Chapter 38: Saying Goodbye

-Reyha Kingdom; Gallo's Outskirts; Goblin's Lair; 10th Floor-

Looking at the multiple notifications before his eyes, Kymani was more worried about the pain he was experiencing as a result of his choice. As he was more worried the spikes of pain like giant needles piercing him slowly and all throughout his body, making for a ballet of suffering that sensitized his skin so much that it, hurt to feel the air around him, that was the state of being experienced by Kymani at the time.

That together with the multiple fractures made it hard for him to think of anything aside from the pain his body was experiencing, something that normally would not bother or affect a slime, but he was no mere slime, and the form he took seemed to be more than just a simple mimic form, but that was not the point, as he was still in pain.

Forcing herself up with deep breathing and a body that was slowly contorting itself to what could be called her original state, like a machine in auto repair, Lavenica stood as she coughed blood out of her mouth, then she walked towards the purple goblin, the fool whose eyes mirrored a rainbow.

Moving slowly, and even slightly improving throughout it, then Kymani, who could only see a blurry and rather bloody scenery through his eyes, those which suffered the brunt of a powerful attack, one that almost killed him. Most of what be called his cognitive abilities were in shambles and shaky as the pain together with actual damage, paved the way to his current state.

Before reaching him, she stopped to pick up the brutalized body of Irka, then continued towards Kymani, getting to him almost immediately.

"Master... Tell me, do you believe this was worth it? Did the risk-to-reward ratio satisfy you?" Lavenica questioned with her eyes narrowed and her voice hoarse, then put the body of Irka on top of him, as the contortions of her body into a proper state continued to happen, not that Kymani could see properly to have a reaction.

{Worth it? Yes... It was worth it, but I can't really talk of satisfaction, since relief is a much better word for what I feel. Regardless of that, though... I should be ready for this, and more, after all, I have to be ready to get wet, if I want to swim, and well, let's just say the water I'm going for isn't the safest.} Kymani had a fading mind, and an ever-growing weight over him, but still responded. Having done that, before losing himself, he used his <High Absorption> on Irka's body, turning himself back into his slime form, then taking in the body.

[You have consumed a Phase 2 goblin, specific: Martial Hobgoblin. You have unlocked the form of a Martial Hobgoblin.]

Just then, Kymani's body grow from being around 1,50m(4'11) to 1,65m(5'4) in height, and his skin became less wrinkly bringing on a more human look when compared to before, similar to Irka himself, not only that, but this time, his skin becoming a more common green, while his newly grown long and wild hair took in all the purple, that accompanied by his rainbow eyes with silver eyebrows with equally silver eyelashes. At this point, Kymani had essentially become a muscle-toned green human, with a rather sharp face symmetrical face, complementing his features... Well, maybe except for the tusks that came out of his mouth.

As for clothing, he was now wearing black pants, just like Irka was before. Then looked through all the options he had, before choosing the Symbiotic Warrior class, and the High Viscous Voidling, since he found the other classes limiting, and the evolutions even more so, wouldn't he lose some of the abilities he already grew used to as well.

[You have selected Symbiotic Warrior as your first class]

[You have selected High Viscous Voidling as your phase 1 evolution]

'I hope I don't regret these choices, but whatever! I'll become the greatest, something like this won't hold me back!' Kymani thought to himself.

"This whole absorption thing... It's a little broken... Isn't it?" Kymani look at his now fully healed body and asked.

"Yes and no... Especially considering it doesn't heal your forms, when you get new ones... It's more akin to possessing a body and changing into a new one, once the old one isn't working anymore." Lavenica explained.

"... That... Now that you mention it... Isn't it weird that mimic forms just work like that? It feels like they are a completely separate entity from when I'm in my slime form." Kymani commented after thinking about it.

"That's because they are, theoretically speaking, you shouldn't really die permanently until you're killed in your slime form, so you can think of your mimic forms as extra lives." Lavenica just casually elaborated.

"What?!?!" Kymani had a face of mixed horror, shock, and just pure confusion.

"If you die in a form other than your original one, in this case, your slime form, you don't permanently die... You just lose access to that mimic form permanently." Lavenica calmly replied.

