Balamosia Fowlerly Slime.
The Hunter Wiki has listed this slime as the “brain-eating slime.” Although such slimes have previously popped up in other dungeons or monster groups like mutations, this is the first time they have appeared as a dominant faction, almost conquering a dungeon itself.
In an effort to reveal the dangers posed by these poorly understood mutated slimes, the researchers boarding the train were as busy as the hunters preparing for battle. As the monster wave subsided, the researchers immediately started their briefing.
“As the hunters who have experienced combat know, Balamosia Fowlerly Slime has incredible immunity to physical attacks. It is believed that only a minimum of B-grade… no, perhaps even A-grade hunters would be able to deal effective damage. However…”
Crackle!
[…!!!]
When the electric shock baton was thrust at the Blood Slime captured by the Awakened One, the form of the slime visibly distorted.
“As you just saw, it will be quite vulnerable to elemental abilities like electricity, fire, and ice. Naturally, attacks that do not contain mana will be difficult to inflict effective damage.”
“Wow, it’s wriggling.”
“It didn’t budge at all when I slammed it with my great sword earlier…”
Nodding along at the researcher’s comments, the hunters began to input the information on the mutated slimes into their respective drones.
“Taking into account the danger level and rate of erosion, we currently estimate the dungeon’s rank to be at least A-grade.”
“If a boss monster is confirmed, it could go up to A+ grade. In the worst-case scenario, we should prepare for S-grade, so hunters, please be ready.”
As the slime wave had slowed, real-time briefings continued at the base.
On the Hunter Train, not only the hunters raiding the train, but also various personnel and researchers dispatched directly by the government were advising and briefing on the current dungeon situation and the monsters appearing.
Various S-grade hunters were either maintaining their weapons or warming up, focused so as not to miss any of the briefing’s details.
“Speaking of which… looking at those mutated ones earlier, the boss will be worse, right?”
“Think a Slime Queen might show up?”
“If the Slime Queen runs into three or four mutated ones, she’d probably get eaten!”
“Ugh, this dungeon is really insane. It’s a miracle no one has died yet.”
“There are 21 S-grade hunters; if one dies, that’d be an embarrassment.”
“And… there was Her Majesty.”
A hunter glanced over at Menelapie, who was polishing her sword across from him.
Though she didn’t use flashy or grandiose skills like an S-grade hunter, Menelapie had been actively helping the hunters, single-handedly slicing through over ten thousand mutated slimes.
“I thought that what she did would work on the mutated ones… but no.”
“Pfft. It was kind of funny seeing you almost get your head eaten when you tried to slice them.”
“Damn…”
“Turns out she’s impressive.”
“At this rate, if we only consider physical prowess, isn’t she at least S-grade?”
“Anyway, with mutated slimes coming in waves of tens of thousands against at least B-grade hunters, the overall danger level will likely be much higher.”
“Wahahah! But wasn’t everything wiped out by my brilliance? No warm-up required! Wahahah!”
“Oh, Her Majesty the Queen. Consider your power; among the S-grade hunters, there’s no one with an easier ability.”
“In any case, it means my brilliance is extraordinary!”
“If only you could speak without boasting… ha…”
Elizaveta IV cheerfully spread her massive mechanical wings. The sudden flapping required another hunter to dodge, but thanks to the S-grade hunters, the monster wave was brought to a successful close.
“Cough, please focus. So far, the radar has detected 21 waves. There are 310,394 Balamosia Fowlerly Slimes categorized as waves. We expect that the details will soon be released but predict they won’t deviate from the error range.”
Experiencing a wave of over 300,000 monsters immediately upon entering the dungeon was certainly abnormal.
Normally, monster waves consist of a few hundred at a time, but the slime wave from the Blood Swamp totaled 310,000 across 21 waves.
Even so, the reason why not a single death had occurred on the Hunter Train was likely due to the presence of world-renowned S-grade hunters like Yeonhwa, Yujin, and Jeus, as well as hundreds of A-grade hunters.
“But I felt something strange during all that.”
Wooden Blackhand clenched his fists and spoke while gathering black wood from around him. Far away, Jeus sipped a can of beer, smirking.
“What’s strange? Is it your bare chest?”
If one were to comment on his outfit, Jeus was practically naked, yet no one dared to speak up.
He would just say something like, “My physique is awesome and beautiful, so covering it up is the real problem.” Besides, it was common knowledge among the S-grade hunters that Jeus was a powerful troublemaker with an insufferable personality.
However, Wooden Blackhand didn’t seem to take a liking to Jeus and stepped closer, lowering his voice to issue a warning.
“Jeus, we’re in a briefing.”
“And? Gulp.”
“It’s disrespectful to act that way when danger hasn’t been completely eliminated yet. Have you still not learned how to properly treat people?”
“Pfft, a hunter from Texas is looking for respect? Are you one of those obsessed with Orientalism?”
“………”
“Oh, fine! I get it~ I’ll try to make an effort~ Gulp…”
“….Jeus, are you trying to provoke me?”
