In this world, what was the difference between humans and monsters? Humans lived under the rule of law. They fulfilled their responsibilities and paid their debts to the community that housed them. Monsters were shameless animals. They fought and killed with abandon, only focusing on their own goals. When humans lost out to their primal, unfilial desires, they risked becoming the creatures that they looked down upon.

This was a theory that Vivian had read multiple times. She had been raised by Brightstone as a living treasure. They would obviously place a great importance on her education. She had been forced to read mountains of books about history, the natural sciences, and the place humans have in the world.

When Vivian thought about these teachings, she felt her gnawing anxiety grow. Theo and Mavis were trying to become human, in one form or another. They both wanted to reach the surface and enter society. However, what was she doing? Vivian had her place, and she abandoned it. Rather than heading for the surface, she was looking towards the dungeon’s depths. She was becoming a monster.

Ultimately, the path that Vivian had chosen was incompatible with what she’d been taught growing up. Theo had meant it in a more literal sense, but Vivian did feel like she was going from one hell to another. Even so, she couldn’t turn back now.

In the lindworm’s cave, Vivian tossed and turned restlessly. The mage’s troubled dreams ended abruptly as someone shook her awake. Eyelids fluttering, she opened her mouth to yawn only to have a hand clamp across it. Vivian’s blood ran cold as she stared at the person kneeling in front of her.

“Don’t make a sound. Get out of the cave.” Marco ordered in a low growl. “Now.”

In her surprised half-asleep state, Vivian quietly obeyed him. She followed Marco out of the cave while Theo and Mavis slept. Once they were a safe distance away, Marco turned to glare at Vivian.

“I put down a lot of money just to get you back. But when those raiders returned, they said that you ran away on your own. You even claimed that you weren’t kidnapped.”

“H-How did you even find me?”

Marco pulled up his sleeve to reveal a faintly glowing sigil. It was in roughly the same place as Vivian’s. Her sigil depicted a polished rock, marking her as an orphan from Brightstone. Marco’s depicted a rock that was covered by a hand.

“Because I own you.” He seethed. “This sigil is connected to yours. It gives me a rough idea of where you are and lets me know that you’re still alive.”

Vivian’s eyes widened. The people at Brightstone hadn’t told her about that.

“I was going to let you stay with those two for a few days. Once my father brought some veterans, then we could use your sigil to hunt that slime down. But you’re actually running away? Are you insane!?”

Marco ground his teeth while Vivian looked away.

“I…” Vivian started, but she trailed off.

“You’re coming with me.”

Marco grabbed her by the wrist. He tried to pull Vivian, but she didn’t budge. For the first time that morning, she properly met his gaze.

“I don’t want to go.”

“You…” Marco tightened his grip. “I thought I was done with this after those three died. No, I’ll never be done with it. You people just keep questioning my authority. I know how everyone looks at me, even back at home. But you’re mine and you will do what I say!”

Vivian tried to pull away, but Marco grabbed her other arm. Panicking, Vivian channeled some mana into her hands. The mage’s palms sparked as a lightning bolt began to form.

“You’re scaring me! Get off!”

“Don’t tell me what to do! You don’t have the right!”

Suddenly, a gust of wind crashed into the pair. As they were knocked off balance, a blue tentacle wrapped itself around Vivian’s waist and pulled her back. Vivian turned around to see Theo and Mavis standing behind her. The outlaw was scowling while the slime’s tentacles twitched in a worried fashion.

“Vivi…you…ok?” Mavis asked.

“Yea.”

“You two…” Marco muttered as he picked himself up. “Just wait. There’s plenty of veterans who will be interested in hunting down a talking slime. The next time you see me, I’ll-”

*Shunk*

A dagger flew past Vivian and buried itself in Marco’s leg. The portly raider fell over and started to scream. Vivian and Mavis stared at Theo in shock, but his expression hadn’t changed since they arrived. Lips curled in a resigned grimace, Theo stepped towards Marco.

“Ever since you ran away when we were fighting Nico, I was worried about this. Frankly, I’ve been worried about this ever since I met Mavis.”

