As they walked along the uneven mine path, the two foxes stayed as close together as they could.
“Big bro, do you think we can still get back to our old world? Or are we stuck here as little fox cubs?”
“I don’t know. If this place works like GE, we should get a chance to reincarnate at level 10.”
“Reincarnation? I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
Nai looked at her tiny paws. She really wanted her old hands back.
“I wonder if reincarnation here works the same way as in GE.”
You sighed. If reincarnation didn’t give them human forms, wouldn’t they be stuck as foxes for the rest of their lives? He couldn’t even imagine it.
Puchu~
“Wait, sis. Did you hear that weird sound?”
“No?”
Puchu~
“There it is!”
Hearing the sound again, You and Nai immediately went on alert and looked around. It was getting closer.
The source of the sound soon came into view, appearing in front of the siblings: a mass of viscous liquid, three meters tall, with bits of ore tumbling through it as it flowed. It spotted the two foxes, who looked completely out of place in these surroundings. It instantly grew angry and rolled toward them, opening its mouth wide and letting out a loud roar—Puchu~!
“That’s a Mineral Slime! If I remember right, that thing could wipe the floor with us as we are now! Run!”
You looked at the huge gray-black creature, turned, and called for his sister to run.
At his words, Nai took off running too.
“Big bro, what level was that thing again? We could try whittling it down, couldn’t we?”
“At least level 35! It’s even higher-level than that juvenile Great Leaf Demon outside!”
“And I want to whittle it down too, but that path is way too wide. If we try here, it’s more likely to crush us to death!”
Their stats had improved with the level-up, and the siblings were moving quite a bit faster now. They soon reached the spot with the wooden sign.
“Climb up there!”
You pointed to a narrow path on the rock wall, just wide enough for them to climb along. He’d spotted it by chance while they were standing near the wooden sign.
“Okay!”
The two foxes scrambled up. The slime was already right behind them. Its huge body sprang high into the air, aiming to flatten the climbing siblings.
It was about to crash into them!
“Black Blade! Black Blade! Black Blade!”
Whoosh! Three wind blades, each tinged with a faint dark aura, struck the slime, which stood over three meters tall. [HP -10 -10 -12] Its seemingly lumbering body gradually slowed, then slid down the wall just before it could reach You and Nai.
“Hah, hah… That was terrifying! I thought I was about to die!”
Nai gasped for breath, her heart pounding wildly. You was in much the same state.
“I’m going to look for some rocks. Keep climbing and attacking, sis. Keep it focused on you.”
He cast a low-level Natural Recovery spell on Nai, then continued climbing higher.
Below them, the Mineral Slime gathered itself back together, readying for a second leap. Nai waited for the moment to attack.
Meanwhile, You stopped at a pile of rubble and searched through it with both paws.
“I can’t believe there really is one! Now we can whittle that slime down to nothing.”
A small, grayish-yellow ore glinted between You’s jaws. He hurried back to Nai.
“Eep! Big bro, where did you go? My MP is almost gone!”
Now that her brother had finally returned, Nai felt a little relieved. Having to deal with a slime more than thirty levels above her had been an absolute nightmare.
“It’s okay. I’ve got something that can whittle this slime down to nothing.”
As he spoke, You tossed the small grayish-yellow ore away. The moment it hit the ground, the slime seemed to sense it. It sprang over and swallowed the ore, and then its whole body went still.
“Big bro, was that gold ore? Oh my gosh, you actually found one!?”
Nai exclaimed in surprise. She knew how things worked in GE.
Gold ore was the Mineral Slime’s favorite food. While it was eating, it entered a dormant state—and, thanks to a strange quirk of the game, it wouldn’t fight back even if attacked!
“Looks like it works just like in GE after all. Let’s go all out and attack while it’s still eating!”
A sly curve gradually formed on You’s fox muzzle. Behind him, his long white tail swayed from side to side. The hunt was on...
