“Mavis…”

The slime perked up. Before they sparred, Theo had something to say.

“Weapons, enchantments, your body’s characteristics…All of those are just tools. Our job as raiders is to make that arsenal greater than the sum of its parts. During this fight, I want to show you what that means.”

“…Ok.”

Mavis’s three tentacles swayed nervously as it looked at Theo. The outlaw’s four most prominent pieces of gear—his cloak, vambraces, boots and dagger—were known variables. He was also wearing the Stalker Gloves, which Mavis had experience using. Theo’s only new piece of gear was a brown headband. The slime frowned as its gaze fell on the disturbingly realistic eye at the center of the cloth. Even a normal, brainless, slime could have guessed that he’d gotten it from those moths.

Theo’s figure blurred, and Mavis braced itself as he charged forward. This was a combo it had seen many times before. The outlaw absorbed the shock with his vambraces as he collided with Mavis. A chunk of slime splattered to the ground and Mavis’s core shuddered. Five seconds into their duel and it had already lost one hand.

Shifting his weight, Theo cut in an arc to ward off two tentacles that were creeping up on him from above. He jumped back and swiped at the air with his free hand. A heavy gust of wind pressed down on the slime.

*Fwip*

Just as Mavis managed to lift its head, one of Theo’s spare daggers sailed into its throat. Obviously, Mavis wouldn’t die from a dagger to the neck, but the result was just as damning. The soft slime was cleanly severed, and Mavis was decapitated.

With one hand and no head, Mavis appeared be in dire straits. In reality, the slime’s only loss was the Blade of Dismissal in its right hand.

Even so, it panicked.

Mavis had never been overwhelmed like this. It could see Theo’s attacks coming, but it couldn’t dodge them. In its current state, it was completely unprepared for the outlaw’s third strike.

Theo’s boots flashed as he sprung forward. This time, he dropped his dagger and balled his hand into a fist. Mavis failed to react as he drove his knuckles into its left side. This blow shook the slime’s core, which had been frighteningly close to the point of impact.

“Ok, that’s one loss.” Theo muttered, stepping back.

“…Eh?” Mavis breathed.

“Your core was there, right? If I hadn’t dropped my dagger, you’d be dead.”

In a mix of relief, exhaustion and resignation, Mavis melted into its blob form.

“How?”

Theo cocked his head in response. “How what?”

“How you…know…where core…was?”

“I removed your right hand, making you feel vulnerable from that side. Then, I removed your head—the second most likely place for you to hide it. Finally, with your top and right compromised, I went for your left.”

Mavis sank even further until it became a puddle.

“Get up, we’re going again.”

Theo frowned as the puddle by his feet writhed in frustration.

“Didn’t you evolve into some kind of rare slime?” He taunted. “Please tell me you’ve changed more than just your color.”

Mavis reformed into a humanoid and glared at Theo through its mask.

“Let’s…go again.”

“That’s the spirit.”

After they returned to their original positions, Vivian double-checked the area and gave the go ahead. Theo rushed forward again, but Mavis was ready this time. The slime expanded, threatening to swallow its opponent whole. His course was already set, and so Theo couldn’t avoid a collision.

Enlivened by its success, Mavis leveraged the full weight of its body to restrain Theo. But to its surprise, the outlaw didn’t struggle. Instead, the eye on his headband blinked and then he vanished.

It was as if he’d never existed.

A split-second later, Mavis felt a dagger plunge into its back. Normally, its omni-directional vision would have caught this sneak attack, but Mavis had been too focused on Theo’s illusion. The unpleasant power of Voidcutter caused the slime to shudder as its wound grew deeper.

This time, Mavis was sure that Theo was there. He was right behind it. Mavis produced a tentacle and swung it at the outlaw. In response, he jumped. Because the Stalker Gloves reduced his weight, he sailed over the tentacle.

Mavis fumed. Theo seemed to be underestimating it.

