Even though they were closely connected, each one of Naraka’s layers felt like its own little world. The first layer was a dark and sinister labyrinth, the second was a sprawling mountain pass, and the third was a dense and humid jungle. Even more so than the others, the third layer felt like a world inside a glass bottle. The jungle’s canopy combined with the mist to create an impenetrable shield. Light from the outside was trapped within the mist, which illuminated the entire third layer with its pale luster. There was no day and night cycle here, only a permanent dim atmosphere. The jungle’s temperature worked in a similar way. Torrid air from the fourth layer rose into the third. It was then boxed in by the mist, creating a sweltering heat that couldn’t be found in the first and second layers. These features gave the jungle an otherworldly feeling, which was only enhanced by the life within it.

Moss-covered trees of every size snaked their way through the canopy. They were nothing like the straight and proud ironwoods from the second layer. Roots strangled the ground, rocks and even other trees as they competed for space. Branches stretched and bent in thoroughly unconventional ways, showing each tree’s desperate struggle to thrive. The result of this incredibly slow-paced battle was terrain that could never be described as flat. There were no orderly pathways. Sometimes foliage blocked all routes forward, forcing raiders to travel through the canopy. This unconventional layout was one of the reasons why humans hated exploring the third layer. Without a flexible and experienced team, you were guaranteed to be fighting at a disadvantage.

“Here…kitty.”

A set of whiskers twitched in response to Mavis’s words. Two red eyes with thin dagger-like pupils glared at the masked slime. Mavis held out a hand and curled its fingers, beckoning the creature. The ‘kitty’ stood up, but it did not come forward. Instead, it bared its fangs and released a low growl.

Moss panthers were not used to being approached by raiders. At least, not once they were seen. These monsters had thick pelts that bore an uncanny resemblance to the moss that grew on many of the third layer’s trees. They would lie motionlessly for hours, waiting for prey to walk close enough to strike.

Vivian had heard many tales of ‘jungle assassins’ dropping down on raiders from above, which made Mavis feel like there was some kinship between it and this panther.

“Kitty…come.”

This time, the panther did come. It lunged forward with a ferocious yowl. Claws sped towards the slime, but they did not connect.

“Good…kitty.”

A silver blade blocked the panther’s claws while the slime slid past it. Mavis’s ‘hair’ extended, wrapping around the beast’s paw to pull it off balance. Another yowl rang out as Mavis plunged a second blade into the panther’s side. The weapon erupted with orange light and then a wave of force knocked the slime’s target away. A green blur crashed to the ground below the canopy, nearly hitting the two raiders who were standing nearby.

“Sorry…”

Mavis leapt down to follow the panther, uttering a quick apology on the way. The beast’s eyes opened wide as a mass of slime dropped on top of it. This killing technique was terrifyingly familiar for the ambush predator. Mavis finished off its prey without any difficulty. Once it was done, the slime turned to its companions.

“How is…that?”

“How was that.” Vivian corrected.

“Ah.”

“Very sloppy.” Theo admonished. “There was no reason to push it away when you could have grappled it in the trees. Moving locations during a fight is only good when you’ve planned ahead. Otherwise, you’re just risking complications. Plus, using your weapon’s ability wastes mana.

“Ah…”

“I’m not happy with how you nearly crushed us, either.”

“Ack…” Mavis hung its head.

In a flash of light, the slime’s silver sword became a necklace. It wrapped the chain around its arm while using a tentacle to stab the other sword into its abdomen. The blade sank through the slime’s faux flesh and came to rest beside its core.

“How were those swords?”

“Cut…good…but…a little…heavy.”

“You need to use articles and a subject when talking about something.” Vivian jumped in. “The swords cut well, but they are a little heavy.”

“Ah.”

Mavis nodded at Vivian and then turned back to Theo.

“That necklace is easy to carry, meanwhile Nasser’s sword can repel anything that it touches. They aren’t perfect, but you should use them to get comfortable with human weapons. Otherwise, you won’t be able to fight when other raiders are nearby.”

