Mental Changes

After chatting with Naiyuan and Herohero for a while, Momonga began testing more items.

Mirror of Surveillance.

This item could observe enemies from a great distance and obtain some of their information, though in the game, it could only be used to view terrain.

After all, most Players bought several anti-surveillance items.

But now that they had crossed into the New World, Momonga had high hopes for this item's effects. Perhaps it might prove surprisingly useful.

Pressing his skeletal hand against the mirror's surface, Momonga began pouring magic power into it.

As magic power flowed in, the mirror began to change. Waves of mist emerged across its surface, until an image finally appeared within it.

The viewpoint seemed to be looking down from the sky. Momonga could clearly see a grassland, as well as Nazarick's exit.

"I didn't expect this item to be so useful."

Momonga looked at the image before him with some surprise.

It gave him the feeling of watching television.

"Indeed, it would be quite good for peeping."

Looking at the scene before him, Naiyuan said with a smile as he lounged on the sofa.

The sight reminded him of an anime called Naruto, where the Third Hokage often used similar Ninjutsu for peeping.

"Don't talk nonsense, Naiyuan. How could I do something like that?"

Momonga retorted with a face full of black lines.

What did Naiyuan take him for? How could he possibly do something as shameless as peeping? It was an insult to his character.

"I was only making a suggestion. Don't get so worked up, Momonga."

"Your suggestion really isn't a good one, Naiyuan."

Herohero, who was enjoying a massage, also laughed and chimed in.

"You two... forget it. I'm not talking to you anymore."

Out of sight, out of mind. Momonga simply chose to ignore his two troublesome friends and continued observing.

Momonga continuously waved his skeletal hand, and the image in the mirror kept changing.

The view extended outward from Nazarick. Along the way, Momonga saw forests, animals, and rivers, until the image finally stopped over a village.

"I didn't expect there to be humans in the New World too?"

Looking at the tiny human figures running around on the ground, Momonga was somewhat surprised.

"Isn't that perfectly normal?"

"It would be strange if the New World didn't have humans, wouldn't it?"

Herohero and Naiyuan walked over to the mirror. Herohero felt that it was perfectly normal, so what was there to be surprised about?

"That makes sense."

After falling silent for a while, Momonga nodded in agreement.

"The image seems a little off. Momonga, zoom in and take a look."

"Alright."

As Momonga adjusted the angle and distance, Naiyuan and the others finally saw what was happening below.

A massacre. An unmistakable massacre. A group of knights in ornate armor, wielding sharp blades, were constantly swinging their weapons.

Those they attacked were villagers dressed in hemp clothes. With every swing of a knight's sword, blood red flowers blossomed in the air.

"It seems the people of the New World aren't particularly strong either. Those knights don't seem capable of any supernatural powers."

Without paying attention to the slaughter in the image, Herohero instead analyzed their strength and ultimately gave them a poor assessment.

"We can't let our guard down. They might just be cannon fodder. We haven't encountered the real strong ones yet."

Momonga shook his head and spoke to the two of them. Though those knights looked weak, perhaps the powerful ones simply had not appeared yet.

"I say, aren't you two focusing on the wrong thing?"

"They're slaughtering people, but you're analyzing how strong they are?"

Naiyuan looked at the two, who wore thoughtful expressions, with an exasperated look. Their strange focus left him speechless.

Momonga and Herohero froze when they heard that.

Right. This was clearly the important part, so why had they instinctively overlooked it?

Under normal circumstances, they should have felt sick and uncomfortable at the sight of this. How could they still have the leisure to discuss other matters?

For people who had never witnessed massacres or bloody scenes in their lives, their current reactions were extremely abnormal.

"Momonga, how do you feel about such a bloody scene?"

"Nothing at all. I even find it a little boring."

"What about you, Herohero?"

"More or less the same. It's as though those dying aren't people, but ants. My emotions aren't stirred in the slightest."

Momonga and Herohero began carefully observing the mirror, but no matter how they looked, they could not produce any feeling of discomfort.

Their words made Naiyuan fall into thought, and he examined his own condition as well.

The conclusion, unsurprisingly, was that he felt nothing at all.

If he had not deliberately paid attention earlier, he would most likely have instinctively ignored the massacre just like the other two.

"If we were our former selves, we definitely wouldn't look like this."

Naiyuan looked at the two of them thoughtfully.

"It seems our current bodies have brought us more than just power. They're also subconsciously affecting our minds."

Body and soul had always been inseparable. Now that they had changed bodies, their minds would inevitably be affected by their new bodies.

Though this influence had no real side effects, it would subconsciously alter their values.

"Come to think of it, I often feel the urge to devour living creatures and corrode them."

Herohero recalled his earlier experiences and looked at the two of them solemnly.

He had noticed the difference in himself. A Slime's instincts were guiding him.

"I feel joy when I see life perish before my eyes."

"I originally thought it was an illusion, but it seems my mind really is adapting to this body and changing."

Momonga also spoke of his feelings at that moment.

As an Undead, he felt no sympathy for humans.

His former human emotions were gradually fading, while an Undead's mindset was steadily deepening.

"I'm much the same. A Dragonoid's arrogance and conceit keep me from feeling any pity for these humans. I even find myself appreciating the sight of them being cut down."

