After finishing our breakfast, Cerise and I headed straight for the dungeon. As we approached, we noticed a group of guards stationed at the entrance. Cerise explained that they were the knights dispatched by the Kingdom. They didn't wear armor as I had always thought they would; instead, they wore a red-gold uniform, the same color as the flag of the Varelion Kingdom.
We carefully circled the town to reach the dungeon from the rear. After making sure no one was observing, we quickly entered and rushed inside the dungeon.
Since we shouldn't be allowed to be here, we have to be extra careful not to get found by either monsters or the knights.
Unlike yesterday, we came down here with the four of us and Mrs. Lexi. But today is just me and Cerise. I don't want to imagine what's going to happen if we meet Ratomp with just me and Cerise.
That's why I summoned Mermaphin to keep us informed if Ratomp is nearby by continuing to use Electroreception. This way, we can stay alert. Fortunately, Mermaphin understands her job and alerts us whenever she senses someone close. Unfortunately, Mermaphin's electroreception range is too short for this situation, which is why we almost got discovered.
So far, we have only crossed paths with the kingdom knight. Mermaphin didn't sense a Ratomp or Ratang, or maybe there are no monsters at all; it seems the knights have already taken care of them.
"Rain, look!" Cerise pointed to the liquid on the ground in front of us. "This is not water, it's thicker. It probably came from a monster."
"It doesn't seem like venom either," I looked at Cerise. "It's not from Ratomp or Ratang; it came from another monster."
After a few hours of avoiding numerous knights, I understood the expression Cerise is making right now. It feels like all our hard work is paying off, and we are getting closer to our answer.
We tried to follow the liquid, but it was difficult because some of it crossed the sewer to the other side. This required us to turn around to reach that side.
"Rain, I think we found them," Cerise said, referring to the silhouette in front of us. I couldn't tell whether that monster was sleeping, but one thing I knew for certain was that it lay motionless on the ground.
Once we get closer to that monster, the silhouette gets clearer. I was shocked, the monster I thought was lying there since I didn't see the legs, turns out it didn't have legs in the first place.
"Please be honest with me, Rain?" Cerise covered part of her face with her right hand. "It's not what I think, is it?"
"It is, Cerise," I answered. " She is correct."
"Damn it, Caelenra."
"It's a slime monster."
I pointed my MonsterDex to the slime monster, which responded with a cold, mechanical voice. Aqualume, its body is made out of acid that will melt whatever they absorb. The database appeared as it spoke.
[[Monster Data]]
Name : Aqualume
Gender : Hermaphrodite
Type : Aqua
Attribute : Water
Species : Water Slime Monster
Height : 0.3 m
Weight : 4.0 kg
Abilities : Absorb Water
Prior Form : -
Next Form :
- Lavlume (Pyre Gem)
- Clalume (Terra Gem)
- Lotulume (Gaia Gem)
- Flalume (Storm Gem)
- Galume (Tempest Gem)
- Snolume (Cyro Gem)
- Lumilume (Sol Gem)
- Acilume (Umbra Gem)
[[Monster Stats]]
Level : 3
HP : 35
Attack : 30
Defence : 35
Sp. Attack : 80
Sp. Defence : 100
Speed : 30
It seems to notice us now, since it doesn't have a face. I didn't know if it was looking at us right now, but I know it takes a stand to fight.
After Cerise summoned Galguana, another Aqualume came out of the sewer. It's cornering us right now; there will be 5 in front of us and 5 in the back.
"Umm…Cerise, what are we going to do?"
"We're going to beat them."
"I know you're going to say that, but they absorb water."
"It's fine, you see that round thing inside their body, it's their core. If we could break it, we won."
"I never thought that you would know slime monsters."
"Hehe, I'm just guessing."
I sighed. "Well, whatever, let's try it. I will take care of our backs, you will take care in front of us."
"Ok."
This reminds me of the time the Ratang raided my dorm. During that incident, Mermaphin had to fight off a few Ratang, and it nearly cost her life. However, I'm confident that this time we won't face the same challenges. We are going to win easily since Mermaphin is much stronger than these five Aqualume.
