MV – Chapter 105: The Chimera Boss and the Minor Villain

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Kogari had turned into a mass of flesh; a slime made entirely of meat. Let’s call it “Kogari Slime”.

The Kogari Slime expanded chaotically, covering the laboratory. It absorbed all the scattered pieces of meat, growing larger and larger, and soon the lab was filled with meat covering the floors, ceiling, and walls, as if they were inside a giant organism.

“This is bad. At this size, I might get digested regardless of mana.” (Lanpeach)

[Yeah, but each of its cells is a living organism, like a colony of jellyfish. How are we supposed to defeat that?] (Libra)

Libra’s concern was valid. To defeat it, they would have to burn it all at once, but it had grown too large. The range of Spatial Destruction could only take down a medium-sized monster, and this thing was way beyond that.

“There was this old manga, you know? A creature that grew in size as it ate. It was originally made for food, but then it escaped and started eating everything, growing larger and larger; a panic horror story. If this thing escapes, it’ll cause an absolute disaster.” (Lanpeach)

An infinitely multiplying creature was incredibly dangerous.. The world could be devoured by this thing in no time. Isn’t this a bit bad?

[That won’t be the case, Player. I’d like to see that manga, but in reality, the creature still needs calories to move. If it were to grow that much, the energy consumption would be enormous, and its metabolism would be too fast.] 

A message came from the ever-reliable support character.

[If it keeps growing and moving, it will quickly burn through its calories and starve. That creature uses Demon Powder as its energy source, so once it runs out of that, it will stop moving.] 

[I see. That makes sense. Thanks for the useful info, trusty support character. So, all I have to do is run away until its energy runs out.] (Lanpeach)

If it is just about dodging, that would be easy. He felt a bit relieved.

[Right. It should run out of power after consuming about a 10-kilometer radius, turning everything into a wasteland.] (Mira)

He couldn’t be relieved at all.

[That’s no good! It’s going to grow that big? That would be a total disaster!] (Lanpeach)

[That’s exactly right.] 

[Aaaah Aaah! It seems like the signal’s getting crossed! Now, leave it to the real support character, the silver-haired twin-tailed beauty, Libra-chan!] (Libra)

Just when things were getting good, the signal was cut, and Libra butted in, clearly upset at having her support role stolen.

[So, do you have a way to defeat it?] (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach turned around. He decided to escape the lab and run off. The lab was cluttered with incubation capsules, terminals, and desks, making it unsuitable for battle.

[That’s simple. Since it’s definitely made from Element Powder, all we need to do is restore it to its proper flow. Didn’t we do something similar in Dream Island?] (Libra)

[Ho~h, but I seem to remember dumping a lot of EXP into that.] (Lanpeach)

[Something of that level should be easy even without using EXP.] (Libra)

Lanpeach dodged the tendrils flying at him with arrow-like speed as he ran through the lab, heading toward the door that should be the exit.

“No time to leisurely open doors.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach took a deep breath and used his psychic powers with a smirk.

[Psychic Blade]

[Spirit Gauntlets]

Channeling his supernatural strength into his hands, Lanpeach straightened his fingers into a hand blade and, with four swift strikes, sliced through the thick door as if it were made of cheese. A single kick sent the door flying with a loud metallic clang, and Lanpeach dashed into the hallway.

Tendrils closed in behind him, and the lab was completely filled with the expanding flesh. 

Lanpeach ran while watching the approaching tendrils with glee. These kinds of events were always exciting for a gamer like Lanpeach.

[So, back to the point?] (Lanpeach)

[We’ll just focus your energy on certain points rather than restoring the whole area. That’ll normalize the Element Stream in its body, turning it back into a lifeless corpse.] (Libra)

[We’ll also need to destroy the sub-brain at the end. Its survival instincts are still active, and it could once again disrupt the flow of Element Powder.] 

There are two voices for some reason.

[Kiiih! I’m the one explaining here, so don’t interrupt!] (Libra) 

[If this quest fails, the contents of the vault will be devoured too, so I’m quite desperate.] 