Naiyuan stretched out his arms and looked at the black scales covering his body. He knew that this Dragonoid body was influencing him as well.

His memories would not change, but his personality would drift away from humanity and become more aligned with each of their current races.

Their attitudes toward unrelated strangers were all the same.

After voicing their respective feelings, the three looked at one another.

"This is the price, I suppose. It's a little troublesome, but it isn't a serious problem."

Herohero looked at his new body made of slime. If he could gain such immense power, what did this small change matter?

Though he was somewhat surprised by the change in his personality, he did not pay it much mind.

The bond between him, Naiyuan, and Momonga would not change over something so trivial.

He was still himself. That would never change.

"Everything in the New World has nothing to do with me, so I don't have any problem with it."

Momonga calmly looked at the mirror before him. He accepted his change, because he did not belong to this world in the first place and had no reason to feel burdened by it.

He only needed to protect Nazarick, protect his friends, and protect his family.

"As for me, as long as the three of us are together, nothing else matters."

Naiyuan crossed his arms and spoke to the two with an indifferent expression.

He had brought up this matter only to remind Momonga and Herohero of the changes in themselves. He had no other intentions.

His attitude toward the people of the New World was to do as he pleased. Simply put, he would do whatever he wanted.

"How mushy, Naiyuan. Anyone who didn't know better would think we had some improper relationship."

Herohero teased, while his body struck a frightened pose.

"It's not impossible, you know. Dragons have no taboos~"

"And Slimes aren't entirely incapable of it either."

Naiyuan licked his lips, wearing a friendly smile, but his words made their sphincters tighten.

"Are you serious?"

Herohero stiffened and retreated in terror behind the quietly standing Solution.

Though he knew Naiyuan was trying to scare him, Herohero was still somewhat afraid. Naiyuan's current race was a Dragonoid.

He did not dare gamble on whether his friend might one day suddenly want to test a Slime's softness. After all, dragons were notoriously lustful.

Given the disparity in their strength, Herohero realized that he seemed to have only one possible fate.

"Hey, that's enough, Naiyuan. Look how badly you've scared Herohero."

Momonga hurriedly spoke up when he saw this.

If he did not intervene, he felt Herohero might simply run away.

And honestly, seeing the two of them like this left him with a slight feeling of displeasure.

Clearly, he was Naiyuan's best friend. Why did it seem as though he were the extra one?

"Alright, alright. I was just scaring you, Herohero."

Hearing Momonga remind him not to take it too far, Naiyuan stopped joking.

No matter how crazy he might be, he would never do something like that with a Slime, especially when the Slime was his friend—and, more importantly, male.

"That's good. Don't say things like that again. You scared the life out of me."

"I'm not like Momonga. He's nothing but bones, so it doesn't matter."

Upon hearing Naiyuan's assurance, Herohero immediately relaxed.

He slowly emerged from behind Solution, raising a hand to wipe away nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

At those words, the red glow in Momonga's eye sockets flickered repeatedly. He felt deeply offended.

He wanted to loudly tell Herohero that he could do it too. With the item Naiyuan had given him, [Disguise of the Undead], he could become human whenever he wanted.

Meanwhile, Sebas, who had no presence at all nearby, also breathed a sigh of relief. If Lord Naiyuan truly forced himself on Lord Herohero, that would be far too terrible.

As the butler, Sebas could not imagine what position he should take at such a time.

He had to protect the safety of the Supreme Beings, but if the other party was another Supreme Being, there was nothing he could do. Moreover, Sebas had doubts about whether that would even count as harm.

Though he appeared quite old, Sebas was undoubtedly still a baby, and Touch Me had not included such knowledge in his settings.

Unlike Sebas, whose thoughts were running wild, Solution on the other side felt somewhat disappointed.

"If Lord Naiyuan really got together with Lord Herohero, wouldn't Lord Herohero never leave me?"

With that thought in mind, Solution felt it was a pity.

As an NPC created by Herohero, she naturally wanted him to remain in Nazarick forever. She would not reject any opportunity that might make her creator stay.

"Now that we've figured out our condition, what should we do?"

"Should we go take a closer look at that village?"

Unaware of Solution's dangerous thoughts, Herohero asked.

At the same time, he quietly moved to Momonga's right side, putting distance between himself and Naiyuan on the other side.

Seeing this, Naiyuan, who was standing to Momonga's left, felt speechless. He had merely made a joke in the heat of the moment. Was that really necessary?

"Then let's go. We have to face it sooner or later."

"What do you think, Momonga?"

Though Herohero's act of moving away from him made Naiyuan somewhat annoyed, he still nodded and agreed with the suggestion.

He turned toward Momonga beside him and asked for his decision. Herohero looked over as well.

Though he and Naiyuan both agreed, Momonga's opinion was equally crucial. If he disagreed, they would not force him.

"What else can I say? Since both of you want to go, I'll go with you."

He swallowed the refusal he had originally wanted to voice.

Seeing that Naiyuan and Herohero both agreed, Momonga had nothing more to say. Just as Naiyuan had said, they had to face it sooner or later.

Naiyuan immediately broke into a smile and draped an arm over each of Momonga and Herohero's shoulders.

Terrifying strength directly pulled both of them to his side.

"Then, I hereby announce..."

"Nazarick's New World expedition officially begins."