I followed the two Goblins as they led me through the long cavern. It was unlike the tunnel and cave chamber I’d been in just earlier— those had been teeming with monsters and other such threats. Heck, the moment I woke up I was attacked by a Toxic Toad.

But here, I saw nothing other than the fungus growing out of the dirt floor and the lichen encrusting the rock walls. It was also brighter compared to where I’d come from; bioluminescent moss and even mushrooms lit up the way, forming a natural path to follow.

Szen, the Goblin father, spoke as he raised a hand. “We are close to Korukh.”

“Korukh?” I turned to him, curious. “That’s your village, right?”

For whatever reason, his daughter, Fissyah, twitched at my question.

“That is correct, cr— Violet,” Szen said, hanging his head. “Please… just remember your promise.”

“Uhm, sure?” I didn’t know why he’d think of me as a liar. I said I’d protect Fissyah if she ever wandered off again like she did earlier, and I was going to uphold my promise. Well, as long as they upheld their side of the bargain and let me crash over at their village.

We reached the village soon after.

* * *

This was it. It was all over. Fissyah closed her eyes, accepting the fate that was about to befall her home.

Korukh was not a large village. In fact, it was one of the smallest villages located at the very fringe of the Dark Empire, but it had encapsulated her entire life up till this point. There were only a hundred Goblins living here— maybe even less, since Fissyah hadn’t actually counted— and a dozen Hobgoblins at most.

Maybe Dyrx would’ve stood a chance. He was the village’s best fighter who rivaled Dark Elves in strength. But Violet was a monster that dealt with two Dark Elf soldiers with ease. Korukh would fall.

Not unless someone stopped this monstrous Slime.

The girl’s fingers twitched as she hugged her Papa. Her right edged for his hunting dagger. She could do it. If she caught Violet off-guard, she’d be able to kill her before she laid waste to Korukh.

“Is this really it?” Fissyah could hear Violet asking the question as she took in the size of the village. “I expected it to be… ok, I’m not judging, but I didn’t expect you guys to literally live in houses made out of mud. Everything looks like it can fall apart just from just touching it.”

Papa hugged the girl tighter as the monstrous Slime spoke. “The gort clay is as resilient as stone,” he whispered quietly to himself. “To think she can destroy it just with a single touch…”

Fissyah didn’t focus on that. Only one thought crossed the girl’s mind. Now, when she’s distracted. It was the time to act. Yet, the girl hesitated.

Something stopped her. The sight of her own Status screen.

Name: Fissyah [Level 3]

Species: Goblin

Combat Power: 50

Physical Essence:

- Physical Essence Points: 0

- Power: 7

- Will: 12

- Dexterity: 13

- Body: 6

- Worldliness: 12

Skills:

None

She was weak. She’d always been weak, even for a Goblin. Her Combat Power was a mere 50 at Level 3. Meanwhile, Violet had to have had a Combat Power of 500. Maybe even 1000.

Against a monster such as that, Fissyah wouldn’t have even lasted a single moment.

So, she begrudgingly clenched her teeth and conceded to that vile, terrible, and evil Slime.

* * *

I wondered why Fissyah and Szen were being so uptight since we arrived at Korukh. Was it because of my earlier comments? Was I rude? I didn’t mean to be rude!

I just expected a village to have houses made out of… wood. Maybe some farmland, too? Instead, what lay before me was just a couple of mud houses sprouting up from the ground. I guess this layout made sense for a cave village. Perhaps it was my expectations that were the problem here. I’d been too unrealistic.

Now I felt bad. They offered me their hospitality, and I trampled over their kindness with callous remarks.

I immediately tried to backtrack, sidling up to one of the nearby houses and raising an appendage. “I mean— it looks fragile, but…” I knocked on the mud wall as lightly as I could a few times. “Look! It’s very durable. Good job, guys! Wow, your architect really knew what he was doing. You should praise the construction team too!”

* * *

Fissyah’s hands trembled as she listened to Violet drone on.

Is she mocking us?

* * *

Neither father nor daughter reacted to my remarks. I wanted to smack myself on the back of the head. Of course they wouldn’t. They probably didn’t even know what an architect was!

Or wait, maybe they did? Was I being racist now? Just because they were Goblins, didn’t mean they were idiots!

I laughed nervously as I turned away from the house and looked to the rest of the village. “So, where’s everyone?”

Just as I spoke, green figures appeared in the distance. Goblins like Fissyah and Szen. They approached us, waving and calling out.

“Brother Szen!” An older Goblin led them, huffing as he came to a stop. “You found her. We were so worried.”

“Brother Zrugs…” Szen trailed off as he was hugged by the group of Goblins.

They huddled around Fissyah too, hovering protectively over the girl. Then they turned to me.

“Wait, what is that?”

“Oh, it’s just a harmless Slime.”