[Don’t worry, the combination of Soldier and me is unbeatable! Trust us!] (Libra)

[Actually, Divine Fusion has a version 2 with a second person—] 

[So, Soldier, let’s find a good spot to fight!] (Libra)

(Something about that line caught my attention, but Libra forcefully cut the connection. Well, I’ve only used Divine Fusion twice, so I would feel bad about jumping straight to version 2. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.) (Lanpeach)

“A suitable battlefield is just up ahead.” (Lanpeach)

If he returned along this hallway, he would reach the place where Krishna was fighting. Lanpeach sped up, leaving the pursuing tendrils behind, and slipped through the open door ahead.

“Oh, you haven’t finished them off yet?” (Lanpeach)

“No way! There’s no way I could defeat these many in such a short time. Don’t joke around and help me out, please!” (Krishna)

Krishna was hovering with dragonfly wings sprouting from his back, fighting the Masakatsu copies. Around twenty were left, and the defeated ones, presumably taken down by wind magic, lay in shreds on the ground.

However, the enemy’s attacks were fierce, and Krishna seemed to be struggling to hold them off while fighting back.

“Good grief, time’s up. Another wave of enemies is closing in, you know?” (Lanpeach) 

[Rush]

Lanpeach leapt into the crowd of Masakatsu copies, darting through them while swinging his fists. Lanpeach passed through the group like flowing water, leaving behind radiant lines of light etched into their bodies. In the next moment, the copies’ bodies slid apart and crumbled to the ground in pieces.

“What the hell?! These guys were pretty tough, but you took them out in one hit?! Is this what a powerful NPC is like? Or is it some kind of event boost?” (Krishna)

Krishna, stunned by how effortlessly Lanpeach defeated the enemies he had been struggling with, muttered in disbelief. He had been fighting enemies with regenerative abilities and tough bodies, so he was looking at Lanpeach with wide eyes, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

[Hey, is that kid trying to show off that he is a transmigrator? There are novels about reincarnation in this world too, you know? I bet someone would catch on!] (Libra)

[It’s more likely they would just think he is a chuunibyou, but if the other person is a transmigrator, they’ll probably notice. Well, either way, he might be useful to attract other transmigrators, so let’s leave him be. More importantly, here it comes!] (Lanpeach)

(Libra might think the kid is dumb, but as long as he is not harmful, I don’t really care.) (Lanpeach)

What’s more pressing is dealing with Kogari Slime.

The flesh mass slithered out of the door, pressing its way into the hall. Tendrils clung to the walls, and the entire bulk of Kogari Slime entered the room, revealing its form.

“Don’t want to die! Don’t want to die!”

Kogari’s face appeared at the center of the flesh, twisted with anguish, half-melted and utterly grotesque.

“W-What the hell is this?! Could you possibly be Nicholas, Michibiki-san? Don’t bring something like this here! Where’s the railgun?!” (Krishna)

Krishna, who clearly knew his zombie games, started panicking, so Lanpeach gave him a light smack on the head.

“Calm down. There’s a way to beat it.” (Lanpeach)

There is a way, right? There is, isn’t there, Libra?

[Leave it to me. With the high-level computational power and analysis from being linked to the Space Library, this is a piece of steak!] (Libra)

[Got it. I’ll buy you a steak later. Count on you.] (Lanpeach)

Libra made some cute beep beep sound effects while displaying four attack points on Kogari Slime: two mid-way along the tendrils and two beside Kogari’s face, marked by arrows. The targets were quite small.

[Hit those four points, Soldier! Then destroy the sub-brain!] (Libra)

[Roger that! This is starting to feel a lot like a videogame. Should be fun!] (Lanpeach)

Tendrils sprouted one after another from Kogari Slime, wriggling like anemones. The ends of the tendrils were lined with small mouths bearing teeth, eliminating any advantage of not being absorbed.

And there were far too many to dodge.

“Krishna, I plan to take it down while you’re drawing its attention.” (Lanpeach)

“Leave it to me! So this was an event where the NPC takes down the boss while we buy time, huh?” (Krishna)

Krishna was thinking like a certain minor villain, and gleefully formed seals with his hands.

