A factory?

Chen Yu’s body shuddered slightly as he let the word roll around in his head.

It felt too huge, too cold, completely out of place in this swamp teeming with primordial life, as if someone were trying to put iron boots on the frogs in the mud.

But really… was it that exaggerated?

He led Little Flower out of the tree hall and stood on the city wall, looking over the post-rain, newly clearing swamp—warm sunlight poured down, illuminating puddles and the winding, twisting tree roots.

In every patch of light, there were packed clumps of green slimes.

They sprouted like mushrooms after the rain, jostling and squeezing, slowly wriggling as they absorbed the sun’s warmth, covering branches, stones, and his territory.

This sight alone was already astonishing on the surface.

And deep inside the Dungeon, dim corridors, damp corners, even the faint glows of magic crystals, crowded with even more colorful slimes.

They were the weakest yet the most tenacious of little lives;

wherever there was water and sunlight, you could almost always find them.

Even if only one out of a hundred slimes could, under spiritual feeding, awaken a faint spark of sentience and, through mandatory education, become a scholar who could understand talismans,

that would still be an enormous number.

Chen Yu imagined slime scholars in the treehouse factory huddled in groups, concentrating as they held pens dipped in magic ink, tracing arcane seal-script strokes on special talisman paper.

Next to them, stacks of finished Rocksteady Talismans piled like small mountains, then, through war or trade, flew out like snowflakes to become the cornerstone supporting the rise of kingdoms.

Having the power to define war… firmly in the hands of slimes.

The shock of that idea made his round body warm with excitement.

It sounded like a fanciful joke.

But it was something that could actually come true.

When a great factory that combined cultivation and magic rose in this swamp, even the Goblin Army might not be able to stop it.

It was time to give those green-skinned shorties a small shock of “cultivation techniques.”

Standing on the city wall, bathed in warm sunlight, he felt round and majestic like a true leader shining under the sun.

He, an ordinary slime,

stood on the threshold of a great era, ready to forge the slimes’ legend.

And the naive Little Flower beside him was the first key to open this era, the future slime mentor.

“Gurgle…”

Little Flower stared curiously at its suddenly “radiant” brother;

though it didn’t understand what had happened, it tried to puff up its round body and imitate that imposing air.

Phew… they were really something.

Little Flower didn’t know exactly what was impressive about it, but it was impressive.

Just as this quiet sense of mission and epic grandeur reached its peak,

“Bossssss! I’m baaaack!”

A shout, tired from a long journey yet wildly excited, exploded like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, detonating from the forest path and ripping Chen Yu out of his grand blueprint with force.

Chen Yu: “…”

Like a carefully prepared signature move interrupted mid-chant, a subtle irritation rose in him.

As if worried his boss hadn’t heard, the voice rose a few notes, carrying urgency.

“Boss! Open up, open up! I’ve got good stuff!”

Chen Yu silently hugged Little Flower and hopped off the city wall.

“Where did this person come from? Don’t recognize him.”

“Ri…rider.” Little Flower kindly reminded, its tiny eyes looking toward the voice’s source.

“Oh, it’s my Rider… never mind, then.”

Chen Yu resignedly mumbled, bounced down to the ground, and landed precisely on a tree-vine mechanism. The heavy fortress gate creaked and slowly rose.

Yano led the cart in, dusty but beaming with excitement, utterly unaware that he had just “murdered” a certain Slime Lord’s epic moment.

“Boss, good news—Gray Gravel Crystal purchased! Also, Lola just sent back the translated parchment letter yesterday!” he cried, offering his treasure, eyes sparkling.

Gray Gravel Crystal? Parchment?

Those two words washed away Chen Yu’s prickly mood like a fresh current. He formed a small glob of slime and with a plop precisely jumped into Yano’s hands.

“Come into the tree hall to talk.”

“Roger that.”

Yano grinned, nimbly pulled back the waterproof tarp covering the cart, revealing two heavy wooden chests underneath.

He lifted one in each hand with ease and followed the hopping boss and Little Flower toward the tree hall.

As he walked he couldn’t help but look around: “Boss, I was only gone a few days, but why does the territory feel different…”

Wait.

Wha…what is that?

His gaze was instantly locked by a massive figure beside the tree hall, and his feet froze.

A… wild boar?

Yano blinked hard, wondering if travel fatigue had made his eyes play tricks.

But the outline was unmistakable. A boar so huge beyond imagination was leisurely rooting the ground with its snout, its sheer bulk pressing on Yano like a physical force that made him hold his breath.

Oh no, not an illusion.

That realization sent chills across his scalp, and worse, the enormous beast seemed to have noticed him. Its massive body turned slightly and began… to walk toward him.

Why… is it coming here?!

Yano’s mind went blank, his body tensing instinctively.

