The Fastest Evolution of the Unrivaled Slime: My Rejected Skill was a Cheat for Super Efficient Leveling, So I Trained 100 Times Faster to Become the World’s Strongest

98. The Monster’s Future [SIDE – Golem]

“Get out of town, monster! You’re dirtying up the place!”

A furious shout. A man, much larger than me, kicked my body like a ball.

Excruciating pain shot through my abdomen. Unable to understand his words, all I could do was endure the relentless kicks.

In the night streets, I cursed my fate.

Apparently, I was born into a category of people called ‘paupers’, living on the streets since I became aware of my surroundings.

I had no parents. But that wasn’t uncommon in the slums, so it didn’t bother me much.

Wrapped in a filthy cloth I don’t even remember picking up, I wandered the city. My daily concern was food.

Every day, I sat in alleys with foot traffic, begging. Sometimes, I roamed around searching for food myself. Occasionally, I found something to eat.

People sometimes said things to me. But I didn’t understand the words, so malicious remarks didn’t bother me.

However, violence was different. Getting hit hurt, and bones could break. Sometimes, I became an outlet for anger, facing adults and groups of children alike.

Still, I had no choice but to survive. So I endured everything.

My fate changed one day when I was ten. As usual, I was being beaten by an adult man and just endured it.

The taste of iron spread in my mouth. A dull pain in my abdomen. It was the same as always, but simultaneously, I felt a rising anger.

――Why do I have to suffer like this?

――Why am I getting hit? Did I do something wrong?

It was ‘anger’. Crawling on the ground, I clenched my fists tightly.

At that moment, for the first time, I felt power surging within me. Looking back, that was my encounter with the .

I directed the power I felt throughout my body toward the man in front of me. It was literally, the .

When my anger subsided and I regained my senses, the man was no longer moving. This was my first kill.

Before the man’s corpse, I fled with a mix of fear and exhilaration.

But the consequences followed swiftly.

“Is this kid… the information is accurate?”

The next day, I was restrained by several men.

The man at the center exuded an unusual presence. He was dressed like a noble, and extremely muscular.

I clenched my fist like when I killed the man, using all my strength to resist. Seeing this, the man spoke.

“It seems we’ve hit the mark.”

From then on, I was taken by Matthew and used as a test subject. His interest wasn’t in me, but in the skills I possessed.

Apparently, I had a rare skill, and Matthew did various things to draw out its limits.

One day, I went to a designated place and found two men tied hand and foot.

“Kill them. They are criminals. You are executing the villains.”

“St-stop! We don’t deserve to die! Something, something’s wrong――”

I crushed the sobbing criminals with my fists. Not just one or two. Countless times.

I became an ugly monster. Under Matthew, killing people, gaining experience, and learning words, I lost my humanity.

＊

“――Wake up! Golem!! Wake up already!”

The sound of wheels and Matthew’s voice woke me. I was in a carriage.

Under the roof, he looked at me with an irritated expression.

“What are you doing!? Struggling against weaklings and even losing!?”

He had the same eyes as the man who had beaten me that day. Eyes filled with anger.

“Because of you, we failed to gather materials in Ortia! This is all your fault because you are a villain!”

“I… a villain.”

“That’s right! It’s absurd! If I, a good person, fail, the only reason is because you are a villain!”

While Matthew’s insults rained down on me, my mind wandered to what the man named Arcus had said.

[You were stronger than any opponent I’ve ever faced. So, for the lives you’ve taken, help someone else.]

[You can do it. The monster that used humans as experience points was defeated by my attack.]

I had always been called a monster. Ugly, yet desperately surviving. I thought I would continue living as his experiment animal.

But――is that really okay?

“Are you listening!? It’s your fault!!”

“…Hey, to you, am I a monster?”

Words slipped out of my mouth.

“What kind of question is that? Of course, you’re a fine monster!”

In that instant, something snapped inside me.

“Status Open”

――

? Male, 16 years old

Level 1

Skills

Experience remaining: 120

… Uses 10 experience. Increases own attack power for 1 minute.

… Uses 50 experience. Unleashes an explosive punch.

… Uses 200 experience. Generates a shockwave at a distance.

… Uses 500 experience. Increases the hardness of both arms, using them as shields.

… Uses 1000 experience. Delivers a powerful series of strikes.

Uses 3000 experience. Increases own hardness and physical abilities for 5 minutes.

――

Apparently, I still had some experience left. The best way to use it—I knew by instinct.

“What are those eyes!? You’re a villain, aren’t you!? Recognize that――!?”

I brought my palm closer to Matthew’s face. His eyes widened in an instant.

“W-what are you doing!? Do you understand the meaning of this!? If you do that, I――!”

“Sorry. I’m a villain.”

“S-stop!! Don’t do itttttttttttttt!!”

A white light filled the carriage. . Matthew tried to flee with a death scream, but it was too late.

The monster is dead. Thus, from here on, I will pave my own path.

With a violent explosion, the carriage collapsed.