Warm Night

The campfire drove back the darkness. Firelight passed through the lush green gel, and the Slime's body flowed with an amber gleam like a gemstone.

Chen Yu sprawled into a lump of liquid atop a tree stump, basking comfortably in the warmth of the fire.

Seja had been right. Demonic Beasts truly feared fire.

The moment he saw the flames, his Slime instincts had faintly felt fear. But "Slime Warrior" quickly took effect, and he easily suppressed those instincts.

Seja sat nearby, stringing Moss Monsters together with a wooden stick and roasting them over the fire until they sizzled with grease.

The fragrance of oil drifted through the surroundings. Demonic Beasts stirred restlessly in the darkness, yet none dared approach.

First, the blazing flames made Demonic Beasts instinctively fearful.

Second, there was the seemingly harmless Slime beside the campfire.

Any predator with even a little sense could smell the dangerous aura emanating from it.

At the very least, it was something on the same level as a Stinger Bee.

They hesitated in fear, then quietly retreated in the end.

Seja, who had been keeping watch on the surroundings, let out a breath of relief and handed Chen Yu a roasted Moss Monster skewered on an oak branch.

Watching the Slime beside her gobble down the skewers, she suddenly had a blasphemous urge to reach out and touch it.

"Seja, aren't you eating?"

Chen Yu looked up at the dazed Seja, feeling puzzled.

"Oh...!"

Seja came back to herself, ashamed of that fleeting thought.

"Seja, what are you thinking?"

"That is Putu's envoy. You must hold him in reverence."

"Reverence."

She took a deep breath and steadied herself, returning once more to the solemn and sacred task of grilling food for the envoy.

The Moss Monsters had been roasted to perfection. They remained crisp and tender while sizzling with oil, carrying the fresh scent of wood that greatly whetted Chen Yu's appetite.

After gobbling down several more Moss Monsters, he asked about the outside world.

"Are you the only Scale Shedder left in the tribe? Could there be companions searching for you?"

"Huh? What?"

Seja came back to herself and only then realized what Chen Yu had asked.

Her mood sank somewhat.

"Corrupted Faith spread during the Winter Year. Back then, there weren't many Lizardfolk in the tribe who believed in Corrupted Morgul, until..."

"Priest Zulok publicly called upon the tribe to embrace Corruption. He claimed Corrupted Morgul could grant us enough strength to hunt greater beast-like Demonic Beasts like the Gnolls, so we would no longer have to go hungry..."

"So you believed him?"

Chen Yu swallowed a Moss Monster, curiosity in his gaze.

"Some tribe members did. Fierce conflict erupted within the tribe amid hunger and cold. My father... died because he resisted Zulok... Then my sister and I gathered the last remaining Scale Shedders, escaped Zulok's encirclement, and hid in the Swamp Forest."

"We wandered for several months, relying on our faith in nature to escape danger after danger, until we finally endured into spring..."

"But in the end, the Gnolls' pursuit still forced us apart... To this day, I still don't know whether my sister is alive."

"You have a sister?"

"Mhm. Her name is Semiya. She is the bravest warrior in our tribe. Before the witness of the tribe, she once killed a terrifying Bear Goblin alone and completed the tribe's trial while bathing in blood."

"A trial?"

Chen Yu caught the keyword.

"That's right. It is a ritual passed down through the generations of our Scaleclaw Tribe. When a Lizardfolk defeats an enemy thought impossible to defeat before the tribe's witness, they receive the blessing of the Spirit of Life and become stronger and more formidable."

Isn't that a Prestige Title?

Chen Yu could now be certain. The native creatures of Zeyarila capable of gaining Prestige Titles seemed to have stepped into a higher level of life.

Just like him.

He had evolved from a lowly little monster into an elite monster.

Although an elite Slime could still be stomped to death with one foot by certain Demonic Beasts, it was at least a decent opening.

Chen Yu had wanted to ask more, but seeing Seja lost in remembrance, he ultimately said nothing and let her think in silence.

The night gradually deepened, and the glow of the fluorescent moss grew dimmer.

The campfire still burned, but its flames could no longer drive away the oppressive darkness. Surrounded from all sides, it shrank before the Shelter built of branches and leaves.

"Go to sleep. Remember to get up in the middle of the night and add more firewood."

Chen Yu hopped onto a stone a little farther from the campfire. Feeling the faint cool moisture, the water within his body was replenished.

Warming himself by the fire was extremely comfortable, but it easily baked his gel dry, so he could not stay by it the whole time.

"If you don't mind, would you like to squeeze in with me?"

Seja crawled into the bed of leaves and asked cautiously.

Chen Yu did not answer. Sprawled across the stone, he had already entered meditation while circulating the Three Origins Sect's Cultivation Methods, the Kaiyuan Scroll.

Zeyarila's spiritual energy was exceedingly thin, but even a mosquito's leg was still meat.

It was densest at night and dawn, making those times ideal for cultivation.

With both bodies cultivating together, the results were even better.

After entering his cultivation state, the Slime's body slowly emitted a faint glow. Tiny, indistinct specks of light quietly seeped from the surrounding air, soil, and even between the leaves, circling around it.

The light was gentle and pure, sacred yet natural, as though it had condensed the essence of moonlight. It put one at ease.

Seja lay on the bed of leaves and watched this scene. Her heart, which should have been uneasy in an unfamiliar environment, gradually settled without her realizing it, like a drifting boat finding a tranquil harbor.

She softly recited a prayer to Putu. Her eyelids gradually grew heavy, and at last she fell asleep, her breathing calm and deep.

She slept soundly.

Over the following days, Chen Yu practiced the Lesser Arrow Technique while waiting for Seja's injuries to recover.

Before he knew it, four days had flashed by. During that time, no Lizardfolk or Gnolls came looking for them.

Setting aside Seja, this new resident, the Swamp Forest was practically no different from before.

That day, Chen Yu felt as though he had expanded and grown again. The Beetle Helmet that had once fit him now felt somewhat cramped.

--

Race: Acid Slime

Level: Black Iron Lv.3 [EXP: 0/30]

Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Lv.3 [Spiritual Power: 12/30]

Life Status: Healthy [HP: 105/105]

Racial Talent: Devour and Digest Lv.2

Other Talent: Acid Secretion Lv.2

Skill List: Kaiyuan Scroll Lv.4, Object Manipulation Technique Lv.3, Lesser Arrow Technique Lv.1, Sound Transmission Technique Lv.1

Prestige Title: Slime Warrior (A Slime Just Starting Out)

--

Honestly, after reaching Black Iron Lv.3, he only felt that he had more health and could take more of a beating. Nothing else seemed to have changed.

Oh, no. That wasn't right.

The amount of Acid his Magic Organ could condense at once had also increased.

Chen Yu lurked beneath the swamp, spying on the bustling Oak Territory—the Stinger Bees hovered around the oak, raising and harvesting Moss Monsters, while that group of beetles still stubbornly lingered beneath the tree.

The two sides appeared to be locked in a standoff.

However, after these days of recuperation, Seja's injuries had completely healed.

He felt that the time had come.

It was time to drive these Demonic Beasts out of his territory.