsteady.
The next instant, the giant slime aimed at Anno's abdomen and rammed into him again.
Caught off guard, Anno's body was bent into an arc and sent flying several meters away.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood spurted from Anno's mouth, instantly clearing his dizzy head.
Seeing the giant slime about to charge again, Anno quickly ordered his summoned creatures, the little mums, to fire acid!
Although the level 4 mums were only half a meter in diameter and the amount of acid they sprayed was small, it still burned five thumb-sized holes into the giant slime.
After being injured, the jelly-like substance inside the giant slime immediately flowed out through the holes.
But before Anno could even laugh, he discovered that the holes were slowly healing.
In less than five seconds, the holes were completely healed!
"No way, it can even heal itself!"
Anno's expression immediately changed. Seeing the giant slime leaping towards him again, Anno quickly dodged.
"Thump!"
The giant slime landed on empty air, bouncing and turning around.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Anno swung his club and smashed the giant slime a few times.
Normally, he could smash a level 1 or 2 slime with a single blow.
But now, Anno felt like he was hitting cotton; his club barely caused any damage to the giant slime!
"Damn it, if I had a bladed weapon, this would definitely have sliced its body open!"
Anno, who had jumped back to create some distance, looked at the wooden club in his hand and shook his head helplessly.
Based on the feel of the touch, Anno knew that the giant slime's hide was much tougher than that of lower-level slimes; the rounded wooden club simply couldn't break it.
Seeing the giant slime perform another spraying motion, Anno quickly ran backward.
Unexpectedly, seeing Anno running away, the giant slime shifted its target to the summoned slime.
The little slime, whose number was unknown, jumped around trying to dodge, but was still hit by the arm-thick column of acid and turned into specks of light and dissipated.
"Little Mum, Acid Spray!"
Seeing this, Anno didn't let the remaining Mum stay away from the giant slime. Instead, he had them jump to the giant slime's side and spray acid in unison.
"Sizzle!"
The acid corroded four small holes in the giant slime's body, and a lot of jelly-like liquid flowed out from the holes.
But soon, the wounds healed!
This time, however, Anno noticed something different.
"Last time it healed in five seconds, but now it took eight seconds!"
Although it was only three seconds, it still gave Anno a glimmer of hope!
"Its self-healing must have a limit. If the wound is big enough, it might not be able to heal!"
"It's a pity I can't see its panel, otherwise I could make a further judgment!"
Anno held the wooden stick and walked to the front of the giant slime to attract its attention. Then he had the Mum stand together, preparing for the next [Acid Spray]!
"Chirp chirp!"
When the giant slime saw Anno approaching, it ignored its traitorous brethren and charged at Anno again.
Anno quickly dodged and maneuvered around the giant slime.
Once the little slime's [Acid Spray] had cooled down, Anno brought the giant slime to the front of the little slime.
"Spray!"
The four little slimes aimed at a point directly in front of the giant slime and simultaneously used [Acid Spray].
The acid immediately corroded a fist-sized hole in the giant slime's front, and a large amount of bodily fluid gushed out!
"Squeak, squeak!"
The giant slime seemed to be in pain this time, jumping around incessantly.
Anno's eyes lit up, thinking, "It's working!"
He had the slimes concentrate their attacks on one point to compensate for insufficient damage.
It took the giant slime a full half minute to heal this large wound.
A layer of slime slime covered the surrounding grass.
The giant slime, having stopped jumping, immediately spat an enhanced version of the [Acid Spray] at the slimes who were preparing to launch again.
Because it was so sudden, the slimes had no time to dodge.
Seeing that the acid was about to hit the four slimes, Anno instinctively recalled them.
The acid hit the spot where the slimes had disappeared, corroding a patch of grass.
Anno summoned the slimes again, and a slight smile appeared on his lips as he watched them hopping around.
"I can simply recall the little mummies, wait for their cooldowns to expire, then suddenly release them to blast the giant slime, and then recall them again!"
After repeating this several times, the giant slime would be crippled, if not killed!
