Sovinia stepped over the charred remains of Slimes beneath her feet. As soon as she rushed out of the cave entrance, she saw something that made her even happier than clearing the Slime Swamp in one breath without breaking a sweat.
It was her nemesis, the one who once beheaded her—Hero Wohard—covered head to toe in Slime Mucus, looking just like a beggar, running toward her.
Compared to him, Sovinia’s white sleeves were still spotless—so dignified, so refined.
Behind Wohard, the “Small” Slime King and a medium Slime guardian were crushing his doppelganger to death.
Wohard said, “You’re still alive.”
After speaking, the Slime Mucus-covered warrior Wohard turned to fight the Slimes.
“What happened?”
“I saw the Slime horde chasing you in.” Wohard added as his Longsword pierced through a medium Slime, “So I swapped places with my doppelganger.”
Swapped places…
This hero actually sacrificed a doppelganger just to check on her safety.
What a dumb mutt.
But, this was definitely a good thing.
The Slime King’s head was now within reach.
“I’m fine. I can fight.”
“Miss Sovinia.” Wohard finally turned his head, his emerald eyes scanning her perfectly unharmed figure, his tense shoulders visibly relaxing. “I’m glad you’re alright.”
“I’ll help!”
***
The third round began. The three cards drawn were: [Stun], [Attack], [Reckless Charge].
Sovinia, in her Knee-high Boots, leaped lightly over the Slime remains, and with a flick, scattered Salt onto a medium Slime attempting to split. The two Slimes it split into began smoking and melted into harmless mucus.
“Old Wu! Old Wu!”
The “Small” Slime King let out a low roar, bubbles surging inside it. Clearly, it recognized Sovinia—the elf who had just burned countless of its offspring to death with Fireball.
“Miss Sovinia! Don’t rush ahead—be careful!”
The wagon-sized “Small” Slime King lashed its pseudopod at her.
Without a word, Sovinia pressed down with her Knee-high Boots, making a crisp click, and used [Reckless Charge] in reverse, charging toward a corpse instead.
Both legs exploded with all their power, yet she expended no stamina.
The lithe, long-legged elven woman easily dodged the “Small” Slime King’s strike, having calculated her enemy’s attack range perfectly.
Wohard seized the opportunity, stepping in with two more slashes. The “Small” Slime King could no longer maintain its shape and began splitting apart on its own.
Sovinia bounced back, another packet of Salt in her hand, and tossed one to Wohard. The two “adulterers**” scattered Salt fiercely onto the “Small” Slime King’s “wounds.”
The “Small” Slime King, its faceless “face” turned toward its dead children, bubbles boiling within, let out one last sound: “Old Wu.”
It instantly collapsed, its mucous body losing all tension, spreading across the ground like melted wax.
“Well done,” Wohard said, “But next time, don’t be so reckless. You don’t have any armor.”
“It’s already dead,” Sovinia replied. “And the fight isn’t over yet.”
***
The sea of Slimes was surging toward them.
“Keep fighting.”
Sovinia and Wohard charged into battle. Wohard took the front, Sovinia backed him up, tossing Salt around and fleeing if any Slimes chased her.
As she ran, she gradually began to like this elven female body.
Though frail, with overly long hair and skin so pale it stood out easily—delicate, with no protection at all—the legs were truly long, and she was genuinely fast. Her face wasn’t bad, either.
Let the dumb mutt do all the hard and dirty work.
And so, after nearly twenty minutes of fierce battle, the sea of Slimes was completely wiped out by Wohard’s relentless “tilling.”
Once it was safe—
Wohard rummaged through the mucous corpse of the Slime King, searching for bodies.
Sovinia, unable to wait any longer, made her way to another patch of the Slime King’s mucous remains, where a single golden “Golden Question Card” hovered in the air.
She silently chanted: ‘Inspect card.’
Three golden cards appeared before her, floating in the air. Sovinia held her breath, her eyes darting rapidly over the card descriptions.
