“[Lightning Breath]!” Rex shouted while activating his skill. It was a unique ability that should have been only obtainable for those of the dragonborn race. Normally, a human like Rex would never be able to obtain such a skill, but he was the exception. The Unnamed Team had been officially challenged by The Heroes of The Voice during the Autumn Festival Tournament. When every member won, they received a skill from the loser. Rex took the skill [Lightning Breath] from James, effectively robbing him of his one link to his race.

“Pathetic,” Eins said. They didn’t even need to dodge. The surge of lightning hardly damaged them. The level gap between Eins and the team was intense. After everything that had happened, Eins sat comfortably at level eighty-five. The rest of the team sat around level forty-five, just a few levels below the mystical level fifty milestone. It was there that Rex and Nicholas would finally become a [Knight] and [Wizard] respectively.

To add to the team’s current struggles, Eins’s skills had leveled up to match their level and high-tiered race. [Total Damaged Resistance IV] was the worst one to deal with. It immediately nullified any attack below a certain threshold, and attacks that were strong enough to break through the initial defense had their damage reduced. The Unnamed Team resided along that specified threshold. As a result, several attacks and skills were completely useless. The team needed to think ahead of time and coordinate their attacks, skills, and items to win the fight.

Eins had no reason to worry. Their two defensive skills, [Total Damage Resistance IV] and [Pain Nullification], resulted in a decreased health regeneration ability, but that wasn’t a problem. The Unnamed Team couldn’t hurt Eins to a critical degree. They couldn’t do much of anything. It was that insight that bolstered their confidence. Almost too much. Eins grew somewhat arrogant. As the team had seen in sins before, pride led to mistakes. That mistake took the form of a massive magic circle that appeared beneath Eins.

“Wha-” Eins said as the formation glowed beneath their feet. Stepping on a [Magic Mine] was all that was needed to trigger the explosion. Xander thanked the small kobold that he took this skill from. He knew how dangerous the explosion was, especially the degree of knockback. Eins got to experience that first hand when they were propelled toward the sky. They were dazed from the sudden shift in momentum but not enough to ignore the arrows flying toward them. A quick hand was all that was needed to grab each shot. It should have been easy, but someone else made the feat impossible.

“[Absolute Authority]: Eins, the Demon Slime, stop moving! [Nature’s Fury]!” Robyn shouted. Her command skill forced Eins to immediately halt their actions. The arrows penetrated their flesh, and roots sprung the earth to snatch Eins out of the air. At Robyn’s command, the vegetation grew even more. The mess of roots and vines eventually encompassed the Demon Slime and brought them lower to the ground. With her job done, Robyn dashed away from the scene. She knew what was about to happen next.

“[Blizzard]!” Nicholas shouted, activating his skill. He ran underneath the roots that held his familiar as the snowstorm formed. The giant roots and vines started to freeze, and ice slowly crept over the formation. It didn’t take long for the entire structure to succumb to the frost. Eins was still somewhere within it, but their skill [Total Damage Resistance IV] probably reduced whatever damage was dealt from being frozen solid. That was where the next phase came into play, which involved Nicholas running away as fast he could.

“Heads up,” Rex said. He reached into his bag and grabbed two of his homemade grenades. After the fiasco that occurred in Linn’s shop, he dialed back the amount of Black Rock in each one and added internal padding to reduce the chances of accidental explosions. Their stick-like shape felt comfortable in Rex’s hand, and [Weapon Throw] had no issue launching them into the air. They were hurling toward the ice structure at an alarming rate, but the aim was slightly off. Fortunately, the toss didn’t have to be precise. The firepower in one grenade alone was enough to deal significant damage to Eins. The arrows that Xander fired to pin them to the frozen roots were simply added insurance.

Everyone turned to run, but there was no time. The explosion happened immediately. An impressive fireball formed at the center of the detonation. Smoke billowed out and darkened the air. Ash and shards of ice fell from the sky and littered the ground. Nothing from the original structure remained. The Unnamed Team managed to recover with few injuries after the initial blast. They gazed around the field with cautious eyes. Firm grips held shaking weapons. Follow-up skills and plans were prepared.

“Did we do it?” Robyn asked. She looked around the field. There was nothing. The aftermath of the explosion was all she could see. Had Eins really been defeated? It felt unreal. Not long ago, the team struggled to even get a single hit in. Slimes were once difficult. Predator Slimes were even more so. Now, the Demon Slime, the strongest form a slime could take, had been defeated. This truly was their greatest achievement yet.

“Yeah, I think we-” Nicholas tried to say but something stopped him. A sudden sensation had engulfed his head and drowned his voice. Shaking hands reached up to feel something slimy. To make it worse, the sensation grew warm as he was slowly being eaten. The slime that encompassed him was worse than anything he’d experience so far, even with his skill [Slime Resistance I].

“When did they-” Xander tried to say, but he too fell victim to a sudden slime presence.

“They have [Stealth-” Rex tried to warn. He was the only person to realize what was happening, but his warning didn’t come out fast enough. Even if it did, nothing would have changed.

“Goodness, it seems we need to increase your training. You won’t beat the Demon Lord at this rate. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure our training is thorough.” Eins said with a smile. Their figure reformed in front of Robyn. A cold stare watched the trembling final member of the team. Eins didn’t have skills that could inflict fear, but this moment certainly aimed to prove otherwise. They held up their hands with an open palm. Slime generated between their fingers until the perfect ball was formed. With a fitting weapon, Eins ended the fight with a final throw. The defeat was absolute, but Genesis was happy to announce the fruits of the team’s labors.

“NOTICE. THE UNIQUE SKILL [SLIME RESISTANCE III] HAS BEEN ACQUIRED.”