"Ec—Eclipse! Any time now!" Valeria yelled, glancing over her shoulder, heart pounding as the corrupted slime monster closed the distance behind her.
It oozed forward, its dark, viscous body rolling over rocks and fallen branches, absorbing everything in its path.
"Master Eclipse?!" she shouted again, thinking maybe if she called him master he'd appear.
Still no answer.
Her ponytail whipped as she dashed through the undergrowth, stumbling over roots and splashing through puddles.
She was exhausted. Did he just… leave me? Panic twisted in her gut.
Is he really that heartless? She tried to shake the thought away. I shouldn't have gone along with this plan!
Keep running, she reminded herself, recalling his instructions.
"Run this way, don't look back," he'd said, pointing deeper into the forest.
Half an hour of running, and nothing's happened!
In fact, Eclipse hadn't abandoned her.
Hidden within the shadows of a cluster of trees, he observed her frantic sprint with cold, assessing eyes.
He took a labored breath, his chest heaving as he fought to steady himself.
Pathetic, he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow.
His own weak stamina was a constant reminder that, in this world, he was leagues away from true strength.
But all this running was necessary for them to defeat the slime.
First, Eclipse knew the nature of the slime was not the same as the normal demon.
Corrupted monsters and demons both have crystals inside their body, hiding.
While the demon can move away their weakness in their body voluntarily, a corrupted monster can't.
And second, he had the power to defeat it even if it was just a while.
A small glass vial in his hand.
Hopefully this does not kill me instantly.
He glanced at the corrupted slime, noting the wreckage within its translucent body.
Twisted vines, crushed branches, fragments of forest creatures—I knew it, he thought, his heart racing, the Bloodfern.
His final herb for the trial glimmered amidst the slime's putrid form, its vibrant red petals preserved in the monster's murky depths.
Who'd have thought you were carrying that for me. And now, I'm more motivated than ever to defeat you.
He turned his gaze to Valeria, who was unknowingly leading the creature toward the exact spot he'd marked out.
We're here.
The forest thickened there, the trees clustering tightly, forcing the slime to slow.
As she entered the dense thicket, her movements faltered.
And soon enough, she tripped and fell.
The ground dropped sharply, revealing a rocky ravine below.
"I'm sorry, sisters," she whispered, her voice wavering. "Looks like I won't be the one finding you."
She closed her eyes, burying her face in the dirt. Please be gentle with me. This is my first time dying!
Just as the corrupted slime loomed closer, Eclipse acted.
He uncorked the vial, feeling the dark mana seep out, almost alive with power.
Sixty percent. Guess I'd take the chance.
It burned as it slid down his throat, filling his veins with an intense, electric rush.
His muscles tensed, his vision sharpened, and he felt a surge of strength unlike anything he'd known before.
A faint blue screen blinked into view, alerting him to a temporary power-up:
Trait Gained (9 minutes left.)
New Skills Gained.
Skill:Void Strike – Channels dark mana into a weapon, enhancing its cutting power.
Skill:Intimidating Presence – 10% chance to inflict Fear on enemies within a short radius.
Skill:Blink Step – Perform a lightning-fast movement, striking enemies in quick succession.
Valeria sits up, swaying her arms as if trying to shooed the monster.
The corrupted slime bearing down on her like a dark tide.
Goodbye, world! I shouldn't have trusted that stupid noble…
She closed her eyes, bracing herself—then felt another dark presence beside her.
Another monster!
Something flew past her.
Someone.
When she turned around, he already slashed through the air.
Splash.
The slime's body splitted.
It was a strike to finish but the dagger didn't quite reach the heart.
"Fuck…" Eclipse took a step back seeing the slime was closing his opening.
That used both of his skills. The blink step and the void strike. It was both in cooldown now, cool.
The slime's body was thicker than he thought. If only there was a way to reduce it down.
He landed just beside Valeria who had her jaw dropped.
"Eclipse… what…?"
He didn't respond, his eyes fixed on the crystal.
The slime reformed quickly, its body surging with fury.
He won't let him do that again.
Eclipse turned to his ally, "Valeria, can you still run?"
She got up slowly, feeling her legs. "I think so."
"Mana. You still have, right?"
She quickly casted once to summon a small fire on top of her finger.
