The Slime Monster that pushed many Nekomeko Players to the brink of despair: the Yellow Slime.
Its sheer ferocity was such that, for a time, a warning about Slimes was posted at the top of the Nekomeko Wiki’s important notices. However, that situation ended in less than a week.
A few days after the threat of Slimes became a topic on online forums, a Nekomeko Player accidentally discovered a method to deal with them and made it public.
That method was the “Slime Annihilation Method.”
It was an innovative countermeasure against Slimes that used their own characteristics against them.
The Slime Annihilation Method utilized poison. However, the key to this strategy wasn’t simply using poison to defeat them, but rather incorporating a crucial intermediate step.
Previously, there had been approaches to defeating Slimes using status abnormalities. But despite the persistent efforts of Nekomeko Players at the time, they couldn’t inflict status abnormalities on the Slimes. Neither skill attacks nor items had any effect on them.
Yet, with a specific trick, it was possible to inflict status abnormalities on Yellow Slimes. Moreover, by utilizing their special abilities of predation and reproduction, it was discovered that they could be wiped out all at once with devastating effect.
According to the discoverer, this happened purely by chance.
Desperately trying to hold back the onslaught of Slimes to protect the town, he was overwhelmed by waves of them and pushed into a corner. In his last-ditch effort, he threw a poison potion at a group of Slimes, but it accidentally hit a comrade.
Unfortunately, his companion became poisoned. He cursed his mistake, but it led to an unexpected miracle. The moment the Slimes attached themselves to his poisoned companion, something abnormal happened to them, triggering a bizarre chain reaction that wiped them all out.
Astonished, he created similar situations afterward to test his hypothesis, arriving at the following conclusion:
“Slimes become infected with the status abnormalities of those they prey on.”
This was quickly verified by other Nekomeko Players, and the conclusion was the same. To be precise, numerous experiments proved that Yellow Slimes, when they predate, acquire the same type and intensity of status change as their prey.
In other words, if they latched onto a character or monster afflicted with poison, they too would become poisoned. If they latched onto someone paralyzed, they would also become paralyzed. Even if they preyed on someone with a positive status effect like HP regeneration, the Slimes would completely adopt it.
This discovery, that Slimes could be affected by status abnormalities, was invaluable information for Nekomeko Players who had no way to combat them. However, this alone might not have been enough to prevent the Slime invasion. After all, the greatest news regarding this was the dramatic effect when poison was used against the Slimes.
For example, if the status abnormality inflicted on the Slime was paralysis, it would be useful, but it wouldn’t be enough to turn the tide of battle. At best, the Slimes swarming a paralyzed monster would freeze for a while. While it might be convenient for crowd control, the remaining Slimes would still attack Players unharmed, failing to provide a fundamental solution.
But among the various status abnormalities, poison was different. It possessed several elements that made it a perfect trump card against Slimes, as if it were tailor-made.
The poison in this Game was known to be a killer of beginners. While the damage itself wasn’t significant, it compensated with an unusually short damage interval, inflicting damage once per second. Even if it was only 1 damage, it would accumulate to 60 damage per minute, often leading to the equation “Poison = Death” in the early stages of play.
Furthermore, remember how the Water Element died instantly when its HP dropped to 1? Unlike many RPGs where poison effects stop when HP reaches 1, Nekomeko’s poison mercilessly finished off even critically wounded opponents. Additionally, this applied to status abnormalities in general: even if a monster died with 0 HP, the status abnormalities applied to it remained until the corpse disappeared.
These properties, though perhaps an annoying design, turned poison into a Slime killer. Slimes only had 1 HP. With these poison mechanics, they would die within a maximum of one second after being poisoned.
And herein lies the key point: when Slimes die, they become the best food for other Slimes. They prioritize the corpses of their own kind over Humans or Monsters. This, of course, included corpses of Slimes that died from poison.
What happens as a result? Healthy Slimes gather around the corpses of Slimes that died from poison and, by preying on them, the poison infection spreads rapidly.
