The Acid Mutant Who Knows Magic

They say the unknown is the most terrifying, but sometimes, seeing things clearly is even more horrific and disgusting. A twisted, translucent humanoid figure appeared under the light!

Seeing the silhouette emerge, William and the others couldn't help but gasp; the creature's appearance was truly wretched. It was a human (or perhaps an elf) whose entire body was bloated to the point of being unrecognizable, as if formed from a translucent, gelatinous substance. Its head was bald, lacking hair or ears, and its nose had become a black hole. Only those pale green eyes retained a sense of substance. The translucent creature's chest was partially frozen, a result of being struck by the reflected Ray of Frost just moments ago. Oh! A smoking arrow was still embedded in its forehead; it seemed the little girl's second shot had been quite lucky, hitting the "bullseye" perfectly.

The emerging monster let out a silent roar, and immediately, a massive swarm of Kobolds came howling out of the darkness. The group's expressions changed instantly (imagine the feeling of nearly a hundred rats rushing toward you in a black tide). William grabbed the impulsive Singers and shouted urgently, "Phinia! Take Mishaer and Aelf and fall back!" But the giantess was already too busy to follow his orders. With her scalp tingling, Phinia let out a roar toward the heavens and charged madly into the Kobold swarm, beginning a game of "whack-a-mole." For someone of her height, this was hardly a coordinated movement; the disparity in size completely restricted her combat. Phinia could only hunch over and strike with her great axe, one swing at a time. By the time she smashed a Kobold into pulp with the flat of her blade, a dozen surrounding monsters had already attacked her several times. Although most of the strikes failed to penetrate her bison-hide boots, a few sharp javelins still sliced through her unprotected skin. Even in her berserk state, she could only cover her face with her great axe and retreat repeatedly.

Seeing Phinia in trouble, William placed the terrified, pale-faced Mishaer into the cart and shoved the equally excited old dwarf, saying, "Singers! Aelf! You two protect Mishaer! I'm going to take care of Phinia!" But the unbridled dwarf didn't listen to him either. Once the irritable old man broke free from William's restraint, he transformed into a small tank and charged forward. However, the old bastard didn't go to help the giantess; instead, he rushed into the densest part of the Kobold swarm, making William's mouth twitch in frustration.

When an angry William looked at Aelf, the equally pale-faced elven girl quickly waved her hands and said, "Don't worry! I won't rush in!" As she spoke, she jumped onto the four-foot-high cart and asked pitifully, "William! You'll protect me, right? I promise I'll never snatch the little one's things again!" William's expression softened slightly as he comforted her: "Don't be afraid! With me here, nothing can hurt you! Help me look after Mishaer!" As he spoke, he suddenly lunged forward, his curved blade flashing in an instant. Four charging Kobolds were decapitated, their bone spears and short javelins snapped in two simultaneously. Then, using his lunging right leg as an axis, he swung his trailing left leg in a sweeping kick, sending several more Kobolds flying into the stone wall with broken bones and severed tendons.

The rampaging William was like a high-speed lawnmower; the Kobolds that slipped past Phinia and Singers were mowed down like tangled weeds, either dead or severely wounded. By the time he reached Phinia's side, over twenty Kobolds had already fallen under William, leaving the two little ones in the cart wide-eyed and speechless. The little girl shrieked with excitement, while Aelf pulled out a rapier and a small vine shield, standing on the edge of the cart to show off.

William's curved blade flashed repeatedly, slicing in two every Kobold that tried to sneak up behind Phinia. He reached out and pulled the giantess, who was caught in the fray, back to safety. Most of the Kobolds attempting to surround her struck empty air, and William's legs kicked out like a windmill, sending the encroaching monsters flying one after another. He instructed Phinia, who had been pulled behind him, "Go watch Mishaer! Leave this to me!" Phinia, fuming from being swarmed, angrily swatted away two nearby monsters and returned to the cart with extreme reluctance.

Although she had fought Goblins alongside William and seen his battle with a Troll, Phinia had never imagined that William's close-quarters combat prowess could be this terrifying. Not a single Kobold could get within three feet of him. Every monster he struck was either dead or critically injured. The Kobolds that got close to him couldn't even escape; his rapid, peculiar footwork left them without a single chance to attack. In the few seconds it took Phinia to walk back to the cart, seven or eight more Kobolds had already been killed by William.

