"Difficulty: E-Rank. Estimated danger level: Low. Reward: 150 copper."
I stared at the quest board like it had personally insulted my intelligence.
"We're monster hunters now," I declared to no one, puffing my chest proudly.
Lina and Iris stood behind me, deeply unamused.
"You say that like we're not broke," Lina muttered, arms crossed. "We need the copper."
"I wouldn't mind skipping lunch again…" Iris added, softly. Her stomach betrayed her with a squeaky grrruuul.
That settled it.
"Team Linked Hearts—but unofficially, since we're not registered yet—accepts the quest!" I said, grabbing the paper with a dramatic flair that knocked over a nearby gnome.
Scene: Outskirts of Glenvale – The "Wolven Slime" Nest
The sun was shining, birds were singing, and I was feeling myself.
Armed with my new semi-boosted fire magic from Lina's Link (thanks to our now 15% Affection score), I marched confidently toward the nest of gooey danger with the girls behind me.
"How strong are these slime wolves again?" I asked.
Lina shrugged. "Slimes with legs. They're pack creatures. Just don't let them lick you."
"…Lick me?"
"They dissolve armor."
"…Got it."
We arrived at the hilltop clearing where they were rumored to nest. It looked peaceful. Too peaceful.
"I'll scout ahead," I said, trying to sound cool.
I took exactly two steps before something wet and translucent launched out of a bush and SLAPPED me full-force in the face.
I flew ten feet backward like a rejected circus act, bounced once, and landed in a puddle.
Lina screamed.
With laughter.
"Welp," Iris murmured, offering me a healing potion as I lay in defeat. "That's one way to find them."
[System Alert: "Host has been critically slimed."]
The Slime Wolves were... horrifyingly adorable.
They looked like translucent dogs made of blue jelly, with floppy goo ears and wide, stupidly happy mouths. They boinged when they ran. Boinged.
"Don't let their cuteness fool you!" Lina warned, already summoning her chakrams.
One of them tackled her leg.
She set it on fire.
"Okay, we're good," she nodded.
I tried to channel fire through my palm. A tiny poof of smoke rose like a dying birthday candle.
"Come on, come on…" I muttered.
Another wolf-slime bounded at me. I dodged left—success! Then tripped over a root—failure!
It pounced. I closed my eyes.
BOOM.
Iris's time magic flared, and everything slowed. She gracefully stepped between me and the slime, tapped it with a glimmering silver bell—
It stopped mid-air, frozen in time, and slowly flopped to the ground like melting jelly.
I gawked.
"Marry me."
"…What?" she blinked.
"Nothing! Just talking to the slime!"
Affection Update – Iris: 7% ❤️Mood: "Politely concerned."
By the end of the skirmish, we were slimy, exhausted, and victorious. Barely.
We stood in the middle of goo puddles and melted monsters, surrounded by the scent of burnt jelly.
"I can't believe this was an E-Rank quest," I groaned.
"You set yourself on fire twice," Lina said flatly.
"Combat strategy!" I retorted. "Slime hates smoke!"
"You were the smoke."
Touché.
Back at QuestHub, we handed in the cores of the wolves—three glowing blobs of magical jelly—and received our reward: 150 copper coins and one free healing bandage.
We split it evenly. I bought a cheap new shirt to replace the one that had dissolved.
We walked home under the stars. I was limping. Lina was humming. Iris was quiet as always.
And even though I still didn't know how to be a real adventurer—or a proper party leader—I knew one thing:
We didn't die.
That's a win in my book.
End of Chapter 4