Free Web NovelVieya watched the three little ones fight from the side, seeing everything with perfect clarity.
Rorina, who obviously could have been used as the c-position, was instead being used as a hate-drawing meat shield. Maixi, who had the longest legs and was the fastest runner of the three, was taking the acid volleys of the giant slime head-on while trimming the slime’s “toes” from below.
As for Jasmine—she looked like she was performing the best. At a wave of her staff, several kinds of magic blossomed in neat, gorgeous explosions across the giant slime, the spectacle grand, like a festival.
But in reality, she was treating magic like cheap pebbles and hurling them in chaotic handfuls.
A whole series of operations fierce as a tiger, but the scoreboard shows 0–5...
Vieya covered her face. She felt that even after death she would have no face to see that golden-haired Demon King in heaven.
To think they were fighting a slime—yet their effective damage was nearly negligible. Instead they only managed to throw their teammates into frantic disorder, resentment building all around.
“Little Jasmine has... a few complaints about her teammates.” Vieya’s tone was worried.
If not for her guarding from the sidelines, Jasmine’s fighting style would get her killed sooner or later.
Thinking of this, she decided to raise Jasmine’s difficulty level a little. freewёbnoνel.com
Thus, Jasmine—who had been standing in place doing nothing but pure output—felt her heart jolt when she sensed the round, chubby slime showing signs of breaking free of her mother’s suppression.
Given how well she understood her mother... eight or nine times out of ten, her mother had noticed her little tricks.
Immediately, she became serious, beginning to think through their next cooperation plan.
“The one fixing the slime’s toes!”
Jasmine stopped her magical bombardment. She had an idea. While thinking about how to make their next attack effective, she shouted down at Maixi on the ground, “Can I trouble you to make the giant slime open its mouth?!”
Maixi blinked, then instantly understood Jasmine’s plan—
Since surface attacks had little effect, they would attack its interior instead. Just like Rorina’s inherited magic—triggering the effect inside the target.
But unfortunately, Rorina’s level was low. What could make an ordinary slime explode on the spot had very little effect on this giant slime and consumed a ridiculous amount of mana.
Thinking of this, Maixi gathered all her courage, stood before the giant slime, and took over Jasmine’s offensive request.
Boom-rumble-rumble!
Rorina was scrambling away in a mess, but at that moment she sensed the sound of the slime chasing behind her suddenly stop.
“Come—eat me head-on!”
Maixi lifted her already battered straight sword, coated it once again with Flame Blade, and chose the most aggressive and dangerous method to lure the giant slime into opening its mouth!
It was well known that slimes had very few attack methods. Aside from jumping to flatten enemies, all they had were acid volleys and extended tentacle strikes!
Swish swish swish!
Purple tentacles coiled around Maixi like an octopus’s arms, but she hacked them all apart with the Flame Blade. At the same time, Rorina’s magic arrived as promised, raining down onto the slime again!
Boom-rumble-rumble!
Stung by pain, the slime opened its abyss-like maw early—a development that exceeded the expectations of all three girls. But Jasmine did not hesitate. She aimed at the slime’s gaping mouth and, for the first time, unleashed the ultra-high-tier ray spell Anna-teacher had taught her—Comet Azler! freёwebnoѵel.com
Even though a spell like this could only show its true power when cast by a top eighth-tier mage, Jasmine, pouring in all her strength, successfully invoked it.
The ice-blue beam of starlit magic was extremely fast. Before the giant slime could react, it shot directly to its face and then heavily pierced straight through its wide-open mouth.
“We did it?”
Maixi was in disbelief.
But the next second, they saw the giant slime’s body beginning to glow and swell.
Some slimes had the habit of exploding upon death. Jasmine’s luck was excellent—the one she had just killed happened to be a self-destruct type.
Vieya realized the issue too, but it was fine. A slime’s self-destruction wasn’t particularly strong; it just splattered bodily fluids everywhere... although the yield of this one seemed a little much.
The next moment, before the three little ones could react, they witnessed the ten-meter-tall slime erupting in a gruesome explosion before their eyes.
With a loud bang, the purple giant slime burst like fireworks. Purple liquid fell from the sky in sheets, splattering all three from head to toe.
“......”
Vieya went silent for a second, then invoked the Authority of Gravity she controlled, fanning the floating purple liquid above her to the side. She looked at the girls as if nothing had happened.
The sticky purple fluid carried a sharp smell similar to animal stomach acid, like long-fermented liquor. Its corrosiveness was lower than the previous acid it spat, but the stench alone was unbearable.
“Ah—!”
Rorina screamed miserably. Jasmine and Maixi were speechless, their faces lifeless, showing not the slightest joy of victory.
...
After the battle, dust settled.
Rorina, tears clinging to the corners of her eyes, lay on the ground dry-heaving repeatedly.
Jasmine wanted to throw herself into her mother’s arms to seek a bit of praise or comfort, but Vieya stepped back several steps. She placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder to stop her from diving into her face. “...I saw some pools on my way here. How about washing off first?”
Even though Vieya’s heart ached for her daughter, she didn’t want to dirty her clothes. She would hug her after the girl was clean.
Being rejected made Jasmine a little sad, but she obediently stood still and let her mother handle her without saying a word.
Beside them, Maixi sniffed the purple liquid clinging to herself, then quickly pulled her nose away, her little face scrunched up like a jar of pickled vegetables. At that moment, from the corner of her eye, she noticed Vieya—spotless from head to toe—and became instantly confused.
“Big sister, why didn’t any of this slime goo get on you... ugh—cough—gag—”
“Because I’m strong.”
Vieya told the truth. In fact, she did have a way to keep all of the slime’s self-destruct fluid suspended mid-air. But it all happened too quickly: her body automatically activated its protective force field first. By the time her brain reacted and she wanted to expand the field to cover everyone else, it was already too late.
What could she do? That was just how a slow-thinking slime-girl was.
“Uuu, big sister, your heart is so cruel. It’s one thing not to care about us, but even your own daughter...” Maixi whimpered.
You annoying little brat, stop talking nonsense.
Vieya lowered her eyelids and changed the subject. “Are you planning to stay in the dungeon, or end early and take your current score back to the surface?”
“Wow, big sister, you changed the subject so stiffly.” Maixi paused, then added, “Though I vote for returning to the surface, this depends on Captain Jasmine. She’s the one responsible for our little team.”
“You cowardly stumbling stone! We’re still five whole ranks short of first place among junior mage teams!” Rorina protested between dry heaves. “If we can’t even take first place, that would disgrace our entire family... ugh... it stinks so much.”
“I don’t mind stopping, but I’m worried that you, milady, will pass out from your own stench halfway through. And there’ll be no one willing to carry you.”
Facing Rorina’s murderous glare, Maixi helplessly spread her hands. She had no choice. Jasmine would never give up—both of her teammates were desperate for ranking, like two high-pressure tanks ready to explode.
She, the tail-end dead-weight, what influence could her opinion possibly have?
Sure enough, Jasmine opened her mouth and instantly cut off their retreat.
“Let’s go to the pools Mama mentioned and clean ourselves first. Then we’ll rest for half a day before moving again. It’s unfair, but...”
Turning her head, Jasmine pursed her lips, looked at Vieya, and asked in a tiny, nervous voice,
“Mama... will you help me? I want to improve a little more.”
