Chapter 69 - Nice

In the previous chapter…

Slade unlocked the ability to shapeshift into a pillar of eyes. He had not spoken to Griscent about it yet.

Shaki sent him to the mine’s entrance to escort Violet back to Krisnan.

— —

Escorted by four gnoll warriors and two witches, Violet and Lorely walked out of the ore mine with new looks.

Lorely had swapped her washed-up robe for a gnoll themed fabric. Its cut kept the same overall shape to let her wings spread from her naked back. But the gnolls had added sleeves that would not hinder her flight.

While she used to look poor, her new self looked like a pagan deity of love and fertility that Slade would gladly worship.

"I’m here, Slade~♥" She rubbed her knees shyly while carrying the purple warbanner.

Violet wore a plain shirt over a loose dress, similar to civilian gnolls. Her hair was tied into a long braid, and her bangs were cleaned up. "Sorry for making you wait."

She exuded a homely warmth that straight up knocked Slade out.

Milia spit out her grass from shock.

"What the fuck happened to granny? How?!"

"Slade? Hello?"

The love-struck slime was still trapped in delusions after Violet’s cuteness blew his mind. He saw himself growing older with her dazzling smile.

Violet poked the silent slime to wake him up.

"Uh- Ah! I lost myself for a moment."

He jumped and rubbed his face against her chest. "You’re so cuuute!"

"Stop acting like this, geez!" The embarrassed woman pushed Slade into Lorely’s arms.

The harpy hag’s chest jiggled from Slade’s shaking. "The witches did an excellent job, right?"

"Does it fit your tastes?"

"I’m falling in love again, baby."

Violet patted the back of the pair of mother and daughter witches and slipped a stack of pawn notes into their hand. "Take that money. You’ve earned it."

Slade’s face froze into a shaking smile, coughing blood from mental damage. Wait! How much did it cost?!

The pair of mother-daughter witches bowed, stashing their money inside their cleavage. "It is our pleasure."

Oh well, it’s fine. They look so happy. It’s absolutely worth it. Resigned, the slime nodded. He had found what was truly important to him. He didn’t want to deny what was important to others.

Milia made eye contact with Lorely and snorted. "Hmpf! The color scheme was the only change. My new style is way better."

"Well, we don’t really grow wings on our backs… We don’t have a lot of things that fit Miss Lorely."

"Ha! Are you salty that nobody praised your new look?"

"Huh? Why would I seek the approval of gnolls and slime? I’m not a degenerate attention whore like you!"

"That’s right, you’re just a degenerate whore!"

"All right, that’s enough! Let’s not delay the journey any longer. Master, weren’t you supposed to test something before escorting Lady Violet?"

Ah, that’s right. I was supposed to establish a video call with my remote slime unit. Slade shapeshifted into a tablet. It flashed incoherent lights for a minute.

"Ah! I got the hang of it!" The picture of Griscent and Shaki finally appeared.

"1, 2, 3… Do you hear us?"

"We’re hearing perfectly. What about you?"

"Wonderful, it’s better quality than most communication orb!"

"A bit slow to get going."

"Before we go on our way, let’s settle the development plan of Holloweye. I’ll build a clinic with Crown to house the witches. The citizens got wounds from their harsh journey. Curing them might decrease the unrest."

"Griscent will start building the mage guild to learn the common tongue with beholders."

"Shaki will organize the market for the pawn renting service."

"And Metiva will manage the reconstruction of the gnoll camp. Is that fine?"

"It will take a while if Violet doesn’t summon them with sovereign points."

"Our goal is to have the facilities working as soon as possible. It’s fine if there’s no bonus yet."

"Okay, I’m approving all of it. I left the pawn notes to Shaki. Redistribute it among yourselves at your discretion. Let’s go~"

"Great! Thanks."

"Understood."

"Ok, have a safe trip."

"Take care."

"I’ll miss you, Sha~♥" The minotaur waved until Slade cut the meeting.

Metiva waved her kerchief until the cortege of soldiers disappeared from the gnoll camp. With alight heart, she worked alongside her clan members to rebuild their tents and huts.

Still, she was worried about the 6 gnolls temporarily leaving the tribe. Going there sounds so lonely…

---

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Deeper in the forest, the two witches huddled in the cart.

They played with Slade, pinching his fat cheeks and pecking kisses at him.

He retaliated by squirting water at them and nibbling their fur.

Slade tried to call their name, but could not remember any. He sweated nervously, worried that he didn’t bother to learn their name despite making babies with them.

I’m too scared to ask at this point.

They went along with each other’s games. Sometimes they accidentally squirted on a gnoll warrior, breaking into laughter.

Playing under the sun without a care, they all forgot the despair they endured in the underground maze.

The convoy made one quarter of the trip. It retraced the first path from Krisnan to the ore mine, cleared of bushes by Violet’s golem and Milia’s double bearded axe on their first travel. The trees were sparse enough to allow an easy passage. Thanks to that, the ride couldn’t go smoother.

The escorting warriors spoke with Milia to pass time, relying on the beholders to keep watch.

Violet napped on Lorely’s thighs, unbothered by the noisy girls or the singing birds.

But screaming beholders interrupted their leisure, pointing in a direction.

Slade stuttered, translating their words. "A group of gnolls are running from centaurs…"

Krisnan’s goal was to guard the Dungeon’s tunnel project from uninvited guests and wandering monsters. Each encounter with outside forces could give away the Dungeon’s faction in this area and increase the difficulty of Violet’s mission.

The slime squirmed. Colliding with the outside world became unavoidable after we expanded our territory with Holloweye.

The gnoll warriors gulped. They wanted to run off to rescue the wandering brethren, yet they couldn’t endanger the sovereign.

Violet got up from the cart, standing at the crossroad of destiny. One path was to run away and rot in darkness like she always did. The other one was to listen to her heart. For a long time, she had confined herself underground so she could fade away unseen, unhurt, unspoken. She could just turn a blind eye to the fleeing victims and let Holloweye grow in secrecy to reap its benefits until it was time to cut off her own tail.

The warlock steeled her resolve while wiping the trickle of drool from her nap. No…

The recent ordeals taught her that the strength to fight for one’s belief dwelled in her heart, too. She wasn’t just Dungeon’s pawn, but a complete human being. Thus, she chose to break free from her fears in order to claim her place under the Sun, even if she had to face Rampart’s wrath.

She swung her hand forward to command her soldiers for what her heart demanded. "Rescue them and defeat the enemies!"

The gnolls cheered, jumping into position.

Violet grinned. Forget about the Shadow Lord or father. The people who really count are Slade, Lorely, and my precious people.

We can’t exactly turn a blind eye to our allied gnolls, but we’re jumping in without knowing the enemy’s numbers!

"Fuck yeaaaaah!" Milia turned into a brawny minotaur, itching to charge into the fray with her borrowed two-handed flail.

The harpy hag raised the warbanner to direct the pawns. "Prepare for battle!"

The pawns stood behind the gnolls and readied their flint spears.

