Chapter 325: 100. The Borderland of the Slimes (Two-in-One)
“Slimes, although we are scattered far apart across the world, in reality, we often gather to communicate and are aware of each other’s situations. Compared to the superficial congregations of other races in the Northern Region, we slimes are much more united than we appear.”
Hearing Kexiening’s words, Valentina nodded. It seemed her guess was correct. Although the slime races did not know why they were scattered from the Northern Region, they still maintained a tacit connection through some means. At this thought, she tapped her ring and asked Kexiening, “How do you all keep in touch?”
“We left the Northern Region many years ago as a family. Those who do business do business, and those who perform do performance. However, before we separated, we marked a very hidden location overseas where many esteemed elders stayed. Then the rest of the members would return every few years to gather and share their situations. That place is called the Borderland.”
Kexiening lifted her pure green head slightly, and the mass of hair resembling tentacles swayed behind her. In reality, slimes do not have hair; that is their third hand.
“The mark you want is in our Borderland, but the problem now is that our family hasn’t returned there for a long time. Our relationship with other tribes isn’t good, so even if I want to help you, it would be difficult. We might be driven out by other slimes before we even enter the Borderland.”
“However, if you insist on going, I can take one person to the Borderland. You can negotiate the specifics with them, but in return, please spare me and my daughter.”
Before Valentina could speak, Fisher had already pointed at one of Kexiening’s daughters and then spoke to Kexiening, “I will return with you to that Borderland to get the mark, and the deal will go as you said, but we need to add one more condition. On the way there, I need to talk to you, and your daughter will stay here until then.”
Kexiening glanced at her two shivering daughters behind her and reluctantly agreed to Fisher’s request, “Alright, you will also need to prepare some money for me to transfer to the Borderland. I need to convert it into value. By the way, it would be even better if you could prepare some food for us.”
Fisher nodded in agreement, but when he turned around, he found Valentina holding her firearm gesturing him to come over. After looking at Heidi Lin behind her preparing things, he confidently walked over to her side.
“What is it?”
“Do you trust these slimes so easily? They are quite cunning. Following her to that so-called Borderland I’ve never heard of could be dangerous.”
Fisher turned to look at the three slimes huddled together in the distance and casually replied, “Indeed, it might be possible. But her two daughters are still in your hands. Although she seemed indifferent to them in her space earlier, it isn’t true. I heard slimes are actually very materialistic, and even if she regards her two daughters as her possessions, she wouldn’t let go of them easily.”
In truth, the main issue is that slimes generally have low life ranks; their combat abilities do not seem much stronger than humans. While their racial talents are very useful, allowing them to store items and traverse spaces casually, which is a coveted ability for many, perhaps because of this blessing, they are indeed lacking in combat?
“Don’t worry, I will bring back the slime mark for you. But if the other side makes any demands, I need you to grant me certain authority to make commitments in your name.”
“Heh, wasn’t your agreement with the other side quite natural? Let me guess, the additional deal you mentioned involves studying one of her two daughters?”
“How did you know?”
Valentina’s little face slightly fell, but on the surface, she only slowly withdrew the firearm she was holding, leaning back against the wheelchair, and addressed Fisher, “Oh, does that mean the ice owl race I previously promised you doesn’t need to be found now? Since you already have a slime girl to study.”
“Not really. The more the better. Please still take the trouble to look for one.”
“You really are…”
Valentina rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache. When Heidi Lin returned with some bread and Northern Region silver coins, the two who had been close to each other abruptly distanced themselves, fearing they might be caught by Heidi Lin and lectured.
Watching Kexiening and her daughters wolfing down the bread that Heidi Lin brought, because their bodies had outer layers that encapsulated them, the bread’s shape vanished after being swallowed. Originally, Fisher was curious about how slimes eat. According to his initial imagination, it would seem like jelly, so wouldn’t they be able to see everything clearly inside? It turns out it wasn’t like that.
The prepared Northern Region silver coins had two parts; one was for going and the other for returning, which Fisher kept.
