novelraw Chapter 91 : Optimistic and Strong
Chapter 91 : Optimistic and Strong
Rumble—
With a thunderous roar, the castle began to collapse.
The continuous high-intensity impacts had already destroyed its foundational structure.
Though it hadn’t crumbled entirely yet, it was obvious that in less than ten minutes, this place would be reduced to ruins.
Rozelite stood with one foot pressed firmly against the hilt of the Astral Silver Sword, arms folded across her chest, leisurely gazing down at the black silhouette struggling below.
The black silhouette’s hands gripped the sword’s hilt tightly, straining with explosive force. The dark-purple patterns across his body flashed wildly, almost as though they were about to ignite. Even as an onlooker, one could feel the terrifying might emanating from him—a force capable of shaking mountains.
And yet, the Astral Silver Sword did not budge an inch.
Forged from Astral Silver, this sword carried the trait: the more mana its wielder possessed, the heavier it became. Against an existence like the black silhouette—whose total mana had skyrocketed due to 【Subspace Erosion】—it was, in a sense, a natural nemesis.
Boom—
The shattered ceiling fell from above, crashing into the floor with a heavy thud.
The black silhouette still struggled, but gradually seemed to realize the futility of his efforts against this sword.
At last, his grip slowly loosened, as though surrendering.
“As expected—the best way to deal with a stat monster is just to crush it with even higher stats.”
Russell grinned with confidence, feeling proud of his cleverness.
But then, beneath the cracks of the black silhouette’s helmet, his blazing crimson eyes dimmed, replaced by a pair of deep, shadowy eyes—calm and unnervingly serene.
“Remarkable.”
He suddenly spoke.
“…The hell?”
Russell froze.
“This monster can speak human language?!”
“Um… Mr. Slime, don’t you also speak?”
“How is that the same?! And besides, I only use your body to speak!”
“...”
“What difference does that even make?”
Rozelite tilted her head, unable to follow, while Russell seized control of her body.
He crouched slightly, staring into the dark silhouette’s eyes.
“If you’ve got something to say, speak now. Soon you’ll vanish from this world. This is your only chance. Doesn’t matter if it’s ‘I left everything hidden there,’ or if you want to cry out for mommy. But I’d prefer something useful, like the location of this castle’s treasure vault—or the password to open it.”
“Grandes Aikalev.”
The black silhouette spoke.
“Who?”
“…Never heard of him? Then what time is it now? Who is the current Demon King?”
“Oi, oi, hang on—do you not realize you’ve got this all backwards?”
Russell tilted his head, kindly reminding, “I am the one asking questions here. Why are you the one questioning me? Did you mistake this merciful chance to speak your last words for a round of Truth or Dare?”
“…Forget it. I’ve been dead for a long time anyway. Knowing won’t change anything.”
The black silhouette seemed to sigh.
From his words, he appeared to understand his own condition.
Silence lingered.
Just as Russell was growing impatient, ready to devour him outright—
The black silhouette spoke again.
“There’s no gold or jewels here. After I became this thing, my days blurred in a haze, with only short moments of clarity. And even then, there was nothing to do. So I recorded everything that happened. Perhaps it might help you.”
He raised a hand, pointing toward the throne at the far end of the palace, the one he had once occupied.
“If I recall correctly, it should be hidden inside the chair’s backrest compartment. The opening mechanism is complicated. I have no time to explain—you’ll have to figure it out yourself.”
“…That’s awfully irresponsible, isn’t it?”
“After all, I’ve been dead a long time already.”
The black silhouette said nothing more. He stared silently at the collapsing palace, as though awaiting death.
Fine then.
Russell didn’t bother with courtesy.
Pale-blue tentacles wrapped around him, completely engulfing his body.
【Insatiable Lv∞】
The black silhouette dissolved within the slime’s body.
“All of my achievements are thanks to my sweat and hard work! Deep Blue, give me more points!”
【Level: 58 → 70↑】
【HP: 2100 → 4500↑】
【MP: 1,025,900 → 1,112,280↑】
【Subspace Erosion Lv4 → Lv8↑】
【Mana Enhancement Lv6 → Lv8↑】
【Undead Summoning Lv0 → Lv7↑】
【Magic Resistance Lv7 → Lv8↑】
【Death Mark Lv2 → Lv5↑】
As for Rozelite, she also received changes.
Considering her current weaknesses, Russell tried allocating some skills he hadn’t considered before, hoping they would be useful.
【Level: 50 → 70↑】
【HP: 85,270 → 212,800↑】
【Mana Enhancement Lv6 → Lv8↑】
【Two-Handed Sword Mastery Lv0 → Lv7↑】
【One-Handed Sword Mastery Lv6 → Lv8↑】
【Battlefield Command Lv0 → Lv6↑】
【Regeneration Lv0 → Lv6↑】
【Quick Movement Lv6 → Lv7↑】
【Shield Mastery Lv0 → Lv6↑】
【Spear Mastery Lv0 → Lv6↑】
【Weak Point Targeting Lv1 → Lv6↑】
【Demon King’s Blessing Lv0 → Lv6↑】
The point allocation complete, their stats skyrocketed.
To be honest, Russell thought this felt exactly like some third-rate NovelBin trash game story—where stat inflation hit before the midgame, breaking all balance, until the late game became unreadable. Even a stray mutt on the roadside could duel the protagonist, and despite having reached the divine realm, they’d still faint from a little knockout powder.
But still, no matter how broken, seeing those numbers rise was satisfying.
Russell could clearly feel it.
He had become stronger, together with Rozelite.
“Right… your arm…”
Russell reminded her.
Rozelite lowered her gaze to her left arm.
Russell withdrew the tentacles that had been attaching her severed limb, then tried aligning the stump and activating 【Regeneration Lv6】.
However—
A few fleshy buds sprouted at the stump, as though new flesh was attempting to regrow an entirely new arm.
But the severed arm itself could not be reattached.
Her body treated it completely as a foreign object, with no intention of reconnecting it.
“Not sure of the logic here… but it seems regrowing a new arm is simpler than reattaching a completely severed one,” Russell said hesitantly.
“However, at this rate of regeneration, your arm won’t be back anytime soon…”
Rozelite froze.
Then quickly smiled.
“It’s fine! I still have you, Mr. Slime. Until my arm grows back, you’ll just be my arm instead!”
“What an optimistic attitude.”
Russell thought silently.
“When did this child… become so strong and optimistic?”
“But in that case, this arm’s useless now.”
Rozelite weighed the severed limb in her hand, then, on a sudden whim, said, “Why don’t you eat it, Mr. Slime? Fresh like this, I bet it’s delicious!”
He took back what he said earlier.
This child wasn’t optimistic.
She had gone mad.