Chapter 187: Ohhh~ A Slime King! Please Tell Me You Taste as Good as You Look!

Maddy wiped a stray smudge of slime from her cheek, her eyes locked on the old harvesting hub. The air began to vibrate, humming frequency that made her teeth ache. The remaining mana in the atmosphere was not dissipating. It was swirling, pulled into a single point like a whirlpool.

[Response: Alert. Mana density has exceeded safety limits. An Alpha class entity is currently manifesting.]

Maddy’s eyes widened, but not with fear. Her heart hammered with the pure, chaotic joy.

"An Alpha?! WOAH! I am watching an Alpha form in real time! This is a field zoologist’s dream!"

[Response: Additional information, based on this town’s history... Records indicate an Alpha form has not spawned in this region for over fifty years.]

"Fifty years... fifty years!?" Maddy squealed, hopping on her toes. "Oh, Sephiran would lose his mind! I bet he’d be so jealous! This is the king of all squishies! Maybe it’ll have a crown!"

She sprinted toward the harvesting hub, her Extreme Agility turning her into a blur of motion. She reached the edge of the pit just as the air began to tear.

"I have to see this—if only I had my camera, I could capture this once in a half century event!"

Slowly, the golden light exploded. From the center of the hub, a massive, translucent gold mass surged upward. It grew larger and larger until it reached the size of a two story manor. The slime wasn’t just a blob; it was beautiful. Really beautiful.

Its surface shimmered like liquid sunlight, and suddenly, two massive, thick arms formed from its sides. They ended in rounded, mitten like hands that looked impossibly soft.

"IT HAS ARMS!? Look at those SQUISHY ARMS!"

Maddy shouted, clutching her face in her hands.

"It’s a giant, golden teddy bear made of jelly! How can something so dangerous look so huggable? The way the mana is weaving into its membrane... I want to jump on it and never come down!"

Lucy joked,

[You would probably just fry it with your static discharge.]

"Then it would be even better! It would improve the flavor! It would be just like tasting fried pudding! Ahhh, so delicious!"

Maddy clearly didn’t feel the fear a normal adventurer would. Her Monsterpedia flickered,

[New Monsterpedia Entry Added: Sovereign Slime] [Sovereign Slime (Alpha Form) — Habitat: Caves / Ruins / Mana-Rich Areas] [The apex of all slime evolution. These massive entities are highly intelligent and adaptable. They can absorb and mimic traits from every lesser slime, including elements and toxins. They can shape their own mass into smaller subordinate slimes, effectively creating a loyal army controlled by a single consciousness. They manipulate their form to create massive weapons or barriers and command entire colonies under their dominion.]

Maddy read the description and her jaw hit the floor.

"Wait... it can create its own army? It can make its own children too!? And fight for it?"

As if on cue, the Sovereign Slime let out a deep, bubbling roar. Its golden body rippled, and dozens of smaller slimes: Elemental slimes (Fire, Ice, Water and Lightning) and others pinched off from its main mass. They landed on the ground and immediately bowed toward their creator before turning their elemental eyes toward Maddy.

"That truly is a King, though it is a bit odd that you don’t have a crown... regardless! It commands them all. It is the source and the general—the ultimate sovereign!"

She gazed at the massive, wobbling pile of golden divinity. The way it shimmered reminded her of the expensive, high quality fruit gelatin her husband used to buy for her. It looked sweet. It looked rich. It looked as though it would melt on the tongue with the radiance and flavor of a thousand suns.

Maddy licked her lips, her stomach letting out a loud, predatory growl.

"I came here to find people and discovered a disaster. But looking at you... I think I’ve just found the most magnificent dessert in history. I really, really want to know what you taste like! And more importantly—I want to see your traits!"

Her stomach gave a loud, hungry rumble that echoed in the clearing. The Sovereign Slime seemed to vibrate in response, its massive golden form rippling with a sudden, aggressive intent.

The Alpha didn’t wait for Maddy to bring out her plate and her spoon and fork. It slammed its mitten like hands into its own gelatinous chest, and with a wet, suctioning sound, it snatched a massive chunk of its own body. Before Maddy could blink, the Sovereign Slime hurled the golden glob at her like a cannonball.

[Response: Alert. The Sovereign Slime is deploying its mass. It can create subordinates based on the slimes it has already defeated or absorbed in this area.]

"So... it’s just like me, huh? Using everything it’s already eaten to get it’s own children! Wow... a slime with my style—love it! This is going to be fun!"

The chunks hit the ground and instantly transformed. Hundreds of Fire, Ice, and Sanguine slimes rose from the golden puddles. They hissed and lunged, a multi colored wave of hunger.

Maddy’s blade moved faster than the eye could follow.

"Wide Slice!"

She swept her short sword in a perfect circle. The edge hummed, and the small slimes popped into mist before they could even land a hit. But as she cleared the field, her Mana Sensitivity screamed a warning.

She looked up. The Sovereign Slime was no longer just a wobbly mountain. It did not even mourned its lost mass. It raised its massive, rounded arms, and two glowing magic circles appeared in front of its palms. One was a deep, burning crimson. The other was a jagged, electric yellow.

"Dual casting!?"

Maddy squealed, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

"It can do two elements at once? It’s like a convection oven and a microwave working together! That is so incredibly efficient!"

The Alpha didn’t share her culinary enthusiasm. It roared, a deep bubbling sound that shook the windows of the nearby houses. The air between the two magic circles began to warp as fire and lightning started to fuse, creating a volatile, swirling vortex of elemental destruction aimed directly at Maddy.