I paused briefly.

  The scents and tracks that had, until now, been consistently following the same direction, had abruptly changed course. Hm, had they sensed my presence?

  By now, I was nearly certain that these traces belonged to a Nemesis of Khaelen’s group. It was far too much of a coincidence that they had been perfectly following Khaelen’s route this entire time.

  Judging by how fresh the scents were, they were extremely close, probably less than an hour away.

  Just to double check, I sent a message to Khaelen.

  Having confirmed the source of the tracks, I shifted to the new direction they were in and began following them once more. They’d made no attempts to disguise their trail, despite knowing that I was behind them. Perhaps they had been relying on the darkness of the Canopy to do it for them.

  It looked to be quite a sizeable group of people, based on the number of footprints. This was rather surprising, given how much time had already passed in the first layer. Most of the Tier 5 groups I’d seen only had a few individuals remaining of their original cohort.

  Nevertheless, I wasn’t complaining; the more the merrier! Any chance for Law fragments and points was always welcome.

  In fact, it might be surprisingly profitable to keep following Khaelen’s group around and farm the waves of enemies coming in. It wasn’t the nicest thing to use them as bait, but hey, it was a win-win situation.

  As the tracks grew fresher and I seemed to be on the verge of encountering the Nemesis, I slowed my pace. Soon, my sensitive ears picked up a low murmur within a dense thicket surrounding a small clearing.

  I crept closer through the brush until the guttural grunts of something conversing could be heard.

  “-it is already here. For all we know, it could already be watching us from somewhere. Sir, I really do not believe it is wise to remain waiting here.”

  “Silence! My Nemesis target is finally approaching me of their own volition, and this is the best spot to ambush them. If this pseudo-Tier 4 creature you spoke of wishes to meet its end as well, then let it come.”

  Were they talking about me? They knew I was here, but not exactly where I was, it seemed. This made it more likely that it was due to an ability, rather than their own senses. I can probably get a little closer, then.

  I extended several tentacles and latched onto a nearby tree. With a slight flex, I pulled myself up and began to silently swing from branch to branch. Despite how I looked, the addition of these appendages made me surprisingly stealthy.

  Once I reached a thick branch that directly overlooked the thicket, I was able to finally spot a large group of slug-like creatures huddled together. Thick, green mucus softly oozed from their bodies while long sets of serrated claws tightly gripped sharp spears. One of them appeared to be the leader, as they were considerably larger and slimier than the rest.

  I had to admit, they were extremely well concealed. If I’d only relied on the vision from my Deinopi eyes, there was a high chance that I would have missed them. Nevertheless, it was a bit naive of them to blindly trust in their cover alone. Complacency brought about from their detection ability, no doubt.

  I continued to observe them for a brief period of time, but nothing of note occurred.

  Hm, there was still some time before Khaelen and his group arrived here. Should I soften these guys up?

  To be honest, I didn’t think I even needed any help. My entire body was itching to test out my new capabilities on this perfect group of guinea pigs.

  I stood up and activated the Rebounding Boots’ ability, marking my current position on the branch. Then, I swung effortlessly through the air towards a tree next to group’s hiding spot.

  Now crouching directly above them, I removed a small shaker from my belt and began sprinkling a white, granular substance onto the leader.

  The leader grumbled, shifting in place as it said, “Flur, I told you to stop flicking your mucus every-”

  It suddenly paused, as it slowly inspected the small white specks dotting its body. Its small beady eyes narrowed in confusion as it muttered.

  “Is this.... salt?”

  Its viscous head swiveled upwards rapidly and immediately spotted me seasoning it from above.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  With a sheepish smile, I said, “Sorry, this usually works on the snails back home...”

  “AHHHH! We’re being ambushed! Attack!”

  A flurry of spears and abilities quickly blanketed the trees as I reactivated the Rebounding Boots.

  Instantly, I found myself standing back on the first branch I’d been standing on. Only a small portion of my mana had been consumed with the boots’ ability; the cooldown on it seemed to be the main limiting factor.

  The slug-like otherworlders continued to bombard the area, unaware that I’d long disappeared. Multiple light orbs were withdrawn from their Inventories and quickly illuminated the area as they abandoned any pretense of hiding.

  A dull, red glow briefly illuminated my hulking figure as my cybernetic cannons charged. After a brief delay they fired, creating dazzling beams of light headed straight for the slug leader.

  Boom!

  A thick cloud of dust arose from the blast zone as their blind assault temporarily ceased.

  That thing should be on the brink of death, if not completely obliterated from that.

  However, to my surprise, the slug emerged from the dust bearing only a few small wounds.

  Huh? Had I missed? Or was it an ability?

  There was no way something with a physique stat only in the 20s would take so little damage otherwise.

  With my location now revealed, the group of otherworlders redirected their efforts towards my new position.

  I deftly leapt high into the air with the Leapfroggers, and began charging my cannons with an even greater amount of power.

  Boom!

  The blast struck the leader slug directly on the head, yet once again only a small amount of damage was inflicted. It definitely possessed some sort of damage reduction ability or equipment from the looks of it.

  Several spears whizzed by my head while a few merely bounced harmlessly off my body. A few minor debuffs seemed to have been applied to me, as I felt my limbs grow slightly heavier and one set of Deinopi eyes abruptly lost vision.

