Chapter 46: Way of Slime
A light flashed at the edge of the cliff. Sila was standing next to Divine. They had returned to the top of the Cliff of Heroes.
Sila looked around. He couldn't see Bow anywhere.
"Mister Divine… umm… what about… Bow? Did she pass the trial?" Sila asked in a low voice.
"No, she didn't," replied Divine.
"She didn't pass? Any of the trials?" Sila asked slowly. He was quite afraid of the answer.
"Yes. She didn't pass any trials."
"You mean Bow… has died?" Sila muttered slowly. A sadness filled his heart.
A cute girl like that had died. Although she was only an AI, as Sila interpreted that Monster Soul was another world, he couldn't help but think that she was a living creature.
"I haven't died yet, Big Brother." The sound of a young girl came from behind Sila.
Sia turned his head to look. Bow was standing there between Poluk and Viola.
"Bow!! Thank god you are fine." Sila smiled.
All of the Slime Guardians gathered together, so Sila used this chance to clear his doubt.
"Why is Bow…? I mean, didn't you tell me that failing in the ordeal was equal to death?"
"Do you think we are that cruel?" Poluk said, "I believe that I'm quite kind."
"No, sir, but you have told me yourself that if one fails, one will have to die," Sila replied.
"It's just a pretense to prevent ignorant slimes from needlessly challenging the ordeal. If there's no such pretense, we would have no time to rest. The slime has to be confident in their own ability to a certain extent before daring to challenge the ordeal. This little girl is the only one who jumped down the cliff without any thoughts," Viola said.
Bow was dejected. She heard that Sila had overcome all the three trials while she couldn't overcome a single one.
"I believe it will take Bow only a year before Bow can pass the psychic-part trial," Divine commented.
Bow gave a big smile. She indeed almost passed the psychic-part trial. The thing that prevented her from passing was the fact that she hadn't won against her inner self with Transparent Slime so Divine didn't give her a passing grade even though it was her overwhelming victory.
Divine explained that she won because her inner self was too weak compared to her actual body. For the record, people like this are rare. Bow just needed to bump into her inner self one time to make it disappear. Divine couldn't let her pass like this as it wasn't helpful in real combat.
"I think it's best that we visit His Majesty. His Majesty must have waited for a long time already," Viola suggested.
All five slimes slowly went to the palace. During their journey, there were many slimes greeting them. Bow was boasting about Sila's triumph along the way, causing everyone to know that Sila had become the second slime after Slime King who possessed all three slime skills.
There was a commotion in the slime society. They really hoped Sila was able to release them from the curse.
***
Slime King slowly nodded after he heard the story of Sila overcoming the three trials from Bow.
Sila heard the story from Bow's mouth and felt as if it wasn't like his own story at all. For instance, Sila overcame Poluk's trial without having to fight (it was actually like that, but Bow described it as if even Poluk wasn't worthy to be Sila's opponent); Sila competed against Viola neck and neck even with his low aptitude in magic, (during this explanation, Viola's brows were twitching, causing Sila to break out in a cold sweat); Lastly, Sila could win against his inner self even with his eyes closing.
Once Bow finished the story, she stepped back to Sila. He used this chance to whisper to her.
"Bow, were you watching me?"
"No, Big Brother. I heard your story from Mister Poluk and explained it in a way that I understand," Bow smiled back.
Sila sighed. Seeing Bow's innocent eyes, he couldn't reject a thing.
Slime King discussed something with the three Slime Guardians before turning his head to Sila.
"You have overcome the Way of Slime's ordeal. Now, it's my turn to grant you one… no, two rewards," Slime King said.
A change occurred in Sila's body, setting off a system notification.
Player Sila has overcome the Way of Slime's ordeal. Player's status and rank have been promoted to Blue Slime of Knight Rank, Level 1.
Player Sila has obtained the Map of the Eight Slime Seals.
Sila could feel that his body had grown to the size of a football. His usual pink color also changed to a blue like Poluk's.
For the map, he opened it and found that it was a map of Monster Soul. There were eight colorful spots on the map. The brown spot had been crossed out though.
"This map contains the location of all the Slime Seals. The spots are the current locations of each dragon. Once you exterminate them all, the slime seal on this kingdom will be broken," Slime King explained.
Sila nodded. He had been thinking he needed to travel across the world to search for Slime Seals. If there was this map, it would be easier for him to find the seal.
Slime King closed his eyes. His body was glowing in an intense golden light, enveloping the entire palace. Once the light dispersed, there was a middle aged man standing in front of Sila.
This man was handsome and gave off the charm of an adult man. His hair was golden in color. His body was muscular and lean. He was wearing golden noble clothes. A crown which used to be on top of the Slime King was currently on top of this man.
Sila eyes widened. "Your Majesty?"
"Yes. Why are you shocked? This is my psychic body. I believe you have already witnessed this skill with Divine," Slime King replied.
"Um, yes, it's just that I never thought that Your Majesty is the psychic type."
"This type suits me. Whatever, now is not the time for this. We need to discuss the Way of Slime skill first," Slime King said, which reminded Sila of the reason he came here. "Usually, all slime skills share a common drawback. They can only be used when the user is in a slime form."
