“Oh,” Alex muttered, looking out from the corridor. “The enemy’s getting reinforcements, too. Definitely not standard.”

He didn’t know why he spoke out loud. Not for Marshmallow and Blub, was it? The little monsters listened attentively to their master. They couldn’t understand what he said, but the rat wagged her tail happily, and the slime rocked back and forth, obviously pleased to be included in these incomprehensible but fascinating discussions.

Meanwhile, Alex watched the rat-guards closely. Their numbers had increased — another elite fighter had joined the guards. It was slightly taller than the crimson rat, its claws shimmered acid green, and emerald drool dripped from its open mouth. It was definitely not at the zero level, but with advanced pedigree.

Alex’s thoughts raced like sparrows. Two unusual rats at once… They weren’t just standing there for nothing. Was it worth the risk? Well, it had to be. And if all their minions died, they could just retreat.

“Marshmallow, let’s attack them,” Alex whispered. “Send half of the minions on the zero-leveled, and the other half on the colored rats. Blub, stay closer to the fight and heal our fighters, but only those fighting the colored ones.”

Alex suspected that Marshmallow might not be able to subdue the crimson and green rats — the difference in their power levels wouldn’t allow it. Therefore, there would be no one to replace the fighters who fell in the confrontation with them. Blub would need to be there to heal their living shield.

Alex and his Alpha Rat moved a little deeper into the cave. The view was better from there.

The minions charged into battle. At first, the rat-guards didn’t understand why they were being attacked by their own kind. This hesitation cost the enemies one common rat’s life. Then the chaotic fighting began. Alex couldn’t tell the difference between his minions and the foes. However, Marshmallow clearly sensed her fighters. Perhaps she remembered each of them by their muzzles. Rats were very intelligent creatures indeed.

The green-eyed rat turned out to be poisonous. Its one bite or a claw strike made the minions fall lifeless. Blub couldn’t even spit at them in time — it was too late. Alex’s stomach churned. The green-eyed rat was very, very dangerous. But it was obvious that the red rat was even more terrifying. It crashed into the battle like a tank, mercilessly crushing the minions with its armored sides, breaking limbs and bodies, then finishing them off with claws and fangs.

Alex, however, suffered no casualties. In exchange for the fallen minions, Marshmallow quickly subdued the guards. As Alex had suspected, the red and green-eyed ones were beyond the control of the F-rank Rat King. Only ordinary gray rats turned into her minions.

Soon the crimson and green-eyed rats were left against ten gray ones. Marshmallow compensated for the fallen warriors with her enemies. Blub came closer. Now he was able to spit at the wounded minions before they fell lifeless from the poison of the green-eyed or the monstrous claws of the crimson.

At some point, the crimson rat abruptly broke away from the fight. The minions stood in its way. It scattered them like skittles with one blow and fell, its plates clattering on the ground. The crimson paw reached forward, the sharp claws glinting in the yellowish, moldy glow, silently slashing through Blub.

“No!” Alex gasped.

That was horrible! The slime was gone in an instant. There was no Blub. Only the fallen, lifeless, jelly-like mass remained.

It was sad, but there was no bad without good. The crimson left the green-eyed rat alone against ten, and they quickly tore it apart. Then the remnants of the army rushed towards the crimson. It hadn’t managed to get up, entangled in Blub’s sticky slime. The minions wasted no time, piling on top, biting from all sides, and crushing with their mass. The crimson rat had only a few moments left.

Alex sighed heavily. Damn, it was really sad. He didn’t grieve the loss of the healer but the slime himself. Marshmallow’s tail drooped too. She had also grown attached to the ‘jelly.’

But maybe there was still hope? What if he summoned the familiar again?

Alex quickly accessed the technique’s window and clicked on ‘Number of Familiars.’

Number of Familiars: 2/3.

The first line with the slime’s description darkened. Alex noticed a blinking closed window and hurried to open it.

Your familiar perished.