Theo turned back to Vivian and his scowl lifted for a short moment.

“You don’t have any memory-altering magic, do you?”

Vivian silently shook her head and the scowl returned.

“Then we have two options. Either he lives, and we spend the rest of our lives being chased. Or, he dies.”

Vivian shuddered. Amidst her own worries, she had forgotten that Marco knew about Mavis. If he got back to a city, then the news would surely spread. It would be naïve to assume otherwise. He would gather veterans and chase them through the dungeon. Even if Theo and Mavis returned with a worthy treasure, they would never be able to live peacefully.

“Y-You can’t do that!” Marco yelled.

He tried to back away, but the pain in his leg kept him in place.

“I don’t want to, but we might not have a choice.”

“Theo…kill…humans…bad.”

“Then do you have a better idea, Mavis?”

“No…but…” The slime trailed off as it hesitated.

Theo was hesitating too. As a student of Ravens, killing was the first thing that came to his mind. Theo had a lot of experience fighting people, but he had never killed anyone before. He was hoping that one of his companions would offer an alternative. If they didn’t, Theo realized that he would have to prepare for the worst.

Mavis didn’t want to hurt people. The slime held a natural sympathy for other living things. However, it couldn’t admonish Theo for suggesting murder. After all, Mavis had already killed one human to protect its secret. The situation was different, but the problem hadn’t changed. When Mavis looked deep within itself, the slime realized that it wasn’t wholly against this solution. A colder, more rational side of itself knew what had to be done. This epiphany worried Mavis. Even though it cared for others, maybe a monster could only care so much?

“Theo…Vivi…you are…human.”

Mavis stepped past Theo.

“Humans…not…human…prey. But…I am…not…human.”

Marco redoubled his efforts to run as several blue tentacles rushed towards him. The slime trapped its prey effortlessly. Just as Mavis began to tighten its grip, a lightning bolt tore through its ‘hair’.

“I can’t believe you two!” Vivian shouted. “Mavis, if you’re trying to live as a human then you can’t treat yourself like a monster.”

While Mavis was reeling from the effects of the lightning, Vivian pivoted towards Theo.

“The same goes for you. If that’s how you think, then that brand is the least of your problems!”

After worrying all night about becoming a monster herself, Vivian couldn’t bear to watch these two ruin their own efforts. In a moment of desperation, Vivian had thought about killing Marco herself. However, Vivian knew from the bottom of her heart that it was the wrong answer. For her, the decision was that simple.

After reaching such an obvious conclusion, Vivian realized that she had found a solution to her other problem.

“I know what I’m going to do.”

Vivian walked over to Marco and wrapped her hand around Theo’s dagger. She pulled it out and healed him while he howled in pain. Marco looked up at her, panting heavily. His expression showed uncharacteristic feelings of relief and gratitude.

“That’s…good.” He wheezed. “You know who your master is.”

“I do.” Vivian nodded.

The mage opened up her storage portal and tossed a sword at Marco. This was the same sword that he’d thrown when they fought Nico. It sprung to life in mid-air and dove into the portly raider’s hands. Vivian frowned slightly. Out of all the things that Marco regarded as tools, this was the only one that was truly loyal to him. This sword had nearly chopped off Theo’s hand when he tried to retrieve it. After that, it was through no small effort that Vivian managed to coax it into her storage.

“I’m going further into this dungeon.”

Marco stopped looking at his sword and stared at Vivian.

“You paid a lot of money to get me, and so I’ll pay it back. After I do, neither you nor Brightstone can say anything against me.”

“Y-You can’t do that!” Marco sputtered.

Vivian shook her head.

“I don’t think you want to argue about this. I’m offering a plan ‘B’. Plan ‘A’ would be a lot less pleasant.”

Marco opened his mouth and then paused. After a moment, he clamped his jaw shut and ground his teeth.

“Also, I don’t want you to tell anyone about Mavis.”

“Fucking bitch! You think you can order me around?”

This time, it was Vivian who clenched her teeth. The mage placed a hand on Marco’s forehead and uttered a short chant.