“Ah…”

“That said, you shouldn’t neglect your body’s advantages. We’ll be practicing two fighting styles from now on. One human-oriented style and one that’s mixes weapons with a slime’s body.”

“Ugh…”

Mavis could only nod its head. The slime had always been eager to learn, but now that it was stuck with two equally eager teachers, Mavis felt a little overwhelmed. Vivian could recognize the look of an overburdened student and so she decided to change the subject.

“Anyways, let’s check the kitty’s core.”

“Stop teaching Mavis weird words.” Theo grumbled.

“With her voice, I can’t help it…”

While the pair of humans argued, Mavis examined the panther’s corpse. Several tentacles twitched in delight as they retrieved a golden orb. Those same tentacles drooped slightly as Vivian taught it how to open a treasure core and perform a minor appraisal. They fell even further when Mavis was made to recite what it had learned from the appraisal in full sentences.

“Black leather gloves. Make actions quieter and body lighter. Guessing silver-tier.”

Vivian smiled approvingly and then appraised it herself.

“Stalker Gloves. They significantly dampen nearby sounds. It also reduces the owner’s body weight, allowing them to step softly. Both effects require mana channeling. These gloves are on the upper end of silver-tier.”

“Oh, that’s perfect!” Theo exclaimed.

Mavis and Vivian looked at him quizzically. Their party didn’t have any enchanted gloves, so these were definitely a welcome addition. Even so, their goal was gold-tier equipment. Specifically, gold-tier equipment that was suited for fighting monsters. These gloves were neither.

“Mavis, put these on. I’ll show you something interesting.”

As the slime donned its new gloves, something small dropped into its perception range. The slime whipped around to see the foreign object vanish into the ground. Another object appeared, then another, and then another. When it focused, Mavis realized that these were drops of water. Their speed had thrown it off.

“Rain?” Vivian breathed. “In the third layer?”

In the next instant, a deluge of warm and sticky rain fell on the trio. The sound of water pounded the ground, drowning out any other noise. Theo and Vivian immediately ran for shelter, but Mavis stood still. The slime shook as its senses were overloaded. Too many small objects were moving through its perception range. Too many distinct noises were clamoring for its attention. On top of everything, this was the first time Mavis had ever experienced water falling from the sky.

“Mavis!”

A muffled voice wrenched the slime from its daze. Theo grabbed its hand and dragged it towards a hollow tree. Despite its lack of lungs, Mavis let out a sigh of relief.

*Pshooo*

Theo pulled the slime away as a three-meter area behind them suddenly exploded. For a brief moment, there was nothing there but upturned soil. Then, rain quickly reclaimed the space.

“What was that!?” Theo shouted over the deluge.

“Something…hit…ground!” Mavis yelled back. “Shot…from…far away!”

*Pshooo*

Another ‘something’ crashed into the tree that Vivian was hiding in. She ran back into the rain as the tree’s upper half began to fall. Seconds later, the five-meter wide springbark hit the ground.

As Vivian rejoined Theo and Mavis, the slime transformed its necklace into a sword. The two humans noticed its reaction and prepared for an attack. Several sets of footsteps were just barely audible in the rain. The trio saw dozens of animals rush out of the jungle. None of them spared the raiders a glance. These monsters were clearly trying to escape from something.

*Pshooo*

Another tree splintered and fell.

It wasn’t difficult to guess what they were running from.

The ground began to tremble in a steady rhythm. Mavis shuddered when it realized that these vibrations were coming from a monster. Something large enough to shake the entire jungle was heading towards them.

“Run!” Theo cried out.

Mavis and Vivian didn’t need any prodding. They ran as fast as they could through the twisting foliage. Visibility was poor, even for Mavis, but the trio didn’t dare slow down. Anything that ambushed them would either be truly desperate or completely brainless.

A dark green tentacle latched onto Vivian’s arm. For a moment, she didn’t react to the familiar sensation. Several more tentacles appeared and she was carried up into the canopy.

Amidst the rain, Theo had completely missed this silent attack. Mavis grabbed his shoulder and shouted.

“Vivi…grabbed…above!”

