That night.
While Amelia was asleep.
The slime immediately reported its new goal in the chat window.
▷ I'm going to make muscles!
▶ Muscles?
▶ You mean the muscles that human was talking about?
▶ A slime with muscles lololol
▶ But can it even make them? Do slimes… have muscles?
[Squishy Queen] ▶ How rude! How could you ask such a question? Where do you think all that strength has come from so far? We may not have muscles like other species, but slimes can also grow stronger!
▶ Oooh, that’s new info. Taking notes.
▶ So no muscles, but there’s squish-strength.
Thanks to Slime Queen’s comment, it was revealed that slimes can also enhance their strength.
But viewers had one major question.
How would a slime build strength?
Naturally, evolution was ruled out.
▶ So how do you get stronger?
[Just Slam First] ▶ Isn’t it like… doing body slams over and over again?
‘You idiots!’
The Slime Queen was on the verge of exploding from frustration at the dumb suggestions.
It was obvious the viewers only imagined slimes in the form currently being broadcast.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Do you think tentacles are just for show? Of course you get stronger if you train your tentacles!
▶ Ah~ Tentacles~.
▶ Oh right, it has those.
Originally, slimes only had a torso.
But after evolving and gaining skills, they became capable of using tentacles.
Even the Slime Queen’s arms and legs could be considered an advanced form of tentacle skill that had taken on a humanoid appearance.
▶ But Squishy doesn’t have tentacles?
▶ You can buy them in the skill shop.
‘Tentacles!!’
Through the chat conversation, the slime concluded that it could make muscles if it had tentacles.
And making muscles would mean getting stronger.
The slime quickly made a decision.
It opened the shop and purchased the Tentacle Generation skill for 20 coins.
The moment the purchase was made, knowledge of how to use the skill was granted to the slime.
The slime quietly climbed down from the bed without waking Amelia, emitted a faint glow, and activated the tentacle skill.
Pop!
Tiny tentacles popped out from either side of the slime.
‘Whoa!’
The slime was fascinated by its own soft and slightly elongated tentacles.
As the tentacles extended, so did the slime’s sense of touch.
Splat splat!
The slime touched the floor and its own body with the tentacles.
The floor felt the same as always.
‘Wooooow!’
But the sensation of touching its own body was thrillingly new.
‘So squishy!’
Delighted with the texture of its own body, the slime kept stroking and poking itself with the tentacles.
Shiver shiver!
‘It’s vibrating!’
The slime, now able to feel its own trembling while touching itself, was satisfied and climbed back into bed to sleep.
Time passed, and it was early morning.
‘Workout time!’
The slime got up before Amelia awoke and climbed down from the bed, heading toward the door.
If it had been the old slime, opening the door would’ve been tough.
‘Tentacles!’
It generated tentacles and easily opened the door.
Stretching the tentacles upward with magic power, it grabbed the doorknob and pulled it down.
Once outside Amelia’s room, the slime retracted its tentacles and headed straight for Paulen’s private training yard.
Boing boing!
As a Paladin, Paulen must always prioritize protecting the saintess.
That’s why the training yard wasn’t far from her room, allowing the slime to arrive quickly.
“Huff! Huff!”
Paulen was already working out hard in the yard.
Since most of his day involved guarding Amelia, his workout time was always early morning.
Wearing light clothes, he was sweating from working out since dawn.
His sweaty state was proof of his sincere effort.
‘Muscles!’
Usually hidden under armor during duty, Paulen’s firm and large muscles came into view.
The slime already had a general sense of his strength through detection, but seeing it directly was different.
‘So strong!’
Just looking at his muscles gave off an intense feeling of power.
Godrick had some muscles too, but Paulen’s were even firmer and more defined.
‘I want to be strong too!’
Boing! Boing!
The slime approached Paulen.
“Huff! Huff! Huh? Jiggly?”
Paulen, in the middle of working out with dumbbells, tilted his head at the slime’s sudden appearance.
“You’re alone? Wait, how’d you get here?”
Boing! Boing!
“Jiggly, if you sneak out, Amelia’s going to worry later.”
Putting down the dumbbells, Paulen picked up the slime.
“I’ll talk Amelia into letting you hang out in the training yard again today. But first, let’s go back to your room.”
‘Muscles! I want to make muscles!’
Shiver shiver shiver!
While trembling in Paulen’s hands, the slime summoned its tentacles.
“Huh?”
Tentacles suddenly popped out from the sides of the slime.
It then moved them purposefully.
‘Muscles!’
Mimicking Paulen, it bent its tentacles inward like a flexing pose.
Though short and squishy, and with no muscle bulge in the middle—
“You’re… trying to flex?”
At the very least, it was clear to Paulen that the slime was striking a muscle pose.
Boing!
While Paulen stood flustered, the slime jumped from his hands and approached the dumbbells on the ground.
‘Workout!’
It extended its tentacles and tried to lift the dumbbells.
But no matter how hard it tried, the slime couldn’t lift them.
And for good reason.
The dumbbells Paulen used were specially commissioned from dwarves and made from metal heavier than most.
They were so heavy that even a veteran warrior would struggle to lift them.
There was no way a slime that had just learned to control tentacles could lift them.
‘Urrrrrgh~!’
The slime gave it all it had, trying to lift the weight.
But the dumbbell didn’t budge.
‘I can’t lift it…’
After several failed attempts, the slime gave up, withdrew its tentacles from the dumbbell, and leaned its body forward.