The familiar can be resurrected in: 9:55… 9:54… 9:53…

Required component: Corpse of a Magical Slime.

System, what the hell? Ten minutes? How are we going to get through battle without the healer? Though, wait, there’s no other slime around anyway, so whatever.

Meanwhile, the commotion ahead died down. They had finally finished off the crimson rat. An unusually bright white sphere rose from the dead creature and merged with Alex’s chest. He hurried to check the status.

Characteristics:

Strength: 8.

Agility: 9.

Endurance: 8/12.

Unspent Points: 2.

Accumulated Essences: 15 (White Faint), 1 (White Bright).

Notes: You’re a terrible commander. Better the Rat command the Slime than you.

Alex didn’t pay any attention to the System’s mockery. He was used to it. What intrigued him more was the newly acquired trophy. Judging by the shining white essence, the crimson-eyed rat had climbed the pedigree stairs twice, which made his essence... brighter. The green-eyed one, on the other hand, must have been the Poisonous Rat on the first level. It was good that Alex hadn’t chosen that path for Marshmallow. The King’s Bone Tiara was much more useful than poisonous green claws, and it gave greater opportunities. Deliberations about the evolution of the rats were certainly interesting, but the enemies had been killed about two minutes ago. And what did that mean? Right, it was time for the trophies.

Stepping over the dead rats, Alex moved into the darkest part of the cave, where the yellow glow of the mold barely reached. There was strangely little mold here too. He stumbled upon a stone partition, circled it almost by touch, and stepped around the corner. The light was dim again. Mold grew in this corner, and in the middle of the glowing hairy carpet, a flat boulder protruded. On it lay an uneven mirror shard.

Alex pressed his lips together in disappointment. Well, logically, rats liked shiny objects. But he still refused to believe that his precious monster had died in vain.

He approached the boulder and exhaled. Not in vain. The mirror exuded a faint turquoise light, as if from its depths. The System showed a message.

Remnants of unknown D-rank artifact. Properties unknown.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

D-rank was two levels above F. It seemed that the ranking system here was similar to the Earth games: A, B, C, D, E, F — from higher to lower.

There was no time to lose. What if reinforcements came to guard the rats’ treasure? Alex picked up the shard, which fit comfortably in his jacket pocket.

Returning from the corner, Alex inspected the dead rats. Two Magic Hearts gently illuminated the gray fur. Not many. Too bad, he had the minions who could now take them out by the dozen.

“Marshmallow, command your troops,” Alex nodded to the albino rat and then to the loot.

The albino rat understood quickly. She waved her tail, nodded with her tiara, and the others rushed to obey the order.

While the minions gnawed at the hearts, Alex circled around the crimson rat. He froze and blinked several times. No, it wasn’t an illusion. One of the monstrous claws on its front paw was glowing. Well, there was no such thing as strange loot, only specific one. The question was how to get it. Alex waved his hand at the rats. It wasn’t his concern; let the minions do it.

One of the creatures quickly followed his order. Alex twirled the ingredient in his hands, examined it and looked at the light through the nail plate.

Magical Rat’s Claw.

F-rank ingredient. Possesses increased sharpness and durability. Can be used to make magical weapons.

“I wish I had a backpack, or at least a bag,” Alex sighed, stuffing the trophy next to the shard in his pocket. “Or better yet, an inventory like in games, with a hundred slots.”

Marshmallow watched her owner with a tinge of sadness, as if she shared his discomfort. Then she simply disappeared. The time of the technique was over.

The rats suddenly stood and shook their heads. Some of the minions even hissed at Alex. He immediately called Marshmallow back. The Rat Queen promptly regained control over the emboldened rats.

Ugh, damn. It was dangerous to be among the minions without Marshmallow. They immediately started baring their teeth and snarling at Alex. He had to remember that. The key was not to neglect Endurance; without it, he couldn’t summon her.

