novelraw Chapter 58 : First Hunt
Chapter 58 : First Hunt
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!
Down the corridor leading deeper into the Swamp Labyrinth, Rozelite gripped her sword in one hand, her eyes blazing as she hunted the slimes hiding in cracks and corners.
The moment she spotted one, she charged.
With a full swing, her blade came down—splattering the poor slime into jelly.
Before long, she realized the sword was too inefficient. So she ditched it and just fought bare-handed.
One punch, one kill. She was having the time of her life.
The carnage was… not pretty.
Slimes were simply too weak. Even the Rozelite from back when she first met Russell might not have lost to them—much less the Rozelite of now.
“…”
Russell watched her crush slime after slime, utterly at a loss.
He wanted to tell her that beating up things weaker than stray dogs was nothing to brag about… but he didn’t want to kill her enthusiasm.
The “use fire” or “throw dirt in them” tricks he’d mentioned earlier? Those were things he had come up with back in his moss-eating days in the labyrinth.
He had hoped to teach Rozelite that fighting monsters was different from fighting people—like how a PvP expert wasn’t automatically better at PvE. Different enemies demanded different tactics. Charging in blindly was never the answer.
Unfortunately, none of that mattered now.
Rozelite wasn’t clever, but she was strong.
As she got more and more carried away, Russell finally couldn’t help himself:
“Alright, enough. What’s the point in killing trash mobs with less combat power than a stray mutt? We haven’t even entered the labyrinth yet!”
“Eh?”
Rozelite froze.
“This doesn’t… count?”
“The dungeon’s called the Swamp Labyrinth. Do you see any swamp here? We’re still just in the connecting passage. Come on—time is money.”
“…Oh.”
She gave the trail of slime corpses one last, reluctant glance before moving on.
The deeper they went, the damper and hotter the air grew. The stench of rot and blood grew heavier.
“Mhm, we’re probably at the swamp’s edge now. The footing will get tricky—watch your step,” Russell warned.
According to the handbook, the labyrinth was divided into three zones: the swamp’s outskirts, the swamp’s edge, and the swamp’s core.
The deeper, the harsher the conditions.
The innermost core even had toxic miasma, which was why they had bought antidotes beforehand.
As they advanced, the ground grew stickier, softer. In some places, Rozelite’s boots sank in, coating her soles with mud that made movement cumbersome.
At the same time, the narrow passage opened wide. It was like stepping into another world.
The walls stretched far apart, coated in thick green moss. Ferns glowing faintly green peeked from cracks, casting dim light over the muddy floor.
Huge twisted tree roots jutted from mud and walls alike, forming obstacles across the path.
A tentacle slipped silently from Rozelite’s collar.
【Light Magic lv4】
The tip lit up, casting glow across the shadows.
Suddenly, Rozelite froze.
Rustle… rustle…
Tiny sounds skittered across the ground.
Rustle rustle rustle…
Rotting foliage quivered as though something slithered beneath.
“Mr. Slime?”
Rozelite’s body went rigid.
“Probably snakes,” Russell said calmly.
He wasn’t worried.
Why?
Just look at Rozelite’s HP bar—nearly 8,000.
“Alright, now your swordsmanship will actually matter,” Russell said.
“Snakes are perfect targets for blades.”
The rustling drew closer.
“B-but, Mr. Slime…”
Rozelite’s voice trembled.
“I’m kind of scared of snakes…”
Before Russell could tease her, the ground erupted.
Two thin black snakes burst out, jaws gaping, fangs lunging for her ankles!
【Quick Step lv1】
Rozelite reacted fast.
Despite her fright, she leapt back just in time to dodge.
“Want me to step in?”
Russell asked.
“…No!”
Rozelite gritted her teeth.
The snakes landed, not charging again but streaking across the ground with lightning speed, their scales blending with the mud, their movements whispering louder and louder.
【Eagle Eye lv5】
Rozelite’s grip steadied, her gaze sharp. She tracked every twitch, every disturbance in the muck.
One snake lunged from the left—only to feint back when her sword flicked its way.
The real strike came low from the right.
A shadow whipped up from the mud like a black lash, fangs flashing toward her ankle.
Rozelite twisted her wrist, her sword carving a fluid arc from left to right—faster than the snake’s strike.
Shhhk!
The blade split it neatly at the seven-inch mark, severing its body in two.
At the same instant, her left foot slid half a step back, her weight dropped, and her sword snapped back like a viper’s tongue—stab!—pinning the feinting snake’s head to the ground.
Clean. Swift. Perfect.
“Not bad.”
Russell almost clapped.
For someone with little monster-fighting experience, her precision and speed were impressive. Her foundation in swordsmanship was solid indeed.
After all, she had trained 【One-Handed Sword Mastery】 to lv4 without using mana—through sheer effort and talent.
Rozelite wiped sweat from her brow, confirming both snakes were dead.
It was her first real monster fight. Different from dueling humans, their attacks were simpler, but filled with instinct, ruthlessness, and the single-minded intent to kill. The pressure was suffocating. Her heart still pounded.
“According to the handbook, their fangs fetch the best price. Harvest them,” Russell reminded.
Rozelite nodded.
She crouched, hesitated, then gripped a head and pried out the teeth with her blade.
“This should at least cover a night at the inn.”
“That’s just scraps. The real loot lies deeper. Let’s keep moving—there’ll be plenty more where these came from.”
“Mhm.”
Meanwhile, Russell’s tentacles engulfed the corpses whole.
The cold bodies dissolved into warm stats.
His eyes flicked to the updated skill list.
【Venom lv0 → lv1↑】
【Constrict lv0 → lv1↑】
【Swallow Whole lv0 → lv1↑】
“?”