Furthermore, Slimes split and reproduce by eating the corpses of their companions. Their predation and reproduction actions are unnervingly fast when they are densely packed. If a nearby comrade is killed, the process from predation to splitting can happen in mere fractions of a second. This trait, which seemed so troublesome when fighting them, worked against them here.
This is because the individuals born from splitting are in the exact same state as the one that split. In other words, if a “poisoned Slime” splits, it gives birth to another “poisoned Slime.”
The result is simple: the more they prey on poisoned comrades, the more poisoned Slimes are produced. Especially when the Field is overflowing with Slimes and they are pressed closely together, the increase of poisoned Slimes becomes faster and smoother. In the best-case scenario, the number of poisoned Slimes would increase by 1.5 times every second, contaminating normal Slimes.
If my memory serves me correctly, the wiki entry “Slime Annihilation Method for Dummies” explained it something like this:
1. Poison a Monster or Human.
2. Intentionally let the Slimes prey on them.
3. The preying Slime (let’s call it Slime A) becomes poisoned.
4. With only 1 HP, Slime A quickly dies from the poison.
5. Slime B eats Slime A’s corpse and also becomes poisoned.
6. The poisoned Slime B splits, creating poisoned Slime C.
7. Slime B and C die from the poison.
8. Slimes D and E eat the corpses of Slimes B and C, becoming poisoned.
9. The poisoned Slimes D and E split… and the damage spreads.
This continues endlessly until all Slimes are annihilated.
While simplified, this is the essence of the Slime Annihilation Method – a secret technique that creates a chain reaction of poison, reproduction, and death to eradicate the Slimes.
Whether this technique was a bug or an intended feature is a constant debate among Nekomeko fans. Some believe the massive Slime outbreak itself was an unintended glitch, while others argue that the reproduction was the staff’s malice, but the solution went beyond their expectations. However, I lean towards the opinion that the entire sequence, from the Slime outbreak to its resolution by poison, was intentional by the staff.
An organism with astonishing reproductive capabilities that is destroyed by those very capabilities is a common trope in fiction. It’s like a well-known trope, a form of aesthetic, where an alien race with interstellar travel capability somehow neglects virus prevention and perishes.
After all, the mechanics of Slime reproduction and poison are too perfectly in sync to be mere coincidence. It might be an overestimation, but I believe this entire chain of events—Players panicking over the abnormal Slime outbreak and then suppressing it with poison—was intended by the staff as a unique event and the proper way to enjoy the game.
Now, we finally get to the main topic.
After the Slime Annihilation Method was established, Nekomeko Players rarely had to worry about Slimes anymore. Normally, this situation would have been handled without much trouble, but my response was poor.
To execute the Slime Annihilation Method, one needs to first poison themselves, a companion, or a monster, and then throw them into the Slimes. There were no monsters around, and poisoning Mitsuki or Ringo just to throw them into that horde was out of the question. As for Kuma, it was even more out of the question since it was uncertain if it could be poisoned or if the Slimes would even latch onto it.
In hindsight, the correct approach would have been for me to drink the poison potion myself when I was surrounded and charge into the Slimes. But I lacked the courage. So, I gambled by using a valuable poison potion, hoping that with my current abilities—being able to consume things I couldn’t in the game—it might poison me and lead to my death within the Slimes.
That plan ultimately failed. As I hesitated, wondering if I should just drink the poison, Mitsuki’s counter-play caused me to lose the last of the poison. Without the poison potion, I had no means to poison myself. I hadn’t learned any poison-based magic, and skills generally can’t be used on oneself.
Afterward, I fled to try and find another solution, but I failed. As a last resort, I intended to use the “Poison Fang” skill on either Ringo or Mitsuki to turn them into poisoned bait. That’s why I aimed Koganezakura at them. While I say “them,” in reality, Mitsuki’s resistance to status abnormalities was too high, so I would have ended up using “Poison Fang” on Ringo. However, just then, a Bloody Ogre appeared, and I gleefully used it as a sacrifice, successfully completing the Slime Annihilation Method.