After collecting the money, Fisher walked to Kexiening’s side, pulled out the Fluid Sword from his arms, and said to her, “Have you finished eating? Once you’re done, we can prepare to set off.”
“I’ve finished. I’m ready to go. There shouldn’t be many slimes in the Borderland at night, which is good.”
With her appetite satisfied, Kexiening smiled up at Fisher. Then she gently extended her third hand and placed it above the Northern Region silver coins. A strange thing happened; those silver coins showed no change, yet golden light flowed like fine threads into her body.
In the next moment, the golden flow suddenly became active, and Kexiening’s soft body gently entwined Fisher, their shapes in the real world instantly becoming distorted and blurred. The strange, lively music began to echo throughout the entire hall again.
“Kexiening! Kexiening! Kexiening! Kexiening!”
Fisher suddenly felt his body relax, as if covered by some strange spatial magic, and he uncontrollably rushed towards an unknown direction in the world.
“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!”
The sound of breaking through the air mixed with the euphoric circus music kept ringing in Fisher’s ears. However, the actual teleportation process was very calm; he didn’t feel dizzy but rather stood still, and a few seconds later, he miraculously appeared in another distant part of the world.
When he opened his eyes again, he no longer saw the hotel where Valentina stayed, but a huge square wrapped in a faint golden light. It seemed to be underground, and the vast square was very quiet, with no other slimes in sight. At the very front of the square stood a gigantic statue.
The statue was quite strange; it was not the image of any race but a huge tree that seemed to be growing upside down from the sky. Many shiny gems were embedded in the tree, allowing Fisher to immediately recognize what this statue depicted.
“Frost Parasol Tree.”
Looking at the giant tree statue, Fisher murmured, and behind him, the green slime Kexiening was looking around and withdrew a strange instrument that looked very large, resembling an organ or a flute. The unusual instrument caught Fisher’s attention, so he asked, “What is this? The teleportation we just did wasn’t because you have the ability to teleport, but because of this strange instrument, right?”
Kexiening smiled sheepishly, holding the wind flute in her hand and quietly said, “This thing is called the [Boundary Wind Flute]. Normally, if you don’t blow it using value, it can only produce beautiful melodies. But once you play it using value, it can transport many things to a specified place. Rather than saying our slime talent is about storage and transportation, it’s more accurate to say we are very sensitive to the hidden values behind exchanged items and can use them to do many things.”
“Is that so?”
So, that was why strange music played every time they stored items and teleported. This music should not be fixed; every slime likely had its own different background music.
Fisher stroked his chin, deepening his understanding of the slime race. Fortunately, he hadn’t bound her daughter directly before. It seemed studying Kexiening would yield more knowledge about slimes than studying her two daughters. The research progress should indeed increase rapidly.
“The mark is with our king, our chieftain. My relationship with all slimes isn’t great, so I probably can’t help you. It’ll have to rely on you.”
“…Your king?”
“Yes, we slimes and the troll race are among the six races that tend to live longer. Our chieftain has lived a long time; I heard his grandfather was a slime who fought alongside the phoenix race for territory, so—wait, he seems to be coming!”
As Kexiening spoke, her expression changed. Well, actually, Fisher didn’t know if her expression changed or not. Although slimes have facial features, it’s too difficult to distinguish. Anyway, after finishing this sentence, she hurriedly hid behind Fisher, and soon the entire vast square began to tremble, as if there was an earthquake.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Fisher frowned and turned to look in the other direction of the square, where he saw a giant purple, gelatinous hand tightly gripping the wall at the tunnel leading from the square to other places. The hand, chubby and huge, had a strangely cute feel to it, making Fisher’s frown deepen.
Soon, at the corner of the stone path, a gigantic slime shaped like an infant suddenly appeared in front of Fisher and Kexiening, towering over ten meters tall.
Earlier, Emhart had mentioned that the older slimes would grow larger. Looking at the giant slime in front of him, Fisher felt as if it was a small mountain, bringing immense pressure. According to Kexiening’s explanation, this slime should have lived for at least a millennium.
