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 22: Reunion

Episode 22: Reunion

Several days had passed since the day I defeated the Werewolves.

“Babyuu!”

“Sla-sa-sla!”

Today, as usual, I fought magical beasts and focused on leveling up. I dodged the tiger’s fangs with [Instant Shift] and delivered a powerful slash with [Cross Counter] as I passed by. The tiger, slashed deeply from its shoulder, hurriedly jumped back.

Predicting its movements as expected, I followed up with a [Slash]. Having landed light attacks about ten times, [Consecutive Hits] was triggered. I succeeded in splitting the tiger’s head.

“(Oh, my <Level> has gone up.)”

Upon checking, I had reached <Level 47>. I could feel that I was getting closer to {Evolution}.

“(I’m getting used to the new [Skills] too.)”

The modest increase in <Level> was due to the rising <Soul Fragments> required and the time I took for each battle. My focus had been on honing my [Skills].

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Skills:  

[Instant Shift]  [Cross Counter]  

[Provocation] → [Challenge] (NEW)  

[Focus] → [Concentration] (NEW)  

[Jump] → [Aerial Jump] (NEW)

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[Instant Shift] is an upgraded skill from [Evasion], and [Cross Counter] enhances attack power by using the opponent’s momentum. Both skills were developed during the Werewolf battle.

While [Instant Shift] is straightforward and easy to use, [Cross Counter] has been challenging to master—more accurately, it’s still a work in progress. While it’s possible to overpower Lesser Beasts, for Greater Beasts and above, I need to accurately assess and anticipate the opponent’s movements.

Several existing [Skills] also evolved to higher levels. The effects of these upgrades seem to enhance the [Skills] further. For example, [Instant Shift] now constantly improves dynamic vision, while [Concentration] provides resistance to mental status abnormalities. It’s surprising that [Aerial Jump] allows me to jump in mid-air. Currently, I can only perform up to four mid-air jumps per minute, but the number of uses should increase with practice.

“(Thanks for the meal.)”

I continued through the forest after defeating the tiger. After advancing a bit, I climbed a tree using [Climbing] and didn’t forget to use [Stealth].

“(…………)”

I held my breath atop the tree. Extending part of my body, I peered beyond the tree.

“““…………”””

Three humans were walking through the forest. I waited silently for them to pass by. I had occasionally seen humans before meeting the old man, but recently, it seemed that there were more of them around.

There’s a high chance that the old man has spread information about me, the experience monster.

“(……Alright, they’re gone.)”

I slid down the tree. By the way, it seems [Climbing] is also active when descending.

“(Hmm, they’re not decreasing at all. Should I just move somewhere else?)”

I thought about this as I walked in a direction different from where the adventurers had come. It might take another two or three weeks for humans to disappear, but so far, there are no signs of that.

I had planned to move into a more |Mana|-rich area after one more evolution, but it might be better to relocate my hunting ground before that. The forest is vast. Since humans are gathered around this area, other areas might have fewer of them.

“(Alright, with that decided, let’s move out.)”

Thanks to [Sense of Direction], I know which way the human town is. I’ll avoid getting close to it and head towards the direction where the |Mana| is still dense.

Swish-swish-swish.

Swish-swish-swish.

I moved from tree to tree, from bush to bush, obscuring my movements.

My body color stands out even in the forest. Flattening my body alone wasn’t enough. I had to be as cautious as possible.

“(Phew, I’ve made quite a bit of progress.)”

After moving in my transformed state for a while and feeling tired, I took a break in a hollow that fit my body. 

While I was resting there, a sudden voice spoke to me.

“…Could it be that slime from back then?”

“Sla?!”

I hadn’t let my guard down. I was extending part of my body from the edge of the hollow to check the surroundings. Despite that, the sudden voice made me jump.

I left the hollow and looked around, but I couldn’t find the source of the voice.

“It really is you. This way.”

As the voice spoke, a girl with aqua-colored hair, carrying a wooden basket and wearing leather armor, emerged from behind a tree. She was the same girl who had given me medicinal herbs when I was beaten by the crayfish.

“Ah, it’s you. It’s been a while. I was really happy back then.”

“…Huh?”

This time, the girl was surprised. It seemed the sudden voice in her head was unsettling her. It was understandable, as I hadn’t been able to use [Communication] when we met before.

I explained to her that I was using a [Skill] to communicate. She seemed to understand and nodded.

“…So it wasn’t a mishearing back then…”

I nodded.

“By the way, can other magical beasts talk like this?”

“Who knows? I haven’t met any magical beasts that can talk like me. Oh, but slimes are different. They can talk even without [Communication].”

“Really? So slimes can talk?”

“Well, most of them can only manage basic communication, not the kind of ‘talking’ humans do, though.”

I had been able to have some level of ‘conversation’ with the rare slime named Sla-ta, but it was difficult since it was too much of a brute to hold a proper conversation.

“You seem knowledgeable about humans. Did you live with them before?”

“Something like that.”

Although the girl seemed friendly and easy to talk to, I had no intention of discussing my past life. I didn’t know if there were other reincarnators in this world, but if she had a bad impression of me, it might increase the reasons for me to be targeted. Being an experience monster was already a big enough reason to be hunted.

“By the way, don’t you have to defeat me? I’m being targeted by other humans.”

“Huh? No, no, I won’t do that! I can’t defeat a magical beast with my power… and besides, since you don’t attack me, you’re not a bad magical beast, right?”

“That’s true… But why did you help me last time? You didn’t know if I was good or bad, did you?”

“Well… How should I put it? I couldn’t just leave you alone. You were injured.”

“Is that so? If it had been any other magical beast, it wouldn’t have been strange if they had attacked right after eating the herbs. Next time, don’t try to help a magical beast, okay…? Though I think I’ve said that before.”

“Hmm, yeah. It felt more like a message than something you actually said. I’ll keep that in mind.”

While we were talking, the girl suddenly turned to look in a completely different direction. I felt like I had seen a similar reaction before.

“What’s wrong?”

“Someone’s being attacked… Sorry, slime. I have to go. Be careful not to get hunted by others, okay?”

“Huh? Wait—”

She left those words behind and ran off in a hurry.