Chapter 429 : Progress!

As I predicted, almost everyone in the entire barracks was filthy with the cursed taint, and the warden himself was almost on par with the man who was running the lab. If we weren't going for surgical removals, I would've loved to purify the entire building in an inferno of fire or a massive explosion. Still, my deadly spike puddles of Truesilver were a decent alternative.

Actually, this might be scarier than bombs, now that I think about it. What can you do against a puddle of slime that goes under you and then shoots out a razor-thin spike of deadly metal? If you don't have the right sensory traits or detection skills, you're kind of screwed. Then there's the bonuses I get from [Assassinate] and arguably even [Trap Mastery].

I'd always favored slime first and magic second, but the effectiveness of this combination showed that the non-magical skills were not to be overlooked. My slime was probably still doing the heavy lifting, yet I still had to give them the praise they deserved.

The downside of noticing all this was that I was getting that itch again… What sort of knowledge would I obtain from [Vanish], [Assassinate], and [Trap Mastery] if I used [Skill Deconstruct]? Surely I couldn't use magic to replicate them, but if not, then what else?

Maybe after we finish this place… I told myself, in an effort to stop myself from doing anything hasty that I'd regret.

If I thought about it logically, assuming that Vee reached her next evolution, then I'd be stuck on the island for a considerable amount of time waiting for her to finish. I assumed she'd do what I did, hiding inside a [Rift Door], but I'd still offer to protect her during the moment of vulnerability.

Which means plenty of time to go into hermit mode.

At this point, I'd cleaned out the entire barracks without issue. I'd also grown used to watching the cursed energy in each person halve and then fly off toward the castle like a fleeing roach, and I was very curious to see who or what was gathering the remnants.

Vee and I quickly caught up on our situations, and it looked like things were progressing smoothly. There was still no outbreak of the wendigos, and despite some residents noticing the large number of sudden absences, nothing had come of it. It was also a relief to see that the escaping cursed energy wasn't transferring to any of the people we deemed "innocent," as that would've ultimately forced us to exterminate the entire town.

"I wonder if we are the first ones to complete this place using this method," Vee mused. "You've got to ask your golemancer friend how he beat this place when we're done here. I get the feeling there's got to be multiple progression paths."

"My money is on him attacking the city. Keldenar is anything but subtle, and it's not like his golems can go sneaking around."

"What if he built assassin golems? Like little spider drone type things."

"Drones?"

"Small metal constructs that fly around," Vee answered. "Although in this case, I guess they wouldn't fly. Anyway, the point is, who says golems need to be big, bulky things that lumber around?"

I nodded. "So basically what I'm doing with my slime."

"I want to say yes, but I think nothing can do what you're doing with your slime. I'm unfathomably relieved you didn't have that ability when you first found me, or I might not be here cracking jokes with you."

"I'll gladly remind you that it was you who attacked me first back then."

"I really don't think you can blame me, considering the circumstances. Anyway… Let's drop it and continue what we're doing. Speaking of which, it seems to be giving us much more experience than just clearing out the fallen city does, since I've gained a few levels, so that's a bonus."

"That's a good indicator that we're on the right track. Alright, let's pick up the pace!"

Next up were the merchants, and, as expected, many of them were in on the situation. Needless to say, I found it cathartic to see that the merchant who called the guards on me was also among the people with an extreme level of accumulated taint.

Between Vee, my [Sub-Cores], and myself, we cleansed the town as best we could. We also began noticing a clear pattern among the targets: primarily people in positions of authority or with distribution methods. This somewhat eased our task, and after quite a long day, it felt like we had systematically rooted out the cause.

It was getting late, and by this point, we were struggling to find targets that met our criteria. We were certainly tempted to head to the castle to see if things had changed, but the fear of being sent straight back to square held us back. We'd talked ourselves into expecting something to happen when we completed the task, rather than needing to risk it.

"Maybe we should sleep and see if anything changes in the morning?" Vee suggested.

"I suppose that's better than walking to the castle," I reluctantly agreed.

We both headed to the inn, and as we stepped in, both of us turned to stare straight at the innkeeper. The man was smiling as usual and offering us a free room, but his once pleasant smile seemed twisted and nefarious, practically dripping with taint.

"No… Not the innkeeper," Vee sighed somberly.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"I suppose the free accommodation might be to keep people in the town until they get arrested by the guards for some kind of infraction," I speculated.

Surprisingly, none of the staff at the place met the level of taint we set as our benchmark; only the innkeeper did. Since Vee was feeling sentimental about the man who gave us a free room, even if he was probably not real, I was the one who handled the matter. I dealt with him swiftly, and the tainted apparition fled to the castle.

As we watched it flee, there was a tense moment as we waited with bated breath. Were we done? Or were there more? The silence was deafening, but after a long time of nothing, we both let out a sigh and turned to one another.

"I suppose there are a few others hiding somewhere," Vee groaned.

I nodded, although I was having other, more grim thoughts. Perhaps our criteria weren't harsh enough, and Vee's idea of multiple paths to progress was wrong. In the eyes of this cursed grudge, there might be no innocents in this situation.

I knew Vee wouldn't be happy with such an outcome, and I wondered if the best course of action would be to enact the purge while she slept, so she didn't have to get her own hands dirty. However, while I was debating my next course, something changed.

"Did it just get darker?" Vee asked.

