*** Lucius ***

With a good cup of wine in hand and a cleansing slime coiled around my bones, watching my new friend acting like the idiot he was while attempting to find himself a prime candidate; life is good, not going to lie.

"Lord Laos. I'm seeking an audience!" From behind the closed doors, a heavy voice breaks my immersion.

'Spoke too soon…'

"Granted!" With a wisp of mana, the seals are released, showcasing a giant monster headed in my direction.

Standing at over three metres tall, with four arms and ash-like skin, the giant stops himself in the middle of the room and kneels before me.

'At least he has learned his place after thrashing him last time.'

On his back, a heavy black iron coffin stands half open. From within, the voice of my oldest friend and the biggest asshole I've ever met in my whole life resounds slightly muffled.

"The slaves of the newcomer. I want them to renovate my castle."

'Oh, for f…'

"They are not Tony's slaves. If you want anything from the dwarves, negotiate with them in person."

Without saying another word, the giant caries his master out of my room. From the cracks in the coffin, I can barely notice the annoyed expression of my friend.

Oh, almost forgot who I was talking with… "Daff, bring a suitable compensation. We don't want another Aquilla incident, do we?"

Grunting in acknowledgement, he leaves, the heavy double doors closing behind him.

In that moment I notice a certain detail and, for a split second, my mana goes berserk submerging the room in a storm of ice.

"God damn asshole, I told you countless times to clean your mutated ogre's feet before walking on my beautiful carpet!"

I just cleaned the carpet of that bitch’s blood and now it's covered in dirt and grime again. This is handmade. Had it imported from the Abyss? Do you have any idea how hard it is to trade with the Abyss nowadays?

Calming myself again, I redirect my attention towards the oracle feed trying to relax. I'll clean the carpet later on… It should be easier to deal with than a priestess’s blood.

'Boom'

With a sudden explosion sound, my door is forcefully open and a beautiful blond man waltz in. Long ears, thin body, life-attuned aura, covered in blood from head to toe… Walking on my beautiful woven carpet.

'I'm going to kill them!'

"Lucy… I need your help!" With no introduction whatsoever, the asshole demands my help.

"Hello Valy. Please come in. Thank you for cleaning your shoes before walking into my house…" With a heavy sigh, I calm down my emotions and move on.

"Another drake?" I ask him with resignation written on my face.

This idiot has been hunting drakes for so long that the matriarch of the clan has taken notice… If it wasn't for me he would be long dead… Fortunately, the matriarch doesn't really care that much about lesser drakes and he has killed only a couple awakened ones.

"No, a sub-dragon this time! Just cover for me. I'll owe you one!" Giving a wide grin filled with pride, the walking catastrophe turns around and just leaves.

'I'll really kill them all.'

My beautiful carpet, now covered in dragon blood and ogre dirt, looks like a genuine tragedy… At the very least, it can still be clea…

Before even having time to finish my thoughts, a blob of gloop falls from my ceiling, covering half the room with a wave of snot.

"Lord Lucius, prototype 37 is ready!" From nowhere in particular and everywhere at once, a neutral voice gives me the first piece of good news.

With a wide grin on my face, I look at the giant pile of mucus that stands before me. "You are just in time Ti. Thank you for your hard work!"

Ti… A mutated slime who consumed the body of a dead ancient dragon becoming a unique existence. Also, the only one in my 'family' who knows what respect means.

At my comment, the giant slime wiggles a bit before slipping in a crack in reality, disappearing completely from sight. In its place, a smaller version of himself remains.

Prototype 37. All my dreams packed in a small pile of mutated snot.

Ti handles most of the commodities around here. For example, Prototype 15 is a special type of slime who cleans the body. Even right now, exactly that type of slime is coiled around my bones, under my robe, passively keeping me fresh.

Soon, the new slime gets to work, absorbing all the dirt, grime, blood and mucus from my beautiful carpet. In a matter of minutes, it has been cleaned once more.

'Amazing work Ti. This is why you are my favourite!'

Getting up from my seat, I get on my knees touching my beautiful carpet, feeling each and every strand of hair… Or that is what it was supposed to happen. Instead, the moment my skeletal hand grabs it, the couple of strands in my hand collapses in a pile of coloured dust. Then, like domino pieces, the whole carpet becomes an enormous pile of dirt.

"I'm going to kill all of you. God forsaken assholes! Do you hear me? I'll slaughter every single one of you!"