“What? Me? Do you know what ‘overly self-aware’ means? And you’re not my type.”
“Huh…!”
Wooden Blackhand groaned as the scene of Jeus chugging beer like a punk made him uncomfortable under the scrutiny of everyone around.
The scowling look of the hulking Black man was indeed quite intimidating, yet Jeus seemed entirely oblivious, chugging his beer with a grin as if to mock him.
It wasn’t hard to guess the reason for their conflict.
Jeus was visually a stunning beauty and a strong person but was notorious for causing trouble wherever he went, throwing flirtations at anyone regardless of gender.
On the other hand, Wooden Blackhand had a somewhat intimidating appearance, but he was known in the hunter gallery as a “Confucian guy born in America” or “Confucian Black Guy,” emphasizing his love for manners.
While the rest of the S-grade hunters generally tried to maintain friendly relations, Jeus and Wooden Blackhand frequently clashed ever since their time working together during the International Cooperation of the Second Great Rift.
Since then, their relationship had been rocky due to differing personalities.
In fact, black branches had begun to slowly sprout from Wooden Blackhand’s body while Jeus, sporting a cocky expression, produced small lightning from the tips of his hair.
“Hey, hey… should we break this up?”
“Why don’t you try breaking it up? How do you plan to intervene between the top S-grade hunters!?”
“If lightning disrupts our electronic equipment, that’d be bad. We should move everything inside the train just to be safe…”
“Yes.”
As the atmosphere suddenly turned tense, the A-grade hunters and civilian researchers listening to the briefing began to feel anxious.
Even B-grade hunters could qualify to be professors at the Hunter Academy, and A-grade hunters received immense respect, with people recognizing their faces like celebrities. But against the titanic force of S-grade hunters, A-grade hunters appeared delicate like chicks.
Not just any S-grade, Jeus was known as the overwhelming strongest hunter in the European Union guild.
Wooden Blackhand was ranked second in America, but with the first being injured and confirmed to retire, he was effectively the number one hunter.
With those two in a silent battle of nerves, it seemed others could barely breathe.
Among them, the S-grade hunters began murmuring as if they found the whole situation entertaining.
“Hoo, I wonder who would win?”
“I’m betting on Jeus.”
“Are you disrespecting Wooden Blackhand? Do you think lightning would even touch that giant wooden guy?”
“I bet a thousand on the Black Guy.”
“Oh, then I’ll put two thousand on Jeus.”
Eventually, it was Yeonhwa who stepped in to mediate between the two men.
“By the way, Wooden Blackhand, what did you feel was strange?”
“……..”
After briefly looking at Yeonhwa, Wooden Blackhand sighed and raised his hands, signaling that he didn’t intend to fight.
Once he raised his hands, Jeus also seemed to lose interest, stopping his lightning and finishing his beer.
“My apologies, granddaughter of Yeonseo. Sigh, now to answer your question, for some reason, the slimes seemed to be struggling that way.”
“Struggling?”
“Hmm, I’m not particularly clever, so it’s hard to express it simply. It’s like… suddenly, their attacks became lax. Initially, they were tightly arranged like nets, but at some point, it seemed like they were haphazardly rushing us.”
“Then we could say their command entity is gone.”
“Oh, you are…?”
Just then, the voice of a stranger caught the hunters’ attention.
A woman with hair that shone more brilliantly than Elizaveta IV’s golden locks.
The one who had charged single-handedly into the front lines, slicing through over ten thousand slimes with only her “sword.”
It was Menelapie.
“I apologize for the late introduction. I am Menelapie Hellam. Please feel free to call me that.”
“I’ve never heard that name before…”
“Oh, you mean that woman who was dazzlingly showcasing her skills at the front earlier?”
“Oh.”
With Menelapie’s entrance, the S-grade hunters who had been observing her performance glimmered with interest.
“What’s your rank?”
“It’s a temporary hunter license.”
“What? You?”
“A temporary hunter license is treated as B-grade, isn’t it?”
“But I’m pretty sure a temporary hasn’t been on the Hunter Train before…”
Of course, several hunters turned away, deflated, at the mention of a temporary hunter license, which they had expected to be an S-grade newcomer, while others’ eyes lit up with excitement.
‘If we could recruit her into our guild…’
‘How much would we need to pay to bring her on board?’
For someone so dazzling and strong to have a temporary hunter license, she must be a returnee who hadn’t gone through the hunter examination yet or a rising star who had recently come into prominence.
“Wow, it’s that lady from earlier~ She must have been worn out from fighting the monsters; how about we share a beer together?”
“No, thank you.”
“I like the cold ones too. How about it, sister~?”
Meanwhile, the moment Jeus spotted Menelapie, he jovially waved his beer about.
Despite hearing such warnings from Shia, he seemed unable to let go of Menelapie.
With a playful smirk, Menelapie dismissed Jeus’s antics and turned her attention back to the other hunters.
“According to my… no, my experience, if the group that was once disciplined suddenly shows many vulnerabilities in their attacks, it’s usually due to the absence of a command entity.”