Sila eyes widened again. He looked at himself. Does he have to stay in this form?
"That would be troublesome, Your Majesty. Indeed, this form can fight monsters. But if I visit the city, won't I become a target of the players?" Sila asked.
"You have a point. Anyway, with you overcoming the ordeal, you can now switch form between a slime and a human."
Sila felt relieved. Nevertheless, having to change form during combat was still troublesome.
"And with you successfully passing all the trials, the Way of Slime skill you obtained will allow you to activate slime skills even in a human form," Slime King continued.
Sila finally smiled. He was glad he doesn't need to switch form during the fight since it was somehow uncool.
"Try activating Way of Slime," Slime King suggested.
"Way of Slime!" Sila shouted.
Sila's body flashed briefly. Once the light dispersed, he had already returned to his human form. Sila looked at his own body and tried moving his arms.
"Now, follow me to the Cliff of Heroes," Slime King ordered.
"Cliff of Heroes? Why are we going there again, Your Majesty?" Sila asked.
"If you want an answer, just try activating the slime skills."
Sila tried to execute the slime-race skills but he failed. He couldn't use even one of them.
"Your human form still isn't used to slime skills. Don't worry, though. I will train you," Slime King said.
"Your Majesty will train me?" Sila felt curious.
"Yes. In this kingdom, I am the only person who can use all three slime skills so it should be me to train you in using them."
"But…" Sila felt it was improper for him to receive personal training from the king of a kingdom.
"Are you doubting my ability? That can't be helped. I have yet to show you what I am capable of… Hey, Poluk," Slime King turned his attention toward Poluk.
Sila was about to correct the misunderstanding, but Poluk had already lifted a stone the size of a fist and thrown it toward Slime King at a high speed.
Slime King lifted his left hand. Although his hand's movement was slow, it connected with the fist-sized stone at the right time with precision.
Once the stone collided with his hand, it changed direction and headed towards Sila, moving even faster than before. Sila didn't have time to react. The stone flew past his face and scraped his cheek slightly.
The explosion sound could be heard behind Sila. He turned his head to look with a shocked expression. The area behind him had turned into a crater with a radius longer than 10 meters. It was as if a mini meteor had hit it.
Sila's left cheek was bleeding.. The blood was slowing dripping down.
"I just swept the stone using Moon Reflecting Mirror, strengthened it using the hard and heavy attributes of Formless Soldier, and I also imbued the elemental powers of fire and wind into it using Orbiting Cosmos. How about it? Am I qualified to teach you?"
"Y-yes…" Sila replied weakly.
"Good. Everyone go do your own work. As for you, kid, follow me," Slime King said.
Sila went behind Slime King. Bow also followed him.
In the town, the Slime King was greeting all slime residents in a friendly manner. Sila admired how the Slime King wasn't haughty at all. All slimes also seemed to respect their king.
Once they had arrived at the edge of the cliff, Slime King turned his head to look at Bow.
"Bow, you should back off now. You aren't ready to take part in the trial. Your ability is still lacking," Slime King said.
"But I want to get out soon," Bow disputed.
"Bow, seriously, with your ability, even if you were to go out, you would get killed by a human."
"But…" Bow argued. She was making a sad expression.
Sila heard their conversation and came up with an idea.
"I have a method to let Bow get outside," He said.
"What method, Big Brother?" Bow asked. Her face was filled with happiness.
Sila lifted his left hand up. His middle finger was equipped with a ring of triangular shape. "With an item that can seal monsters."
"Yes! If I were to become a pet and let Big Brother Sila seal me inside the ring, I would be able to go outside!" Bow felt excited.
"But Bow, you still can't take care of yourself. Your rank and level are still at Squire Rank, level 1," Slime King objected.
"No problem. I'll take care of her until she can take care of herself," Sila volunteered.
"Are you sure? I bet that all sorts of problems will come at you if you bring Bow outside," Slime King warned.
Sila couldn't understand what Slime King meant. But he was sure about his decision.
"Up to you. Don't regret it later," Slime King said.
Bow was hopping with happiness. Her body was glowing in pink light.
Player Sila has obtained Bow - Pink Slime, Squire Rank, Level 1 as a pet with monster's consent. You couldn't rename its name.
The light faded off. Bow was smiling ear to ear.
"Kid, you should know that the path of a destroyer and the path of a protector use different kinds of resolve," Slime King warned again.
"It's my decision, Your Majesty," Sila replied.
"Bow is my daughter. I will have to train you harder to ensure that you are capable of protecting her."
"No problem, Your Majesty. I can endure any hardship," Sila said while looking at Slime King with his head held high.
Slime King giggled. He walked toward the edge of the cliff.
"I thought I would hold back for a bit at first. But based on the story Bow has told and your voice just now, I believe you can endure my training. You're the hope of the slime race anyway. Don't worry. I will train you until you can fight against dragons without shame."
Slime Kind said before jumping into the cliff.
Sila sighed. There was no turning back for him now. He jumped down, following Slime King.