Alex decided to start by checking if he had enough Essence for Blub. He called up his status.

Characteristics:

Strength: 8.

Agility: 9.

Endurance: 1/12.

Unspent Points: 2

Accumulated Essences: 32 (White Faint), 2 (White Bright).

Notes: You’re still weak. Your strength is comparable to that of a beetle.

Alex clenched his fists. Only one point of Endurance! He realized it just in time. How could he have missed such expenditure? Just a little more and his pets would have disappeared and he would have fallen powerless, surrounded by the rats that weren’t under Marshmallow’s control. What a wonderful prospect.

Wow, thirty-two Faint Essences! Not bad. But where did the two Bright Ones come from? One was from the crimson rat, of course, but the other? Could it be from that giant slime?

He scratched his head. His condition was abnormal: the last hours in the dungeons had simply disappeared from his mind — fighting the rats, collecting the trophies, exploring new caves — where was all that? It had all vanished without a trace. Time had passed unnoticed, from the moment he’d fought for the mirror shard to spying on the slimes’ cave. Everything was so blurry and indistinct, as if fading away.

Alex checked his pockets. His fingers pulled out a total of four Magic Rats’ Hearts. Where had he found so many? He clearly remembered that he had only acquired two hearts. Although... yes... When he dug deep into his memory, vague recollections of getting two more surfaced. But if they hadn’t been in his pocket, he probably wouldn’t have remembered.

Now that the loose end had been caught, Alex began to unravel the whole tangle. The missed and vanished memories slowly returned to the forefront of his mind. He immediately remembered how he had put other Hearts into his mouth. And how he had summoned back Blub and Marshmallow. All this was because of that call. It disturbed his mind, swirling his memories like ice cubes slowly melting in light brown whiskey. When had this voice first appeared? Who was responsible for this relentless pounding on Alex’s skull?

All right, there was only one point of Endurance left! What was he waiting for? He urgently need to replenish it. Alex tossed two Hearts into his mouth, crunched them, and swallowed, then took a look at the characteristics to calm down. His Endurance increased to eleven. That was better.

Stepping over a crack in the floor, Alex heard the powerful voice again. The strength in the call had intensified, forming words:

“Hurry up! Don’t linger, human!”

Alex understood the words, even though the language was unfamiliar. Had the System made him a polyglot? And why ‘human’? Was it a local form of address or was there another reason? To be honest, such an address was a little unsettling.

The voice faded, but the resonant echoes remained. Unfortunately, there was no ‘off’ button. To distract himself from the persistent, never-ending call, Alex shook his head. He fought the urge to follow where he was being led.

Alex opened the Tower icon and when the list of familiars appeared, he selected Blub.

Choose function:

1. Roll back the Pedigree to the first level. Cost: 50 White Faint Essences.

2. Advance the Pedigree to the second level. Cost: 10 White Faint Essences.

The second option, of course. It revealed the following choices:

Choose the development direction for the Combat Slime:

1. Fiery Slime.

2. Armored Slime.

3. Electric Slime.

4. Vibrating Slime.

5. Giant Combat Slime.

Such a dilemma. A Giant Combat Blub would be quite handy. Such a round ‘rhinoceros’ would trample rats like ants. But then he remembered the big slime that had been pierced so easily by Blub. And why? Because that slime had been too slow. So which should he choose? Electric or Fiery? How strong were they? If they were strong enough, could they hit enemies accurately without harming the rat-allies? What if they hit everyone indiscriminately? It seemed very doubtful... What else was there? An Armored Slime was probably more defensive, then the last remaining option logically needed to be offensive. Thinking about it, a combination of Combat and Vibrating sounded interesting. It had to be powerful. Well, decision made — the Vibrating Slime.

Blub transformed in the chosen direction, but not drastically: his horn changed, taking on the shape of a screw thread. It also acquired a layer of white dust from the high frequency vibrations. If looking closely, even the air around his horn trembled slightly.

“Blub,” the familiar said, noticing his owner’s keen attention.

“Stop vibrating, or you’ll soon turn into stone,” Alex ordered.

Blub complied with an effort. His horn calmed down, and the familiar shook it to get rid of the dust.

“Let’s continue our quest,” Alex sighed when he heard the call again.

His mini-army of monsters moved forward. The minions led the way as scouts, while two more rats brought up the rear to prevent anyone from sneaking up behind them.

This time, Alex tried to move in the opposite direction of the call, away from where it was beckoning him. His primary goal was to find a way to the surface, not to fall into the unknown creature’s clutches. Trying to distract himself, Alex examined his characteristics. He pressed each line one by one with his gaze, hoping to uncover some hidden window.

He managed to press the number 2 in the Accumulated Essences which meant the amount of White Bright Essences.

Do you wish to convert 2 Essences (White, Bright) into 20 Essences (White, Faint)?

