Theo, Mavis and Vivian sat together in a hollow tree. There weren’t many safe places to camp in the third layer and these elderly trees were prime real-estate. No matter how tired a raiding party was, they would usually have to fight something before they could rest. Fortunately, the hydra had scared most of the wildlife away during its rampage. No one knew exactly what had caused it to go berserk, but Vivian was able to confirm that it had been damaged slightly.

In all likelihood, the hydra’s aggressor was already dead. If not, then they would be soon. When a raider has a death wish, there are plenty of monsters to oblige them.

“So, let’s review…”

Theo’s voice was devoid of enthusiasm. After escaping from that monstrosity, all of them felt a few years older.

“We rushed into the third layer to avoid whoever Marco hires. Veterans could still chase us down, but we probably have a week or two before that becomes an issue. If we want to survive, then we’ll need to quickly improve our gear and head into the fourth layer.”

Vivian bit her lip as she nodded.

“There are three things standing between us and the fourth layer. The first is obviously our equipment. Not counting Kaiya’s bow, we only have nine pieces of gold-tier gear between us. Mavis’s defective gear, my cloak, boots and dagger, Vivian’s pendant, Nasser’s sword, Tarq’s battle-axe and Ollie’s hat.”

“The second is teamwork. We don’t know how to fight together and that will be a huge problem going forward. Honestly, I’m not an expert at coordination but I’m sure we’ll improve over time.”

“The third will be tough…”

Theo frowned slightly as he looked at Vivian.

“Vivian, how are you at mana cycling?”

“Ah…” Vivian’s eyes wandered. “…Not great.”

“Marco never gave you any extra gear, so I figured as much.”

“What…cycling?” Mavis asked.

“Mana cycling is when you channel mana into multiple enchantments at once. Theoretically, you could give an amateur a bunch of high-tier equipment and send him into a dungeon. The result would be a dead raider and an enormous loss of money. Managing a full set of enchantments can be extremely difficult, but it’s a necessary skill in the lower levels.”

“So…Vivi…not…perfect.” The slime replied smugly.

“I-I never said that I was.”

Because of her abysmal combat prowess, Vivian felt that she had been very forthcoming with her weaknesses. Mavis disagreed. After having its sentences corrected several times a day, Mavis felt that there was definitely a snooty academic hiding behind Vivian’s meek façade.

“Theo, how many can you handle?”

“Nine.”

Vivian’s jaw dropped. Considering a human could only wear so many things at once, nine was essentially the limit. Plenty of raiders would stop practicing after they could control seven or eight enchantments.

“I was specially trained for it. My experience as a raider is kind of lopsided, but I can definitely teach you two about cycling.”

Theo turned towards Mavis.

“This is what I wanted to show you before the…hydra incident. Put on those gloves and try to activate your pendant.”

Mavis did as it was told. Channeling mana into one enchantment was simple. A strange feeling of weightlessness assaulted the slime as the Stalker Gloves began to glow. Next, it focused on the pendant in its hand. Mana flowed out from the slime’s core but it took conscious effort to force that energy into the pendant. After a few seconds of straining, the pendant began to emit light.

“I…did it!” Mavis exclaimed.

It held a silver sword within its luminous gloves.

“Oh! You’re a natural.” Theo praised it with a smile.

Vivian clapped lightly but her expression was flat.

“Here’s your next test.” Theo said. “That pendant only requires a burst of mana to activate. Now, I want you to take out Nasser’s sword and channel its repel effect.”

Through some internal gymnastics, Mavis forced the sword out of its arm. It held the Blade of Dismissal, whose name had been discovered by Vivian’s appraisal, and drew out some mana. Like before, it was able to pour mana into the blade by focusing. Mavis’s connection to the Stalker Gloves was still there. That link felt strong, while its connection to the Blade of Dismissal was frail, as if any errant thought would sever it. Hair curling in annoyance, Mavis severed both links and recreated them. This time, it started with the sword and the results flipped.

“You really are a natural. But it will be tough to fight like that, right?”

Mavis nodded. Its hair continued to twitch.

“With practice, you can make several links that are just as strong as your first. Until then, you won’t be able to benefit from a full set of equipment.”

Mavis blanched at the thought of adding more training to its routine, but it pushed those feelings aside. In a single day, they had already encountered two monsters that Mavis couldn’t handle. The jungle slime had overpowered Mavis with its superior mass, meanwhile that hydra was simply in another league. Without more equipment, it was only a matter of time before someone was seriously injured—or worse. Mavis wanted to avoid that at all costs.

“Back to our review. I don’t know much about the third layer’s structure…”

Theo glanced at Vivian but she shook her head.

“We’ll need to find the fourth layer’s entrance at some point. This jungle is much smaller than the second layer, so we could potentially find it ourselves. Otherwise, we’ll need to ask another party for help.”

“That might be a problem…” Vivian jumped in. “But we won’t be heading into the fourth layer immediately. What are we going to do right now? Should we just wander around and fight whatever jumps out at us?”

“Unless anyone has a better plan, yes.”

“Want to…find…slimes.” Mavis spoke up.

The two humans stared at it.

“Why, exactly?”

“Because…” It trailed off.

Mavis couldn’t find the words. Describing how it had felt when the jungle slime merged with it was too difficult. There was definitely something about that process that was linked with Mavis’s identity. If it could find another slime to merge with, then maybe Mavis would understand more about itself.

“Found…uh…something…strange…when…slime…uh…”

Mavis shook its head.

“Point is…other…slime…can help…me…understand…what…I…am.”

