After he made sure that all of those men were truly unconscious, the bearded man lowered his hand and turned back toward Aria.
But before he could speak, something in the corner of the shed caught his attention.
His brows knit together.
"That is strange."
The thug he had thrown earlier—who had been lying unconscious a moment ago—was gone. Vanished.
All that remained was a pile of worn leather armor and discarded weapons, scattered neatly on the floorboards.
And beside them, a green slime pulsed quietly. Its body quivering in a suspicious rhythm.
The man's eyes narrowed sharply.
His instincts, honed by years of fighting monsters and crawling through countless Dungeons, immediately prickled. Something about that slime felt wrong.
And more importantly he was confused by the presence of a slime, out here inside a town.
His mind raced.
Slimes weren't supposed to leave Dungeons. In all his experience, in all his travels, he had never seen a slime roaming freely on the surface.
They were mindless, territory–bound creatures. They were bound by instinct and Dungeon rules.
Yet one of them was here. Beside a corpse that had mysteriously vanished.
He glanced at the abandoned armor again. Then at the slime.
A chilling possibility crept in.
"No way… Don't tell me this slime actually ate him?"
His expression turned into fascination.
The bearded man tore his gaze away from the slime and finally walked toward Aria.
Aria flinched at the movement, her eyes widening. For a brief moment she stiffened, half-expecting another threat.
But then the reality settled in. The thugs who had been chasing her were all unconscious on the ground.
She exhaled shakily, relief trembling through her shoulders.
"T-thank you…" Aria managed to say with a soft and uncertain voice.
She still didn't know if this man was someone she could trust but he had saved her. So for now, she thought that the situation would be fine.
"Are you okay?" the bearded man asked gently.
Aria nodded.
Before either of them could say more, something moved sharply.
PLOP!
The slime sprang out in front of Aria, planting itself between her and the man.
Its body quivered with a tense vibration.
Despite the man saving them, the slime's instincts screamed caution. Based on what it experienced, humans were dangerous, sometimes even more dangerous than a monster.
Even if it knew he had helped, it wouldn't allow him near Aria or itself so easily.
The bearded man paused.
Then he smiled.
"This little one is your friend?"
Aria nodded silently.
"He's cute," the man said with a small chuckle. His deep blue eyes softened, but curiosity lingered beneath. "If I may ask, how did you meet him? Slimes normally can't leave Dungeons."
He could see Aria's hesitation and the guarded fear in her eyes clearly now. Something had happened to this girl. Something that had hollowed her out and made her shrink from people.
"I…" Aria glanced at the slime, then back at the man. "The slime just followed me."
The bearded man nodded, accepting her answer even though he clearly didn't believe it fully.
"Sorry for startling you earlier," he said, voice lowering kindly. "I just arrived in this town today. I'm actually looking for a friend, but I ran out of money, so I slept here last night."
He placed a hand on his chest in a polite, almost old-fashioned gesture.
"My name is Daelan Rowlen."
He gave her a warm, reassuring smile.
Aria wondered for a moment if she should introduce herself as well. But her throat tightened. She wasn't ready to give her name or to share anything about herself.
So instead, she simply nodded.
Daelan didn't push the matter.
Meanwhile, the slime quietly stored the man's name inside its memory.
"Daelan Rowlen."
It also stored his face, voice, his mana presence, and the exact stability and density of his high stage Tier 3 Radiant Core.
All of it was recorded.
A single thought pulsed faintly within the slime: If it devoured him now, its Evolution would accelerate greatly.
But instinct and its newly awakened intelligence told the slime that such a choice was unwise. Not unless survival demanded it.
Daelan glanced around the shed again and sighed softly.
"I think we should leave this place before they wake up," he said. "And I'm certain that coward who ran off will be back soon. With more men to hunt you." His gaze flicked to the slime."And your friend."
Aria swallowed hard. His words struck her with chilling clarity. He was right. They wouldn't stop. If anything, they would return more furious and more brutal.
"You're right. I—"
But Aria didn't finish.
Because the slime suddenly spoke.
"Enemies are coming here." It used Aria's voice.
Daelan froze, his eyes widening sharply.
"It can speak?" he asked, stunned.
The slime pulsed once, then spoke again, this time in Daelan's exact voice.
"Enemy is here. We have to go."
Daelan recovered faster. Years of experience slammed into place, steadying his thoughts quickly.
"Alright," he said quickly. "We need to move now. Do you know where Blackwater Alley is? There is a store named Old Crow Salvage & Repairs. That's my friend's house."
Once again, Aria felt doubt. She was silent for a moment, struggling to steady herself under the crushing weight of everything happening around her.
But beside her the slime keeps bouncing. Its jittery movements show urgent anxiety.
Aria clenched her jaw. "Right. We have to move now. I know that place."
Bootsteps rumbled outside, growing louder and heavier, and harsh voices barked orders.
"Come on," Daelan hissed as he sprang into motion.
He crouched beside the place where the man was located a few minutes before. He grabbed the discarded leather armor and the sword. This could be sold later.
Aria scooped up the slime and the slime shrinked itself again and entered Aria's pocket.
Daelan shoved open the back window. It was nothing more than a narrow slit, and he slipped through.
Aria followed, landing lightly in the dirty back alley. They run toward the
A minute later, the front door exploded inward.
Thugs stormed inside, boots pounding as they tore apart the shed.
"Check behind the crates!"
"They're here somewhere. Spread out!"
They flipped boxes, kicked through shadows, and overturned every piece of furniture. They found nothing except for the unconscious men.
Aria, Daelan, and the slime moved deeper into the shadows of the alley, putting distance between themselves and the shed before any of the thugs realized the back window.
—