Cold, swift, and efficient—this killing machine from a distant plane displayed his terrifying lethality to everyone. When nearly half the Kobolds lay dead behind William, the translucent creature directing from the back could no longer sit still. After a strange, hoarse sound, the creature pointed a gelatinous finger at William. William felt a chill in his heart and his body suddenly stiffened, but the fiery bloodline power within him allowed him to regain control, and he cleaved two monsters in front of him in one stroke.

Seeing that the previous spell was ineffective, the translucent creature paused, then raised its hand to fire a small, pale green liquid orb (Acid Splash). Although he didn't know what this flying projectile was, William wasn't foolish enough to let it land on him. He shifted his feet and swatted it with his curved blade; the liquid orb shattered and splashed. The pale green liquid landed on the surrounding Kobolds, emitting a pungent smoke. The splashed Kobolds frantically scrubbed at their wounds, while William immediately covered his nose and retreated, fearing it might be toxic gas. Behind him, Aelf shouted a warning: "Careful! That's corrosive acid!"

Seeing its spell fail again, the translucent creature roared in anger. After a longer, rasping chant, a larger, deep green mass of liquid shot out. But William had already grabbed a nearby Kobold and held it in front of him. The poor Kobold shield faced the liquid mass in terror, then screamed as it was corroded into a thousand holes, making William's hair stand on end and cold sweat break out! Damn it! Strong acid! Is this bastard trying to ruin my face?!

Seeing the spell fail yet again, the translucent creature became even more furious. It began chanting, preparing to use a stronger spell, but it was too late. William grabbed Kobolds from around him and hurled them one after another at the creature. His immense strength made the flying Kobolds more terrifying than cannonballs. The creature, its spellcasting interrupted, was knocked to the ground like soft, sticky rubber. The Kobold used as the projectile fared even worse; the poor thing struggled as it was corroded and digested, as if stuck in paste.

Holy crap! This guy is a walking sulfuric acid tank! William and the others stared at the translucent creature in disbelief. It was only then that William noticed the arrow in the creature's forehead was gone; the embedded portion had been completely corroded away, and the rest had fallen off.

Kobolds are not brave warriors; these cowardly creatures are no better than Goblins. Aside from the few that slipped past the dwarf and were smashed into pulp by Phinia, the loss of over half their number caused the remaining monsters to shrink back. Especially after William knocked down the translucent creature, the surviving Kobolds scattered in a panic, fearfully avoiding the fallen monster as they fled into the darkness. The blood-covered Singers cursed loudly as he smashed the last fleeing Kobold. The irritable warrior, still wanting more, wanted to continue the pursuit, but the writhing, translucent monster made him abandon that plan.

The Acid Mutant stood up, the corpse of the dead Kobold still hanging off its body. It roared silently, attempting to pounce on William. Singers threw his warhammer, and William hurled another Kobold corpse, but these attacks only delayed it; they could not cause it harm or kill it.

Since physical attacks were useless, he would try energy damage! At this moment, the first thing that came to William's mind was his previous battle with the Troll; the Troll's special abilities had left a deep impression on him. By now, Phinia and the two little ones had also gathered around, curiously watching the horrific monster.

William said to Phinia and the others, "Everyone back! I'll try a fire attack!" The Acid Mutant, having climbed up again, clearly understood his words. The monster trembled visibly, though it wasn't overly afraid; ordinary fire was difficult to harm it, and this group appeared to have no spellcasters—though it didn't know why its Ray of Frost had been reflected earlier.

Phinia and the two little ones retreated quickly upon hearing this, but old Singers, not knowing William's true nature, did not move back. Just as he was about to say something, a ball of scorching flame erupted from William's palm. Empowered Palm Flame! William's self-created spell-like ability! The rolling heat wave nearly singed half of the dwarf's beard. Terrified, he scrambled away from the fire zone: "Damn you, William! Oh! My beard! How? How is this possible?" The dwarf's single eye stared at the raging fire in disbelief.

The translucent monster screamed as it turned into a scorching torch. Its cries were a hoarse, snake-like hissing. The thick stench of blood and rot permeating the air made everyone feel extremely uncomfortable. William and the others covered their noses and moved away from the combat area; the smell of blood near the battlefield would attract countless underground monsters, so they had no choice but to take a detour.