The journey to the Whispering Forest took about an hour's walk from the gates of Lumeria. As the name suggests, the wind blowing through the gaps in the branches of the ancient trees in this forest produced a soft humming sound, as if thousands of people were whispering.
The leaves here had a bluish tint, and some shrubs emitted a dim glow under the shadows of the forest canopy. It was a visually beautiful place, but its dangerous aura was very thick.
"We have entered the low-level monster zone, Master," reported Moro, who was floating casually near Rent's shoulder. "My magic sensor detects several slimy anomalies around the small stream up ahead."
"Alright. Let's finish this quickly. Collect 5 bottles of slime, then we go home," Rent answered flatly while twirling a thick wooden branch he had picked up by the side of the road earlier.
Kaensista walked behind him, both of her hands tightly holding the five empty glass bottles provided by the Guild. She walked on tiptoes, constantly watching the ground to ensure her knee-high boots didn't step in mud or wild animal droppings.
"There they are, Master!" Moro suddenly exclaimed, pointing with its small wing toward a gap in the trees.
Near the clear stream, three transparent jelly blobs the size of volleyballs were moving slowly. Their bodies wobbled, reflecting the sunlight like unset pudding. No eyes, no mouths. Just blobs of pure clear slime moving in search of moss or small insects.
"Weird creatures," Rent muttered, his eyes narrowing to analyze them.
"They look slow and stupid," Kaen chimed in. "Why do so many people reject a mission this easy?"
Rent didn't answer. He simply poked the clear slime briefly with his wooden branch. Poke. Poke. The slime didn't budge, it just wobbled for a moment and then continued walking.
"These creatures you call slimes, what is their weakness?" Rent asked, turning to the blue furball, Moro.
"Err... their weakness lies in magic elements, Master. But in some slimes, they have a Core inside them, that's where their weak point is."
"Hmmph," Rent looked back at the Slime, "so if it's without a core inside and clear like this, we can only use elements?"
"Exactly, Master!" Moro answered with a cheerful tone that was highly inappropriate for the situation.
Rent let out a long sigh, absorbing his bad luck. He threw the thick wooden branch in his hand onto the grassy ground. "Perfect. And guess who between the two of us can use elemental magic? No one," Rent said flatly. "We're going home. This mission is impossible to complete using physical means."
Rent was just about to turn around, but a slender hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Hold on a minute, Mr. Coward!" Kaensista interrupted with a condescending tone. The girl put her hands on her hips, staring at Rent with her signature arrogant smile. "You're too rigid, you know? The logic of magic theory and martial arts practice are different!"
Rent gently brushed the girl's hand away. "What do you mean?"
"The Guild's guidebook might say they are immune to blunt weapons," Kaen stepped forward past Rent, placing the empty glass bottles on the ground. "That's because their flexible bodies absorb the wide impact area of blunt weapons. BUT, if we use extreme force focused on one narrow point... this liquid object will definitely explode like a water balloon!"
Rent massaged the bridge of his nose. "You speak as if this is an easy thing. Don't do anything stupid, or you'll regret it."
"Hmph! Watch and learn from a true martial arts expert, Fake Doctor."
Kaen took a three-step running start backward. Her blue skirt fluttered as she jogged, leaped high into the air with extraordinary bodily flexibility, and delivered a very fast vertical heel kick. The exact same deadly kick she used to crush the giant rat's skull yesterday.
"Take this! Heel kick!"
JLEB. SQUELCH.
Kaen's heel kick landed with full force right on top of the Slime's head. However, instead of exploding like the water balloon she promised... Kaen's foot actually PIERCED into the transparent jelly body up to her mid-calf.
An awkward silence struck that part of the Whispering Forest for two seconds.
"Eh?" Kaen blinked in confusion. The ahoge on her head instantly formed an imaginary question mark. She tried to pull her foot up. Slurp.
Her foot couldn't be pulled out. The slime blob actually reacted quickly, starting to creep up, sticking tightly to her boot and black spats like rubber-based super glue.
Rent crossed his arms over his chest, staring flatly. "Still in accordance with your theory? Miss Martial Arts Expert?"
"Ugh! Shut up! Let go! Stupid creature!" Kaen started to panic. She shook her leg hard and fiercely.
However, that strong shake actually backfired. Due to the momentum of Kaen's kick being too strong earlier, the Slime's body shook violently and... SPLAT! SPLASH!
The clear slime splattered everywhere. Unluckily, more than half of the splatter landed squarely on Kaensista's upper body. Soaking the thin white inner shirt she wore from her chest down to her stomach. Even her pleated blue skirt didn't escape the splatter.
"Kyaaa! Cold!" Kaen shrieked in surprise, her body shivering for a moment.
At the same time, the true effect of the Clear Slime's fluid began to work. The liquid had mild, low-level corrosive properties. Not strong enough to harm human skin, BUT highly effective at dissolving and breaking down the bonds of organic fabric fibers.
In just three seconds, Kaen's white shirt, which was already thin to begin with, now absorbed the liquid and stuck perfectly to her skin like a layer of plastic. Instantly, the fabric became completely transparent. Exposing very clearly the pitch-black underwear that wrapped her prideful D-Cup assets, complete with the silhouette of her flat stomach curves.
