Page 10 of World of the Forgotten (World of the Forgotten #1)

“They are also impervious to physical damage,” Rhia sighed, grabbing Kuro by the shoulder before he could raise his sword again. “And any part you cut off becomes another slime.”

“So… if we kept doing that…” I began.

Rhia nodded. “Yes. We would be overrun and consumed by them.”

“How do you kill the bastards them, then?!” Kuro spat.

“Magic,” Rhia replied. “And considering Mira is out of mana, we don’t have the means to get rid of them right now.”

Kai’s eyes widened as he watched the two smaller slimes wobble towards us. “Okay, new plan. We need to find a way out of here, fast. Mira, can you maintain that light spell while we move?”

Mira nodded, her face pale but determined. “I think so, as long as we don’t go too far.”

“Good,” Kai said. “Oliver, can you still sense any other presences around us?”

I closed my eyes, focusing on expanding my awareness once more. The two slimes were easy to detect now, their cold, alien presence unmistakable. But beyond them... “There’s something else,” I said slowly. “It’s faint, but... different. Warmer. More like us.”

Kai’s brow furrowed. “Another person? Here? ”

“Maybe,” I replied, uncertain. “It’s hard to tell. But it feels... alive. Not like the slimes.”

Kai nodded, his expression thoughtful. “Alright, we’ll head in that direction. It could be another member of the RSB and maybe even a way out. Everyone stay close and watch your step. Kuro, no more slashing at things, okay?”

Kuro grumbled but nodded, sheathing his sword. We began to move carefully through the cavern, Mira’s pale blue light casting eerie shadows on the damp walls. The two small slimes continued to wobble after us, but they were slow enough that we could easily outpace them.

As we walked, I tried to focus on the presence I had sensed earlier. It was growing stronger, more defined. “We’re getting closer,” I whispered to Kai. “It’s definitely alive, and it’s... moving. I think it knows we’re here.”

Kai nodded, his eyes scanning the shadows ahead. “Everyone, be on guard. We don’t know if this is friend or foe.”

We rounded a corner, and suddenly the narrow passageway opened up into a larger chamber. Mira’s light spell flickered, barely reaching the edges of the room. In the center, hunched over what looked like a makeshift camp, was a figure.

As we approached, the figure stood up slowly, turning to face us. Piercing blue eyes found me as the dim light caught the fur on the sharp pointed ears atop his head.

“Oh no…” he groaned. “It’s you again.”

“Sky?” I whispered. “W-What are you doing here?”

Sky’s tail swished irritably behind him as he crossed his arms. “I could ask you the same thing. Didn’t I tell you to stay out of trouble?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but Kai stepped forward, his hands raised in a placating gesture. “We didn’t mean to end up in this cave. We ran from a pack of kobolds and had to block ourselves in to escape them. Now we’re just trying to find a way out of here. Are you... trapped as well?”

Sky’s ears flattened slightly as he eyed our group. “Not trapped. Working. This is our job, remember? Exploring dungeons, mapping them out. That’s what the RSB does. Though I didn’t expect to run into a bunch of rookies down here. This place is dangerous even for seasoned RSB members.”

Kuro bristled at the comment. “Who are you calling rookies? We can handle ourselves just fine!”

As if on cue, the two small slimes we’d left behind came oozing into the chamber. Sky raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a smirk. “Oh really? Is that why you’re being chased by baby slimes? ”

Kuro’s face flushed red with embarrassment. “We... we were just...”

“Save it,” Sky cut him off, sighing heavily. “Look, I don’t have time to babysit a bunch of newbies. I’ve got a job to do.”

I stepped forward, my heart racing. “Sky, please. We’re lost and we don’t know how to get out of here. Can you help us?”

Sky’s intense blue eyes locked onto mine once more, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something - concern, maybe? - before his gruff exterior returned. “And why should I do that? You got yourselves into this mess.”

Kai placed a hand on my shoulder, his voice calm and steady. “Because it’s the right thing to do,” he said softly, his gentle tone a stark contrast to Sky’s gruffness. “We may be new to this world, but we’re all part of the RSB. Doesn’t that mean something?”

Sky’s ears twitched, his tail swishing behind him as he considered Kai’s words. For a moment, he looked conflicted, his eyes darting between our group and the darkness beyond.

“Fine,” he growled at last, running a hand through his dark hair. “But you follow my lead, understand? No wandering off, no touching anything, and for the love of all that’s holy, no more slicing up slimes.”

Kuro opened his mouth to protest, but Kai shot him a warning look. “We understand,” Kai said, nodding gratefully. “Thank you, Sky.”

Sky grunted in response. Reaching back, he grabbed a spear leaned up against the wall before stepping forward and pushing his way through our group. “Let’s take care of these first.”

Lifting the spear, he pointed the tip at the slimes.

Chanting under his breath, the tip of the spear began to glow a bright blue.

I recalled that Sky was a druid, which meant he was in a magic class specializing in natural magic, especially spells that could affect multiple creatures at once.

His magic pulsed with life, similar to my own, but its aim was to destroy and consume, not to heal.

Within seconds the tip of the spear turned perfectly translucent, fog rolling off it in waves.

Sky casually touched the tip to each slime in turn, freezing them solid in an instant.

The moment they froze, I felt their tiny alien life forces snuff out.

They were dead. Then, swinging the spear around with a lazy but practiced movement, he shattered them into a million tiny pieces.

“Problem solved,” he sighed as if defeating the slimes was hardly more than a nuisance. “Now each of you sit down and rest. I’m gonna need someone to help me collect all these crystals.”