Lorely handed the witches a tiny paper scroll hidden between breasts. "Here’s my cheat sheet for ‘Haste’."

Without waiting for their reaction, her index finger glowed at the touch of her circlet and danced in the air to draw sigils.

The dumbfounded witches brought out their voodoo bones talisman and sight-read Lorely’s notes.

"Hey! Over there!" A warrior roared, waving his hand at the stray gnolls.

The latter heard the calls and headed straight to the cart. Behind them, the centaurs followed suit, thrusting their spears at their legs.

"There are 10 Centaurs and 5 elves!"

Slade’s eyes exploded at the sight of a female centaur.

What kind of kinky creature is that?! The female centaurs looked like women with an additional pair of thighs. No matter how he looked at it, it was a buff.

I must get one! Where’s my pokeball?

"Beholders, shoot their pursuers! Warriors, cover the fleeing civilians!"

The volley of disintegration rays struck the centaurs.

One pursuer pawn tumbled and crashed down. The painful holes in his muscles threw his body off-balance. He kept flopping on the ground, trying to get back up with his damaged limbs.

An elven archer growled, monitoring the situation from afar. "What the fuck?! There are Dungeon bastards in our forest!"

Her Bladedancer partner drew his swords. "How many are there?"

"There are about 10 pawns, a minotaur and a pair of beholders. Their hero is a harpy hag!" The archer squinted her eyes.

The male bladedancer smirked when he estimated that his forces were stronger. His confidence stemmed from the team of powerful ‘Grand Elves’ archers who covered his back. Their impressive fire rate and accuracy could lay waste on any armies, especially creatures from Dungeon who had inferior eyesight in daylight.

"We could get promoted heroes if we defeat them right now. Focus on their frontline!" The bladedancer ran off to the battle.

"Kill their troglodytes!" The female elf barked at the three elven pawns following her.

They spread through the forest to widen their angle of attack.

The fleeing wanderers ran past Lorely’s forces with an expression of sheer terror. Then, a rain of arrows fell on the unprepared escort.

The gnolls raised their shields. But the pawns behind them were almost entirely wiped out in a single volley.

A male troglodyte wobbled forward, still determined to fight despite the arrows sticking out of his body.

The centaurs wove around the trees to charge at them. "Shit, girls. We’re fucked!" The gnoll warriors stepped back to hide behind trees as their morale hit rock bottom.

Slade’s throat tightened at the loss of troglodytes. He wanted to join the battle and rescue the warriors.

Gusts of wind wrapped Lorely’s units, granting them higher speed.

The battlefield turned into a chaotic mess.

Centaurs crashed into the fearful gnolls hiding behind trees and harpies flew to stop the archers from focusing their fire on the frontline.

The grand elves drew their daggers to fend off the harpies.

But the pair of winged women zipped in the air, dodging the blades by a hairbreadth without retaliating. It became apparent that they only meant to stall the archers from supporting the frontline.

The frustrated elf sheathed her dagger and drew her bow once more. "Ignore the harpies and wipe the-"

A harpy dove and kicked the elf’s bow the moment she released the string.

"Fuck you, bitch!" The elf threw her bow aside and ran after the harpy with her daggers at hand.

The archers outnumbered the harpies. They could still fire at half their normal rate if they spread out.

Their arrows flew straight at Milia, but they didn’t account for her sudden acceleration.

"For gloryyyy!" she yelled, emboldened by the surge of speed. Her flail struck two centaurs at once. A pulverized pawn flew in a gruesome shower of meat and blood, while the other one cracked its ribs against a tree that stopped its course. An exhilarating feeling of power coursed through Milia’s fingers, back to her pounding heart.

The bladedancer pounced on her, punishing her wide opened flank.

"Fuck! That hurts!" She flailed in retaliation, but the tail of her two-handed flail struck a gnoll hiding behind her. God darn it, I’ll have to carry this battle on my own!

Further behind, the fleeing refugees reached the safety of the cart. They collapsed on their knees in exhaustion. "Thank god! Thank you so much for saving us!"

"We’re losing this. I-I need to get on the battlefield!" Her throat tightened, and her eyes wavered. She didn’t want to fight.

Slade jumped on her head. "You should protect Violet. Throw me on the front line instead!"

Lorely’s face lit up. "You are right!"

"Heh? Are you sure about this-"

The harpy hag hurled Slade with all her might.

"YOLOOOOO!" the slime screamed as he flew through the battlefield.

He crashed on the foliage and bounced across the battlefield until he rolled to a stop in front of the befuddled gnolls.

They had retreated behind a tree, too scared to be caught up in the duel between Milia and the Bladedancer. "What are you doing here?! This place is dangerous!" They were worried that they couldn’t protect their boss.

The 7 remaining centaurs circled the battlefield and approached with a new angle for their shock cavalry tactic. They would gore the remaining gnolls if nothing was done.

Slade focused on the spirit sleeping within. Tannhauser! I need your help! A large chunk of his mana was torn away from his core, and a swirling mist coalesced over his body.

A budget knight in a cheap tracksuit erupted from the mist in the cavalry’s path. Vines and flower petals sprung up to welcome his arrival.

The seven spears rammed into his upper body and sent him flying. The centaurs scattered to evade the incoming disintegration rays and prepare their next charge.

Tannhauser tumbled helplessly like a ragdoll until he face-planted.

The gnoll warriors formed a defensive circle around the fallen Tannhauser and blocked the arrows flying at him. "Are you okay, master?!" After witnessing his bravery, they couldn’t go hide behind a tree anymore.

Slade internally screamed at his unresponsive alter ego. Get up! Get up and fight!

Tannhauser shook his helmet and gave a thumbs up. Though his armor got dented, the magic vines had dampened the incoming strikes during his transformation.

"Don’t scare me like that!"

The blade dancer broke free from the exchange of blows with Milia. "Another enemy?"

"Focus on your date, honey!" The bloodied minotaur roared while swinging her weapon. Even if she missed, the flail kept its momentum for the next strike and spared her stamina.

The elf groaned. He preferred quick clashes over prolonged battles. He thought he could quickly beat his opponent because she was inexperienced, but she could keep up thanks to Lorely’s Haste. Should I retreat? But he wasn’t confident about showing his back to a hasted charging minotaur. No, we still outnumber them! We got this.

Slade watched his body moving on its own, hoping to learn a thing even if it was a borrowed power.

He felt his mana dwindle again as it focused at Tannhauser’s fingertip. What the heck!? Using spells already? It better be super strong!

Luxuriant Spring

A field of wooden weapons bloomed from the ground.

Slade internally screamed. What the fuck!? Wooden sticks?

Tannhauser picked up a two-handed sword and passed by two centaurs. In that brief instant, the wooden blade sliced through the pawns like butter, leaving a trail of purifying light.

The dead centaurs tumbled on the ground, carried by the momentum of their charge.

Tannhauser tossed the crumbling wooden sword and picked up two scimitars.

Ok. I take back what I’ve said.

