The Evolution Domain always dictates to him in more ways than one that it is dangerous, far more dangerous than it will ever be outside, the creatures, far stronger than their counterpart of the same tier outside, the place itself, deceptively peaceful despite the dangers lurking in its shadows.

Hence why, by now, despite this being only his third time in this place, Novus instinctively knew that if he wanted to win over this creature that he had yet to see, then he had to exert himself far more than he ever did before, as there is only one consequence for him should he fail to do so.

Death.

And, albeit temporarily, the unworthy is driven out of the Evolution Domain, banned from entering its cruel embrace for a certain amount of time, and the young man clearly doesn’t want that.

Not until he finished hunting this E-Tier creature, at least.

While he still couldn’t quite confirm that it is truly an E-Tier creature that he is facing against, he has this intense feeling that it is, after all, even if its methods are completely similar to all the Shadow Slimes he had previously fought against...

’Move...’ his instinct screams, his body listening to it more than his mind now as he’s just not fast enough to make any meaningful decision in his part, his previously precise, concise movement as he weaves around F-Tier creature proving to be difficult to achieve as he tries his best to keep his life for himself.

[Immortal Energy: 190/200]

[Immortal Energy: 170/200]

[Immortal Energy: 150/200]

It was a grueling sight, almost like a helpless pig pathetically struggling from the wolf about to devour it whole, each passing second a failed attempt to dodge as this new obstacle to his path of growth shows not only overwhelming speed, but strength as well.

With each time that the eerie feeling hits Novus’ system, it is already too late; even his attempt to dodge proves to be nothing but a sheer waste of effort, as it all falls under the same result.

His limbs flew.

What’s worse is that it appears like other than sharp predatory instincts driven by the battle, this one appears to be smarter than its lower tier counterpart as well, instead of just repeatedly trying to go in for the kill only for its effort to be rewarded with naught, it creeps in, like a venomous hunter that is confident that one way or another, the prey will eventually enter its own mouth.

This opponent targets not his head, but rather his limbs, making him incapable of fighting, incapable of retaliating, as each attack takes either an arm he could probably use to parry, or a leg that he could probably use to propel himself for a better chance to dodge.

Still, it approaches the limit of a stealth attack that an F-Tier Shadow Slime can chain, hence why he continues to endure amidst his newly recovered limbs twitching in brutal pain, clinging onto the hope that one way or another, he will be able to find a way for him to trade blows with this creature.

It’s true that it is possible for anyone to cling to hope anywhere, even the Evolution Domain allows one to cling to the hope of extreme growth, but what this place doesn’t allow one to grab is the hope for things to just go along their way.

And as clear as it can be for someone who had experienced some of the horrors of this place already, Novus knows that it won’t go too much his way again, hence why, despite the slime hitting the limit of the three consecutive stealth strikes, he still decided to brace himself for worse.

And that wariness paid off.

Mana wraps itself around his entire legs as he wills it, enhancing his speed as he explodes forward without much thought, as his instinct screams at something intense inside his mind.

Not danger.

Yet again, Death.

There was no sound, no warning, not even that eerie feeling that he had so much relied on to figure out where Shadow Slimes were coming from that came for him, but instead, it just hit without any warning.

Blades of grass got sliced and diced as the opponent aims clearly to end his life, only for it to barely miss as his regeneration allows him to keep on fighting when other target should’ve been debilitated, the freshly recovered legs sustaining torn flesh, battered muscles and broken bones, not because of his opponent’s attack but rather because of how much mana he imbued on them just so he can avoid the danger on time.

"That was really close..." he said through gritted teeth as he looks on his body again, the cuts were not debilitating, yet nevertheless deep, causing him to heave a deep breath in pain all while forcing Immortal Energy to fix himself up once again, as he knows that if he doesn’t, then he wouldn’t be able to deal with the next strike that his opponent is going with.

[Immortal Energy: 110/200]

Deep cuts, lacerations, shattered bones, torn ligaments, and tendons.

A cacophony of tortured voices of himself shakes his mind as the wound exposed into the air causes his body to scream even more in pain, and yet even then, he still smiles, still feels grateful as he already finds it extremely lucky that there is no internal organ damaged, meaning even if it is painful, all his injuries are nothing but shallow wounds to him who possesses an absolute authority that is immortality.

"Finally... aren’t you way too wasteful on Immortal Energy to fight?" What he feels even more grateful about is the fact that his opponent finally reveals itself, after those violent net-like slashes that don’t allow any normal individual to escape from it, the Shadow Slime is now revealed in its full glory.

Bigger, eerier than its weaker counterpart.

The once near-transparent blob of gelatinous mass is now a complete grey, the turbid color of what is supposed to be its flesh hindering light from reaching and revealing its central core. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

’What the hell was that?’ he questions himself as he observes how this one behaves, contrary to how the weaker Shadow Slime just stand frozen solid once it runs out of its stealth, this one seems to be doing something else as well, all that despite being also completely frozen once it was revealed to the eyes.

It was flickering in and out of Novus’s sight, as if even in this state of vulnerability, it was still capable of utilizing stealth, albeit in shorter bursts of time when it is in its weakened state.

Despite the confusion regarding this, Novus refuses to let go of this opportunity to attack, hence why he gathered mana around his palm, compressing it into a volatile fireball that he sealed inside a revolving mass of mana. The process of creating, coating, and then throwing this unorthodox fireball was far smoother than he had ever done before.

Knowing that it is way stronger than F-Tier Shadow Slime, he knew that it would be nothing more than a probing shot, and he opted not to add even more fireball so as not to waste effort should it not work; however, he didn’t expect what happened next.

Just like F-Tier Shadow Slimes, his thrown fireball passes through its body first, then it explodes once its outer shell breaks and serves as even more fuel to the volatile mass of fire imbued mana underneath.

However, as the fire settled, he saw it, that same, turbid gelatinous mass perfectly shaped, as if the violent explosion didn’t affect it at all.