“I’m Violet,” I said as the Dark Elf dropped dead. “And you’re hurting my friend.”

Fissyah’s head barely rose at the sound of my voice. “V-Vi…?”

I slid into the room and stopped right at the center by the Goblin’s chair. I inspected the chains restraining her, quickly using [Appraisal] to ensure that it wasn’t a magical binding that would kill her if it was broken. Fortunately, it was not, so I formed an appendage and wrapped it around the metal links.

“Don’t worry, Fissyah! I’ll get you out! I’ll just break these chains and…”

Wait, could I even break chains? I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to break metal with my grubby, liquid arms. I squeezed my appendage tightly, hoping that it would work—

And without much effort, the chains shattered. Tiny metal shards shot out in all directions, ricocheting around the room and shooting right back at me. My gaze snapped up as a glint caught my eye. One of the broken bits of chain was flying straight to Fissyah.

I bounced into the air, spreading my body as wide as possible and blocked it from hitting her.

“Are you alright?” I asked as I landed on her lap.

She looked at me, still injured and beaten. Her eyes welled up in gratitude as her chains clinked to the ground. Falling forward, she threw her arms around me and cried.

“T-thank you. Thank you so much for saving me.”

“Wait, Fissyah, I can’t breathe—” I started, but she spoke over me in a weak voice. (Also, I didn’t actually need to breathe. At least, I didn’t think I needed to breathe.)

“I was so scared. I was…” she trailed off.

I paused. I didn’t expect her to react like this. It took me a second, but eventually I slowly hugged her back with my appendages and spoke reassuringly. “I’m here now. We’ll get out of here.”

She sniffled, tightly clinging onto me as I ran my appendage over her back. I took in her wounds— a lot of it seemed superficial, but deliberately inflicted to cause as much pain as possible. It was a good thing I found her so quickly.

“There, there,” I said softly. “It’s fine. It’ll be fine.”

“What’ll be fine now?”

A voice drew my attention to the doorway. I spun around, instantly firing an [Arc Shot] at the shadowed figure standing there. The Dark Elf brought a hand up, and a fiery barrier blocked the projectile.

“Alright, rude,” he said, stepping forward. “You didn’t see me attacking you when you had your backs turned to me.”

“Yeah? Well, it’s called the element of surprise, not the element of polite! Are you stupid?” I squirmed out of Fissyah’s terrified grip as she stared at the man. “Now, who are you?”

He smiled, spreading his arms wide. “I am R—”

“Rioke,” Fissyah cut him off. Her gaze stabbed into him like daggers— a death glare I’d never seen on her face before. “Captain Rioke. He’s the one I told about, Violet.”

“He is?” I faced him warily, and he scowled.

“Are you guys seriously going to keep interrupting me? Because I could just kill you now if you wanted,” Rioke said. “Literally right now. The only reason you’re still alive is because I wanted to ask a few questions. But if you’re not going to let me do that—”

“Wow, you never told me he was this whiny,” I said to Fissyah. “Isn’t he supposed to be in charge of this fortress or something?”

The Dark Elf crossed his arms. “Fine, then. I guess you’ve made your choice. D—”

I continued, “Like, you’d think someone in his position of leadership would be a little more mature, right?”

“Perish, monster!” he growled and produced a wooden stick from his belt.

It looked like a wand. And when he waved it around, incanting quietly to himself, I re-categorized it from ‘looked like a wand’ to ‘definitely a wand’.

“[Flaming Arrows]!”

I hopped around the barrage of attacks, firing my own [Arc Shots] back at him which he promptly blocked with a barrier. He could cast magic and cast it fast. I closed the distance between us and leapt for his head, but he pivoted to the side. He gave me a smug smile, pointing at me as I fell midair.

“[Fireblast],” he said.

“Uh-oh.”

I couldn’t dodge out of the way in time. A cone of flames blasted out, engulfing my body as I hurriedly extended an appendage to pull me out of its radius.

“Owowowow—”

But I didn’t get any reprieve even as I exited the fire. I was immediately met with even more [Flaming Arrows]. Ones that barely whizzed by me as I bounced around the room. He was strong. I sent another [Arc Shot] his way and used [Appraisal] on him as he conjured his barrier once again.

[Dark Elf (Defender of Fort Erkaed) (Slayer of Xellyn Moths) - Level 19 (Combat Power: 465)]

Oh, his Combat Power was higher than mine.

