Primordial Slime: I Devour The World

Tanaka was still thinking about the footprints.

Even now, as he was returning deeper in the cave...

Even now, as the whole village had returned to their homes for the night...

He could not shake the idea from his mind.

"Humans know we are here"

It did not matter whether they would come after the village the next day or a year later.

It did not matter in the least.

Because the danger was real, and Tanaka realized that he was not strong enough to do anything about it.

He looked at his Soul Record.

[ Soul Record

Name: None

Race: Lesser Slime

Rank: F

Magic Core: F

Skills

• Survivor Lv.1

• Leap Lv.1

Titles: None ]

"Still F Rank."

He was not surprised in the least.

Tanaka had only hunted once, so if it was that easy to level up, then all the monsters in the forest would be max rank by now.

Boing.

Tanaka was interrupted from his thoughts by the little slime.

It bounced right in front of him and then turned towards the cave entrance.

It turned back towards Tanaka

"You want me to come?"

Boing

Without waiting for an answer, the little slime bounced away

"Hey!"

Tanaka chased after it.

Morning was approaching.

The air was cool, and the mist between the trees was thick.

Several hunting parties had already set off, but the little slime was not going that way.

Rather, it went in the opposite direction.

Towards a rocky hill behind the village.

"We have never been there before..."

As they got closer, the landscape began to change.

The grassy fields turned into rocky terrain, and the trees became more sparse.

Some time later, the little slime stopped, and Tanaka looked ahead.

"What is this place?"

His core shuddere. The air itself gave off a strange feeling.

"A cave?"

The little slime bounced once and pointed towards the opening.

Tanaka’s eyes widened as realization hit him.

Dungeon.

Tanaka had played dungeon games.

Dungeons were places deep underground where monsters were born and magic cores could be found.

Places where treasures were buried and deadly traps laid in wait.

A chill ran down his spine as he entered the cave.

The moment he crossed the threshold, a strange pressure bore down on him.

It was not painful, really.

But it was uncomfortable, as if the air itself were constricting around him.

Mana.

This place had an abundance of mana.

Blue crystals grew from the walls, casting a bluish hue over the cavern.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?"

Tanaka subconsciously moved towards one of the crystals.

Boing.

"I’m not taking it."

He bounced three more times before turning back around.

"Maybe just one."

Tanaka bounced up and wrapped himself around the crystal, trying to pull it free.

No matter how he struggled, the crystal would not budge.

"Fine."

Tanaka gave up, and the little slime gave him a look.

It looked at the crystal, and then slowly bounced away as if it had not seen him at all.

"Hey!"

After catching up to the little slime, they soon found themselves in a large circular chamber.

Small blue mushrooms dotted the ground, and water droplets fell from the ceiling.

Various small creatures gathered around the mushrooms, taking casual bites.

They were round, gray, and about the size of rabbits.

Stones.

"Golems? No, those are not..."

One of the creatures noticed them and squeaked in surprise.

It charged right at them!

"Already?"

The creature was not fast, not even close to the speed of the fanged rabbit that had hunted them the other day.

Tanaka watched it lurch forward and then, at the last possible moment, he used Leap.

The mana in his core surged, and his body shot sideways, avoiding the creature’s charge.

Bang!

The creature smashed into the wall, cracking its rocky shell.

"That was probably painful for it."

Tanaka turned to face the creature as the little slime bounced up to attack.

It rammed right into the creature’s side, cracking its shell even more.

Tanaka jumped on top of the creature, and another crack appeared on its shell.

The creature rolled away and then bounced back, determined to finish them off.

Its pattern was simple, really.

Tanaka simply had to leap away whenever it charged and then counterattack when it bounced back.

Tanaka jumped again, and the little slime rammed into the creature’s side, splintering its shell.

Tanaka bounced up from above, and the shell finally broke apart, scattering shards of rock all over the chamber.

In the center of it all, a tiny brown magic core rolled around.

Tanaka instinctively ate it, and a warm feeling ran through his body.

His Soul Record appeared once more.

[ Skill Acquired

Stone Body Lv.1 Temporarily hardens the outer body, reducing physical damage. ]

Tanaka blinked. "Another skill?"

He was starting to think that these creatures would give him a skill every time he defeated one...or maybe only the ones who got the killing blow gave skills?

Either way, Tanaka found it very interesting.

Very, very interesting.

The little slime happily bounced around the broken shell.

Tanaka smiled as he tried out his new skill.

He bounced against a nearby wall, testing it out. Thunk.

"Works well enough."

Tanaka stopped the skill and found that his body had returned to its normal state.

"Good, but nothing special."

The new skill might not have been very flashy, but it would be useful nonetheless.

Tanaka and the little slime continued deeper into the dungeon, and the caves became even more interesting.

More small rock creatures appeared every so often, each one a bit more challenging than the last.

Their attacks became faster, their charges more powerful.

Leap, dodge, counter, Stone Body.

It was all routine by the time midday approached.

Tanaka had already defeated six creatures, and he found that his skills had become much more refined.

It was almost as if he did not have to think about them at all.

They just came naturally now.

As he and the little slime entered a new chamber, Tanaka found that the little slime had stopped.

Its whole body was shaking. It was scared.

Tanaka looked ahead, and his own body stiffened.

Standing in the center of the room was another rock creature, roughly twice Tanaka’s size.

It was even darker than the others, and its shell was thicker.

Large crystal spines jutted out from its shoulders.

Unlike the others, this one was not wandering around aimlessly.

This one was waiting for them.

Then, two glowing yellow eyes opened up on either side of its head.

It turned to look at Tanaka and the little slime.

A deep growl reverberated through the chamber, vibrating in Tanaka’s bones.

The rock creature took a slow step forward, and the ground itself seemed to tremble.

Tanaka swallowed hard. "That’s.."

"Not one of the little guys." The little slime took a step back, but Tanaka did not move.

Instead, a grin appeared on his face. "Finally," Tanaka said, "...a real fight."

The rock monster lowered its body, preparing to charge.