Slime Leveling [Litrpg, Timeloop]-Chapter 172—Choose

"Incredible control," Goblin Lord muttered as he glanced at the ongoing combat.

Despite being only level 31, Giliberu had mana and aura mastery at tier two.

His control over his energies was exceptional.

Since he was fighting a tier-one opponent, he matched the attacks perfectly—so well that not even a gust of wind blew.

Boom! Bang!

Only the sounds of battle echoed.

Giliberu slid back.

"Blue Elemental Staff," he muttered as his staff emitted blue flames.

Whoosh!

He dashed toward the rabbit, muttering, "It's time to end this."

He flared with even more crimson energy as the blue flames rose higher from his rod.

"Bi-Aura Fist!" the rabbit roared as rod and fist collided.

Thud!

The rabbit was flung back, spitting blood midair as crack!-crack! sounds echoed.

It fell to the ground, then stood up holding its arm. Its right hand was broken into a mess, blood leaking out.

"Mana Recovery!" it yelled, as a light-blue magic rune flared on its left palm. Blue light fell over its right arm, trying to heal the injury.

Whoosh!

However, it was slow as Giliberu flashed in front of it and slammed his blue-flaming rod down.

Bang!

The rabbit couldn't respond. The heavy rod had connected with its head.

Its body shook as its skull broke, blood spraying everywhere. And caught on fire and burned to crisp dust. It had died!

[ Ding! You have killed Heavy Iron Rabbit! ]

"Not bad," Goblin Lord noted, folding his hands.

'He didn't flinch—unlike many goblins at their first kill.' He grinned, musing, 'As expected of my son.'

Then he narrowed his eyes at the trees to his left. 'It's time to see his answer.'

Three humans hid behind the trees and rocks, glancing from the gap between leaves.

One was a bulky man—over 1.8 meters tall—clad in white heavy armor.

Another was a thin woman with red marks all over her face, clad in a typical mage robe, holding a purple staff with a blue crystal glowing at the top.

The third was a thin man—over 1.7 meters tall—clad in yellow light armor.

"He's too strong," the woman muttered, glancing from behind.

"Yeah, the kid's not bad. If we fight him front-on, we might be killed," the bulky man said with a scowl.

"So what's the plan?" the thin man asked, glancing at his two teammates.

"Hey, what about that huge goblin over there?" the woman asked, spotting the two-meter-tall goblin.

He was a spectacle among the goblin kids—most of the fifty or so goblins were as tall as normal ten-year-old human kids, but Goblin Lord was like a towering giant among them.

"How about using a Holy Light Binding Rope of Rare rank?" the man in heavy armor asked, pulling out a white rope from his storage pouch.

"Yes, it should work out," the woman grinned, patting the man.

They both turned to the thin man and asked, "Bill, you know how to proceed, right?"

Bill sneakily trembled as he glanced at the towering goblin once and swallowed. "If I die, take care of my family," he said, as his voice cracked.

"Sure," both of his fellow adventurers grinned, nodding.

"Dark Silence," he cast, as a dark magic rune flared on his palm.

He became invisible, covered by dark fog.

Despite the dark fog surrounding him, no goblin noticed as he silently entered the goblin group.

However, Goblin Lord narrowed his eyes, but kept glaring at Giliberu, who was skinning the rabbit under a fellow goblin's teaching.

Bill poured his mana into the rope and lashed it at the Goblin Lord, who was standing in front of him.

Whoosh!

The rope, shining with gold light, bound the Goblin Lord's arms together tightly. Then, it proceeded to bind his legs as well.

Soon, his entire body was tied tightly by the rope. The rope flared with a golden light.

Whoosh!

The two adventurers dashed out and held the goblins hostage, one each, pointing their weapons at their throats, while Bill dismissed his spell and placed a short dagger on the Goblin Lord's neck.

"Surrender now," the woman grinned, "or else your fellow goblins will die."

Slash!

She waved the dagger across a goblin's arm, and a large amount of blood splashed.

The goblins flinched and backed away.

They bared their teeth at the adventurers. Goblins near Giliberu drew their weapons.

'So what would you choose, son?' Goblin Lord mused, glancing over the situation.

"Drop your weapons," the woman barked, poking her dagger as blood dropped from the goblin's throat, who was held by her.

'They know goblin tongue… they aren't killing directly,' Giliberu thought, frowning. 'Why bind goblins?'

Thud!

All goblins dropped their weapons and yelled, "Don't hurt my friend."

"Let them go."

The bulky adventurer pulled out another rope from his storage pouch.

It was white—exactly the same as the rope binding Goblin Lord—but its energy was far weaker.

He poured mana into the rope and released it.

Whoosh!

It expanded and started to tie all the goblins, pulling all of them together. But Giliberu leaped away, flaring with crimson aura, dodging it.

All the goblins were powerless.

"Now it's only you," Bill said, glancing at his surroundings.

The goblins were tied up, the towering goblin was the same, and his two adventurers held two goblins as hostages.

'Why isn't he breaking free?' Giliberu thought, glancing at Goblin Lord, who was staring at him with piercing eyes.

In a flash, he remembered the lesson from before: you can only pick one!

Goblin Lord wanted to test his choice.

'A goblin who reached his limit, or a young goblin who has just begun his journey?' Goblin Lord thought.

Giliberu glanced at the goblin in the woman's hands—at the height of a ten-year-old human kid, and with white hair at its temples.

And the goblin in the bulky man's arms was the same height as the rest, but he was young.

'I need to take them down,' He mused.

He used his skill, "Appraisal."

[ Ding! Opening Status!

… ]

'As expected, levels 31, 29, and 34—they are weak,' he thought. 'But… they're fast enough. If I rush in, one of them will die.'

"So who do I pick?" He muttered, going through the Goblin Lord's words and his declaration.

Power!

He clenched his fists.

His belief that power would solve anything felt correct—but his power wasn't enough yet.