"..." Kymani narrowed his eyes thinking of all the times, he thought he would die, and it felt like he was living a lie. "I'm tired... Mentally tired, but at least tell me this, why not make me aware earlier?"

"Because doing so, would have hindered your growth seeing as you would not have fought like this." Lavenica answered.

"Then, why now?!" Kymani inquired.

"Pretty simple, you've gained an unhealthy habit of putting yourself in unnecessarily dangerous situations, so telling you now that you've completed the dungeon will hopefully reduce your reckless act at least a bit. Since it's no longer valuable enough to maintain your fast growth if it risks your life." Lavenica responded.

"... I mean... Is it really that big of a deal if I have multiple lives?" Kymani wondered.

"This is precisely why actions to discourage your recklessness must be taken, multiple lives or not, it's my duty, to keep you as safe and healthy as I can outside of following your commands. It's also not healthy for you to see yourself as some sort of damage sponge, who can just take whatever so long as it's for your goals. Please value each life you have, it might be illogical of me to ask, but I believe certain things have to be illogical so that the logical things have value." Lavenica expressed with a smile but a single tear could be seen falling from her eye before freezing.

"..." Kymani said nothing and instead, walked towards her, then hugged Lavenica, his expression somber. "I'll do what I can to stay alive... Though I doubt I'll be able to stay out of danger considering my goals, I do believe... No, I know I'll come out of it at least alive."

"... I wish I could trust your words, but the best I can do is prepare for the worst... Since you're too stubborn to listen." Lavenica pushed Kymani away lightly, getting out of the hug as she spoke.

"You make me sound like a hazard... I can't possibly be that bad, I was a normal person on earth not too long ago." Kymani argued.

"You almost died multiple times just in this dungeon... And out of stubbornness too..." Lavenica narrowed her eyes looking at him, as she rebuked.

"Details, but I'm alive with zero deaths. That's what matters." Kymani insisted.

"... It's impressive how dedicated to this dangerous mindset you've become in such a short period of time... Prone to negligence... I'll keep note of it for the future." Lavenica shook her head slightly listening to him, before commenting on it.

"Fine.. I'll do my best to stay alive... That's now part of my goal... A new challenge... Just like I'll prove my father wrong by becoming the best, I'll also prove you wrong by not dying all the way through. Happy?" Kymani reframed it.

"... Somehow I do believe you'll do your best now." Lavenica smiled lightly.

"Great, now let's take this." Kymani moved to Irka's spear and grabbed it before keeping it in his inventory. "So... How long do you think it will take for Iketica and Rakuia to come back?"

"They are not dead, if that's what you're insinuating." Lavenica responded.

"So?" Kymani looked at her his eyebrows raised.

"They are passed out, though they'll probably die if they stay in this state for a long time. Though they seem to be resistant to blood loss, injuries, and fractures. Normal beings would have already died." Lavenica elaborated.

"Can you wake them up? It will be a jerk move to just go in without them after all they did to help." Kymani rubbed the back of his head as he smiled weakly.

"Honorable or stupid, I don't know, but if that's what you want, I can forcibly awaken and even help a bit with the blood loss." Lavenica expressed.

"Yeah, but don't you think that's a bit cold of you..." Kymani pointed out.

"Is it? I simply don't think there is any reason to react in any strong way. They are, after all, strangers to me... Acquaintances at best." Lavenica replied with a deadpan expression as she touched Iketica and Rakuia, freezing their major wound, before slapping both, mercilessly.

Kymani narrowed his eyes with a disgusted expression, seeing the marks of Lavenica's hands on both the goblins' faces, as they sprung awake.

"My face!!!... *Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough*... Urrghh..." The pain instantly hit Iketica who held his face before coughing and felt worse as the rest of his condition hit him.

"Little Lavenica... Did you perhaps hit me and my husband?" Rakuia asked with the slap mark still on her face, and a vicious expression that could make a devil cower in fear.

{I think you should apologize...} Kymani reflexively suggested.

"Yes, I slapped you." Lavenica admitted casually.

"Oh, is that so?" Somehow looking even more demonic, Rakuia asked for confirmation as she held her weapon tight.

"... Yes, I did so under his command." Without changing her expressionless look, she pointed at Kymani with bearly visible cold sweat.

"*Sigh*... Aren't you taking it a little too far just because you won?" Rakuia sighed and calmed down before questioning Kymani.

