Silence settled over the chamber after all that.
The only sound was Aria's ragged breathing and the faint, sticky drip of the slime's body as it slowly detached itself from the bowman's corpse.
The creature slid off his face, landing on the ground with a soft, wet thump.
Its membrane was still darkened in places, patches of burnt tissue slowly knitting back together thanks to the remnants of her healing spell.
It needed time to recover first before using Consume again.
Aria nearly collapsed in place. Her knees buckled and she caught herself on her staff, gasping for air.
The last of her mana was gone. Her body felt trembling and weak.
But she was alive and relatively safe right now.
And all three of them… the men who had harassing her, used her, and wanted to rape her were dead.
She stared at the blood and corpses on the floor, a wave of dizziness hit her.
The swordsman's remains were already gone, consumed entirely. The axeman's headless corpse lay close to the wall. The bowman's body was still warm.
Aria didn't know what she should feel.
Relief? Horror? Or gratitude toward this monster?
Her heart was a tangled mess right now.
The slime pulsed faintly, its core glowing with gentle green light.
It looked… smaller than before. Aria could only think that it was weakened by the burns. But even when it was injured, it dragged itself slowly toward her, leaving a faint glistening trail along the stone.
Aria stiffened.
She had healed it without much thought, she thought that the slime was her savior in that situation.
But now, with the adrenaline fading, she wasn't sure what this creature actually was.
She didn't know why she helped it. She didn't even know if it understood that she saved its life and if it would kill her as well afterwards.
She took a shaky step back.
The slime stopped.
Its small body quivered, as if confused.
Then it extended a tiny tendril as a gesture toward her foot.
The slime was not attacking. Aria feels like it was just… acknowledging her. With its own way.
Aria swallowed.
"You…" Her voice cracked. She coughed softly, steadying herself. "You're not going to hurt me… right?"
The slime tilted, its body rippling. Almost like a nod.
Aria let out a long, unsteady breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
Before she could say anything else, the air changed. A faint, distant tremor ran through the stone beneath them. It was subtle, but strong enough to make dust fall from the ceiling.
Aria's brow furrowed.
She steadied herself, gripping her staff as another tremor shivered through the stone.
"What… what was that?" she whispered.
Only afterward did she realize how absurd it was to be asking the question to a slime.
The creature turned toward the Dungeon wall, its surface shimmering as it extended its mana sense outward.
Its core pulsed brighter once, then dimmed again.
It understood.
The slime quivered. Something was happening deeper in the dungeon. There was a clash of two monster groups.
A large-scale monster battle on the second floor.
Those battles were rare, but when they happened, the chaos tended to spill outward. Territories could change, creatures start to flee upward, tunnels shaking with the pressure of mana and sometimes collapsing.
The slime… had no real experience with events like this. It had rarely left the bottom floor at all before its awakening.
It didn't know how far the disturbance would spread or whether danger would reach this chamber.
But its small body relaxed, the faintest ripple passing across its surface.
It believed staying here would be safe. This was after all, just the first floor.
Aria watched it closely. Even after everything, doubt and fear clung to her thoughts.
The slime had killed the three fighters in minutes, brutally. Without hesitation. It doesn't look like usual slime Aria had encountered. It was much stronger and had the ability to think to some extent.
But why hadn't it killed her?
Was it because she'd healed it? Did it somehow recognize that she'd saved its life?
Did it think of her as… an ally? A friend?
She slowly crouched, wincing as her exhausted muscles trembled.
"You…" she began softly, then stopped. Heat flushed her cheeks as she realized how foolish she sounded. Of course it couldn't talk.
What was she doing?
Aria let out a weary sigh. She was drained, confused, and frightened. But something inside her had already decided.
She lifted her hand again. Just a faint spark of healing magic, barely enough to glow.
"Here. Let me… finish healing you."
Light wrapped gently around the slime, and the last of its burned patches smoothed over.
Its membrane shone clean and whole again.
The slime then slid closer into her hand. Not attacking or threatening.
Just… acknowledging her again.
And Aria felt her chest loosen a little bit.
She sighed slowly, tension released from her shoulders.
Somehow… in spite of everything… she felt that this slime was harmless. Or at least, harmless to her.
It clearly wasn't very intelligent in the way people were, but it understood her kindness. It recognized her healing. And in this moment, Aria found it easier to trust this strange creature than any human she had met in weeks and even her parents.
Maybe that said more about humans than the slime.
The creature's membrane brightened faintly as the last of the healing light faded.
Then, without hesitation or ceremony, it slid away from her hand and moved toward the remaining corpses.
Aria shook herself out of her daze, realizing what it intended to do.
The slime's Consume skill had increased to Level 3 and its Evolution progress was already over halfway.
It could feel the mana gathered inside its core.
With that much energy, it devoured the axeman's corpse in less than a minute. Armor, flesh, and bones dissolved into it with frightening ease.
Aria swallowed hard as she watched. The speed and thoroughness was another reminder of how dangerous this creature truly was, no matter how gentle it behaved with her.
Then the slime turned toward the bowman.
This time, the process took longer.
The creature paused now and then, its core pulsing brighter as it extracted objects hidden under the man's clothes. It found small pieces of equipment, metal bits, charms, and trinkets carrying faint traces of mana.
Anything with even the slightest magical residue the slime took its time on, absorbing them carefully.
Aria watched in silence as each item disappeared one by one.
Nothing remained when the slime finally finished except a few smears of blood.
The chamber grew quiet again.
Voices start coming to the slime one after another.
[Evolution: 700/1,000]
[You have consumed: Minor Wind Charm]
[Effect: Slight increase to sensory range]
[You have consumed: Copper Prayer Token]
[Effect: Trace of divine mana detected. Processing. Need more time.]
[You have gained a new skill: Speech]
Tier: 1
Mana Cost: 1 mana per words.
Description: Allows reproduction of simple words and phrases using mana-vibration.
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