Silence fell over the clearing—deep, heavy, unreal.
The only sound was the soft plink… plink… of the slime's core, split cleanly in half, dropping onto the grass.
Lilian stood frozen.
Her violet eyes were wide, fixed on the trail her magic had carved through the air. Wind still spiraled around her hands, fading like mist. She followed the line of destruction—past where the green slime had stood, through the broken core, and straight into the thick trunk of a tree. A long, clean scar was carved into the bark.
She blinked.
(What… happened? Did I… really do that?)
Her thoughts were shaky, uncertain, almost afraid to believe it—but they were shattered completely by an eruption of cheering.
"FINALLY!" Flint roared, pumping his fist into the air. "We defeated that slimy bastard!"
Theo didn't waste a second, sprinting past the pooling remains of the monster. "My sword—where is—there!" He crouched immediately, pulling the blade from the dissolving slime. It was dripping with green goo, but intact.
He exhaled in pure relief. "Good. You're fine. Don't scare me like that again."
Flint slapped Theo's back so hard it nearly knocked him over. "Told ya! Don't worry about that that sword, it's tougher than you!"
Meanwhile, Kairo stepped toward Lilian.
She didn't notice until he was right in front of her. His presence broke her trance. She flinched slightly—not from fear, but from disbelief.
"Lilian," Kairo said softly, his eyes steady with sincerity. "Thank you."
She blinked up at him.
"You did it," he continued, voice warm. "You took down the green slime. You saved all of us."
Wind stopped swirling around her hands. Her breath caught.
No one had ever spoken to her like that before—like she had done something that mattered.
She looked away quickly, face warming, trying to hide her trembling smile.
But the moment Lilian realized Kairo was still looking at her, she panicked.
"D-Don't look at me!" she yelped, turning away as her face flushed bright red. "My clothes are a mess—this is embarrassing!"
She tried running a hand through her hair, but instead her fingers got stuck in the green goo coating it.
"Ew—what is this stuff!? It's so sticky!"
Theo walked past, wiping slime off his sword with a grimace.
"It's slime goo," he said matter-of-factly. "Y'know… the thing that nearly ate you."
Lilian puffed her cheeks in frustration, glaring at him while still desperately tugging her hand free.
But then she suddenly froze.
"Wait—my hat. My hat! Hatty, where are you!?" she cried, looking around wildly.
Lilian cried out for her hat, voice trembling.
Theo blinked at her, confused. "H-hatty? What are you even saying?"
But Kairo glanced around, noticing her bare head. Maybe she'd lost it. Maybe that's what she was
calling for—her hat. That small thought pushed him to start searching.
Kairo glanced down—and sure enough, the hat was lying near a patch of grass, completely soaked in slime.
He picked it up gently, wiping off what goo he could. It didn't help much, but he tried anyway. Then he stepped in front of her and carefully set the hat back on her head.
"There you go," he said with a small smile. "Looks great."
Lilian stopped moving.
Her face went scarlet, her heart skipping a beat, and she quickly looked away before he could see her expression.
(Oh no… this is embarrassing.)
Suddenly, Theo hissed sharply.
The pain from the burns on his arm finally surged through him, the adrenaline fading. He clutched his forearm with a wince. "Argh—damn it, this hurts like hell…"
Flint grunted in agreement, rubbing at his own scorched skin. "Yeah… I'm feeling it now too."
Kairo's expression tightened with concern. "If that's the case, we can't continue the hunt. We'll have to retreat and get you both treated."
Before anyone could argue, a chunk of green slime—still stuck to Flint's scales—slid off his shoulder and landed over the wound on his hand with a wet slap. It sizzled violently, startling him.
"The hell— it's not dead!?" Flint yelled, startled.
Kairo, Theo, and Lilian all froze, eyes wide. But then, strangely, the sizzling slowed… and completely stopped. The slime settled into a calm, gel-like liquid over flint's wounds—no acidity, no aggression.
And the burn on Flint's hand?
It was healing. The angry red flesh softened, the pain easing.
"What… what just happened?" Flint muttered, staring at his hand.