"No, that's not it. I wanted you awake as we get to go into that room." Kymani explained as he pointed at the door, Irka was doing his best to guard.

"Ohhh! You actually managed to kill Irka... That guy grew so much from the last time we fought him, I mean he was half my size when we first met." Rakuia commented while gesturing to how small Irka was.

"To add to what my dear said, this is somehow way creepier than when you just took my body... Since your skin was purple and it was enough of a difference, but now, you look like Irka's better looking twin brother... If that makes any sense." Iketica jumped in and added his outlook.

"Yeah, I can see it..." Rakuia agreed.

"Hmmm... Yeah, me too." Lavenica also agreed.

"That... I... What?..." Kymani was rendered speechless.

"Anyway, let's see what's behind the door, we did kinda die for it." Iketica moved on to the important stuff, as he walked towards it.

"..." Rakuia's expression went somber hearing him say that, as she followed behind him.

{Thanks Sandy, you really saved me there.} Kymani expressed as he followed behind the other two, while Lavenica came right behind him.

{Sandy?! I'm the great Sand Shredder! Mutilator of enemies and herald of violence! Such a name could never befit me!} Sandy rejected the nickname with all its strength.

{Just say you're welcome, you damned tsundere!} Kymani almost immediately lost his patience with Sandy.

{An incompetent wielder who almost died! You have no right to give me a name, much less judge me! I shall never make up for your shortcomings ever again! The battlefield is a place only for true warriors!} Sandy complained.

{Forget it... You deserve to be timed out.} Kymani just kept Sandy, as he kept moving behind the other two.

"Did your conversation with the sword not go well?" Lavenica carrying a smug smile questioned.

"... I would rather focus on the door, right now." Kymani moved focus as they reached the door.

As they all stood there, Kymani took a step forward and pushed the door, which then send out a light to scan all of them.

|Scan Complete. 1 Authorized presence was detected, and 3 Unauthorized presences were detected. Individuals: Iketica, Irka, And Rakuia have no right of passage and are thus not permitted here. Preparing appropriate measures... Process complete.|

Just then, Lavenica disappeared in a flash of light.

"... All that... For this? Oh well, at least I did what j had to... Then again, I should be able to enter if I change back to my original form, right?" Kymani began mumbling to himself.

"Hey... Kymani..." Iketica called out to him before Rakuia pulled his shoulder, and when he turned to her, she shook her head.

"Huh?... Yeah?" Kymani reacted.

"Could you do me a real favor, from sand dancing warrior to sand dancing warrior?" Iketica asked, not bothering with Rakuia who was holding her face while shaking her head.

"Yeaaaahh?... I mean it depends... What do you want?" Kymani smiled awkwardly.

"I want you to destroy the dungeon core... It's in this room..." Iketica said with a wide smile while pointing at the door.

"... Wouldn't that... No... I'm not doing that... Why would you... Is this what you meant back then, when we went to get Sandy? And that meeting in the village, was that also about this?!" Kymani's eyes widened before a frown formed and he immediately rejected the idea.

"You know, when I told you about what Rakuia did in the past... When she wasn't doing the best, I never told you what I tried to do in response. The reason why Irka became the guardian here... It's because I tried to destroy the dungeon core the moment I found out about it... But then I got stopped and both Zen and Den promised that someday they would find another way, even so, here we are right now.

"Still the same caged bird, who can't fly... Who can't age... who can't die... Who can't grow beyond a certain point... Who can't make a family... And we tried so many times... It's just the same cycle of being attacked and stuck, day and day again... We're not living, and we've gone far beyond our time... Just help us go, and let us free..." Iketica expressed with a wide warm smile, while tears went down his face and Rakuia hugged him from behind.

"You... I.... It's just so much... Like you said, there's got to be another way..." Kymani being hit with this was quite shocked.

"Hey, do you know how old we are?... I don't since I long stopped counting, but before I did... I was 76,598 years old... We're older than that, now tell me, do you think we deserve some rest, now?" Iketica continued to smile and cleaned his tears off as he calmly talked to Kymani.

"That's... Yeah... You're definitely tired... I hope you sleep well." Kymani tightened his fists and sighed before turning to his slime form.

