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 9: Results of Training

Episode 9: Results of Training

“(Phew, that was a rough experience…)”

I crawled out from under the fallen tree and took a breath. I had lost track of when to stop my training, but this seemed like a good place to take a break and check my progress.

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Skills:

[Unyielding Spirit] [Flexibility] (NEW)

[Whip] (NEW) [Focus] (NEW)

[Compact Whip (NEW) [Folly] (NEW)

[Consecutive Hits] (NEW)

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It seems my focused training has paid off, as the number of [Skills] has increased significantly. Let’s look at each one.

First, [Unyielding Spirit] is a skill that strengthens my ability to hold my ground, making it harder to be blown away. I had this before, and it seems I picked it up while watching the battles between giant magical beasts.

Next, [Flexibility] is quite handy. It assists with body manipulation. It became easier to maintain the whip form during training, so this skill must have played a role. From now on, I’ll be able to shape my body more freely.

[Whip] and [Compact Whip] are skills for executing powerful whip strikes. As the name implies, the latter can deliver a more precise strike with fewer openings, though it seems to have slightly less power.

[Focus] increases concentration on a single task, while [Consecutive Hits] boosts attack power when attacking in rapid succession. It’s rare to get a chance to attack continuously like I did earlier, so how useful it will be in actual combat remains to be seen.

“(So far, so good, but…)”

The problem lies with the last [Skill]. It’s rather discouraging name makes me hesitant, but I need to check it out. I focus on my [Status].

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Skill Details

[Folly]

• •  Increases all stats except |Life| and |Mana| during acts of folly. Always provides resistance to diseases.

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O-okay… is this strong? Boosting all stats is powerful, but the condition of “during acts of folly” is a bit vague. Also, for a smart slime like me, it seems like there wouldn’t be many opportunities to use it. Hahaha.

Putting that aside, the increased disease resistance is genuinely appreciated. Slimes are not immune to illness, and I’ve seen comrades succumb to disease before. Seeing their bodies covered in blotches and weakening was chilling, even now.

With the skills checked, I realized something else.

“(The [Unique Skill] has changed.)”

Maybe it upgraded to a higher version because I used it a lot. I just awakened it yesterday and didn’t feel like I used it much, but perhaps “maximizes harvest yield” also applied to the [Unique Skill] itself.

Let’s see what effect it has… but before that.

I looked toward the underbrush.

“Sluaahslua (Did they come?)”

Whether drawn by the sound of falling trees or just passing by by chance, a group appeared.

The bipedal creatures had green skin and were about the height of children. They had pointed ears, murky eyes, and exposed, darkened canine teeth.

“(Goblin, huh?)”

In short, they resembled the goblins seen in games and anime. They are common creatures in this forest, and I’ve fought them several times even before I regained my past life’s memories.

At that time, I was a defensive role.

Their strength is below average. They are weak magical beasts located at the lower end of the ecological pyramid. Stronger than a single slime, but evenly matched against two and at a disadvantage against three.

Against a slime that has learned [Throwing] stones, their odds are even worse.

Goblins are clever for magical beasts and can wield weapons. The four that appeared now had rusty swords, spears, axes, and knives. The weapons were in poor condition, with the sword even broken in the middle. 

Well, it’s only natural since they probably took them from dead humans.

“““Gegyaaah!”””

The goblins rushed toward me, eager to attack. They must have mistaken me for an easy prey because I was alone.

I analyzed them while questioning if I should really fight. Recovering human memories had made me hesitant to attack humanoid beings. 

But that hesitation was fleeting. I reconsidered that goblins are enemies of humans.

“(Perfect timing. I’ll use you guys for a test run.)”

First, I targeted the second-fastest goblin, the one with the sword, rather than the fastest goblin with the knife.

I transformed part of my body into a whip, grabbed a stone with its tip, and threw it using [Throwing]!

“Gegyaa!?”

The stone hit directly, and the sword goblin fell over. My throwing power now has decent force, thanks to the [Throwing] skill, long arms, and considerable |Power|.

Now, the knife goblin was somewhat isolated. As soon as it came within the whip’s range, I used [Whip].

“Giguuh!?”

The whip sliced through the air and struck the goblin’s face. The sharp weight at the tip gouged into its cheek. Flesh and blood splattered into the air.

The knife goblin tumbled forward, scraping the ground.

But it was not my immediate concern.

“([Whip], [Whip]!)”

I continued to attack the goblins as they rushed in. They all ended up sprawled on the ground.

The knife goblin, which had been curled up, seemed ready to stand up. So I quickly used [Compact Whip]. I sliced into its legs and made it fall again.

If any other goblin tried to get up, I attacked them too.

I kept attacking unilaterally, but facing four opponents was still overwhelming. They slowly closed in, making it harder to fully utilize the whip’s power.

“(Well, I can just use [Escape])”

I slipped between the goblins wielding weapons and reset my position, starting another round of one-sided attacks. I continued to ravage the goblins in this cycle and used [Provocation] and [Enchanting Radiance] to keep them engaged in battle when they tried to escape.

After a while into the fight, one of the goblins died from blood loss. The whip, enhanced by [Consecutive Hits], had the power to gouge trees. It was only natural that repeated hits would lead to this outcome.

“(It’s over now, [Whip])”

Starting with the first goblin, the rest were falling one by one. I delivered a final, powerful whip strike to the last goblin and ended the battle.