Chapter 72

Day 1 of the ruins investigation. We, along with the Nergies and Lady Nirva, approached the ruins on foot. With Kuuen leading the way, we moved forward slowly.

"The collapse must have happened a long time ago. The stones, are they from around here? They seem to be uniform."

At the first collapsed house, Lady Nirva stopped and began her observations.

Though it was made of stone, it didn't look like it was built with bricks. It seemed more like concrete. The weathered fragments were entangled with vines.

It didn't seem to have any room divisions. It might have been just a simple rectangular hut.

"Hmm, let's see the next one."

Lady Nirva moved around, and I was at the back, watching her vaguely. Of course, I was tense, but my interest in the ruins had waned compared to before we set out.

Suddenly, Kuuen showed signs of being on guard. The Nergies also stopped and reached for their weapons. The sound of rolling stones, *clack clack*, echoed. Lada, who was nearby, flinched.

A rabbit peeked out and, noticing us, hurriedly fled. As if reading our relief,

"Don't let your guard down. If there are rabbits, there might be carnivores too."

Nergie warned us.

Indeed, that made sense. We became more alert.

"That's strange. There's no sign of life at all."

Lady Nirva, who seemed experienced, wasn't tense. She peered into the collapsed house and tilted her head. That's right. There were no plates, pots, beds, or clothes. Did they take everything with them? Or was it not a place to live?

We approached a dome-shaped building. There was no door at the entrance, just a dark opening. A part of the wall had collapsed. As we got closer, it turned out to be a fairly large building.

"I sense the presence of monsters. Don't get any closer."

Kuuen warned us. Everyone stopped. Nergie drew his sword.

"Can you tell what they are?"

"No, they're not strong. But there seem to be several of them."

A dragging sound, *slurp*, was heard.

"They're coming."

Katan's voice.

*nuu*.

What appeared at the entrance of the dome was a large, pale green jelly-like something.

"Slime?"

Kuuen muttered, puzzled.

The slime was so big that only part of it was visible at the entrance. It was intimidating and scary. Then, another one came from behind the first one. A blue one appeared from above.

*michi*...

"..."

Three slimes tried to come out at once and got stuck at the entrance. Beyond their jelly-like bodies, a red slime was visible, pushing the three.

"Um, is it okay to defeat them?"

Nergie looked at the group for confirmation.

"Should be fine. They're this big, so they might attack humans."

"Yeah. The colors are different. They might use magic or skills, so be careful."

Katan nodded, followed by Kuuen. Panta also readied her staff.

Nergie swung his sword at the squished slimes. Unlike before, he had good control. The blade only hit the stuck slimes.

*buish*!

One of them burst. A melting sound, *juwa*, was heard.

"Barrier."

Panta waved her staff, and a water barrier appeared between us and the slimes. On the other side, one slime burst, and the adjacent one burst in a chain reaction.

I didn't know slimes died like this. I thought you had to destroy their core or something.

The barrier disappeared. With two slimes burst, the momentum of the others stopped. The red one fled into the darkness, and the remaining blue one was trembling.

"Shh!"

Nergie attacked. *Buryu*, the slime split to avoid the attack. One part stretched toward Nergie. He slashed it with his sword, and the piece fell and splattered. Katan crushed it. Meanwhile, Nergie had defeated the main body.

"Phew."

Nergie took a breath.

"There's a troublesome one."

Jelly-like substances were scattered on the ground. Suddenly, they moved.

"Not yet!"

Nergie and the others reacted immediately to my voice. They crushed the moving pieces, but another one started to squirm.

"Whoa."

"Nergie! Destroy the magic stones!"

Following Panta's words, Nergie and Katan stepped on the magic stones on the ground. The jelly-like substances lost their power and were absorbed into the ground.

"They're evolving. Kuuen, can you locate them?"

"It's difficult. Slimes are hard to detect. Even when they evolve, that characteristic doesn't change."

Kuuen shrugged.

"I want to retreat for a moment. Is that okay?"

Asked by Nergie, Lady Nirva nodded, "Of course." We returned to the campsite, and the driver greeted us with concern over our quick retreat.

"Slimes become troublesome monsters when they evolve. Sometimes you have to destroy their magic stones, so they're not very rewarding for adventurers."

Nergie explained over tea. Slime magic stones are small, and the jelly-like substance doesn't leave any residue.

"What are the conditions for evolution?"

When I asked, Nergie tilted his head. He looked at Panta, but she shook her head.

"I've only seen them in dungeons. The conditions? Maybe a high concentration of mana?"

"Hmm. Considering there might be more than three, there might be a condition here. Is this a mana-rich area? I haven't heard that before."

"Hasn't the guild or the knights come here many times?"

I asked, and Lady Nirva nodded.

"Yes. I've reflected on that. I confirmed it properly. There were apparently some goblins, but I haven't heard of evolved slimes or high mana concentrations."

"Then, did something suddenly appear for them to feed on?"

I tilted my head.

"Slimes eat anything, right?"

Lada muttered.

"Not really? But they don't eat the ground."

Maybe if they ran out of food, they would eat the ground. At least, the ones in the garbage dump didn't digest the ground or walls.

"Maybe the slimes ate everything inside the houses."

Everyone looked at Lada in surprise at her words. Lada stepped back, startled.

"I see. That's why there's nothing."

Lady Nirva said, but Nergie tilted his head again.

"But does that mean they suddenly evolved? Were there no slimes here until recently?"

"Has there been nothing since the beginning?"

To my question, Lady Nirva shook her head ambiguously.

"I'm not sure. I think some artifacts were found when the ruins were discovered. Whether there were other things is not mentioned... Ah, wait! I remember seeing something!"

Suddenly, Lady Nirva started rummaging through her magic bag.