Fugria checked everything except the slimy puddles beneath her feet. She didn't expect that a Monster Girl, a Slime Girl, would be hiding below. A chill gripped her heart and strengthened her spine. The coldness of the slime caressed her legs and pricked her skin.

Beneath her feet, countless watery arms emerged and seized her ankles, soaking her pants and coating her hidden daggers and knives. They pulled her down and sank her legs into the muds, which parted into a sinkhole. The surrounding puddles quivered, rising from their surface.

The cave turned into an enclosed swarm, a dim, humid trap where viscous hands extended from all surfaces and reached toward Fugria. Though she was a Master Archer with considerable strength, she was no Master Knight and lacked the experience to control herself when submerged in the mud.

She exerted herself, but her body kept sinking. Her wiggling legs created more space for the slime to descend. She stopped resisting the pull and delayed the descension. She fell on her back and reached her hand into her side pockets and pulled out three glass flasks. Inside them was a soft glow that flickered and illuminated her grim face.

She shook them. As the content mixed into the same texture, she mumbled an incoherent chant and blew a puff of flame at the attached wires. They set aflame and rapidly ate the fuel, rushing towards the glass containers.

She flung them, then grabbed and swung her brown mantle to cover her front.

The fire slipped inside the flasks and ignited the alchemy material. The solution violently expanded, generating a blazing amount of energy. The sparks transformed into countless stars and sparked the air into a powerful shockwave, filled with the stench of gunpowder and ashes.

The air pressure pushed through the cave and crashed against the slime-coated stones and soils. Heat charred the dust particles and melted the nearby rocks. Right after the shockwave, the glasses fragments shot along the air and landed everywhere.

Fugria hid behind her special mantle. It easily withstood the flame and the glass fragments, though the slime that soaked its inside still remained.

The explosion destroyed the arms that reached towards her, cutting them, spattering them, and evaporating them. The impact pushed the surrounding puddles away but also slammed Fugria deeper into the abyss of slime beneath her. The faint quake it created softened the ground, splitting it further.

Still on her back, Fugria slowly crawled away from the sinkhole. Though the mud was sinking and viscous, she could gradually move out by distributing her weight across the ground. The slime arms clung onto her and dragged her in, but their number had considerately lessened that she could resist their pull.

Outside of the cave, Kalender immediately pulled his shield from the ground and unsheathed his sword. As he rushed in, the explosion swept the stale air against his face. He closed his eyes and swung his shield forward. Its momentum generated a strong gale that deflected the fragmented glass.

"I’m coming," he shouted. "Live!"

As he reached his hand forward, the slime puddles in front of him ruptured into a wall, where countless tendrils emerged. They twisted and turned, mockingly slashing the air, feinting their strikes.

Kalender narrowed his eyes and raised his sword. The blade shone and burnt in a majestic red flame, whose heat distorted the air. He slashed downward. The strike met against multiple tendrils and cut through them, producing a muffled shockwave that splashed the slime.

The wall parted, and from it, countless arms burst out and reached forward. They clasped their fists then flicked their fingers, sending the hardened droplets flying. They ricocheted around the circular ceiling, producing metallic noises that echoed all around.

Kalender twisted his blade and blocked the few shards that headed straight to his face. He spun then pulled his shield up front, but the bouncing shards got to his back and arms and legs. Though he was wearing the enhanced silver armour, the slime accurately struck his joints, hitting his knees and elbows.

"You’re an ugly one," he said. "Fugria, can you see its core?"

"It’s too vast." Using her slippery dagger, Fugria cut away the teasing slime arms, slowly getting overwhelmed by their number. "Get me out!"

Kalender grunted and channelled his innate power. The flame which engulfed his blade surged and changed its shade. The crimson sparks brightened into the yellow fire, rising in temperature and sharpness. The surrounding air greatly distorted that the blade appeared bent.

He forcefully stepped forward and struck.

The winds swirled around the tip of the blade and spun into a whirlpool. It dragged the flame, creating an enormous firestorm that encompassed the cave, melting the rocks into liquefied muds. The slime rapidly evaporated into a puff of steam.

The strike cracked the ceiling and spilt the ground, igniting the slime puddles nearby. The path in front of Kalender became clear except for a slimy figure that manifested before him, smiling. Iris raised her hands and pulled down. The slime tendrils emerged and hovered around her.

"It's rude to enter my home unannounced," she said, glancing behind her, giggling. "Even worse when you try to steal my treasure."

"You aren’t a Slime Queen," Kalender said, his eyes scanning Iris. "What are you?"

"Can't you see? Or you do have to experience it?"

Iris pointed at Kalender. The slime tendrils whipped at him, cracking the air with their swift speed. The explosive noises vibrated the dirt walls and shook the ground. Unlike the mindless tendrils from before, these agile tendrils coiled around the firestorm, avoiding the fire and the shield.