"No way! Did you know he could do that?"

"No, I didn’t… Was it a Castle technique?" Her hands trembled in excitement. She knew Slade had an ace up his sleeve, but it exceeded her expectations. His performance was stellar, despite not knowing how skills worked. Just how strong would he grow?

The gnolls had weathered the rest of the centaur’s assault by focusing on defense, but they wouldn’t endure another charge.

They froze behind Tannhauser like deers caught in the headlights in front of the wall of centaur muscles speeding towards them.

The centaurs approached from various angles to avoid Tannhauser’s deadly attacks.

As a result, he couldn’t protect all the gnolls from this charge. Sacrifices were necessary.

Tannhauser lunged onward with unfazed determination, leaving the gnolls on their own. His dancing blades drew intertwined ribbons trailing after him. The winds of Lorely’s Haste carried his feet, propelling him through a pair of galloping centaurs.

The scimitars deflected the incoming spears in a shower of sparks.

The two dumbfounded centaurs kept charging at the gnolls. But they collapsed after a few steps when the damages from the beholders and Tannhauser’s slashes took their toll. Meanwhile, the remaining pawns trampled on the gnolls’ defense.

"Gyaah!" a female gnoll shrieked behind Tannhauser, but he pressed on.

His dash reached the surprised blade dancer to deliver his two final slashes. The first wooden scimitar drew a shallow cut on the elf’s chest, protected by an invisible force. But the second blade sank deeper into the target.

Violet, Lorely and the witches cheered, blown out of their mind by his prowess.

Tannhauser sluggishly recovered his stance after exhausting all his stamina. The wooden weapons crumbled to dust in his hands.

Rivalry and rage swept through the elven blade dancer. A single moment of weakness was all it took to mess with his decisions.

Oh? You dare using elven swordsmanship against me?! He couldn’t resist paying back Tannhauser with his strongest attack. The strike cut through the knight’s chestplate, sending him away.

But the bladedancer’s triumph was cut short by Milia.

She tackled him and pummeled his head while stradling his chest. "Where’s your smug smile now? Huh?!"

The elf’s handsome face was beaten to a pulp. He begged for his life and dropped his weapons. "Kuh! Fiara, Help! No- please stop! Spare me!"

His elven companions were already on the run while dodging the beholder’s rays. "Retreat! Retreat!"

ELF BOOTY!! GET UP, TAN’! CATCH’EM!

Tannhauser was battered. His armor crumbled, and his torn clothes seeped out with mist. He wouldn’t withstand another two attacks from the centaurs and had no weapon to block or parry their charge.

He got up. His limp walk sped up to a jog and soon turned into a sprint.

It had been nearly 30 seconds since his transformation, and spent a single spell point to sustain it. With only 2 spell points remaining, he couldn’t call upon Luxuriant Spring to bring out a weapon and clash against the enemy. So he ran like an angry bull, bluffing enemies that they couldn’t possibly turn the tables against him.

As per the archer’s order, the centaurs ditched the bladedancer to retreat while ignoring all enemies.

We can’t allow them to flee. No effort should be spared to stop her faction from learning about Violet’s activity.

Tannhauser jumped on the chance to ride on a passing centaur. The pawn ignored him and kept retreating. A verdant spear materialized in his hand. According to his status, he had only one spell point remaining.

[Critical level of mana storage reached! Entering power saving mode in 15… 14…]

You’ve got only one shot! He had to protect his peaceful days with Violet.

Tannhauser lifted the spear high as he focused on the centaur’s unstable vertical motion.

[10… 9…]

Tan’! You can do it!

By random chance, the pawns cleared the line of sight between Tannhauser and the female elf running at the head of the army. He launched the wooden spear into that opening.

The spear passed by the surprised pawns. Even if they called their mistress, it was too late to stop it.

Verdant Mercy landed on the elf’s back, binding her. It tripped her as she rolled face down on the ground.

"Fuck! What is that?! Pawns, help me!" she yelled and panicked when Tannhauser quickly closed the distance. "No! The centaur with the knight, go away! Go back!"

Tannhauser knocked down the centaur as it turned and leapt on the archer.

[3… 2… ]

But we don’t have weapons!

The elf threw the severed vines away and lifted her dagger to guard her chin, but it was too late.

The knight struck in quick succession her wrist, her carotid, and her chest.

"W-what?" Her legs buckled, her eyes rolled up, and her limp body collapsed. The plummeting blood pressure took away all her strength.

Poof! Tannhauser disappeared in a cloud of smoke and left Slade on the collapsed elf.

A grand elf pawn punted the slime with a precise kick.

But Lorely threw the harpies on their way, sacrificing them so that no one would escape.

Milia and the gnolls caught up with them and brawled with the remaining centaurs and grand elves to put them into submission.

After a dirty melee, the exhausted gnolls relaxed. "D-did we win?"

"Yup, we beat all the pawns, and we got their leaders." Milia flipped over the fainted archer that led the pawns.

"Ugh…" The light-headed elf groaned, blinded by the skylight.

Lorely raised the warbanner. "Victory is ours!"

The rescued wanderers cried in joy as they ran past the knocked archer elf.

"Huh? Where are they going?"

Violet jumped off the cart and ran towards Slade. "Good job! You were so strong!"

"Yaaaay! I need mana~" He jumped into her arms.

Violet smooched his cheek. "Yes. Let’s provide first aid to the casualties while I’m with you!"

Lorely hugged their backs. "Good call, Violet! That was a great battle!"

The rescued gnolls ran off to release the captured gnolls, who were tied to a tree guarded by a centaur.

The centaur who stayed out of the battle wasn’t a pawn. He held his hands up, begging for mercy. "I’m just a civilian. Please, don’t hurt me!"

The gnolls freed the captured victims and comforted them. "Everything will be fine now!"

The victory system message popped up for Lorely, but not for Slade, who had forfeited all his experience points to synchronize with Tannhauser.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Violet lost 2 troglodytes and 1 harpy. She got 2 pawn-handler prisoners, 1 centaur civilian, and 10 gnoll civilians. The surviving enemy pawns were 1 elven archer and 4 centaurs.

The wounded made a full recovery thanks to Slade’s care. A gnoll warrior had an entire spear stuck inside her, but it was more impressive than lethal because it missed the vitals.

[The Elf form has been unlocked for the skill: Shapeshift.] [The Centaur form has been unlocked for the skill: Shapeshift.]

Slade finished treating the wandering gnolls. "So, those two elves aren’t rooks nor heroes, and yet they risk their lives on the battlefield?"

"Yes, it’s hard to micromanage thousands of pawns and use them well. That’s why heroes delegate them to civilians. Armies recruit officers to manage teams of pawns on the battlefield. Unlike heroes and rooks who are treated with utmost care, pawn handlers are unable to surrender, so they learn to fight on par with pawns and do everything they can to tip the balance in their favor."

"Really? The blade dancer fought better than a mere pawn. He was almost beating Milia’s ass."

