Gymgrei and Whis opened the door to the outpost's armorer. Sure enough, there was a smithing station tucked into the far back corner. The interior of the armory was small and packed with shelves. On each shelf was a collection of weapons by type. One shelf held spears, while another held spears, and so on and so on.
In the back, grinding the edge of a sword against a stone wheel, sat the armorer himself. He looked up as the duo came in. "Oh? What do you boys need?" he asked, voice deep and warm.
Whis approached, holding his sword and scabbard in both hands. "I want you to take this sword and turn it into claws."
The armorer raised his brows. This was definitely an intriguing request. "I'm not sure what you mean. Either way, I'm too busy to step aside from my work." He pointed the sword he was sharpening to the furnace. "Feel free to use the workshop. However, I'll even sell you extra materials if you need a little extra steel."
Whis shot the armorer a thumbs-up. The armorer gave him a confused look and looked at his own gloved hand before returning the thumbs-up in kind.
Gymgrei patted Whis on the back and chuckled. "Alright, lad, let's make these 'claws' of yours!" He grabbed a pair of tongs and a hammer from the tool rack, feeling their weight before setting them by an anvil.
Whis nodded and unsheathed the sword, handing it to Gymgrei to disassemble. It would take time, but Whis insisted he get his claws.
Helene and Edoix stood their ground as straggling slimes kept making attempts for the food stores and water tower.
The slimes had learned, at least as well as a slime can, that just diving for the food or its defenders is suicide. Due to the duo's ranged magic, melee combat was not going to be an option.
Luckily for the slimes, they weren't limited to close-quarters combat. Just as the advanced races could use their inner pools of mana to cast spells, the slimes—who were pure mana—could cast their own.
Helene prepared another cast, waving the head of her staff over her other hand before snapping. The snap echoed in the flow of mana and filled her hand with a dense sphere of searing fire. She wound back, locking her icy blue eyes on a slime that had entered the battle. Like a pitcher at a ballgame, she snapped her arm forward, sending the spell speeding over the battlefield.
Feet away from its target, the casting of Pyro was destroyed by another spell. One of the slimes hidden in the forest had cast Hydro in response. The colluding complementary spells reacted and exploded with a rush of steam that covered the field.
"Damn it, they've moved on to casting, Ed! Where's Whis and Gymgrei?" hissed Helene, weaving another casting of Pyro.
Edoix flicked a silver-threaded wand back and forth like a fencer using a small foil, knocking out incoming water bolts from the air with flashes of magical light as his wand made impact.
"Just keep it up, Helene. If need be, we can shift positions for the Aqhari Tower formation. We have the elixirs for it," said Edoix, focusing his efforts into defending against the hydromantic spells and weaving his own magical counterattacks into his defense.
Helene growled and changed from casting bolts to creating a whole area of immense heat, raising her arms into the air above her as she pulled heavily against her mana pool.
The ten meter wide area before them began to dry out, the air rippling like running water and the slimes within beginning to boil. The moment they went for the retreat, Helene released with a furious cry, the air turning into fire and desiccating her slimy victims still inside.
The fight went on. Wherever the slimes were coming from, the culture had to be nearby for the rate at which reinforcements arrived.
Edoix and Helene were forced to step in close to each other. Helene stood low behind Edoix, who used his precision to defend the both of them against the rising fury of the water bolts.
The bolts finally stopped for a second, and both of the mages quickly drank the small vials of concentrated mana. The taste of which was like licking a nine-volt battery. That electric feeling trickling down their throats and into their stomachs.
The reason for the rest was made apparent as the slimes had moved on from casting single-target spells to casting multi-target spells. Above a group of slimes that jiggled together in sync levitated a churning mass of water, the crests of its waves like frothy white blades promising the full erosive power of the fastest rivers.
"They are stack-casting Hydro! We are too close to avoid it," called Edoix over the sound of rushing water.
"I can use—"
"No, Helene. If you turn that into a steam bomb, we will be swallowed by the superheated steam!" Edoix's voice was stern and offered no room for argument. "We will need to sacrifice a granary and eat the cost."
Helene balked at the idea. "We have a phoenix down! Maybe Whis and Gymgrei will be here in time to revive us!"
The time was already wasted, spent foolishly on arguing a plan. The slimes stopped jiggling and moved to release the flood that was their stack-casted Hydro.
A gunshot split the air. Instead of the spell washing away Helene and Edoix, it spilled over the slimes, forming a great whirlpool that pulled and stretched the slimes in every which way. Of the horde of slimes, only one survived the backlashed spell.
The mages turned quickly to the source of the shot to see a dwarf standing proud, a blunderbuss tucked against his shoulder and white smoke wisping away from the wide-mouthed barrel.
"Gymgrei!" called both Helene and Edoix, the pressure on the both of them falling away. "Where's Whis?"
Speak of the devil. Whis came barreling past Gymgrei, running on all fours once again with a feral smile on his face. His sword was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is his weapon? Is he going to continue fighting with his bare hands?" asked Edoix, furrowing his brow. "If so, why wait until the last minute?" Anger was creeping into his voice.
"It ain't nothin' like that, elf. If you can't see his weapon, look closer—at his hands." Gymgrei rested the empty gun against his hip, pouring in black powder from a paper sachet he ripped open with his teeth.
Both Edoix and Helene stared closer, watching as Whis smacked the last slime around. Then, they noticed he did have his sword after all. On his hands were four steel claws sharpened to a razor's edge. The claws were held in place by a metal ring, which they were riveted to, and a leather strap that buckled around his wrist.
Whis had fashioned himself a set of his very own cat's claws from the sword the party gave him.
Whis moved like a beast once again, rolling, diving, pouncing, and scrambling in different directions, harassing the slime but not yet dealing any lethal blows.
"Whis! Hurry up and kill it already!" called Helene.
"Nay, Helene. Whis told me his plan on the way here. You two potion up if yer needin' it. Follow Whis and keep him supported. We're goin' fer the culture." Gymgrei grinned wolfishly and put aside the ramrod before running off to join Whis.
Edoix and Helene looked at each other before nodding and running off after Whis.
With a flick of his wand, Edoix cast Tachyon on Whis, boosting his speed and reaction time. He repeated the spell once more on everyone else, providing the haste needed to keep up with their wild cat.
Weaving through the forest, over trunks, stumps, and roots as they passed trees and overgrowth, the party pushed the slime back, letting it run away but never into any proper cover. It would have only one option: return home.
And return home it did, leading the party straight to a crater that had a massive pool of glimmering blue water, complete with floating silver sparkles. The sight made Whis stop, his breath hitching.
The slime they chased rolled down into the pit, where it bled away into the rest of the great pool.
Whis's comrades caught up and looked down at the great puddle.
"We did it! That's the culture," cheered Helene.
The party's celebration was short, promptly followed by the prep for a final battle.
Edoix looked over to Whis, seeing his haunted expression. He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. Things weren't adding up to the elf, and his theories were converging on one final thought, but for now, he must focus.
The pool before them quivered, shaking as it took up a new shape. The great mass of glowing blue rose, erecting itself into one giant gumdrop-shaped slime. The liquid inside it bubbled, and the smooth surface bulged, revealing hundreds of the same-made faces all slimes in Mithra had, that of two dots for eyes and a curled smiling mouth like a squished "W."
The party got ready for the long fight ahead of them, glaring up at their opponent. With the monster awakened, its core, a fist-sized red gem, zipped around inside its amorphous body.
It was time to fight.