Within the mining area, the Slimes' pill refining was in full swing.
"Hey-ho! Hey-ho!"
The Slime alchemists' gelatinous bodies rose and fell rhythmically as they smashed the sun-dried herbs with all their might, grinding them into fine powder.
Other Slime alchemists mixed the medicinal powder according to precise proportions, then carefully kneaded and shaped it with their soft, springy bodies, turning it into evenly sized brown pills.
Next, several cooperating Slimes shouted a chant as they worked together to lift a heavy iron basin filled with pills. With a clang, they dumped it into the blacksteel pill furnace forged by Anvil.
Boom!
Scorching flames surged from beneath the furnace, instantly heating the blacksteel walls until they glowed faintly red. The blazing heat distorted the air around it.
Several Slime alchemists in charge of the flames still felt the heat was insufficient. They lined up and vigorously waved leafy fans, fanning the fire higher.
Others suddenly turned bright red, then sprayed flames from their gelatinous bodies, making the pill furnace burn more evenly.
Before long, a strange medicinal fragrance drifted gently from the gaps in the furnace lid, spreading through the mining area.
Anvil, who had been hammering metal blanks with a clang-clang-bang not far away, twitched his large nose a few times and stopped his hammer in puzzlement.
"Strange. What exactly is His Majesty trying to refine? It smells pretty good too..."
The scent made him feel full of drive, and even his blood seemed to grow hot.
His curiosity was thoroughly hooked, so he set down his red-hot hammer and moved behind the gathered Slimes to watch curiously.
"Look, the big beard is slacking off!"
"Now Boss has caught him red-handed, huh? Hehe!"
Not far away, a group of little Earth Elementals hopped over excitedly. Behind them came Little