Chapter 1956: Slaying Thousands Of Nightmare Beasts
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"Oh my, what a beautiful... swamp."
It was anything but beautiful. The realm was pitch-black, steeped in thick miasma, filled with twisted nightmare trees and pools of foul liquid. The monsters surged forward the moment she appeared, triggering her sharp senses.
"Well, I’m glad to have such a warm reception."
She didn’t do anything special this time. While her summoned army attacked from the other sides, she took her time. She wielded two swords, and with a single fluid motion, she cut the entire swamp in half.
SLAAASH!
Two slashes of brilliant white and golden light consumed everything in their path. The crawlers were utterly decimated, disintegrating on contact as half the swamp boiled and exploded violently.
BOOOMMM!!!
Ding!
[You have slain [Shadow Specters (Tier 3)] x100+ and [Nightmare Crawlers (Tier 3.2)] x100+]
[You have earned a large quantity of EXP.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Your Level has increased from Level 55 to Level 60.]
Elayne nodded with deep satisfaction. Each level-up sent a small wave of ecstasy through her. She was growing stronger, and she could feel it in every fiber of her being.
As for Obsidian, the little slime was happily collecting an enormous share of that EXP from the sidelines, pelting enemies with his slime bullets.
"Now that I think about it, maybe I should bring my daughter and her friends..." Elayne thought. "But... no, it’s better if I don’t."
She considered the idea for a moment before deciding against it. The reason was simple: she wanted their growth to feel organic and earned. Letting them leech EXP from her just felt wrong—especially now that they were showing a genuine desire to become independent adults and grow on their own.
Her daughter was already incredible. When she unleashed her full power, she could even cut through Tartarus itself with her technique. Though her base system stats appeared modest, that was merely her starting point. Once she awakened her Inner Avatar, her power grew at a staggering, almost ridiculous pace.
"They’re all resting right now. I don’t want to bother them," she sighed. "At the very least, I’ll level up Obsidian and turn him into their ultimate guardian pet. You promise to never leave their side, right?"
"Pygu!" Obsidian nodded eagerly, leaping off her before suddenly beginning to grow larger and larger.
"Huh?!" Elayne gasped as Obsidian rapidly expanded into a car-sized, multi-colored slime.
New notifications flashed before her eyes.
Ding!
[Your Familiar, Obsidian, has successfully reached Max Level and Evolved into the [Giant Fantasy Slime – Tier 2!]
[His Level Cap has increased to 200!]
[All of Obsidian’s Stats have increased!]
[Several of his Skills have Leveled Up!]
[Obsidian Learned the Skill: [Fantasy Slime Projection – Tier 2: Level 1/10]!]
[Obsidian has Awakened the Talent: [Fantasy Slime (A)]!]
"Well, would you look at that! You leveled up so fast, Obsidian!" Elayne said with a soft, delighted giggle as she checked his status.
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[Player Name]: [Obsidian]
[Titles]: [None]
[Race]: [Giant Fantasy Slime – Tier 2]
[Level]: [100/200]
[Talent]: [Living Ink Body (B)] [Shapeshifter (A)] [Fantasy Slime (A)]
[Health]: [22,000]
[Mana]: [15,000]
[Strength]: [4,500]
[Defense]: [4,300]
[Magic]: [2,800]
[Resistance]: [3,500]
[Agility]: [3,700]
[Luck]: [2,300]
[Charm]: [2,500]
[Skills]:
[Body Transformation – Tier 1: Level 3/10]
[Imaginarium Essence Gathering – Tier 1: Level 3/10]
[Lesser Fantasy Creation – Tier 1: Level 3/10]
[Slime Body – Tier 1: Level 3/10]
[Fantasy Slime Projection – Tier 2: Level 1/10]
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"Hm?! You’ve become so strong now! Wow!" Elayne exclaimed. "As strong as my daughter? No, she still has higher stats, but still—your growth is staggering, little one!"
"Pyguuuu!" he bounced happily, shaking the ground beneath him.
"It looks like his growth is tied to your bond," said Erebus Junior. "The connection you’ve forged with him has accelerated his development."
"Like a Divine Blessing?" Elayne wondered. "Huh, I do remember being able to grant all sorts of interesting things like this... But anyway, for now, this is more than enough. Let’s continue the hunt."
Elayne pressed onward past the ruined swamp, arriving at a vast, dark mountain adorned with spectral forests and rivers of liquid dreams. This was the domain of the Lust Nightmares—seductive demonesses who resembled voluptuous demon women. Once provoked, however, they revealed their monstrous forms and attacked without hesitation.
And provoke them she did.
"Hahaha, you’re a little too eager, aren’t you?" Elayne laughed as dozens of demons lunged at her, desperately trying to bite down. Their fangs shattered against her unbreakable skin.
She raised her hand, and hundreds of Fire and Light Spirits surged forth from Dragon Veins she had created beneath the ground using her Divine Authority as Gaia—even though such veins weren’t native to this realm.
The result was immediate.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!
Complete annihilation.
The entire mountain came crashing down under the barrage of explosions. Every monster within perished at once in the most anticlimactic fashion possible.
The hunt continued for the next three hours. By the end, Elayne and her army had slain roughly 5,000 Nightmare Beasts, earning an absurd amount of EXP.
She didn’t awaken any new Skills or Talents during this time, but she grew far more proficient with her current abilities—especially her new mysterious Sword Skill and her Spirit Call.
Ding!
[You have slain over 5000 Nightmare Beasts!]
[You have earned a ridiculous quantity of EXP.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Your Level has increased from Level 60 to Level 100!]
[The Skill: [Holy Tree of Yggdrasil Swordsmanship – Tier 1: Level 4/10] has Leveled Up!]
[The Skill: [Nature Spirit Call – Tier 1: Level 5/10] has Leveled Up!]
[You meet all requirements; it is now possible to Rank Up.]
[You have gained access to the Class Changing Room.]
[Do you wish to Change Classes?]
[Yes] [No]
"Finally!" Elayne said happily. "I can choose a Class... Okay, let’s go!"
She sat atop a pile of giant monster corpses—the remains of the Tier 3.5 Dream Stone Golems she had just finished slaying. They had been the toughest opponents she had faced in this realm so far.
For even stronger foes that granted more EXP, she would need to locate Nightmare Realms or Dungeons. Fortunately, that aligned perfectly with her "Cleaning" Plan.
The moment she pressed [Yes], she was suddenly teleported into a completely white room floating in a white void, leaving her utterly bewildered.
"W-Wha...?!"
Before her stood an altar—or perhaps a pillar—displaying all her available class and subclass options.
Elayne could hardly contain her surging curiosity and excitement.
What would she choose now that she had the chance to grow even stronger?
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