Alex felt an icy terror seize his heart as Princess Eva fell downward. Desperation, intertwined with dread, fueled each strained movement. He forced his exhausted body into one last surge. The crimson diamond on his necklace blazed brightly. Its radiance flooded Alex with a vitality. Heart pounding, mind racing, Alex fixed his gaze on his necklace that was brightening with crimson light. But he couldn't look at it anymore as he focused his gaze from the necklace to the front.
Meanwhile, Princess Eva landed hard. Her heart pounded with terror as she confronted a horde of slimes. Panic and helplessness surged with each relentless assault, her sword barely in her hand as she deflected the onslaught of slimes one by one. The slimes launched and battered her ferociously. Their rough texture tore through her defenses, giving deep cuts. Each impact burned with sharp pain. Clutching her sword for dear life, she gritted her teeth, wavering beneath the suffocating weight of exhaustion. Still, she refused to collapse, even as every blow chipped away at her resolve and hope.
Princess Eva had cut her dress to her knees level, to move and fight freely. Her neck-length hair was disheveled, her eyes darting left and right to look for any attacks. She also wore a necklace identical to Alex's, though it offered her vitality, but with so many slimes that she had dealt with, it wasn't as helpful as she might have expected it to be. She had already killed countless slimes; after cleaving through more than ten, she had lost count of how many she killed.
Princess Eva stood up as she ankled her knee to the ground to push herself up. The black slime, looming and nearly twice the size of the others, dominated the group. It radiated rare, cunning intelligence, unusual for slimes, which are famous for following their instinct.
Princess Eva was barely upright when a blue slime lunged at her from the right. Alex sprang between her and the slime, intercepting its attack. He blocked the slime's leap and hurled it aside before it could reach her.
Alex spun, breath ragged, and locked eyes with Princess Eva. In her gaze, he glimpsed not only fierce determination but a hope and desire to survive and live to see the next day. Swallowing hard, he steadied his trembling voice, masking his own fear. "From here onwards, I'll fight slimes. You must retreat back and drink a potion." Without letting her protest, his frantic, desperate fingers plunged into his dimensional space and drew forth a glass of viscous, green, bubbling liquid. He pushed it forward and placed it on her hand.
Princess Eva replied, 'You are level 1, Alex. Don't you understand that black slime is level 7? I could barely fight it myself as it hides itself behind other slimes. How can you fi--" Before she could finish, five blue slimes surrounded them from the front, while the black slime hid behind them, using them as a shield. Alex met Princess Eva's stern gaze, which demanded compliance. "Take it now. I'll hold them off. Join me once you're healed," he ordered.
Princess Eva, seeing Alex this angry, nodded in agreement. She stepped back, opened the healing potion, and drank it rapidly with her trembling hands, dropping some liquid on her dress. Weakened by exhaustion, she had pushed herself through sheer determination. It was her first time inside a gate, and she desperately wanted to escape and return home.
Princess Eva's gaze lingered on Alex's broad, sweat-drenched back, standing unyieldingly between her and the encroaching slimes. Sweat stung her own eyes as she watched him brace himself against countless slimes. As Alex tightened his grip on his sword, her heart pounded, heavy with the knowledge that their lives were at stake and they might die if they couldn't kill the black slime.
Alex tightened his grip on his sword, steadied himself, extended his right leg, and slightly bent his body to adjust his fighting position.
Black Slime had hidden itself behind other slimes. There were 5 other blue slimes, varying in size, covering the black slime behind them.
As if black slime was commanding them, all the slimes eyes focused on Alex, black slime's mouth smirked as if to see how Alex would deal with these many slimes attack at the same time.
All the blue slimes jumped toward Alex at once. Ready, he dodged, barely avoiding their attacks. A slime lunged from his right—he slashed it, but he missed its soul stone by an inch. Instantly, the slime regenerated, restoring the cut part.
The battle raged on. Alex strained to shield himself and slash the slimes. He struggled as they charged from every direction. The five slimes covered him in a tight semi-circle, overwhelming him. All the blue slimes were level 3 or 4. Fighting five monsters that are higher level is rare. Princess Eva was shocked at how Alex defended himself—he had not killed them yet, but he dodged skillfully and avoided serious injury despite being only level 1. He would dodge and attack the very moment he found the chance.
Slimes' attack pattern is to bounce and jump at their target, inflicting wounds with their rough texture. The higher the level, the harder and rougher they can make their structure at will, and the easier they can cause wounds and make the target bleed.
Alex was not faring well, but he stabbed the sword and destroyed the soul stone of a blue slime that lunged from the right. As he did, the remaining slimes all pounced at once, giving him no chance to defend. He staggered, barely raising his sword in time to block some attacks. He got wounded and was deeply injured in that split-second lapse.
He took several back steps, bumping into Princess Eva. He turned back to look at her, and his face was sorry for bumping. She was clearly still exhausted and was taking healing potions one by one, chugging at them in quick succession, barely taking any breath. Clearly, she had lost significant strength and wanted to replenish it quickly.
She shouted,"Alex, look in front, they're coming."She stood beside him, clearly sad about Alex's injuries and exhaustion, just like she was fighting slimes. He was level 1 and clearly had low health (hp), unlike hers, which was higher.
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