Just as I was about to leave, I spotted the mage’s staff lying near the emperor slime. It rested on the floor, not far from the creature.

  Take it or leave it? - That was the question.

  I stepped forward cautiously and the giant slime stirred. I sighed.

  Great. It noticed me. Now what?

  Instinctively, I bowed my head— then immediately huffed in annoyance at my own antics.

  Seriously? Bowing? Like that means anything to a slime.

  I glanced back at the staff.

  Should I just give up? That’s worth at least one or two levels for me. I’ll fly back at the first sign of danger. So let’s try this.

  I edged closer. The slime remained still. Slowly, hesitantly, I reached for the staff. Just as my fingers wrapped around it and I thought I had secured it, an appendage slithered over the staff.

  Uh… okay?

  I withdrew my hand, signaling surrender, and the slime didn’t react. It just sat there.

  Should I give up on this staff? At least it didn’t try to kill me. I turned to leave—then the slime lifted the staff.

  It lifted the damned thing into the air.

  Oh, fuck it. Is it… offering it to me?

  I placed my hand on it again, but the slime didn’t let go.

  OK?

  Does it want something in exchange? Some animals understand trade and bargaining, but slimes? The lowest of monsters?

  Hmm… let's test something.

  I moved to the side and gathered several spears. If it likes stabbing things, maybe it would appreciate a spear in exchange? Most slimes didn’t seem to care for weapons, but what did I know? Maybe it was because many spears had that crystal tip that delivered an electric shock.

  Wait—if I give it a spear and it gets shocked, will it think I’m attacking it?

  And why hasn’t it collected the spears itself?

  I returned with the spears, set them down, and picked one up. Holding it in my hand, I demonstrated the crystal’s electric shock—on myself. Again and again.

  This must look ridiculous. Good thing no one’s here to capture snapshots of me jumping and yelping like an idiot.

  After a few rounds of self-inflicted shocks, the slime extended a tentacle and prodded the crystal. A jolt of electricity shot through it.

  I gulped, watching its reaction. Is it going to attack me now? Was the staff really worth this risk?

  But instead of striking, the slime poked the crystal again. And again. Eventually, the charge wore off, and the crystal became inert.

  It prodded the lifeless crystal, then shifted its attention to me. I raised my hand, and it seemed to watch me. Taking the spear firmly, I channeled my mana into it. The crystal hummed back to life, crackling with energy.

  I demonstrated the effect again, gripping the spear tightly this time.

  The slime didn’t even wait for me to put it down—it shot out an appendage, tapped the crystal, and then, in one swift motion, swallowed the entire spear.

  I nearly got dragged forward, completely unprepared for the sudden movement.

  At the same time, the slime dropped the staff.

  Did I just teach a slime how to use electroshock spears?

  Well, not that it mattered now. The spear—crystal and all—had already dissolved inside the creature.

  I grabbed my hard-earned prize and turned away. The staff pulsed in my hands, a faint energy coursing through it. Oh yeah, this is good. My mana surged, my capacity significantly expanded. I could feel it.

  Cool.

  I tried the Lightfire spell again. It almost worked. Almost.

  The ring and the staff together boosted my spell power by the equivalent of two, maybe three levels. The downside? I had to lug around this cumbersome staff.

  Oh well. At least I can use it as a club if needed.

  I made my way down one of the tunnels. This was unfamiliar territory—Andy hadn’t mapped this part. So I moved carefully, keeping my steps light.

  Is something following me?

  I glanced over my shoulder. Nothing.

  The glowing moss that covered the cave walls was growing sparser, its eerie luminescence fading, leaving the tunnel progressively dimmer.

  Then, on a hunch, I turned suddenly.

  There it was.

  Something was following me.

  A little slime.

  I blinked. “Go back to mama, ‘kay?”

  The slime just… stood there. Watching me. Or at least, I think it was watching me.

  I shrugged and moved on.

  A while later, I froze. Voices.

  More than one. At least two people, maybe more, heading in my direction.

  I silently backtracked several meters until I found a raised platform—an elevated section of rock similar to the one I’d climbed earlier when dealing with the werewolves and the king slime.

  With a quick push, I pulled myself up and crouched low.

  I focused on the voices. Yes. Definitely people. Getting closer.

  Then I looked down—

  And saw the little slime.

  It was trying to climb up after me.

  Of course, it can’t. The rock is too steep.