"She’s low level right now. She’s slightly stronger than a regular minotaur, but she can still grow stronger."

Milia deflected the topic. "Will the Rampart faction declare war on us after finding out?"

"It will be alright… We will prepare for that."

They looked at the tied and gagged elves. The enemy pawns were blindfolded and gagged as they refused any order from Violet’s side.

"What about this dude?" Slade pointed at the centaur pulling the cart. "He’s not gagged. Are we releasing him?"

The centaur was covered in rags and mud. He glared at the world with a constant frown. His scruffy beard wasn’t grown enough to hide his displeased grimace. His poor appearance contrasted with the centaur pawns, who wore clean armors.

"He’s a civilian, so we take him along. Rempart must not hear of this incident." She held a rope wrapped around the centaur’s neck, stopping him from escaping.

The centaur glanced back. "The name’s Cadhan the carrier."

He gestured his chin at the two captive elves with disdain. "This duo hired me to pick up the gnoll slaves. I don’t care who my employer is. As long as you feed me and pay, I will break my back for you."

Captive or free didn’t matter for him, but profits did. Moreover, he eyed the female centaur pawns following them.

The mommy witch spoke with dissatisfaction. "Even if you didn’t fight, you supported the enslavement of my fellow gnolls. It’s only natural that we enslave you back."

Lorely leaned towards Slade. "If enslaving these people satisfies the gnoll refugee, it will decrease the overall unrest of Krisnan."

Cadhan clicked his tongue. "Get off your high horse, witch. If you gnolls had properly paid the toll, you wouldn’t be taken as slave."

His answer angered the witch’s daughter. "You expect us to pay these unreasonable fees? Cut out your bullshit! There’s no justification for forcing someone to work for a lifetime just to walk by your property."

Cadhan roared back. "You could have just stolen stuff from the Dungeon before you left, you dumbass! Do you think you’re the only one who has it hard? I don’t work for these pieces of shit because I want to!"

The mother witch calmed down her daughter. "Now that this forest is under our control, we’ll ask you for a passage fee. Do you pay us with a lifetime of work or do we enslave you? Your choice."

The centaur let out a dry laugh. "Sure, I’ll become your slave. Let me watch from the front seat how Rempart crushes you."

"What’s going on, Violet? I thought towns prospered with happy citizens, but this guy looks like he was exploited all his life."

"There are first-rate towns that produce a lot of resources with happy citizens, and third-rate towns that take on debt to buy pawns from the first-rate towns to conquer surrounding territories. This man must be from a third-rate town, which makes sense since we’re in a buffer zone between Fortress, Rempart, Tower, and Castle."

"Wait, for real?" Slade groaned. "Why can’t he go to a first-rate town?"

Violet sighed at the sky. She gave Slade a faint smile of sorrow. "First-rate towns are extremely picky with its citizens. If they choose the wrong ones, they’ll increase the unrest or lower the productivity. Only the cream of the crop can join first-rate towns."

They looked at the centaur in rags to assess his assets.

"This carrier has probably nothing going for him except his physical strength. He probably can’t afford an education either. He wouldn’t quite make it."

Milia smacked the centaur’s back with a devilish grin. "Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you."

"I see…" Slade pondered.

The first-rate towns grew wealthier on the back of the third-rate towns. The latter had no choice but to wage war to protect and sustain themselves. When the loot wasn’t enough, it was the population that suffered.

Pitted against each other, the citizens were chained to an eternal cycle of hatred.

It sounded incredibly stupid to exploit citizens while pawns could do the job. But pawns were fearless tools of war, and this world valued them more.

Violet poked Slade’s cheek. "Don’t worry! We’ll create the greatest first-rate town that will accept almost everyone!"

Slade’s face darkened further. This is crushingly hopeless. There’s no way our little group could solve this systemic moral bankruptcy if that’s what the world rewards.

"What do you mean ‘almost everyone’? You’re supposed to say ‘everyone’!" Lorely laughed.

"Nope, elves are a social threat and bump unrest levels into the sky. Men get too scared to walk out at night." Violet chuckled.

"Right, I feel sorry for those unpopular women."

"Hmmm! Hmm!!" The gagged elves trashed about as veins popped on her skin.

Slade watched the carefree women’s racist banter. His worries dispelled as if he was overthinking in vain. The world can go in a shitty direction, it won’t stop us from making Holloweye a great town. I refuse to be crushed by this crappy system!

"Okay, I need a toilet break from all this stress. Slaaaade~"

Slade jumped out from the cart before she could catch him. "Look… Can’t you just do it behind a bush?"

"Stop the cart! What are you making a pregnant lady do?!"

Slade slowly backed away. "What do you mean ‘pregnant’? You’re not carrying a baby, but slime eggs…"

"Come back! It’s an order!"

The slime froze. He couldn’t go against her orders… Or could he?

He scampered behind a tree. Wait, I can?

"Come on, just poop on the ground! It cannot be that bad."

"You don’t understand Lorely…" Violet looked at her friend with pity and shook her head condescendingly.

"I want to share everything with Slade. I’ll accept all of him as much as he’ll accept all of me. The flesh I wear, the air I breathe, and even the food I eat! We complete each other, me as a human, and him as a slime! That is the meaning of ULTIMATE LOOOOOVE!" Violet’s eyes gleamed.

The mood shifted from victory to uncomfortable anxiety. Everyone sweated, afraid of her madness.

"Are you okay in the head, darling?" He crawled to a further tree.

"Listen to me, darn earth spirit!" The teary warlock took out her spellbook, but Lorely caught her hand before she could use magic.

"Don’t be unreasonable! You can't risk your life for this!"

"I don’t give a shit! Let me go! REEEEEE!" Slade always felt that something was strange. He recalled his first day in Hekalys when he couldn’t disobey Violet. Yet, after fighting the beholders, she never exercised that mysterious influence on him again.

Nobody else had this problem. Lorely, Shaki and Milia had great freedom as rooks.

No, wait… There is someone in the same situation as me. It’s Crown! The earth elemental spirit could be puppeted by its summoners, but it also moved on its own if it had enough personal resources.

That’s it! I’m a summoned earth spirit! My summoner can control me through magic, but Violet is no longer allowed to use mana, so that means…

"I AM FREEEEEE!" Slade ran away, bouncing in joy.

Violet reluctantly got off the cart to relieve her needs. "How could you do that to me?"

Slade went a long way ever since a drifting truck smashed him. He gained freedom, power, and lovers. The world opened its arms wide, offering him infinite possibilities. Joining any first-rate town wasn’t unreasonable considering his abilities.

But l wanna stick around Violet…

He sneaked closer to the bush where Violet and Lorely hid.

—

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Long after the skirmish between Violet and the elves, a young girl ran through the forest, lured by a strange feeling.

She was followed by her floating caretaker.

"Where are you going? Slow down!" The caretaker’s words fell on deaf ears.

The young girl stopped at a bush. "There’s something great hiding here."

She crouched down to show it to her guardian with immense pride. "Look, it’s dazzling!"

