016. The First Boss-Class Battle
Standing on the beach while commanding Daldal and Orlan...
I broke into a cold sweat as I stared at the enormous abomination that suddenly rose from the water.
“What is that?”
Living in this world nowadays, I had already accepted that unimaginable things could suddenly appear without warning.
Even so...
Until I saw something like this with my own eyes, I had never imagined it.
“What the hell is that?!”
“Lord Suho! Dodge! Peep!!”
If Orlan had not flown over and shoved me away with all his strength, I would have been hit directly.
Right in front of the fish farm.
At the shore where beautiful silver sand stretched along the coast.
From the middle of the bright blue sea, an enormous Poison Slime appeared, looking like every disease in existence had been mixed together.
GROOOOOO!!
The Poison Slime was at least as tall as a five-story building.
After suddenly rising from the sea, it stared in our direction and desperately tried to reach the fish farm.
Peet-peeeep!!
[Translation: Lord Suho! Focus! You have to command us!]
Daldal ran toward me and shouted sharply.
I shook my head hard and focused on Daldal and Orlan again.
I tried to focus.
But...
“Lord Suho!?”
Huh?
My head hurt badly.
Every time I tried to concentrate on them, my mind became dizzy and my legs lost strength.
Only then did I notice the purple gas spreading from the monster.
Peet-peeeep!!
[Translation: Neurotoxin!]
“Cough...! Daldal, Orlan! Are you two okay?!”
“We possess resistance to low-level curses and poison! However, it may be deadly to you, Lord Suho, so please be careful with your breathing! Peep!”
“Got it...! Cough!”
I felt relieved knowing that the two of them were safe.
At the same time, impatience rose inside me.
I had to solve this quickly.
Father’s precious fish farm...!
“Daldal! Leave it to me! Peep...! Raptor Immortal Wind!”
Orlan kicked off the ground and flew into the sky.
He charged directly into the purple gas and scattered every bit of the deadly neurotoxin into the air.
“Ugh! That’s awful! Ptoo, ptoo...!”
“Orlan! Are you okay?!”
“Small Dragon King! I am fine! Are you injured? Peep!”
Peet-peeeep!
[Translation: Breathing gas makes head dizzy! Be careful!]
Daldal and Orlan quickly moved over and surrounded me.
So that headache earlier really was...
“I’m fine. Thanks for helping me, guys.”
I forced myself to focus again.
Poison Slime.
I knew at least that it was a dangerous creature that sometimes emerged from Gates.
It released deadly poisonous gas with various harmful effects.
It devoured everything in front of it, dissolved it, and absorbed it.
A boss-class monster.
The one that had appeared in front of the fish farm sucked seawater into several holes across its body.
Then it turned that water into poisonous gas and toxic fluid and sprayed it everywhere.
But something was strange.
“How can it stay underwater without dissolving?”
Half of its enormous body was currently submerged in the sea.
That alone was strange.
Poison Slimes, and other Slimes as well, had one clear weakness.
Clean water.
The moment they touched clear water, their bodies dissolved and scattered.
That was why raids against Slimes always included Wizards or Sorceresses with water-element magic.
But the monster in front of me ignored that weakness completely and kept approaching through the seawater.
How?
“You filthy, wicked thing! How dare you crawl toward us with such a corrupted body! Peep, peep!”
Peet-peet-peep! Peet-peep!
[Translation: Ugly, smelly, filthy bastard!]
I carefully studied its enormous body.
“Status Window. Show me that Boss Monster’s information again.”
[Boss Monster Information Analysis complete.]
Name: Poison Slime?
Type: Wide-Area Pollution Semi-Fluid Monster
Rank: B+
[View additional details.]
Information: A cursed being that releases deadly poison and poisonous gas from its body???? Appears in polluted and filthy environments, crushes everything before it with its enormous body, then absorbs it? However, ?????
Something was wrong.
Most of the information was not very different from what I already knew about Poison Slimes.
But the parts covered in question marks bothered me.
“Status Window. Can’t you show me the information that isn’t displaying properly?”
[Request being checked.]
I asked the Status Window again for accurate information.
However...
[Information: Detailed information regarding this Boss Monster occurring in the ocean does not exist. Number of recorded encounters with this monster in the ocean: <0>.]
There was nothing.
In that case...
That thing was somehow different from a normal Poison Slime.
Or...
“Something is hiding somewhere and allowing it to move freely.”
I needed to consider both possibilities.
Peet-peeeep!
“Daldal! No matter what happens, we must prevent that thing from reaching land! Peep!”
Damn it.
I had only recently awakened.
I was nothing more than someone running a small fish farm.
What could I do in this battle?
No.
Calm down.
There had to be something I could do.
I could not directly participate in battle.
That was the nature of the Tamer Class.
Even though I had awakened, apart from developing a Mana Heart and gaining a connection with my Partners, my body was not very different from that of an ordinary person.
Maybe because of that, monsters emerging from Hostile Gates usually attacked combat-capable Partners first.
They tended to deal with Tamers later.
The monsters would not prioritize attacking me.
Experienced Tamers took advantage of that.
They moved actively outside the monster’s attention.
Scouting.
Or deliberately drawing the monster’s gaze.
How did I know?
Awakened battle videos were uploaded as short-form clips every single day.
How could I not know?
“Good. Hoo. I can do this. I’ll protect them. Daldal, Orlan, and the fish farm too!”
I calmed myself and carefully observed the area around the monster.
First, I needed to figure out what was different about it compared to an ordinary boss-class Poison Slime.
“!”
The color of the seawater around it was strange.
It was not the slightly bright blue color I normally saw in front of the fish farm.
It was closer to red.
At first I thought it was obviously leaking from the Poison Slime.
But when I looked again...