That Bloody Ogre died because it was already weakened when I attacked. However, the poisoned victim doesn’t necessarily have to die. If they can survive the one second between becoming poisoned and the first Slime preying on them, the enemy’s target will switch to the fallen comrade’s corpse due to priority. With Mitsuki and Ringo’s current stats, they likely wouldn’t have died, but I can imagine they would have gone through a terrifying experience. After all, even in the game, it was a traumatic experience. In this world with heightened realism, it would be far more than just a terrifying experience. It would have been best if no one got caught up in it. Truly, I owe a great deal to that Bloody Ogre.
That’s how I thought about it, but my companions seemed to disagree.
“…Soma, you’re too reckless,” Ringo said, gripping my clothes tightly and refusing to let go. It was as if she feared that if she let go, I would vanish somewhere.
“Peck peck.”
Kuma, also angry, latched onto my neck as usual and playfully slapped my cheek. It didn’t hurt at all, but it might have been his way of telling me to reflect.
Among us, Mitsuki was surprisingly the most openly indignant.
“If there was such a solution, you should have let me handle it sooner. I have no fear of enemies of that level, and with my skills, I could have easily controlled the number of Slimes that clung to me.” She declared with a composed demeanor, reminiscent of when we first met.
“If that Ogre had died before you got to it, or if your skill hadn’t inflicted poison, you would have died. You might have intended to look out for us, but if you died, we, who don’t know how to deal with Slimes, would have had no choice but to die as well. You should have relied on us more.”
I was speechless. Indeed, my actions involved many uncertainties. Choosing to escape into the “Flowing Water Cave,” deciding to use the Ogre as bait instead of Ringo or Mitsuki, were all based on the expectation of success. But if asked whether that was unmixed with the ego of not wanting to put “them” in unnecessary danger, I couldn’t honestly say no. If I were told that I invited the risk of party annihilation by fearing excessive harm to my companions, I couldn’t refute it.
Even so, any ordinary girl would hesitate to be intentionally preyed upon by Slimes. But Mitsuki is a daughter of the Hisame family. She comes from a family of strong-willed individuals who can genuinely say, “Glad you’re safe,” to someone who has suffered a severe injury and nearly died. In this world where injuries heal easily with magic, they don’t consider injuries that don’t lead to death as significant risks. Mitsuki, who was so unfazed during my trial, is probably genuinely angry not just about my recklessness like Ringo, but about me creating unnecessary risks of annihilation and choosing an uncertain method when a rational and certain solution existed.
“The feeling I had watching you sink into the Slimes… I’ve never felt anything like it… and I never intend to feel it again.” Looking closely, her cat ears were trembling slightly. Perhaps, just perhaps, Mitsuki was worried about me too.
Lost in thought, I was suddenly jolted when Mitsuki grabbed my bag and said out of the blue, “Do we still have any items with poison effects among these?”
“Well, if we search, there should be poison potions or poison knives somewhere…” Poison-type items aren’t used very often. I couldn’t recall exactly where I stored them, but I figured they’d be found with some effort. Responding with a bewildered tone, I was met with Mitsuki’s nod.
“Then, I’ll borrow some.” She decided on her own and tried to take my bag and walk away.
“W-wait a minute!” I naturally called out to stop her.
“No, I won’t wait. Ringo, please hold him for me.”
“Ringo?!”
Grabbed from behind by Ringo, I was immobilized. Mitsuki looked at me coldly. “This is punishment for being reckless on your own. You should rest in a safe place.”
“Punishment…?” To my confusion, Mitsuki said, “There should still be Slimes remaining in Fields other than this one. I’m going to go around and annihilate them. All I need to do is throw a poisoned monster to them, right? I can do that alone, and in fact, it’ll be easier if I do it alone.”
“No, but… nmph?” I tried to protest, but Ringo’s slender fingers covered my mouth from behind.
“…Is it okay?” Ringo’s brief confirmation was met with Mitsuki’s unwavering nod.
