Starfall 833, June 11th, night, in the Moldavia Territory in the North, in the Nissii Snow Mountains and the hoarfrost forest.
Viewed from the sky, the Hoarfrost Forest is a triangular piece of lush pine forest located between snowy mountains and ice fields. It grows among rolling hills with a winding river running through it. The products of the Hoarfrost Forest are not considered rich. Before Winterfort Academy was established nearby, even hunters rarely came here to hunt, but even so, there were many creatures living there, including many monsters.
From between the gaps in the leaves, you can see faint stars beginning to appear in the sky, which proves that late at night has gradually arrived, and the stronger and stronger south wind has also dispersed the clouds in the mid-air. Therefore, the monsters lurking in the daytime , will also enter its active period.
Somewhere in the forest, a faint blue light appeared on a large tree that had long since collapsed and was now slowly decaying.
As the dim moonlight became brighter due to the gradually dispersing clouds, the light blue fluorescence emerging from the tree became more and more eye-catching. As a 'dong-dong' sound sounded like liquid flowing, a man with almost half a person So big, like jelly, the light blue translucent gel-like creature emerged from the cracks in the tree and came to the outside world, silently absorbing the magic contained in the moonlight.
This gel-like soft-bodied creature is the most famous and weakest monster in the world, slime.
It can be seen from its appearance that this is a frost slime unique to cold regions.
Creatures like slimes are like jellyfish. They have no brains and only instincts, but they have extremely strong adaptability. Whether it is the deep sea, glaciers, swamps or volcanic springs, as long as there is water or even liquid, they can survive. Come down and adapt to the local environment.
Some magic scholars believe that slimes evolved from some jellyfish that stranded on land during ancient geological changes. However, there is no evidence to support this theory. Mermaids and the protectors of the deep sea (god of the ocean) This statement was also denied.
The arguments of other scholars are even more horrifying. They believe that slime should be some kind of super creature from ancient times, or even formed from the blood of an ancient dragon. Although this argument is also unreliable, it can surprisingly be found. There are several pieces of evidence that seem reasonable, one of which is that such a weak creature can actually carry a huge amount of magic power. As far as we know, slime is the only low-level monster that can survive in a heavy magic radiation area. It can also rapidly proliferate and evolve according to the strength of the magic power in its location.
But no matter what, slime is slime, because it is essentially a mixture of colloid, water and magic. They are usually at the bottom of the monster food chain and can be regarded as some kind of high-end drink, so It's hard to grow, there aren't many of them.
Most slimes are hiding in various dark corners, absorbing dew and magic power and gradually growing in size. However, precisely because they have no brains, they will not respond to the call of the black tide to attack human fortresses. That is the history of slimes. The only time Lime can recuperate is by absorbing the flesh, flesh and magic power of dead monsters. This creature will rapidly grow, divide, and reproduce, and will expand to a terrifying extent in a short period of time.
In the Hoarfrost Forest, all the more powerful monsters were expelled by a group of human mages a few days ago. Since the slime tribe lost most of their natural enemies, they immediately began to develop with all their strength.
On top of the tree, this frost slime was quietly absorbing magic power, preparing for its division and reproduction in the near future. However, in the bushes not far away, there was a pair of gray eyes watching it closely.
Ivan Makarov, the young magician from Winter Castle, is holding his simple staff tightly in his hand, waiting for the opportunity to attack, and his target is naturally the only monster in this area. This huge frost slime is in front of me.
Today is the second day of the wilderness survival test at Winterhold Academy. Since they are forced not to carry any food, all students can only obtain food by hunting and picking fruits. As the son of a hunter, Ivan naturally knows that in the northern woods By using a few simple traps to survive, he had caught enough rabbits and squirrels to feed him for two days.
But this is not enough. As the notice says, for this test, just surviving is not enough. If you want to get a higher score, you must hunt other monsters.
In the Hoarfrost Forest, the powerful monsters have been driven away long ago, and the only ones left are slimes, frost butterflies and giant wild boars.
Among these three remaining monsters, the giant wild boar is strong, small in number, and has a large wandering range, so it is not the first target, while the frost butterfly is too small to be used as food, and its natural magic-like [ice spike] It is also too dangerous for a mage apprentice, so it is not considered.