A heavy silence fell across the hollow. Mavis focused its senses away from Theo and Mavis. It wanted to probe the pair’s expressions, but it was afraid. This really was an unreasonable and incomprehensible request.

“Well then, that will be our first priority.” Theo said.

“Let’s do it.” Vivian agreed. “I’ll try not to get grabbed this time, haha.”

If Mavis had eyes, they would have blinked slowly.

“Is…really…ok?”

“Of course.” Theo replied calmly, as if there was nothing more to say.

“Thank you…both.”

The party discussed this slime hunting plan for a while, then they ate and rested. Theo, Mavis and Vivian had travelled to the third layer, passed through the mist-filled devil’s maw, wandered through the jungle and then survived their first encounter with a boss monster. It had been a long day.

Even so, all of them were reluctant to sleep. Theo was practicing his dagger-throwing while working out a training regimen in his head. Vivian was busy deciphering the enchantments on Mavis’s mask and cloak. Mavis was practicing mana cycling in its blob form, but it couldn’t focus. The opportunity to learn more about itself was both exciting and worrying. For some reason, there was one specific worry that it couldn’t shake.

Was its origin something that should be pursued?

Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out.

- - -

There was one simple, albeit risky, method for finding slimes in the first layer—Just keep walking until one drops on your head.

The third layer’s equivalent was naturally—Just keep touching things until one of them tries to eat you.

Branches, moss, vines, a jungle slime could be any of these things and they would act out their roles with a frightening level of patience. Mavis strained its magical sight to the limit as they trekked through the jungle, but so far, their search had been fruitless.

Then, a few hours into the start of their second day, it finally happened. Water from the previous day’s downpour had collected on a nearby leaf. A breeze shook that overburdened leaf, causing a few drops of water to fall onto a vine below the canopy. Mavis noticed this vine squirm slightly as it was assaulted by the cold liquid.

“There…slime!” Mavis cried out.

As they moved to surround it, the vine began to writhe wildly.

*Bang*

A loud crackling noise rang out from the canopy.

*Splat*

Like thunder after lightning, a wagon-sized slime hit the ground.

Two raiders followed it down at a much slower pace. The first one to reach the slime was a woman in her early twenties. She wore tight-fitting reinforced leather armor and a brown short cloak. These dusky unassuming colors actually stood out against the jungle’s ever-present green foliage. Though, they didn’t stand out nearly as much as her face. Bleached blonde hair led into unblemished and lightly tanned skin. Her cherry red lips curled into an eager smile as she turned towards the trio.

A spirited hazel eye appraised them while its dark red twin glared at the intruders.

“Howdy there. I don’t think I’ve seen you three before.”

Theo and Mavis were immediately on guard but Vivian hadn’t moved. The mage stared at the woman, eyes wide in disbelief.

“You’re Nora, right?” Vivian asked. Her tone was unsteady. “Nora Donner?”

“Oh, a fan!” Nora nodded gleefully. “Yup, it’s me.”

“Nora, what did you say just now?” Her partner muttered as he shambled to her side. “We haven’t seen these people before. Try to be a little more cautious.”

Theo, Mavis and even Vivian stepped back subconsciously. While Nora’s radically different eyes were unusual, they couldn’t compare to this man’s body.

“Two of them don’t even know who I am and the third one is moonstruck.”

Vivian opened her mouth to refute that, but Nora kept talking.

“It’s clearly their first trip to the third layer, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying hello.”

“If they’re so weak, then why bother to engage them at all?”

Nora’s cheeks puffed up in a pout that was unbecoming of her age.

“I didn’t say that they were weak, Linderman. All we know is that they’re new. And since they’re new, this is a chance to make some fans.”

Linderman’s massive frame heaved as he sighed. He stood a full head above Nora and the others. Reinforced leather protected his body, but it was a full shade darker than his partner’s and most of it was covered by a long black cloak. While his wraithlike figure vaguely resembled Ravens, there was one part of him that was terrifyingly unique.

“Fine, fine.” Linderman grumbled.

He raised his left arm to scratch his head. A writhing mass of darkness answered his body’s call to action. It rose and extended a faintly crackling finger towards Linderman’s head. A few sparks flew while Linderman thought. Then, he sighed again and let his arm fall. The limb that was more a storm cloud than an arm reached just above his knees as he relaxed.

“Sorry, he’s been a little jumpy since yesterday.” Nora explained. “Anyways, introductions. My name is Nora Donner, and this is Blitz Linderman. Just call him Linderman.”

“I’m Vivian.” The mage replied quickly. “This is Theo and Mavis. Like you said, it’s our first time in the third layer.”

Theo frowned at Vivian and then turned to face Nora.

“What’s this business with fans?”

“We’re trying to be famous, so of course we’d have fans.”

“They’re well-known in Naraka.” Vivian added. “Nora and Linderman are a rare two-person team, but they still compete with larger parties. More importantly, they’re the only ones who have ever found a platinum-tier treasure in the third layer.”

Theo’s eyes widened. “Is that true?”

Linderman lifted his crackling arm.

“It’s half true. My arm is a platinum-tier treasure, but it’s defective.”

“How, exactly.”

“I’d rather not say.”

“Haha, let’s leave the interrogation for another time.” Nora said, stepping between Theo and Linderman.

“That’s fine. I actually have something else that I want to talk about.”

Theo’s gaze shifted to the slime’s corpse.

“What a coincidence.” Nora cut in, grinning. “We need something from you as well.”

Linderman let out another sigh while Theo tensed up.

Did this woman know their identities?

“How would you feel about fighting a boss?”

“…What?”