You deceived me. Those words pressed down on Theo. The pressure they put on him was far greater than the tentacles constricting his body. At first, he wanted to deny it. Theo opened his mouth, but then he froze. Mavis stared down at him with undisguised fury. The slime’s tentacles twitched violently as they held Theo in place. It was clear that Mavis was only barely able to hold back. Faced with such a scene, Theo couldn’t force himself to lie any further.

“Did you piece it together yourself, or did you ask Nico?”

“Ask…Nico. Talk…about…outlaws.”

This was the other reason why Theo had wanted to reject Nico’s hospitality. The monster tamer’s wolves were extremely dangerous, but his status was arguably even worse. Nico clearly had no reservations about living as an outlaw. Meanwhile, Theo wanted to avoid the subject entirely. He had promised to help Mavis live on the surface. How could an outlaw do that? Going to the surface meant returning with a valuable treasure. After learning that, even an idiot would begin to ask questions. If that was all, then Theo could still talk his way out of this.

“Monsters…on…surface…pets.”

Of course, Mavis was smart enough to teach itself how to speak. For a slime, that already made it an unprecedented genius. Even as a human, Theo didn’t feel that Mavis lacked intelligence. The slime only lacked an understanding of its world.

“That’s right.” Theo admitted. “Monsters, animals born with magic cores, can only be found in dungeons. On the surface, they are pets. Capturing rare monsters and selling them is very profitable.”

“Treasure…worth…freedom.”

“Yes.”

The tentacles tightened around Theo, but he continued to stare at Mavis.

“I…help…you…before. Why not…find…other…treasure?”

Theo blinked. He realized that Mavis might be under a serious misconception.

“Do you have any idea how rare you are? Any at all?”

“I am…rare. No…other…monster…speak…in…first layer.”

“No other monster speaks. Period. There are no talking monsters in Naraka. There are no talking monsters in Jigou. There are no talking monsters in any dungeon! The closest thing I’ve ever seen were birds that mimicked human noises. A monster that can understand humans is priceless. I could kill myself scouring the fourth layer and still never find a treasure that comes close. Even the handful of treasures recovered from the fifth layer wouldn’t be so lucrative.”

The slime stiffened. Mavis almost lost its grip on Theo.

“That…rare…”

Mavis had lived a lonely life. Certain species of slimes could ‘communicate’ by fusing with one another, but cave slimes never did this. They lived in cramped tunnels, after all. Any slime that grew as large as Mavis would be unable to hunt properly. Mavis had briefly tried to imitate other monsters, but every animal on the first layer had an excellent sense of smell. They would never recognize the slime as anything other than a predator. Even more troubling was the fact that none of these monsters seemed to have a will of their own. They hunted, they ate and they slept. That was how every creature in the first layer lived. Every creature that wasn’t human.

In Mavis’s tiny world, humans were completely unique. Their strange tools and ways of fighting were secondary. For Mavis, what made humans unique was their sense of purpose. They weren’t just living in Naraka, they were exploring it. The slime began collecting treasures, seeking the same fulfillment that humans seemed to find. Eventually, it realized that something was missing. The answer was likely on the surface.

This line of reasoning was what made Mavis seek out human towns. However, the slime had never thought that humans were the only creatures it could relate to. Why would it? As a sentient monster, Mavis felt it was natural for there to be others. Maybe they lived in other layers, other dungeons or even on the surface, but they definitely existed.

Mavis knew that it shouldn’t trust Theo’s words. Even so, the slime couldn’t help but feel an intense loneliness tug at its core.

“If anyone finds out what you are, then they will stop at nothing to capture you. There are thousands of raiders in the second layer and almost all of them travel in groups. How are you going to survive without me?”

The slime’s tentacles shuddered. Between these shocking revelations and the blood moon’s influence, Mavis could barely hold itself together.