We both rushed outside and immediately noticed that the entire snow globe had gone dark. Not dark from the night, it had gone pitch-black as if coated in tar. Then, before we could react, a baleful roar screeched throughout the entire globe.

"I think that came from the castle…" Vee said, pointing in its direction.

I nodded in agreement, also getting the sense of a powerful presence festering from that location. It felt oppressive, and that was when I realized that almost all of the people were on the ground, either unconscious or struggling to get to their feet.

"I guess we are too strong to be affected by whatever it is."

"I'm just glad they didn't turn into monsters from the roar," Vee replied.

"Knock on wood."

"Now you're finally getting it!" Vee exclaimed with a hint of joy.

We agreed to head to the castle; our sleep plans had to be postponed, as it seemed the current circumstances wouldn't allow it. However, while we were heading there, I also spread out my [Sub-Cores] as much as possible while trying my best to sense if anyone was moving about. If they were, then they might have been a straggler we missed, but despite my precaution, it looked like everyone was on the ground.

At the same time, I left a note to my personas in [Core Storage], warning them to be somewhat on standby, as there was a chance we were entering the final stage of the labyrinth. If we caught even a hint of reaching the final boss, I wanted them ready to emerge on the spot.

When Vee and I reached the gates of the castle courtyard, we both unconsciously paused, as after enduring the forced repetition, we'd grown extremely weary of it. With great reluctance, we both stepped past the threshold and immediately turned to face the town, as if expecting the worst. We waited, and waited, and after there were no cries or sense of dread, we finally let out sighs of relief.

"Thank goodness…" Vee exhaled. "I swear if we went back, I would have let you unleash the slime nuke on this place."

However, before I could quip back, there was a guttural cry behind us. We turned around and came face to face with a monster. It looked similar to the wendigo, perhaps a mutation or evolution, as it retained many of its earlier qualities. However, a stark difference was the look of emaciation on it; you could visibly see its pronounced ribcage through its gaunt skin, and its eyes appeared sunken and hollow.

"Holy crap, did the boss come out to get us!?" Vee exclaimed, jumping back several feet.

I unleashed a torrent of slime that rapidly took shape and intercepted the creature, forming several loose minions of tendrils and Truesilver spikes. While that clashed with the creature I observed, I was curious if Vee was right, but quickly discovered otherwise.

Yes, the creature had an immense amount of cursed taint on it, and now that it was transformed, I was struggling to drain through its reserves to finally slay it. But it was still not the boss, as I could sense almost invisible strings linking this creature to something bigger behind it, deep within the castle.

"No, it's just one of the boss's minions," I informed Vee.

"Oh, great. That probably means there are more of these guys."

"Try to look at the silver lining, they are probably worth a lot of experience."

"True… I just wish they were easier to kill."

Vee's words were soon proven to the extreme. Unlike the previous wendigo monsters we fought, these ones took their undying to the extreme. Even dismembering their limbs couldn't stop them, as they could form new limbs out of the cursed energy itself. They were like a halfbreed between ghoul and ghost, and despite their limbs looking ghostly, they had no problem causing physical harm.

Of course, these accursed replacements forced the creatures to expend more energy, but that was not the advantage you'd expect. The increased danger and damage these replacements could inflict far outweighed the cost, so it was better to bear the prolonged battle of attrition.

My slime without a [Sub-Core] froze from the wounds, and considering it was literally [Cryo Slime], that seemed absurd. Even bodies with a [Sub-Core] were not entirely immune to the cursed energy, as it continued to bypass my inherited immunity through its bizarre means.

Thankfully, I had more than enough slime to just throw at the problem, and as long as the [Sub-Cores] kept their distance, they were fine. Of course, that wasn't as easy as I made it sound, as the ghostly limbs could, in fact, exhibit similar qualities. Like a specter phasing through a wall, their claws could bypass even the most robust outer defense to strike deep. The saving grace was that their deadly claws had a limit to their reach, even if it was extended by their monstrously elongated limbs.

I'd dubbed this strange phenomenon "cursed ice", as it reminded me of the black flames that one zealot pyromancer from Outeatus used that burnt away at the soul. That, too, had ignored my supposed fire immunity back then, so finding a freezing variant wasn't that uncalled for. Of course, that didn't stop me from trying various slime mixtures with different metal alloys, too, in the hopes of finding something to fight it.

However, before I had any success, my current sparring partner finally ran out of steam. Yet rather than collapsing his entire body twisted inwards, as if he was being devoured by his own stomach until there was nothing left. Vee was left staring at the absent space in surprise, while I was horrified as it eerily reminded me of what had happened to Kappa.

"Okay, so cutting off their limbs is definitely a no-go," Vee said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Umm… Yes. I think that's probably for the best," I agreed.

"On the plus side, that guy gave me a level! At this rate, I'll be ready to evolve in no time."

"That's great. I just hope I find a better method of attack before we reach the boss. If the minions are this hard to kill, can you imagine what their upgrade is like?"

"I hate to admit it, but that might be the perfect opportunity for the slime nuke. If the magical slime equivalent of atomic hellfire can't stop it, then I don't know what will."

Vee might have been joking, but what she said did give me an idea. Out of all my tests and playing around with [Nitro Slime], there was one obvious thing I'd never attempted. Back then, it wasn't something I'd ever considered, as it was excessively wasteful, putting even my self-destructing worm to shame, but now… With all the resources I had available, not to mention reconstruction discounts, it might be the perfect chance to try it out.