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Even Jack wasn't the only one curious—Rias and the others were all staring expectantly at the little forest lake shimmering with pale light.
None of them seemed to have seen this kind of water spirit before…
As the group approached, the water's calm surface began to ripple, gentle waves spreading outward.
Zatouji immediately warned them:
"Undine's coming out!"
A glow rose from the center of the lake, and a figure slowly floated up from beneath the surface, stopping in midair.
The figure had her back to them. Long blond hair. From the silhouette, she actually looked… decent?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the Undine turned around under their collective gaze.
She let out a fierce roar.
"HUAAAH!"
The moment Jack saw her face, it felt like lightning struck him. His pupils shook, and his heart skipped a full beat.
Thud.
W–what kind of monster was this?!
The Undine's entire body was packed with bulging muscle. Her face looked like someone had carved it out with a hammer. Forget fair skin and beauty—this was a heavyweight fighter who looked like she could punch a cow into orbit. Jack had zero doubt.
"That's Undine. Kid, your luck's amazing—you found a rare-type familiar!"
Jack's face went completely blank. "No. Please allow me to refuse."
"Huh? You don't want her?"
"You promised me a fair-skinned, beautiful spirit maiden. I… really can't praise this one."
Jack looked like all hope had died. Those guys who said elves were all supreme beauties… come out. He promised he wouldn't use the Sword of Kings.
"This water spirit even has healing abilities. A combat-healer type—super useful!"
"I'm afraid I'll be dead from shock long before she gets the chance to heal me."
Jack let out a feeble sigh.
"And we're way past the point where words can describe her. This is what you call 'a thousand mountains without a bird, ten thousand paths without a trace of man.'"
Everyone: "…??"
That's a way to call someone ugly??How ugly does someone have to be for that level of devastation…
"Hehe. So Jack can be this cute too. Guess boys really do think similarly," Rias said, failing to hide her laughter.
She seemed to understand him better now.
Akeno and the others also giggled.
It was rare to see Jack this rattled. He truly didn't dare take that familiar…
"…Men's brains like a woman's heart, but men's eyes like a woman's looks."
Jack continued lifelessly:
"I always thought I wasn't the shallow type… but today I learned I was wrong. I'm sorry."
He sighed inwardly.
Guess my spiritual cultivation isn't that high after all…
Everyone: "…"
The Undine fiasco passed, and the group continued deeper into the Familiar Forest.
They'd been inside for about an hour now. Aside from that unfortunate 'rare' Undine, they'd seen tons of creatures—shadow bats, burrow worms, gale birds, all the most painfully average familiars imaginable. Naturally, neither Jack nor Asia were impressed.
Fortunately, Zatouji was patient. Even if they didn't catch anything tonight, he'd come again next full moon to help them search.
Suddenly Zatouji stopped. The group immediately halted.
"Shh."
He motioned for silence, then carefully pointed toward a treetop high above.
Everyone looked—and saw an adorable tiny dragon with bright blue scales perched there.
"Whoa! It's so cute!" Asia fell in love at first sight.
"Azure Thunder Dragon. Offspring of lightning-blue dragons…" Zatouji identified it instantly.
Rias and the others all gasped. "I can't believe we ran into something this rare. It's our first time seeing one!"
"Zatouji-senpai, please catch it for Asia," Jack said at once.
Since Asia liked it, he wouldn't compete. And the dragon might not choose him anyway—familiars had to willingly acknowledge their masters.
Zatouji nodded and moved to capture it, but the little thing was sharp. The moment it sensed movement, it flapped its wings and took off.
"After it!"
Zatouji sprinted ahead. Jack and the others followed, but unfamiliar with the terrain, they couldn't keep up with him at all.
Only now did Jack understand why everyone fought for this expert's help. Without him, catching a familiar really was hard…
While he was thinking this, a few startled cries rang out behind him.
"Ah—what is this?" Asia squeaked.
"Oh dear… gross. It's all sticky…" Akeno's voice followed.
Jack turned—and froze.
Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Asia were all covered in dripping green slime. The stuff was still falling from the trees, soaking them completely.
Then something truly terrifying happened.
Wherever the slime touched, the girls' clothes dissolved—vanished, eaten away like they'd been melted!
In just a few seconds, every stitch of their clothing was gone…
Jack stared silently.
Uh…
"Ugh… slimes…" Rias groaned. "My magic won't even activate…"
Their clothes were woven from magic, and the slime had devoured it all. Jack essentially got a full 360-degree VIP view.
"These are slimes? Why aren't they attacking me?" he asked, confused. He had been standing right beside them.
"They only go after women's clothes… gross little things," Koneko muttered while trying to scrape the slime off her now fully exposed body.
"Jack, hurry and help! It's so sticky and disgusting…"
"Ara ara… my magic really won't come out…" Akeno added, her figure even more explosive than Rias's, making it hard for Jack not to stare.
He tilted his head, admiring the—well, the scenery—then slowly grinned.
"You know… slimes aren't bad at all. Rias, maybe I should pick this as my familiar."
"…Huh?"
Jack pointed at the slimes dripping off the girls, smiling brightly. "I want this. Don't you think this scene is amazing?"
Rias and the others shouted in perfect unison:
"No!"
"…"
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