“Rumors spread quickly among people. That’s why those two rich bastards were searching for you, even though you’ve never met them before. Escape from one person, and three will be chasing you by the end of the day. Dozens in a week. Hundreds in a month. It’s impossible to survive without -ack!”

Theo let out a strangled cry as a tentacle tightened around his neck. The slime clutched its head as streaks of red flashed across its skin. Slowly, the tentacle stealing Theo’s breath began to glow with the same vicious light as the moon. The rest of Mavis’s body recoiled, and Theo took his chance. He unsheathed a dagger and severed the red tentacle. Theo prepared to run, but a mass of red slime rushed towards him. This time, Mavis used its entire body to constrict Theo. The outlaw’s heart was pounding, but this was a familiar sensation for Mavis. Theo would have been even more terrified if he knew that Galt had died in this exact position.

Technically, he had only been fatally wounded, but that was a small consolation.

Theo struggled like a fly trapped in a web. He could feel his joints screaming in agony. Just when Theo thought he would break, Mavis froze. The slime changed back to its natural blue.

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“I…will…find…portal…alone.”

Mavis crawled off Theo and quickly shimmied to a lower branch. Theo coughed violently as he tried to stand. The outlaw looked like he wanted to say something, but Mavis didn’t give him a chance. The slime shot from branch to branch. Mavis moved in a way that was thoroughly impossible for a vertebrate. By the time Theo managed to breathe properly, he was alone.

Theo sighed and rubbed his throat. He sat back down and glanced up at the moon. Normally, it would be unthinkable for an outlaw to let such a treasure get away. Theo knew that he didn’t stand a chance in the fourth layer. Even if he reequipped himself with treasure from the second and third layers, it would be an incredibly risky journey. Theo felt like a prisoner in hell watching his spider’s thread ascend without him.

And yet, he didn’t chase Mavis.

Theo sat and gazed at the moon. Even in the logic-defying world of dungeons, it qualified as a very bizarre sight. At that moment, Theo felt a great weight lift off his shoulders.

“The only successful humans are the ones who take the initiative to become predators. I guess I’m not cut out for it.”

Theo glanced at his dagger and grimaced. He seemed to be remembering something painful.

“No. No, no, no. This isn’t the time to get sentimental. I’m not going to die out here. Not when I haven’t accomplished anything.”

The outlaw stood up.

“I refuse to die.”

- - -

Mavis sped through the treetops. Rabid snarls and battle cries drifted up from the chaos below. The slime faltered and almost missed a branch. Mavis shuddered. With its limited vision, there was no guessing how high up it was.

Or how far it could potentially fall.

Mavis slowly began to descend. The slime was about half way down when it heard a familiar growl. A human’s scream soon followed, and Mavis knew that Nico’s wolves had found some prey. Even though the slime’s sight was limited to six meters, its other senses were not. Mavis could tell that a fight had broken out below it. Theo had been very afraid of those dire wolves and Mavis had no desire to provoke them. It maintained its altitude and travelled horizontally.

To the slime’s surprise, the sounds followed it. The humans happened to be fleeing in the same direction that it was. After nearly falling once, Mavis was moving much slower than before. Mavis froze as patches of red blossomed across its body. Their screams pierced its core and allowed the blood moon’s influence to grow. Mavis descended further. The slime followed the sounds of combat until its magical sight found their source.

Five humans were locked in fierce combat. The foremost raider wore a heavy suit of armor and wielded a sword and shield. He stepped forward, slicing at one wolf with his sword then quickly retreating before a second wolf retaliated. There was a third wolf flanking him from the side, but a man with a great sword rushed in to meet it. The pair of humans moved in sync as they fought. Whenever a wolf lunged, a shield would block its path. Whenever there was an opening, a great sword would lash out. The three dire wolves were obviously losing, but they pressed forward with bloodshot eyes.

