Gelibali is a pristine, undeveloped forest where towering cedars spread their silver needle-like leaves, and the thickets are mostly low-growing shrubs bearing red berries.
From a distance, this forest looks like a dark green fog covering the ground. The rich black soil is covered by fallen leaves and decaying wood. Strolling through the forest, the air is filled with the fresh scent of pine and morning dew.
However, the adventurers who entered the forest were not fooled by this peaceful scene. After all, Grebari was known as the "Darkest Forest in the North of the Southern Territory." It was not only a paradise for wild beasts, but also a habitat for many dangerous monsters.
"Snap—"
The sound of twigs snapping echoed through the woods, and the next second, a sharp arrow shot out swiftly, mercilessly striking the small beast hiding behind a tree.
"Squeak!"
The arrow was incredibly fast. The white rabbit with horns only had time to let out a howl before it lost its life. Crimson blood flowed from the broken neck, staining its pure white fur.
"Hey! Osik, blood splattered on fur is hard to wash off. At least make sure you know what kind of prey you're hunting before you start!"
The red-haired man in the adventure party picked up the horned rabbit, examined it for a moment, and then somewhat disgruntledly shouted towards the higher ground:
"Honestly, a horned rabbit pelt is worth at least two silver coins, but now we can only sell it to the butcher at a pittance. That wretched old Jack, he always gives us the lowest price!"
The cedar branches swayed slightly, and a nimble figure descended from above. It was a green-haired man dressed in mercenary attire, who appeared to be an archer in the group, carrying a bow about half his height on his back.
“If you hadn’t insisted on going to Westco County, how would we have received this mission? Although low-level slimes are not a threat, dealing with a large number of them is troublesome! And haven’t you heard about that terrible rumor lately?”
A red-haired woman in a cloak standing nearby exclaimed in surprise:
"Huh? Osik, are you talking about that rumor?! That terrifying witch who lives deep in the forest, who not only kidnaps passing villagers and adventurers and steals their money, but also forces adventurers to eat slime?"
"Eat slime?"
The red-haired man gave a disgusted look:
"I would never eat that disgusting stuff, even if it were made into a delicious dish! What kind of strange hobby does this witch have? Sure enough, magicians are all strange people."
The green-haired archer shook his head:
"Well, maybe it's just a rumor. Our mission this time is to clear out the forest slime horde. According to the information provided by the villagers, the large group of slimes suddenly moved their settlement half a month ago. Normal slimes don't have intelligence, so I suspect that a special individual, the Slime King, may have been born. Everyone should be careful; hordes of slimes are not a good opponent."
The red-haired girl stared wide-eyed in surprise:
"Huh? Slimes, such low-level monsters, can give birth to special individuals? That's really strange. Osik is indeed a half-elf! He even knows about this kind of thing!"
Osik frowned, subtly covering the pair of pointed ears beneath his long hair that were different from those of normal humans, and said:
"This remote village doesn't even have a proper place to sleep, and the food is awful. If it weren't for the reward, I wouldn't have agreed to take on this mission. I need to finish this mission quickly and go back to report—"
As they were talking, Osik suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed intently on the depths of the dense forest. The red-haired man quickly crouched down, parted the bushes to examine the area closely, and his expression also turned serious.
"How can there be so many slimes! The quest only mentioned about a hundred slimes, but there are probably over a thousand!!"
Beyond the bushes in front of the three, they could clearly see a large patch of slimes hopping around on the grassy field beyond the dense forest. Each slime was a different size, and they would devour each other, occasionally secreting clumps of slime.
If the slime balls are left unattended for a long time, they will turn into new slimes. This unique way of reproduction is one of the reasons why slime populations can survive.
Strangely, instead of swarming into the village to prey on livestock or harm humans as usual, they stayed within a fixed area as if under some kind of command.
"So a special individual has indeed been born? This is bad. If so, a special individual that can command so many slimes at the same time must be a monster of the Slime King level. There is no way we three low-level adventurers can handle it."
Osik cautiously retreated into the woods to discuss a plan with his companions:
"It would be best to report the situation here and contact the Adventurers' Guild to have them send higher-level adventurers to handle it—be careful!!"
Before they could finish speaking, the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled violently, a huge black shadow fell from above, and large spheres of water rapidly descended, engulfing the three of them without warning!
...
...
"Duang—Duang—"
"Duang—Duang—"
The translucent blue slimes bounced on the grass, their numbers significantly fewer than on the first day. However, slimes do not have the concept of "companions," so they are not frightened by the decrease in their population.
"Let me see... Cold slime salad, stir-fried slime with wood ear mushrooms, mint slime balls, stir-fried slime with celery, and slime with cabbage heart and preserved egg—"
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