There it was: the quiver of cowardice. The very heresy of structure that betrayed the creature’s mortal anatomy.

“By Saint Merin’s mirrored armor,” I whispered reverently, “I have found your sin.”

My fingers tightened around the hilt. The Slime King heaved forward, and I lunged to meet it, channeling every ounce of pious melodrama into a single swing.

[Skill Activation: Saint’s Precision, Level I]

Damage: (9 + 8) x 150% = 26 HP

“Yes!” I proclaimed. “The doctrine of arithmetically justified violence!”

Then the rest of the maths resolved itself.

Final Damage: (9 + 8) x 150% = 26 HP - 26 END = 0

[-1 HP]

Cavernous King Slime’s HP: 249/250

Ah. Saint Merin had proven me a closed system: all output cancelled within.\

Then the Slime King slapped me.

[-7 HP]

HP: 35/55

Anabeth’s voice rang out. “Confirmed no aetheric resonance, Ser!”

I staggered backward, helmet ringing, slime still dripping from my pauldrons. “I demand the next rock now!”

She plucked the next sample from her satchel and hurled it past the creature’s gelatinous bulk. The shard arced through the air like divine geometry incarnate, sailing just above a pseudopod before dropping neatly into catching range. I simply just had to hold out my hand and it landed on my gauntlet.

Saint’s breath. She calculated the parabola.

[TASK RECEIVED: Battlefield Logistics I]

Objective: Sketch a basic map of your immediate surroundings, including enemy position and ally placement.

Boon: +60 EXP

Skill Unlocked — [Cartography, Level I]

Hold on. This is a good task with a useful skill. I’ve always been wanting to get into mapping.

Except I was currently being chased by a 300-pound custard demon.

I threw the rock on the ground for now. I could always come back for it later.

“Last one please!” I shouted at Anabeth. With another enthusiastic, “yes, Sir!”, she lobbed me the final rock. It followed the exact trajectory as the last one, and I caught it with ease.

[TASK RECEIVED: Slime Specialization I]

Objective: Deal 25 total HP damage to a Slime-type enemy

Boon: +120 EXP

Skill Unlocked — [Slimebane Strike, Level I]

Effect: Deals 200% damage to Slime-type creatures. Stacks with other skills.

Cooldown: 30 seconds

I stared at the crystal in my gauntlet, then at the undulating green horror before me. Finally, a task that didn’t involve polite conversation, mapping, or algebraic heroics.

However, dealing 25 damage by itself was a tough task. With my current swings, I was barely scraping 1–2 HP per strike. At this rate, I’d be doing way more dodging than damage, and that was only if Saint Merin’s divine patience held out. A single misstep, and this gelatinous abomination would have me dissolved into something vaguely custardy.

I stopped worrying about what Anabeth thought. She could take notes on whatever she pleased. I was still alive, and that was the plan. I took a few noble, carefully measured steps backward to resume some semblance of safety.

Something important surfaced at the back of my mind: earlier, when I’d used Swordform: Guard, it had seemed as though the skill had progressed a bit. I willed Ceralis to let me check my Knightly Swordform progress.

[Knightly Swordform: Attack—Progress to Rank 3: 99%]

Sure enough. I squared my shoulders, channeling every ounce of precise knightly technique I possessed. I wouldn’t cut at the weak point, as it was too far away and too risky, but close enough to make contact. A perfect strike along its gelatinous bulk would do.

I lift my blade.

[-1 HP]

Cavernous King Slime’s HP: 248/250

It bit through the slime with an almost satisfying squelch, and Ceralis chimed:

[Skill Upgraded]

[Knightly Swordform: Attack – Lv3]

Basic sword technique for aspiring knights. Accuracy and attack efficiency: 65 ~ 70%

With this efficiency, I could muster 10 ATK from my weapon. With perfect STR, I could deal 20 damage before any multiplier. If I hit a weak point, I’d deal about 30 damage, which would translate to . . . 4 damage after going through the creature’s defense, which would mean I needed . . . 62 more precise strikes to slay the creature.

Better than 1, I guess . . .

But that would mean I’d only need—

A pulsating lurch of the Slime King rudely interrupted my calculations.

“By the breastplate of the Saints!” I croaked, spinning on my heel as a gelatinous pseudopod slammed into the floor where I’d just been standing. My armor clattered and groaned, clunky joints protesting every micro-adjustment. The slime’s slow, undignified bulk barely reached me.

I stumbled sideways, nearly catching a shinplate on the uneven stone. The impact shoved me three ungraceful steps backward.

