Slime Immortal.

Chapter 187 Heart-Stealing Shadow

The luminous cedar trees emitted a soft glow in the darkness, enveloping the fluorescent forest like a veil and illuminating Arno's path.

Unlike other young people from the Stone Clan, he did not deliberately hide himself. Instead, he walked slowly through the forest clearing, as if taking a nighttime stroll, seemingly attracting potential observers.

Nelly sat on a high branch, resting her chin on her hand, and said with surprise, "I didn't expect this kid to be so perceptive, knowing that someone was following him."

As if to confirm her words, two young stone people with eager expressions appeared in the dark corner where the fluorescent light could not reach.

“Ancestors, we request to duel Arno.” Their gaze passed over Arno and fell upon the shadows beneath the tree.

Arno also stopped and turned around, his gaze also falling into the shadows.

The previously still shadow twisted and stretched slightly, coalescing into a blurry human figure, which nodded slightly in agreement.

Nelly shifted to a more comfortable position, looking on with anticipation for a good show.

"These little guys are smart; they know to figure out the strength of their competitors first."

She tilted her head and looked at Chen Yu on her shoulder: "Who do you think will win?"

Chen Yu calmly shifted his position: "One move..."

Before he could finish speaking, the taller Stoneborn assassin took a few steps back, leaving the other Stoneborn assassin to do his thing.

【sneak】

The young man took a deep breath, his center of gravity slightly lowered, and his figure quickly became blurred as he moved through the dark, shadowless trees, arriving behind Arno in the blink of an eye.

[Sneak attack]

The dagger made a soft whistling sound as it tentatively stabbed towards Arno's lower back.

However, it was as if Arno had eyes in the back of his head. Just as the dagger was about to fall, he reached back with his right arm and grabbed the assassin's wrist holding the dagger.

"what?!"

The Stone Assassin felt a sudden tightening on his wrist, and a tremendous force came through, making it impossible for him to break free.

Before he could react, Arno used his waist and abdomen to forcefully swing the arm that was gripping his wrist forward.

An irresistible force struck him, and he was thrown into the air, crashing into a small tree with a muffled thud.

"Crack!"

The fragile tree trunk snapped in response, and the falling crown startled several fluorescent moths that were nestling in the tree hole.

Fortunately, the timely petrification prevented him from being injured, but the incident had clearly frightened him greatly. The young man slumped down beside the broken tree stump, clutching his chest, unable to recover for a long time.

"Isn't he a knight? How come his senses are even more terrifying than a ranger's?"

"Watch this." The other assassin clearly didn't believe him. His figure became ethereal, blending into the swaying light and shadow around him, and he attacked Arno from behind.

Eagle Eye

A glint flashed in Arno's eyes. In his vision, the stone race member who was using the environment to conceal himself gradually slowed down his movements.

This is a talent that Chen Yu previously extracted from a hateful eagle that often roamed near the swamp and liked to attack slime transport teams. It has the effect of enhancing dynamic vision and perception.

Arno remained calm and collected, grabbed the second assassin's wrist again, and threw him away.

The stone-dwelling man tumbled several times on the ground before regaining his balance, covered in mud.

Arno stood there for a moment, thinking it over. He felt that the deterrent effect was not enough, so he took a step and walked towards a thick sturdy cypress tree next to him.

Under Nelly's slightly curious gaze, Arno reached out for the first time and grasped the hilt of the broadsword behind him.

"Chong-"

The heavy broadsword was drawn from its sheath, producing a dull metallic scraping sound.

He didn't use any fancy sword techniques; he simply took a deep breath, his arm muscles bulged, and his broadsword sliced ​​through the air with a dull whistling sound as it slashed horizontally across the thick tree trunk.

"Shoot..."

"boom!!!"

The luminous cedar emitted a harsh tearing sound, and its trunk crashed to the ground with a groan.

The broken edges were jagged, clearly indicating that it was cleaved by pure brute force, which only highlighted the terrifying power of his strength.

The two young men swallowed hard, understanding his threatening intent.

"Ancestors, we admit defeat!" After saying this, the two figures quickly disappeared into the shadows and slunk away.

Throughout, Arno remained silent, quietly sheathing his broadsword back into its scabbard on his back, his posture composed and displaying the demeanor of a master who kept his true abilities hidden.

"Hey, that really is a move."

Nelly blinked, staring at Arno with curiosity, as if trying to find out how he acquired his strange skills.