"It! is! not!" The woman retorted, growing frustrated with each passing second.

The girl grabbed the adult’s hand and put the treasure in it. "This thing packs up so much mana!"

The woman threw it away and yelled in disgust. "I’m a dryad, not a fucking dung beetle!"

The young girl noticed wheel tracks on the ground and immediately darted off to follow its path.

The older woman finished cleaning her hand with leaves, but the small girl had already vanished.

"Where did-" She sweated bullets.

She spun around finding no trace of the little girl. She floated up in the air to widen her searching range.

But past a certain height, the canopy prevented her from seeing anything.

The color drained from her face when she realized she had lost the girl. She returned to the ground. "Oh no… No, no, no…" she whined as she wandered through the forest.

—

—

Author Notes

Honk honk!

Small erratum: I will swap the term "Health Points" for "Hit Points" in status windows because that measure includes the damage that armors and barriers can absorb.

I’m sorry for calling this smut shitty if you enjoyed it. It’s just my way to stay chill about it because I’ll get trapped into perfectionism hell and fall into eternal hiatus if I take it too seriously.

This chapter was mainly to expose the consequences of the journey on Violet’s mind and Slade’s abilities.

Special thanks to our subscribers: Eternal_Havoc, LabRunner, JK, GM, TB, MS, S2, SD, Moose, U8, XCER, thedemongoku, Panthara, Nova69, PandaDaoist, Vex, TheMuffinEmpire, U0e, Silvergreenfox, DanDaveeto, RedViking, U7, Omniscient_tree, U9a, U18, Teslacoil22, rbell001, fenrirragnarok, platymage, RRM, BlueDrago for generously funding our degeneracy (´▽`ʃ❤ƪ).

OwOtrucked

Chapter 68 - F

Rev01-29-22: Slade puts eggs inside the pillar of eyes.

In the previous chapter…

Slade went to the bottom of the cave to clean the rubbles. He drove away young beholders carving graffiti on the golem’s feet.

— —

Slade’s blobs refueled the golem at the bottom of the cave. While he waited for the earth spirit to wake up, he focused on his other blob left in Metiva’s room. He wanted to pay a visit to the beholders.

Squeezed in Metiva’s arms, he had to perform a body replacement ninjutsu to switch himself with a pillow. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that skill, so he made a crude attempt instead.

She moaned as Slade slipped out of her grip.

In the end, he left quickly and chucked a pillow on her bosom.

She wrapped her arms around it, and her peaceful smile came back.

Slade crawled away with a pang of guilt. What is this? I’m not an unfaithful wife leaving in the middle of the night to cheat!

After mating together, Metiva acted without restraint, singing praises and promising the world to her sweet little hero.

Being a male gnoll was the strangest experience for Slade. He felt comfortable with human gender dynamics, and being wooed by a young high-status sugar mommy was not a common occurrence back on Earth. It was a surprise to be sure, but a welcomed one, as she showered him with love and support.

Now, if only I could get rid of my rivals and hog Metiva for myself hehe… Slade cleared his thoughts before leaving the bedroom behind.

He headed towards the palace’s main entrance, where the largest trunk of the pillar of eyes had its roots.

Many beholders still loitered in the corridors. As Lorely said, the denizens of the Dungeon didn't care about day cycles. A constant stream of eye balls trickled out of the palace, while tired ones overtook Slade to reach their resting place.

"(Keep up the good work!)" Slade saluted the sentinels, venturing deeper into their territory.

They nodded, but watched him with uncomfortable intensity. The slime fascinated them.

Slade zipped along, scared that they’d dissect him.

He finally reached the main hall, where he met Metiva for the first time. The giant steel doors had fallen alongside the bridge. In their place, ropes blocked the exit that would otherwise lead to a fatal plunge to the bottom of the cave.

Directly facing the sealed entrance, beholders slept huddled against their gigantic mother pillar.

Originally, Slade planned to complain about the graffiti, but felt bad about waking up the lads. He put it off until Griscent had free time to deal with it, as he didn’t feel responsible for managing them directly.

If Lorely had come, she'd make a scene and call the manager. And Milia would joke about him being a coward.

Instead, Slade wanted to spend his resources on another matter.

Milia’s strike had left a large gash on the pillar. It had bled so much that the pool of blood soaked the gnoll’s decomposing body, feeding the pillar’s roots.

Slade felt sorry about both the pillar and the forlorn bodies. He ate the dead gnolls and drained the blood, replacing them with nutritious milk for the roots. He climbed the tree and ate the crushed and damaged flesh to start the healing.

[The Pillar of Eye form has been unlocked for the skill: Shapeshift.]

Heh?

Using symbiosis, he produced new biological tissues to patch the wound.

Wait, I can grant Griscent’s wish for the final evolution now?

He didn’t want to let go of her, but he couldn’t bring himself to hide it. His core beat in panic at the idea of losing the Evil Eye. Who would organize the beholders if she was gone?

No no no, calm down. It’s not tested yet. I don’t want to give her false hope.

Slade was curious about that new form. Griscent explained that the main purpose of the pillar was to provide computation power for Mindflayer’s technologies. It also meant that Holloweye’s unused pillar was a waste of resources.

Damn! Maybe I can increase my intellect or connect with that pillar of eyes...

Having a real brain was no longer a pipe dream for the slime.

The pillar also provides mana. It’s super convenient! Oh, I can put my eggs inside!

He surgically modified the pillar of eyes to make a pouch. He laid his eggs, making sure that they basked inside the pillar’s mana.

After sucking its mana, he headed back to the bottom of the cave to recharge his other depleted blob.

His caring attitude towards the pillar of eyes didn’t go unnoticed by the community, as they nodded in approval.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the cave, Crown had woken up. It carefully stacked rocks in a single pile.

The earth spirit constantly whined after Slade told that beholders wrote nasty things on its feet. A childish, disembodied voice echoed inside his mind. Sniff… Friend, why do they hate me?

Slade sat comfortably inside the golem while it removed the bridge rubbles on its own. He sighed for the umpteenth time. "Well, we killed a lot of them…"

But it wasn’t my fauuuult! I only smashed them because you asked. Crown swung its arms in frustration.

"Don’t worry~ They will love you after they see how useful, kind, and cool you are! Isn’t it better that way?" Slade playfully cheered its work.

Uuuh… Can’t they love me now? Crown dragged its feet back to the collapsed bridge.

"That will be hard, but hey! I love you very much right now!" Slade jumped up and down inside the golem.

Is that so? I’ll work extra hard to clean our home then! The golem used its two hands to lift a rock twice its size.

"Good boi, good boi~" Slade applauded.

They found damaged lamellar armors, flails, and wooden shields scattered underneath the large rock.

The sun rose, brightening the sky. The open dome showered the cave with a faint glow. There was still no sight of the Gnoll King’s artifacts despite the growing light.

Looking at the ceiling, Slade wondered how the previous gnoll civilization built such an immense bridge for the sake of a tomb. Is it earth mages? Maybe building a mage tower as soon as possible was a good idea.

