“Return unscathed? We’re going to be fighting a Lich… no— a Lich Lord.” Fissyah gesticulated exasperatedly towards the Dungeon before looking back in the direction where Oblec went. “We’re definitely going to die. Is he crazy?”

“I mean, yeah. He’s totally insane,” I said, nodding. “But that’s what happens when the only social interaction you’ve had for years is a Slime.”

The girl blinked. She pointed at herself then me. “Am I going to lose my mind too, then?”

“...maybe.”

“Well, f—”

“Look, as long as Oblec’s telling the truth, I’m sure this won’t be too hard, right?” I tried to reassure her. “Besides, even if this ‘Lich Lord’ is above our level, we can always use [Arc Symbiosis] to take— oh wait we’re not allowed to do that.”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what Oblec was thinking. By the sounds of it, Dungeons were dangerous. And this one, judging by Fissyah’s reaction, was likely going to be quite the hurdle for us to overcome.

“It’s fine, I’m here, Fissyah,” I said and ushered the girl forward. “Come on, let’s stop wasting time and beat up some skeletons!”

With a gulp, Fissyah started after me. I bounced my way through the mouth-like entrance of the cavern as a notification popped up before me.

[You have entered the Lair of the Lich Lord.]

The cave opened up into a long and sinuous dark tunnel. The walls were made of stone, yet they were patterned to look like they were made out of brick. A stairway led us further up into a larger corridor, one that was covered in cobwebs and stained with blood.

I raised an appendage, stopping the girl from continuing.

“Careful,” I said, voice low. “There could be traps here.”

I didn’t know whether Dungeons were supposed to have traps, but I was going to assume they did to be safe. Just as I spoke, an arrow whizzed out of the darkness aimed for Fissyah. My appendage shot out, catching it before it could come into contact with her. She stumbled back, blinking.

“W-what…? But I didn’t even—”

“That wasn’t a trap,” I cut her off.

She glanced further down the tunnel as the rattling of bones echoed, slowly making its way towards us. I turned to Fissyah, and she tensed.

“Get ready.” I aimed an appendage at the distant white figures as the girl’s hands blazed. Another arrow shot out, but I knocked it out of the way once more. Then the figures emerged from the shadows.

[Skeleton Warrior - Level 26 (Combat Power: 673)]

[Skeleton Archer - Level 23 (Combat Power: 583)]

[Skeleton Warrior - Level 22 (Combat Power: 545)]

[Skeleton Archer - Level 24 (Combat Power: 603)]

There were four of them. A pair of Skeleton Warriors— one wielding a sword and the other an axe— and a pair of Skeleton Archers— both, of course, were wielding bows. I leapt out, shouting back at Fissyah

“Target the Skeleton Archers! I’ll deal with the Skeleton Warriors!” I could’ve taken them all out on my own, but Oblec sent us both into this Dungeon for a reason. The fact that we couldn’t use [Arc Symbiosis] made it clear: this was as much of a lesson for Fissyah as it was for me.

I held back from using any Arcane Essence as I bounced between the Skeleton Warriors, easily evading their slashes. Fissyah’s flames roared behind me. It held off the Skeleton Archers, blocking their vision so that their arrows moved with less accuracy.

When the first Skeleton Archer fell, I bounced into the skull of a Skeleton Warrior and shattered his head. I went under the second, breaking its shin with the blunt force of my appendage. They crumpled to the ground as Fissyah finished off the last Skeleton Archer.

There was, of course, no level up from the first encounter in the Dungeon— not especially from monsters that weak. I looked over at Fissyah, making sure she was alright. She was breathing heavily. She wasn’t panting and out of breath, but it did take a decent amount of effort for her to take down both Skeleton Archers. After all, they were roughly her level.

“That wasn’t too hard, was it?” I patted her on the shoulder.

She shook her head. “No.”

“Come on, let’s continue.”

We moved slowly, careful not to set off any traps. Goblins— and Gremlins by extension— had natural dark vision, which (obviously) meant they could see in the dark. Even without any torches or bioluminescent moss, she wouldn’t normally have too much difficulty navigating a tunnel. But this tunnel was trapped.

“Stop.” I caught her before she could step into a tripwire.

The girl blinked and stared at the nearly invisible line dangling just above her feet. “How did you even see that?”

“How do I even see?” I asked her, gesturing at myself.

“That’s… fair.”

We continued on, making our way around the tripwires, avoiding pressure plates, and fighting the occasional patrol of Skeletons that popped up. They mostly moved in groups of two, four, or six. There was always a Skeleton Warrior paired up with a Skeleton Archer. They didn’t make any noise beyond the clacking of their boney footsteps— and they certainly didn’t try to alert each other of our presence.

The Skeletons simply rushed us, attacking without thought. We disposed of them easily, although I did have my hands (or appendages) full when it was up against a group of six or more. I had to distract a few of the Skeleton Archers alongside the Skeleton Warriors so Fissyah wouldn’t be too endangered from the encounters. Hours passed, and Fissyah grew tired.

You have defeated an [Skeleton Warrior - Level 26 (Combat Power: 673)]!

You have absorbed its Physical essence!

You have defeated an [Skeleton Warrior - Level 22 (Combat Power: 545)]!

You have absorbed its Physical essence!

…

You have advanced to Level 26!

- Arcane Essence +40

You have advanced to Level 27!

- Arcane Essence +40

Name: Violet [Level 27]

Species: Arcslime

Combat Power: 1030

Arcane Essence: 1030/1030

Skills:

[Appraisal - 10 Arcane Essence]

[Arc Shot - 20 Arcane Essence]

[Detached Body Manipulation - 40 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.]