Every time the giant slime was injured, it would release some of its internal slime.
The slime was essentially the slime's flesh and blood; losing a large amount of slime would kill the slime!
Anno was overjoyed at having come up with a new way to fight with its summoned creatures, while the giant slime seemed oblivious to the danger and launched another attack.
"Haha, come on then!"
Anno changed his strategy, abandoning the attack and beginning to taunt it relentlessly.
Once the little mummies' skill cooldowns were over, he would unleash a volley of attacks.
After several rounds, the giant slime's entire body had shrunk twice in size.
Wherever the giant slime passed, slime was everywhere.
Finally, after being hit by a volley of attacks from the suddenly appearing little mummies once again, the giant slime sensed something was wrong.
It abandoned Anno, turned around, and ran towards the depths of the grassland.
But having come this far, how could Anno let it leave unscathed?
"It's time for revenge!"
Anok hadn't forgotten how he'd spent a silver coin healing his injured arm yesterday because of the giant slime.
"Quickly die, and then serve me!"
The injured giant slime's jumping speed slowed considerably.
The holes corroded by the little slimes' [acid spray] also healed much slower.
Before it had run a hundred meters, the giant slime was covered in holes, its entire body oozing slime!
Watching the giant slime weaken little by little, Anno felt a surge of excitement.
However, a large swarm of low-level slimes appeared ahead. If he continued to send the slime further into the grassland, Anno would be blocked by these low-level slimes.
"I can't let you get away!"
Anno was waiting to summon the giant slime as his summoned creature; how could he let it escape?
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With a burst of speed, Anno quickly overtook the giant slime in front of him, blocking its path.
"Chirp!"
A somewhat anxious chirp came from the giant slime.
Seeing Anno blocking its way, it spewed out acid and leaped up, trying to jump behind Anno.
Anno easily dodged the acid attack, then looked up at the giant slime in mid-air and summoned the ready-to-attack Mums.
The summoned Mums appeared in mid-air, no more than two meters away from the giant slime.
Four streams of acid accurately hit the giant slime.
After the giant slime landed, due to gravity, a large amount of slime gushed out from the holes in its body!
The giant slime, like a fountain, lay motionless on the ground.
Just then, the Mums ran out of magic power, and Anno's pitiful magic power was long gone.
Carrying a wooden stick, Anno cautiously walked up, intending to deliver a fatal blow.
Just as Anno reached within two meters of the giant slime, the latter suddenly sprang up, its wounded body splitting open horizontally in the middle, and lunged at Anno.
"Holy crap!"
Despite his caution, Anno never expected the giant slime to pull this stunt.
In a panic, he summoned his four little slimes to shield himself, while simultaneously swinging his wooden stick at the giant slime.
Without pausing, Anno turned and created distance.
The summoned little slimes had saved Anno, stuffing the giant slime's gaping maw.
As the maw closed, Anno sensed their demise.
"Phew!"
Anno looked at the giant slime, its body slick with slime, slowly wriggling deeper into the grassland, filled with lingering fear.
His wooden stick had also been half-swallowed, its rough, beveled surface covered in corrosion.
If he had reacted any slower, it wouldn't have been the little slimes that were swallowed and corroded, but him!
"That was close!"
Anno wiped the cold sweat from his brow and hurled the stick at the giant slime.
"Pfft!"
The bitten end of the stick pierced the giant slime's body.
Anno saw the giant slime tremble, then stop moving altogether.
Less than a minute later, a green mass rose from the deflated giant slime and merged into Anno's body.
"The color changed!"
Anno exclaimed, puzzled by the green soul.
When he saw the panel display "[Gained Large Slime Soul x1, Experience Points +120]", Anno nearly jumped for joy.
Clearly, the monster Anno had always called a giant slime was actually called a Large Slime, and it was a very high-level one!
When Anno killed a goblin at level 0, he only received 70 experience points.
But the Large Slime gave him 120!
"The Large Slime's level is definitely over level five!" Anno was certain.
