Mavis woke up on high alert. The slime quickly scanned its surroundings and was relieved to see that nothing had changed. It was in the same place where it had saved that mage. As the sun rose above the Heaven’s Spire peaks and light filled the second layer, Mavis wondered if everything had been a dream. The wolf’s corpse was still there, which immediately broke that illusion. The mysterious man had vanished without a trace, but the slime’s throbbing core told it that he had been very real. In fact, his presence was the only explanation for how Mavis slept through the blood moon without being killed.

Or, more accurately, how Vivian hadn’t been killed.

The slime squirmed awkwardly as Vivian snuggled up against its squishy body. The mage was still asleep. Mavis had been wrapped around her before it was knocked unconscious. Now, this woman seemed to be using the slime as a body pillow. A dopy smile spread across Vivian’s face and Mavis hesitantly accepted that this sensation was comfortable, if not somewhat embarrassing.

Vivian looked fairly young for a raider. She was likely seventeen or eighteen. The mage’s long chestnut hair fell past her shoulders. Certain strands were noticeably brighter than others, almost as if she had been given highlights. Unusual hair or eye coloring was considered to be a blessing on the surface. It indicated a talent in magic. Vivian wore a simple black robe, which emanated a weak magical aura. Just to be safe, Mavis checked the rest of her clothing. The only thing that stood out was a pendant that had been fashioned in the shape of a cat’s eye. The enchantment’s strength reminded Mavis of that mysterious man.

This woman was also quite beautiful. Mavis took a moment to examine her fair white skin, slender thighs and ample bosom. The next time it transformed into a human, Mavis resolved to make a few upgrades.

Mavis slowly extricated itself from Vivian’s grasp and took a more thorough look around. There didn’t seem to be any monsters or humans nearby. Vivian would probably be safe, even if Mavis left her alone.

The slime suddenly froze as it heard Vivian yawn. While the mage rubbed her eyes, Mavis hurriedly transformed into a simple blob. Vivian sleepily swung her head from side to side. She stiffened as her gaze fell upon Mavis. The mage scrambled to her feet and held out one hand. Vivian was about to cast a spell, but then she hesitated. Memories of the previous night flooded into her head. Vivian sank to her knees and stared blankly at the ground. Mavis was still on guard, but it wasn’t ready for what Vivian did next.

She started to cry.

“Scott…Crowley…Zaria…”

Raiding was a very dangerous profession. Every raider understood that their teammates could die at any time. It was something that everyone expected to see at least once, but no one could truly prepare for.

Vivian had left one name out and Mavis could easily guess who that was. After all, Vivian hadn’t just lost her teammates, she had also been betrayed. The slime’s core twitched as it felt a pang of sympathy. Without thinking, Mavis extended a small tentacle and patted Vivian’s shoulder.

“…Huh?”

Vivian stared at the tentacle and then followed it back to Mavis. The mage’s eyes went wide and she scampered backwards.

“You…You saved me last night.”

Mavis said nothing.

“Y-You don’t want to eat me?”

Mavis continued to say nothing.

Vivian slowly inched her way towards Mavis and extended a trembling hand. She reached forward and lightly tapped the slime.

Mavis hesitated, but it hadn’t forgotten what Theo told it. A talking slime was simply too rare to survive in the company of raiders. Therefore, Mavis said nothing.

“O-Ok. I guess you’re friendly.”

Vivian sighed in relief. She wasn’t sure if this slime was trying to comfort her, but it had definitely helped her calm down. Crying here wouldn’t do any good. In fact, making loud noises in an area full of monsters would be the fastest way to join her teammates. Vivian drew upon her limited experience and tucked her sorrow away. Right now, she needed a plan.

“Well, there’s only one thing to do now.” Vivian shook her head ruefully. “I’m only a couple days away from the portal. It’s time to go home.”

When Mavis heard this, it perked up. During an intense moment, Mavis had declared that it would find the one-way portal on its own. Now that it had calmed down, Mavis knew that was thoroughly impossible. A slime’s vision only extended six meters in any direction. The situation would be comparable to a human travelling while only staring at their feet. If Vivian was going to the portal, then Mavis couldn’t let this chance slip by.

“Why am I talking to myself…Anyways, uh, thank you, slime.” Vivian turned to Mavis and bowed slightly. “Bye, bye.”

Vivian stood up and started walking away. Mavis followed in its blob form. The mage looked back and shuddered. She picked up the pace, but Mavis wasn’t shaken. Vivian was reluctant to chase the slime away, and so she decided to let it follow her.

“Positives…” Vivian muttered. After a moment, she suddenly stopped walking. “Oh yea…How could I forget?”

Mavis watched as Vivian began to chuckle. It wasn’t a particularly happy laugh. Instead, the woman sounded relieved.

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“I’m free. I’m really free.”

The corners of Vivian’s lips rose in sad smile.

“Everyone’s gone…and I had to cheat death…but I’m free.”

Mavis’s core began to rotate furiously. The slime had noticed another human enter its perception range. Now that the blood moon was over, Mavis had no desire to kill humans. However, it certainly felt enmity towards this one.

“Oh, Vivi! You survived!”

Vivian turned back slowly, as if reality would somehow change before their eyes met.

It didn’t.

“Marco…You survived, too.”

“Hah, don’t sound so happy to see me.”

Marco strode forward with a big smile. He wrapped his arm around Vivian’s shoulder and pulled her towards him.

“Its ok. That was a terrible ordeal, but we survived. That’s all that matters.”

The swordsman nodded solemnly while Vivian tried to squirm out of his grip. In response, Marco dug his fingers into her.