“No.”
The Poison Slime was releasing a deep purple liquid and poisonous gas that were impossible to mistake.
Could that red liquid be what allowed the Poison Slime to survive underwater?
Where was that red liquid coming from?
The unknown substance staining the ocean red had already spread across a huge area in front of the fish farm.
It looked like...
“A red tide?”
It resembled the red tide phenomenon that usually appeared when the water warmed in summer.
But it was still early spring.
The water was cold.
Even the cherry blossoms had not fully bloomed.
What was this?
Where was it coming from...?!
‘Suho. Sometimes, when you look far away, a problem close to you becomes easier to solve. Don’t spend your life looking only straight ahead.’
Something Father had told me when I was young.
Why did that suddenly come to mind...?!
“Orlan!”
“Yes! Lord Suho! Peep!”
“Grab my hand and take me into the sky!”
“Yes! ...What?! N, no! What are you saying, peep?!”
“You can do it! Right? Think about when we drank and played together!”
“Ah, remembering that suddenly makes my stomach... Urk... Peep...”
“Mine too, urk... No! There’s no time! I need to see the entire sea in front of the fish farm from above!”
“...!! Understood! Lord Suho! Peep!”
“Daldal! Hold that thing back alone for a moment! Let’s go, Orlan! Osprey Flight!”
“As you command!!”
Whoosh!
When Orlan spread his wings, radiant light poured down from the sky and cast a huge shadow over the beach.
“We are going! Lord Suho! Peep!”
Orlan gently grabbed me with his silver magical talons and took off.
My body rose while completely ignoring gravity.
All the blood in my body felt like it was being dragged downward!
“Ugh!”
“Are you all right?! Lord Suho! Peep!”
“I, I’m okay! It’s just a little scary...!”
Once we rose high enough to see the entire sea in front of the fish farm, I clutched my pounding chest and carefully looked downward.
Aaaagh!
This was terrifying!
How high did we climb?!
There would not even be dust left if I fell.
It was okay.
Trust my Partner.
We had spoken about our future together and shared drinks at the same table.
I would place my life in Orlan’s hands!
“...Ah!”
“Lord Suho?! Peep?!”
“Orlan! Look where I’m pointing! There’s something under the water!”
I pointed in the exact opposite direction from where the Poison Slime was rampaging.
Behind it, farther out in the sea.
Something deep underwater was shining and releasing large amounts of red liquid.
“The direction you are pointing...? Ah...! I see it. Confirmed! Peep!”
“That strange sphere is releasing the red substance. The Poison Slime must be surviving underwater because of it! That substance is separating the Poison Slime from the seawater!”
I shouted while pointing at the sphere releasing a sinister red glow underwater.
At almost the exact same moment, the hidden information about the Poison Slime updated!
[Information: Additional Information for Marine Pollution Poison Slime updated.]
A cursed being that releases deadly poison and poisonous gas from its body. Unlike ordinary Poison Slimes, it originates from severe marine pollution. It protects its body with a special oil film that allows it to survive in seawater. The sphere that serves as its core contains the resentment of marine creatures that suffered from pollution, causing it to instinctively seek harm against humans.
“Good. Now we know for sure. But how do we deal with it? It looks pretty deep underwater...! That area must be more than twenty meters deep. Daldal has to stop the monster from reaching land, so he can’t handle it!”
I gritted my teeth.
We had discovered the method of stopping the Poison Slime.
But we did not have an obvious attack method.
Even if Orlan was powerful, how could he deal with something hiding that deep underwater...?
“Lord Suho!”
Orlan shouted.
“There is a way. Peep. Send me your will!”
My will...
Right.
That was how it worked!
When a Tamer and Partner held the same strong will in their hearts, their power was maximized!
“Orlan!”
I filled my heart with determination and pointed at the mysterious sphere releasing the red poison.
“Shatter that thing into pieces!”
“As you command.”
Mana gathered along my fingertips.
Then it surged toward Orlan all at once!
[Information: Partners share the same emotion. Mana wavelength has been maximized.]
[Information: Maximized Mana successfully transferred to Partner.]
[Information: Partner Orlan’s maximum combat power has increased!]
After his solemn declaration, Orlan released the magical talons holding me.
I trusted him.
I spread my arms and legs wide and tightly closed my eyes.
“...!”
A gentle wind wrapped around me.
My body became as light as Orlan’s feathers and slowly floated downward.
And immediately after that...
[Skill Activation Confirmed: Gray Thunderbolt.]
Orlan plunged toward the enemy like lightning.
Yes.
He truly looked like a gray thunderbolt.
“Whoa!”
The air torn apart by Orlan became a shockwave and created violent winds around us.
The Poison Slime finally noticed Orlan and turned, stretching out its arms.
But Orlan had already passed it long ago.
The wind created by Orlan made the Poison Slime stagger.
My own slowly descending body fluttered through the air like a sheet of paper.
And then...
BOOM!!
With a tremendous explosion, Orlan vanished into the water.
I could not even breathe.
I stared blankly at the place where Orlan had disappeared and at the huge white pillar of water that rose afterward.
Peet-peeeep.
[Translation: Destroyed it.]
A moment later...
SPLAAASH!!
“Orlan!”
With an enormous spray of water, Orlan burst out of the sea like a missile.
Held in his huge beak and shining silver magical talons was something completely crushed and torn apart.
GROOOOOO!!
The red toxic substance that had allowed the Poison Slime to move freely began rapidly disappearing from the water.
The ocean slowly returned to its beautiful pale blue.
OOOOOOOH...!!
The newly clear seawater crashed violently as if refusing to tolerate the filthy creature any longer.
The enormous body of the Poison Slime began to dissolve.
And from its center...
Something shining popped out with a soft sound.