“Who dares to travel back so late! Are you not going to sleep? Hey, you seem a bit familiar. With that color and look, you are Kexiening, aren’t you?”
The giant, baby-shaped, colossal slime crawled closer while squinting at Fisher and Kexiening hiding behind him. At that moment, Fisher noticed that the slime had a huge pacifier in its mouth, speaking a bit indistinctly.
“Oh? You brought back a human half-blood? After your husband died, you thought about looking for an old partner, huh? But do you have money? Your son caused us a lot of trouble, you know?”
“Grandpa, that brat’s death outside has nothing to do with me. It’s good that you came and not some other elder; otherwise, I would be driven back. They are so annoying. But let’s not talk about that; this is…”
Kexiening peeked out from behind Fisher, pointing at him to introduce to the enormous slime, but Fisher had already spoken first.
“I am Fisher Benavides from the Turan Family. We are here to find the legendary Frost Parasol Tree and want to obtain a mark from the slime race to open the door to the Parasol Tree.”
The gigantic slime leaned back with a loud “thud,” settling down in the center of the massive square. Its eyes narrowed as it looked at the small Fisher. The enormous tentacle on its head began to swirl, gradually transforming into an oval-shaped crown.
“I don’t care who you are; I first want to ask you—do you know why the slimes have all left the Northern Region and are traversing all over the world? Is it because the Northern Region can no longer support us, or is it too small to accommodate us strange beings who love doing business?”
It chewed on the pacifier in its mouth, tilting its head as it gazed at Fisher and Kexiening. As its gaze lifted, it fell on the inverted Frost Parasol Tree behind them, a glimmer of reminiscence flashing in its eyes.
“It’s because the Parasol Tree we once swore allegiance to is currently trying to kill us. A strange curse has targeted us, causing some of our kin to go mad. I faced that bizarre curse myself, so I made the decisive choice to flee the Northern Region with my entire clan before things got serious. Do you know anything about this situation?”
Fisher nodded, looking at the giant slime and said, “We know that the curse has nearly slaughtered the Moon Rabbit Tribe, and we have also confronted that so-called cursed entity, coming into conflict with it.”
“Moon Rabbit.”
The slime king in front of him slightly paused. Its infant-like expression displayed clear astonishment; even the pacifier in its mouth fell out, and as it dropped, its deep purple, viscous fluid uncontrollably spilled out.
It turned out that the pacifier functioned more like a wine cork for a bottle. After living for so long, a slime’s internal liquid would expand to a point where it could not be controlled and required an external object for assistance to prevent it from spilling out its insides.
After the slime king collected itself, it gently reached down to pick up the fallen pacifier and put it back in its mouth.
“Heh, interesting. You dare to keep moving forward knowing death awaits you. Regarding the mark, it’s not that we can’t give it to you; after all, we are one of the six races bound by an oath of loyalty to the phoenix, which flows within our blood. So, I’m also curious about what exactly happened with the Parasol Tree. However, I cannot make this decision alone. I need to call the other slimes back to discuss this, along with the reward for your Turan Family taking the mark.”
“…Aren’t you a supporter of the phoenix? Why then discuss prices?”
The enormous slime blinked its eyes, smirking slightly.
“We are careful and calculating slimes, aren’t we? You wouldn’t think that this embarrassing one behind you represents the slimes, would you? This fellow is the most embarrassing one in our family. The others either sell coal, do politics, or sell steam machines, and here is this little circus. Truly, it’s a shame to the slimes.”
The slime king then rummaged through its backside, ignoring the Kexiening nearly hiding herself in the ground and pulled out an old, nearly collapsing Boundary Wind Flute. Judging by how big it was, the Boundary Wind Flute was hardly bigger than a finger, making it seem miniature in contrast.
“Her son, Colin, right? Heh, I didn’t realize you weren’t coming to the Borderland and I was unaware of your recent news. He actually stole what you call a broken circus from you and went to the Southern Continent to continue it, while secretly smuggling subhumans to humans!”