“I’m in trouble,” I chuckled as he began whipping up a set of fiery chains.

“[Blazing Bind]!”

He tossed it at me, and it very nearly caught me too, but I thinned my body to avoid it just in time. The Captain of Fort Erkaed panted.

“You’re a quick one, aren’t you? A talking Slime with abilities I’ve never even seen before that’s durable enough to survive a [Fireblast] unscathed. Just what are you?”

“Actually,” I chimed in, “I was pretty scathed by that. It hurt a lot.”

I could probably take two or three more of those [Fireblasts], in addition to a few [Flaming Arrows]. However, the question was, did I want to risk my life like that?

Name: Violet [Level 11]

Species: Arcslime

Combat Power: 340

Arcane Essence: 240/340

Skills:

[Appraisal - 10 Arcane Essence]

[Arc Shot - 20 Arcane Essence]

Passive Skills:

[Arcane Restoration - You restore 10 Arcane Essence for every ten minutes of rest.]

[Improved Absorption - You replenish an additional 50% of Arcane Essence from consuming bodies.]

[Morph Shape - Your body can take on complex shapes.]

I’d already used nearly half of my Arcane Essence and I hadn’t even scratched Rioke yet. His barrier could protect him from my [Arc Shots], but I noticed that they could only cover one direction at a time. I just had to distract him from one side and attack him from the other. It was simple enough.

Unfortunately, before I could carry out my plan, he sneered.

“You don’t seem to have any weaknesses,” the Dark Elf Captain said, eyeing me warily before his gaze flickered to the right. “Except for one.”

I followed his gaze over to Fissyah who was struggling to get to her feet. I glanced back at him. “Please don’t.”

“Oh, I will.” He pointed at her, grinning savagely. “[Fireblast].”

“Fissyah, get down!” I shouted, throwing myself at her.

The girl looked up in horror as the plume of flames encroached on her. She stumbled back, raising her arms as she snapped her eyes shut. And when she opened them—

* * *

—she saw nothing.

Fissyah was surrounded by a deep, resounding darkness. She couldn’t move. She could barely breathe. Her chest rose quickly as she lost all sense of everything.

A terrible presence crawled on her skin. Something wet and cold to touch; like she was drowning in mud and struggling was all but fruitless as she was yanked further and further into the pit until she reached the bottom and the scene changed and the ooze trapping her was no longer mud but saliva and she realized was caught in the belly of a beast and death was all but certain—

“Hello? Are you alright?” a familiar voice echoed around her, interrupting her thoughts.

The girl blinked. “V-Violet…? Is that you?”

“Oh my god, you’re actually alive. Like, I thought that it would work, but I wasn’t sure if it would…”

“What would work? What happened? Am I… dead?” Fissyah was utterly confused. She tried to get up, but the same wet sensation kept her down.

“Tsk, they survived,” Rioke said in the background.

“You’re not dead. I kind of wrapped my body around you to protect you from the [Fireblast],” Violet explained as her body wriggled around the girl. “But I need you to listen to me: we need to get out of here. I can’t beat Rioke. At least, not with you here.”

“I-I… sorry.” Fissyah pursed her lips. “I—”

“Look, whatever you’re about to say, that doesn’t matter right now. What matters now is that you work together with me, alright? I need you to move with me.”

“Move with you?”

“Stay back, jerk! Take this, [Arc Shot]!” Violet hurriedly said, and Fissyah could feel a rippling in the liquid wrapped around her. “Yeah, just move with me. I made a mold of you with my body so I’ll guide your limbs, and we’ll run out of here as fast as we can, alright?”

It took a moment for the girl to understand the instructions she was given. When it finally clicked, she nodded. “Got it. But—”

“[Flaming Arrows].”

“I can’t see!”

The dark liquid covering her eyes peeled back just in time to see the fiery projectiles blink to life and shoot out at her. Then she felt the tugging— the Slime moving her body in a certain direction.

“We’re going left!” Violet said, and Fissyah moved.

The world zipped around the girl as she traveled faster than ever had in her life. It took two steps to make it halfway across the room, before she staggered and nearly took a tumble. Her body was still injured from the beating she’d taken just earlier, and while Violet’s assistance did a lot to help her, she couldn’t run perfectly.

And they couldn’t coordinate perfectly, either.

“Right!” the Slime called out.

Fissyah blinked as she found herself making a dash straight for Rioke. Streaks of red flew over their heads, and they closed the distance.

