TTIGRAAS: Predator

Chapter 6

A shower of red fell down around me as the blood of the monster I was fighting spread through the air.

Over and over, I swung the sword gifted to me by Shizu, taking out my frustrations and grief on the unfortunate foe facing me.

Since the trio left me, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about Shizu. I knew it wasn't my fault, but she was the first person from my homeland that I'd met–and I lost her! Maybe, if I was just stronger, if I knew more, that wouldn't have happened.

I had nothing to do, and she wouldn't leave my mind unless I forced it out. Mapping the forest just involved me covering it on foot, spreading out my [Magic Sense], and analyzing it passively with [Great Sage], but the monotony of it left my mind idle. It kept wandering to what I'd lost–who I'd lost.

[Great Sage] was the only thing I had to talk to, but it can only give me simple responses. It's not the same. I even tried to speak with Veldora again, hoping that I'd have someone to talk to, but I never heard a response... so I started hunting.

I'd learned that hunting takes my mind off of things; it demands enough of my attention to do the job. So, that's what I've been doing for weeks now, not really taking any time to rest because as soon as I would, I'd be hit with the grief I'd been shoving out of my mind forcefully. Keeping busy was the best way to prevent that.

After I defeated monsters I would eat them, and that gave me plenty of material to make new clothes with. Sorry, Eren, I am not wearing this... dress-thing any longer than necessary.

So I had a navy shrug lined with fur, sturdy boots, black pants, and a white shirt. My fashion sense was horrible, so I had [Great Sage] put together the ensemble, adding more pieces as I encountered new monsters. But, as I fought more and more, it required less and less thought, defeating the whole purpose behind the action.

To keep up the challenge, I followed the strongest presences that I could parse with [Magic Sense], and eventually, I came across a true foe–or I should say foes. A gathering of powerful monsters, ones that I recognize, but have only taken on one at a time in the past. Apex predators of the forest; Knight Spiders. A whole clutch of them, I think; there are at least a dozen in this den, and I'm gonna take them all down.

_____

I stood among the corpses of the Knight Spiders, the clothing I'd made for myself slashed to pieces. The reckless frenzy I went into to fight them was over, but I hadn't exactly escaped without damage, even against foes that I called weak when I faced them one-on-one.

As the adrenaline (or the slime equivalent) started to wear off, a familiar voice chimed in my head.

[[Warning. Magicule stores dangerously low. Further depletion of magicules by use of skills may result in loss of consciousness.]]

Really? I furrowed my brow for a second, then stored Shizu's sword with [Predator] and returned to slime form. I'd been fighting a lot of monsters, yeah, but I hadn't felt pain or fatigue so...

[[Notice. The individual Rimuru Tempest does not experience fatigue due to their nature as a slime. Pain is blocked by [Cancel Pain].]]

Well, that's... Actually, I didn't know how to react to that. Not feeling hurt or tired was great, but then how was I supposed to tell when I was overdoing it?

[[Notice. Magicule levels can be monitored with the use of [Magic Sense].]]

Oh. So it's like a game, then. Alright. I'd just have to keep a closer eye on myself in the future.

Now that the battle fever had worn off though, I realized what a gruesome scene I had created. The Knight Spider corpses were everywhere, bashed up, bleeding, and in pieces.