Theo leaned in, baffled. "Did it… heal you?"
Lilian blinked rapidly, her tone filled with dawning realization. "This is just like a healing potion—maybe even stronger…"
Kairo glanced at the slime still coating his own fingers from when he picked up Lilian's hat. "What are you?" he murmured, rubbing the gel between his fingers.
He activated the Command Nexus.
A description appeared:
[Green Slime Residue]: After the acidic core is destroyed, remaining slime converts into a restorative substance. Effective for burns. Usable in potion-making and high-grade fertilizers.
Kairo's eyes lit up.
He grabbed Theo's arm. "Come here for a sec."
"Eh? What—Kairo, wait—!" Theo protested, but Kairo was already rubbing the slime on his burn.
It sizzled… then healed.
Theo stared. "No way…"
Suddenly, Kairo burst into laughter—sharp, excited, almost villainous.
"Hahaha… We hit a jackpot!"
Lilian, Flint, and Theo exchanged looks.
All three thought the same thing:
(Kairo's laugh was terrifying.)
But Kairo only grinned, eyes blazing with opportunity.
(A healing source, a cultivation booster, a foundation for a growing settlement....This is perfect)
Kairo exhaled deeply as he finally let himself fall backward into the soft grass—the same grass that had sprouted thanks to the green slime's healing goo. The strain of battle left his muscles one breath at a time. The ground was cool, springy, almost absurdly comfortable. He stretched, yawned, and closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself relax fully for the first time that day.
Theo and Flint promptly flopped down beside him.
Flint laughed loudly, tail swinging back and forth. "Hah! At least that slime bastard left us something good! This grass is amazing!"
"Hey—calm down, man!" Theo yelped as the swinging tail whacked his leg. "Stop hitting me!"
Lilian hesitated a few steps away, adjusting her hat over her still-slimy hair. A lady does NOT sit on dirty grass… she reminded herself. But when she saw Kairo tilt his head and smile at her, gently patting the ground beside him…
Lilian's hat dipped over her eyes as Kairo invited her.
Her face flushed.
She knelt down stiffly at first… then slowly eased into the grass… then surrendered, lying on her back with a sigh. "This is… cozy…" she murmured.
But moments later, exhaustion won—Lilian quietly slumped back into the grass, hat sliding down as she completely drifted asleep.
A droplet of drool escaped her mouth as she relaxed.
The sun cast a warm, gentle glow across them.
Theo stretched out his arms. "Man… this is so good. Just lying here like this? This is the best."
Flint only gave a blissed-out grunt of approval.
Kairo smiled faintly. (It's been so long… since I last did this…)
A memory tugged at him—the soft weight of a straw hat on his head, running barefoot through grass back in his old world. The laughter of a boy and girl playing catch with him. And then a warm voice calling out.
His grandmother, sitting on a picnic blanket with a basket of food, waving them over.
The memory faded.
"This is a perfect spot for camping," Kairo said.
Theo blinked. "Camping? What's that?"
Kairo chuckled. "Well… technically, we're camping right now."
Theo's jaw dropped. "WHAA—So THIS is camping!? AWESOME!"
For a moment, they all forgot they were surrounded by ruins.
But the ruins hadn't forgotten them.
Soft rustling echoed from all sides.
Flint sat up. "Uh… what was that?"
Green eyes glowed from the shadows.
Theo paled. "Is that…?"
Kairo groaned. "More slimes."
The slimes slithered forward.
Everyone leapt to their feet—
Except Lilian, who was still lying peacefully, a little bubble of snot inflating from her nose.
Kairo grabbed her hand and yanked her upright.
Lilian awake; half-dazed, she mumbled, "What happened…? I was finally at the best part…"
She took one look at the approaching swarm—
—and blasted off at lightning speed, leaving a dust cloud behind her.
Everyone froze in shock.
Then the slimes lunged—
And Theo, Flint, and Kairo also screamed and sprinted away, kicking up their own clouds in a cartoonish dash.
Thus ended their "peaceful" rest.
The forest… was not done with them yet.
To be continued.....