If there’s anything that Novus was always beaten into learning for the two times that he entered the Evolution Domain, it is that one can never have their guard up too high, as not even the heavens know what sort of encounter he will have inside this dangerous place. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

If there’s any established rule that Novus always breaks for the second time he entered the Evolution Domain, it is that he doesn’t keep his guard high enough, forcing him out of the domain for the second time now.

[Defeated: Shadow Slime. Rewards: F-Tier Evolution Crystal (10), Slime Substrate (4), Liquid Shadow (2)]

[Defeated: Shadow Slime. Rewards: F-Tier Evolution Crystal (10), Slime Substrate (4), Liquid Shadow (2)]

[Defeated: Shadow Slime. Rewards: F-Tier Evolution Crystal (10), Slime Substrate (4), Liquid Shadow (2)]

[Defeated: Shadow Slime. Rewards: F-Tier Evolution Crystal (10), Slime Substrate (4), Liquid Shadow (2)]

[Severe structural collapse of bodily functions detected.]

[Detected debilitating damage that will render the system user’s existence within the Evolution Domain pointless. Forced ejection executed.]

[Bodily regeneration is currently in progress (0.19 %). Estimated completion time: 24 hours.]

[Access to the Evolution Domain currently denied.]

"Well, in my defense, I always encountered solo Shadow Slimes, so I just assumed they don’t move in groups, unlike their cousins..." staring at the flood of notifications appearing in front of him, Novus smiles while muttering to himself, almost as if he’s standing his ground against the notification of the system that just seems to point out his mistake.

It was, truly, a mistake after all, as while he continues to hunt, trying to get as much Evolution Crystal as he can, he felt that familiar eerie sensation he gets whenever he is being targeted by a Shadow Slime.

He dodged, taking the opportunity to end yet another Shadow Slime’s life, only for his attack to be interrupted by yet another eerie attack, the only thing that kept him alive from such surprise being the terrifying regeneration that his talent, True Immortal Blood, grants him with.

What is terrifying is that it doesn’t end there, as every time he thought he finally had the opportunity to attack, yet another Shadow Slime appears out of nowhere, this happening three times in a row, making him surrounded by four of these troublesome opponents.

What follows is, of course, a tragic one-sided beating, as even facing just two of them will be a problematic fight for Novus, as he saw that these Shadow Slimes cover each other way better than how Amber Slimes defend each other.

His Immortal Energy goes down continuously as he keeps trying to keep himself alive, fighting, or rather, defending against this group of Shadow Slimes, but to no avail, as damage and injuries just keep piling on his body without him being able to recover them in time, forcing him to make a radical decision that he knows he will regret.

He can still feel the lingering pain of it all.

Utilizing the instability of the fireball created by his method, he thought of the best thing he could do to stand on equal ground against this group, giving him the beating of his life, and this drastic measure is to emulate the first ever explosion made from the simultaneous detonation of multiple fireballs.

An earth-shattering success, if one might say, as the earth literally shatters with the combined explosion of four volatile fireballs, the power from its wake is not a simple one plus one, but rather a multiplicative property that brought out a force several times higher than it should.

And where’s the caster of such a devastating spell located in all of this?

For one, he knew better than his previous attempt, hence why instead of placing these orbs of danger above him, he places it in front, right between him and the shadow slimes, allowing them to destabilize and explode at the same time as he coated himself with mana, hoping to at least tank the damage without completely killing himself.

An endeavor that he succeeded in as he was thrown, blasted away from the zone of explosion with such force that he flew several dozens of meters away, his body, as usual, charred, but barely enough for True Immortal Blood to kick in and start healing himself, but not without an extreme price.

[Immortal Energy: 0/152.7]

Just from the fight against the group of Shadow Slimes and then his continuous regeneration to sustain himself after tanking such a massive explosion, his Immortal Energy hits rock bottom, meaning that it will take him quite some time to recover to a healthy state.

And as if rubbing salt to his wounds, there it is again, the immense pain of being burnt alive, inside and out, creeping in and forcing him to shed tears again, yet he endured, unable to stand the humiliation of crying despite his age, all that even when knowing that there’s not really anyone who will know if he were to cry inside the Evolution Domain.

The future and fate have a special way of toying around with a person as well, as even with his resounding success, triumphing over a simultaneous fight against four Shadow Slimes, his current defenseless state made him completely vulnerable.

So vulnerable in fact, that the slime that he already deemed as nothing but a prey so long as they are on the same level, the Amber Slime, can even see him as a prey right now.

And that’s exactly what happened.

The young man didn’t die from the ambush of multiple powerful assassin-like creatures; he also didn’t die from the massive explosion that charred his body whole, no.

He died from an Amber Slime squashing his head flat as it pounced onto him with its signature attack.

Now that he recalls the experience, he couldn’t help but grit his teeth in frustration, still in a bit of disbelief that of all the things that could get him inside the Evolution Domain, it just had to be the one opponent that he could already deal with, even with his eyes closed.

"Hah, that’s that, I died because I’m careless, there’s no excuse to that, but next time, I will definitely not be killed by an Amber Slime..." he said with confidence as he opens the system screen to check for his harvest, a satisfied grin on his face as he saw the once empty reserves of Evolution Crystal now filled to the brim again.

[Storage Space]

[F-Tier Evolution Crystal (1662)]

[Slime Substrate (Amber Silme) (1523)]

[Slime Substrate (Shadow Slime) (342)]

[Malleable Amber (121)]

[Liquid Shadow (22)]

’It should last me a good few days or so even if I meditate non-stop,’ he thought to himself as he started checking through the other items in the Storage Space, particularly the drops new to him.

The slime substrate from the Shadow Slime is stored in a different slot from the Amber Slime’s substrate, but the description is just the same, making the young man wonder about it for a while, but not for too long, as his attention was pulled by the really brand new resource he acquired from hunting Shadow Slimes.

[Liquid Shadow]

[The condensation of a Shadow Slime’s skills. Consumable.

Consumption grants five minutes of stealth that will be broken once the user attacks or gets attacked. Grants a very small increase in affinity with dark element when consumed.]