He immediately suppressed his thoughts and hastily pulled Nade, then they fled.
"What are you thinking about? Hurry up and go!"
"Run for your lives!"
Nade's expression was complex, as if he were still pondering other matters in his mind.
He seemed to be considering the slime's capabilities, how much magic it could unleash.
Was the deterrence spell the strongest magic they could use?
Fortunately, he hadn't approached earlier...
What was that slime with the small crown? Why did he feel a noble aura emanating from it?
What did the word "Heiemi" mean? What did it represent? Was it the slime's language, or some kind of magic incantation, a magic mantra?
Thus, it had to be shouted when using the deterrence spell?
Various questions filled his head.
But when Jacques grabbed him.
Upon hearing the words, "Run for your lives, hurry up and go!"
He, like Jacques, was startled. He realized he wasn't in a place to research a million questions, nor was he at home watching a live broadcast of an army fighting monsters—but he, an unarmed student, had personally arrived at the scene.
In such a situation, why was he thinking about so many irrelevant things?
Escaping was the priority!
Why hadn't he realized the gravity of the situation?
Why didn't he know it was time to escape, and instead was still pondering the reasons?
Hadn't he realized sooner—wait, wasn't he just repeating the same thoughts now?
As Nade fled with Jacques, the more he thought, the more terrified he became.
It was as if his mind had been ensnared by a mental spell.
He couldn't help but want to analyze the slime's material composition, its habitat, its prey, its magical abilities, and its rank.
And when he realized that he should be escaping instead of thinking about these useless things,
Nade began to regret his past actions, analyzing why he had thought of those things at the time instead of fleeing immediately.
Did he not understand the consequences of being captured by the slimes if he didn't escape?
Had he lost his intellect, causing him to think about such things at that moment—yet this analysis of his past reaction was also a waste of time, reducing his chances of survival.
Nade felt as though he had fallen victim to a mental illusion, knowing he shouldn't think a certain way, yet constantly dwelling on it.
Knowing something clearly, yet continuing to make the same mistake through repetitive self-examination—it was the most ridiculous joke!
"Mental magic is too powerful!"
Nade realized that even now, he would occasionally think of certain things.
This sent a shiver down his spine.
He even began to analyze whether he was influenced by mental magic or if he was suffering from psychological trauma due to witnessing a supernatural phenomenon, and whether he was analyzing which cause was responsible.
Jacques looked at his friend Nade's state and felt as though he still had things to think about in his own mind.
He immediately tried to suppress the thoughts in his head.
He tried to stop thinking about everything and just run away.
Perhaps the influence of the mental magic was too potent.
Every few dozen steps, Jacques would have to stop and think, engaging in baseless analysis and wild speculation in his mind. He knew it was wrong, that he shouldn't be indulging in these thoughts, yet he couldn't help himself.
The journey was arduous for both of them.
And when they had at least distanced themselves from the area where they found the slime's mucus and returned to the Crystal Lake camp, intending to drive back.
They saw a continuous stream of monsters in Crystal Lake.
Their white, decaying bodies vaguely resembled skeletons. Skeletons were not uncommon; Nade, as a medical student, had seen them before. However, a walking skeleton, a skeleton that seemed to possess its own intelligence, was something no one had ever encountered.
Warriors with beast heads and human bodies, wielding sharp swords, were a terrifying sight.
There were many monsters.
But more numerous were the slimes they had seen before. The slimes here were far more abundant than those they had encountered. There were green ones, white ones, and even black slimes as large as houses.
A black slime as large as a house, not to mention its offensive capabilities, would be deadly simply by jumping or crushing down. No one wanted to use their bodies to withstand such a massive slime.
Upon sensing the presence of humans.
The numerous monsters turned their attention towards them in unison.
"We're finished!"
Jacques and Nade felt a chill run through their hearts.
Looking at the monsters, whose numbers far exceeded those they had seen before by tens of times, and at the more imposing creatures.
They both felt despair.
Being able to escape the group of green slimes previously.
This was not only due to their swift escape but also because there were only five or six of those slimes, and their group's numbers had more than doubled that—which allowed them to escape.
When facing beasts, one doesn't need to run faster than the beast; one only needs to run faster than their companions.
This was the situation back then. A group facing a monster attack chose to scatter. Due to different directions, the monster could only chase a limited number of people, not all of them. In that scenario, Jacques and Nade were fortunate enough to escape.
But now, with tens of times the number of monsters and only the two of them—each would have more than ten monsters to deal with, how could they possibly escape?
Facing higher-level monsters, Jacques fell into deep despair... Why hadn't he watched where he was going and driven his car into that slime? And then that slime called for help, ultimately attracting so many monsters?
Why could a mere slime have the influence to summon so many monsters?
If he had known, he would have been more careful when driving, not hitting that green slime, and then none of this would have happened—No! The correct course of action would have been not to organize this trip at all! If they hadn't come to Crystal Lake camp, none of this would have happened!
What sin had he committed to end up at Crystal Lake camp!
Jacques roared inwardly.
...
Mas was running desperately.
The long-haired girl had decisively fled when she saw Bill surrounded by monsters.
Women's strength was often weaker than men's.
Generally, it was difficult to win a running race against men.
However, with Bill drawing the monsters' attention, Mas managed to escape the monsters they had initially encountered—thanks to someone.