Then, holding Chen Yu, he leaped down from the glowing cedar tree. His figure was swallowed by darkness as he fell, and then he landed on solid ground again in an instant.

"It's that strange shadow skill again," Chen Yu thought to himself.

To be honest, he was very interested in the Stoneborn's elusive shadow abilities.

I wonder if those shadow creatures are edible, and what they taste like...

He also plans to try out a few Shadow talents if given the chance.

He swayed back to his senses, ready to praise Arno, when he saw Arno, who had just been acting like a master, proudly waving his sword.

"Boss, did you see that just now? I took care of two assassins in a flash and scared them away, hahaha."

Chen Yu: "..."

Forget it, it's better if this guy doesn't say anything.

His goofy nature is impossible to hide once he opens his mouth.

Nelly crossed her arms and commented in a senior's tone, "Your perception is good, and your strength is also good, but if you want to find shadow creatures in this forest, brute force alone is not enough."

"They are extremely fast; without a mount, you might not even be able to catch their shadow."

Arno scratched the back of his head and didn't reply directly.

He simply took a deep breath, and his figure quickly became blurry and transparent, completely disappearing into the shadows cast by the trees, only reappearing a dozen meters away.

At first, Nelly didn't pay much attention; it wasn't too surprising that a Stoneborn Knight knew a bit about stealth. But soon, she realized something was wrong.

"Ok?"

Master-level stealth?

When did this guy learn that?

Nelly's expression turned to surprise.

It's strange that a knight could master stealth skills.

Although still far inferior to her, a master of shadows, her stealth skills clearly surpassed those of most of the young Stoneborn participants in this trial.

Moreover, based on his performance just now, Nelly realized that this guy's agility was also quite high, comparable to that of a formal assassin.

Something was wrong, very wrong.

She looked at the slime on her shoulder with a strange expression; although there was no evidence, she had a feeling that it was the slime that did it.

Do slimes, these kinds of monsters, actually know how to teach stealth skills?

Nelly stroked her chin, her expression thoughtful. She was becoming increasingly interested in the mysterious "Slime Kingdom." What if they possessed some unique training system that could rapidly improve skill proficiency…

Perhaps, after this trial is over, I should find some time to visit the Eastern Swamp.

It must be much more interesting there than she imagined.

Facing Nelly's gaze, Chen Yu's face remained expressionless, as calm as a real green jelly.

This is a level 5 "Stealth" skill; how could its effect not be powerful?

As soon as "Magic Stripping" reached Lv.5, he completely stripped his stealth talent to Arno.

Besides "Eagle Eye" and "Stealth," he also gave Arno quite a few strange and unusual talents, but they were still quite useful.

For example, there's "Cat's Grace," which makes footsteps as light and silent as a magic-striped leopard; "Spiderweb Binding" from a cave spider; and "Misdirect Attack" from the luminous jellyfish by the Gray Mist Lake...

It can be said that Arno now possesses almost all of the talents related to assassins and support, making him nearly as strong as those elite professionals.

To Chen Yu, participating in this Shadow Trial prepared for the young Stoneborn was as easy as going on a vacation in the Fluorescent Forest.

……

After the brief incident, Arno continued his journey deeper into the forest.

In order to find those elusive shadow creatures as soon as possible, he hung the bottle of shadow dust in the most conspicuous place on his waist, hoping that this thing, which was said to emit a special aura, would attract the shadow creatures wandering around nearby.

As for the other Stoneborn Trialers, their methods varied.

Some use magical dust or potions passed down through their families, while others constantly practice special techniques for communicating with shadow creatures.

These methods are mostly passed down from their ancestors. They are "supposedly" effective, but in reality... they are often just a psychological comfort.

The fluorescent forest is not particularly vast; it is like a long, narrow fluorescent ribbon nestled between two ancient rock canyons.

The deeper you go, the narrower the terrain becomes, like a natural passage leading to the unknown.

Arno continued along the passage, encountering several groups of young stone people who were interested in him. They challenged him to duels, either alone or in groups.

Arno easily ended the battle, but it also delayed him quite a bit on the way.

However, as news of his defeat of several challengers spread among the trial participants, fewer and fewer Stoneborn dared to challenge him to duels, which made his subsequent journey much smoother.

After spending almost a day and traversing several low hills made of piled rocks, Arno finally reached the end of the fluorescent forest.

