“Vueruaaaah!”
“〖Earth Bind〗… Damn it, it’s not working at all!”
“Damn, why is a 〖Dire Beast〗 here…!”
“Just run! If it catches up, we’re done for!”
A group of three humans was being chased by a Demon Beast, fleeing towards my direction.
The one chasing them was a large bear. It was that Great Bear I had fought once before—or rather, was just blown away by.
The Great Bear’s speed was quite fast. It was only a matter of time before the humans were caught.
“I’ll go help them now—”
“(Wait, wait, wait, wait!)”
“—Hyaah!?”
Just as the girl was about to jump out, I wrapped my whip around her ankle and hoisted her up.
I was surprised when she suddenly started running, but it seemed my 〖Speed〗 was higher, and I caught up quickly.
“(What do you think you’re going to do by going out there? You’ll just get killed.)”
“But if we leave them like this, those people will—”
“(That’s the same even if you go out there, right?)”
“That’s…”
I learned from the incident with the old man I met before. There was a possibility that this girl was quite skilled.
However, judging by her lower 〖Speed〗 than mine and how easily I caught her, I didn’t think she was very strong.
Seeing the girl hesitate, I became certain of it and conveyed my intentions again.
“(Listen, I’ll take care of that Great Bear. So you run. If you’re nearby, you might get caught up in it.)”
“Huh?”
I gently lowered her to the ground, and I jumped out of the bushes.
It was just the moment the humans were passing by.
“Whoa, a Slime!? And that color, the rumored—”
“Idiot, is this the time to be concerned about that! Just keep running!”
The humans ran past me.
The Great Bear followed right after, but I had no intention of letting it go.
『I’m your opponent, Bear! 〖Challenge〗 Activated!』
“Guoooh!”
~ Unidentified Information Log ~
…
Fue Toukouya | (Jewel Weapon Slime)’s 〖Folly〗 has been activated.
…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bear’s red eyes pierced me.
The upgraded version of 〖Provoke〗, 〖Challenge〗, had gained the ability to ‘have a higher effect when used against a superior opponent.’
Thanks to that, it seemed to have worked on the Great Bear without any issues.
The Great Bear took a deeper step than before—
“(〖Leap〗!)”
I jumped reflexively.
With the corrections from various 〖Skills〗, I leaped back at bullet-like speed.
—DOGON!
A crack was etched into the ground. A gust of wind blew through belatedly.
The Great Bear’s Charge and claw attack were almost impossible to see.
I grabbed onto a tree trunk and shuddered at the sight below.
“(〖Leap〗!)”
The moment the Great Bear’s eyes turned towards me after missing its first attack, I kicked off the trunk.
Almost simultaneously, the Great Bear’s figure blurred, and a roar was heard from behind. It was the sound of a tree being snapped by the Great Bear’s attack.
Seeing that with my Slime’s all-around vision, I felt a chill that a Slime shouldn’t have.
Even with 〖Blink〗, it was barely possible to keep up with its movements.
“(This is bad, I won’t make it in time to land—)”
This time, I jumped without thinking, so there was nothing ahead of me.
Before I could land, the Great Bear turned around and lowered its body slightly, preparing to Charge.
“(〖Air Jump〗!)”
I jumped sideways on the spur of the moment. The strong wind brushing my body told me that I had successfully evaded.
I had used up one of my available uses, but this was a necessary expense.
“(For now, it’s 〖Flee〗 or nothing!)”
Using 〖Leap〗 and whip movement, I jumped from tree to tree at high speed.
The Great Bear was chasing me, but there wasn’t that much of a speed difference. I should be able to buy some time to think.
First of all, the goal of helping the humans had been achieved.
All that was left was to deal with that bear.
There were two options. Fight and defeat it, or run and shake it off.
Based on my previous experience, fighting the Great Bear, which could damage me while ignoring my 〖Toughness〗, was too risky.
It would be better to shake it off.
“(But, just running away without doing anything…)”
Certainly, the Great Bear was a dangerous opponent. Fighting it would likely come at a high cost.
But, should I just run away so easily?
I was much stronger than when I fought it before. I had improved enough to be able to keep running like this.
The Great Bear was a superior opponent, but it wasn’t an opponent I couldn’t fight.
Yet, if I ran away without doing anything… I couldn’t help but think that I would keep running away from superior opponents forever.
It’s not like I value pride or dignity that much, and I think you should run without hesitation if you’re about to die.
But at the same time, I also think that there are times when you absolutely shouldn’t run, times when running away would mean losing something more important than your own life.
That’s why I don’t want to run away from things I can do.
Looking at the current situation. The Great Bear’s 〖Beast Rank〗 was probably one rank higher than mine. And its 〖Level〗 shouldn’t be that high either.
That’s because both last time and this time, it was in an area with thin 〖Mana〗.
If it were a 〖Dire Beast〗 above a 〖Greater Beast〗, it would have gone deeper in search of better prey.
But the fact that it was in a shallow area meant that it had probably just 〖Evolved〗.
It looked like a big threat because it could pierce my 〖Toughness〗, but its actual strength was quite close to mine.
It wasn’t an opponent I couldn’t beat no matter what.
“(That’s right, it might be a good idea to try a challenge here.)”
If it gets too dangerous, I’ll run right away! But I’ll do everything I can.
I secretly solidified that resolve.
“(Besides, the 〖Experience Points〗 from a 〖Dire Beast〗 are attractive after all.)”
I added a desire to my heart, easing the tension that was building up.
Alright! I’m all set!
I had already thought of a counterattack.
I gradually slowed down, closing the distance with the Great Bear.
And when the distance was just right—I crashed head-on into a large tree.
~ Unidentified Information Log ~
…
Fue Toukouya | (Jewel Weapon Slime) has acquired 〖Skill: Charge〗.
…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My body came to a sudden stop. The Great Bear took this as an opportunity and ran towards me without caution.
The first phase of the plan was a success.
“(Change of plans! I’m going to pass by the Great Bear and run away!)”
I thought about that to maintain 〖Flee〗.
And then I gathered my strength.
Due to my high speed and considerable weight, the large tree tilted slightly. It bent.
Naturally, the tree would try to return to its original position—
“(〖Leap〗, 〖Charge〗, 〖Cross Counter〗, 〖Slash〗!)”
—Using that force, I charged towards the Great Bear at cannonball speed.