Remembering the exchange rate, Alex refrained from converting the Bright Essences. It was better to keep capital in different assets to minimize risk. And the Essences were his capital.

Alex closed the window and concentrated on the path. After a while, he scolded himself mentally. Unconsciously he was heading towards the voice again. His feet had returned on the track towards the call. Maybe going his own way was beyond his abilities. But Alex would keep trying.

A fork in the path appeared ahead. Alex ordered Marshmallow to lead the vanguard into the left passage while the call came from the right one.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“We’re looking for a way to freedom, not to dance to someone else’s tune,” Alex said to himself.

“Blub,” the slime echoed in agreement.

Soon, the enhanced Blub more than justified the Essences that had been invested in him. The familiar effortlessly sliced through all the enemies they encountered. The rats and other slimes were no match for him. A single blow from the screw-like horn and they fell lifeless. Out of curiosity, Alex asked Blub to pierce a rock. The horn drill sliced through the stone like through butter, only heating up slightly. Alex cautiously touched the horn with his bare hand.

“It’s like a diamond crown,” he whistled. “With your help, Blub, we can build tunnels.”

“Blub-Blub,” the horned one agreed.

After a few more caves, a real chill set in. The temperature had been dropping all the way, with ice on the walls and crystal white icicles hanging from the ceiling. But now, even a puff of air escaping from his mouth immediately turned into the tiniest particles of ice. Alex’s fighters also exhaled white, frosty vapor. All except Blub. The slime, it seemed, didn’t breathe at all.

Alex welcomed the cold. It meant the surface was close and the exit was somewhere high in the mountains. The chill in the air confirmed it.

“We’ll get a glimpse of the local sun soon,” Alex smiled, and Marshmallow immediately wagged her tail.

Alex noted the vapor that formed in the cold air after speaking, and he exhaled strongly a couple of times, just to admire his breathing — the best proof that the exit was close. He imagined how he would get out, the bright northern sun rising above him, the icy peaks glistening all around.

With each step, the gray stone became scarcer, hidden beneath the ice. The floor and walls were covered in translucent crystal, with small snowdrifts forming in the corners. Yet the call persisted in his mind. Alex suddenly realized that he was again heading towards it. But it was too late to turn back — there were no more forks in the path, and going back was now beyond his strength: daylight and fresh air were so close.

They passed through several more caves and descended into a sloping corridor. The rats clawed their way down the smooth ice. At the end of the tunnel, they reached a snowy wall with an opening — a wide gap in the ice and stone.

The call ended abruptly. Alarmed, Alex scanned the corridor. The walls near the entrance began to widen considerably, and two chasms or pits gaped on either side of the straight path. Alex craned his neck and peered into one of them. Rats swarmed below. Lots and lots of rats. There was so little room for them, they were crawling on top of each other. It was the same in the second pit — two rat nests bubbling on either side of the path.

“The last level,” Alex sighed.

He was sure that the path led directly to the surface. There was no other explanation. This gap in the white icy surface was the exit from the dungeon, the door to the sunlit realm.

The minions in the vanguard approached the pits. Immediately, the rats below twitched and hissed. The monsters howled, jumped, clawed at the slope, clung to the stone, and climbed up.

With a quick glance at them, Alex made his decision.

“Marshmallow, Blub, send everyone into the passage! You too!”

He sent his entire mini-army forward. First, the minions rushed forth, then the horned slime growled, followed by the albino rat. Alex was the last.

As soon as a minion stepped onto the ice between the pits, a unified, wild scream echoed through the caves. Hordes of the rats poured out like gray rivers. A frenzied melee ensued. Blub brandished his horn in fury, roaring and rumbling, clearing a path through the gray mass.

To Alex’s right, a gray shadow with a dull glow flashed by. Reacting instinctively, he kicked it with his boot. The pain shot through his foot, but the rat didn’t even stagger, it just growled in anger. Its fur shimmered like steel, and its neck folded into neat stripes like the armor of a battleship, its flexible plates concealing iron fangs. Alex was drenched in sweat. He couldn’t kick this rat away; he’d only hurt his legs.

But help came unexpectedly. Blub suddenly dashed backwards without any command. In an instant, his vibrating horn pierced the armored rat’s body. The slime recoiled, and the defeated foe was thrown back into the pit. But new steel rats were already swarming out of the chasm. They descended on Blub like an avalanche of iron, burying him under their bodies. Without thinking, Alex kicked another enemy again. Agonizing pain shot through his foot, but the rat recoiled and Blub emerged from beneath the gray mass. But he didn’t move.

Your familiar perished.

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

Required component: Corpse of a Magical Slime.

What? Again?

Alex left his familiar behind — he would resurrect him later, no big deal —and dashed down the path. Most of the rats were already down. The rest was held off by the minions. Marshmallow rushed to help her subordinates, flicking her tail at Alex as if to say, ‘Run, master.’ Alex needed no further encouragement. He circled the pile of the fighting rats and jumped into the gap.

