The Chronicles of Dwynveia – A Slimeling LitRPG

Deirdee

We really should have stayed in Tyr-Mel, Deirdee sighed internally as the forest around them grew dark. Godsdammit, Tee!

Like the others she reached for her weapon, though her knife seemed vastly inadequate.

Note to self: If I survive this, I should get a real weapon.

She noticed that Lilyth went from a sword to two knives, but as she understood those were made from the pieces of her soul, meaning she was more inclined to wield them.

Deirdee had no such excuse and while she was a little rusty with swords and such herself, her assassin training did cover most of the arms she would likely get a chance to fight with. As her instructors put it, “If you know how to fight with a weapon, you have better chances of countering it.”

She was surprised at how readily she agreed to help the group with this issue. She didn't care about the people of Dan-Hem, not after what happened to her on the other Dwynveia, and was adamant about not wanting to pick up arms again. And yet, seeing how readily the others accepted this quest, here she was. Deirdee didn't want to be the only one to refuse and just didn't know why.

‘My child,’ R’as-T'uar rumbled. ‘What is happening is that you are developing a conscience. And there is no shame in helping others for a wrong reason since the outcome is ultimately a net positive.’

Still… just doing it so that my friends don’t reject me feels like a shitty reason.

‘They are your only anchor in this world so this is understandable. Just ask yourself this: is your friends' approval the only thing you are worried about?’

No. I would hate myself, too, if I sat around doing nothing. Especially, if one of them got hurt. They already did when I decided not to join them. Maybe… maybe I would have made a difference in Akh’ret's Mercy. Or… or… in Mer-Cas.

‘So you have a pretty good reason for fighting - your friends.’

I do. And I will do my best to make up for not being there when it mattered.

‘Don’t let the guilt eat you up, my child,’ R’as-T'uar stressed. ‘You made a choice that felt right for you back then and it was because it let you discover something about yourself.’

Still… as I told Lilyth back then: “actions have consequences.”

‘That they do, my child. That they do.’

Aki

As we prepared for combat, I noticed a change happening in Deirdee. She nodded to herself and then a certain determination appeared in her posture. It was as if she had made an important decision, but I couldn't be sure.

‘Circle formation!’ Lilyth shouted, bringing me back to the moment.

Damn! I chided myself. I should be making those choices.

Still… it was the right call, and after a moment I realised why she made it: the silence of Murdergrove was broken by the sounds of wood cracking and rustling of bushes.

‘They are coming!’ Lilyth shouted and pointed east. ‘From there!’

They?

‘How many?’ I asked.

‘One, I think. Large bastard, though.’

Shit.

‘Get ready!’ I shouted and we all turned towards the danger.

The worst part about this whole mess was that fire, my usual go-to, was not viable here. Well… at least not as the first option. I didn't want to torch the place quite yet. I knew that at least Lilyth also considered that and it wouldn't surprise me if the others did as well.

Gonna have to rely on Water Arcana and my swords then.

The noises were getting closer and soon I saw a lumbering shape heading towards us. There was something very wrong with it, and as a stray ray of sun illuminated the shape, I realised what it was.

The monster was a vaguely tree-shaped twisted amalgamation of rotting corpses, most of which had been broken down into their composite parts and then rebuilt from them into a grotesque mockery of a living creature. The thing walked on three thick legs, and while it didn't have any arms four tentacles were extending from where the head would be for most creatures, giving the creature its arboreal appearance. I wasn't sure how the creature was navigating around, but it seemed to be tied to a ring of skulls in the middle of its body.

When the corpse amalgam “noticed” us, the tissue below the ring split revealing a mouth full of sharp rotting teeth and a purple tongue. Then the monster let out a loud moan of pain and rage and charged towards us.

Its run was partially arrested by vines that suddenly erupted out of the ground and wrapped themselves around its ankles and torso.

What?

I then remembered Lilyth had that [Constricting Vines] spell.

The abomination managed to tear through them, but the sudden change in its velocity caused it to stumble. Straight at Caei.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

Before I could react, I heard Ren shout her name, and then more vines wrapped around her torso and pulled her out of the monster's path. Unfortunately, Lilyth wasn’t fast enough and the creature brushed Caei on the side, throwing her off her path and into a tree.

My alabaster beauty yelled out in pain upon impact, made worse by the back of her head slamming into the trunk.

‘Caei!’ Ren shouted again, desperately looking for something, a healing potion I assumed, in her bag.

I didn't have much time to worry about that, however, as we had a huge monster to contend with. It still didn't recover from what Lilyth did to it, and it seemed we all didn't want to let it. Taros was the first to act and a high-pressure stream of water burst out of vaer hand. It pierced the creature’s side but subsided before it did any significant damage it seemed. Looking at the monster’s skin I realised that the spell did very little damage - just a shallow hole, nothing more. I had no issue imagining that had any of us been hit by the same spell we would likely have been cut in half.

Tough skin or magic resistance?

I raised my swords and charged.

Time to find out.

Lilyth had a similar idea. I saw her leap into the air, her right arm poised to strike. Wind began to gather around her fist. I smiled seeing that. Been a while since I saw Lilyth use the [Fist of Wind] and I knew she loved that spell.

I paused my charge to see what would happen.

No need to get underfoot.

It proved to be a good choice, as Lilyth had grown quite powerful in the past weeks. The shockwave from the spell impacting the abomination felt like being buffeted by a wind during a bad storm. Still, the monster seemed mostly unaffected. Sure, it was pushed back a little, but not much else.

Lilyth was looking at it in confusion. I didn't blame her for it one bit, but it did cost her as the creature used that moment to swing one of its tentacles at her, hitting my wife on the side and sending her flying. She slammed into a tree and slumped down to the ground moaning in pain. I looked towards where Caei landed, and she was already getting up, so I figured out she’d take care of Lilyth.

