Chapter 19: Lylia's first victory?

There was something wobbling beside a big boulder nearby. At first, Lylia thought it was just a rock… until it moved. “Hmm, is that a slime?” she muttered, tilting her head. "Yeah, definitely a slime."

She walked closer and, yep, it was exactly that. A brown slime. It was just sitting there, squishy and slow, looking like a pile of pudding left out in the sun. “Well, time to try magic on a living creature,” she said, cracking her knuckles like she was about to do something impressive.

She pointed her staff forward. “O radiant heat of the crimson blaze, gather in my palm, spiral forth and ignite the path before me!” A small flame appeared, hovered weakly, then plop. It hit the slime. Though, nothing. The flames just vanished. There was not even a sizzle.

“... I guess fire is not its weakness, huh.”

The slime jiggled lazily, unimpressed.

“Don't look at me like that. My fire’s definitely not weak!” she insisted, then sighed. “I’m burning with passion for magic, okay?!”

Lylia flipped through the pages of her book. “Let’s try a different one. I'm sick of fireball.” She stopped at the next spell, grinning. “Alright, a water ball. A ball of water.”

She then raised her staff as she chanted, “O gentle flow of the azure tides, gather in my palm, surge forth and crush what stands before me!”
A small orb of water appeared, flew forward, and splashed onto the slime like she had thrown a cup of water at it.

“This too, huh...” she said flatly, wiping a stray drop from her cheek. Then, eyeing the puddle on the ground, she added, “At least I can drink it. Maybe it’s mineral water?”

Still, she noticed something. She did less panting this time. Her body didn’t feel as drained. This must be the sign, of progress, that finally, that maybe, she was improving a little.

“Small steps,” she muttered.

The slime was still there, sluggishly moving an inch. It was like fighting a lazy snail. She tried another spell. “O steadfast soil beneath my feet, harden and fly true to strike my enemy!”

A small lump of stone formed at her staff’s tip and shot forward... or well, 'shot' might be an exaggeration. It went thunk against the slime and bounced right back at her.
“Ah!” she yelped as it hit her forehead, her own spell. She rubbed the spot and glared at the slime. “Okay, you’re sturdier than you look. Unfortunately for you, you’re also slow. So you’ll be perfect for target practice.”

The slime wobbled in response.

“...Don’t tell me bouncing my spells back is your fighting style? That’s so annoying." she then muttered. "I was expecting something more... destructive since the spell was called 'stone bullet'. Something like, an actual bullet power. I might have as well pick up a stone and throw it myself."

Definitely, she wasn't the problem. After all, it's just a beginner spell.

She took a deep breath. “Next!”

The spell she tries this time is called 'Thorn Strike' from the plant element.

“O crawling vine of the earth’s green heart, stretch forth and pierce the foe before me!”

A thin vine shot out, but instead of impaling, it poked the slime and snapped off like a twig.

“Wow... the earth’s green heart is pretty fragile, huh.” she commented.

Then it was 'Ice Needle'

“O still air of the frozen north, gather to a point and strike swift and cold!” she chanted.

Then, a tiny icicle formed and zipped forward. Plink! The needle stuck to the slime for a second before melting away.

“When I cast it, it was refreshing, at least,” she said, fanning herself. She browsed back to the book as she decided, "Next, is Rai's specialty."

For the lightning element, she chose 'Stun Bolt'.

“O spark born from storm and sky, leap from my hand and bind my foe in shock!”

Then, a spark crackled and jumped toward the slime, zapping it with a faint bzzt.

The slime twitched slightly, then stopped. “Oh? Did that... work?” she leaned in. The slime jiggled once more, completely fine. “Never mind. At least it felt my spark.”

Then, a thought came to her. "Now that I think about it, why do most of their chants says to gather on the hands? Even though now I'm using a staff... oh well, as long as it works.'

The contestant in line to challenge the slime is 'Wind Blade' from the wind spells family.

“O unseen wind that dances free, sharpen thy edge and slice the air before me!” A ripple of air shot out, cutting a few blades of grass nearby. “...Nice lawn trimming,” she commented under her breath.

Second to the last is 'Light Ray'.

“O divine radiance of the heavens, gather in my hand and shine forth in judgment!” A faint beam of light formed, flickered weakly, and vanished. “Even the heavens are ignoring me now,” she sighed.

Finally, the element that came last was dark.

'Dark Flame'.

“O crawling fire of the shadowed void, cling to my foe and devour all light!”

The blackish flame that appeared looked... black. It latched onto the slime, silent. It just stayed, it didn't look like it was trying to burn the slime. Curious, she moved her hands closer to the flames.

“Wait, it’s not even hot? What’s this supposed to...”

Then she noticed it. The slime was shrinking. Slowly, its form began to wither, melting in a way that wasn’t physical but... wrong. The black flames devoured it soundlessly until there was nothing left. Not even a speck of goo.

Lylia stood there, blinking. “...It’s gone?”

A slow smile crept up her face. “I... did it?” She raised her staff high. “I actually did it! My first official kill!”

She spun around, cheering quietly. “Haha! Take that, you weak starter monster!”

But then she paused. “Wait... where’s its core?”

She looked down at the empty patch of ground, tilting her head.
“Oh no... don’t tell me that fire really devoured everything?”

The silence answered for her. “Ah...” she muttered. “Guess... I’ll worry about that later.”

And with that, the chapter of her first slime victory ended without the use of her one slap book.

… and with no loot.