"Before you go in... I don't want to leave it on a lie, so here's the truth about Sand Shredder... I could actually wield it and even tried to use it to destroy the core, but because of it, Zen revoked my right to wield it and made it impossible for me... I understand why, however, it's gone on for far too long. Thank you, I'm sure you'll be my greatest disciple." Iketica talked while patting the slime in front of him.

"Hey... I'll follow your advice and... I want you to take this, I heard from those bandits who tried to cross me, that it's quite expensive outside the dungeon. I know it doesn't make up for his much you helped me... Plus it's such a waste to do this after you accomplished the impossible and cured me, but it's just not something we can afford to do... I hope you understand, someday." Rakuia added as she gave Kymani a light greenish sphere with a darker center.

Just taking it in him, not putting it in the inventory to not worry the two, then Kymani said nothing and touched the door, which scanned the area.

|Scan Complete. 1 Authorized presence was detected, and 2 Unauthorized presences were detected. Individuals: Iketica, And Rakuia have no right of passage and are thus not permitted here. Preparing appropriate measures... Process complete.|

Inside, Kymani found a rather messy room with various papers all over the place, and a few desks, as well as paintings of who he assumed Zendrius and Dentria to be, then there were two capsules next to each other, one of them already having something inside it, with Lavenica standing there. Finally at the end of the room was a white sphere on a pedestal in the walls, connected to many cables that pulsated every once in a while.

{Lavy... What are you doing?} Kymani asked.

"I've collected all the important things, I could find in this room for you, now I'm looking at this odd machine... It seems to work in order to make a homunculus body, so you should be able to turn the already-made, magi-tech body inside into your own homunculus body, you just have to enter the empty capsule." Lavenica explained.

"That... Ok, make it quick, I'm going to destroy the dungeon core." Kymani replied before jumping into the empty capsule.

Lavenica then closed the second capsule and began working the machine, before it began working with strong lights springing from it.

In a few hours, it was done, and both capsules opened as Kymani got out, and the homunculus body fell to the ground, and then it disappeared.

{So... } Kymani asked while absorbing the homunculus machine.

[You have consumed the homunculus body processing machine. You have unlocked the unique ability, <Homunculus Processing> and can now use turn inactive inanimate bodies into homunculus bodies.]

'I guess this might come in handy...' Kymani concluded.

"I kept it in my inventory since it's not ready yet, I'll give it to you once it's complete, it won't take too much." Lavenice elaborated.

{You have an inventory?} Kymani questioned.

"Yes... Where did Master think, I kept my musket?" She raised her eyebrow as she inquired.

{Huuuuuhhh... I don't know...} Kymani shrugged it off, while they moved toward the dungeon core.

"Anyway, why did you change your mind? If you want to destroy the dungeon core, it must mean something very unpleasant happened between you and the goblins." Lavenica suspected.

{No... They just asked for it.... Help me up.} Once he was done speaking, they reached the dungeon core.

Without question, Lavenica lifted Kymani to reach the dungeon core, and as he was pressed against it, a chill began to invade his body as he felt a weight slowly but surely over well him... The things he did for the past few days flashed before him and he froze.

{I'm way weaker than I thought... Lavy... Can you cover up for me?} Dishearted, Kymani asked for help.

Not a second thought, Lavenica pulled out her musket and froze it into a spear, then thrust it into the dungeon core.

Like waking up from a...

-Reyha Kingdom; Gallo's Outskirts-

Kymani and Lavenica found themselves in the same forest in front of the dungeon's entrance, as particles of mana filled the air, multiple people around them, looked around confused or shocked, at the scene right before them.

"Thank you... We can finally rest..." These words reach Kymani and Lavenica with no evident source, but it was very clear what it was.

{... Was this the best decision? I mean was there really nothing I could have done?...} Kymani found himself in deep thought.

Time passed and people from all over left, and while some would come only to be confused at the lack of a dungeon, Lavenica just sat there caressing the now, lost in thought Kymani.

This went on until...

"By the law of the Kingdom Of Reyha, you're under arrest for the unauthorized destruction of a public white dungeon, anything you say can and will be used against you in court! Comply with your arrest or face the consequences!" A short child-sized man wearing glasses and expensive-looking robes came to be with a few soldiers and a tall rabbit humanoid.