Slime Leveling [Litrpg, Timeloop]-Chapter 160—Trial of Order

"Soul Mantle." Slime#47 controlled the soul essence, shaping it into a large barrier.

A white barrier, a few meters wide, stood in front of the large golden blade.

Boom!

The barrier shattered upon impact. The blade still held some power even after the collision.

"Crap!" he yelled as the blade rushed straight to his soul.

'There's no soul essence left,' he mused with a scowl.

"Damn it." He clenched his fists, muttering, "I can only lose a golden barrier."

The blade connected with the golden barrier, which was already cracked.

Crack!

The barrier shattered into pieces as a new golden barrier appeared in its place, holding against the blade.

Crack!

Cracks spread across the new barrier, and after a few moments, the blade disappeared, running out of energy.

'Only one barrier is lost,' he sighed in relief. 'I expected a few more.'

He narrowed his eyes. "Dragon… I'll get revenge someday."

"I cannot lose more barriers like this." He clenched his fists. "They must stay intact to stop soul leakage."

He closed his eyes and relaxed for a moment.

He opened his status slowly.

[ Ding! Barriers remaining: 12! ]

He nodded, glancing at the shimmering panel in his vision.

He turned to his soul. His will barrier was exactly the same—full of cracks.

"Cracks… any attacks can directly land on my soul," he muttered, recalling how the golden blades had twice entered through cracks.

It was the golden barrier that stopped them.

"Will—the first and last defense of the soul," he muttered, then sighed. "Now it's lost almost all its purpose for me."

---

"I acquired Soul Mantle skill… so why is Will called the first and last defense?" Young Slime asked, bouncing near Elder Slime.

Wob!

"Because it's a fact…" Old Slime replied, folding his hands behind his body. "Will is the first and last defense for weak people. But for strong people… It's only the last defense."

'Not many can acquire soul-defense skills or items...hence first,' Slime#47 nodded. 'And the last defense… because everything else fails, even the strong have to depend on Will.'

---

"What's this?" Remora muttered as his senses spread inside Young Slime's soul dimension. "A divine-level sealing spell… a soul that tried to devour…"

He narrowed his eyes.

He cancelled his Soul Protection Restoration spell as the white magic rune dispersed.

"&*###," he muttered, as his eyes glowed with transparent white energy.

---

Lady and the Time God glanced at the fainted Young Slime.

"Is there no—" The lady stopped when she sensed a presence.

The Time God turned his gaze toward the new presence, muttering, "Watching from the future?"

"Remora…" the lady said softly. She narrowed her eyes.

She asked, not caring about the Demon King, "So, is there no way?"

"No…" the Time God replied flatly.

---

"So, that's how it is…" Remora muttered as his eyes turned normal.

"A sealed artifact tried to devour his soul…" He sighed. "Even gods couldn't solve it...much less me."

His eyes glowed with a transparent white light for a moment. "But you'll succeed… I've seen it… at least in one timeline."

"Take care, Young Slime…" His tone was bitter, his eyes dim. "My timeline… will perish… since you'll not succeed in this."

Even as powerful as he is, he cannot save his world on his own. He closed his eyes as all his close ones' faces flashed.

---

"Ahhh." Slime#47 scratched his body and glanced around.

"Whoa... so much ice…" he muttered, tilting his head. "What happened... and where's that dragon?"

He spotted no presence in the forest except himself.

In the next moment, he felt his vision blur, and found himself standing in front of the tall shadow.

"You have passed the Trial of Combat," Shadow clapped. "Next is Trial of Order—the last one."

"Trial of Order?" Slime#47 asked.

---

Bang!

Bang!

Remora thrashed the dragon left and right on the ground.

"Stop… ahhh… it hurts!" the dragon yelled, holding his head.

"Why didn't you interfere before?" he asked. "I wouldn't have taken a beating from you… If you did."

"Because I wasn't the protector of that kid," Remora replied plainly. "But you broke the rules bluntly, so I had to intervene."

'If I intervened… he wouldn't grow up,' he mused, sighing. 'My alternate version also didn't interfere, letting him die to mere Dragon Breath.'

"There's hope… a spark," he whispered, while still slamming the bleeding dragon.

His eyes glowed with transparent white.

---

"How long is the time limit?" Young Slime asked, glancing at Shadow.

'I hope it's not shortened,' he mused. After inquiry, he'd found his time for each trial was so little compared to others.

"You have one life," Shadow replied, raising his index finger.

"One life?" Slime#47 asked back, tilting his head.

"The time of one lifespan…" Shadow explained. "In this trial… you'll be a lord of a race—"

He was cut off as Young Slime asked, "One lifespan, lord, and Trial of Order… is it ruling?"

"Yes… Rule," Shadow replied, nodding. "In this trial, you'll need to live and rule as you desire."

"And…?" Slime#47 narrowed his eyes, expecting a condition.

"That's it," Shadow said, folding his hands behind his back. "You'll be judged on your rule."

"Okay." Young Slime nodded. "Let's start."

In the next moment, he felt dizzy.

He fainted.

---

"A baby," a raspy voice sounded, making him open his eyes.

He was held aloft by huge, firm hands.

'I'm so weak,' he thought, as he couldn't sense mana, aura, and much less demonic force.

His vision was blurry. It took a few minutes to adjust.

A big green, grotesque face appeared in his vision.

"What the!" he yelled in shock.

"Wait…" he muttered, as he glanced at his tiny green palms.

He noticed his voice was off.

"Hi…" he tried, but the sound was weak and different from what he expected.

"&*#<" A baby squeal echoed from his vocals.

He glanced around and noticed his surroundings.

'I'm in a cave…' he mused, as he could see due to light arriving from holes in the ceiling.

The cave was a few meters wide and long. A bed made of soft grass lay at the end, opposite the one-meter-wide entrance.

He was swayed left and right by big, rough hands.

He finally glanced at the man holding him.

He was two meters tall, with huge muscles, clad in leaves on his lower body, while his chest was exposed. An axe hung on his back, strapped on with a black belt.

'Yeah, six-pack… show-off,' Slime#47 mused, clicking his tongue. 'However, guy… You are too ugly.'

He said, "Appraisal," activating his skill.

[ —Status—

—Name: ???

—Race: High Hobgoblin ★★ {Rare}

—Class: Axe Tyrant {Rare}

—Titles: Goblin head, Lustful

—Level: 111

—Tier: 3 ]

"A goblin…" he sighed. 'This should be an illusion…' he thought with a scowl. 'You could've made me a dragon… why a freaking goblin…?'

"Wait…" He narrowed his eyes as he found a human woman handcuffed and tied to the cave walls with chains.

"What a monster… You are," he yelled at the huge goblin, and tried to raise his small arms to punch.

'Damn baby's body!' he roared, as his small arms failed to obey his command.

At most, he could only jerk his arms.