Victoria used her professor’s authority to open the heavy stone doors of the Summoning Beast Testing Ground. Inside was a vast circular hall with floors and walls engraved with complex magic runes that emitted stable, peaceful waves of mana.
Light Crystals providing illumination were embedded in the vaulted ceiling. Simple devices for testing strength, speed, and elemental resistance were placed in the corners, while the center remained a wide, open space.
“The magic circles here can suppress high-intensity energy outbursts and record combat data. It is very suitable for safety testing,” Victoria explained as she walked to a console on one side of the hall, operating it with one hand.
The runes in the center of the floor glowed slightly, forming a light blue circle with a 20-meter diameter.
“Alright, just stand inside the testing area.”
Victoria stepped into the light circle herself, standing opposite Camilla with a gap of about 10 meters between them.
Camilla placed Rimuru on the ground in front of her. The little fellow seemed curious about this new environment, its pink body swaying gently.
“First, I need to understand the enhancement of its basic abilities and the specific performance of its new skills.”
As Victoria spoke, a soft green light gathered in her palm, quickly expanding into an exquisite summoning circle.
A strange plant grew out of the light. It was about half a person tall with a straight main stem, but the top was in full bloom with six petals of different colors: red, blue, yellow, green, brown, and purple, symbolizing different elements.
“This is the Six-Color Flower, one of my contracted summoning beasts. It excels at multi-attribute magic attacks and control. Its temperament is gentle, making it a suitable testing opponent.”
“Eh? Professor, you aren’t using the Subterranean Dragon Shark?”
Camilla’s eyes widened in surprise because this was the first time she had seen Victoria use a summoning beast other than the Subterranean Dragon Shark.
In the original work, Victoria only had one combat style in every battle: summon the Subterranean Dragon Shark and use Bond Transformation.
However, she thought about it again and realized this was actually normal. ‘If conditions allow, most summoners would naturally raise several different summoning beasts to deal with various combat situations or to overwhelm the opponent with numbers.’
Of course, Camilla was an exception. She did not plan to raise any additional summoning beasts. To her, having Rimuru was enough, as she did not rely on her summoning beasts to fight her battles anyway.
“Well, originally, I intended to bring the Subterranean Dragon Shark, but the injuries it sustained require more precise treatment. I have temporarily left it with the Headmaster. Her summoning beast healing techniques are the best in the academy, but…”
Victoria explained, but when she mentioned the Headmaster, the corner of her mouth seemed to twitch.
“I only hope that the old woman doesn’t have another sudden whim and try some New-style Activation Therapy on it.”
‘It seems Professor Victoria has some lingering fears regarding certain “hobbies” of the Headmaster,’ Camilla thought silently.
“Alright, enough small talk.”
Victoria’s expression turned serious as her gaze fell upon Camilla. She suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.
“Miss Camilla, do you have any preliminary ideas for your future path as a summoner? Or rather, which direction do you lean toward developing?”
Camilla was stunned by the question. After all, she had been so focused on using her game knowledge to avoid risks and prepare for a relaxed life that she had never systematically planned her professional career. Becoming a summoner was a result of being pushed by the Headmaster.
“That… I haven’t thought about it carefully yet.”
She answered honestly. After all, she knew a little bit of every profession’s skills, following a philosophy of using whatever was most effective.
“How can that be? A summoner’s choice of path is of the utmost importance. Different paths require different resources, cultivation methods, and combat styles. The earlier you clarify your direction, the fewer detours you will take.”
Victoria shook her head slightly, her grayish-blue eyes carrying the seriousness of a mentor.
In the continent of Tarolla, every summoner would choose at least one path to specialize in. In game terms, it was the same as building a team composition for summoning beasts.
For example, a team could consist entirely of offensive summoning beasts to annihilate the enemy with staggering damage per second. Or a team could be full of defensive beasts to grind the enemy down through a war of attrition. There were even “hazard” teams that focused on poisons and debuffs…
“Of course, I’m not asking you to decide right now, but this test might give you some inspiration. The Kin Creation ability Rimuru displayed is very rare. This might mean it has unique potential for swarm warfare.”
“I understand. Thank you for your guidance.”
Camilla scratched her head awkwardly, using the bandages on her face to hide her complicated expression.
How should she put it? Based on Camilla’s previous experience as a summoner, the strategy Victoria mentioned was widely considered a “trap” by players.
Swarm warfare? That style was only useful in the early stages. In the late game, when the stats of various bosses inflated to the sky, a team had to have a “big brother” who could hold the line alone. Otherwise, the boss would just slaughter them no matter how many there were.
Naturally, Victoria had no idea what Camilla was thinking. She nodded and issued a combat command to the Six-Color Flower.
“Let us begin. Use standard magic bullets as a probe. Keep the intensity controlled at Tier 3.”
The red petal atop the Six-Color Flower glowed slightly. A fireball the size of a fist formed rapidly and shot toward Rimuru. Immediately after, the blue petal flickered as an ice spear followed behind it. Finally, the yellow petal released a small bolt of lightning.
Facing the incoming triple-attribute attack, Rimuru did not dodge. Its pink body undulated like a wave as it met the strikes head-on.
The fireball hit it but did not explode. Instead, it merged into the pink gel like a stone sinking into the sea. The ice spear pierced in and was similarly swallowed. The lightning entered without even causing a ripple.
“The ability to perform Elemental Devour has strengthened, and it looks even more effortless,” Victoria noted calmly. However, in the next moment, something unexpected happened.
A crimson light suddenly glowed in the center of Rimuru’s body, where it had swallowed the fireball.
Before Victoria could react, Rimuru’s body pulled back sharply like a catapult and then spat forward.
A fireball of the exact same size and power as the one from before was reflected back at an even higher speed, targeting the attacking Six-Color Flower.
“What? This is… Reflect!”
Victoria’s pupils shrank.
The Six-Color Flower reacted quickly. Its emerald green petals lit up, and a small wooden shield was instantly generated in front of it.
*Bang!*
The fireball hit the wooden shield and exploded into a mass of flames. The shield was charred and shattered, but it successfully blocked the hit.
Without giving it a chance to breathe, the spots where Rimuru had swallowed the ice spear and lightning also lit up with blue and gold light. An ice spear and a small electric arc were spat out and reflected almost simultaneously.
The Six-Color Flower swayed hurriedly. Its deep brown petals emitted an earthy yellow light as a stone wall rose to block the ice spear.
At the same time, the light purple petals trembled, and a blurry distortion field appeared, deflecting the electric arc. The arc hit the light screen of the testing ground, causing a ripple.
“It can’t just devour them… it can also perform Reflect?”
Victoria’s voice carried an irrepressible surprise.
This ability was extremely rare among summoning beasts, usually appearing only in top-tier elemental creatures or special variants. Furthermore, they typically only possessed one of the two. For a slime to possess both abilities simultaneously was simply unheard of!
She looked at Camilla, her tone more solemn than ever before.
“Miss Camilla, I think we need to have a deeper conversation about your path as a summoner. Rimuru’s potential might be… far more astonishing than we imagined.”