"You are stupid, young boy! Do whatever you want! I’ve heard about that wererat. I doubt you’ll be the one to get it—so many better than you have failed!" They didn’t have a slime army with them.

  Obviously, I had other ideas for getting stronger: hunting for shards again or taking my chances with the monsters in the river.

  There’s only one problem. Energy.

  I know wasting 10% of it to test spells wasn’t wise to begin with, but at least I’ve finally gotten the hang of tracking how much energy I lose. Of course, it’s still just an estimate—but one I can work with.

  My energy is a bit above 30%. Nothing beats a stroll in the forest to check my regeneration rate. It seems to tick up by about 10% per hour.

  A pretty good rate.

  "Thee need not fear for thy belongings—I carry them with mine. The same can be said of thine territory. Wards protect even the room’s windows, all from the inside, so as not to give them away." Makes sense.

  "Thank you, Houonas. So where are the sewers?" I don’t even smell them, though I barely smell anything with Xeen as my helmet. Like a spacesuit.

  "You’re above it!" Without waiting a second, the old geezer dropped to all fours. With all his hair, it looked almost funny—like some rich lady’s pampered dog. For the first time, I got a better look at his clothes.

  Just a red robe. Who would’ve guessed? Red’s really in fashion here.

  I barely understood what he was doing as he placed a hand on a metallic surface. From here, I watched the thing light up.

  Like some sort of trap, it split open down the middle—that asshole old geezer just floating above it.

  Luckily, the slimes shot out their silver tendrils, pushing me up before I could plummet into the sludge. Looking down, I couldn’t even imagine how vile it must smell.

  Not sure why Houonas had to carry my baggage, I asked Geen to take over. She seemed reluctant to give my backup PC back.

  While we sorted out the bags, the weremonkey grunted something and left. Probably had better things to do.

  "They wished thee good luck on thy hunt. Pardon their hasty departure—they must tend to their dead." I wish I’d had something to say to them. Oh well.

  I nodded at Houonas. "Time to go, then." Would the slime know anything about it? Worth asking.

  As I jumped down, the slimes broke my fall onto the sludge. I felt a little sorry for them, having to wade through this shit.

  "Do you ooze know anything about this wererat? Your past heir claimed it as territory." Might as well try.

  "...Yes. The little rat thief. Saw it once! Runi liar, Runi liar! Din disagrees—Runi never saw it. Only past Henrique did. She said thief very fast, likes shiny things..." Damn, what a time to be out of shards.

  "I used all of mine. Maybe we can hunt an animal down here for one." The slimes agreed, though I do have a few shards left—I’d just hate to part with them. Speaking of which...

  "Let’s go, young boy! I know the path this wererat favors!" Like some sewer tour guide, the white-haired geezer floated ahead.

  I fought the urge to fling sewer water at him. His pristine white silhouette was practically begging for it.

  Soon, we were wading through the muck. Time to ask Houonas.

  "Houonas, I’ve got some relic shards that might contain artifacts. Could you take a look?" Geen, my loyal storage, handed me the two shards: one tech (dropped by the vampire heir, not from her) and one bio (from the giant turtle corpse, along with the other ones that I got from the creature).

  In total silence, Houonas took both shards in her upper pair of hands. For minutes, she walked with her eyes closed, utterly focused—like a sleepwalker.

  "Take mine hand." I’d ask which one, but she pressed the glowing bio relic shard into my palm. As her hand clasped mine, I felt her energy surge into me.

  "The guardian protected and increased the treasure of her once-dear friend. The friend forgot her. The guardian never could." I channeled energy into the shard, mimicking Houonas. Slowly, it transformed into a black necklace with a small shell and a red jewel at its center.

  "It is named Little Shelly. Its spell is a boon to thy regeneration." Now I felt awful for killing the turtle. A sad story—and a generic name for the poor thing.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Still, increased regeneration isn’t bad. As I fastened the necklace, the slimes parted my armor so it touched my skin. Its icy contact sent goosebumps racing.

  "Now, the next. Take mine hand." Again, her energy flowed into me.

  "The evil tree devoured all it could touch with its roots. Seeing a group of small children, the being couldn’t control its hunger. Yet an even greater evil appeared. The tree’s sap drained in an instant, fleeing its bark as the healthy flee the sick. Dried like an Erythocetes drains blood." Sounded dreadful. Hope I never meet something like that.

  Guided by Houonas’s energy, I fed power into the shard. Its crystalline form dissolved into essence, reshaping into a rough bow—its bark green, unlike the white-skinned trees I’d seen.

  "Its name is Dried Bow. Its spells are Adaptation—grow it as you wish with energy—and Energy Arrows, conjuring arrows with matching properties." Useful powers, if I knew how to use a bow.

  I turned to the slimes. "Do you ooze know how to use a bow?"

  "...No. Past Henrique liked swords and magic. Magic better than arrows! Ooze better, ooze better! Din knows nothing of arrows..." Damn. Another relic I can’t use.

  "Hey, Houonas—can you use this?" I handed her the bow. If not, maybe I could use it as bait.

  "Oh, I thank thee! Yes, I’ve basic training in archery." She took the bow—which looked like a toy in her hands—and in a blink, it grew to nearly my height. What the actual fuck?

