A friend

At the last minute, Claire held Zayne tightly, then cast fly. At the same time, Zayne hugged her, and turned his back towards the explosion, protecting Claire. Like that, they floated in the air, far beyond the explosion range of the turtle. 

The shell flew in the air, burning away all the rust on itself. The entire explosive force seemed to have shifted on to the shell, almost flattening it into a shallow shell rather than the round turtle dome. On the ground, the turtle body lay naked like a wilted worm, with its shell plucked off from its body. 

Rainbow Lights rose from the body of the turtle like fairy lights, then all of them rushed to Claire like there's no tomorrow. 

There were more than ten lights which entered Zayne. 

Then, there were one or two, which vanished into the ground. 

The remaining lights swirled together like a tornado, and finally dropped a deep blue bangle, with diamonds studded inside it like stars. 

The bracelet floated out on to the sea, it looked like it would be going to a sea beast. 

For the first time since she got the skill, Claire rushed with all of her being towards the bracelet. 

She caught it by a hair's breadth. 

One more centimeter out, it would fall into the sea. 

It's only after catching the bracelet did she notice that she was still hugging Zayne like a koala. Her legs are still around his waist, but she has let go of her arms around his neck to catch the bracelet. Zayne's weight fell on his arms, which were holding on to her at her chest level. Zayne, in his surprise, loosened his arms, slipping down further into the sea ! 

Now, only his lower body is wet, the upper half was just fine. 

As Zayne tightened his arms around her, his face pressed straight into Claire's lap. 

Before the awkwardness of this position could set in, she flashed back to the turtle's body. 

They both let go at the same time. 

Zane fell on the beach, rolling in the sand, while she landed safely in front of the turtle shell. Claire tried putting away the shell in the slime dungeon half skeptical. However, it worked. 

The shell was taken in. she sighed in relief. 

Putting in the body was not a big deal, since all different types of monster bodies are accepted as long as there's an empty slot. 

There was a human lying underneath the turtle body, with a golden egg hugged in his arms. 

His other hand is open, and the black sword lay in it. 

It's the blue haired rebel. 

This is the first time she is seeing his face. 

It felt very familiar…

Zayne bent forward to take the sword lying beside the man's hand. 

Claire observed the guy's face with a frown as she tried to remember where she knew him from. 

The guy opened his eyes, and the ocean blue eyes stared straight at her. 

She remembered who he was the moment she saw those eyes. 

' Caspian Orca ' 

The leader of the strongest pirate band that terrorized the sea dungeons. 

Capsian reached for the dagger in his boots, sprang up like a snake, held Zayne hostage, one arm circling around Zayne at elbow height. The other hand was holding a dagger, and held the tip right at the carotid artery in the neck. 

Claire flashed to the bracelet thrown away by the captain, held it one hand, and flashed it at Caspian. 

" Let him go. " she ordered. 

The bracelet was a slave bracelet. It was the most favorite hobby of 'Orca' pirates to use slave bracelets to make friends, fight friends, and families kill their own. 

Caspian just looked at her with dead fish eyes, as if he doesn't understand what she is saying. 

In his hands, Zayne had his eyes closed, his hand still holding the black sword. Claire knows that look. It's the bonding ordeal of the named swords. He would not be waking any time soon. 

Any time now, Dunkin will be reentering the dungeon with a bigger party to investigate rebels. 

A dungeon party could only be formed with the help of a wizard. Only one party, or one single individual is allowed inside the Dungeon, when one arrives through an entrance. That is the reason 'Teleport' is considered an OP skill. Forming this party takes time.

However, Dunkin is the son of the base leader. When someone crashes his party, he must strike back twice as hard ! 

So, the party would be assembled at top speed, and they would be the best fighters of the base. 

Her sense of urgency increased as she watched Caspian. 

" That doesn't work. " Caspian said in a deadpan voice, pointing at the slave bracelet. 