Each of us will face five Aqualume monsters, but even Galguana, who has fire attributes, should be fine since he is still a dragon-type monster. Although we are going up against five opponents at once, they are slower than Mermaphin, which gives me some confidence that Mermaphin will come out unscathed.
"Alright, Mermaphin," I pointed at the left of one of the five. "Use Scratch!!"
Mermaphin moved quickly and determinedly as she ran towards the monster I had pointed out. The air grew tense as she drew her glowing claw. With focus, she closed the gap. When her claw hit Aqualume, it only grazed the surface; it did not reach deep enough to hit Aqualume's core.
As the other Aqualume shot a series of Water Shots, streams of liquid energy flew through the air, shining in the light. Mermaphin moved quickly, dodging each shot with ease. The Water Shots splashed harmlessly on the ground. Mermaphin stayed calm and ready for her next move.
I told Mermaphin to use another strong Scratch attack. This time, I told her that she should aim for the core and put all her focus on delivering a precise and powerful hit.
Mermaphin moved quickly. She circled five Aqualume with careful and smooth movements. As she examined all their glowing cores at the centers, she looked for one that had an opening. Until she found a core that seemed just right—a perfect target for her next strike.
After a few tense moments, she ran toward one of the figures, aiming her glowing claw at the pulsing core in its center. However, when her strike hit its fluid body, the core quickly shifted and dodged her attack. Like the last time, the rest are trying to attack Mermapahin with Water Shot.
This is turning out to be harder than I expected. Every time Mermaphin attacks the core, it keeps dodging. Afterwards, the other Aqualume counterattacks Mermaphin. This cycle continues because Aqualume can absorb water, leaving Mermaphin with no effective skills to use against it.
After observing for a few moments, I realized that their bodies were not regenerating as I had first thought. Instead, it looked like a process of reattachment. The thick liquid, which had been violently torn apart, started to gather slowly. It moved closer to their form, as if pulled by an invisible force. Each droplet mixed and intertwined, moving back toward the body.
"Mermaphin!" I shouted. "Change the plan and keep attacking with Scratch before the others shoot you."
I'm not sure if she completely understands our strategy, but her actions show she is following my instructions. She focuses on one Aqualume and attacks it fiercely. As the others shoot at her, she skillfully dodges their attacks, moving left and right. Despite this, she keeps attacking the same Aqualume, showing both determination and skill in the battle.
Mermaphin jumped into targeting one of the Aqualume. With a rapid move, Mermaphin kept attacking Aqualume till broke through the shiny outer layer, revealing the core inside. As the light flickered from the Aqualume's core, Mermaphin delivered a powerful Scratch, making a loud sound as the core shattered into pieces.
Undeterred, Mermaphin continued to fight the remaining Aqualume. Each battle was tough and stretched on for a long time. Time felt different as Mermaphin carefully took apart each enemy. The sound of their fights and the rush of energy created a chaotic scene.
After what felt like an eternity of relentless effort, Mermaphin emerged victorious, having vanquished every last Aqualume.
"Are you done?" Cerise asked. As soon as I turned around.
"You already finished?" I shocked. "Since when?"
"Since Mermaphin beat the first one."
"Since the first!! How do you beat them so fast?"
"Easy, using Tail Whip makes the core get out from their body and stomp it."
"Dragon type really strong, huh?"
"Did you just notice?"
"So what are we going to do now?" I asked. "There is Aqualume, Caelenra was right. There is a huge slime monster deep in the sewer."
"Not until I saw it with my own eyes, Rain," she ran across the tunnel and turned around. "Come on, Rain, you're not chickening out, are you?"
I sighed and rushed to her side. I thought there was no chance of changing her mind. But I made it clear that as soon as we found the powerful monster, we would not battle it; we would be going back immediately. She rolled her eyes and said she understood. I hope that meant she was just trying to indicate that I didn't need to explain further or something like that.
[[Mermaphin grew up to Level 8]] [[Galguana grew up to Level 8]]