Before he realized, more gnolls and beholders gathered at the bottom of the cave, watching the golem working.

Finally, a broken spear stuck out of a gap.

Slade dug it out and lifted the remains to the light. "That’s Broglodyte’s stuff!"

He got off and brought all the salvaged equipment underneath the palace to pay his respects for the fallen.

"To the fallen beholders, gnolls, and you, Broglodyte."

In a gnoll form, Slade raised his hand to his forehead in a military salute.

The giant golem imitated him behind.

A crowd of watchers gathered around.

"You protected our color,

With your flesh ‘til it vanish’d,

but in your great honor,

Enemies, we shall vanquish…

Rest in pepperoni, pogchamp."

Shaki, followed by her pawns, approached and snatched the shoulder guard lying down. "Oh, you found it. Good job!"

"Hey, that’s-"

"How cute. Are you mourning pawns? I remember when my first pet fish died…"

"Hey, that’s mean. Broglodyte was a hero. He died for our sins!"

"Broglodyte?... Man, you’re only hurting yourself if you get so attached to pawns. Anyway, I need to reuse that equipment unless you’re okay with more pawns dying?"

Slade lamented. "Yeaaah yeaaah~ Go ahead."

Shaki stared at Broglodyte’s shoulder guards. She strode towards Slade.

"W-what is- Huh?"

She put the guards on Slade’s shoulders and tied it firmly.

"You know what? Rooks and heroes should have better items than pawns. If you like it that much, you can keep it."

"Are you sure? It belongs to your personal guards."

"Consider it as my thanks for sticking around even though you didn’t intend to reincarnate into a toilet slime."

"Nice… Thanks for the gift." He looked at the pointy shoulder guard like a Christmas present. The approval and recognition warmed his heart.

"By the way, I loaded the cart and Milia is ready to move out. Your escort will be 4 troglodytes, 2 harpies. You should hire gnolls and witches if you want more help. Do you know when Violet and Lorely will be ready?"

Griscent and Metiva joined the group.

"The witches are doing their hair and taking care of their clothing."

She hugged Slade. Her harem of male gnolls gnawed their claws in jealousy.

"Oh, were you praying for the fallen? What a great initiative!"

"(I heard about the graffiti from Lorely. Sorry about that, I will punish them)."

They discussed hiring some gnolls to protect and serve Violet. They agreed to send 4 gnolls, 2 witches, and 6 beholders using food and pawn notes as incentives.

Slade waited at the cart outside the mine with Milia, Metiva and the escorts.

The two women bantered, sitting on a tree stump in the middle of the ruined gnoll camp.

"So, female gnolls get a harem?"

"That’s right, we’re a strange race, ah ah!"

"I’m so envious!"

"Heh? Is that so? Other species usually look down on us for being weird and different."

"No, they are just jealous! Tell me more about it!"

"Errr… Each clan ‘adopts’ young males who are shared among all the females of the clan. But the higher-ranking women can choose their favorite. For instance, if I want to spend time with Slade while he’s sleeping with Ranna, I can just snatch him away because I’m higher ranked."

"Heh? So, you can do it with lots of men?"

"We’re not always in the mood, but yes."

"Do you do it with women, too?"

"Yes, sometimes. Actually, our female warriors actually attract women from all kinds of other species. And there’s a rumor that the kobolds hate us for stealing their girls."

Milia exploded in laughter. "Damn! I should reroll gnolls with Shaki!"

"What’s stopping you?"

"I blew my money on becoming a strong minotaur. I don't want to spend my new life as an underling."

"Gnolls are the lowest tier for pawns and rooks, you know?"

"Oh well, I’m fine being a minotaur." She hopped down on four and grazed the herb.

Finally, Violet and Lorely emerged from the dark cave. They smiled at Slade.

---

---

Author Notes

Honk honk!

Still one chapter to go to finish this part! >.<

Thank you for sticking around!

Special thanks to our subscribers: Eternal_Havoc, LabRunner, JK, GM, TB, MS, S2, SD, Moose, U8, XCER, thedemongoku, Panthara, Nova69, PandaDaoist, Vex, TheMuffinEmpire, U0e, Silvergreenfox, DanDaveeto, RedViking, U7, Omniscient_tree, U9a, U18, Teslacoil22, U6, U8 for generously funding our degeneracy (´▽`ʃ❤ƪ).

See you~

( •̀ ω •́ )trucked

Chapter 67 - Weaponized Degeneracy

In the previous chapter…

Unable to sleep, Slade fantasized while staring at Violet’s sleeping face.

He found his calling amid the reverie. The idea of a utopia made his blood boil with longing. His destiny was to create a town of tolerance that would allow its citizens to express their full potential.

But stuck in the bedroom, his mind drifted off to his system window.

---

---

Slade itched to build his dream town right away, but he worried about the noise during the night.

His mind wandered off to the H.E.R.O. system that helped him access his strange skills. He recalled his pathetic stats, though nobody had explained to him what they meant.

He studied his new status window, only to be disappointed by the marginal increase of stats.

A messy list caught his attention. It featured all of his skills, but new ones had appeared among them again.

Huh? What are those skills?

The game-like system was too generous, throwing new powers at him in rapid-fire. But he didn’t recall doing any actions deserving of new abilities.

Rampant Lust? Does it turn me into a berserk sex offender?

He had better avoid using it and assault the women in the middle of their sleep.

Slade scrolled the list while he thought about how disastrous that would be for his reputation, when his slime stump misclicked on it.

He jumped to the ceiling, toppling his pot on Lorely. Frozen stiff in free fall, he silently screamed his brain out with horror.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO-

He crashed onto the floor with the wet sound of his splashing cold sweat.

A new window detailing his skill appeared. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Slade finally relaxed. His eyes rolled up, partly in relief and frustration. Of course, clicking doesn’t activate the skill…

"Hmm…" Lorely sat up and rubbed her eyes to scan the room.

Slade crawled to her and whispered. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you-"

Lorely noticed his agitation. She brought him to her lips and casually kissed his sweaty head. "What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Her tender voice whispered to his face.

Slade’s face twitched. He took a blow to his ego instead of his reputation. However, Lorely’s caring nature was too cute for Slade to feel bad.

"Nothing like that. I was getting bored because slimes don’t sleep. Can I go out?"

"Sure, let’s take a night walk." She tip-toed out of the room, carrying Slade under her armpit.

They strolled together in the quiet corridor of the palace.

"Thank you for accompanying me."

"It’s fine~ I wanted to spend some time with you. I’ll fly you to the bottom so you don’t have to take those endless stairs. Nighttime doesn’t really matter for the species of the underworld. Harpies sleep whenever they feel like it."

Slade wanted to refill the golem’s mana and excavate the rubbles of the bridge. It would be certainly faster to ride Lorely than crawling down there. He thanked her by synthesizing a fat fried larva, the harpies’ favorite treats.