Special Skills:

[Arc Symbiosis: Fissyah - 50% of Total Arcane Essence]

Titles:

[Destroyer of Fort Erkaed - Arcane Essence +50]

“Oh, my Combat Power is finally above 1000!” That felt like quite the achievement, even if I didn’t really care too much about getting stronger.

“Good job, Violet,” Fissyah yawned as she slumped on the ground. She was tired and already falling asleep. She’d been insisting that she’d been up for more than a full day and that she needed to rest. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just fall asleep on top of these piles… of… bone…”

I watched as she dozed off. The girl slept in the middle of a Dungeon, where undead monsters could stumble upon her. But she didn’t need to worry. Because I was here. I would protect her no matter what.

* * *

“I’m hungry…” Fissyah’s stomach groaned as she trudged after me.

We’d forgotten to bring food with us before entering the Dungeon. And all her magic-use had drained her of her energy. She gave me a hopeful look as we turned a corner.

“Do you have anything to eat?”

“Maybe you could eat me?” I suggested.

“Eat you?” she gasped, taken aback. “I would never do that!”

I stared at her as a growling noise left her stomach. Her face turned red, and I rolled my nonexistent eyes.

“Here, just have some—”

“No, I won’t eat you—”

I plopped off a small chunk of my body, struggling to give Fissyah my blobby goo. A lot of monsters wanted to eat me, so I had to be nutritious, right?

“It’s fine! Remember what Oblec said? I can regenerate anyways!” I said as I triumphed over the girl.

With a face of disgust, Fissyah gulped down the purple goo— and her eyes widened. “It’s… delicious!”

“Really?” I perked up, excited.

“And it’s very filling,” she said, nodding quickly. She stared down at herself, inspecting her hands. “It also feels like my magic is… being replenished, somehow. I don’t feel as tired as before.”

I chuckled and waved an appendage off. “I’m glad you liked it! Removing a part of myself hurt. I’d rather not have done that for no reason.”

We continued our mundane chatter as we turned down another corner. Fissyah sighed, looking at me with a hungry look.

“I, uh, know I said that I wouldn’t eat you, Violet…” she trailed off.

“Of course, of course. Another serving of Arcslime coming right—” I halted, face-to-face with a massive skeleton at the end of the hallway.

It wielded a giant halberd, and it was at least a foot taller than the skeleton’s we’d fought so far. Behind it, a dozen smaller skeletons— Skeleton Warriors and Archers— drew to their feet.

[Skeleton Juggernaut - Level 33 (Combat Power: 1104)]

[Skeleton Warrior - Level 21 (Combat Power: 531)]

[Skeleton Archer - Level 22 (Combat Power: 567)]

…

“That’s a big skeleton,” I said idly, and it pointed its halberd at me.

Its skull shone— the hollow eyes glowing with a white light. An ethereal voice echoed out, booming throughout the tunnel.

“You dare trespass into the Lair of the Lich Lord?” it asked as its body was coated in a thin frost-like mist.

“I mean, we are already in here, so that question is kind of—”

“Prepare to suffer the consequences!” The Skeleton Juggernaut charged.

I bounced around it, dodging its heavy swings. The halberd crashed into the earth, shattering rock and stone.

“Fissyah!” I shouted at the girl as she aimed a small ball of flame at the giant skeleton’s direction. “Don’t focus on me— focus on the other skeletons! Hold them off for a minute while I deal with this big guy!”

She made a sound of affirmation, redirecting her [Arcane Flameshot] at the closest Skeleton Warrior. It fell from the single strike.

Meanwhile, I unleashed my own volley of [Arc Shots] at the Skeleton Juggernaut. It broke multiple bones from the onslaught, even losing its right arm. But that didn’t stop it; it wasn’t fazed by a few shattered ribs. It didn’t even register the hole I put in its skull.

I bounced off the wall, ricocheting back and striking the Skeleton Juggernaut in the neck. Its head went flying as it stumbled back, but it was still moving. It raised its halberd as the mist coalesced around the cold weapon. I saw something gathering there. Some kind of power.

And all at once, it was released to me. A deluge of energy. It took the form of a gust of chilled wind. Everything it touched was coated in a layer of sleet— the ground and the walls. I could feel my appendage freezing and falling off just from the single attack. But aren’t I supposed to be resistant…? No— that just showed how powerful that attack had been.

It clearly wasn’t just the attack of the Skeleton Juggernaut.

I managed to throw myself out of the way in time before losing more of my body. In the background, Fissyah continued to keep the other skeletons distracted with her fire magic. I saw the flicker of crimson— the heat from the Gremlin’s flames.

“Fissyah! Throw everything you have at the Skeleton Juggernaut!” I called out to her, leaping back.

She hesitated. “But it’s nearly twice—”

“That doesn’t matter right now! Just do it and duck!” My body spiked out as half a dozen tendrils aimed at her direction.

The girl did as she was told, turning her foccus away from the Skeleton Warriors. Before they could cut her down, I fired a flurry of [Arc Shots] at them. The salvo reduced the attacking skeletons to a pile of bones as Fissyah’s flames momentarily parted the frosty mist wisping off the Skeleton Juggernaut’s body.

I threw myself back at the giant skeleton with all my might, smashing through its ribcage like a cannonball. Its body collapsed, unable to keep its form. Its skull rolled over to me, motes of light fizzling out of its eye sockets.

“You have defeated one of my champions. Congratulations.”

“I knew it,” I said as Fissyah ran over.

“What’s that? What’s going on?” She glanced between me and the skull.

The same ethereal voice from before continued, although it was far fainter than before. I watched as the glimmer of light faded away, listening to its ominous words.

“I’ll be waiting… for you…”

The girl stepped back, pointing at the mist as it disappeared. “What was that?” she asked.

“That,” I sighed and faced her, “was the Lich Lord of this Dungeon. It seems we’ve found the boss.”