Early morning.
The sky was gray, but at least it wasn't raining.
The swamp's rotting stench grew heavier, oppressive as a stone pressing on every monster's chest.
The Moss Monsters in the breeding pens had lost their appetites;
even when Poison-stinger Wasps brought their favorite moldy leaves, they were too lazy to take a bite.
Under the oak swamp, Little Crocodile peeked up from the water, cautiously sizing up the busy Poison-stinger Wasps, the Beetles hauling cargo, and the Slimes hopping about in its territory.
Today was its third day after joining the Swamp Overlord's castle.
As the lowest-ranking resident here, it had to stay on constant alert for any encroaching monsters—especially those little Slimes that treated crocodiles like playthings.
Yesterday it saw the little Slimes pawing at those terrifying Poison-stinger Wasps as if they were toys, and using Beetles as stepping stones.
Terrifying beyond words.
Today it must try not to become a Slime's plaything.
It watched for a long while and found itself oddly nostalgic for the days of expanding the swamp with the Overlord.
It seemed that whenever the Overlord was around, all the things that scared the crocs in the swamp weren't so frightening.
Creak…
What would the Overlord be doing today?
Its small eyes turned up toward the oak treehouse.
Surely undergoing a grueling trial of kings, it guessed.
…
Inside the treehouse, a ball of Slime was sprawled on a leaf bed, snoring deeply.
Only after a long time did Chen Yu slowly wake, and when he opened his eyes it was already noon.
His foggy consciousness snapped into clarity.
"Oh no, did I actually level up?"
Last night he had ridden Little Crocodile deeper into the swamp to expand territory and had finally accumulated enough experience to level up. He hadn't expected to return to the castle feeling woozy—only remembering crawling into the treehouse by instinct—then falling into a deep sleep.
He hopped around and observed: his body was still the same size;
the gel still flowed with sweet life fluid and the hallucinogenic factor;
gastric acids churned at the right moments, bubbling and gurgling.
If his body didn't change, then what exactly leveled up?
He instinctively checked his panel.
—
Race: Splitting Slime
Rank: Bronze Lv.4 [EXP: 0/40]
Cultivation: Qi Training Lv.4 [Spiritual Energy: 3/40]
Life Status: Healthy [HP: 230/230]
Racial Talents: Devour Digestion Lv.4, Split Proliferation Lv.1
Other Talents: Acid Secretion Lv.4, Toxin Resistance Lv.4, Resilient Carapace Lv.3, Hallucinogenic Factor Lv.2, Life Drain Lv.1
Skill List: Nine Ramparts Life Palace Formula Lv.1, Object Manipulation Lv.4, Little Arrow Technique Lv.3, Sound Transmission Technique Lv.3, Talisman Drawing Technique Lv.2
Reputation Title: Slime Warrior (a fledgling Slime)
—
Huh?
Split?
Hmm—!
Split?!
……
On the Smooth Wasp Forest Path, Yano took advantage of the rainless day to follow the wasps back toward the castle, planning to report the hunt's progress to the boss.
Recently many adventurers had headed south to hunt Corrupted Lizardfolk, earning double bounties from the Rotten Moss Tribe and the Adventurers' Guild. They only went in squads though, so overall they didn't pose a great threat to the Scale Claw Tribe.
Riding the renown of "miraculous" Yano, he had persuaded the guild adventurers and already assembled a group of dozens in Ironboot Town;
if all went well, tomorrow they'd march south with the lizardfolk force.
Such a big matter had to be reported to the Boss.
It was also a convenient excuse to get a few acupuncture treatments in.
He couldn't shake the itchiness in his chest—always worried the petrification would recur.
He quickly returned along the familiar path to the mist-shrouded area, reached in and found no obstruction, and slipped into the fog.
"Boss, I'm back."
Yano called up to the treehouse. While waiting for the Boss to come down, he curiously surveyed the castle's busy monsters.
Hmm?
He suddenly noticed a small crocodile in the swamp.
Could it be the Boss's pet?
But the croc didn't seem thrilled by his arrival.
Judging by its look it was probably fierce—maybe it would bite if he reached out.
After all, a demon's pet being ferocious was normal;
good thing it wasn't a hellhound.
Wait—that didn't seem right either. Maybe the croc appearance was a disguise…
Before Yano could finish his wild speculation, a small Slime bounced down from the treehouse.
At first he assumed it was one of the Slimes nesting in the tree area. To his surprise, as soon as the little Slime landed it was lifted by a tree root and dropped right into his arms.
"Good morning."
Chen Yu's voice suddenly sounded in his head;
Yano startled, then slowly came to his senses.
"Boss…how…did you shrink?"
Yano was astonished, feeling that the tiny boss seemed to have lost some of his demonic dignity.
"A Slime splitting isn't that unusual, is it?"
"Looks like not."
But he didn't remember encountering Splitting Slimes in the swamp forest before—most were ordinary Slimes of the Slime race, he thought.
"What are you doing here?"
Yano hurriedly explained the details of the upcoming hunt, ending with his concerns.
"I have a bad feeling those who worship Corruption won't be easily tamed… tomorrow's hunt may not go smoothly."
"Hmm… I'll keep watch."
"Take my split unit with you for a bit;
I want to see how the signal holds."
"Signal? Oh."
The Boss was murmuring strange demonic phrases again.
After receiving an acupuncture treatment in the castle, a much more relaxed Yano left, clutching the palm-sized Boss in his arms.
He didn't know what significance the little Slime in his embrace represented.
Perhaps it could save his life at a crucial moment.
As Yano departed, Chen Yu shared the vision from the little Slime in Yano's arms.
The Lv.1 Split Proliferation was still weak: splitting consumed ten percent of his gel to produce one individual with five percent of his attributes and one individual with different talents, constantly occupying his bodily load.
But the wonder of this talent wasn't in how powerful the split individual could be;
it was in the myriad clever uses it enabled.
For example, it could act as an automatic translator, allowing fluent conversation without physical contact in the future.
Or the split individual could be imbued with his Life Drain talent and used as a blood pack in emergencies to save someone's life.
Losing a split individual meant little to him;
Life Drain could quickly replenish the lost gel.
More importantly, a split individual was effectively a camera linked to him, letting him crouch in the castle and watch the outside world.
Unfortunately that connection had a distance limit.
As Yano left the swamp forest and crossed the riverbank, the little Slime's view progressively blurred and stuttered until it saw nothing at all.
The range was farther than he expected, but still far from reaching the adventurer town across the river.
"Need to keep leveling."
……
Night fell in the Scale Claw Tribe's tent.
The flickering campfire cast dancing shadows over the thick canvas;
three or four lizardfolk lurked in the gloom, their faces obscured.
"Priest, tomorrow those traitors and greedy humans will come at us."
"Are we really not withdrawing?"
At the center of their clustered group, a figure crouched on a thick grass mat—the tribe's old priest, Zulok—the very murderer of Sekashi's father.
The old priest's drooping lids sagged;
his dull scales bore the marks of time. Faced with the lizardfolk's anxious questions, he slowly lifted his milky eyes.
"Dam, you are not devout enough to Morgul's power."
"I…"
Zulok's aged face shifted in the firelight, dark and uncertain. "We Scale Claw are not alone."
"The Rotten Moss Tribe, Sekashi, Semiaya, the humans… hehe, all are food."
A few lizardfolk fell silent, then understood the priest's meaning.
"Allies?"