“And don’t think about telling anyone what really happened. Who’s going to believe you?”

Marco laughed as Vivian finally threw him off.

“After all, what kind of fiancé would shame her husband-to-be?”

“I-I get it, ok.” Vivian scowled while looking away.

Mavis watched this exchange in complete confusion. The slime couldn’t fathom why Vivian would allow this man to act so brazenly. Obviously, words like ‘fiancé’ and ‘husband-to-be’ went straight over its head. At the very least, Mavis understood that it was missing some piece of this puzzle.

Meanwhile, Marco’s eyes finally wandered off Vivian and over to her new companion. He quickly drew his sword and stepped in front of the mage.

“Jeez, how distraught were you? This monster almost got an easy meal.”

“No, wait! That’s-”

Marco pushed Vivian aside as he lunged forward. His sword erupted with white light. Rather than Marco thrusting, it almost looked as if the sword was pulling him forward. Mavis casually observed this oddity as it dodged with ease. The sword suddenly rotated sideways, forcing Marco to convert his attack into a slash. Mavis compressed its body and the blade passed right over it. A couple tentacles shot out to grab Marco’s wrist.

“Stop!”

Vivian jumped in between the two. Marco stopped feeding mana into his sword, while Mavis pulled its tentacles back. For a few long seconds, everyone froze in place.

“Ok, see. It stopped.” Vivian sighed, glancing warily at Mavis. “This monster saved me last night. Since then, it hasn’t attacked me or shown any signs of being hostile.”

“So, what?” Marco sneered. “Its tiny brain must have gotten fried by the blood moon. Easy kill.”

The slime’s body twitched, as if it was holding in a comeback.

“I just said that it saved me! Why should we kill it?”

“Because I want to, why else?”

Marco chuckled and grabbed Vivian’s arm. He tried to pull Vivian away, but she stood firm. The swordsman’s eyes narrowed. Marco sheathed his weapon and raised his other hand, preparing to strike Vivian.

“Don’t get in my w-”

Marco suddenly realized that a tentacle was wrapped around his leg. He noticed this around the same time that Mavis pulled him onto the ground. The slime slithered past Vivian and shot towards a disoriented Marco. Before it could reach him, an orange glow spread across Marco’s body. Vivian’s pupils constricted. She dove down to tackle the slime. The mage’s improvised pin wasn’t very effective, but her worried face made Mavis hesitate. Once again, Vivian stood between the two.

“I don’t want anyone else to die right now, ok?” Vivian’s pained tone finally caused Marco to back off.

The swordsman stood up and glared at Mavis. Mavis, despite its lack of eyes, glared back. After a moment, it noticed a glint of greed in Marco’s gaze.

“…Alright, fine. It just wants to follow you, right?” Marco shrugged. “Let’s go. I need get home and report this to my father.”

Vivian sighed in relief.

“Get out of here, it’s not safe for you.” Vivian whispered as she untangled herself from Mavis.

Marco started walking and Vivian rushed to catch up with him. Mavis paused for a moment and then crawled after them. Ultimately, Mavis couldn’t give up on finding the portal.

Their first day of travel was anything but relaxing. Marco and Vivian quickly found a trail to follow, which was where their troubles began. There were many winding trails and pathways through the second layer. Most monsters avoided these trails, making them relatively safe to travel. One would hardly find any treasure on them either, but Marco and Vivian weren’t worried about that. In exchange, they had to worry about other raiders.

Unsurprisingly, Mavis was attacked. Sometimes it was without warning, other times raiders called out to the duo. Vivian and Marco rebuffed these raiders without much trouble. Everyone was exhausted after the blood moon, and no one wanted to use their best attacks on a slime. Mavis was surprised to see that, after dodging one or two strikes, its assailants calmed down and listened to Vivian’s explanation. Some still eyed the slime greedily, like Marco did. But no one openly challenged them for it.

Mavis realized that this was the difference between humans and, so-called ‘human monsters’. The slime didn’t understand laws, but it could tell that something was preventing conflict between these raiders. Although, there didn’t seem to be any law against judging others.

“Those two are crazy, right? That’s crazy.”

“Ugh, don’t tell me we’re going to have another monster tamer in the second layer.”

These raiders were wise enough to whisper quietly, but it didn’t matter. If the sound carried into Mavis’s perception range, then it could hear them.

“Look at that hair. She’s obviously a mage.”

“Maybe she used some kind of charm spell?”

“On a slime? That’s kinda...hot.”

“What? Why?”

“I mean, it obviously isn’t for combat.”

“You guys are missing the point. What the hell are they feeding that thing? It’s huge!”

“Maybe it’s from the third layer. I heard there are some pretty large slimes down there.”

As a veteran eavesdropper, Mavis listened to every comment that was made. Eventually, it heard something interesting.

“Wait, that’s Vivian. We went to the same mage academy.”

“Eh? So, was she always…weird?”

“I don’t know, we didn’t talk much. I mean, she was a Brightstone kid.”

“An orphan, huh?”

“Then that fat guy with the sword?”

“Sold off.”

“Marrying off a talented mage like her, the folks at Brightstone must have made out like bandits.”

“It’s their version of finding a rare treasure. Ha-ha.”

Mavis was more than a little curious about Vivian and Marco’s relationship. Mainly because it wanted to understand why Vivian seemed to forgive Marco for betraying her. Most of the key words in their discussion went over Mavis’s head. However, there was one word that it did understand.

Sold.

Mavis felt it understood that word quite well.

As the trio continued down the trail, they noticed many sets of eyes staring at them. Meanwhile, one pair that they missed turned away. A single white wolf headed back into the forest.