  I quickly retreated into the forest as the mob of slugs slithered forward in pursuit. With one hand removing my helmet, another reached forth and scooped out the blinded eyes while an auxiliary organ began pumping painkillers through my bloodstream.

  I immediately grafted a new set of eyes and turned around, firing another beam at a different slug this time. To my great disappointment, the results remained the same; a couple scorched antenna but nothing more.

  Did they all possess this ridiculous defense? Was it a racial trait?

  I continued to fire beam after beam from a distance, as I utilized my superior agility to keep them at arms-length. Any incoming attacks or abilities were easily dodged as I slowly whittled them down.

  Gradually, I noticed that wounds were appearing on slugs that I hadn’t attacked. In fact, upon closer inspection, all of them appeared to be in roughly identical physical conditions.

  Ah, it must be a damage-sharing ability. Quite annoying with how many of them there were.

  The leader gurgled in fury as their efforts continued to proceed in vain. Evidently, it had realized I was playing with them.

  A green whirling tornado formed in its claws that began sucking in nearby projectiles and abilities. Even my own attacks were no exception, only serving to increase its power.

  The group of slugs redoubled their efforts, feeding the tornado until it had swelled to an immense size.

  This actually... seem a little dangerous.

  With a muffled groan, the leader released the swirling tempest of energy upon reaching its limits.

  I had already begun running moments after it had started channeling, as I had no intention of testing my limits to that extent.

  A massive emerald twister tore through the land, leaving a wake of destruction as it barreled down towards me. Smaller trees were completely uprooted while the foundational ones violently shook, causing a cascade of leaves to fall.

  The eyes attached to the back of my head quickly spotted its trajectory and I narrowly dodged to the side with a hasty double-jump.

  As the tornado roared past me, I breathed a sigh of relief. It probably wouldn’t have killed me, but many of my precious parts would have been ripped off or destroyed.

  Unfortunately, I had celebrated too soon; with a high-pitched whine, the tornado began to reverse directions and fly towards my new position.

  Since when do these things come equipped with a homing function?

  I barely avoided the incoming gale once more, but it continued to persistently follow my every step. To make matters worse, the rest of the slugs had entered within striking distance of me as I remained preoccupied with evasion.

  Now, their spears and ranged abilities were accurately bombarding me, with some curving unnaturally through the air at impossible angles.

  I quickly realized the source of this anomaly; unbeknownst to me, a small glowing mark had appeared on my chest at some point.

  It acted as a beacon, drawing in all their attacks inexorably towards me. Tiny cuts and burns began to accumulate all over my body while I received an additional wave of debuffs.

  These guys were quite impressive indeed. I can see how so many of them managed to survive this long.

  The small wounds weren’t a problem, but the issue was that my limbs were gradually slowing. Soon, I’d no longer possess the agility to avoid the tornado.

  Fortunately, the tornado had decreased significantly in size, as it consumed energy with every pass.

  I activated the Wanderer’s Ward and a translucent shield appeared, enveloping my entire body. I started running in a straight line, trying to charge the shield as much as possible.

  As the shield grew more vibrant and solid with every step, the tornado rapidly approached me from behind.

  Vooom!

  The spiraling vortex of wind swept me up and spun me around violently, causing my brains to collectively rattle in their cages. A nauseating sensation engulfed me as all three minds became disoriented. The worst case of motion sickness... multiplied threefold.

  Throughout it all however, my shield held strong until I was eventually flung out and deposited into a crater.

  Groaning, I shakily got to my feet. The tornado had petered out to a tiny gust behind me, but the slugs had already gathered together, preparing the next round.

  Oh no you don’t.

  With a furious bellow, I equipped Storm Caller and began stomping across the forest floor towards them.

  As I ran, a sea of lightning began to form around me and the air crackled ominously. Strand after strand of mana was continuously fed into the club.

  The slugs belatedly noticed my approach and began to flee, but for many it was too late.

  BOOM!

  A massive explosion of fire and lightning engulfed nearly a third of the slugs, including the leader who had remained immobile during the charging process.

  This was the strongest attack I’d produced thus far with Storm Caller, thanks to the increased efficiency from my necklace.

  After the smoke cleared, the grievously burned bodies of the slugs could be seen scattered about. A delicious, buttery aroma filled the air as steam gently rose from their flesh.

  Nevertheless, they all remained alive, desperately clinging onto the one strand of life they all shared.

  With trembling claws, each slug uncorked a potion and poured it over themselves, causing their fresh wounds to rapidly heal.

  Oh, come on!

  Enough of this nonsense. I’m not going to sit here and make them burn through their entire supply of potions before I can kill them.

  I leapt over to the slug leader and grabbed it by its thick, slimy neck. As it protested weakly, I slung it over my back and began running away with it into the forest.

  This is a slug-napping!

  There must be a range on that damage-sharing ability, so I just needed to separate it far enough from the rest.

  The rest of the slugs were still recovering and wouldn’t be able to catch up to me in their best condition anyways.

  As I swung through the Canopy, one of my hands repeatedly stabbed its soft flesh with the Void Dagger. Despite its sharpness, it continued to leave only small cuts.

  It was only after travelling for several minutes that the Void Dagger began leaving jagged gashes all throughout its abdomen.

  Finally, I can actually kill this damn thing.

  I raised the dagger high in the air, preparing to deliver the finishing blow.

  Suddenly, an idea struck me.

  This was presumably the Nemesis of Misha, right? It had to be, with all its abilities.

  Gift delivery on the way!