Marco recoiled as the world around him fell away. Darkness swept him up, crushing the raider beneath an unseen pressure. Marco strained to open his eyes but he immediately wished that he hadn’t. Countless eyes stared at him within the void. The pressure suddenly tripled and Marco let out a strangled cry. After what felt like an eternity, he woke up. The portly raider found himself lying near Vivian.

This illusion was caused by Vivian’s charm spell. Charm was a relatively low-level spell in the domination school. It allowed the caster to trap their target in an illusory world. Specific objects or scenes could only be created by stronger spells, but charm could crush its victim’s will beneath strong feelings. In this case, Vivian focused on the feeling of ‘being watched’.

Marco flinched as she glared at him coldly.

The effects of charm were completely temporary, but it was still a harrowing experience.

“I’ll repay you.”

Those three words essentially repeated what Vivian had said earlier. However, Marco couldn’t see them in such a simple way. If he caused trouble for Mavis, then Vivian would repay it. Marco knew that now.

“Y-Y-You people are fucking crazy!” Marco yelled as he ran off. “If you want to die in the third layer then go ahead!”

Vivian watched him go. She sighed in relief when he disappeared into the forest.

Theo coughed as he approached her.

“Um, thank you. Mavis and I were scared and we got carried away. I’m glad you were here to stop us.”

“Thank…you.” Mavis parroted.

The slime rushed forward and hugged Vivian.

“…Friend.”

“I…I’m also glad to be here.” Vivian replied.

As they separated, the slime’s hair began to twitch. For a moment, Theo and Vivian thought that it was shivering.

“Hahaha!”

Then Mavis began to laugh. Theo blinked. He couldn’t remember Mavis laughing before. The outlaw found himself smiling. As expected, Mavis’s laughter was even more pleasant than its normal voice.

“I’ll…repay…you.” It repeated Vivian’s line with a mocking degree of seriousness. “Very…scary…not…like…Vivi…at all.”

“H-Hey! I was intimidating him to save you.”

Vivian blushed as Mavis nodded.

“I…know. Thank you.”

- - -

Marco scrambled through the forest, sword in hand. No matter how quickly he ran, Marco felt that he couldn’t get away from those three fast enough. Fortunately, all was not lost. Marco’s father had likely received his message, which meant that a team of veterans would enter Naraka within the week. Marco grinned. It didn’t matter where Vivian was going. With that slime as a prize, his father would chase her through the fourth layer or even beyond it. A talking monster was simply that valuable.

While Marco was lost in his thoughts, a shadow jumped out from the darkness. Even if he had been fully alert, Marco wouldn’t have been able to react before the figure kicked his stomach. The portly raider was sent flying.

*Crack*

Air evacuated Marco’s lungs as he slammed into a tree. Wheezing in agony, he poured mana into his sword. The enchanted blade lifted his arm to strike at its master’s assailant, but it was caught between the figure’s fingers.

“A sword that controls its wielder. How little faith do your parents have in you?”

The figure’s gloves glowed with a strength-enhancing enchantment. In an instant, the blade was snapped in two. Marco stared dumbly as the light in his sword vanished.

“Anyways, I need to ask you something.”

The figure leaned forward and took out a storage crystal. A crushed emerald hawk flopped onto the ground.

“Is this the only message you sent?”

Marco nodded wordlessly.

“Good.”

*Fwish*

The portly raider never saw his assailant’s weapon. The dagger was drawn and used before he could even process it. Dark red blood dribbled down Marco’s neck and soaked into his tunic. This mess didn’t extend to the raider’s head because it was currently lying at his feet. Meanwhile, the figure had already retreated before any blood could reach him.

“That kid is still too soft…Forcing me to clean up his mess. Right from the very start, nothing has gone as planned.” He shook his head. “Of course, that’s not a bad thing. I wasn’t expecting to profit much from this venture. Now though…”

The semi-transparent figure sheathed his dagger. He looked past the woods, gazing at the white mist flowing from the third layer.

“I need to hurry up and bring my real body.”