[I] Recovery

It hasn't been long since Shiro had fallen into the abyss of the unknown labyrinth. He tried to estimate how long it would take for him to come back up again to the surface, but there is really just no way he could possibly tell the exact amount of time he would be able to. All he hopes is it wouldn't take him a few days.

It has been a few minutes already after he decided to start his way up back into the outside world, but even so, it seems he still hasn't gone far towards his destination - he was not even close. However, right now, he's filled with motivation so his energy did not dissipate, in fact, he was more than excited as he continues.

With a smirk on his face, he shifts his eyes on his new slime companion. Sitting on top of his shoulders, it brightens up the area around him, making his adventurer on the darkest pit of the labyrinth possible.

[ Fufu... 'Draconic Slime'... That's your name now... ] with a laugh, Hiro murmurs to himself. He thought that he should give it a normal name other than the lame 'Slime-chan', so he did. Since it reacts to him, he decided to keep it as his pet. If it was not intelligent and unresponding, he wouldn't even dare taking it with him, but it was smarter than all of the monsters he has encountered so far, and most importantly, it is much more useful... This slime... He wouldn't trade it for money, unlike the corpses of the monsters he kills.

[ We will get through this together, Draconic slime...! ] again, he calls for its name. However, unlike earlier, it was unresponding. Usually, when he talks to it, it will at least respond with a bounce or any kind of small movement on its body, but now... It doesn't even budge.

[ Did it break...? ] with a worried look on his face, he asks at nobody in particular. He observes it again, and it seems that it's still working, only unresponding to his calls. He doesn't know what's wrong with it, but he decided to ignore it ignoring him. Maybe it's just sleeping or maybe it's just really normal for slimes to have these unresponding moments every once in a few hours. He took a guess, but right now, he doesn't have a clue.

[ Well, as long as it's still useful. ] he murmurs as he and his companion slime continue to travel all the corridors of the dark labyrinth; taking rough paths and climbing slopes of slippery stones and gravels as he does.

Taking on the labyrinth, Hiro noticed a few things about it, like how it only has one type of minerals and how it doesn't have any other monsters except the slime that he found. Sometimes, the more concentrated the minerals are in one place, the more monsters would exist in it... Yet, so far, after hours of walking through all of its corridors, he still hasn't found a single one of them. As far as he knows, even in the lowest pits he was at earlier, this slime was the only thing existing on it.

[ This is easier than I thought... ] He thought for sure that he would encounter monsters, but he didn't so he was more than contented. Maybe from the bad thing that his friend did to him, he was compensated with luck.

Continuing, soon, before he even knew it, he was able to return to the very place he was betrayed at. It sure did take him long before he was able to get here, reaching hours, but he was expecting he would take at least a day or maybe more to get back in the place he is now standing at so he couldn't really believe his accomplishment. Now, he didn't need the light that was coming from the slime, but since he knows that there will still be paths ahead that will not provide any illumination whatsoever, he decided to keep it as it is.

However, much to his surprise, the slime jumps off his shoulders to head towards the crystals.

[ Ahh... ] the sound escapes Hiro's mouth as he realized what it was doing. Well, he thought that like it, he should be busy now too, so he decided to do what he was supposed to.

Looking around the tight spaces of the corridor in which many glowing crystals protrudes, Hiro search for anything left as evidence of what happened. And there, he saw the left-behinds of he and his friend - his items that are unnecessary to his friend. From his sword, map, book-journal, and spare clothing, all were his personal belongings that his friend won't need as he only took his bag to probably carry more loot on his person. What a smart ass he is?

Taking the clothes that are dirtied on the ground, he wore it all on and exchange it for his ragged clothes. Tapping his newly worn clothes to clean it off of dirt, he took the other things left on the ground and store them all in his pockets - except the sword which he set on his waist.

[ Yosh! ] stretching his arms, he prepares himself to finally go outside. He would probably still take an hour or two to finish, but he wouldn't mind since he has already gone to something much worse than tiring out his legs.

[ That Ced... I will get him for that... ] he said as he turns a look at the small area where the fall was - where he was pushed and fell over from as he was betrayed. That was right... Though the pain from what he had experienced was already gone, the sense and feeling of vengeance on him still hasn't changed. He will get his revenge.

*Shlop Shlop!

Now on the ground and glowing bright, finished absorbing the crystals on the walls as Hiro did his own task, the slime jumps over and over towards him, as if it was asking him to take it with him. Did it became attached to him...? - he asks the question as he looks at the cute form of the slime in front of him. Right now, he doesn't really see it as a monster anymore... It looked more like a dog or something that you would pet. Lending it his shoulder, it immediately climbs up onto him, with no intention of harming him whatsoever. Yup, it was like his own pet.

[ You really are intelligent, aren't you? ] staring again at the slime, which is now prancing over his shoulder, he tirelessly spoke.

[ Whatever... Let's go out of this place. ]

***

Another hour or two has passed, and Hiro has finally seen the light of the day. It was already morning and the sun is as gentle as it could get. If he remembers it correctly, he and his companion have come here also when the sun was still rising, meaning that a day has already passed before he was even able to realize it. Right now, he still couldn't completely comprehend and accept what had happened, but if there's one thing he was sure of, is that he should get his friend his revenge. He's dedicated to punishing him for trying to kill him.

Just how wicked he was to try and take his life. Of course, he will not go so far as to do the same to him, but he should at least get him to prison or something... And most definitely, he should beat him up. Not to death, but maybe close.

Now that his survival was reassured, he plans what he should do ahead. However, besides his concern about coming back to the city and getting his friend beaten up, he still has to think about what he should do to the slime that is on his shoulder, doing movements as if it was trying to get his attention. This slime... If it wasn't for it, he wouldn't survive at all. He owes it his second chance, and though it was only a monster, he wants to give it his gratitude. It was intelligent and it acts like his pet, so he thought that he should bring it together with him... But that won't be possible since...

It's still a slime.

Just what should he do with it...? Maybe, after all, he should just leave it on its own habitat, to where it would have its highest chance of survival...