I decided to risk it and shot a [Lesser Abyssal Bolt] at the creature. I half expected it to do nothing, but the projectile impacted the circle of skulls and caused one of them to shatter. The abomination roared in pain.

‘The skulls!’ I shouted, realising what just happened.

My friends didn't need to be told twice. Deirdee was first to act, grabbed a throwing knife and lobbed it at the monster. Taros followed up with another jet of water, and I wasn't far behind with a [Water Bolt].

Most of our attacks went wide as the monster started turning around towards us, though Deirdee's knife managed to chip another of the skulls.

We started bracing for the beast to charge but then a barrage of arrows hit several of the skulls. I looked towards Ren and saw that her eyes were slightly glowing. I remembered she had the [Deadeye] ability.

Rennie's attack seriously infuriated the monster which lost interest in us as it saw Ren as a bigger threat but it didn't manage to do anything before getting bombarded by Lilyth's [Shadow Barrage] and Caei’s [Rock Spikes].

It was hard to tell for sure but it seemed the undead abomination had no idea how to handle us. Or it actually got dumber with each skull we destroyed.

And speaking of - I noticed that only one of them was left - the one that Deirdee damaged. What seemed problematic was that the monster seemed to be more pissed off than actually hurt by us destroying them.

Think, Aki! Think!

I didn't get a chance to do so, as another knife from Deirdee finished the job and the last skull shattered.

Okay… now what?

As I started to suspect, that didn't kill the monster; if anything, it seemed more revitalised by it. It was no less pissed, but there was more verve to it as it finally settled down at a target and started barreling towards Deirdee.

Did I misinterpret what those did? I thought in despair, as I feared I just killed all of us.

I watched, frozen by indecision, as the monster raised one of its tentacles to strike at Deirdee, who was scrambling to get away from it when a crescent-shaped blade of ice cut the appendage off.

I looked towards the extremely pleased-looking Taros and understanding dawned on me.

It is now vulnerable to magic!

‘Focus fire on it!’ Lilyth shouted as she charged towards the monster. ‘It is now a DPS race!’

I nodded and pounced towards the undead abomination.

Might as well conserve mana.

My swords biting into its undead flesh was the most pleasant sensation of the day, especially when thorny vines of ice began spreading from the spot I struck it with Yuki-onna, blowing away chunks of undead flesh and bone, followed by the hit from Siren, resulting in a star of pressurized water spreading from the wound. I felt mana drain from my body but it felt SO worth it.

Still… once the brief elation paused I was left with more questions than answers. Those effects never activated before and suddenly both did at the same time. It was weird, but guided by an impulse I slid past the monster's approaching tentacle and swiped at it with Yuki-onna again, once again causing the icy vines to sprout.

The hell?

I glanced towards Lilyth, who, like me, was engaged in a melee fight against the thing, and her knife attacks didn’t have the same results.

I jumped back to get out of the monster's easy reach and called up Yuki-onna’s description.

Item: Yuki-onna

Class: Weapon - One-handed Sword - Falchion - Divine

Rarity: Unique

Durability: 48/50

Traits:

Soulbound - Cannot be stolen. If lost, can be resummoned by the owner at any time. If damaged, durability is restored at twice the owner’s natural healing rate.

Elementally Infused - Ice - Attacks have a chance to inflict additional Ice damage. Higher levels of Water Arcana knowledge will improve the probability of the effect occurring.

I focused on the [Divine] descriptor.

Could this be it? The weapons were created by Lady Madness… meaning…

I looked at the abomination. My companions were doing heavy damage to it, but it was still standing and seemed barely fazed. I made my call.

‘Taros!’ I shouted. ‘That thing is vulnerable to Divine weapons.’

The demigod’s eyes lit up and vae gripped her sword tightly. Almost in sync, both of us closed the distance to the creature and began hacking away at it.

It wasn't easy, but eventually, we brought the abomination down. I wish I could regale you with a tale of epic struggle, but there wasn’t much to it - Lilyth, Taros, Deirdee and I were slashing away at it, doing our best to avoid being crushed by the tentacles or trampled by the monster. The former threat was eliminated when Caei, on Lilyth's suggestion, summoned the [Floating Disk] at the point the appendages sprouted from. I could see that one took a lot from her, but it greatly reduced the risk of injury on our end, as we were nimbler than the monster, so it was still likely less of a mana expenditure for her than healing us.

Once the tentacles were no longer a concern, Caei and Rennie joined us to conserve mana and arrows, and together, we put an end to this monster. The relief we all felt as the creature collapsed to the ground, its constituent parts no longer held together, was palpable.

Level 50 Lesser Corpse Amalgam has been slain.

You have received 833 experience points (6833/6500 total experience points progress to level 13).

You are now Level 13 (333/7000 total experience points progress to Level 14).

You have received 1 perk point (Current Number of Perk Points: 4).

Level fifty… By the gods… What have we walked into?

The Painter

The loss of her servant both terrified Lendaria and made her furious.

It didn't even manage to kill one of them!

The two emotions mixed together like paints of highly contrasting colours, causing the end result to lose its edge and form a dark mass of despair deep inside her chest.

She had underestimated the Returning Ones. They were clearly adventurers and powerful ones at that. Most of them had access to powerful abilities and magic, and the spawn of the Abyss and the Water fae clearly had access to divine-made weapons. That was bad. Very bad. If she didn't do anything, the Returning Ones would breach the sanctum, and she couldn't allow that. She had to use every asset at her disposal. Her Lady would give her replacements if any were lost.

Yes. There is more work to be done.

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