It wasn't just the different soul color; the panel also listed the Large Slime Soul separately!
Previously, whether it was a level 1 or level 4 slime, killing it always resulted in a regular slime soul.
Anno picked up the large slime skin from the ground, eager to summon the giant slime, but found he lacked mana.
Retreating to a safe spot, Anno recovered his mana and rested to regain his stamina.
After battling the giant slime for about ten minutes, Anno's stamina was completely depleted, just like his mana.
Ten minutes later, having recovered some mana, Anno tried to summon the giant slime again, but the interface displayed that he couldn't sacrifice a green soul of level 6 or higher because his level was too low!
"Damn it!"
Anno cursed angrily. He was still 60 experience points away from level 5, let alone level 6.
Packing up his things, carrying the slime skin and the broken wooden stick, Anno prepared to return to Gruul Town.
Judging from the sun's position, it was already noon.
Even from a distance, Anno could see smoke rising from the chimneys.
Entering the blacksmith's shop, Anno placed 200 slime hides on the counter and shouted to Old John, "I'm here to deliver!"
Old John stared at Anno, whose clothes were covered in dust from the battle with the giant slime, and his lips twitched uncontrollably.
He'd killed hundreds more slimes that morning.
Was this guy really an ordinary person?
No, right?
Definitely not!
If an ordinary person had this ability, there wouldn't be so many slimes outside the grasslands; they would have been wiped out long ago!
"Here are two silver coins, keep them!"
Anno didn't notice the change in Old John's tone. He took out the wooden club, now only half-broken, and asked, "My weapon is broken. Do you have any weapons here that cost one or two silver coins?"
It wasn't that Anno didn't want to buy a good weapon; he had been eyeing that fine steel longsword for a long time.
But he didn't have the money!
Including these two silver coins, Anno's entire fortune was only four silver coins plus a few copper coins.
Old John took the wooden club, examined it for a while, clicked his tongue in amazement, then went to the weapon display wall, searched for a while, and took down a short sword.
"This short sword is 50 centimeters long, with a 12-centimeter hilt and a 38-centimeter blade. It's priced at 8 silver coins! However, I can give you a discount; I can sell it to you for 5 silver coins!"
Old John handed the short sword to Anno, smiling broadly. "But, you must sell any slime hides you find nearby to me first. I'll still buy them for 1 copper coin!"
He was willing to lower the price by 3 silver coins because Old John had high hopes for Anno.
Slime hides could be used to make clothes or leather goods, and in Valcalm City, one hide could sell for 1.3 copper coins.
Old John was buying them from Anno for 1 copper coin, and after deducting all expenses, he could earn 20 copper coins for every hundred hides.
At Anno's rate of killing four or five hundred slimes a day, Old John would earn back 3 silver coins in just a few days.
This was a profitable deal.
Anno understood that Old John wanted a long-term partnership to prevent him from selling slime hides to other merchants in town—the market merchants also bought slime hides for 1 copper coin each.
He was actually very tempted, but the problem was...
"I don't have that much money!"
Anno couldn't produce five silver coins.
"Hahaha, at your slime-hunting speed, you'll have it soon!" Old John laughed heartily, showing no intention of sheathing his short sword. "You can pay a deposit of three silver coins first, and as long as you can pay the remaining two silver coins within two days, I won't charge you interest!"
Saying this, Old John took out a piece of parchment, wrote down the right of first refusal for the slime skin they had just discussed and the two silver coins owed, and then handed the pen to Anno.
Anno glanced at it, didn't find anything wrong, and signed his name.
Walking out of the blacksmith's shop, Anno had a short sword at his waist, and his only possessions were one silver coin and a few copper coins, still owing the blacksmith two silver coins.
"Just two silver coins, I can pay off the debt this afternoon!" Anno stroked the scabbard of his short sword with his right hand, took a deep breath, and muttered to himself, "With a new weapon, let's set the target for this afternoon at 300!"
With Anno's current strength, plus the newly equipped short sword, killing 300 slimes in one afternoon is not an exaggeration.