  And if those people reach it first…

  They’ll kill it.

  I hesitated.

  Oh well. It’s just a little slime…

  I climbed down to pick it up.

  I’m going to get killed because of a slime.

  The moment I set one foot down, it latched onto me.

  Yikes!

  It slithered around my ankle and rolled up my leg.

  I didn’t know slimes could do that!

  I barely stopped myself from yelping. Balancing on one foot, I froze for a second, trying to process what just happened.

  Well… I was going to pick it up, wasn’t I?

  Mission accomplished, I guess.

  Bracing myself, I climbed back up—now with the extra weight clinging to my leg. At least it had the decency to stop above my knee.

  I think it got the message.

  As soon as I was up, it slid down my leg like a kid going down a fun park slide, landing neatly on the ledge beside me.

  It sat there.

  Smug.

  Oh, great. It has feelings. It can share feelings.

  Do slimes even have feelings?

  Because this one sure seemed sentient.

  As I stood there, lost in thought about slimes and their possible sentience, I saw them approaching.

  A spear-wielder and an apprentice mage.

  I guessed they were both level one, but without my Assassin Identify spell, I couldn’t be sure.

  Oh well.

  I was a level three mage with a solid staff, the agility of a flea, and an arsenal of magical bolts. Two level-one humans shouldn’t be a problem.

  As they passed beneath my perch, I focused on a dark spell.

  OK, Flo was in the lead. She was about to cast something… some kind of black bolt.

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  Not sure how effective that’ll be against a cultist, but let’s see.

  She concentrated. A strange energy flickered across my hands as the spell took shape.

  Can dark magic produce dark light?

  Because for a moment, it looked like a dark light passed over my fingers, over my staff—

  Then, in an instant, the spear-wielder collapsed.

  One second, he was a strong, animated man, gripping his weapon and talking fervently with his companion—a rather lovely apprentice mage.

  Maybe there was a romance there. Maybe they were just discussing recent events.

  The next second…

  He was gone.

  What remained was a crumbling skeleton, his flesh disintegrating into something not quite dust.

  No… not dust.

  A black cloud.

  “Wow. What kind of spell was that?” I wondered

  “Uhm… kinda like a dark bolt. A death bolt. Maybe a fraction—like, a percentile—of a Black Angel’s blast.” Flo answered with a shrug, “But yeah, seemed pretty efficient.”

  “Pretty efficient? Fuck me, that guy was gone in one hit!”

  She just shrugged again.

  Talking to myself in the middle of a fight was probably not the best idea. And it did cost me—

  The apprentice mage had time to react.

  She turned, mouth agape, her eyes darting between her crumbling companion and me. Then instinct took over. She cast a mini thunderbolt, aiming straight for my chest.

  I had to hand it to her—this poor initiate had guts. Not much brains, but guts.

  If it were me, I’d be running for my life after watching my companion get vaporized in one spell.

  The thunderbolt jolted me, snapping me out of my daze.

  Right. The fight wasn’t over yet.

  But at that same moment, the little slime launched itself from the perch—

  And landed directly on her face.

  She yelped, but it came out muffled—the slime stayed glued to her.

  Wow. Just like in that alien movie. Urgh.

  I didn’t know slimes could jump—but I did know they could move suddenly, unpredictably.

  And this one?

  It was very mobile.

  The apprentice flailed wildly, her hands clawing at the slime as muffled screams escaped her. The creature was devouring her face.

  Flo’s death bolt had drained almost all of my mana, but somehow, she still found enough to cast a firebolt. Tiny, but precise.

  It burned straight through the apprentice’s chest—right where her heart was.

  She crumpled like a discarded rug, hitting the ground with a sloshing sound.

  …Okay, that part was just the slime, spreading across her face again.

  Alright, my turn.

  Since I loved jumping, Flo graciously let me take the lead.

  I leaped—

  And fell. Hard.

  I should have waited a few seconds. With my mana completely drained, my wings had no power to sustain me. A four-meter drop onto wet stone?

  Yeah, not my brightest idea.

  “Oh fuck, I think I broke my leg! You could have told me to wait!”

  I felt Flo roll her eyes.

  Wait… is that even possible? Can you roll your eyes when you’re not in control?

  …Okay, that was just a feeling.

  My wings, now twenty by forty centimeters, were four delicate, beautiful butterfly wings.