" I know. I can make it work, I am choosing not to at the moment. I mean you no harm. Give my friend back. You go your way, I go mine, and we will pretend we did not meet each other. " Claire negotiated. 

Caspian just watched her, like an AI doll. 

" This is my dead end. " Caspian said after some thought. 

" What ?! " Claire 

' You are 'The' Caspian Orca ! Where in the world can't you go ? ' Claire wondered as she looked at the boy. 

However, doubt creeped in the corners of her mind. 

He looked very different to what she knows about Caspian Orca. 

His entire being looked very different from a ruthless killer. It looked more like a lost boy looking at the road to home for the very first time. 

Claire made a decision. 

Today, she will choose to trust him. 

" Then, let's leave together. With me. Just … do not hurt him. " she said, approaching slowly. 

She could hear the roaring sound of motorcycles from the other end. 

Claire rushed forward, hugged both Zayne and Caspian, then teleported out into the slime dungeon. 

There, she let go of them together. 

Caspian obediently let go of Zayne. 

He watched the walls of the dungeon curiously. 

" I will take you out. " Claire proposed to Caspian. 

" The slave collar first. " he answered. 

Claire shook her head. 

' No. ' 

" Unless you promise me you will not harm us, I will not return it. " Claire answered. 

She wanted to study it. 

If it's possible to create a beast taming array out of it, it would be great. 

" How can that be proved ? Life is endless. I can harm you tomorrow or after ninety years. Are you going to keep it for ninety years ? " Caspian asked her in the same deadpan tone. 

Claire did not answer. Instead, she laid down and groped outside the Dungeon, retrieving the rope that she always keeps here. 

Then, she beckoned Caspian. 

He came over after some hesitation. It's only now that she recognized this guy is hurt too. 

His skin is blistered in far too many places, it very much looked like he has internal injuries in various places. It's amazing he is standing and talking without showing a single sign of pain. It's creepy like an emotionless assassin. 

She tied the rope around both of them, then took them out of the dungeon. 

' fly ' she thought almost as soon as her first step was out. 

This time, flying felt easier than before. 

She moved towards the cliff, and landed gently on the cliff. She let go of Caspian, removed the rope around him. 

Then, with a look at him, she raised her hand, and cast heal repeatedly, healing his blisters. She can not do much about the internal damage. Caspian, who looked like he was about to grab her to hold a dagger to her neck, stopped in surprise. 

It's almost as if he had never been healed before. 

He sat there, looking at Claire in a daze, as he looked at his skin mending in front of his eyes. 

" I will be back with food. " she said, jumping off the cliff while he was in a daze. 

Claire entered the dungeon once more. 

She took Zayne, teleported him to Ifrit's altar. She laid him down in front of the Altar. 

The slime bubbles she left here have become blood red crystals like a crystal flower. She broke off one gently, then took it with her. 

She returned home, preparing a lunch, with mashed potatoes, fish and rice with slime jelly. She packed the food, sleeping bag and a blanket, then returned to the slime dungeon. She flew up half dreading Caspian would attack her. 

Only, he did not at all. 

He just sat there, still in daze, when she returned. He only removed the slave collar from his neck, that's about it. 

She cautiously put her hand on his neck, which very much looked like it's been rubbed raw. She healed what she could. 

" Are you alright ? " She asked him, looking at him in concern. 

He is very much looking like he's going through PTSD, or a burnout, which she has seen often in her career as hunter. 

Caspian's eyes followed her silently. 

" I brought you a sleeping bag, blanket and dinner. Here, this is a fire crystal. It can act as a substitute for fire. Just be very very gentle with your mana when prodding it. Always point it outwards when using it. " she told him. 

Caspian just stared at her. 

" You are not asking about slave collar ? " he asked curiously, like a child probing something amazing he has seen for the first time. 

" My goal is to keep myself and my friend safe, not to enslave you. You kept your end, I am keeping up my end. " Claire answered without much thought. After all, that's the fact. 

She did not know she has won over the prince of the sea as a lifelong friend with these words.