Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 16: The Strange Bird

Episode 16: The Strange Bird

“Su-Sla-Slaa!”

I move through the forest, spinning my arms like chain sickles. Well, since it’s the whip that’s connected to the sickle blade, it should be called a whip sickle, I guess?

“(Oh well.)”

I stop spinning the sickles. It takes quite a bit of concentration to keep changing shapes in time, which is a bit of a hassle.

More pressing is that I’m having trouble finding prey. I’ve seen some small beast-type magical creatures, but they’re very perceptive and run away immediately. They probably have [Escape] abilities as well. Even though they’re supposed to be Lesser Beasts, I couldn’t catch up with them no matter how fast I ran.

“(It’s surprisingly hard to find them.)”

The |Mana| density is higher around the slime village, so I should be encountering something by now, but there’s no sign of any enemies. I wish a Greater Beast would show up.

Based on my guess, my |Toughness: 818| should be enough to handle an attack from a Greater Beast without taking damage. I’d like to confirm if this guess is correct around here.

By the way, the giant bear was likely a Grand Beast, which is higher than Greater Beast. Generally, Beast Ranks increase with the size of the body.

“(Even a goblin would do. Come out already!)”

—[Block].

Clink.

A giant bird suddenly bursts through the branches and attacks with its claws. I cross my two whips to block it. If my slime’s field of vision wasn’t full-circle, that could have been dangerous.

“Creee!”

The giant bird retreats immediately after its attack is blocked. It hovers at the height of the branches and looks down at me.

It looks like a raptor, such as a hawk or an eagle. Its total length is about one and a half meters, and its wingspan is probably around three meters.

The Beast Rank is likely Greater Beast. The claw attack from earlier felt slightly lighter than the final blow of the crayfish, even though it was through [Block]. I was surprised by the sudden attack, but this might be a suitable opponent.

“Peeeee!”

After a brief stare-down, the giant bird emits a high-pitched cry and starts flapping its wings vigorously. I hear something cutting through the air mixed with the sound of its wings, and then something explodes against my body.

“Sla!?”

The “something” continues to hit me in rapid succession. My |Life| isn’t decreasing at all, but the impact from the hits is pushing me backward gradually.

“(Is it some sort of wind scythe?)”

I try to figure out the nature of the mysterious attack. It feels more like clumps of air rather than blades of wind. Essentially, it’s a sort of air cannon.

“(Now, what to do about this situation…)”

The opponent’s attacks aren’t effective hits, but I also have no offensive means. Since I can’t use [Escape]-type skills while initiating an attack, and neither [Throwing] nor lightning attacks can reach through this barrage.

“(…Wait a minute…)”

As I endure the air bullets, an idea strikes me. Acting on the impulse, I start by jumping side to side repeatedly.

“(Alright, [Escape] and [Evasion] are both activated.)”

I focus inwardly, confirming that the plan is working. [Evasion] is a skill that increases the speed of dodging actions. I learned it during the crayfish fight.

“(Okay, let’s go!)”

I suddenly start running towards the giant bird. Naturally, [Escape] and the effects remain active as I charge at the opponent.

“(Success!)”

The trick is simple: since I’m moving forward to escape, I maintain the activation of [Escape] as the bird is airborne. I intended to pass under it to flee. By keeping this intention in mind, I managed to maintain the activation.

If [Escape] determined success based on “whether moving away from the enemy or not,” this strategy might have failed. However, I was confident in its success. Since [Escape] activated even when not moving away from the enemy during the side jumps, I was sure it would work.

“(Change of plans, I’m jumping over the enemy to escape, [Jump]!)”

As I sprint while dodging the air bullets, I jump when the distance is sufficiently closed. However, the opponent isn’t a fool. Despite [Provocation] directing its focus on attacking, it tries to escape upward when it sees my rapid approach.

My plan to jump over it fails, and I end up skimming about a meter below it. What a pity.

“Slaa!”

I adapt quickly and stretch my longer whip from the evolution, preparing for the next move.

“[Thunder Strike]!”

I unleashed lightning from the tip of the whip. The giant bird, which was almost able to escape, froze momentarily from the electric attack.

“(Take this!)”

“Creeee!?”

Yes! I managed to wrap the long whip around the bird’s ankle. With the added weight, the bird lost its balance and began to fall.

“(I’m not letting you escape! [Crushing], [Crushing], [Crushing]!}”

Immediately after the fall, I quickly took a mount position, lightly jumped, and began a series of stamping attacks. I pressed down with my unnecessarily heavy and hard pressure.

The bird couldn’t escape from the attack, and combined with the effect of [Consecutive Hits], its resistance rapidly weakened. Finally, I delivered a [Slash] boosted by the momentum of the fall, and the battle was concluded.

―――Non-Notification Information Recording Zone―――――――――――――

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>> Fuwa Katsu {Jewel Weapon Slime}’s Soul Accumulation Level has risen to 27.

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