“I’ve said a lot, but throwing that poison potion first was my mistake. I won’t be satisfied unless I at least contribute here and properly prove my worth. Besides…” Mitsuki glanced at us—me and Ringo holding me—and slightly lowered her head. “…That role doesn’t suit me. It’s a matter of fitting the right person for the job.”
I wanted to say something to deny it, but my mouth was covered. Ringo opened her mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing. Without a word, she pulled my body closer to herself.
“In the meantime, you two should take shelter somewhere safe. I can track your location with the rings, so it doesn’t matter where you go.” Mitsuki declared and turned to leave. Just then, a yellow shadow pounced. It wasn’t a Slime that had narrowly escaped annihilation and was waiting for a counter-attack opportunity, but…
“Oh, you are… Shall we go together?” It was Kuma, who had silently descended from my neck. Kuma, who usually wouldn’t go near Mitsuki, offering to accompany her might have been his way of showing concern for her apparent dejection. He was a well-made stuffed animal in many ways.
After Mitsuki and Kuma departed, Ringo and I treated my leg and moved to the entrance of the “Flowing Water Cave.” Eliminating the Slimes would significantly lower the monster invasion level in surrounding areas, so the Monster Pops should have been quiet. Moreover, the “Flowing Water Cave” has clearly defined enemy patrol routes, making the area near the entrance a completely safe zone.
Ringo sat with her back against the cave wall, forcefully laying my body on her lap. She then wrapped her arms around my face with determination. There was no escape. Even so, I couldn’t stop worrying about Mitsuki and the others. While they were fighting the Slimes, was it right for us to be resting?
“Hey, Ringo. Maybe we should too—”
“…Rest,” Ringo said flatly. As I tried to sit up, she pressed her forehead against mine without changing her expression, completely restraining me. This would be difficult to talk her out of.
(This is troublesome…) I had been on edge due to the Slimes, and the clock had already turned to night. Naturally, I also wanted to rest. I understood that Mitsuki and Ringo were trying to get me to rest, making excuses for me. Still, my eager feelings couldn’t be suppressed. I tried to sit up several times, only to be effortlessly held back by Ringo each time.
Finally, when I gave up and became still, a small voice descended from above. “…Soma.” Looking up, I saw Ringo gazing at me with teary eyes. “The one I can least afford to lose is Soma…” That voice inexplicably tightened my chest. Ringo’s white, slender hand gently stroked my cheek. “…So, please don’t disappear on your own.” Before I knew it, my head was pressed firmly against Ringo’s body, and she was hugging me. I could feel Ringo’s body heat through our touch.
(Could she be… anxious…?) Ringo’s poker face makes it difficult to read her emotions, but I know she sometimes considers my well-being more seriously than I do. From the Subjugation Tournament, to the Cat Ear Mansion, the Hisame Family Trial, and now the Slimes—these past few days have been a constant string of life-threatening situations. If Ringo had been genuinely concerned for my life throughout this, she must have had no moments of peace. Thinking about it, a sense of guilt suddenly washed over me. To at least ease Ringo’s anxiety a little, I thought of saying, “I won’t disappear from in front of Ringo,” but stopped myself.
“I…”
I bit back the words. There were dangerous moments today, and Ringo seemed very worried during the Hisame Family Trial as well. However, I myself have no intention of dying here. I can confidently say that I will definitely survive.
(But, I…)
Once this whole ordeal subsides, I will likely meet Maki. Maki is my cousin from the same world as me. When we meet, we will naturally discuss ways to return to our original world. Even if we find a way back, I intend to stay in this world until it becomes peaceful, at least until the Demon Lord is defeated. But…
(And after that…?)
After defeating the Demon Lord and this world becomes peaceful, what will I do? Will I return to my original world with Maki? Leaving behind Ringo and Mitsuki, who care about me so much? Or…
(I…)
The rest of the thought couldn’t be put into words. In the end, unable to find any answers, I succumbed to the encroaching sleepiness and drifted into the world of dreams.
