Alice had no experience with surprise encounters.
Although she had learned in class that the first thing to do in a sudden emergency was to run to a Safe Zone to ensure her safety, she couldn’t remember a single thing once it came to actual combat.
“Run, Alice! Run toward me!” Elton shouted anxiously.
He wanted to step forward and help, but both he and Anderson were currently struggling to even protect themselves.
“Zhendi, run out of there! Whatever you do, don’t get surrounded!” Anderson was also panicking.
Although he knew this second young miss surely had the ability to protect herself, he feared that Truth would blame him afterward.
‘If I can’t even take care of a child, what am I even good for?’
“Don’t panic! I’m going to break through and help you now!” Anderson and Elton began trying to break through.
Their small team was the only one on the field that had been scattered right from the start; the other teams had mostly formed circles with their backs to each other to stabilize their formation and counterattack.
“Waaah!”
Alice let out a scream. She had intended to use Magic Missile to try and block the Slime’s advance, but because she was too nervous, she accidentally held her Magic Staff backward.
The Magic Missile fired directly at her feet, scaring her into jumping a step back.
She then bumped into a blue Slime, and half of her body sank into its form.
“I’m going to be eaten! I’m going to be eaten!”
Immediately after, a suction force began to surge within the blue Slime, attempting to pull all of Alice inside its body.
Although Alice was fighting back with all her might, the Slime simply extended two slimy tentacles and wrapped them around her chest and legs, instantly shattering her resistance.
“Eh? Tentacles?! How can a Slime have tentacles? Eeeeek!” Like ninety-nine percent of the people present, Alice had never seen a Slime other than those of the First Rank.
The Slimes Truth had summoned were all Level 20. Compared to the previous First Rank Slimes, these Tier 2 Slimes had various elemental attributes and flexible, clay-like tentacles.
Their intelligence was also slightly higher.
“Ugh! It tickles, haha, don’t… It’s so slimy. Wait! Where is this tentacle going? Stop, stop, stop! Help! Help me!”
The two tentacles wriggled constantly over Alice. One of them, after wrapping around her leg, even extended from her inner thigh, attempting to continue upward under her clothes.
When her stomach touched the cold, slimy tentacle, Alice felt like her entire being was about to break.
Despair gradually flooded her heart.
However, at that moment, her gaze suddenly landed on Truth, who was less than two meters away.
The latter was standing there with an expressionless face, watching her.
“Wait, Predecessor, you didn’t run?” Alice shouted hurriedly, “Predecessor, why are you just watching?!”
Slimes would spit out undigested contents if they were damaged, so she should help! ‘I’ve been shouting for help for so long, and you’ve just been standing there watching?’
“What’s wrong?” Truth replied calmly, not appearing the least bit frightened by the sudden raid of the large Slime swarm. She seemed perfectly at ease.
“What do you mean ‘what’s wrong’ when I’m like this?! I’m about to be eaten by a Slime! And how come you aren’t being attacked by them?!”
Only Alice’s right arm and head were still outside the Slime’s body. In contrast, Truth was standing safely in the middle of the Slime-infested area, completely unharmed!
What was going on? Could these Slimes be her pets?
“I’m a Priest. I have zero combat power, so how am I supposed to help you?” Truth spread her hands and continued, “Didn’t you learn this in your textbooks? Slimes don’t have eyes; they identify enemies by sensing the air. So, as long as you don’t move around and disturb the air, the Slimes will ignore you.”
This was true. As long as one didn’t move, a Slime wouldn’t notice them.
Additionally, the other Adventurers were currently making so much noise that it masked Truth’s presence, making her very safe.
However, if she just stood still, there was a high chance a Slime would bump into her, so Truth had secretly ordered the Slimes to avoid her as much as possible.
“Eh… How can this be…” Alice was stunned. She really didn’t know that Slimes relied on sensing air to find enemies.
If she hadn’t moved and screamed earlier, maybe she wouldn’t be getting eaten right now.
Furthermore, the most desperate thing in life was needing someone to help deal damage, only to find the only available teammate was a Priest with zero combat power…
‘I suddenly feel like Priests aren’t as useful as those predecessors claimed.’
“Don’t worry. With me here, you won’t die. Slimes digest very slowly. I’ll stay here and use Healing on you while trying to keep quiet. At most, your clothes will just be dissolved.”
A Slime’s digestion speed couldn’t keep up with Truth’s Healing. The only problem was that Truth couldn’t repair Alice’s clothes.
In another half hour, all of the clothing on Alice’s body would be digested by the Slime. At that time…
“No! Absolutely not! Being naked in front of so many people is too embarrassing! Predecessor, please help me think of something!” Alice’s life was guaranteed, but her dignity was not.
“It’s just being seen naked; it’s no big deal. Besides, you aren’t the only one being eaten by a Slime. Look around; plenty of people have been eaten.” Truth acted as if there was no solution unless her little boyfriend and Anderson fought their way over to save her.
It was just that the stats of the Tier 2 Slimes seemed a bit too high. These Adventurers hadn’t managed to defeat even one yet.
Instead, they were being driven back by the Slimes’ elemental-damage-dealing body slams.
‘I’ll keep watching. Maybe I’ll have to nerf the Slimes later. Otherwise, these weaklings really won’t be able to win…’
Then, with a thought, Truth ordered the water-attribute Slime in front of her to use its tentacle to plug Alice’s non-stop mouth.
Her own lips curled into a slight smile as she quietly admired the beautiful sight of Alice’s struggle.
“Mmph! Mmph!” Alice’s mouth was completely blocked by a tentacle the thickness of an arm.
Her pupils dilated, and her throat moved as she swallowed repeatedly. She looked quite pitiful, a sight Truth very much enjoyed.
“Alice!” Elton was extremely anxious seeing Alice’s current state, but the single lightning-attribute Slime in front of him already had him in a hard fight.
Anderson was the same; although the Slimes couldn’t touch him, his crossbow bolts weren’t doing much damage to the Tier 2 Slimes.
Five minutes… ten minutes… twenty minutes passed. Facing the sudden raid of thirty Slimes, the fifty or so Adventurers on the scene were unable to turn the tide.
As more and more Adventurers were swallowed by the Slimes, the remaining ones began to abandon their teammates and flee.
‘It seems Tier 2 Slimes are still too difficult for First Rank Adventurers.’ Truth was a bit speechless.
It was supposed to be First Rank vs. Second Rank, but there was only a gap of about five levels. Moreover, the opponents were just Slimes…
[Sudden Event: Slime Raid! …… Challenge Failed!]
After the Adventurers suffered a crushing defeat, a Task notification popped up before everyone’s eyes again.
Simultaneously, a special option appeared before the Adventurers who had been swallowed by Slimes:
[You are currently in critical condition. Are you willing to randomly discard half of your equipment to obtain a free Resurrection? You will be sent to the nearest Safe Zone and your injuries will be fully healed.]
A: [I am willing. I will regroup and challenge again.]
B: [I am unwilling. Perhaps the adventure in the next life will be more exciting.]