Chapter 145: Mumu

Knock.

The moment the second knock sounded, every chain wrapped around the coffin went taut simultaneously. Laira lowered her center of gravity, a Thunder Flame longspear slowly condensing in her hand; Ruo Yan stood at an angle behind Ethan, Soul Threads sliding from her fingertips, running along the stone floor before fanning out to both sides of the great hall.

Nobody advanced.

From Floor 19 through Floor 26, they’d encountered all manner of monsters: Bone Dragons, Corpse Demons, six-armed humanoids, even creatures fast enough to dodge Boundary Breaker’s rounds. But Floor 27 was entirely different. No target announcement, no monsters waiting, just a black coffin locked down by dozens of chains and something knocking from inside.

Knock.

The third time.

A chain suddenly snapped loose.

CLANG!

The broken end whipped across the great hall, slamming into a nearby stone pillar and blasting its surface apart in chunks. Laira immediately shifted half a step forward, shielding Ethan behind her.

"Should I open it?"

Ethan watched the coffin, shaking harder with each passing second.

"No need."

CRACK!

The second chain broke.

Then the third.

CLANG! CLANG!

In barely a few seconds, over a dozen chains had simultaneously burst free from the coffin’s body. The heavy stone lid was pushed upward bit by bit, revealing a pitch-black gap beneath. A stream of pale yellow vapor poured out, making Laira grip her longspear tighter while Ruo Yan pulled her Soul Threads taut.

CRASH!

The coffin lid flew straight into the ceiling, stone debris raining down like a shower. Ethan squinted slightly as a mass of black-and-yellow matter slowly rose from inside.

First came a rounded top, then two glowing yellow eyes. Its entire soft body puffed up, spilling over both sides of the coffin like a mass of thick liquid. When it had fully risen, the creature stood over three meters tall, its body a bright gold but mottled with patches of black liquid spreading from the crown of its head down both sides. Two short, round arms protruded from its torso, and behind it were two small wing-like structures formed from yellow-black energy.

Hovering above its head was a lopsided halo.

The bizarre creature looked at Ethan.

Ethan looked back.

Laira slowly lowered her spear tip. Ruo Yan stood still, her cold gaze observing.

The Slime blinked.

"Mumu."

A voice so soft it was completely at odds with the coffin, the chain-laden great hall, and the tension that had just filled the air.

Ethan said nothing.

Laira tilted her head. "That’s what was locked up?"

"Mumu."

The Slime raised one short arm, looking as though it was waving hello.

Laira turned to Ethan. "Can I hit it?"

"Wait a moment."

Ethan still didn’t sense clear killing intent from it. The Slime also showed no sign of charging at them, just standing in the coffin with its yellow eyes blinking, then producing a very serious sound.

"Mumu."

Right then, the scraping of bone on bone rang out from all four directions.

The smile that had just appeared on Ethan’s lips instantly vanished.

A beast skeleton in a wall niche stirred, then a second, a third. In just seconds, the entire great hall seemed to come alive. Wolf skeletons crawled from crevices in the stone, a giant bird reduced to nothing but a frame spread wings nearly ten meters wide overhead, and two armored humanoid skeletons dragged greatswords off the floor. Further away, a four-legged creature with a skull nearly as large as Ruo Yan’s body was also slowly rising to its feet.

Ten.

Thirty.

Fifty.

The numbers kept climbing.

Laira looked around, her voice turning cold. "I knew it wasn’t that cute."

"Mumu?"

The Slime tilted its head slightly, then raised both short arms at the same time. The halo above its head immediately blazed to life.

HUMMM!

A golden wave swept through the great hall. Every skeleton was coated in a thin membrane of light.

Laira didn’t wait any longer. She stomped down hard, the Thunder Flame longspear trailing a crimson-violet streak as it pierced straight through three skeletons blocking her path.

CRASH!

The spear tip struck the center of the first skeleton’s chest. A very small sound rang out, the golden membrane around it shattered, but the skeleton remained standing in place.