The tentacle chased Theo upwards while Mavis formed several more to trap him. But then, with a single blast of wind, Theo flew even higher. Once he was out of Mavis’s reach, Theo threw his dagger. Voidcutter tore through the slime, causing its already injured form to collapse.

Mavis wanted to scream as it realized that its core had been exposed.

Using another gust of wind, Theo launched himself towards a disoriented Mavis. Tentacles rushed to restrain him, but they were too late. Theo wrapped his hand around Mavis’s partially exposed core and the fight was over.

“Did you forget to use your weapons?”

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“No…but…couldn’t…”

Once Mavis expanded to trap Theo, it had already deformed its arms. Reshaping them in the heat of battle was too difficult, especially against someone like Theo.

The outlaw smirked.

“Hmm~? Well, I guess you were ok. Based on that performance, I can see your full potential.”

The slime’s tentacles lashed in anger and Theo’s grin widened. He brought his thumb and index finger together until they were barely an inch apart.

“Congratulations, you’ve almost peaked.”

Theo chuckled as Mavis stomped the ground. Just a couple months ago, he’d been teasing his brothers in a similar manner. Those warm memories caused him to smile, but they also made him realize something. Somehow, it was more fun to tease Mavis.

Vivian watched the pair with an exasperated expression. This scene brought back memories of boys who had messed with her at the orphanage. Seeing it recreated here, by an outlaw and a slime, was…unfitting to say the least.

“…Again.” Mavis insisted.

- - -

The third layer’s sweltering breeze made an eerie sound as it was funneled through the gaping hole in a springbark. This low din fell into harmony with the others. Porous trees littered the surrounding area.

But it wasn’t just trees.

Roots had been severed, soil had been overturned, and even a nearby boulder was crumbling on one side.

Theo coughed as blood began to pool around him. His nerves calmed somewhat as he saw Vivian rushing over.

“You went too far again.” The mage scolded. “Stop pushing her to go all out.”

As Vivian healed him, he grimaced.

“I can’t help it. Two weeks and she’s already like this?”

Theo tried to chuckle, but he started coughing instead.

“It just isn’t fair…”

A shimmering mass of slime snaked its way towards the humans. When it reached them, Mavis’s color quickly returned to its normal teal. As it reformed its body, Mavis lowered its head.

“I’m sorry…Theo.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.”

Two weeks after their first spar, Mavis had achieved an overwhelming victory. Just as the slime expected, the greatest change wasn’t in its gear but its technique. Mavis had learned a lot about how to leverage its natural advantages. Though, it was still working on controlling them.

Mavis hadn’t neglected human weapons either. After all, it wouldn’t be able to fight the hydra as a slime. Unfortunately, it hadn’t found any upgrades for its swords. The party’s only new gold-tier weapon was a cumbersome spear, which had been quickly tossed into Vivian’s storage alongside Tarq’s battle-axe.

After farming monsters without any distractions, Mavis learned just how frustrating it was to raid without trading. Any other party would have been excited by their haul, but these treasures were useless to Theo’s group. Metal armor, niche tools, and gear that conflicted with their current equipment had filled the mage’s storage to capacity.

Even if they gained the third layer’s teleport privilege, Vivian didn’t feel safe enough to enter a town. Theo obviously couldn’t go, and neither could Mavis. For now, their unfortunate hoard would be neglected.

But they had bigger things to worry about.

After Theo, Mavis and Vivian returned to their hollow, the outlaw checked Nora’s compass. The boss hunting meeting was less than twenty-four hours away. Theo sighed as he stowed the magic tool. They had done everything that they could to prepare.

“Mavis, Vivian, come here for a moment.”

The two did as they were asked and sat down beside Theo.

“Tomorrow’s the day. We made a promise with Nora, but honestly, that isn’t important. Not compared to our lives, anyway. If either of you think this is too dangerous, then we can pass on this fight.”

“I think this is…important.” Mavis replied. “We should…fight.”

