Who can’t defeat the initial monster slime? Who is it?

“Help me! Dying by being drowned by slimes is not how I want to go!!”

In the forest, amidst the tall, verdant trees, a white figure was fleeing for her life, with a blue ‘wave’ in hot pursuit behind her.

Several times, the wave almost touched the hem of An Ye’s skirt, but she managed to narrowly dodge it by accelerating.

The rugged path in the forest was not easy to navigate; bushes were everywhere, vines fell from the treetops, and occasionally, fallen logs blocked the way.

To avoid these obstacles, An Ye had to expend a great deal of stamina, and her mind had to be constantly on high alert.

If she were to accidentally trip or slow down, the pursuing wave would undoubtedly engulf her without mercy in the next second.

An Ye understood that running like this was not a solution.

The stamina of this young girl’s body was far inferior to her former male self, and the thickened leather shoes on her feet were not suitable for running, let alone on this complex terrain.

If this continued, it was only a matter of time before she was caught.

Considering her current situation and the resources at her disposal, An Ye didn’t have many options.

Either fight back, or climb a tree or some high ground.

An Ye weighed the two options in her mind, glancing back at the wave behind her.

Seeing the spherical gels splashing out from the ‘waves’ from time to time, it didn’t even take a second for her to decisively give up the option of fighting back.

She couldn’t even win a one-on-one fight; facing such a large mass of slimes, fighting back would be suicide.

That left climbing a tree, but… every single tree in her field of vision was exceptionally thick and straight.

Wanting to climb one without tools couldn’t be said to be entirely hopeless, but it would certainly be fraught with difficulties.

Realizing her predicament, An Ye’s heart couldn’t help but sink.

“Nothing is going right… but more importantly, think… think of a way. Getting killed by slimes right after transmigrating to another world is just too ridiculous.”

An Ye’s gaze shifted to the inventory in front of her, thinking of a way to escape her current predicament.

As for why she was being chased by a swarm of slimes, that story began about thirty minutes ago.

Following the knowledge taught by the survival expert in the documentaries from her previous world, An Ye knew she couldn’t just run around like a headless chicken.

Before making a plan, she needed to figure out where she was.

Even though this was an unfamiliar other world, finding a high vantage point could provide a lot of useful information.

If she was lucky, she might even find the exit to this forest.

So, An Ye grabbed a hanging vine and slowly climbed up a tree.

Although she didn’t find the forest’s exit, she did spot a small, flowing river not far away.

Following the river or building a raft to travel by water were both good options, and it would also secure a basic water source, as the water she started with in her inventory would eventually run out.

Thus, An Ye confirmed the direction of the river, and after climbing down from the tree, she headed towards it while studying the control panel in front of her.

Along the way, she also collected some vines, which might be useful for making a raft later.

Later, when she reached the riverside, she didn’t know if it was because this was a remote part of the forest or because there was no pollution in this other world.

The river water here was exceptionally clear compared to her previous world.

In the shallows near the bank, she could see the stones at the bottom at a glance, and the shimmering reflections on the water’s surface were even a bit dazzling.

Although based on her senses, the temperature here was somewhere between spring and summer, not too hot.

But because it was very easy to get lost while traveling through the forest, reaching the river had taken much more energy than she had anticipated.

No matter how light her clothes were, An Ye was still sweating quite a bit.

Rashly going for a swim could be dangerous; after all, this was another world, and who knew what was in the water.

But at least washing her face should be fine.

As a result, An Ye reached her hand into the water.

She didn’t scoop up any water, but instead, a springy, gelatinous mass, with a round solid object about half the size of a glass marble inside.

Having played many games and watched many isekai anime, this thing was incredibly recognizable.

Immediately, An Ye threw the slime onto the ground, equipped the iron longsword from her inventory, and swung at its core.

But who knew that the slime, harmless in games, would have such ridiculously high resilience.

An Ye used all her strength but couldn’t even break its defense.

Instead, she was nearly injured by the rebounding longsword.

And the slime that An Ye had struck simply bounced a couple of times and hopped back into the river.

Then, no sooner had it gone under than the river’s surface suddenly erupted in a series of violent splashes.

