Although technically immortal, when a Slime Queen comes to the point in her life where she believes she has done all she can to further the species, the Queen passes her title on to her offspring with the most potential. This action is a death sentence to the former Queen. She desperately trains and teaches her inheritor, all the while wasting away. It is rare that a dethroned Queen lives longer than a year past the day she relinquishes her title.

The Queen is the most intelligent and powerful Slime within a given generation. Every generation, however, that standard improves. This is a testament to each subsequent Queen giving their all to the mission of their existence. Their only goal is to make the species greater than before. Slimes may be low on the totem pole of powerful creatures and generally mindless, but they are not content with their lot in life. As a species, they are driven to change. To evolve, per se.

As the current Queen, Kandra uses the System to further her species, which is why she fought so hard to become a Floor Master. Battling Awakened helps the Slimes in her brood to level and grow more powerful, something that not all Queens focus on. Their existence is rife with struggle, but Kandra deems it as necessary. She studied the magic of their opponents and fused it with her children, creating Elemental Slimes, among other variations. It was a remarkable success, but it did not improve the species in the way she had hoped. They needed something more. Hundreds of years with only minor improvements is not enough for this Queen.

Somewhere along the line, Kandra had thought of a far-fetched plan. Less of a plan really, and more of a plot or a scheme. Slimes absorb Source to live. Most of the time their food supply comes from ambient Source, but when they can slay a living creature, they devour the remnants of Source that clings to the flesh of the deceased. All living creatures possess and process Source to some degree, making them an ideal food for the Slimes. On the rare occasion that a normal Slime stumbles upon a creature with a powerful racial bloodline, by absorbing it they can become a Greater Slime or even a strange variant.

These Slimes often become much more powerful than their peers. They develop into individuals, instead of adhering to the brood. Unfortunately, this does nothing to help the species. In contrast, Kandra has found that by growing more powerful, she can give life to more powerful versions of her kin. It is her hypothesis that her personal power sets the baseline for the Slimes of her descent, as opposed to the power of individuals in her brood.

If the Queen herself devoured a being powerful enough, would she become a more powerful species of slime? Would her variance trickle down to her children? Kandra believes so.

For years, Kandra had scanned the Awakened that passed through her Floors, looking for such a creature. Because of a Slime's nature of a Magic Race, Kandra’s Source sensitivity is great. Despite having an edge in detection, nothing meeting her requirements came across her path. Sure, there had been those with amazing classes, but that wasn’t what she was looking for. To her, devouring a being with a great class is useless. Only race would help her.

Yes, there had been rare creatures and creatures with potential, but she needed something more. Their very blood needed to pulsate with the power of their race. Ideally, a newly dead Dragon would fall into her lap, but she had no such luck. At one point, she had even considered raiding the Vampire clan in the floors below her, but she wasn’t willing to risk retaliation from their leader.

It is common knowledge that Charles von Vordaray has a soft spot for his family. Harming them is a sure way to rub his reverse dragon scales, so to say. This is often a sore spot amongst fellow Floor Masters. The von Vordaray’s have a reputation of stealing away the best and brightest from all Floors to add to their family. Not many are willing to risk war over it, but it is a subject that is vehemently discussed.

***

The haze of rage which Kandra has been suspended in for who knows how long, fades away. Her awareness of her situation increases, bringing the now into focus. She is wading through the blood of the tenth floor’s Master. The headless corpse throbs, still pumping blood and gore on to the ground. Three sets of lifeless eyes stare at her as if accusing her of guilt by association, for still being alive.

She takes in the surrounding scene. She is with two of the Floor Masters that occupy the first ten floors. They are in the enormous rock quarry that is known as the Tenth Floor. The way it has been mined, it almost looks like a coliseum. Burnt corpses litter the ground. Shards of ice and swathes of frozen ground are strewn about. Piles of suspicious looking plants surround the Hobgoblin Chieftain, who strides through them. Despite the scene of mass destruction, she is more curious about what happened than anything. That immediately puts her on guard.

Something or someone is playing with her emotions. Around her are burnt puddles of her kin and all she feels is curiosity? After being in a state of induced rage? Even an idiot could see they are being manipulated. The perpetrator must be inexperienced and overconfident. The way they are so heavy handed with their guidance gives away their lack of expertise. A true puppet master would have their puppets dancing without knowledge of the strings.

“Come speak to me, I have a proposition for you,” a voice speaks. Kandra approaches the voice without even a trace of hesitation. The lack of hesitation points toward the voice being the one playing with her emotions. A Queen such as herself doing as another commands without even a second thought? Unnatural.

The owner of the voice smiles at her, his sharp toothed grin sending chills through her gelatinous body. Her sensitivity to Source points to this man as a threat. He has the same aura as a monster of legend. A tyrant.

Every Floor Master knows what they consider to be their “World” is in fact a cluster of worlds and dimensions. Created by the gods, the Dungeon is one pillar that supports and unites these different creations. The gods are continuously finding new worlds to add to their mix and match creation. Multitudes of races are forced together, learning from one another in a giant mixing pot. In this pot they are forced into equality by the System. However, with so many worlds come millions of years of history and culture. There are often clashes, but that is not the true danger.

With so many races and cultures being forced together, certain beings thrive over others. Born conquerers, who dominated their home dimensions and rivaled the local gods. Such beings delight in subduing new and different cultures. Beings such as the legendary Tyrants.

Thousands of years ago, their world had joined the community of worlds. It was a disaster. Worlds were enslaved. They created massive Empires spanning dimensions. The Tyrants waged war with each other and all others, using the natives of worlds they conquered. It was a catastophe that blindsided everyone. A combined effort of gods and Awakened subdued them initially, but that was not the end of it.