First: [Poison Amplification], gold card, cost 1, stacks 1 layer of poison on the enemy each turn. Each layer deals half Attack damage.
Sovinia frowned. What she needed was immediate damage, not a drawn-out fight.
Second: [Golden Bell Shield], gold card, cost 2, consume this card to instantly gain 5 times your Defense for one turn.
Sovinia rejoiced. A divine card! It could nullify most Attacks for one turn.
She was already planning to pick this defensive gold card, but still, by instinct, looked at the third golden card.
Third: [Double Shot], gold card, cost 0, your next Attack strikes twice, but your cost next turn is reduced by 1.
Sovinia’s gaze froze.
She stared at the description of [Double Shot], her mind racing. [Blazing Strike] dealt double Attack damage and could be upgraded indefinitely.
If used with [Double Shot], that would be two [Blazing Strikes], costing only 3 points.
Wait. If [Blazing Strike] was upgraded to triple damage, then [Double Shot] would hit for 6 times damage. If upgraded to quadruple…
Sovinia’s heartbeat quickened.
This was an excellent combo.
She’d always thought [Blazing Strike]—that “Battle for the Future” card—had limited potential, and only kept it for emergencies.
She’d thought upgrade opportunities were scarce, not worth the investment. But now, with [Double Shot]…
Battle for the Future? Battle for the Future is great—if you’re strong, you fight for the future!
The only flaw was, what if she couldn’t draw [Double Shot] and [Blazing Strike] together? The deck lacked flexibility.
Sovinia’s gaze landed on Wohard, still sticky with mucus, rummaging through the pile of corpses.
No problem. As long as that dumb mutt was around to drag things out until she got started.
Sovinia chose [Double Shot] without hesitation. The golden card turned into a speck of light, merging into her deck.
Fate was truly unpredictable.
The compromise she’d made during her last card selection might just pave the way for her next choice.
***
The Treasure Chest was in another patch of the Slime King’s mucous remains, and Wohard was dragging a corpse clad in a wild boar-emblazoned breastplate from it.
The long fight had left him gasping for breath, but he still struggled to haul the body out.
The corpse was so badly corroded it was hardly human anymore, but the boar emblem on the breastplate was still clear.
Wohard placed the corpse on a dry rock, knelt on one knee, pressed his hands together, and prayed in a low voice. His words were deep and reverent, echoing in the cave.
“May the merciful Divine Righteous God guide your soul, Barte. May you find the Bakery of your dreams in Heaven, and may your Daughter grow up safe and sound.”
Sovinia watched this scene, expressionless.
She couldn’t understand why Wohard would speak to a corpse, nor why he’d waste time praying.
The dead were dead, resources were resources, the weak were weak.
But she didn’t interrupt him. After all, Wohard had just helped her fight the Slime King and left her the kill. She could spare him this patience.
When the prayer was finished, Wohard stood up and turned around, seeing Sovinia still standing in the pile of corpses, a smile somehow on that usually blank face.
The more he looked, the more it seemed like a foolish grin.
Wohard sighed, walked over, and was about to pat Sovinia, but saw that his hands were still covered in mucus. He said, “Miss Sovinia, are you alright?”
Sovinia snapped out of her fantasy of drawing divine cards and replied, “Fine? Very fine.”
“You don’t have to force yourself,” Wohard said. “It’s normal to feel uncomfortable after your first battle like this. You’ll get used to it.”
Sovinia rolled her eyes inwardly.
A newbie? Me?
When you were still in split pants, I’d killed more people than you’ve eaten loaves of bread.
Sovinia tucked away her smile. “I’m fine.”
“That’s good.”
“Finished praying?”
“Yes. I’ll burn the body later, and I’ve got his keepsakes.”
Sovinia walked over to the Slime King’s mucous corpse that Wohard had dragged out, her gaze falling on the Treasure Chest only she could see.
A single thought.
The Treasure Chest opened silently.
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