An Ye thought that even fifty years from now, she would probably never forget the sight of a sky-blotting number of slimes launching out of the water, hurtling towards her like cannonballs.

Instantly sensing trouble, An Ye put away her longsword, turned, and ran into the forest, and has been chased by a sea of slimes ever since.

At this moment, An Ye’s gaze swept over the items in her inventory, her mind racing to find a way to escape.

Excluding the possibility of fighting back, the only items that could help her escape were the wood and the vines she had collected on the way.

But with just these things, given her current physical condition and the rapidly depleting stamina bar below her status, it was impossible to climb a tree in a short amount of time.

In fact, if she slowed down even a little, she would be caught by the slimes behind her.

Seeing the stamina bar, which had already dropped into the red warning zone, made An Ye feel extremely anxious.

She kept turning her head to look at the pursuing swarm of slimes.

She could feel the fatigue inside her body more and more clearly: the soreness in her thighs, the stabbing pain in her lungs, the burning sensation in her respiratory tract.

“Ha… ha… is there any way…”

The distinct pulse of blood vessels on her throbbing eardrums made the whole world seem hazy.

The blurry trees in her vision, the smell of the soil in the forest, and the discomfort in her body all seemed to be slowly fading away.

Even the sound of the slimes crushing everything behind her, the squeezing noises between the trees, began to blur, making An Ye feel as if there were no slimes chasing her at all.

But when she turned her head, the surging tide was already closing in, its speed showing a faint tendency to increase.

“Tsk, this is so real. I never thought that harmless starting monsters from a game would be so dangerous in reality.”

I can’t give up yet.

Reality isn’t a game; there’s no respawning after death.

There must be some way.

Quick, think about the characteristics of slimes.

Listening to the increasingly close, grating, squeezing sound from behind…

“That’s it!”

An Ye suddenly turned her head to take a closer look at the wave formed by the mass of slimes behind her.

Recalling the feel of the slime from the riverbank, an escape plan flashed through her mind.

Although she didn’t know if it would work, she had to give it a try now.

Turning her head, paying attention to the things flashing past her vision, An Ye searched for a support for her plan, while dragging the wood and vines into the crafting interface one after another.

Fortunately, in this lush green forest, the thing An Ye was looking for was everywhere, and one that met the requirements soon appeared before her.

“Uwaaaaaah!!”

In that instant, as if to use up all the strength in her body, with a subconscious cry, An Ye leaped forward with all her might.

Her hands gripped tightly onto the vine hanging in front of her, and she used the momentum to swing forward.

Her body was airborne, and just before she began to feel herself fall, An Ye decisively let go of the vine and placed the newly crafted item into her equipment slot.

At the same time, the swarm of slimes below surged upwards, aiming for An Ye’s airborne position.

The distance between them was constantly shrinking.

Just as the swarm of slimes was about to touch An Ye’s body, an foreign object appeared between them without any warning.

[Wooden Shield with an Intentionally Increased Area: A shield made of ordinary wood with limited defense. It would probably only be used by children for training or playing knight games, but it is a solid object nonetheless, and can defend against the impact of slimes.]

As the description said, the slime’s soft body was not enough to break through the wooden shield; in fact, its body absorbed most of the impact.

An Ye, in turn, used the force of the slime’s rebound to propel herself upwards.

To ensure she would be bounced high enough, An Ye unequipped the wooden shield the moment she left the slime mass.

Thanks to the girl’s current light weight, the plan went more smoothly than expected, and the vines she had kept in her inventory as a backup were not needed.

Using the vines in the air, although it was a bit undignified, she managed to land successfully on a sturdy tree branch.

“Phew… finally…”

“Crack!”

Before An Ye could even steady herself, a hair-raising feeling made her body act before her mind could think.

An Ye hadn’t yet understood what had happened, only that wood splinters flew in her vision, a dull ache came from her arm, and in a single encounter, the wooden shield was mercilessly torn to shreds.

A feeling of falling came over her, and An Ye’s eyes were fixed on the giant, insect-shaped creature in front of her.

“Ugh… you motherf…”