“Experience? You mean you’ve had such experiences before?”
“Isn’t it unusual for someone on a temporary hunter license to have experience?”
“Maybe she’s a returnee?”
“Well, you can think of it that way.”
“Being a returnee would make you strong enough to match that.”
“You’re a returnee, miss? Then how about raising some kids together to commemorate your return to Earth…!”
While Jeus’s absurd comments made several hunters frown, Menelapie smoothly let his nonsense slide.
“So, you believe that the command entity among the mutated slimes was killed during the slime wave, and that’s how we won?”
“However, while it’s typically the case that the command entity is the pack leader, it’s hard to tell if there’s an intermediary commander or a final command entity among those mutated slimes.”
“Hmm, Menelapie’s point is valid. The difference between having and not having a command entity is immense.”
“Could a boss monster have been hiding among the slime waves?”
“Hey, where’s the logic in that? It would make more sense if a lost hunter soloed a boss!”
“Is that so?”
“Anyway, the monster wave has calmed down, so dungeon exploration is a must.”
“But…”
The hunters sighed.
Although they needed to explore, the method was the issue.
Above all else, this dungeon was too dangerous.
Each mutated slime was individually beatable.
However, this place was an expansive crimson Blood Swamp.
Even with drone lanterns, visibility didn’t exceed ten meters in this darkness.
Should the Blood Slimes lurking deeper into the swamp launch a surprise attack, there would surely be casualties.
These mutated slimes could burn through both armor and flesh in one go if allowed to approach the hunters.
But having so many people moving together would be inefficient.
The Blood Swamp Dungeon had a vast area of eroded mountains around Geumgangsan.
If they decided to march together to explore the dungeon, it would take months.
“Us S-grade hunters could potentially scout independently…”
“There are searchers, but with the treacherous mountain range and many complex valleys, I heard that the slimes swarming inside the swamp are so numerous that even the search abilities get interrupted by the overwhelming numbers.”
“They’re slimes with mana resistance? How annoying…”
The hunters sighed again.
Unlike simply facing monster waves, exploration presented an entirely different problem.
Even as S-grade hunters, wandering around in this dark dungeon with limited visibility might expose them to slime attacks, leading to fatal outcomes.
“Excuse me.”
At that moment, someone entered the hunters’ barracks.
“An elf?”
“Oh, I heard that the Elf Great Forest also sent officials to observe the Hunter Train this time?”
With large ears, glowing hair visible even in the dark, and an elf dressed in slightly revealing clothing, here was the Big Olgania attending the current Hunter Train.
In front of Olgania, Yujin walked protectively while another elf in a hunter suit stood expressionlessly behind Olgania as her bodyguard.
The hunters mumbled among themselves as they all regarded Olgania.
Some had bright eyes.
However, others frowned, revealing hostility.
“Wow, I see elves here….”
“I heard they finally recognized the Elf Great Forest as a national entity…”
“But her body and outfit are so suggestive…”
“Wow, elves are just as beautiful as they say.”
“But she has some kind of tattoo on her body? It looks a bit scary…”
“Why is an elf mingling in human affairs…”
“Wow! An elf chick! Want to have a se* with me…!”
“Shut your mouth, Jeus.”
“Can’t you even talk, Yujin?”
“That’s right; I can’t. If you utter but a single word from that filthy mouth, I’ll take it as a declaration of war.”
“Haha, you think I’m scared?”
“Then bring it on!”
Seeing Jeus make yet another move towards Olgania, Yujin, donning the visage of a male, seemed ready to attack him, causing silence to envelope the area.
For a moment, Olgania smiled brightly at Yujin, placing a hand on her shoulder as if to restrain her.
“Yujin.”
“…….”
At Olgania’s touch, Yujin’s aggression subsided.
Once the tension eased slightly, Olgania sweetly smiled and looked at the crowd.
“I heard you’re having difficulties exploring the dungeon. So, although my capabilities are limited, we thought we might lend a hand.”
“Help?”
“What sort of help?”
At the mention of help, other hunters looked behind Olgania at the elves in hunter suits.
Surely, they wouldn’t just offer to assist with mere manpower?
At this point, bringing in people would be meaningless given the number of S-grade hunters already present, totaling 21 along with hundreds of A-grade hunters.
Dungeon exploration wasn’t merely about brute strength; it was about overcoming environmental challenges.
“Hey, Ms. Elf. You seem to not fully grasp the situation; we’re strong too. We have 21 S-grade hunters! But exploration is another matter entirely.”
“I’m well aware of that. That’s why I say this.”
Just then, one of the elves in hunter suits placed something on the table.
“What’s this?”
“Corn…?”
“What? Corn?!”
“……..”
The item placed on the table resembled a rather large ear of corn.
At the sight of it, Menelapie slightly parted her mouth, turning to stare at Olgania.
True to her nature as an elf who loved nature, Olgania had a very deep smile on her face.
“By any chance, do you all love the forest?”