The sounds of battle were muffled by the icy walls. Alex looked around. It was the mouth of a vast cave. Ice glittered everywhere, its crystalline surface sparkling in the bright light. Above, in the ceiling, a wide, round hole gaped like an industrial borehole. Through it, pure blue sky greeted Alex. He gasped desperately, trying to blink away the tears of pain. The sunlight burned his eyes badly.

The cave was littered with the bodies of rats and slimes, with most of them piled up in the center. There was an icy coffin there, and piles of slain monsters surrounded it, rising to the level of its sides.

Looking at the coffin, Alex immediately remembered the call.

“Well, we’ve met at last, Sir Voice,” he said quietly.

Carefully, trying not to crunch the ice shards beneath his feet, Alex approached the translucent coffin. From a distance, he saw its contents and his eyes widened.

“Or rather Lady.”

***

Interlude.

Inside the icy coffin, a girl of unearthly beauty lay still, dusted with snow. Her skin was whiter than the snow itself. Long hair, like sparkling pearls, cascaded down her rounded shoulders and onto a dress with a shimmering pattern. She had expressive black eyebrows and bright, shining eyes.

A terrible wound had marred this beautiful creation — a deep, jagged gash began at her right side and rose straight up to her throat. The snowy blanket was splattered with blood, red on white, and the wound was bleeding profusely, with countless black dots pulsating within it.

The girl was dying, and she was well aware of it. She needed energy, lots of it. She had slain hordes of monsters in the cave and drained them, but it still wasn’t enough. The life meter was running down its last seconds. She had spent them wisely, creating a histoparasite enzyme in her blood. A monstrous step, deadly dangerous. The parasite drained her organs, fed on her flesh, but in return it didn’t allow the host’s body to die immediately, providing tiny amounts of energy, enough to delay the inevitable. Still, the girl was dying. Slowly, inexorably. That was why she had lured the human to her. Humans had a special kind of energy, very nourishing, very delicious... After completely draining the human, the girl would be able to partially heal her wound. This would allow her to neutralize the dangerous histoparasite, which was currently vital to her survival, and leave Lezard’s Dungeon as soon as possible. The deadly place posed a threat to all uninvited guests. The underground catacombs and labyrinths were teeming with powerful monsters. The girl’s ice currently held the creatures back, sealing them in the caves, but sooner or later, they would break free, and then her end would come.

The girl was impatient. She could feel how slow and weak the human was — he had been constantly held back by monsters of low level. Fortunately, the wretched rats hadn’t devoured her living vaccine. It was amazing how he had ended up so close to this place. When he had appeared, the girl had only sensed a few spatial disturbances and redirected them as close to her as possible. That was how the human had ended up where he was now. She had expected at least a D-rank creature to come to her, but her future meal turned out to be an absolute weakling. Well, at least it would be easier to subdue him.

With her call, she had lured her dinner closer, and there he was — pathetic, pale, frightened, and incredibly delicious, even his smell gave him away.

The girl waited patiently for him to approach. Her heart ached with the feeling that her life was slipping away. She became anemic, her limbs grew weak, and the histoparasite raged, devouring her erythrocytes. She had very little time left, and at this point she could die from a little sneeze. But fooling the weakling was still within her capabilities.

The human approached her far too cautiously and slowly. For some reason, he had resurrected a slime on the way. The girl snorted in irritation and resumed her call. This time, however, she subjugated his will to hers and forced him to run towards her.

“Oh...” Alex leaned over the coffin, forgetting the danger. His mind was clouded and there was only one word in his consciousness — ‘Rescue’! “Are you hurt?”

The girl almost rolled her eyes, so irritating was this walking piece of meat. Under the influence of her call, he had become incredibly stupid. In a low, exhausted voice, she said:

“Help me, human. There are many high-level monsters here, and they’re about to break in...”

The girl was losing her strength, and she whispered with difficulty, barely able to articulate her words. She wanted to play on her helplessness, turn the conversation to Alex helping her escape the dangerous Lezard’s Dungeon. He would touch her frozen body and die instantly.

But Alex interrupted her, “I know how to help you! Just a moment...”

He froze, his eyes blank. The slime next to him also changed from azure into green, shrinking slightly in size.

“What...?” The girl didn’t understand. “Wait, you need to...”

“Blub, heal!” The man ordered confidently.

“Blub-Blub…”

“Heal? It’s a slime!” The girl cried. Then her sapphire eyes widened in horror. “NO... STOP..!”

She didn’t finish. The Healing Spitting Slime spat at the girl, right at her face and chest, instantly killing the histoparasite that had been sustaining its host’s life.

The Queen of Frost, a powerful monster that had crossed the threshold of death and reached the C-rank, died.