After completing what I had set out to do, I spent the rest of my remaining credits stocking up on necessities. I could have held onto the credits and chipped away at next month’s debt, but honestly, it was better to keep my supplies up. I could always earn more once I was back in the dungeon.

  I picked up a few healing potions and a bundle of dried meat. I made sure to refill my ration bag as much as I could, checking the quality of each purchase and thinking ahead to the next stretch inside.

  As I made my way through the city, I couldn’t help but notice how empty it was. A week had passed since the dungeon’s opening, but the streets felt quiet. Normally, by the end of the first week, you would see an influx of returning adventurers, worn out from their first push and eager to trade stories, cash in spoils, and resupply. Not this time.

  The difference was obvious, and it all traced back to the first floor.

  This cycle, the goblin empire had taken root at the dungeon. That meant the path in and the path out were both heavily guarded. New adventurers, especially those just starting out, were likely stuck inside, either hiding, or caught by the goblins. I could imagine the prisons scattered throughout the goblin warrens, the unlucky ones waiting for whatever “fate” the monsters decided to hand out.

  Once I finished all my preparations, I made my way back home. The sun was dipping below the rooftops, painting the streets in dusty shadows as I slipped quietly into my shack. Tonight, with everything in order, I let myself sink into the comfort of my worn bedroll.

  Sleep came quickly, the kind of deep, dreamless rest that only finds you after too many nights spent on edge, wary and half-awake in a monster-filled dungeon.

  When morning broke, it was with a soft wash of light through the boards. I stretched, rolled my shoulders, and called up my interface. My mana reserves were full again.

  Before I could return to the dungeon, there were two things left to handle.

  First: my newly enchanted bolt. I retrieved it carefully, its length pulsing with residual energy from the rune stone. One of my slimes, stationed near me, waited patiently at my feet.

  “Ready?” I murmured.

  The slime wobbled in reply, a faint ripple running across its surface. I handed the bolt to it, focusing my intent and spending the required five mana for its Armament ability.

  At my command, the slime’s surface shifted. Slowly, it wrapped itself around the bolt, its membrane spreading over the shaft and fang-tipped head. The slime’s form flowed over the bolt, encasing it completely.

  The absorption wasn’t immediate. It was a deliberate process. The bolt sank deeper, dissolving into the slime’s body as if being melted down and re-forged within. The crimson tip faded from view.

  Within moments, the bolt was gone. No trace remained on the surface, as though the slime had completely devoured the bolt’s power as part of itself.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  I nodded in satisfaction, feeling the small drain of mana but far more in return, a new certainty.

  “One down,” I said softly. “One more thing to do before we head back.”

  Once everything was set, I nodded to my home and left my waypoint slime behind in the shack, making sure I could use it as my anchor for teleportation between here and the dungeon. Lila fell in step inside of the pouch as I stepped out into the morning light.

  We cut a careful path through the underbrush of the dark forest. I stopped in a small clearing, listening. For a moment, there was only the breeze.

  Then, all around us, the foliage began to move. Leaves rustled, bushes shook, and one by one, slimes began to emerge from every direction, rolling and wobbling their way across moss and roots. The sight made me pause, a grin breaking across my face.

  Dozens became scores, and scores became hundreds. The whole clearing was soon filled with them, the largest gathering I had ever commanded. It was hard not to feel a strange sense of pride watching them converge.

  Lila peeked from my side, eyes wide with wonder. “Wow… I knew you had a lot waiting, but this many?”

  I chuckled. “They’ve been waiting for a chance to go back.”

  Lila crouched and watched as the slimes began to cluster together at my feet, obediently following my mental command.

  I raised my voice just enough to carry. “Alright, everyone, group up!”

  Obediently, the slimes began to pile together, forming a mound at my feet that grew higher with each moment. Some clung to the sides, others balanced precariously on top, but all of them stayed connected, as if they knew what was coming next.

  I glanced at Lila. “You ready?”

  She nodded, her lips twitching in a small smile. “Ready.”

  “Good.” I placed a steady hand on the mound of slimes, feeling the cool sensation of their bodies pressing against my palm. I took a deep breath, focusing my mana and reaching for that familiar power, Shared Vision of Blinking.

  With eleven points of mana to make this transfer, I activated the skill.

  The cool forest air gave way to the close, charged atmosphere of dungeon stone. Then, in a rush of energy, we were through, blinking from the quiet wilds of the forest, straight back into the heart of the fourth floor.

  We arrived all at once—me, Lila, and my gathered army.

  I opened my eyes and grinned. I took a long look around, absorbing the sight of my newly expanded force. With the slimes I had gathered from outside now merged with the smaller cohort I raised in the dungeon, I stood at the center of a true army, about 150 slimes strong. The sense of power was overwhelming. My options had tripled, and with them, so had my ambition.

  It was time to organize.

  I quickly divided the slimes by purpose, issuing silent commands through our bond. A hundred shifted into their ranged forms, ready to rain down maledictive projectiles at a moment’s notice. Thirty transformed into vanguards. The last twenty taking on their tank forms, bulking up with their dense, protective round shields. I used my shapeshifting ability three times in quick succession, feeling the drain, nine mana points gone, leaving me with only nine left for the day after all my efforts since morning.

  Lila, standing at my side as the slimes settled into formation, looked at me curiously. “So, what now?”

  I turned toward her, a slow grin spreading across my face. “Simple. I’m going to grow stronger in one fell swoop.”

  She blinked, clearly puzzled. “How?”

  I met her gaze, eyes bright with determination. “I’m going to conquer the first floor. And I’m going to eliminate the Goblin King.”