“What’s it doing here?”

Crap, I just realized I didn’t plan this out at all. I was a Slime— a monster! How was I going to convince them to let me stay here?

One of the taller Goblins walked up to me, patting me on the head. He turned to Fissyah, laughing. “Did you find a pet while you were gone, Fissyah? It’s cute.”

“Uhm,” I started, and he immediately backed up.

“W-what…?” He stared at me, wide-eyed. “Did that Slime just talk?”

I thought about what to say. I considered playing along with the idea that I was Fissyah’s pet for a moment. Then I realized that was absolutely stupid. Why would I make up that lie for no reason? Instead, I decided to be a normal person and explain the situation.

“I can talk, yes, and my name is Violet,” I introduced myself, much to the astonishment of the gathered Goblins.

“A talking Slime?” Zrugs blinked. “How? Is this a trick?”

“No, no, no. It’s not a trick. I really am a talking Slime. But I’m not a monster. You can ask Fissyah! And Szen too! I saved their lives.” I beamed triumphantly, waiting for either father or daughter Goblin to back me up.

They hesitated. I deflated slightly.

“Uhm, guys? I saved your lives, right?”

For whatever reason, they were struggling to find their words. Oh no. Maybe I should have just gone with the flow and claimed to be Fissyah’s pet.

“There were those two Dark Elves, remember? I killed them, right?” I continued, hoping to refresh their memory. I mean, it was entirely possible Goblins had goldfish memory, right?

“Wait, this monster killed Rioke’s men?” Zrugs’s face contorted in horror.

The tall Goblin from earlier only narrowed his eyes, but the others fearfully backed away from me. I was beginning to think this might devolve into a pretty big problem when finally, Szen regained his composure and stepped forward.

“Violet is speaking the truth,” he said, facing his brother. “She helped us when Nenifru attempted to take my daughter from me.”

Took you long enough! I sighed in relief, gesturing at the Goblin father with an appendage. “See? I told you so.”

Of course, they weren’t immediately convinced.

“Could it be a ploy?”

“It might be deceiving us!”

Zrugs stepped back, dumbfounded. “Is it really not a monster, brother?”

The only one who didn’t doubt me was the tall Goblin. Which— apparently I was wrong. He wasn’t a Goblin. After a quick [Appraisal], I realized he was actually a Hobgoblin. Although, potayto potahto. Same thing, really. He was just more jacked. Like the Arnold Schwarzenagger of Goblins.

[Hobgoblin - Level 14 (Combat Power: 195)]

He crossed his arms, harrumphing. “Nenifru deserves it. That bastard has abused our people for long enough. If this Slime really killed him, then I trust that she’s not a monster.”

I stared at him, brimming with gratitude. “Thank you for siding with me, Mr Schwarzenagger!”

“...who? My name is Dyrx.”

“Even if she’s not a monster, she killed those Dark Elves,” a voice said, silencing the crowd.

I looked up to see an old Goblin hobbling over and supporting himself with a staff. He had a long, flaky beard and a hunched back. His bald head was entirely covered with wrinkles, stretching far past his forehead. Clearing his throat, he came to a stop and addressed me.

“I am Gort, the Chieftain of this village. It is a pleasure to meet you, Violet.” He ushered me to follow after him. “Please, if you don’t mind, could we discuss this matter in private?”

* * *

This village was… odd.

No, I wasn’t mocking the layout of the mud huts or the hunter-gatherer-esque society the Goblins seemed to be living in. I felt a sense of power here, but not one I could… fully grasp.

“It feels weird, doesn’t it?” Gort said as we entered his house. It was larger than all the other buildings in the village. Szen followed us, although Fissyah was left behind because her presence wasn’t needed.

“You feel that too?” I asked him, puzzled.

“Hmm, yes. But to me, this is normal. To you, it should be a new feeling, yes?”

“What do you mean?”

“Monsters such as yourself don’t often wander too close to the embrace of the Drasel’s Roots. Even if it is not harmful to you, it is intoxicating, yes? It makes you feel as though you are being overwhelmed— full.”

“Yeah… yeah!” I understood what he was saying. “It’s like I just had a full course meal at a fancy restaurant— with dessert— and the waiter returns with a complimentary fruit tart from the chef, but you’re not hungry enough to eat it, but also, like, you don’t want to be rude, so you power through it even though fruit tarts aren’t really your thing and—”

I glanced up to see Gort and Szen staring blankly at me.

“Sorry, did I lose you guys?”

“You are quite the odd one, Violet.” Sighing, the Goblin Chieftain settled down before a fireplace. A pot was stewing over the flames, exuding a delicious aroma that made me really want to lick my (nonexistent) lips.

“Look, I’ve just had a very long day,” I said, quite literally melting onto the dirt floor before him. “And I haven’t been in the right state of mind.”