Only slimes are weak, move slowly, and can be eaten in large numbers, so they are the best targets.
At this time, some people must be thinking, can slime be eaten
The answer is that some can and some can't.
For example, lava slimes that grow in volcanic springs and are full of sulfur and heavy metal toxins must not be eaten, and venom slimes in swamp areas cannot be eaten, but in most forests, slimes that grow on the sap and fruits of trees Slime is edible. It is not only edible, but also very nutritious.
As a mixture of magic power, mucus and water, slime's body fluids, after being processed, are the raw materials for primary magic potions. Drinking a bottle can quickly restore magic power. As a mage apprentice, Ivan naturally knows this. In order to continue casting spells in the next few days and try to hunt more powerful creatures, he must not let go of the frost slime in front of him.
"The terrain is unknown, the slime's possibility of counterattack, the retreat route..."
After thinking about all the possibilities and rehearsing them in his mind, Ivan arranged his hair to prevent excessively long hair from blocking his vision during the battle later. Then, he held it tightly in his hand. He used the staff, concentrated his energy, let the magic power flow in his body, and began to prepare the first spell.
…
…
"Joshua, what do you think?"
In the sky above the hoarfrost forest, above the endless blowing cold wind, there are two figures standing in the clouds. They look down at the land, and their eyes reflect every fire of life that moves in it.
Nostradamus, with his eyes filled with blue magical light, paying attention to each student, noticed that the warrior beside him did not reply, so he asked again: "What do you think of these children
"...in my eyes?"
After repeating something in a low voice, Joshua narrowed his eyes. He thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "I'm not very experienced yet. Whether it's survival, hunting or fighting, I'm too immature."
"Most people chose to stay and lit the campfire in the wrong place, without taking into account the wind direction and poisonous insects - I won't go into details about these, let me just talk about fighting."
With a casual finger, the warrior motioned the old mage to look in the direction of Ivan. He said softly: "Because this little guy wants to obtain the body fluids of the frost slime, he cannot use fire and thunder spells. The other party has Frost resistance, so Frost Conjuration cannot be used, and most of the mage's attack methods at low levels are immediately useless, leaving only an arcane missile."
Having said this, Joshua couldn't help but reveal a gloating smile: "Without actual combat, how does he know that slimes have a certain ability to absorb magic? Both fireballs and thunder arrows may be immune, not to mention pure Magical impact?"
"good."
Nostradamus looked in that direction and couldn't help but nodded. He said with some emotion: "All students think that the huge boar with its appearance is the strongest monster, but in fact, it has a certain history of magic resistance. Lime is the most annoying opponent for low-level mages, but it is a big wild boar. You only need to use the simplest thunder arrow to paralyze it until it can't move."
"This can also be regarded as a small education, telling them not to trust appearances too much."
"It's actually pretty good."
Slightly shrugging his shoulders, although Joshua pointed out the mistakes of these students mercilessly, he was not unhappy. On the contrary, he was a little pleased: "It's the first time I walked out of the academy and came to the forest. To have such a performance is already considered... It’s excellent.”
"yes."
The wrinkled face relaxed slightly, and Nostradamus also looked at the young mage in the forest who lost the initiative due to the failure of the arcane missile, but was not afraid of the danger and used the complex terrain in the forest to fight with the slimes. , showing a smile: "They are all good children."
And just when Joshua and Nostradamus were watching the mage apprentices in the Winter Castle Academy in the Northland surviving in the wilderness, in the far south, to the east of the Holy Mountain, was the Abyss of Anos.
A giant ship that was completely white and looked like it was extremely sturdy was sailing in the strong wind and waves, going against the waves of the sea.
The Abyss of Anos in the middle of the night is like hell. The dizzying winds are raging above the dark sea water, setting off waves and screams. The clouds are rolling crazily in the sky, and it is raining heavily. The cold rain is mixed with salty moisture. The water vapor obscures all human vision.
The power from the abyss stirs the ocean currents in this area, forming large and small whirlpools and always stormy weather. If the ships sailing here are not strong enough, they will be easily broken up by strong winds and tides, and the crew members will die. The soul will be imprisoned by evil and turn into a wandering ghost ship, wandering in the fog of the night.