“That’s because there was no money. Without value, I couldn’t teleport back.”
“Heh, oh, you may not know; there’s a fierce battle going on over there. I heard from the clan members that he was captured by a dragon race queen, and the circus was exposed. His slime identity was discovered. Heh, wait to collect your son’s corpse.”
Fisher and Kexiening both raised their heads simultaneously. After listening, Fisher stroked his chin, unsure of what he recalled, smirking slightly. Unexpectedly, Kexiening seemed to be a bit stunned upon hearing Colin was captured by a dragon queen. Remarkably, she didn’t feel any pleasure about the theft of her belongings; she just shook her tentacles on her head in some discomfort, watching as the slime king directed the Boundary Wind Flute toward its mouth.
As threads of golden light began to twist within him, an ancient voice suddenly resonated in the Slime’s Borderland.
“Bareun, Bareun, Bareun, Bareun!”
The peculiar flute sound spread far and wide, and several colorful giant slimes sleepily emerged from the stone path behind the square. Subsequently, the space in the underground began to twist, and figures of pale golden shades continuously emerged from the air from different parts of the world.
As the ethereal music continued to resonate, the square that initially had only the three of them became increasingly lively; figures clad in various skins, resembling either humans or other subhumans, appeared in pajamas, uniforms, heavy robes, pirate attire, officer uniforms, and clerical robes throughout the spacious square.
Among them, Fisher even spotted a familiar figure. He looked in disbelief at a blond man wearing a white shirt in the distant crowd; this guy seemed to be the mayor of Nali, who had previously held a banquet in Saint Nali to host many high-profile individuals; Fisher was undoubtedly among them.
Wait, aren’t the slimes exaggerating things a bit?
As Fisher observed the slimes coming from around the world, even including natives from the Southern Continent and slimes from the New Dragon Court, not to mention those slimes who had seeped out from the countries battling with Kado, Shivali, and those at war. They had unknowingly infiltrated many parts of this world, and now Fisher finally understood why this place was referred to as the so-called “Borderland”.
“Alright, everyone! Settle down. Calling you all back to the Borderland at this late hour is certainly not for trivial matters. This young half-blood named Fisher Benavides, who claims to come from the Northern Region’s Turan Family, now seeks to borrow our slime mark to open the Frost Parasol Tree. Let’s discuss whether we should lend it or not, whether it’s for free or for a reward, and what that reward will be!”
“Oh, isn’t this Elizabeth’s darling? No wonder the queen couldn’t find you after searching for so long; you’ve nestled up to the Turan Family from the Northern Region, huh?”
The mayor from Nali folded his arms, smirking slightly as he looked at the “young friend” that the slime king had mentioned.
“Exactly. Wow, it looks like our Black Chieftain from the Pirate Bay also received Captain Alagina from the Northern Region earlier. Didn’t she say this guy was her man? How did he turn into the queen’s darling from Nali?”
“Wow, what a surprise from our New Dragon Court…”
Seeing that the topic in the Slime’s Borderland was growing increasingly dangerous, Fisher darkened his face and interrupted their dangerous chatter, looking at the slime king sitting in the center of the square and said, “The mark is something the Turan Family must have. The so-called reward can be negotiated, and I will do my utmost to meet your demands, but before that, I need to see your mark first.”
The slime king smiled and nodded, then pointed out behind Fisher. He turned around and saw, beneath the inverted Parasol Tree statue, a soft slime statue respectfully kneeling on the ground, holding a round mark with its gel-like tentacle. What else could it be but the slime mark of the six races?
Watching that scene, Fisher felt he had sensed something ethereal—a legacy even from the ancient six races, which even amidst the years of change, he still felt the loyalty to the phoenix race emanating from these devoted clans. Otherwise, the slimes wouldn’t have erected such a statue here even after moving away from the Northern Region.
“You have seen the mark. Next, we need to discuss our requirements, esteemed Mr. Fisher.”
The slime king sucked on the pacifier in its mouth and turned to Fisher as it spoke.