  Completely useless without mana.

  Frustrated, I slapped my forehead—

  And immediately regretted it.

  Pain shot through as my five- to six-centimeter-long horns stabbed my own hand.

  Okay, stupid move. Note to self: No more slapping my own head.

  Flo snickered.

  "That’s quite the performance! We took down two enemies without a scratch—"

  "And now you’re half-dead from self-inflicted wounds!"

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Oh, shut up! Shit happens. You’re just mad because you’re not in control!” I shot back aloud.

  Flo only chuckled in my mind.

  I stood there, watching as the little slime devoured the mage’s head while I waited for my mana to replenish.

  It didn’t take long.

  For either of us.

  By the time my mana recovered, the slime had completely finished with her head. Interestingly, it looked healthier—healed, even. Must have recovered from the wounds she’d inflicted while flailing so wildly.

  I turned my attention to my leg.

  Broken? No… just a crack.

  A quick heal, and I was back on my feet.

  Oh, right—loot!

  I rummaged through the remains and found some more coins, an apprentice staff, and—ooh, another ring and shoes!

  Total haul: 37 silver, 65 copper. Not bad.

  I stashed the new staff in my inventory box. Weaker than my current one, but at least it was a backup if I ever lost this one.

  Too bad dual-wielding staves doesn’t stack mana capacity. Guess I need to level up more… or find something even better.

  Then I checked the shoes.

  She had my size!

  Well… almost. A size too big. But that didn’t count, did it?

  The robe she wore was in decent condition—better than the scraps I had on. A little large, especially in the bosom area, but still an upgrade.

  As I pulled it off, I noticed something else— A medallion.

  I swapped out my current amulet for it.

  I’ll have to identify this later, I mused, but for now, I trust it won’t kill me.

  I had to cut a deep décolleté in the back of the robe to make space for my wings.

  Luckily, the robe already had a small slit—probably to help its original owner slip it on—and a button to close the gap once dressed. I just extended that slit, turning it into my new open-back design, then fastened the button.

  Functional and fashionable.

  She must have been from a wealthy family or had some high-ranking support. Even her bra and panties were high quality.

  I couldn't take them, though.

  I know, I’d regret it—they were clearly expensive. But… yeah, no.

  Then—

  Fuck me. She had an inventory box!

  Yai!!!

  It was strapped to her left thigh. Weird place for it, but who cares? It’s mine now!

  And it was a bigger one—five slots, each slightly larger than the slots in my three-slot inventory box.

  Unfortunately, you can’t wear two of these at the same time. Spatial artifacts tend to interact unpredictably with each other.

  Best case? Rapid decay. Your stored items suddenly deteriorate, and—surprise!—you find yourself standing in the middle of all your dumped belongings.

  Worst case? Explosions. Or worse, weird temporary spatial distortions.

  And no one wants to deal with that.

  So, I ditched my old thick belt with the smaller inventory box, transferring my important items into the new one. Then I strapped my new and improved box securely onto my right thigh.

  Perfect.

  I peeked inside one of the slots.

  Score!

  Bras, panties, and extra clothes.

  Each slot was about 40 by 40 centimeters—big enough to pack a suitcase’s worth of stuff. And the best part?

  Unlike regular bags, it’s the volume that counts, not the shape.

  Meaning?

  I could totally cram a few spears in here.

  I examined myself, pleased with how the robe suited me.

  It wasn’t one of those standard initiate robes, but it looked similar—and was a huge improvement over the filthy scraps I’d been wearing.

  For the first time in a while, I actually felt like I looked good.

  Sure, the robe was a little loose, but it had a comfortable, pleasantly flowing feel to it. And if I wasn’t mistaken, it had a weak protection charm woven into the fabric.

  Not that it had helped the previous owner much.

  Then I struck gold!

  She had one gold coin tucked away in her inventory box!

  That was rare around here.

  Energized by my new haul, I glanced back at the little slime and sighed.

  “Four hours gone. Six left. Do you hear that little slime?”

  It answered with a sloshing sound and I chuckled. It looked like I was going to be playing the whole night.

  Hopefully, I manage to save Lynx, and then I can finally crash in my real bed.

  And actually get some sleep.

  I stretched, rolling my shoulders. “Let’s go!”

  The little slime bounced after me, practically vibrating with excitement.

  I knew it was happy.

  Damn it.

  I could feel its feelings.