“Let’s find Blub a body,” Alex quickly left the cave, checking the timer as he went. “Since the System allows us to retrieve him from the slime afterlife, we can’t let our comrade down. The gang is sacred.”

Nearby, a familiar slime was crawling around, emitting a poisonous fog. But it was better not to mess with it. What if it turned out to be a tenth-level monster? Surviving such an encounter would be a challenge.

Three caves later, Alex and Marshmallow spotted a blue slime. The minions immediately launched an attack. The slime knocked one down with an acidic spit. In an instant, its faint essence flew into Alex’s cache. Not bad. The rest quickly finished off the slime, so it didn’t have a chance to spit again.

Alex stood over the body of the defeated enemy. The main thing now was not to screw up. Blub wouldn't forgive him.

The timer showed one minute. Pacing from foot to foot, Alex couldn’t wait for the countdown to end. He was eager to witness the resurrection of his familiar when he suddenly heard a voice! It was hoarse, authoritative, and tinged with nagging pain. It seemed to be a woman’s voice, but Alex wasn’t sure. It came from everywhere and nowhere at once. The voice cried:

“Human! Come to me! To me!”

If this voice were a dream, he would wake up in a cold sweat. A shiver ran down his back. It was clear that the voice’s owner was suffering terribly. It was attracting Alex. He would have run towards it, but he didn’t know where to go. The voice stopped abruptly, but its echo lingered. Alex still felt the pull into the depths of the dungeon, though much weaker.

The timer disappeared, ten minutes had passed. Alex pressed the dimmed name of his familiar.

Do you wish to revive your familiar? Yes/No.

Of course, yes!

The Tower with a spire appeared. The lifeless slime turned into a glowing ball and was pulled into the arched window. Alex’s first instinct was to summon Blub, but he held back. First, he opened the list of familiars.

1. The Spitting Slime — an F-rank monster with the zero level of Pedigree.

2. The Rat King — an F-rank monster with the second level of Pedigree.

3. -

The Slime had zeroed, as he’d expected. It was a kind of penalty for getting a familiar killed. In the early levels, of course, it wasn’t very expensive to pay for a familiar’s growth, only ten Faint Essences, but problems with resource scarcity would begin later for sure. The lesson was clear: familiars should be protected, or he wouldn’t find enough rats to upgrade them.

Alex pressed the slime button.

Choose the development direction for the Common Slime:

1. Spitting Slime.

2. Spiky Slime.

3. Poisonous Slime.

4. Flying Slime

5. Combat Slime.

6. Giant Slime.

7. Armored Slime.

8. Holy Slime.

Wow, eight directions! Marshmallow only had five. It turned out that slimes had many talents; they could fly, grow into giants, or hide inside armor. But what did the Holy Slime do? Forgive sins?

Alex scratched his head. What option should he choose? He had already tried the Spitting Slime, which could later evolve into three directions, with only the Acidic Spitting Slime looking particularly dangerous. Should he choose another Healing Spitting Slime? It was useful, but to progress through the dungeon full of monsters, he needed a true fighting machine. So, the Combat Slime.

Lines scrolled before his eyes:

Species evolution... Pedigree change... Transition to the first level. Evolution complete.

“Now let’s take a look at our upgraded beauty,” Alex muttered to himself, activating the technique. “I hope it’s the same Blub, just loaded with grenades.”

A beam of light materialized the slime from the mark on his hand. Alex examined it, but couldn’t decide if he’d hit the biological jackpot or had a dud on his hands. Blub now resembled a leather sack filled with jelly. His surface had hardened, his color turned yellow, and a long horn protruded from his center. Marshmallow approached the slime, sniffed and licked him. She recognized the scent.

Alex had only five White Faint Essences left, and he couldn’t raise Blub to the second level of the slime yet. He was very curious to see what the Combat Slime could evolve into.

Blub had acquired an excitable temperament: he made aggressive noises and twitched his horn as if searching for an enemy. He even growled at the nearby rats.

“We should try it in practice,” Alex decided. “What good is guessing?”

