I Became a Barista in Another World! Volume 1: New Beginnings [Completed]

Cup 15: The Slime King

How? What was a [Level 70] monster doing in an area like this? Ryu remembered the Night Crawlers in Kodama Forest. They were higher-level creatures encroaching on lower-level territory. What was happening in the Wildlands that caused these creatures to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere?

Whatever the case, Ryu was woefully underprepared. All of his offensive skills were water-based except for [Combustion] and [Wood Reinforcement]. Appraising the giant monster, he was sure that neither of these attacks would put a dent in it. When he had scanned it with [Insight] a red diamond appeared next to its name, indicating that Ryu was too low of a level to inflict even a single point of damage.

Sylfie couldn't touch it in her current state, leaving her fate in Ryu's hands.

"W-we have to hurry, nya!" Aurora warned. "Otherwise he'll eat her!"

Ryu grimaced; a million thoughts raced through his mind. What could he do outside of using his skills to slow the creature down? Could he call Agrius again? He stared at Sylfie's pack, slung over both of her shoulders. Nope. There was no chance he would be able to reach it, especially when the Slime King held her high above its head.

The giant blob edged closer to him, dragging its body through the sand. A wide trail followed as it slowly slid towards Ryu. He didn't have to worry about its body, but the tendrils that shot out of the slime swept the area at lightning-fast speeds.

Ryu raised his agility by activating [Swift Foot], dancing around the slime's attacks with ease.

"It's tanky and it's big, but it's still just a slime no matter how you look at it," he stated.

"But how are we gonna save Sylfie, nya?"

"We don't have to necessarily beat this thing to free her. We just need to get it to let go of her. From there, I can just carry us away with [Swift Foot] and Sylfie's fast enough on her own," he explained. "Maybe I could cast [Combustion] on just the tendril holding her in place."

Aurora shook her head. "Look at that thing! It's too thick for you to dry it with fire, nya!"

She was right; the tendrils were as thick as tree trunks. Ryu jumped out of the way of more oncoming tendrils, shuddering as they left deep gouge marks in the sand.

His attention was divided, half-focused on the monster and on a way to free Sylfie. Something Aurora had said stuck with him. Dry it with fire. Dry. The Slime King was simply a larger version of the slimes he had been killing all day. If [Combustion] wouldn't work...

"Aurora, do you think you can fly me up there?"

"Up there?! We'll be sitting geese, nya!"

"Ducks. And I have a plan. We won't be able to free Sylfie from here. It seems to be using her as bait—"

Ryu paused for a moment. Don't tell me it's here for revenge! He shook his head, slapping himself; he had a goal to accomplish first: save Sylfie. Why this blob showed up to attack them could be discussed from the comforts of Hazel's café. The other adventurers were bound to know something since they were always exploring the Wildlands. Perhaps Hazel herself could offer insight.

"We need to do this now! Before that thing starts dissolving her!" Ryu exclaimed.

"R-right!" Aurora flew out of Ryu's shirt, biting the back of his collar. She jetted towards Sylfie, weaving through a nest of tendrils. "What's the plan?" she asked in a muffled voice.

"This thing's made of water! What better way to defeat it than drying it up?" Ryu grinned.

"[Combustion] won't work, nya! It's not strong enough!"