Their concubines gave birth to successive generations of Tyrants. Although they were limited by the System, they still grew in power. Armies were raised and civilizations were destroyed. A cull was called for, turning the war against the Tyrants into a genocide. For hundreds of years this continued. Being emotionless and hard to manipulate, the killing power of the Mechanical Races was invaluable in the subjigation of the Tyrants.

However, the Tyrants' tendency to build harems from the races they conquered resulted in many varieties of Tyrant, making it difficult to peg a being as being a Tyrant or not. Even the Mechanical Races' advanced sensors had difficulties identifying Tyrants without a DNA sample. Afterall, being arrogant and domineering isn't enough to warrant a death sentence for the average citizen. After much trial and error, the powers that be, developed a way of reading a Tyrant’s aura. Through the eyes of those trained in the technique, the aura of a crown would always appear on the brow of a Tyrant.

Having lived through the wars, Kandra’s mother had ingrained the technique within her as soon as the title passed to her. A Tyrant could be devastating for the evolution of their race. It would put them back generations if they were enslaved. As a habit, Kandra always checked a new being for the markings of a Tyrant. The sharp toothed, red-eyed man before her, bears such markings.

For Kandra, it is a blessing.

She can sense that the Tyrant before her is at most level 30 and hasn’t reached his first rank up yet. The clumsy way he is handling her emotions makes his inexperience clear. She doesn’t know how she escaped the cull or how he can be so weak, but she doesn’t care. Absorbing him would surely evolve her race to unprecedented heights.

She flexes her magical muscles, preparing to slay the pup before her, but to her chagrin, she is weakened. Her power is less than a third of what it should be. Is it an ability of the Tyrant? A quick System check tells her what is going on.

You’ve been brought under the influence of Pending Floor Master Snowflake by his Champion Legion.

Due to Legion’s unique properties, your power output has been limited to his power output. Because you are still within his control, your current level is reduced to level 30 Rank 1.

Kandra’s face twists into a look of despair. Now she remembers. That fucking black flame that robbed her of her rationality. The persistence of the flame gnawing away at her will had broken her down. Now she is paying the price.

“One of you will become my familiar,” the Tyrant purrs. Kandra can feel her curiosity increase, but this time it is natural, thankfully. “The rest of you will be forced into a soul contract. This is non-negotiable. Are there any volunteers to be my familiar?”

“I volunteer,” Kandra steps forward. The bond of a familiar will change her in a comparable way that devouring his body would. She has seen Awakened with Slimes as bonded familiars before. Every single one had taken on traits of their master. If she let him bind her, all she would have to do to escape is wait for him to be killed. A living Tyrant would not be allowed to live for long. Besides, the worst case scenario, she passes her title on and dies. With her species advanced, she would have no regrets dying.

The man studies her for a moment, his companions giving him strange looks. Except for one. A blonde woman with wings glares at her with fury lit eyes, instead. The first of the Tyrant’s harem, perhaps? The thought of having to service the Tyrant as a lover crosses her mind, but Kandra pays it no heed. Sex has no special meaning to the Slime people. She had even heard of those who had evolved to feed off sperm, because of the life and Source contained within.

The man turns his gaze to the three-tailed beast at his side, as if asking its opinion. Kandra dismisses that thought as ridiculous. A Tyrant asks for no one’s opinion. He looks her up and down, his fingers fluttering up and down, considering the possibilities. After deliberating he responds.

During his quiet moments of deliberating, Kandra is surprised that neither of her fellow Floor Masters respond. She looks at them, and they seem to be struggling against the bonds of emotion that hold them. Every Slime knows adaptability is the key to surviving, the Slimes that can think at least. If her fellow Floor Masters are too proud to beg to be a familiar, then all the better for her. Being forced into a Soul Contract is no better than slavery, depending on the contract. At least a familiar has a semblance of free will and is treated as a companion.

“I accept,” the man says, slicing his hand open and grabbing her by the throat in one smooth motion. His blood pumps into her body, forcing its way into every nook and cranny as it expands into a nebulous cloud. His Source swirls inside her, ravaging her and binding her to him.

You have been designated as Snowflake’s familiar. Do you accept? Y/N

Not allowing herself time to regret her decision, Kandra selects yes.

Syncing souls….

Error. Dominant partner in Soul Link has a soul altering ability. Calculating…

Trait gained: Joint Adaptability

As your master evolves, so will you.

Syncing Master’s evolutions to you.

Error.

Hold detected.

Because you are under the command of a Tyrant, you are unable to become a Tyrant as well. Racial conversion is incompatible.

Calculating Alternative Racial Conformity…

Base Race: Slime

Race Synchronization: Vampire, Lesser Tyrant Empathia, Unknown Bloodline

Calculating…

Race Achieved: Lesser Boneshifter (Slime variant)

Boneshifters are an ancient race of shapeshifters that focused on the art of shaping their bones to suit their needs. Not much is known about them.

Rarity: Ultra-rare

Initial Bonus: +4 Stamina, +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom

Level Bonus: +2 Stamina, +1 Dexterity, +1 Wisdom

Mana Cores have transformed and fused into Lesser Mana Bones

Due to your status as a familiar, your level and rank will be decreased in order to match your Master’s. Showing altered status.

Name: Kandra

Race: Lesser Boneshifter (Slime Variant)

Title: Slime Queen

Class: Kinetic Witch (Rank -1)

Subclass: None

Job: Familiar

Level: 25 (-102)

Health: 633/633

Energy: 247.5/247.5

Strength: 60 (-285)

Stamina: 89 (-306)

Dexterity: 62 (-231)

Intelligence: 35 (-156)

Wisdom: 85 (-333)

Rebooting…