Laira paused.

"Hm?"

The skeleton raised its sword and swung down. She tilted her head to dodge, then swept the spear shaft horizontally.

BOOM!

This time, its torso finally broke apart. Laira looked down at the pile of bones at her feet, then turned to Ethan.

"Ethan."

"I saw."

The first blow had been completely nullified.

It wasn’t damage reduction, absorption, or conversion. It was one-hit damage immunity.

Laira had barely destroyed the first skeleton when over twenty others charged in from all sides. Ruo Yan flicked her wrist, and Soul Threads immediately went taut between the stone pillars, coiling around the ankles and knee joints of a group of creatures.

"Don’t let them get close to Ethan."

"I know."

Laira spun the longspear, and a ring of Thunder Flame detonated.

BOOM!

Over a dozen golden membranes shattered simultaneously, but the skeletons were only pushed back. Just as she was preparing to strike again, the Slime’s voice rang out.

"Mumu!"

A pale blue wave swept through the great hall. The skeletons that had been moving sluggishly suddenly surged in speed, joints clattering against each other frantically. A Skeleton Warrior that had been over ten meters from Laira appeared right in front of her.

Laira drove the spear butt straight into its face.

CRASH!

The skull shattered, but two others had already circled behind her. Laira spun and kicked one away, then frowned at the Slime.

"I’m starting to hate that ’Mumu’ sound."

"Mumu?"

The creature in the distance tilted its head again.

Ruo Yan looked at it. "I think it understands."

"All the more reason to hit it."

Ethan didn’t join the debate. His eyes kept moving between the Slime and its skeleton army.

Ten seconds.

Every ten seconds, the halo above its head fluctuated once.

First was one-hit damage immunity. Ten seconds later, a speed boost. Ten seconds after that, the Slime’s voice rang out again.

"Mumu!"

Red light washed over the skeletons.

BOOM!

Every creature’s aura spiked simultaneously. Laira had just knocked a Skeleton Beast away when another’s claws slammed into her dragon wing.

CLANG!

She slid back two steps, her red-orange eyes widening slightly.

"They got stronger?"

"Yeah." Ethan sidestepped, dodging a bone arrow. "It’s continuously buffing them."

Ruo Yan tightened her grip. Three skeletons were yanked down by Soul Threads, but a blue glow immediately settled over them right after. The cracks in their bones began sealing shut.

"It heals too?"

"Mumu!"

The fifth time, a brown aura blanketed the monsters. Bones that had been grayish-white quickly took on a metallic sheen. Laira thrust her spear.

CLANG!

For the first time, the spear tip couldn’t pierce through.

She stared at the skeleton before her, then slowly turned her head toward the Slime.

"Ethan."

"I’m still watching."

"I want to hit it."

"I’m starting to think the same thing."

The Slime raised both hands again.

Ethan suddenly felt his body grow heavier. This time, the effect didn’t land on the skeleton army but fell directly on them. A layer of grayish-purple light appeared around Ethan’s, Laira’s, and Ruo Yan’s feet.

Laira took a step forward, and her foot sank deep into the stone floor.

She looked down and tried to lift her leg. The ground cracked and groaned.

"What is this?"

"Gravity." Ruo Yan answered.

"Mumu!"

Ten seconds later, Ethan was about to draw Boundary Breaker when his right hand suddenly went numb. The gun had barely materialized before it nearly slipped from his grasp.

"Now what?"

Ruo Yan was in the middle of controlling Soul Threads when all five simultaneously veered right, tangling around a stone pillar instead. She looked at the pillar, then at her own hand.

"Control accuracy is disrupted."

Laira suddenly laughed. "You tied up a pillar."

Ruo Yan turned to her. "At least my feet aren’t stuck in the ground."

Laira’s smile vanished instantly.

She wrenched her leg upward.

BOOM!

An entire slab of flooring came up with it.

