Syl: Chapter 232

Chapter 232: Spider Time

Damn, that's useful. Vee thought as she watched her two gas spells be blown straight towards the enemies.

Magic had many useful applications, and Syl was a real Swiss army knife with various spells and abilities. If Vee was honest with herself, she had given up trying to catalog or put a number to the multiple forms of magic or slime abilities that had been displayed.

And all I got is [Corrosion Magic] and [Dimension Magic]. Not to sound ungrateful, but having one of the more basic forms would have been helpful. I just have to hope that once Syl gets the magic affinity, she can figure out something good to do with it or help me figure out something. I have some ideas but don't have the skills or technique to work with the troublesome Mana type on my own.

Vee used [Blink] to appear on the other side of the warrior enemy, holding the scythe. She then used [Identify] to try to get an idea of what she was up against.

<Otto [Outeatus Page]; Human LV 24; Reaver Knight LV 32.>

No idea what a Reaver Knight is. But I'm probably good as long as I don't let that scythe-like blade hit me!

While the knight was distracted, she quickly formed three spells of [Acid Dart] using [Multicasting].

[Multitasking]... [Multicasting]... Seriously, they should work on some of these skill names. I wish I had extra brains to cast spells for myself; Syl makes it look far too easy.

When the spells were formed, she noticed they got a quick boost in magical power, another extra benefit she'd gained from teaming up with the silly slime. When the spells reached their peak, Vee released them and sent the sizzling darts flying towards the knight. All three struck, and he grunted in pain.

Vee cheered mentally and [Blinked] to another spot, quickly repeating the attack pattern. The man was growing angry and trying to spot his assailant, but Vee was ensuring she was still small and hard to spot. Combined with the upgraded [Stealth] skill [Vanish], she'd become a good assassin.

Although it would be a lot easier if I cut him with some threads. But I better stick to the magic training for now. The sooner I get better with magic, the sooner I can repay Syl. She really wants that Dimension affinity...

"The spider is over there!" the woman shouted, pointing with her good arm.

Vee glanced at the source, throwing out another [Identify].

<Zara [Outeatus Squire]; Human LV 17; Gale Stalker LV 38.>

Vee snickered a bit at seeing the woman who had fallen so easily for the trap. Casting [Pocket Space], she reached in and pulled out some premade [Rift Thread], and with a trickle of Dimension Mana combined with [Thread Mastery], she teleported and laid out the trap between her and the warrior.

Let's see if a good old tripwire works wonders!

Vee continued casting spells at the warrior, although now that he could see her directly, he attempted to dodge or parry with his weapon. At first, Vee thought with glee that he would ruin his weapon by blocking acid, but zooming in with [Eagle Vision], she noted that his weapon was coated in what looked like blood.

I guess melting his weapon would be too easy. Oh well, let's see if he spots the trap!

"You damned pet, making fun of the Emperor's finest!" Otto bellowed angrily.

"Aren't you a page? That's lower than a squire and a knight, right? Emperor's finest, my ass!" Vee taunted, although it was just spidery hisses.

Elsewhere, a pixie was giggling to herself and watching the action.

As Vee had hoped, the knight blindly charged forward straight through her deadly trap. His one foot came cleanly off with surgical precision. He turned to correct himself in time, though, and avoided getting another amputation by instead taking a massive gash into his thigh.

Regardless, he still hit the ground, and Vee capitalized on it by releasing another batch of [Poison Mist] and [Acid Mist] at him. The man coughed and spluttered while screaming bloody rage. Eventually, standing up with a false foot of hardened blood.

Reaver? Blood? Vee wondered.

The man looked like hell as he frantically tried to escape from deadly mists. He retreated backward to avoid the trap, but his lowered mobility meant he was easy target practice for the spider to unleash a barrage of spells.

"I will not yield! You'll run out of Mana eventually!" Otto yelled, coating himself in some form of blood armor.

Vee smirked as she cast [Pocket Space] and pulled out a potion. She drank the concoction and felt her Mana reserves rapidly replenishing.

"By the Emperor, did that spider just drink a Mana potion?" Zara cried out.

Otto screamed out in rage. He retracted his blood armor and even his makeshift foot. Blood began to coalesce onto his weapon, which took on a much more malefic appearance of spikes and power. He continued his nonstop yelling as he launched his weapon toward Vee, the weapon spinning like a bloody buzzsaw through the air.

At first, Vee thought it would collide with her traps, but through sheer luck or misfortune, it seemed to arc high enough to not get caught. Vee was tempted to [Blink] away, but then she got another much more humiliating idea.

Vee began casting [Pocket Space], and as soon as the weapon entered the range of her Mana Aura, she finalized the spell. There was some initial resistance, but with a bit of effort on her part, the weapon poofed and was deposited into her storage space.

Vee cheered while Otto collapsed to the ground in disbelief. His last stand was so easily thwarted. Not long after that, she received a notification of his defeat as he succumbed to the continuous poison and acid afflictions he was plagued with.

<Human LV 24; Reaver Knight LV 32 defeated. Experience gained.>

"Emperor, save us... I thought the elf was the monster, but you might be even worse!" Zara said as she glared daggers at the spider.

Remaining in her position, Vee began casting spells at the assassin woman. Sadly, she didn't have the same level of [Corrosion Magic] as Syl, as she desperately wanted the actual [Caustic Cloud] spell.

With Syl's help, they remodeled [Poison Mist] into an acidic variety inferior to the higher-tier spell. [Caustic Cloud] also had other effects they hadn't fully unraveled like a stacking and growing intensity of dissolving power the longer you were stuck with it.