“Huff, huff, huff, huff.”
Paulen was breathing heavily as he watched the scene.
‘Beginner.’
The slime looked gloomy because it couldn’t lift the dumbbells.
To Paulen, the slime looked like a beginner who had just started working out but was already discouraged.
‘I can’t just leave it like this!’
“Jiggly!”
Snorting fiercely through his nose, Paulen asked,
“Do you want to build muscles too?!”
‘Yes!’
Boing!
The slime jumped as if nodding.
‘W-What an admirable little slime!’
Paulen recalled his own distant and bittersweet past.
His days of trying to grow stronger through relentless training after becoming a paladin.
But the stronger he got...
And the harder the training he put himself through became...
His companions slowly fell away, unable to keep up.
It wasn’t that they held any ill will.
They simply gave up, admitting the increasing intensity was too much for them.
Paulen understood how they felt.
But the loneliness was inescapable.
Ever since he had been appointed a Paladin, he had trained alone in the private training yard, and solitude had become the norm.
Then suddenly, a new workout companion appeared right before his eyes.
And not just any companion—a total beginner he could teach from scratch.
Even if it was a monster, he didn’t want it to give up on training.
“Jiggly, don’t be sad that you can’t lift this yet! ‘Yet!’ You just can’t do it yet! Let’s start with something lighter and work our way up! I’ll prepare everything you need! I’ll help you build muscles too!”
‘Wow!’
Boing!
The slime was delighted at the promise of becoming stronger.
▶ What’s with this human all of a sudden?
▶ His eyes are scary.
[Just Slam First] ▶ Th-That human scum! Are you trying to steal my role as Squishy’s master?!
▶ Since when was that wolf dude a master?
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Indeed! Just teaching one body slam doesn’t make you a master of my kin!
▶ This is a classic case of mentor-NTR.
▶ Wait, is the slime really going to try making tentacle muscles? lololol
“Four days! No—give me just three days, Jiggly! I’ll gather all the training equipment you need! Let’s enjoy working out together!”
‘Workout! muscles!’
Boing! Boing!
The slime bounced around the floor excitedly.
***
“Wow~ It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
Nellin was riding a carriage, enjoying a visit to a city for the first time in a while after leaving the elven forest.
Since she was out, she decided to start with a place she knew.
“Some things never change, even after 50 years.”
Even after half a century, some shops remained exactly the same.
There were also many new ones, and she made mental notes of a few she wanted to check out later.
After a quick tour, Nellin entered the Adventurers’ Guild.
‘Ahh, this is it. This is what an adventurers’ guild should be like.’
The atmosphere felt like it hadn’t changed at all over the years.
Some were looking over the request board or sitting at tables discussing missions.
Some adventurers who had finished early were already drinking and lounging.
Receptionists worked while chatting with various adventurers.
It was the exact scene Nellin remembered seeing most often 50 years ago.
‘Alright, let’s register.’
Nellin walked up to the receptionist to get a new adventurer’s registration card.
“I’d like to register as an adventurer.”
“Yes, you’re registering as a new adventurer. Please write your name here and pay the registration fee.”
Nellin wrote a name on the form and handed over the fee.
The receptionist took the paper and checked the name.
“You’re Ms. Marin, correct? Please wait just a moment.”
Marin.
Nellin had purposely used an alias instead of her real name.
The reason was her fame.
Talking with Jessie back at the Count Ludendion’s estate, she was reminded of how well-known she really was.
If she used her real name, she would attract attention too quickly.
‘Being too famous can be annoying.’
She remembered how people swarmed her when she returned after slaying the black dragon 50 years ago.
She understood their admiration and goodwill, but she didn’t want to be mobbed every time she traveled alone.
The receptionist handed her a magic-made adventurer identification tag and said, “Here you go! Now, let me explain what you need to know as an adventurer—”
“Oh, that’s okay. I already know the gist of it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’ve heard a lot from a fellow elf who used to be an adventurer.”
“Understood. Then best of luck with the F-rank missions.”
‘Ah, right.’
Nellin had forgotten that even with new registration, one had to start from the lowest rank.
‘Well, I’ve picked herbs plenty in the forest. Should take about two or three days.’
Thinking it was best to get the hassle over with quickly, Nellin selected a herb-gathering quest.
Two hours later.
She returned with the herbs to the reception counter.
“All checked! They’re all high quality!”
“I’ve been picking herbs for years. This is basic stuff.”
“I’m glad. There’s actually another adventurer who gathers herbs of this quality too.”
“What, someone other than me?”
“Yes. But they’ve all ranked up to C now, so they don’t do herb quests anymore.”
“Really? Huh?”
Nellin noticed the receptionist’s expression suddenly changed.
“What is it? Did one of those C-rankers cause some kind of incident?”
“Huh?”
“Your expression just changed mid-conversation.”
“Oh, it’s not that. Those adventurers are still diligent and hardworking. They’re model adventurers. It’s just… recently they lost a companion and have been completely focused on getting stronger.”
‘Ah, so that’s it.’
Nellin could guess easily enough.
There were many who, after losing a companion on a mission, blamed themselves and became obsessed with growing stronger.
If they were called model adventurers, it made sense that the receptionist would be worried.
‘If I run into them, should I give them some advice as a senior?’
As Nellin was thinking that—
Creak!
The doors to the adventurers’ guild opened, and four men entered.
Godrick, Hawane, Def, and Skol.
It was Godrick’s party—the group that had parted ways with the slime.