“This, I can understand the surrounding space.”
“Huh?”
Rui frowned at Yuma’s words.
“You can understand the space? Not just where the Monsters are?”
“Yeah, it’s hard to put into words, but I can somehow recognize the surrounding terrain.”
Akito furrowed his brow and crossed his arms, saying, “What a weird ability.”
“If that’s the case, it’s not ‘Magical Power Detection’. It’s some other kind of detection ability.”
“I don’t feel any Magical Power. I think I’m recognizing the ‘space’.”
“Then isn’t it similar to a bat’s ability? They emit ultrasonic waves to recognize their surroundings, right? Your ears or sense of touch must have been enhanced!”
Akito laughed cheerfully, but Yuma was perplexed by the strange sensation.
“It’s a strange feeling. Even though I say I can feel the space, it’s just a vague image.”
As Yuma grumbled, Rui pondered something.
“Maybe it’s because you haven’t absorbed enough Demon Ore. If you absorb a lot, you might be able to recognize it more clearly.”
“Oh! I see.”
Accepting Rui’s suggestion, they decided to defeat a few more bats. Rui and Akito cooperated, and Yuma, in his Metal Slime form, delivered the final blow.
In the end, four Demon Ores dropped, bringing the total to eight absorbed into his body.
“Ah! I can definitely see the image of the space more clearly now. This might be useful for Dungeon exploration.”
Yuma felt better and hopped around in his Slime form.
“Alright, let’s go!” he said enthusiastically, and advanced through the Dungeon with a light step.
◇◇◇
Black Dungeon, 153rd Floor —
“Ah! I’ve seen that before!”
So saying, Yuma stared into the depths of the Cave.
“What’s that!? It’s so cool! There are Monsters like that here too?”
“Amazing. The surface is iridescent and sparkling.”
In front of the three, was a giant Monster resembling a Hercules Beetle. It moved slowly through the Cave, shaking the ground.
Yuma had encountered this Monster in the Black Dungeon in Yokohama.
— I passed by it without being noticed back then, but I have to defeat it this time.
In his Slime form, Yuma extended two tentacles from his head, transforming the tips into the shape of Daggers. He glared at the giant Beetle, clashing the two swords together with a metallic clang.
“It looks pretty tough, but let’s take that one down. It looks like it’ll drop a Demon Ore with an amazing ability.”
Rui agreed and nodded.
“Indeed… I’ve heard that “iridescent” Monsters in the Black Dungeon have high magic resistance. If that’s the case, the Demon Ore that Monster drops must be related to ‘Magic Resistance’.”
“Magic Resistance… I definitely want that!”
Yuma became motivated. If his 【Lightning】 resistance improved, it would be advantageous in the battle against the 【Yellow King】.
Akito also raised Gae Bolg, a grin spreading across his face.
“This is a worthy opponent! Seeing such a strong Monster makes me excited!”
“Yeah, but let’s defeat it with as little trouble as possible. We still have to advance through the Dungeon after this.”
Rui also drew his two Katanas. With their battle preparations complete, Yuma and the others jumped out from behind the rocks.
Rui and Akito slipped past the slow-moving Yuma and stepped forward. The two unleashed their magic as if to gain the upper hand.
“Vanish! You big Beetle!!”
As Akito raised Gae Bolg, black Lightning raced through the area and struck the Hercules Beetle’s body.
“Damage its head! Go!!”
As Rui drew his Katana, three Birds took flight. The fiery Birds glided towards the Beetle, colliding with its head and causing a violent explosion.
Smoke billowed around, obscuring the Beetle’s figure.
“How’s that? Did it have any effect?”
Akito grinned and looked ahead. Rui also watched the situation, his Katana still drawn.
As the smoke gradually cleared, the figure of the wounded Beetle came into view. However, the damage was less than they had expected. The exoskeleton was hardly destroyed.
“Oi oi, are you kidding me!? I put quite a bit of power into that magic! And that’s all the damage it took?”
Next to the astonished Akito, Rui swallowed hard.
They had expected magic to be ineffective, but they hadn’t anticipated such high defense.
Rui gritted his teeth and readjusted his grip on his Katana.
At Rui’s feet, the Metal Slime hopped closer.
“H-How is it!? Did we get it?”
Rui looked at Yuma at his feet and shook his head.
“Its exoskeleton is harder than we imagined, and our magic doesn’t seem to be very effective. The Monster doesn’t seem to care either.”
When Yuma raised his gaze, the giant Beetle was leisurely trying to leave.
“Hee, so even your magic barely does any damage… Then it looks like it’s going to take a while.”
Hearing Yuma’s words, Akito clicked his tongue.
“Hey, I was trying to conserve my Magical Power, so I wasn’t going all out yet. If I get serious, something like that is a piece of cake!”
Yuma nodded in agreement to Akito, who was carrying Gae Bolg on his shoulder with enthusiasm.
However, they couldn’t just stand idly by here. Yuma also extended his tentacles, brandishing the Daggers at their tips.
“Alright! Let’s go all out!!”
Rui responded with “Yeah!” to Yuma’s encouragement, and Akito exclaimed, “Of course!” The three rushed forward simultaneously, launching their attacks all at once.
Yuma extended his two tentacles at once, piercing the Beetle’s body.
Yuma activated “Ice Magic”. Blue patterns glowed on the Slime’s surface, and the light traveled through the tentacles to the Beetle.
The area around where the tentacles pierced began to freeze rapidly.
Yuma was determined to stop its movements, but the freezing range soon reached its limit.
“Damn! Magic really doesn’t work well…”
Yuma gritted his teeth, frustrated that he couldn’t inflict as much damage as he had hoped.
Ignoring Yuma, Akito thrust Gae Bolg forward, launching the six spearheads towards the Beetle.
The spearheads were clad in Lightning, transforming into Dragons that attacked the Beetle.
The Monster seemed to dislike this, trying to fend them off with its horns.
The slow and sweeping attacks were unlikely to hit, but their power was tremendous, violently destroying the surrounding rock walls and stone pillars.
“Ooh! As expected of a Hercules Beetle! Its power is top-notch!!”
Akito laughed cheerfully as he manipulated the six spearheads dancing in the air.
The six Lightning Dragons crashed into the Beetle, gouging out its hard exoskeleton. Green blood dripped from the wounds, so there was no doubt that the attacks were effective.
Akito continued his relentless assault. Not to be outdone by Akito, Rui also gripped his two Katanas and raced across the ground.
When he slashed a “cross” with his flaming Katana, a fiery Lion sprang forth, closing in on the Monster’s legs.
A violent explosion occurred, and embers and white smoke covered the area. Rui, with his Katana drawn, stared ahead as the smoke gradually cleared, revealing the situation.
The giant Beetle had lost one of its legs.