11: Departure
The diversity of creatures around this lake was much greater than what he had expected.
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[Green grass slime]: (Level-6)
[Starfish lizard]: (Level-7)
[Lightning Axolotl]: (Level-7)
[Softshell pointhorn]: (Level-8)
[Moss slimes]: (Level-9)
[Yellow beaked Mall]: (Level-9)
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Some creatures that the slimes lured in were big and much weaker than how big or dangerous they appeared, while some creatures were small and yet so strong that the slimes had a tough time dealing with those enemies.
They were blobs that lived on the water surface who happened to be very fast swimmers, so the main attack they used to deal with the enemies was a swift tackle directly to their bodies.
They did not have fancy skills like the creatures that they had brought back with them did, so with their limited combat abilities, it would have been difficult for them to deal with these creatures.
Thankfully, they were not alone.
"Good job, Bobo! Now! To the back!"
They had the support of a tamer who knew great tactics and had experience dealing with various combat formations, with various attack and defensive strategies, as well as a good eye to keep track of all the situations on the ground.
"Az! Now!"
-Shrrrrrrrr…!
-Dang!
"Strrrrrrr!"
They were facing a (Level-10) creature that resembled a bird, but at the same time, instead of having wings, tail, or a beak, the bird-like creature had gills, scales, and a fish's body.
Surely the legs it had and the physique it possessed all resembled that of a bird, but this creature was in fact something in between an aquatic and ground life form.
It's name was [Mud Heron] but it did not have any resemblance to either a mudfish or a Heron.
It was among the creatures that could not be tamed with simple means either, and they were dangerous creatures that attacked him the moment they perceived him.
"Rush!"
-Shrrrrrrrrrr!
-Bang!
-Dhum!
-Shrrrr…
He was fighting alongside them in the waters, supporting them with a shield, blocking the blunt attacks when he could while leaving the rest of the work to his slime friends.
"Strrrrrrr…!"
They somehow managed to flip the fish-bird and with their coordinated attacks and when they managed to turn the creature upside down, with strong clashing attacks of the slimes that once made him vomit blood, they finished off the creature after a twenty four minute long battle.
"Phew…"
It was the longest fight they have had in the past three days. And this one was the strongest opponent they had fought as well.
"Bling!"
"Bliing!"
"Blongg!"
The slimes were happy to take down the strong opponent while he was happy to see the cheerful nature of his teammates.
"You all worked hard."
[Ding!]
[Level up!]
[(Level-9) > (Level-10).]
[Subjugation target: 30/30.]
[Ding!]
[You have completed the tutorial objective.]
[Evaluating results…]
"And with this, it looks like we will have to part ways now."
Ever since he first met these creatures, he had realized one important thing.
"Bling!"
"Bliing."
"Blong…"
Even though they were smart creatures and had learned faster than most of the other beasts would have, they were still at the end of the day, creatures of these special waters.
They were no simple slime creatures.
They were special, could only live on this special water surface infused with Mana, and most important of them all, they could not live on the ground.
"I will have to go now, you see. And even though I would love for you all to join me, you cannot live with me."
It wasn't possible for one to place alive creatures in the inventories.
Tamed beasts were also different from summonable beasts as they were creatures that one tames– creatures that are with someone existing on the same plain of existence as them.
"Bling…"
"Blong!"
"Bliing…"
They were his tamed beasts so he will have the option to take them all with him, surely.
The system was not cruel enough to separate a [Family] from its master.
'But the system would also never jeopardize the lives of any of the beings of this world without any reason.'
It was complex and logical. But at the same time, unlike most games, the [Laws] that this world operated on made the [System] a unique entity that followed the collective will of this world.
There were deep moral orders, values, and higher logical units that kept the work functioning even with the 'eternal change' that followed all premises.
All beings had an inherent right to live. And, he was not going to risk the lives of the first family he had made in this game by taking them all with him to a place that would not be proper for their survival.
He had braced himself to leave them.
"Bling! Bling! Bling!"
"You want to come along?"
But there was one slime among the fifteen that were now a part of his 'Slime Family' that was jumping angrily as if protesting against his words.
"Bling! Bling! Bling!"
It was jumping on the water surface again, as if answering positively to his question.
But Elio's only response to this positive answer was a bitter smile.
"Az… you cannot come with me, dear."
He recognised this simple transparent blob as the one that had made him throw up blood, the one that was also the very first one to understand his intentions during their training, as well as one that was perhaps even more special than the rest of its companions.
"Bling! Bling! Bling!"
The slime that had once hurt him was now protesting against him. 'Shouting' to take it along with him.
"Look here, Az."
He had come out of the water to prepare to wrap things up as the system evaluated the results. But seeing the protest of the slime, he entered back into the water and gently held the protesting slime with both his hands.
"The rest of them understand what I'm saying. They know their natural limitations.
These waters are your home. I don't even know if you will get any place similar to this one if you come with me.
You cannot live out of these waters. Just look at this…"
He tried placing the slime on to the ground– however, the slime's body naturally rejected the touch of the ground and it instinctively jumped back onto the waters.
"See? You cannot even live outside the water. What will you do if you come with me? I don't want you to suffer because of me…"
He had been with them for more than half a month now, and unlike his own expectations, he had now become too attached to these innocent creatures.
[Evaluation complete.]
[Rewards will be given after one exits the tutorial area.]
-Ooooooooooooong!
A spiraling blue portal with nothing visible beyond it opened up before him.
"Looks like it's time for me to go."
He looked at his companions with a one last look of affection and, picking up the bowl containing the last bit of Moss he had gathered today, he threw it as far away from him as he could with all his strength.
"If fate allows it… let's meet again, everyone."
They were his first family, and they were going to retain what he had taught them in their short time together.
"It was a little painful at times, not easy at all, certainly exciting, and a lot more fun than I had expected before starting this game."
Some of the slimes– the ones that were dominated by the nine that he had tamed himself, following their instincts, ran to where he had thrown the moss first.
The nine did not stop them, there was no reason to since they also wanted to go there and enjoy the moss like them.
But they stayed behind and looked at him, as well as the portal behind him…
"I had fun. A lot of fun."
With a last smile, he placed his worn out wooden shield on one side, put out the fire that had been burning for a few days now, and put on his worn out, slightly burned clothes.
"See you again, little ones."
Looking around the lake, at the trees around him, at the clean lake water, at the familiar beach that had been his house these past few days, and the creatures that had become his Family…
"Haaaa."
He sighed.
And then he turned around, facing the portal leading to a different place that he knew might not be as pretty as this one.
'What starter city did she ask me to choose again? Was it golden leaf, silver snow?'
He had finished his tutorial.
And now, it was time to step into the real vast world beyond this serene green foliage.