“Aim for his head!”

They swung together, but they commanded different arms at the same time. Fissyah had tried to use her left arm as it was the less-injured hand, while Violet naturally used her right arm. Somehow, it still worked out and they struck at Rioke with a clapping attack.

His fiery barrier blocked it as he backed away.

“Now, run for it!”

Fissyah ran straight out of the doorway, and the Dark Elf Captain cursed.

“Stop them! Guards! Guards—” he shouted down the hall, giving chase.

“Take the stairs!”

They dipped into the closest stairwell, running straight into a pair of Dark Elf soldiers. One of them raised a spear.

“Monster—” He thrust his spear forward.

“Fissyah! Left hand, aim for the neck!” Violet ordered.

And the Goblin listened. They punched the first soldier in the neck, and he stumbled back, making a choking noise.

“Grab the spear!”

Fissyah pried the weapon off his hands, following Violet’s movements. They turned to the other Dark Elf soldier, effortlessly blocking his sword swing and knocking it aside.

“Finish him off!”

The girl hesitated. “I—”

But they ran him through with the spear regardless. The Words of Drasel appeared before Fissyah as they spun around and sprinted down the stairs.

You have defeated a [Dark Elf - Level 10 (Combat Power: 178)]!

You have gained bonus experience for defeating an enemy far above your level!

You have advanced to Level 4!

- Physical Essence Points +10

- [Power] +2

- [Body] +3

Name: Fissyah [Level 4]

Species: Goblin

Combat Power: 55

Physical Essence:

- Physical Essence Points: 10

- Power: 9

- Will: 12

- Dexterity: 13

- Body: 9

- Worldliness: 12

Skills:

None

I… leveled up? It was the first time Fissyah had leveled up in a year. She didn’t think she’d reach Level 4 so soon, let alone in a situation like this.

After a quick moment of deliberating, she spent 4 Physical Essence Points on [Dexterity], 4 on [Body], and 2 on [Power]. What she needed right now was to help Violet escape from the fortress. With [Body], her wounds wouldn’t impede her movement as much, and [Dexterity] would only make her faster.

Name: Fissyah [Level 4]

Species: Goblin

Combat Power: 65

Physical Essence:

- Physical Essence Points: 0

- Power: 11

- Will: 12

- Dexterity: 17

- Body: 13

- Worldliness: 12

Skills:

None

“Did something happen?” Violet asked, puzzled. “You’re moving much faster now.”

“N-no, it’s… I leveled up.”

“Oh, so you can level even if we fight together, huh?”

Behind them, Rioke gave chase alongside half a dozen other soldiers. They reached the third floor, stopping as five guards barred their path.

“That’s good,” the Slime said and raised the girl’s hand. “Go for the one on the left!”

Violet fired an [Arc Shot] to the right, instantly killing one of the guards. The dead guard fell onto the others, distracting them as Fissyah leapt onto the leftmost Dark Elf, pummeling him to the ground.

The Words of Drasel flashed before Fissyah, and they kicked off the guard’s body, bounding down to the second floor. There was only a single soldier there, which they had to deal with as the remaining third floor guards caught up to them. Both were disposed of easily enough, however Rioke was closing in now. A dozen [Flaming Arrows] rained down at them as they continued their descent down the tower.

You have defeated a [Dark Elf - Level 9 (Combat Power: 145)]!

You have gained bonus experience for defeating an enemy far above your level!

You have defeated a [Dark Elf - Level 7 (Combat Power: 130)]!

You have gained bonus experience for defeating an enemy far above your level!

…

You have advanced to Level 5!

- Physical Essence Points +10

You have advanced to Level 6!

- Physical Essence Points +10

Fissyah didn’t gain any additional points for her Physical Essence. Those were awarded more scarcely— usually for pushing one past their limit. And since she continued to distribute her Physical Essence Points to [Dexterity], [Body], and [Power], she found her wounds were no longer as restrictive as before.

My Combat Power is now at 85. I can actually help Violet now. The girl’s heartbeat pounded like a Dwarf’s hammer in her chest. She felt a rush of excitement from growing stronger, but also a tinge of fear that she’d be caught and killed.

The pair continued their way to the first floor, leaping over the two guards waiting at the bottom of the stairwell.

“Stop right there—” one of them started, raising a shield. But as Violet and Fissyah avoided them completely, he paused. “Wait, what even is that thing?”