Rent, who initially stood casually with his arms crossed, automatically froze. The young man's dark purple eyes widened.
Not only her shirt, but the corrosive effect of the slime also began to eat away at the edges of her pleated blue skirt. The skirt fabric slowly melted, exposing her smooth thighs and the short tight pants—black spats—that were highly worshipped by Rent's male logic.
The forest wind that blew gave Kaen goosebumps. The girl looked down, realizing that her upper garment was now 100% see-through and her skirt had become a tattered mini skirt.
Normally, a girl would scream hysterically, cross her arms over her chest, and slap the man who dared to stare at her. But this was Kaensista, the girl with confidence as high as a dragon, or perhaps even more.
The girl looked up, catching Rent red-handed glaring with his mouth slightly open. A very annoying and confident smirk etched onto her lips. Instead of covering her body, Kaen actually took a breath and PUFFED OUT HER CHEST on purpose. She placed one hand on her hip, letting her exposed chest become even more pronounced, and deliberately tilted her hips to show off the black spats underneath her melting skirt.
"Ara~" Kaen hummed naughtily, the ahoge on her head swaying proudly seeing Rent's shock. "What's wrong, Mr. Kaenda? You can't even blink your eyes? Hmph, understandably so."
Kaen smirked even wider, posing like an adult magazine model in the middle of the forest. "How about it, hmm? This transparent shirt and skirt slit... is it enough to make that deadpan face of yours heat up, Rent~"
Rent didn't answer. His body trembled violently. For a normal man, seeing a beautiful girl showing off her body with a vulgar pose is a blessing. BUT, Rent just realized one horrifying fact: The face of the girl showing off her chest in front of him was a 100% identical duplicate of his own face.
"Y-You..." Rent pointed at Kaen with a trembling finger, his breath panting as if he had just been attacked by deadly poison. "Cover. Cover your clothes, NOW," Rent continued, slightly raising his tone.
He immediately turned around, facing a tree, then covered his own eyes with both hands. His body was still trembling even though he had turned around. She is completely insane. With wet clothes like that, it almost gave me an instant heart attack, he thought.
"If in 1 minute I turn around and you still haven't covered your clothes, I swear I will leave you here to lament your fate," he answered while closing his eyes.
Kaen, seeing that reaction, immediately pouted, veins of annoyance appearing on her temples. "Tch! You stone-faced blockhead!"
"Master," Moro flew approaching Rent who still had his eyes closed. "Master's heart rate has increased significantly. Hmm, did Master just receive an enlightenment?" it asked innocently.
"Shut up," he answered flatly, "I just received a sight that wasn't in its proper place, and that enlightenment truly made me almost lose my sanity, again."
"RENT! DON'T JUST STAND THERE, IDIOT!" Kaen shouted again, this time her tone sounding panicked. Her arrogance instantly faded. "HELP ME! THIS SLIME IS STARTING TO DISSOLVE MY BLACK SPATS! MY FOOT CAN'T BE PULLED OUT AT ALL!"
Hearing the words 'my black spats are dissolving', Rent let out a long and heavy sigh. He tried to restore his sanity that had just been shattered to pieces. He slowly turned around, staring straight at the sky so his eyes wouldn't accidentally drop to the girl's chest and thigh area.
"Reach out your hand, idiot. I won't look down," Rent grumbled while extending one hand with his face turned toward the river.
"Tch, you lame hypocrite," Kaen grumbled. But she still grabbed Rent's hand tightly.
"Hold your breath. One... two... three."
Rent pulled Kaen's hand backwards with all his might, while Kaen pulled her leg in the opposite direction. They played tug-of-war against a giant living pudding.
Sluuuurp—POP!
Thanks to Rent's full-force pull, Kaen's foot finally managed to break free from the Slime's suction.
"Done. Next time don't act beyond predictions, understand?"
Kaen, who had just broken free, patted her wet skirt and shirt. "Yeah, yeah, naggy Doctor," she scoffed.
When Kaen looked up again to look straight at Rent, she instead saw a strange figure right behind the young man.
Kaen's purple eyes widened to the max, staring at something in the direction of the river. "R-Rent..." Kaen's voice trembled softly. Her hands clenched tightly.
"What now?" Rent stared lazily. "What do you want to show off now?"
"N-No..." Kaen swallowed hard. Her trembling index finger pointed backwards. "T-That..."
Rent turned slowly towards the direction Kaen pointed. There, from the bottom of the deeper river flow, the three Clear Slimes from earlier seemed to move to the edge obediently, as if making way for their king. From behind the water ripples, a much more massive and dark-colored slime blob emerged. Deep blue, almost black, radiating a cold aura and Mana distortion that made the air around them feel heavy.
Its size... was as big as a giant ox cart.
"Master! There's danger! Get out of the way quickly!" Moro reported, spinning around in panic. "That's a Water Elite Slime! They usually appear at random times, but it seems that random time is now!"
Rent stared at the giant jelly monster shaped like a blob of water towering in front of him in silence. His deadpan face didn't change, but his eyes narrowed wearily facing the endless string of bad luck today.
"Another problem arrives, alright, another unlucky day goes into the collection."
The giant shadow of the Elite Slime began to grow, covering the two of them in a damp darkness.