His legs pushed him forward. The voice continued to pull Alex, and his body couldn’t resist. He chose tunnels and paths that carried the call, listening to its faint whispers.

Along the way they found a group of rats for an experiment. The Combat Slime lunged at the enemies, easily piercing them with his horn. The rat claws didn’t harm him, only slipped off his tough skin, and he moved much faster than the previous Blub.

In one of the caves, they encountered a blue Spitting Slime. Marshmallow’s cavalry quickly dispatched it, and Alex finally received his first ingredient from Blub’s brethren — a glowing piece of slime. For some reason, it smelled of mint.

Acidic Slime.

F-rank ingredient. Used to craft certain poisonous artifacts and rare potions.

Be careful, the slime is poisonous!

“I can’t chew it like gum,” Alex realized immediately as he leaned over the defeated slime. Part of the dead monster glowed softly, like an aquamarine mineral in the light. “So where should I put it?”

He didn’t have a container to collect the liquid ingredient. This meant that he had to leave it behind. What a pity! Loot gone to waste!

Their next opponent was a Giant Slime the size of a German shepherd. The battle was fierce. The minions gnawed at it from all sides, while Blub rammed his horn into its ‘forehead’. Finally, with their combined efforts, they managed to incapacitate the beast, and — praise the System! — an ingredient lit up.

Giant Slime’s Horn.

F-rank ingredient. Used to make Strength-enhancing elixirs. If you grind the horn into a powder, mix it with water, and drink it, you’ll temporarily increase your Strength by 4 points.

The pocket in Alex’s jacket where he had stashed the horn stuck out awkwardly to the side. It was uncomfortable, but there was no choice — he couldn’t leave four Strength points on the ground.

“Ah, where’s my in-game inventory when I need it?” Alex sighed with a hint of frustration, but the System didn’t deign to respond. Only Marshmallow licked his pant leg to comfort him.

Their progress continued peacefully. Alex’s party defeated every rat and slime that crossed their path. His wallet of essences grew with each victory. He had already collected ten essences, enough for Blub’s evolution, but Alex didn’t care because of the constant call. He understood that it wasn’t wise to follow it, as it could be dangerous. But the magical voice made him forget all caution, and so Alex went on, approaching something unknown.

In one of the caves, he noticed a rainbow glow on the ceiling. It was coming from a small window in the wall below. Beneath the window, uneven stone protrusions piled up. It wasn’t an exit to the surface, of course — it would be foolish to hope for that. But it was worth a look. Alex carefully climbed the protrusions to reach the ceiling and peered into the gap. His eyes widened.

There was a huge cave filled with hundreds of slimes of all shapes, sizes, and colors. They clung to the walls, covered the floor, and hung from the stalactites. The far wall of the cave was made entirely of ice, and was also encased by Blub’s brethren. But nearly a third of the cave was occupied by an enormously massive slime. It could easily swallow a cargo Boeing 747-8F, and there would still be room for a few crop dusters in its bottomless belly.

“Do humans even live here?” Alex muttered in amazement.

He noticed a sudden movement to the right and jumped back. A blue slime landed at the edge of the rift and immediately ate through the stone, releasing smoke. Sounds came from the depths of the cave. They resembled the murmur of rivers, the roar of waterfalls and the hiss of lava.

“To hell with all of you!” Alex quickly descended along the protrusions.

He hastily led his party away from the window. Behind them were the sounds of crashing waves, the roar of a rockslide, and the sizzle of acid.

Only a few minutes later did Alex stop and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. The call had receded, no longer interrupting his thoughts.

“We urgently need to become stronger, guys,” he concluded, looking at the slime. “Now, Blub, let’s evolve you.”

“Blub-Blub,” the slime replied, nodding his horn in agreement.

Alex called up the Tower’s interface. His pupils dilated and his breathing quickened. He was incredibly curious about the development possibilities for his horned familiar. What if it could one day reach the same incredible size as that giant slime?