"Oh, delish!" Her teeth sank into it, crushing the crusty skin and released its oily, fragrant content into her mouth. She slowly munched, but it disappeared too fast.

"Can I ask you something? Why does my system reward me with so many skills?"

"Oh, did you get new skills? Can I take a peek?"

"Sure!" Slade fiddled with his window system to share it.

"As for your answer, that’s because the heart of the system doesn’t lie in the marginal increase of speed, strength or dexterity we get from level ups. Instead, it provides bursts of lethal power on a case-by-case basis. We get more health points from protective barriers, but we deal more damage when we’re proficient with active skills."

"Really? But there are stats like ‘Attack’, ‘Defense’, ‘Spell Power’ and ‘Attunement’."

"The primary skills ‘Attack’ and ‘Defense’ measures the power of the pawns under your warbanner. For instance, my harpies dodge missiles better than if Milia carried the warbanner because my ‘Defense’ is higher."

"Oooh… So we don’t know our precise individual stats, but the system helps us through skills?"

"Yes. For example, you’ll get new spear skills as soon as you equip a spear and use it. But unused skills are hidden until you reuse them regularly. Sometimes, your proficiency and damage drops if you neglect your training."

"Oh… Creating an organic system like that must be a mess. Anyway, here are my skills." He slid the window in the air to Lorely so they could read together.

"So that’s why you dodged me when you tackled Violet! If I knew, I would have used a skill to match your burst of power."

"Isn’t that skill trash if I lose control of myself?"

"You should avoid it."

"What is a ‘Synchronize’ skill?"

"Hmm… Basically, you roleplay as a spirit, and it grants you its power. Normally, you can only use one such skill at a time."

"Santa will lend me his power if I bring gifts to good kids and laugh ‘Ho Ho Ho~’?"

"I don’t know who Santa is, but that’s the gist. Your thoughts, feelings, and actions must reflect the spirit."

"Is that a picture of Violet? Who’s that?"

"It’s Griscent’s illusion! Damn, that’s embarrassing. What’s up with the quotes?"

"That’s cool, I’ve never seen a ‘Synchronize’ skill that builds up from another one."

"Meh, it sounds unreliable if I have to lose a few turns while I’m rampaging."

"Now, that’s an overpowered skill."

"Wait, I lose all the experience points of the fight in exchange! Isn’t that bad?"

"It’s a trump card for emergencies."

Lorely jumped through a gap in the broken wall, diving to the bottom of the cave. The flight took a few seconds before she landed behind the golem.

Her sudden arrival surprised a group of young beholders messing with Crown’s feet.

They yelled while scattering in a hurry, leaving graffitis carved on the golems.

"Bastards! Don’t touch the town’s guardian!"

"I’ll catch them!"

"No, it’s okay."

He inspected the golem. There was no damage, but they had carved nasty words on the surface.

Lorely read alongside. "Kill the gnolls… Dungeon hag useless… Pawn notes are a scam and the door for reckless monetary expansion to fund the inefficient spending of the sovereign. Also, it’s a fucking stupid smiley on a paper."

Slade’s blood boiled. Violet drew the pawn notes, using his face as a model. My smile is not stupiiiiiid!

The beholders acted tame, biding their time for the right time to strike. But they secretly resented Violet and her golem for killing so many of them.

The gnolls weren’t entirely responsible for the town’s high unrest…

"How dare they? They ought to be punished!"

"We won’t fix the problem with violence. Don’t worry, I’ll tackle it slowly."

His other blob in Metiva’s room slipped out to pay a visit to the beholders.

"I don’t like it. Insulting mistress deserves death!"

"A fine for vandalizing the Dungeon’s property is enough. They are free to think what they want in this town of freedom, even if they look down on us."

"That’s naïve, Slade. It will weaken the town if you let the civilians divide. But united, we can overcome anything!"

Slade scratched his slick head. She has a point.

He considered the situation of the gnolls, who were divided into two groups. The first one wanted to leave while the other one wanted to stay. According to Slade’s desire to protect the boundaries of the ego, the gnolls should divide and leave the willing behind. But that would decrease the chance of success of both groups to achieve their end goal.

If Slade let the town devolve into anarchy, their defense against external threats could be miserable or an oppressive, self-feeding structure of power could emerge.

He chuckled. His utopia stumbled right from the first step. Well, I’m not exactly an expert at politics.

Just like Violet, he felt like dumping all the troublesome work on someone else.

"You’re right… We need to have some unity. I will speak to Griscent about it. You can go back to sleep." He still believed that allowing freedom and diversity could create wealth and prosperity. Nothing could make him give up his ideal.

No need to rush things. Survival takes priority. Holloweye was his first town. Even imperfect, it had to stand to support all his future endeavors.

"Okay… Don’t overwork yourself. We’re returning to Krisnan tomorrow."

"Thank you, my angel."

She giggled and took off, her heart light.

Slade touched the golem’s feet and connected to the spirit sleeping inside.

---

---

Author Notes

Honk honk!

Hope is totally plagiarizing Library of Ruina (Tiphereth’s abnormality page Nihil) xD.

I wanted to draw the skill list window, but it was a lot of work.

There were the icons for Secondary Skills (First Aid, Diplomacy, etc)

And I needed a good organization for Personal Skills (& Combat Skills).

I might be late with the future chapters since it's the ending and I don't want to mess it too badly.

Special thanks to our subscribers: Eternal_Havoc, LabRunner, JK, GM, TB, MS, S2, SD, Moose, U8, XCER, thedemongoku, Panthara, Nova69, PandaDaoist, Vex, TheMuffinEmpire, U0e, Silvergreenfox, DanDaveeto, RedViking, U7, Omniscient_tree, U9a, U18, Teslacoil22 for generously funding our degeneracy (´▽`ʃ❤ƪ).

See you~

( •̀ ω •́ )trucked

Chapter 66 - From Virgin Beta Slime to Alpha Gigachad Sigma Grindset Overlord

In the previous chapter…

After Slade pleased his ladies, he could not fall asleep.

---

---

In the sovereign’s bedroom, Slade kept turning around in an empty pot after getting knocked out by the ladies’ ravenous lust.

The women had fallen asleep before he recovered, leaving him to his own devices.

Slade felt unsettled about having such a relaxed free time. He used to explore the cave while Milia was stuck under rocks, or take care of Violet and the witches while they recovered.

He glanced at Violet’s face, sleeping at his side. I really can’t underestimate them.

A goofy smile plastered her face, with a trickle of drool dripping from her mouth. It froze Slade with the alien feelings that he watched something so precious that the mere act of looking had to be done cautiously. Her smile was a treasure, rousing greed and possessiveness inside him.

Under the night’s solitude, he quietly resolved himself to do anything to protect it.

I will create the greatest town, a place where she can stand proud and free.

Violet was at a loss. She offered little to the world because her faction imposed strict roles on her such as sovereign or warlock, stifling her sensibilities and strengths.

Hence, Slade needed to free her from the Dungeon faction with the help of Griscent and Metiva.