Two more wolves tried to join the fray, but they suddenly jumped back as a bolt of lightning shot towards them. The magical attack missed and the wolves glared at a robed woman hiding behind a tree. The pair of wolves charged. One immediately fell over as an arrow buried itself in the monster’s neck. The other was blocked by the fifth member of the party—a portly man with a glittering short sword. The mage sent out another bolt of lightning. This one actually landed, and the swordsman took his chance to slash at the second wolf. His sword erupted with light as it cut a deep gash in the monster’s flank.

Mavis watched the battle in stunned reverence. Combat was extremely rare in the first layer. Opportunists like packers would only fight when they had an absolute advantage. Cave slimes ambushed prey, but that couldn’t be called fighting. Mavis had spied on a few serious fights before meeting Theo. However, it had never seen a true raiding party in action. The power of these five humans working in concert shocked Mavis to its core.

*Thud*

Amidst the chaos, the ranger fell from her perch with an unceremonious thud. Her mangled neck bled profusely as she writhed in pain. The mage rushed towards her injured teammate, but the portly man held her back. A white blur shot down from the trees and landed on the ranger. After that impact, there were only four raiders against six wolves.

The party’s two vanguards tried to get closer to their mage, but their opponents suddenly grew fiercer. It was almost as if they had been waiting for this moment. Three more wolves shot out of the forest. Two mercilessly attacked the great sword wielder and the shield bearer from behind. The other one bore down on the portly swordsman. His glittering sword began to glow, but then he quickly retreated to dodge the wolf that he’d slashed earlier. The wolf with an arrow in its neck stood up and shook itself. It tried to join the other five to finish off the party’s vanguards, but they had already fallen.

At this point, all nine wolves had entered the fray. Mavis strained its senses, but Nico was nowhere to be found. Apparently, even Nico feared his children during a blood moon. Mavis would not believe that he’d been eaten unless it saw a corpse.

Under normal circumstances, the nine wolves would have quickly surrounded the two remaining raiders. Instead, the six wolves that had killed were completely engrossed in their meal. This ravenous hunger was another quirk brought on by the blood moon. The mage and swordsman ran away while three wolves chased them. Mavis couldn’t stop itself from following as well. The wolf with a gash in its side was unable to keep up. The one with the arrow began to stumble around. It had likely been poisoned. A single healthy wolf and a hidden slime pursued the pair.

Obviously, it was impossible for them to escape a dire wolf. The portly man realized this, and so he tripped his comrade. He disappeared into the woods while the wolf stood over its trembling prey. The mage threw out a lightning bolt, but her pursuer shrugged it off. Dire wolves were quite tough and the mage’s offensive ability was clearly lacking. The wolf lunged forward and the mage closed her eyes.

*Shlorp*

Seconds later, the mage opened her eyes. She wasn’t dead, but the sight before her made the mage question her sanity. A giant slime had dropped down from who knows where and landed right on top of the dire wolf. The two monsters began to wrestle, but the fight was over before it began. Mavis covered the wolf’s mouth and restrained its legs. Slimes weren’t strong enough to hold down a dire wolf, but locking their joints was a different matter. With the right setup, almost nothing could break free from a slime. Nothing with bones and muscles, anyway.

This sudden intrusion shocked everyone, including Mavis. The slime had no desire to interfere in this fight. However, the blood moon compelled it to wait for an opportunity to kill. If things had gone differently, Mavis was not proud to admit that it would have attacked this woman. But it didn’t. Unlike with Theo, the slime couldn’t hold itself back through sheer willpower. It didn’t divert its killing intent towards the wolf, either.

The reason why this woman was saved, was because of her partner. After Mavis saw him betray her, the slime’s body began to move on its own. Despite the blood moon’s influence, and the danger of fighting Nico’s wolves, Mavis decided that it couldn’t bear to watch this woman die in such a way. When Mavis made up its mind, a certain phrase echoed in its head.

“The only successful humans are the ones who take the initiative to become predators.”

Ultimately, Mavis just wanted to prove Theo’s selfish theory wrong.