The Slime King’s slow, oozing pursuit continued. I’d only need about seven good strikes to unlock Slimebane Strike, which would bring my attack against the King to a whopping 70, since the effect would stack. Then I’d be able to slay the creature in five strikes.

Saint Merin’s mirrored armor be praised. I had a real chance.

With renewed focus, I tightened my grip on the hilt, planted my boots firmly, and charged forward. The Slime King’s pseudopods flailed like sluggish church bells, giving me the openings I needed.

The blade sang as it struck the quivering cluster of parasitic slimes marking the weak point.

[-4 HP]

I didn’t pause. Another calculated step, another precise swing, another perfectly placed strike at the same trembling target.

[-4 HP]

Cavernous King Slime’s HP: 240/250

[TASK PROGRESS: Slime Specialization I – 8/25 HP]

I felt power. With the rhythm of Saint Merin’s own choir thrumming in my veins, I pressed the advantage. “Behold! Swordform: Third Measure—Continuance!”

The strike flowed from my shoulders down through my hips.

[-4 HP]

Cavernous King Slime’s HP: 236/250

Before the recoil had even reached my elbow, I twisted the blade back in a half-arc, catching the gelatinous mass mid-quiver.

[-4 HP]

Cavernous King Slime’s HP: 232/250

[TASK PROGRESS: Slime Specialization I – 16/25 HP]

The Slime King shuddered. I could feel the counter coming this time from the slow compression of its core. I raised my guard, feigned a retreat, then stepped left exactly as the pseudopod lashed forward. It struck nothing but air, slamming the stone floor.

My boots scraped across the stone just in time for the creature’s next move: a disgusting blurp as a bubble near its crown ruptured, launching a stream of corrosive mucus.

I dropped my stance and angled my shoulder. The spit soared past my pauldrons, where it struck the cavern wall and sizzled like acid.

I had it figured out. The creature’s quiver, its sluggish recoil, the half-second delay before each compressive strike all aligned into a readable pattern.

The Slime King drew back in preparation for another slap. I counted the beat in my head: one . . . two . . . now.

My sword cut clean through its wobbling flank.

[-4 HP]

Cavernous King Slime’s HP: 228/250

[TASK PROGRESS: Slime Specialization I – 20/25 HP]

I stepped with the recoil, pivoting just enough to let the return swing of its pseudopod pass inches from my visor.

Another quiver, another telegraphed lurch. I sidestepped into the arc of its wobble and brought the blade down again, exactly as the mass overextended.

[-4 HP]

Cavernous King Slime’s HP: 224/250

[TASK PROGRESS: Slime Specialization I – 24/25 HP]

Saint’s breath. One more. Just one precise strike, and the boon would trigger.

Saint’s breath. One more. Just one precise strike, and the boon would trigger.

I saw the rhythm, felt the pulse, even anticipated the quiver. It should have been the perfect moment. Should have.

Except the Slime King stuttered. My rhythm faltered, and the beat I’d been counting on stretching half a second too long. My blade came down first, meeting air.

The creature’s counterstrike landed second.

[-7 HP]

HP: 28/55

Stamina: 49%

The pseudopod smashed into my breastplate with the theological force of a collapsing sermon. The impact had leached motion itself. Every breath came syrup-thick. I’d forgotten to manage my fatigue level.

I retreated several paces, out of the slime’s immediate reach. The creature’s bulk pressed forward, testing the distance, but I held position behind a cluster of fallen rocks. I leaned a shoulder against the stone, gasping through the helmet’s slit. I hope I can buy myself some time to catch my breath.

From somewhere behind the safety of a boulder came Anabeth’s voice, “Still zero sign of aetheric resonance, Ser! Excellent showing of choreographed mediocrity!”

I tightened my grip to stop my knees from trembling. “Saint Merin grants me patience. Or a bigger sword.”

[Stamina Regenerated: +2%]

[Current Stamina: 51%]

I forced my breathing to steady. The creature was closing in. No time left for breathing exercises.

Alright, you faithless custard. Let’s resume the sermon.

It tried to lunge, but I was faster. I raised my sword in the textbook Third Measure stance, just the way Sir Roland taught me. The moment its mass overextended, I cut through the fold beneath its core.

[-4 HP]

Cavernous King Slime’s HP: 220/250

[TASK COMPLETE: Slime Specialization I – 25/25 HP]

[BOON ACQUIRED: +120 EXP]

[Skill Unlocked — Slimebane Strike, Level I]

Effect: Deals 200% damage to Slime-type creatures. Stacks with other skills.

Cooldown: 30 seconds

EXP: 1646/2750

I grinned. Ha! Foul creature, you are mine now.

The Slime King’s surface rippled uneasily. It, too, understood the implications of arithmetic.