Musou Slime 44

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44. Faint Hope

"Arx-san, please wake up."

Here is a flower field.

Noah shook me, who was sleeping. From the previous pattern, it doesn't seem like I'm dead.

"You're making a terrible face. Something serious must have happened."

"...no matter how you look at it, it's impossible this time. The opponent is too formidable."

Dan, who gained a new ability, has truly shown overwhelming strength.

The power of his techniques, the number of allies, everything is on a different level. It's beyond my reach.

"You mean you can't defeat him?"

"I can't. His skills are too different from mine."

"So, what are you going to do from now on?"

"I won't do anything. I'll just wait to wake up here and then be killed."

It's not the time to be so despondent like this. But whenever I think of that skeleton, my body freezes.

"Then, what will happen if Arx-san stops fighting?"

The first thing that came to mind in response to Noah's question was my companions.

Raize, who gave me courage, Sierra-san. Ilena and Danzel-san, who believed in me. They will also die.

"...I don't want that."

Thanks to meeting them, I found the adventure enjoyable. My hesitant heart was illuminated. I was able to move forward.

I can't bear the thought of them dying. Absolutely not.

"Before, Arx-san said, 'I swore I'd get back at them no matter what.' Do you still feel that way?"

I did. To be precise, I don't anymore.

I swore to become stronger for revenge against Dan. So, when Dan died, I suddenly lost my goal. The adventure became boring.

But the adventure with my companions was fun. At that time, I somehow felt that the reason for becoming stronger was here.

"I want to become strong. To protect my companions and loved ones. That's why I have to stand up."

When those words came out of my mouth, I was genuinely surprised.

I understood better than anyone why I wanted to become stronger. 

I'm losing sight of that. What am I really doing?

When Noah heard my words, she laughed.

"Arx-san. The key is already within you."

"The key?"

"I'm Noah. I'm the previous skill holder who passed on the Unique Skill <Human> to you."

I don't quite understand what she's saying. I tilted my head.

"What do you mean? Inheriting a skill?"

"All skills are equally given to everyone from the heavens. However, there are rare exceptions. <Human> is a skill that has been inherited among humans who don't have skills from generation to generation."

So, Noah gave me that skill?

"But I have <Slime>. Each person only has one skill, right?"

"Arx-san has both a human and a slime form, right? Therefore, you can have two exceptions."

The human me has <Slime>.

The slime me has <Human>.

Does that mean each has one?

"If Arx-san, who has found the true reason to become strong, can draw out the power of <Human>."

At that moment, the sky in the flower field darkened, and in an instant, it became night.

Not a single cloud, a sky full of stars. I was captivated by that sight.

"Pure [prayers] offered to the stars. Fill the hearts of people with warm [hope], and give [courage] to those who advance towards tomorrow!"

When Noah chants, seven-colored light overflows from the palms of her hands, held out in front of her chest like scooping water.

It rises into the sky like a pillar and pours down to me.

"Maybe you can't win against enemies with just <Slime> or just <Human>. But if the two powers are combined, you should be able to protect what's important to you."

――

A new skill has been unlocked.

――

Noah's voice fades away. Consciousness awakens.