The slime didn’t wait for Theo’s reaction. It abandoned its human form and darted up a tree. A humanoid mass of slime crashed into the jungle’s upper stratum. White and orange light flashed as its swords cut towards the tentacles holding Vivian. A jellified curtain swung down to block the weapons.

“Go…away!” Mavis roared.

It used Nasser’s sword to repel the green substance and extended its other arm to sever the tentacles. Vivian nearly panicked as another set of tentacles wrapped around her. Fortunately, the mage held her fire and let Mavis drop her onto a lower branch. Once it confirmed that Vivian was safe, Mavis turned towards her assailant.

Two beings without eyes stared each other down.

Mavis shuddered, despite itself. This was the first time it had ever felt small.

A jungle slime’s core produced slime at a much faster rate, allowing them to grow ten-times larger than ones in the first layer. However, size wasn’t their only advantage. While a slime’s ‘intelligence’ was just a bundle of instincts and reactions, jungle slimes were naturally more devious than their peers. Hiding their cores was one example of this. Another would be the way that they hunted. Like many third layer predators, they took full advantage of the canopy’s twisted structure. Jungle slimes could be the moss on a tree, branches in the canopy or even vines that extended to ground level. With their extremely detailed shapeshifting and a sight radius of ten meters, these slimes were absolutely dreaded by raiders.

Mavis took a fighting stance while green tentacles surrounded it from all sides. Rain continued to assault the canopy and it was interfering with the slime’s magical sight. This was true for both monsters, but one was a human-sized target while the other was spread out across many branches.

*Pshooo*

Another tree fell with a mighty crash. Sensing danger, the jungle slime hastily moved the bulk of its mass to a new set of branches. Mavis took this opportunity to jump forward. It cut through a few tentacles before one wrapped around its arm. Mavis shredded the tentacle, only to have another coil across its waist. Once it had restrained its prey, the jungle slime leapt towards Mavis. In a panic, Mavis tried to activate Nasser’s sword but it was too late. One slime swallowed the other.

While slimes could eat almost anything, they were not cannibals. This wasn’t out of a sense of kinship, it was just physically impossible. For a slime, the act of eating involved enveloping their prey with their body. This was also how slimes merged to form slime colonies. Just like eating and breathing, the two actions were mutually exclusive.

When Mavis’s core touched the other slime, it felt something stir deep within itself. This feeling was almost like a memory, but in real-time. While it was in the third layer’s canopy, it was also somewhere else. Somewhere foreign. If it listened closely, it could hear a familiar voice.

The slime’s out of body experience only lasted for an instant as its partner pulled away. The jungle slime’s core shook weakly. Rather than merging, it sensed that Mavis would have absorbed it one-sidedly.

The jungle slime sped away while Mavis lay on a branch in a listless puddle.

“Mavis! Where are you?”

Theo’s voice barely carried into the treetops.

“Here!” Mavis yelled back.

“Hide up there and try not to move. That monster isn’t after us, so just let it pass through!”

Mavis felt that Theo was stating the obvious, considering the slime had just run away.

*Phsooo*

Then it remembered that he was talking about a different monster.

The canopy shook as something truly enormous approached the slime. If Mavis had a heart, it would have stopped. Claws larger than a person tore at the earth, creating quakes with each step. Glistening purple scales rattled like plate armor. Despite its massive size, the serpentine monster wove through the trees like a fish in water. Seven heads hissed and spat with undisguised fury. One of them arched back and fired a projectile into a nearby springbark, felling it.

Now that it was close enough, Mavis realized that these bullets were made of water.

With four muscular legs and a snake-like body, it vaguely resembled the second layer’s lindworms. Though, none of those pseudo-dragons had more than one head. With its limited vocabulary, Mavis couldn’t know that this creature was a hydra. It was also one of the few ‘boss’ monsters in the third layer.

That last fact became apparent as it stomped off. Once it was far enough away, the rain suddenly stopped. Mavis watched in horror as the deluge followed the hydra.

What other title would be worthy of a being that kept a storm at its beck and call?