Further away, beyond the fluorescent forest, the fluorescent vegetation gradually thinned out, plunging into complete darkness. Without any dark vision, the sheer depth of the darkness was enough to make one stop in their tracks.

To prevent the Stoneborn from accidentally wandering into that unknown darkness, rows of solemn knight statues stand orderly along the edge, holding greatswords or spears, like silent sentinels, together forming the last boundary of the fluorescent forest.

"Does this thing really work?"

Arno stopped and, somewhat puzzled, picked up the small glass bottle at his waist and shook the dusty powder inside.

It's been a whole day, and he hasn't seen a single shadow creature, let alone a monster. He has a feeling that his seemingly unreliable aunt is fooling him.

That shadowy dust is probably just scraped-off soot from a pot.

He wasn't the only Stoneborn to arrive here; soon, Leon, one of the Stoneborn trio, also crossed the sparse woodland.

When he saw Arno, he raised his hand to greet him.

Arno hung the bottle back on his waist and asked, "On your way here, have you heard of anyone who has passed the trial?"

Lyon smiled helplessly, "Of course there are, and as far as I know, a lucky one has already successfully formed a contract with a shadow creature and passed the trial first."

"So fast?"

Arno was even more puzzled when he heard this, wondering why he hadn't encountered anything.

Lyon said tactfully, "Well... the Shadow Trials depend a lot on luck and compatibility. Not all Stoneborn can perfectly match the Shadow Creatures and gain their favor."

"Some Stoneborn may not be naturally popular with those sensitive and picky Shadow Creatures."

He glanced at Arno's muscular physique and the conspicuous broadsword on his back, then added, "However, if you're lucky enough to run into him first, I doubt anyone would dare to take it from you..."

After all, news of Arno's easy victory in the duel had already spread throughout the forest, and even he knew about it.

The two were talking quietly beside the border statue when suddenly, a dark shadow, like a black swallow skimming low in the sky, flashed past in the darkness of the border.

"What was that just now?"

Arno's eyes sharpened, and he instantly became alert, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his sword.

"Shadow creatures?!"

The two exchanged a glance and both realized this.

Without the slightest hesitation, they immediately chased after the direction in which the dark figure had disappeared.

"A shadow creature has appeared?!"

"We'll go too."

The sudden commotion also caught the attention of other Stonefolk who were loitering near the border, and they followed as well.

Not long after they left, a shadow silently appeared in the dark corner shrouded in the shadow of the knight statue.

He didn't look well at the moment; there was a hole in his chest, as if some terrible force had forcibly ripped a piece out of him.

The humanoid figure stood blankly in the shadow of the statue, muttering to itself, before disappearing from the spot.

……

"Uh...ha..."

Nelly lay leisurely on the tree, yawned, and a tear squeezed out of the corner of her eye.

She was supposed to be supervising the trial, but in reality, there were people guarding the place, so she hardly did any work and spent most of her time slacking off.

Chen Yu felt her body sway slightly, raised his head, opened his round eyes, and glanced at her.

"You seem... always sleepy?"

He seemed to have never seen her fully conscious since he met her.

Nelly stretched and said with a hint of complaint, "Of course I'm tired. Those old guys always come to me when they have something to do. I'm the one who runs errands, I'm the one who takes the blame, and I'm the one who solves the problems... I'm so busy every day that I don't even have time to breathe. I'm severely sleep-deprived, of course I'm tired."

"I didn't sleep a wink yesterday because I was looking for that 'strange shadow creature' you mentioned, so it's reasonable for me to take a break now, right?"

She had barely finished speaking when a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"See? He's asking me for help again..."

Nelly gave her a knowing look and slowly sat up. "So, what happened now? Were those two kids fighting too hard and I had to break them up, or did some unlucky fellow get lost and wander into the Dark Frontier?"

At first, she seemed nonchalant, but after hearing what the figure said, her brows furrowed slightly.

Nelly was silent for a moment, her sleepy face turning serious.

"What happened?" Chen Yu asked.

He could sense that something had happened.

Nelly took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping towards the edge of the forest, her tone grave: "The information you provided earlier... might be true."

"That strange shadow creature has appeared, and it's aggressive. The shadow creatures guarding the fluorescent forest have been attacked by it."

Nelly stood up from the branch. "Let's go, we have to find it before it does anything bad."

(End of this chapter)