Syl had tried breaking down its components but had gotten distracted by [Light Magic] or something else the crazy slime had discovered. Not that Vee could blame her, but the slime was quickly distractable and bounced between activities like a kid with too many toys.

I wonder if that's because Syl was young in the last life—like she never grew up. Or maybe I'm making baseless conjectures.

Despite being disarmed, the assassin woman dodged her spells easily, causing Vee to feel rather annoyed. She debuffed the woman with [Erode], which went unnoticed, and then kept hoping for a lucky hit.

I could... Set up portals. Huh. Now that's an idea!

Vee began pulling out some portal patterns she had prearranged and stored away, just in case Syl wanted to do another teleporting bomb test or she needed to make an emergency escape.

With a bit of effort, she began storing the various coordinates of each circular web as exits and depositing them in a perimeter around the battlefield. Then she pulled out another small web, but each gap could be given differing coordinates. Vee had tested this in her own time but had yet to put it to any battle experience.

Nothing like a live test, I suppose!

Raising two of her back legs, and with [Thread Mastery], she created the construct on her back. It vaguely resembled a howdah, or perhaps a radar dish was a more apt comparison. Then, she finalized the portals by injecting each gap with one of the spread-out portals, four in total, although her web construct had room for a maximum of eight.

I hope this works! Vee pleaded and began casting her spell.

Trixie and Syl had explained the whole Mana Aura thing to her in detail, and Vee knew she could cast spells within that aura pretty much at will. So she had the spell originate right near one of her portal openings and fired it through. The spell hurtled out in the distance, although in the wrong direction.

Oh balls... Vee grumbled. I have to remember which web goes to which portal. On the fly. By myself. Why don't I have 10 little mini-brain helpers?

With her remaining good arm, the assassin began pulling out various throwable weapons. To Vee, they looked like either kunai or shuriken, and she couldn't help but laugh.

Is she going ninja on me? This really is a fantasy world!

Zara threw her weapons at Vee, and right before they launched, they seemed to be infused with Wind. They soared through the air at blazing velocity, forcing Vee to use [Blink] to escape. The woman somehow predicted her location, presumably with a skill or trait, and more throwable projectiles were already in midair.

In a panic, Vee cast [Pocket Space], and moments before hitting her, they poofed into her storage.

Huh... Am I projectile-proof as long as I have Mana and the storage room? Vee thought with bemusement.

Zara, on the other hand, looked furious. Which was perfect for Vee, who jumped on the opportunity to cast more spells through the portals. If she could land even one good spell, the affliction would take hold, setting a ticking clock for her victory.

Four spells passed through the portals, two of which went directly to Zara. Vee silently cursed her for confusing two of the portals, but her curse was brief-lived as her hope was realized. Zara sensed the unexpected attack at the last second. She dodged one spell only to be hit by the other.

Vee was about to celebrate when the woman seemed to throw caution to the wind, use a blur, and appear right before Vee. Wielding her backup knife, the woman stabbed a thrust at Vee, who, in retaliation, undid her shrinking.

The tiny spider became full-sized in barely a wink, and Zara's composure broke as dread entered her eyes. The now giant spider, on instinct, lunged forward. Zara's dagger struck against the spider's carapace while Vee's fangs sunk deep into her flesh.

The woman screamed in agony as she began trying to frantically stab the spider. But her desperate flails started to slow down as the poison took hold, and she eventually went limp.

<Human LV 17; Gale Stalker LV 38 defeated. Experience gained.>

Vee winced a little as she saw the stab wounds, pulling out some thread and rapidly creating a makeshift bandage with [Thread Mastery].

That's weird... I thought Syl had orders on the [Sub-Cores] for shield spells. Am I out of range? Actually, I don't think my last batch of spells was boosted either.

Vee glanced in Syl's direction, which was like a homing beacon thanks to the [Bonded Companion] emblem. Her usual elven disguise was replaced by some weird, draconic-looking creature with wings and tendrils bursting from its back, all covered in a layer of blackened obsidianite with brightly glowing channels.

Damn, that looks cool! Scary but cool. Scary cool!

Then Vee spotted the strange magical circle, with Syl trying to break the containment.

"Syl? Are you okay?" Vee asked. There was no response.

Across the bond, Vee could still sense the slime's emotions, which were flipping between confidence and anxiety. Vee followed her gaze and saw the massive black sun.

Oh shit! Vee thought and quickly used a chain of [Blinks].

Vee appeared directly behind the man, so close to the black sun that she could feel the unbearable heat radiating off it. As if that wasn't bad enough, the entire thing had this sickening sense of wrongness to it, and instinctually, she knew she couldn't let this hit her or Syl.

Vee waited mere moments for her usage of [Blink] to recover while also creating some [Rift Thread] on the spot. She dared not cast and withdraw prepared thread from [Pocket Space], fearing the mage would sense her Mana usage.

The only other combatant was the summoner, who was running away from the spot while his minions were blocking the spells Syl was throwing toward the mage.

With [Rift Thread] ready and prepared to use [Blink] immediately after, Vee lashed out with a deadly whip straight for the mage's neck. It struck some form of arcane barrier, but it was short-lived. The man finally reacted to the sudden attack, but it was too late, and without another layer of defense, he was decapitated.

<Human LV 29; Blackflame Magus LV 28 defeated. Experience gained.>

Vee frantically used [Blink] in rapid succession to escape, not even taking the time to recover her [Rift Thread].

Operation Save the Slime was a success! Vee thought right as the giant black sun exploded.