“Honestly, I don’t feel like I’m ready.” Vivian muttered. “But if you believe we are, then I’ll give it everything I have. I trust your judgement.”

“I wouldn’t want to fight this boss with just the three of us.” Theo admitted. “But I think we have a good shot with Nora and the other teams.”

“…Which brings me to the next issue. A lot of people will be in this for the teleport privilege, but we don’t care about that. The Torrent Guardian drops gear that will be useful in the fourth layer. That’s what we’re after, and we’ll be competing with Nora’s group to get it.”

“So, killing the hydra isn’t enough.” Vivian inferred. “We’ll have to hurt it more than anyone else.”

“Boss rewards are tied to individuals. Realistically, it’s me and Mavis against Nora and Linderman.”

“Leave to me.” The slime patted its chest.

“Just don’t use that attack.” Theo warned. “Not even as a finisher. If Nora and Linderman find out that you’re a slime, things will get bad.”

“…Yes.”

While Mavis deflated, Theo turned to Vivian.

“Have you made any progress on Mavis’s mask and cloak?”

Now, it was Vivian’s turn to deflate.

“I-I’m close…”

“That’s fine, we wouldn’t have time to train with them anyway. Can you take out the rest of our gear? Here’s how we’ll be using them tomorrow…”

Dusk never fell in the third layer, but the trio eventually had to sleep. The next morning, they set out to rendezvous with Nora. As they neared the meeting spot, Mavis stopped in its tracks. Seeing this, Theo and Vivian tensed up.

“What is it?” Theo whispered.

“Very…strange…man? I don’t know…the word.”

“Are we safe?”

“Safe…yes.”

Pushing his worries aside, Theo kept moving. The trees became sparse as they entered a clearing.

“Hmm.” Theo put a hand to his chin as he appraised the scene before him. “The word you’re looking for is tacky.”

Vivian nodded softly as she looked at the massive signpost that marked Nora’s meeting spot.

Urgent Quest! Operation Torrent Takedown!

Gather here, brave souls!

As Theo read it aloud, Mavis tilted its head.

“What is…Quest?”

“Bards—people who tell stories—like to sing about heroes going on quests. They’re important challenges, I guess.”

“Is this what surprised you?” Vivian asked.

“No…”

Shaking its head, Mavis pointed to the sign’s base. There was a young man sitting behind it. His arms were chained to the post and there was a bag covering his head. Beyond that, he seemed perfectly healthy, which was the only reason why Theo hadn’t ordered them to run away.

“Oh! You three made it!” Nora’s elated greeting caused them to shiver.

The female raider shot across the clearing and embraced Vivian before any of them could react.

“I’m really glad. Honestly, this one seemed a bit weak, so I was worried.”

“Please let go.” Vivian cried hoarsely.

“Sorry~.”

As Nora pulled away, Theo looked towards the signpost.

“Who is that guy?”

“Oh, don't worry about him. He’s going to help us with the boss.”

“Then why is he tied up?”

Nora folded her arms and sighed.

“Because he went back on our agreement. I’ll let that pompous brat out once the meeting starts.”

When Theo and Vivian continued to stare at her, Nora waved her hand.

“This isn’t an intimidation tactic or anything like that. He’s a special case.”

After some significant prodding, the trio took a seat at a long wooden table. The lavish furniture looked extremely out of place in the jungle, but no one questioned it. All three of them became more accepting once they realized that Nora had prepared food.

Other teams funneled in as they ate. Things became lively and people started to chat.

“I can’t believe we’re going to fight a boss.” One of them raved.

“I can’t believe she wasn’t stolen.” Another said. “Everyone and their mother wants to kill this hydra now.”

“Oh, because she was rampaging every day?”

“Yea.”

“But she suddenly calmed down a week ago. I wonder why?”

Mavis, who had been listening in, dropped its spoon. As the slime focused its senses on the ‘pompous brat’, it began to shake.

Coming here might have been a very bad idea.