The other frowned, staring as the Goblin-Slime duo got away. “I think that’s the ‘girl’ you helped out earlier.”

For whatever reason, Violet waved at them. “Thanks again for your help, Cibsacu, Phigilvel!”

Fissyah saw the entrance to Fort Erkaed approaching up ahead. It was their chance to finally escape. There was only a single guard standing there, and he barely put up a fight. He collapsed as Violet urged the girl to the grooves of the portcullis.

“You just have to raise it a bit and we can slip right under—”

“[Blazing Bind].”

They turned around just in time to be caught by a pair of flaming chains. It wrapped around their arms, keeping their hands tied together before the portcullis could be raised. Fissyah didn’t feel anything from the [Blazing Bind], but somehow, she could tell it was actually burning Violet.

“Did you really think a monster like you could sneak into my fort and escape with your life?” Rioke said, shaking his head. He was followed by a dozen Dark Elf soldiers, half of them with bows drawn and aimed at the pair.

“I mean, yeah?” Violet answered, trying to keep her voice casual. “If I thought I’d die here, I wouldn’t have snuck in in the first place. You really are stupid, aren’t you?”

Despite her quip, Fissyah knew she was suppressing her exhaustion and pain.

“Insult me all you want, monster. But you shall fall here. I am Captain Rioke. The Defender of Fort Erkaed. The Slayer of Xellyn Moths!”

“Mmm, I know that. Ebsu said as much.”

“Ebsu?” Rioke’s brows creased. “Wait, what did you do to my Second Lieutenant?”

The Goblin felt a twitching sensation— liquid pooling around her hands. It took her a moment, but she realized what was going on. Violet was taunting him.

“Oh, he was being a jerk, so I killed him. He kept going on and on about how you’ll avenge him and kill me though. Honestly, now that I’ve seen you, I’m not actually impressed. I thought you’d be stronger than… this.”

She spoke dismissively, and the Dark Elf Captain clenched a fist. “How dare—”

Fissyah moved in synchronicity with the Slime. She raised her still-bound arms, aiming for Rioke’s head as the purple liquid bloated with power. Then a purple projectile shot out. It moved like a blur to the girl’s eyes. She could barely see the path it traveled, but she knew it would hit the Dark Elf Captain. She believed it would—

And Rioke’s head snapped out of the way just in time. The [Arc Shot] struck a soldier standing right behind him, killing her instead. He deliberately craned his neck back to face them, a cruel smirk on his face.

“You missed.”

The girl stood there, wide-eyed and staring as a nasty laugh erupted from the Dark Elf.

“You missed. Did you really think that would work? Did you really think you could catch me, Rioke, off guard? Please. That’s really…” he trailed off as Fissyah didn’t make a move, and Violet didn’t give him a verbal riposte. “Are you really that shocked that it failed? Don’t tell me… that was your last ditch effort of getting out of surviving, wasn’t it? It really was—”

Fissyah… didn’t acknowledge a single thing he said. Instead, she focused on the Words of Drasel that popped up. No— not the notification of the kill. And it wasn’t the new level that she gained either. It was what came with it that left her stunned.

You have defeated a [Dark Elf - Level 13 (Combat Power: 235)]!

You have gained bonus experience for defeating an enemy far above your level!

You have advanced to Level 7!

- Physical Essence Points +10

- [Worldliness] +5

- Special Skill [Arc Symbiosis: Violet] gained!

“The both of you thought you could interrupt me and get away with it. But look at you now, forced to stand there in fear and listen—”

“You got a Skill too, didn’t you?” Violet asked as Rioke continued to mock them.

“Yes.” Fissyah felt her hands shaking, unsure of what it meant. “What does it do?”

“I’m not sure, but I believe it’ll help us escape. We’ll have to use it.”

“—now you die! Fire!” Rioke’s words barely registered to her.

She closed her eyes as arrows were loose, and Violet asked her one question.

“Do you trust me?”

Steeling herself with a deep breath, she whispered, “Yes.”

And when they activated their Skills, their bodies became one.

“[Arc Symbiosis].”

Name: Fissyah [Level 7] (Hosting: Violet)

Species: Goblin

Combat Power: 100 (+420)

Physical Essence:

- Physical Essence Points: 0

- Power: 17

- Will: 12

- Dexterity: 29

- Body: 21

- Worldliness: 21

Skills:

None

Special Skills:

[Arc Symbiosis: Violet]