Dancing, conducting, Iris let her hands flow like a river in a lush forest. Her slender, opaque body moved with such grace that the cave transformed into a stage for her performance. Her fingers weaved the air and the slime along her rhythm, slashing at Kalender with decapitating blows.

Despite having a board shield and a blazing sword, Kalender slowly retreated as his swordplay failed to parry all the strikes. Though they couldn't penetrate through his silver armour, the impact of the concussion numbed his muscles, darkening his flesh. He wasn't well-equipped enough to deal with a strong Slime Girl who could multiply herself and hid her core, but if he retreated now, his partner would be in danger.

At last, he channelled his strength and thrust his shield forward. The bright light radiated from the front and crashed against the slime, creating a bubble of heat that pushed everything away. In that instant where the tendrils were annihilated, Kalender let go of his shield then steadied his sword, holding it two-handed. Under his breath, he murmured a chant which stirred the air.

Iris raised her hands and halted her assault. Having most of her slime mass burnt and obliterated, her body grew dim and less majestic, though she was still grinning. Instead of interrupting him, she pulled back the slime and surrounded herself with it, creating a thick, viscous barrier that absorbed all the radiating heat without melting like before.

It was a great time to test her limit, for she had undergone a few powerups. From her estimation, the knight wouldn't be able to annihilate the entire cave and her slime mass, so she should be fine, albeit weakened and feeble.

Smiling, she widened her embrace. Her body shivered in anticipation as the bright light in front of her glowed more and more violent, shifting its colour from yellow to dark, intense blue. The heat passed through the layers of slime in front of her and caressed her face, warming it, melting it. Like tears, her membrane gradually softened and dripped.

"So this is the power of a Master Tier warrior," she whispered. "I'm still not there yet, unfortunately."

Kalender sliced his blade through the thick, murky air. The blue flame ruptured, clashing with the rocky ceiling and carving it into liquefied magma. The temperature of the cave fluctuated and generated waves of sharp gusts which erupted periodically, cutting through the slime wall, piercing the ground.

The strike annihilated the wall of slime into bluish vapours before heating them into nothingness. The strings of blue flame swung farther, reaching Iris, who commanded her tendrils to protect her body. They failed to make a difference and disintegrated before her eyes.

In front of her, the blade extended and enlarged, heating her face, closing in, burning her membrane. The slime puddles beneath her rushed to bind the strike, but nothing could deter its momentum.

She was too weak to defend against a full-power strike from a Master Knight, but still, she didn't cease her smile. She took the strike head-on and felt the searing pain. Her body shuddered and split in half, but she still maintained her grin, which became more and more distorted as she gradually melted.

Behind her, countless slimy arms held, caressed, restrained, and gripped Fugria in her place. They soaked her clothes and took her weapons and flasks and tools. She looked up at Iris and the incoming blue flame, her eyes contracting. She tried to scream, but only muffled, unintelligible terror echoed forth.

Seeing the trap, Kalender tensed his muscles and pulled back the strike. He trembled as he abruptly shifted his force and stopped the swing. His bones screamed and creaked as his hands bent out of shape. The blade came to a halt before it could graze Fugria, who closed her eyes and quivered helplessly.

Without any fuel, the blue flame fizzled out, bringing with it Kalender's remaining strength. He staggered backwards and fell to his knees, panting. Though he could still fight, his hands were aching, and Iris already had a hostage, a hostage that he couldn't discard. His mind racing, he raised his head and met with the reforming Slime Girl, who stood beside the restrained Fugria and pinched her cheek.

"You almost killed her," Iris said.

"What do you want?" Kalender stabbed his sword on the ground, staring at Iris. "You can't beat me, but if you go too far, we both will suffer."

"I only want one thing." Iris pointed her hand at Fugria and giggled. "I want her with me."

"Monster, don't force me." Kalender gripped the sword but didn't pull it out. His voice cracked.

Iris merely laughed. "You misunderstand me. I have no intention of making her mine, but I'm interested in her ability and instruments."

"What do you mean?"

Iris gripped her chest and gouged out a small ball of slime and slammed it into Fugria's chest. The slime stabbed her and rooted into her, turning into a sticky, pulsating amulet. Fugria panted and struggled as pain seared her heart until a coolness flooded and soothed her mind.

Kalender perked up, but Iris raised her hand, gently waving, grinning.

"Her life is linked with mine. Her heart will be broken." Iris retrieved the slime which bound Fugria and stroked her head. "Don't worry. You will return unscratched when I reach the inner part of the forest."

Kalender turned to Fugria, who couldn't do anything except bending her head down, looking at the ground. Though she was a Master Tier archer, she was caught off-guard and detained before she could put up a good fight. Now, she could only do what the Monster Girl told her.