"The slime is a cute green jelly, this kind of inertia thinking really should be changed." - Diary of the one hundred and fifty-seventh day.

After packing my luggage, I bid farewell to Granny Bonar.

"Young man, how do you say it again? Seneharrara?"

"Haha, yes, Granny Bonar."

"Remember what you said to Granny, it might change everything."

"Granny, what do you mean by that...?"

"It's nothing, get on the carriage quickly."

As I looked back at Granny Bonar, I saw the old lady smiling and pointing to her heart with her finger.

Does it mean I should believe in my own heart?

...

Saying goodbye to the witches, we continued on our way in the ox cart. According to the map, if we head southwest, we will come to the territory of a creature that looks like a slime in the illustrations. Slimes are generally considered to be low-level monsters in games, mainly used for beginners to bully. We'll definitely choose a lower difficulty level and start with the slime.

Driving the cart, I recalled my experience at the witches' house. Perhaps I should say something to that witch named Yvonne, like complimenting her on her beauty at least, so as not to leave a too cold impression. But as soon as I touched the ring in my hand, I became much more honest. As for expressing gratitude, I thanked every witch, after all, if it weren't for their help, my wife and I could have ended up paralyzed...

The forest in spring seemed full of vitality, and the fresh green on the ground was pleasing to the eye. Unlike sheep, the ox didn't stop to graze from time to time, so we were able to move much faster as long as we followed the Mountain Dotch. Along the way, there were many lovely little animals. Perhaps because she was full or found the animals too small, my wife didn't go hunting, and I secretly sighed in relief for the little squirrels in the trees.

Looking at my pocket watch, we had been traveling for two hours. Boredom began to envelop the creaking ox cart. I really hoped a wild beast would spring out, even a fierce dragon, anything to make it more exciting than sitting on a train. At first glance, the forest seemed quite natural, but after looking for a while, it was just trees, trees, trees, trees, with nothing else.

"Wife, cigarettes..."

"Here you go~"

"Wife, matches..."

"Here you go~"

"Wife, stop it..."

"Here you go, here you go, here you go~"

Medusa lay on the cart and handed me cigarettes and matches with her tail curled up, then mischievously poked my waist with the tip of her tail. I was very sensitive to being touched on the waist by others, and just one touch would make me jump, causing the ox cart to veer off course. It seemed that she was bored too, not just me.

"Husband, who am I?"

"You are my beloved wife~"

It's just the two of us here, what's there to guess.

"Where are we going~"

"We are going..."

Suddenly, the ox stopped and shook its head repeatedly. I immediately pulled out my revolver and aimed it ahead, and my wife also drew her bow on the cart, ready to survey the surroundings from a higher vantage point. Both my wife and I had become very vigilant towards anything unusual because of the five villains we encountered before, of course, only when we were not sleeping.

Everything around us was silent, with no enemies that humans or Medusa could detect.

I motioned for my wife to put down her arrow, and I approached the ox to investigate. There were indeed some changes here, which might not be noticeable on the cart, but walking a few steps on the ground revealed that the soil had become wet and sticky, not like after rain but more like someone deliberately spilled glue or something similar on the ground.

After tying the ox to a tree, I cautiously moved forward to explore, with my wife following me. I didn't originally want her to get off the cart.

"Yuck... so dirty."

"I told you, you can stay on the cart, I'll go..."

"But what if you're in danger?"

Just as we had walked a few steps, about ten meters or so, a putrid smell stimulated my olfactory nerves. I stopped and carefully observed the surroundings, and finally discovered the problem - all the trees seemed to have died here.

Since it was spring, the trees shouldn't have withered leaves. I lightly pressed the bark with my hand, and it felt like a sponge, just like the tree bark boiled in water during a winter famine. When I took a piece off, the inside of the bark was covered in transparent slime...

This is definitely the territory of slimes, but it's a bit disgusting. Could the slimy substance on the bark be the reason the soil beneath our feet is sticky?

Silence. A complete silence surrounds me. I checked the five bullets in my handgun again.

Any sudden movement now could cause my gun to misfire.

"Squish squish~"

"Ah!"

Where did this come from? Looking at the blob of apple-flavored jelly on the ground, I couldn't help but wonder.

The green slime slithered on the ground and crawled up to my feet, making squishing sounds. It was so adorable. Slimes really are the most harmless creatures. I wished I could pick up this little guy and feel its soft and squishy texture.

"Be careful, dear."

"What... happened?!"

As I looked around, the entire forest was filled with these green blobs.

Everything undergoes a qualitative change when there is a quantitative change. Slimes are no exception. We can't deal with this many slimes, so it might be a good choice to escape.

The squishing sounds the slimes made became nauseating, and my wife kept aiming her arrows at the closest ones. The sound was akin to farting underwater, which drove me crazy.

"We mean no harm!"

Finally, I shouted.

The slimes immediately became quiet...

The slimes immediately rushed towards us...

"We mean no harm!"

I pulled out the black market's insignia, but due to nervousness, I dropped it on the ground. One of the slimes immediately swallowed the insignia. Hey, that's my talisman!

After swallowing the insignia, the slime made a few gurgling sounds and then started fleeing at an astonishing speed. The rest of the slimes also slid rapidly towards the same direction. My wife and I chose to chase after them, not only because the insignia was important, but also because I had a feeling that these slimes were acting in an organized and planned manner.

In this kind of terrain, Medusa's speed didn't diminish at all. By lowering her body and increasing the contact area between her tail and the ground, she could effectively reduce the pressure. Similar to the principle of wide tracks on tanks. In contrast, I couldn't do that. Every step I took was uneven, and if I were a big buffalo, I would sink into the ground and be unable to move.

After chasing for a while, my wife stopped. I instinctively shook off the mud from my boots and stood up straight to get a good look at what the slime's lair looked like.

Before us was an open area. No, it wasn't an open area, it was a big mud pit. The slimes were rushing to jump into the pit. My wife pulled me up, and once again, recited the incantation for a magic arrow.

We had no idea what we would see next.

After all the slimes jumped into the mud pit, the calm surface of the muddy water became like a terrifying magic mirror that could produce a monster beyond my imagination at any moment. After a brief silence, the mud pit burst like an atomic bomb, spewing mud up to the height of a two-story building. We tried our best to stay away from the splattering mud, as if avoiding toxic substances.

"What the hell is this!"

Backpedaling several steps, I fell onto the wet and muddy ground. The creature in front of me blocked what little sunlight there was. From the moment I saw this monster, I felt that the name "slime" was completely inappropriate for it. It should be called a "scavenger." The translucent green body was filled with countless human and animal bones, as well as some swords and armor.

As the wave-like rhythm of the mud pit continued, the huge green creature writhed. The "junk" inside its body started to compress and rub against each other, creating a sound like bubbles trapped in the water, which made my teeth tremble. After enduring this noise, the giant monster trembled a few more times, and a mouth-like hole appeared on its body.

"Wait, dear."

I patted my extremely tense wife and let go of her trembling hand, setting down the bow and arrow. If this thing really wanted to attack us, it would have done so when we entered this area. Perhaps it was because of the swallowed insignia.

"Oh... humans..."

These words carried a tremendous echo and tremor, like a sonic boom hitting us from that mouth.

"What... do you want..."

I was extremely shocked, not because the monster could speak, but because beneath that big mouth, there appeared a throat made of transparent green gel. These words were actually emitted through that "throat." It was imitating a human body!