Not only is it tougher than a normal slime, but it does seem like its overall combat prowess far surpasses it as well. This fact is evident from the scene Novus is seeing, or rather, not seeing right now.

The speed at which his fireball was launched is fast, so much so that any normal mage of the same level as him will have difficulty reacting against it, yet compared to the speed of this slime, that fireball pales severely in comparison.

As if its body is acting like a spring, storing up energy before going on to explode it all at once, the slime blast past the air around it whistling as it goes by, every single blade of grass hindering its path being torn into shreds as it shoots towards its target, who is currently trying his best to recover from the shock of having his most reliable attack completely disregarded.

As much as there’s no thoughts put into this barbaric, near suicidal attack, there’s also no roar, no violent slash, no gory spurt of blood but in exchange for that, there’s a complete show of blunt force, a painful thump only heard by the young man as he felt the spherical mass collide with his chest, forcing him to clench his guts as he was thrown a few meters away.

He was taken aback, extremely, as not only did this slime totally disregard his attack, showing its absurd defense, but the powerful pounce shows that it is not only a tough shell to crack, but a problematic attacker to deal with as well, forcing him to acknowledge that he had let his guard down too much fighting against it.

He doesn’t let it get too much to him though as he finally realized that it isn’t the time to be holding his own strength back, hence through gritted teeth, he forces himself to stand up as he tastes the sweet scent of iron-scented blood, the body of a mage, despite him pushing it to the limits of what he can achieve, proving itself to be insufficient to sustain itself against the damage he just received.

However, instead of collapsing to the severe internal damage hindering him from moving normally, his body continues to hold on, albeit limping, the urgency of the situation making him forget the power of the talent he just acquired.

Torn muscles, shattered bones, and squashed organs start recomposing themself as the effect of True Immortal Blood starts kicking in, the description proving itself to be more than true as just a moment later, Novus is already well healed from the serious injury he sustained, moving swiftly in an attempt to recover from the mess he had created for himself.

’Let’s calm down, create distance for now, it shouldn’t be possible for it to launch that level of attack again, but if it does, it’s better to have some space between—’

He made the correct choice. When taken by surprise by an unfamiliar opponent, one of the best responses is to create distance between oneself and one’s opponent, not only to allow recovery from the surprise received but also to grant a chance to observe how the opponent moves, even for just a little bit more.

This holds especially true for mages such as Novus, as this much-needed space also provides some additional time frame for him, or any other mage, to prepare or even cast a spell, the only thing they can do to attack, and even defend themselves.

The fault lies in the fact that the opponent is just too swift for him to create a significant distance between the two of them, the slime starting to deform once again as if a spring loading up, before powerfully exploding towards his direction once more.

Only this time, it wasn’t his body, but rather, his head that the slime seemed to be going for.

And the young man senses it clearly, all too clearly. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Should it be anyone normal, they should’ve been terror-stricken from the painful realization that they are about to lose their life, a notion that never appeared inside Novus’ mind as he instead thinks of ways to lessen the damage of the impact, an unconscious, near instantaneous decision in his mind prompting him to raise both his arms in a cross to brace for impact.

And brace for impact, he did as he clenched his entirety with all he had, his muscles taut as he forced himself not to drop his arm, his body now only relying on pure adrenaline to brace through the impact of the heavy charging attack.

Once again, bones shattered, flesh mutilated, but now, better than before, as the human smiles at the slime of amber that now loses all the momentum of attack, falling to the ground with a flop as it once again relaxes itself, preparing for yet another assault, instead of relenting after being blocked.

Novus senses it as well, and by now, even he himself thought that he could only be called dumb or stupid if he still didn’t see the opportunity to attack, the sight of the slime appearing flimsier than ever before pushing him to utilize mana once again, only...

’My arms...’ as he stares at the shattered, battered mess that is his arms, the young man couldn’t help but grit his teeth in shock, the pressure of the battle not even making him realize the rapid healing this kind of damage, which should’ve been debilitating, have, his mind constantly on the look for an alternative means of attacking the weak opponent in front of him.

Situation often forces someone either to their own demise or to their own transcendent growth, the difference between misfortune and opportunity something that is divided by an infinitesimally thin line.

The line of whether one will find a way to take action or not.

And this young man chooses to find a way, no matter what it is, forcing him to utilize mana in a way he never did before, energy starting to gather from the atmosphere before it swirls towards himself, not towards the hands where spells should congregate, but rather towards his legs and feet.

But it wasn’t there to cast a spell, no.

The young man, a refined mage who studied all his life aspiring to be a scholarly individual worthy of respect, decides to use the most barbaric, brutalist method there is to man, wrapping the mana around his bones, his muscles, and his skin to reinforce himself, before raising one of his feet all the way up his head.

He brought his heels down on his opponent’s body, a splatter sounding along with a loud thud as cracks started appearing on the grassy ground, the amber-tinted slime ruined in its entirety as what Novus assumes as its entrails lay waste all around him.

However, after all those shocking, logic-defying things that this slime had shown him, even after seeing the state his opponent is in, the young man refuses to let his guard down, carefully watching the splattered parts of the slime, prepared to fight again, still on tenterhooks, until he heard a notification with the matching floating screen appearing in front of him.

[Defeated: Amber Slime. Rewards: F-Tier Evolution Crystal (2), Slime Substrate (2)]