The next second, a wet tongue smelling of grass and earth smacked enthusiastically across half of his face and shoulder.

“Aaaah—! Boss! H-help! There’s a giant boar!!”

Yano let out a wail and, almost reflexively, sprang with unprecedented speed, fleeing toward the tree hall so hard he nearly dropped the boxes.

“Hmph hmph?”

Peachy cocked her huge pig head in confusion at the human who had bolted away, lowered her snout to inspect the bits of grass clinging to her tongue, clearly puzzled at such an overreaction from the bipedal creature.

“Gahahahaha—!!!”

Laughter erupted from the warehouse roof. Count Bran flapped his wings, nearly crying from laughter and almost rolled off the roof.

“Sir Yano the Rider, hahahaha, our brave knight was scared stiff by a boar’s greeting, hahahaha. Your courage isn’t even as good as a swamp loach’s. You really should learn from this count what ‘calm under pressure’ means.”

“Hrumph! Hrumph hrumph!”

Peachy scowled at the word “boar,” angrily shaking her head and snorting in protest, her thick hooves pawing the ground. She clearly understood that it wasn’t a flattering name.

Count Bran’s laughter cut off abruptly;

his body stiffened.

He cleared his throat twice, lowered his wings and tried to assume a solemn tone.

“Ahem! Rider Yano, mind your words! This is the Kingdom’s Spear, the honorable Miss Peachy, one of His Majesty’s most trusted guards. Mind your manners and don’t speak to Her with such rudeness.”

By now Yano had tumbled inside the tree hall and was clinging to the doorframe, pale and shaken, staring outside and looking beseechingly at the calm boss slime at his feet.

Chen Yu’s body bobbed up and down.

“Peachy, own pig, safe.”

Only then did Yano finally breathe a long sigh of relief, his face full of embarrassment as he stammered toward the enormous figure outside: “Mi—Miss Peachy, my apologies for earlier.”

“Hmph hmph~”

Peachy snorted twice through her nostrils in reply.

The big pig had a big belly and couldn’t be bothered with this jumpy human. She lowered her head and resumed searching for tasty roots.

“Come in and sit, don’t just stand there.”

Chen Yu hopped onto a flat stone by the Fire Pit. Little Flower sat next to him, peering curiously at the box in Yano’s hands with its small beady eyes.

Where there was activity, Count Bran was never far behind.

He immediately flew into the tree hall and made a beeline for a slightly higher wooden stump near the Fire Pit, attempting a graceful glide landing to salvage his earlier embarrassment.

“Watch the count’s elegant—”

But his few bald tail feathers severely compromised his aerodynamics.

“Ahhhh!!!”

His wings fluttered in chaotic bursts, his body tilted wildly. Screaming, he skimmed the edge of the stump, crashed to the ground with a thud, and rolled over twice, covered in dust.

“Pft…”

Yano, just settling down, nearly burst out laughing at the ridiculous sight and hastily covered his mouth.

Count Bran clambered up looking dazed, shook his head and glanced around nervously, as if checking whether more witnesses had seen his folly.

Finding only the small group inside the tree hall, he composed himself, flapped his wings, and cautiously perched on the stump, puffing out his chest and changing the subject with a solemn air.

“Ahem, Rider Yano, let’s let that minor incident pass. His Majesty awaits. Now, tell us what you brought back.”

“Oh, right.”

Yano slapped his forehead, remembering his purpose.

He dragged one of the boxes he’d nearly dropped over, carefully pulled back the heavy cloth.

Inside the box lay a gray crystal stone larger than an adult man’s palm.

Gray Gravel Crystal!

And a big piece of very high quality!

Chen Yu’s eyes lit up. He jumped off the stone, hugged the crystal, and examined it. Seeing the crystal’s clarity, he happily bubbled.

With this Gray Gravel Crystal, he could finally begin experimental production of the “Goblin Ripper.”

If the magic formation proved viable and he worked out batch production… hehe, once deployed on the battlefield, it would become the goblins’ nightmare.

“Boss, there’s this too.”

Yano took an envelope from his pocket, opened it, and unfolded the letter.

“This is an analysis report the scholar sent to Lola. Apparently the Academy had planned to destroy the findings, but he still had his eye on my reward and secretly copied one for me.”

“Destroy it?” Count Bran’s curiosity peaked and he muttered, “Could this thing be some kind of treasure?”

Yano scratched his head. “How to say… I don’t know if it’s a treasure. He said it records two complete trials.”

“Trials?!”

Count Bran’s eyes widened and he beat his wings with excitement.

“These scholars are clueless!”

“Why would they destroy something so valuable?”

Facing everyone’s curious stares, Yano revealed the truth.

“These two trials are related to the faith of Corruption. This is a heretical belief the Kingdom absolutely cannot tolerate.”