Thinking of Metiva, our family is going to be huge…

His harpy chicks and gnoll pups were already on the way. He was so excited to shape a thriving home for them. But with desire came pain, digging at the gap between expectations and reality. How agonizing would the failures be? Perhaps he would run straight back to Violet’s chest at the slightest resistance.

Of course not. Griscent and Violet showed me the light. If I trust myself and walk my path, bliss and happiness will fall into my hands so that I can withstand any pain.

He had comforted Griscent that she differed from other beholders for the greater good of her species. But it was the same for every individual, including him.

Like pieces of puzzles falling into places, Slade uncovered the secrets of his mind without relying on the memories of his previous life.

The ego was the crystallization of a strategy to survive and prosper, ensuring the success of the species. In a way, the meaning of individual life was to carry out that inborn strategy. Equally addicting as hedonia, it was the true path to eudaimonia, and the reason Slade would not lose to a few hurdles on his way.

He embodied a human ego, carrying his preferences, decision making, values, strengths, and weaknesses from his past life.

But back on Earth, he didn’t have the strength to stand up and defend it. Instead, he had shut his heart off, dancing along with the whims of others, looking at the world with distant eyes. He had low self-esteem, not understanding the reason he was born for. He had no energy, his ego pushing him towards a radically opposite direction that his mindless feet carried him. He craved for pleasure, a blindfold to hide the pain of borrowing the shell of an ego that didn’t fit him. He grew vengeful and angry, wanting to break the world, just like it broke him.

This insecurity carried onto the new Slade. Events changed people, even if the memories of it faded away. A bent steel rod didn’t need to remember it was bent to stay warped. The details escaped his grasp, but those traits lingered in him like holes left behind thorns.

I can start again with a clean slate, with a new name.

Like a phoenix, Slade’s ego soared from ashes. It breathed life into his heart, infusing him with pride. It whispered to him that the values of others were petty, and it would fan the flames of wrath when his own values were trampled on.

But Slade knew better. Those manifestations of the ego only wanted to steer him towards his singular strategy, trying to dictate how he should gather and spend his resources.

Yes, the ego created problems. But no matter how incorrect it was, fulfilling its voice was a universal human’s birthright. If following the ego was the difference between getting stuck in Griscent’s limbo of pleasure and saving Violet, Slade would fucking take on the ego and all its problems head on.

Nobody could see into the future. Even a stupid sounding strategy could succeed where a beloved strategy failed. An ego was an individual stock in a diverse investment portfolio of a species. Different egos had to act uncorrelated as intended, because that one silly ego could save the day.

The proactive Milia despised Violet’s passive policy. The rule-abiding Shaki foresaw the many ways the mine exploration could go wrong as Slade and Milia dragged her in. The careful Slade wanted to strangle Milia for smacking the pillar of eyes. The strategic Griscent disdained Slade’s willingness to surrender his freedom to Violet.

Yet these strings of events that blatantly violated their ego led to a unique outcome that could never happen if a single member was missing.

In a game of perfect information with its optimal solution exposed, anyone could bend to it. The ego was irrelevant and silent against truth. But reality plagued the living with the unknown, forcing all players into decisions with incomplete knowledge. The overwhelming hidden possibilities could cripple people into inaction. Yet, the confidence in the ego carried them through uncertainty.

This decisiveness was also short sightedness. Individuals running towards their doom as sacrificial lambs to dispel the unknown was a cruel fate, a sickening need to sustain the species. At other times, that short-sightedness results in the most brilliant and inspiring breakthrough. Thus, life was a frustrating lottery to take part in.

Life was especially cruel when one had a losing ticket. Slade knew he had a love for dumb shit, like belly flopping into groups of beholders. It wasn’t exactly the most practical and useful survival strategy, was it? But thrown into the correct circumstances, even that stupid love for the dumb shit could shine. Slade wasn’t made to be efficient at all times. His fate was to provide his strength for the times it was needed.

No one chose how they were born, so there was no point in complaining about having a bad ego. All actions in the present required some faith in the future, and the ego was the compass to navigate through that world of unknown possibilities. Rejecting the ego was an unaffordable luxury.

When an individual stopped trusting their ego, how could they believe in tomorrow, or in their adequacy to exist?

Was it worth living by delegating all decisions to another party, and to become a silent cog because their strengths and weaknesses made them inadequate?

Was it enjoyable to become a hollow soul that survived by borrowing all thoughts from others? Perhaps it could work until it was time to pay for the mistakes.

Who but Violet herself would ever pay for her wasted years of suffering following the wills of the Dungeon? Paying for the mistake of following someone else was such a bitter pill to swallow.

For these reasons, the Ego was hope.

It was both the guiding hand of fate towards happiness, and the fatal flaw bringing tragedy.

It was the prerequisite to enjoy life, pleasure and pain included. So Slade resolved to follow his ego without taking himself too seriously, because allowing others to cover his weaknesses would prevent tragedies. Surrounded by bright ladies with extraordinary minds, he didn’t worry about ruling Holloweye with his single flawed ego.

When Slade lost hope in Griscent’s illusion, the only reason he stood back on his feet was thanks to someone else -Tannhauser-.

Going solo meant going yolo, so Griscent’s and Metiva’s support were incredibly reassuring. But no amount of efforts could ever satisfy all citizens. The disappointing reality couldn’t compete with the ego’s sweet lies, painting a hypothetical perfect future where it was always right.

Hence, people always complained about something. Success wasn’t enough to calm the natural hatred people bore for those who carried a different ego. The high unrest of the Dungeon proved it.

Human, beholder, or gnoll… All needed a boundary to protect the resources and freedom needed to act the ego out. Slade wanted to create a town that could protect that birthright and help them see past their differences. He dreamed of a utopia that didn’t crush its citizens into a mold alongside their potential.

When I think about it. Isn’t that what Griscent tried to do for her beholders?

It was her original mission, the culminating desire born of the many years of obedience to sovereigns.

Slade finally realized this mission’s importance and why she was ready to face death in a defiant struggle against Violet.

Holloweye was his hope to create a place to stretch his ego’s wings. It filled him with an unbearable enthusiasm.

Thank you, Violet, for being alive and bringing me here.

His cores bursting with feelings, he calmed himself by diverting his attention towards mundane things. He fiddled with his status windows, avoiding any noise that would wake the girls.

Huh? What are those skills?

---

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Author Notes

Honk honk!

I cringed while glancing at the old chapters XD. I really botched characterization in early chapters, heh?

Special thanks to our subscribers: Eternal_Havoc, LabRunner, JK, GM, TB, MS, S2, SD, Moose, U8, XCER, thedemongoku, Panthara, Nova69, PandaDaoist, Vex, TheMuffinEmpire, U0e, Silvergreenfox, DanDaveeto, RedViking, U7, Omniscient_tree, U9a, U18 for generously funding our degeneracy (´▽`ʃ❤ƪ).

See you~

( •̀ ω •́ )trucked