“I see.” Gort poured a cup of tea and handed one over to Szen.

“Thank you, Chieftain.”

“Tea?”

“Oh, I didn’t know you guys had tea leaves down here.” I looked up curiously, accepting the cup with an appendage, and the Goblin Chieftain chuckled.

“We do not. This is made from mushrooms and lichen.” He spoke as I took a sip.

I’d honestly be disgusted by the sound of that if not for the fact that I had consumed even worse things just earlier. I tipped the cup over my my face, pouring it drip by drip—

And the tea splashed over my body.

“What?”

“Interesting. So, you really are a Slime, aren’t you?” Gort peered at me as I tried to drink the tea again, only for my body to reject it.

“What’s this? What’s going on?” I was flummoxed, and Szen seemed to be puzzled by it as well. But Gort understood what was going on.

“Slimes cannot absorb liquid,” he finally said, leaning back. “They can only absorb organic solids. That is why when a Slime consumes a person, blood and urine is left behind.

“Interesting…” I paused. “Wait, what about poo?”

“Feces? That depends if it’s liquid or solid.”

“Oh.” Grossgrossgrossgross— I immediately repressed this cursed knowledge from my mind and changed the subject. “So, why does this matter? Why are you bringing up all this?”

“Well, a talking Slime is quite unusual. I was simply confirming whether or not you are some other monster playing tricks with our minds. Their deception always proves faulty when under scrutiny.” He smiled and sipped slowly from his cup.

Honestly, he was quite eloquent. I expected Goblins to behave like cavemen. They definitely lived like cavemen, but the way they spoke showed a surprising amount of intelligence and even wisdom.

Gort placed his cup back down, waving a hand. “Earthen Sirens, for example, cast sound magic to mimic words and voices to lure in prey. But if you listen carefully, the sounds they make have no true meaning.”

Oh, so that was how that Earthen Siren managed to talk. And to think I thought I’d become a murderer there and then. It was only a few hours later, did I actually become a murderer when I killed those Dark Elves. (To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t even sure if it’d been a few hours or a few days since I woke up. Hard to tell the time without a clock when you were underground.)

“But I am actually a talking Slime,” I said, indignant. “And I even saved Szen and Fissyah from those Dark Elf jerks!”

“Indeed, and that is the problem here.” Gort shook his head. “You killed those Dark Elf soldiers. A monster killed those Dark Elf soldiers.”

“I was trying to help,” I protested.

His brows arched, casting a shadow over his face. “I am not saying you are incorrect in helping Szen protect his daughter, but that it will have dire consequences for Korukh.”

“What?” I watched as he closed his eyes, diving into a story.

“We live under the rule of the Dark Empire. It was formed a thousand years ago— by the first God King, Tay-Burl the Genocider. He united the entirety of Hollowdark by himself, bringing Dark Elves, Ogres, Goblins, Gnolls… everyone, together. For the first time in history, the warring species of the Hollowdark fell under a single banner. Within the Drasel’s domain. ”

The fire crackled, sending bits of ash and cinder into the air. I listened intently as he continued.

“But after Tay-Burl’s death five hundred years ago, when his son took over, the tumultuous unity of the Dark Empire shattered. The Gnolls were the first to—”

“Stop that,” I interrupted him.

Gort blinked as I pointed an appendage at him. “Stop… what?”

“That thing you’re doing. Stop it.”

“What… exactly am I doing?”

“Expositioning,” I said, waving my appendage.

He glanced over at Szen who looked just as lost as he was. “Expositioning?”

“Yeah. You’re giving me too much exposition. I don’t need to know the entire history of the Dark Empire. You’re not writing a dissertation on the cultural-political history of Dark Elves. You can explain all that later, after this is done. For now, just give me the TLDR of how this matters to me and be done with it.”

The Goblin Chieftain scratched the back of his head. “Tee-elle… what?”

“Give me the short version,” I finally said, rolling my (of course, nonexistent) eyes. “Explain the problem in two sentences or less. It’s not that hard.”

“I-I see,” he coughed and straightened. “It seems I was getting carried away, wasn’t I? Well, if you must know—”

“Just get to it already!”

He chewed on his beard. “Right. So, we Goblins still live under the rule of the Dark Empire, but our standing is not very high amongst the Dark Elves. And you killed some of their Dark Elf soldiers stationed here to protect us…” he trailed off. “Can I explain it in three sentences, please?”

“It’s fine, I think I get it.” I nodded in understanding, and Szen seemed to pick up on it too. “You’re saying that these Dark Elves will surely retaliate against you guys because of what I did, right?”

Gort hung his head.

“Yes.”

There was a moment’s pause. A moment where I took in this predicament. Finally, I looked up at the Goblin Chieftain. “Well, that’s bad.”

Then we heard the shouts from outside. I glanced towards the doorway.

“And that’s just bad timing.”