"Good. When I call your name once again, you use red magic at it."
But my magic won't work, Valeria thought.
"Before that, we're going to run around it. Use the trees to your advantage. Don't die."
Valeria was overwhelmed but she could only nod at his instruction. There was not enough time to express her worries. And she almost died just now if not for Eclipse.
The wait ended.
The slime rushed toward them.
And they executed their plan.
They chose a direction apart from each other and started running trying to circle it.
The slime spit itself at Eclipse.
A bullet speed.
Missed.
But if it didn't, Eclipse would have a hole like the tree did.
Then it used the same move at Valeria.
Boom!
A tree fell.
Eclipse wasn't sure if she survived it or not. He chose to believe she did.
This went for almost five minutes and the slime had already lost track which one is which.
All his cooldown was off. And this time, he wanted the strike to land. So it had to be different.
"Valeria," he called. It was to sign for her to do it.
There was no response.
Fuck… she did get hit then…
Click.
But before he could moved to his next plan (using his speed to run away), Eclipse could hear a clicking sound.
A red light coming from behind one of hundred trees.
"Red."
Click.
A pentagon formed.
But it was too slow.
She was casting a big spell.
If Eclipse knew that she'd do this, he would already advise her not to.
That girl… I didn't mean you can cast a huge spell!
The slime had already reacted by that time.
It wouldn't allow her. And now that it knows that the girl is standing still, casting.
It's attack won't miss.
So it acted first--
Click click!
The rhythm broke, the spell casted first.
"Infernal Cyclone!"
A vortex of flame burst forth from her hand.
Before the slime could do its thing, a tornado of fire was roaring toward it.
Upon hitting, the cyclone explodes violently, sending waves of searing heat in every direction. Even some tree were caught.
The creature writhed, its gelatinous body convulsing as the flames spread across it.
The attack dealt no damage to it, of course.
It was just annoying that the fire still burned its body.
But the spell doesn't mean to hurt it, in the first place.
Valeria fell on the ground, "Eclipse, it's your turn!"
"Got it."
Eclipse launched himself at it, Blink Step activating as he closed the distance in an instant.
The corrupted slime sensed the threat too late. It was still putting out the fire.
With his blade infused with dark mana, he struck the core directly, feeling the blade sink into the crystal.
Intimidating Presence, activated.
A shudder ran through the slime, and it began to splinter.
Splash!
A hit.
Deeper now.
Watching at the side, in Valeria's perspective, Eclipse was in the monster's body now.
If he failed this time, he'd surely get eaten.
Eclipse swung his dagger with everything he had. Even when it felt like his arms were about to tear off, he kept his strength up.
Then he could feel it.
His blade touched a hard material.
The crystal cracked, a faint light flickering as the dark mana dissipated within.
Crack…
Cut.
The blade was free.
I did it.
Eclipse threw himself away from the monster as soon as he realized that.
He pushed himself too much before he couldn't react, he already crashed into a tree.
The slime froze for a while.
A thick, tar-like substance spilled from the creature as the crystal crumbled to ash.
The monster collapsed, dissolving into a dark puddle that seeped into the ground, lifeless at last.
A moment of silence…
'We did it," they thought at the same time.
Both Eclipse and Valeria took a deep breath as if trying to hog all of it to themselves.
The forest was silently burning, the remnants of the slime steaming on the ground, leaving a foul stench in the air.
As soon as the red sigil disappeared, all the fire spreading followed.
"Eclipse, I think I almost burn the whole forest... Eclipse?"
There was no response coming from him.
The girl made her way toward his employer while dragging herself.
Valeria's gaze flickered over to Eclipse, her chest heaving.
"Are you… huff. Are you still alive?"
Eclipse stayed lying on the cracked truck for a while. "Yeah. You did well, I didn't know you were a good mana wielder."
He surely thought that the slime would kill Valeria before her spell finished, after all it was a slow casting one. But she somehow managed to sped the spell up, breaking the normal rhythm. As if she turned it herself.
Valeria smiled wryly, "I... also don't know how that happened, ha ha."
Still, her magic was the only reason they are here now.
"So about my reward..."
"Take it."
And she did, Eclipse barely glance at his dagger.
A blue screen appeared.
Trait Lost.
"We're done here," he said.