“My class is Ninja. Evasion tanking is a piece of cake!” (Krishna)

[Wind Clone]

A whirlwind spun up, and four Krishnas appeared. He formed seals again and cast magic.

“I’ll handle the aggro!” (Krishna)

[Fire Style, Wind Style, Water Style, Earth Style, Lightning Style]

Small bursts of fire and wind flew toward Kogari Slime, hitting it and causing minor explosions.

“Kishwooo!”

A high-pitched screech like nails on glass echoed, and tendrils lashed out toward Krishna.. They struck swiftly like a barrage of spears, impaling Krishna in no time.

“Wind Clone, Wind Clone!” (Krishna)

Krishna kept creating more even as his clones dissipated in smoke, using them to withstand the tentacle attacks.

“Nice. Keep holding out.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach grinned coolly as he dashed forward. The tendrils were entirely focused on Krishna, completely ignoring him.

“In the end, it is just a creature running on instinct, huh.” (Lanpeach)

[Palm Strike]

Lanpeach placed his palm on one of the marked points and channeled his ki into it. The Demon Powder in Kogari Slime, which had been consuming everything, reverted to regular spirit energy and ceased its activity. The surrounding flesh turned gray and crumbled.

“Next.” (Lanpeach)

The tendrils lashed out at Lanpeach, now recognizing him as a threat. But with his advanced computation abilities, Lanpeach could easily see through their speed, trajectory, and danger level.

The ones he couldn’t dodge, he deflected with his arms, and those that he couldn’t deflect, he forced a path through by tackling them. 

That’s how the second point was destroyed.

“Kishwooo!”

“Woah there.” (Lanpeach)

[Rush]

Lanpeach sliced through the tendrils coming at him and leapt across the crumbling flesh, landing a strike on the third point.

“Gyaaah, I’m gonna be eaten! Help meee!” (Krishna)

“Hold on just a little longer.” (Lanpeach)

Krishna, finally unable to avoid the tendrils, screamed as he was entangled, but his Element Fusion hasn’t been undone yet, so he should still be fine.

“Kishwooo!”

Kogari Slime spread its flesh wide as Lanpeach raised his fist to strike the fourth point, trying to engulf him.

[Spatial Destruction]

But a cube-shaped fracture appeared in the flesh, and a blast of light created a gap, allowing Lanpeach to escape. Though badly battered, he survived thanks to his Element Fusion.

“The fourth point!” (Lanpeach)

[Palm Strike]

The fourth point was destroyed, and the flesh turned gray. Kogari’s face contorted in fear as it sensed the end, sinking back into the remaining flesh.

[This is bad, Soldier. The sub-brain is still inside that face.. We’ll have to start over from scratch if it escapes!] (Libra)

[We can’t afford a reset!] (Lanpeach)

The attacks were too intense. If they let it escape, it would all be over. Sure, it felt even more like a video game, but there was no reloading if they failed.

“Good grief. I suppose we have no choice. Just pay me later.” 

A black rabbit dashed past Lanpeach, delivering a sharp kick to Kogari’s face, which momentarily stopped it from sinking. The rabbit nodded slightly to Lanpeach.

“Match me.”

“Got it.” (Lanpeach)

The black rabbit spread her arms in a circular stance, and Lanpeach mirrored the motion, preparing his fists while regulating his breath.

“I’ll hit from above.”

“Alright, I’ll take the bottom!” (Lanpeach)

The two launched toward the sub-brain at the same time, slamming their palms into it from two directions.

[Twin Hyper Palm]

“Gyaaaaaah!”

A flash of light erupted from where their attack struck. The sub-brain, Kogari’s face, screamed in agony before disintegrating under the sheer amount of psychic energy.

[Gyaaah! Why do you always steal the best moments?!] (Libra)

The voice of a certain silver-haired twin-tailed girl echoed with frustration somewhere.

And so, all the flesh turned to ash, crumbling away piece by piece.

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