But it is obvious that this pure white ark will not be easily defeated by the huge waves. Densely dense sacred runes appear on its hull, with holy light flowing on it, resisting the bad weather, and there are hidden The evil force behind it.
In addition, on the top of the ark, there is a round gem the size of half a man. It releases hot positive energy like the sun, and the light illuminates the sea area within a radius of nearly a kilometer, even if it contains the power of the abyss The rain and fog cannot stop it.
Beside this gem, there are many magical arrays in operation, amplifying and guiding its power, calming the surrounding wind and waves, and guiding the ark's progress.
If Joshua comes here, he will be surprised to find that this gem is the core star hanging in the Holy Emblem Hall of the Imperial Palace of Morlai, but it appears on a ship that is obviously the church. above.
"well."
A sigh came from the deck of the Ark.
The deck at this time can be regarded as the most dangerous place on this holy white ark. The restless strong wind and sweeping waves can easily drag people into the cold and dark sea water. In this kind of weather, if you are swept into the sea water, If the person is not strong enough, it means death, because no one can find the person who fell into the water in this case.
It was obvious that the blond knight sighing on the deck was powerful enough. He was wearing a white armor and stood at the front of the deck, looking deeply into the dark distance. No matter the strong wind or the huge waves, he could not move. He doesn't have a cent.
"Why, Loranda, why do you sigh?"
Beside this man, there is another person. This person is also not afraid of the strong wind. He is wearing a silver magic armor and a huge cross steel hammer on his waist. This silver-haired middle-aged knight speaks in a calm tone. As he asked, even the howling wind couldn't cover up his voice: "Are you worried about whether the plan will succeed?"
"One thing, Captain Robzek."
Without hesitation, the blond knight, Loranda, admitted bluntly: "The storm in the Abyss of Anos is becoming more and more violent. The huge waves cannot even be completely overcome by the magic circle engraved on the [Time Ship], and from the Empire The borrowed core star can no longer hold its own, you see, under the power of the abyss, its light has begun to dim."
"In addition to the specially borrowed Molten Star, we also have other sacred weapons that can overcome the influence of the abyss and guide us in the direction."
Shaking his head, the silver-haired middle-aged knight, Robzek, calmly answered his junior's question: "And we still have time. If it doesn't work this time, we will return to the Holy Mountain and prepare again. If we try a few more times, we can always succeed. Successfully found the [Central Maelstrom]."
"But that's not what I'm worried about..."
Sighing softly, Loranda frowned and looked at the dark sea. As the clouds surged, rolling thunder also came from the sky. Blue lightning cut through the sky, but it could not penetrate the rain curtain and fog that filled the sea. .
—This is his third voyage after leaving Moldavia and returning to the Holy Mountain. Every time he sails, the time that the [Time] Ark can endure in heavy rains becomes shorter. This is not because it is damaged, but because The dark power in this sea area is gradually strengthening.
What's more, before reaching the central maelstrom, the Molten Core Star is already unable to bear the load. So after it is found, what holy weapon should be used to resist the power of the abyss in that concentration? Does it require His Majesty the Pope to personally take action, using the pure white staff in his hand, or other divine weapons
Thinking of this, Loranda shook her head. None of this was realistic. Pope Eagle had to deal with the impact of the dragon disaster, and other holy weapons must also be prepared for that time. Most of the holy weapons they carried this time were secondary. First-class, so it cannot resist the evil power in the Abyss of Anos.
At this time, he couldn't help but think of a friend he knew well.
If it is that friend, the power he possesses is definitely more suitable for the current situation than the Core Star. That kind of holy and orderly power is undoubtedly the natural nemesis of the power of the abyss.
The paladin recalled what he said when bidding farewell to him not long ago—
"... It may be a little difficult to accept this idea."
The soldier with black hair and red eyes said with a smile while drinking wine: "But if you need my help in any way, don't hesitate to come to me at any time - I will not refuse an invitation from a friend."
"Wish you a safe journey."
"-perhaps."
Looking at the dark and violent sea in front of him, Loranda nodded thoughtfully, and said softly to himself: "It's time."
(End of chapter)