  She gripped it with two right arms (one high, one low), leaving her lower arm free. Like magic, she drew the string, and a new arrow formed from the bark. In a flash, she loosed it like a javelin.

  The old geezer, who’d been watching, leapt aside like a startled cat.

  "Stupid kids! Watch where you shoot!" Like that short-ass could even be hit by them.

  "Pardon, Darefei. I could not contain mine joy at wielding such a beautiful weapon." She turned to me, offering it back.

  "No, keep it. I can’t use it anyway." Magic’s more my style.

  "Oh, such a wondrous gift! I thank thee from the depths of my hearts." Her smile still creeped me out, but I knew she meant it.

  After that, the sewer trek fell quiet, save for the squeaks of rats and mice. Though they looked odd in the dark, none seemed strong enough to drop shards.

  Speaking of light, the sewers had round bulbs embedded in the walls—some dimmed by grime. The place was massive, wide enough to fit a metro train with room to spare.

  An hour in, with nothing to show for it, Houonas spoke up.

  "Henrique, might I ask thee a question?" No reason to refuse.

  "Sure, go ahead."

  "I was using one of thine machines—the one with answers, like a library. Some show videos, akin to those from my domain. But one... differs. Is it custom for thy females to take multiple partners in communion? Or is she a queen, like my kind?"

  WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

  NO—SHE FOUND ONE OF _THOSE_ VIDEOS!

  "NO—alright, that’s not mine! I didn’t have time to sort what I downloaded. I grabbed everything from a backup repository. But those assholes stuffed in garbage—if you see that crap, delete it! It’s for perverts to... entertain themselves." I don’t even like that stuff! Maybe I should’ve written a script to purge it, but that’d take too long.

  Houonas fell silent, eyeing me strangely. I felt the judgment radiating off her. Hopefully just judgment—not something worse.

  "You two children squander your time! We’re in a Succession, and you dabble in idiocy!" Screw you, old geezer.

  "And what’s it to you?"

  "First, you drag us through filth while you hide in that armor—which you still haven’t explained. That’s no normal armor!" Damn, I forgot to introduce the slimes. Too much going on.

  "They’re my emotional support slimes: Lin, Runi, Din, Vex, Doom, Geen, Xeen, and Mia." Each extended a tendril.

  And, in unison: "...OOZE NOT SLIME!..." Cute.

  "Slimes?! Cursed slimes! Do you realize what you’ve done? Don’t touch that plate!" As we entered a vast chamber—larger than the rest—I finally spotted a tile at the center, its carved design screaming trap.

  Avoiding it was easy.

  "So much potential wasted! So many bonds squandered! Every bond you forge ties you to their domain’s fate! Your failure becomes theirs! No matter." I barely processed his rant—

  What the actual fuck?!

  The next tunnel yawned into a gargantuan chamber—what had once been opulent now lay in ruins.

  Ahead, a battle fit for gods raged. Red spears fell like rain; waves of swords erupted from the ground. Their wielder stood at the forefront—blond hair whipping, emerald eyes blazing. Even from here, her beauty was undeniable. Another vampire.

  Her opponent was no less monstrous: a crimson titan, fifteen meters tall, swatting spears aside like flies. Below him, red-clad fighters clashed with dark-robed enemies, their magic a riot of color. Wererats swarmed both sides, dying like insects.

  At the chamber’s rear, a battered throne stood, impaled by swords and lances—as if it, too, had fought and fallen.

  A battle of gods. And why the hell was _I_ here?

  I glanced at Darefei. The bastard was _grinning_.

  "Young boy, did you think I’d stake my domain on you?! Mine is worth more than this place—more than Gervants! You’re a lamb for slaughter! Even if you somehow win this Succession, you’ll breed heirs like cattle for the strong to leash!"

  Before I could react, a crimson spear rocketed toward me—a cannon shot. Houonas sprinted, but too late.

  The slimes shoved me aside.

  Not enough.

  The spear grazed my shoulder—just a brush, yet it _erupted_, vaporizing half my arm. Bone glinted through mangled flesh. Pain swallowed my thoughts.

  "Master! RUN!" Houonas yanked me back as the slimes pushed me toward the exit. Through the haze, I heard:

  "...Din not good—Din hurt, Din hurt! Xeen, help Din! Henrique hurt—need heal!..." One slime was wounded too.

  I focused on my blood, invoking my divine spell to stem the loss. Like a second heart, it pumped—but drained my energy fast.

  Darefei smirked. If I had the power, I’d burn him alive.

  As if answering my prayers, a sword-wave hurtled toward us—impaling the geezer like a pincushion. His face twisted in shock.

  Go to hell, old man.

  But the swords didn’t stop. They chased after us, relentless.

  "Come, little morsel. Time to bleed you dry." A singsong voice echoed in my skull.

  No. No way I’d die like this. Not after surviving this hell. Not as some bitch’s slaughter-lamb dinner. FUCK THIS!

  **CLICK.**

  "...Doom sorry, Doom sorry..." I looked down. The plate. Pressed into the floor.

  Damn slimes.

  The ground vanishes. An abyss yawned beneath us.

  As I fell, I glimpsed the swords disintegrating at the hole’s edges, dissolving into crimson mist. Arms—maybe two pairs—caught me as darkness swallowed us.

  Better than playing that fucker’s game.