Ethan looked at the two of them, then at the Slime still wearing its innocent expression in the distance.

"Mumu."

By now, he understood why this thing had been locked inside a coffin with dozens of chains. It wasn’t strong the way Laira was, didn’t have devastating firepower, and didn’t possess speed that left opponents unable to react. But as long as it had enough allies, it turned everything into a nightmare.

Once every ten seconds.

Buff allies.

Debuff enemies.

Without pause.

A skeleton that Laira wouldn’t have glanced at twice, after a few layers of buffs, was now strong enough to hold her in place. If the fight continued for a few more minutes, the stacking effects would only become more terrifying.

Ethan looked at the dozens of auras blanketing the skeletons.

"We can’t pick them off one by one."

Ruo Yan understood immediately. "Kill the source of the buffs."

"Yeah."

Laira grinned at once, her gaze piercing through the sea of bones to lock straight onto the Slime.

"Finally."

"Mumu?"

The Slime blinked.

Laira raised her longspear, her voice dropping low.

"Now it’s your turn."

Actually reaching it, however, was another matter entirely.

The moment Laira charged, every skeleton nearby immediately shifted direction. Without needing any command, they arranged themselves into three layers blocking the Slime.

"Mumu!"

Golden light flashed.

Damage immunity again.

Laira thrust her spear, and the first layer lost its golden membrane. She struck again, the skeletal frame shattering, but the second layer was already surging forward to fill the gap.

Ethan watched the halo’s energy cycle and immediately called out: "Laira, don’t try to punch straight through. Ruo Yan, pull right in three seconds."

Ruo Yan didn’t question it. Soul Threads slid along the stone floor.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

"Mumu!"

The instant the blue glow appeared, Ruo Yan yanked hard. Dozens of skeletons that had just received the speed boost had their footing pulled out from under them simultaneously. Because the sudden speed increase was too extreme, the entire group crashed straight into each other.

CRASH! CRASH!

A Skeleton Beast tumbled three times and smashed its head into a stone pillar.

Laira watched the scene, the corner of her mouth curving.

"I like this approach."

She vaulted over the pile of bones.

The Slime immediately raised its hands.

"Mumu!"

A purple layer settled over Laira. Her speed dropped sharply in midair, nearly stalling out. Right then, the giant bone bird dove from above.

Ethan raised Boundary Breaker. Lightning energy flooded the core, amplified not tenfold but only three.

BANG!

The bolt pierced through the bird’s skull, breaking the immunity layer.

BANG!

The second round followed right behind, and the massive skull exploded. The bone carcass fell before Laira, and she immediately kicked off it, borrowing the force to continue forward.

The distance to the Slime was down to just over twenty meters.

For the first time, the creature retreated.

"Mumu!"

Its voice pitched slightly higher.

Ethan caught the change. "It’s scared now."

"I heard it too." Ruo Yan replied, simultaneously pulling with both hands. Soul Threads wrapped around three stone pillars and stretched into a web behind the Slime, cutting off its retreat.

Laira raised her longspear.

The Slime looked left.

Threads.

Looked right.

Still threads.

Ahead was Laira.

It slowly looked down at its own two short arms, then raised its head.

"Mumu..."

For some reason, Ethan felt that sound carried a deep sense of injustice.

Laira, however, wasn’t about to soften.

"Too late."

She thrust.

Just before the spear tip made contact, the halo atop the Slime’s head flared once more. A layer of golden light denser than any before blanketed its body.

BOOM!

The Thunder Flame longspear struck the defense. The entire great hall shuddered, Laira was knocked back by the recoil, and the Slime only wobbled slightly like a block of jelly.

"Mumu!"

Both short arms shot up, as though it were celebrating.

Laira stood ten meters away, her red hair slightly disheveled. She looked at the Slime, then slowly turned her head toward Ethan.

"Can I hit harder?"

Ethan looked at the creature happily waving its arms, then sighed.

"Smash it."

The grin on Laira’s face returned at once.