CRACK
The sky darkens.
The ground disappears.
Air.
Wind.
A fall.
It happens so suddenly we do not even have time to react.
I spin in the air, searching. Shino flashes below me.
Where is Reyna?
No.
We keep falling. Glasses fly apart.
"Is this some kind of elaborate way to kill us?!" Maki yells, her voice almost lost in the wind.
Air roars in my ears. It rips the breath from my lungs.
We are falling fast.
"Unfortunately not," Adrian shouts. "This is how the tenth floor always begins!"
Around us light flickers.
We are inside a mana core.
It stretches endlessly, a glowing seal of energy that makes us look small.
There is nothing to grab. The surface looks solid, but it is slick like slime.
I reached out anyway. My fingers close on nothing. Then slime. Solid.
I pull my arm back.
My hand began to bleed.
"Everyone stay together," Gerald shouts.
"Groups of two."
Shino grabs my arm and pulls me close. Her grip shakes.
Maki catches Iso's hand.
Calder grabs Yuto's cape.
Gerald wraps his arms around Han like he is protecting a child.
Adrian is alone.
He nods once. "We will make it."
"Parachute kunai," Shino yells.
She throws a kunai upward. It bursts open into a wide parachute, white fabric spreading against the light. She ties one end to me. Her white hair whips wildly as the fall slows little by little.
Below, Yuto opens a pouch and mixes ingredients in the air.
A vial glows in his hand. He breaks it. A thick layer of foam expands around him and Calder. Their descent slows.
Tank holds Han tightly and swings his axe into the slime wall, using the resistance to slow them further.
Iso follows with his spear, which snaps in half.
Maki fires an arrow upward. It bursts into a hook that clings to the slime walls.
They slam into the wall. Maki's eyes flash. Iso holds on.
Iso pulls a dagger and cuts into the slime as they descend.
The core begins to heal behind them, sealing shut .
Adrian is the last one falling.
The ground rushes toward him.
He pulls off his shield and positions it beneath him.
"Come on."
He curls his body on his shield. He crashes into the surface.
SPLASH
Water explodes upward. Waves spread out.
Shino and I float to the surface. I gasped for breath.
The water only reaches knees. The silence after the fall is almost painful.
Maki and Iso reach the bottom with a few scratches.
Han looks embarrassed in Gerald's arms, though neither of them seems hurt.
"Where are my glasses?" Han asks, squinting as he scans the area.
A bubble of foam hits the ground nearby. It bounces a few times. It comes to a stop.
It bursts open. Yuto and Calder are inside both completely unharmed.
Calder stumbles forward, looking like he's about to throw up.
Adrian lies still in the shallow water.
Yuto rushes to him. He pulls a potion from his pouch, and tilts it to Adrian's lips.
Adrian drinks. He coughs once. Adrian gets up.
"Why did you do that?" Shino yells. Her voice is sharp and relieved all at once.
"What the hell was that?" I shout. I tear myself free from the ropes.
Adrian turns his head. The rest of the guild follows.
"Didn't Tenshi tell you this is how it always starts the first time?" he asks.
"That's so stupid," Maki mutters.
"Hey, I didn't create the game," Adrian says, raising his hands defensively.
"What if we couldn't survive the fall?" Calder asks.
"Then we die," Yuto says with a grin, laughing through his exhaustion.
"Does that happen every time?"
"Only on a few floors," Shino answers calmly.
"We have to do that again?" Maki groans.
"Unfortunately, yes," Han says quietly. "We're inside one of the seals the heroes used to imprison the Slime Queen. We are not supposed to be here."
I jolt upright. "Tenshi!"
She was alone. My chest tightens. I hope she is okay.
"We need to move," Han says firmly.
We start walking toward the center of the floor. The water reaches our knees, waves curling softly behind us. The floor seems endless, but the walk is not too long.
The tension fades a little as we move.
Maki breaks the silence. "So, Adrian… nice landing back there."
"Yeah," Yuto adds with a laugh. "Real graceful. The shield dive was top tier comedy."
"Could have sworn you were trying to swim through stone," Shino teases.
Adrian sighs. "I saved my own life, thank you very much."
"Barely," Maki says. "You looked like a pancake for a second."
Even Han cracks a faint smile.
Maki shifts and points at Han and Gerald. "And you two make such a cute rescue team. Gerald looks like he is carrying a lost puppy and Han looks like he is embarrassed to be alive."
Gerald scowls. "Calm down, Maki, or I will do the same to you next time."
Maki grins. "If we even survive, I will take you up on that offer."
Their laughter fills the cavern. It feels lighter now like we all needed it.
After a while, I glance at Yuto. "That vial you used earlier. What was it?"
He brightens immediately. "A homemade recipe," he says. He pats pouch at his waist proudly.
"Took months to perfect. The foam reacts to pressure and air flow. Basically it creates a temporary cushion that slows descent."
Maki whistles. "So you invented your own way to not die. Impressive."
"Exactly," Yuto says with a grin. "Alchemy is underrated. I call it Anti-Sho Foam."
Shino laughs. "That was genius. Could use a better name though"
"Not as genius as your kunai throw," Yuto replies. "That parachute trick was perfect timing."
Maki nods. "Seriously, that was incredible. You saved both of you."
Shino shrugs, embarrassed. "Just quick thinking. I did not have time to plan."
Everyone then turns toward Iso. He is quiet, staring at the broken pieces of his spear.
"Hey," Maki says gently. "You did great too."
Iso frowns. "My spear snapped. That one was special."
"It is fine," Maki says with a smile. "You can get another one."
He shakes his head. "No. That one was made by my mentor."
The laughter fades, replaced by a quiet respect.
"Then we will make sure the next one is even better," Adrian says finally. "You still got us down safely. That is what matters."
Iso nods, looking away but smiling slightly.
We keep walking through the shallow water. The ripples shimmer with faint mana light, and for a brief moment it feels peaceful.
We make it to the center of the floor. A massive glowing rune spreads across the ground. The letters shimmer faintly as they pulse with mana.
It formed the words: "Sigil of the Sealed Slime Monarch."
In the center of the translucent seal is a sword. It is lodged deep into the surface. The blade hums with faint energy. Its hilt wrapped in soft blue light.
Around the sword, Teruki and Rei are already talking.
"Whoever touches the sword will unseal the Queen," Teruki explains calmly. "When awakened, she takes on the form of the one who releases her. If the summoner is male, her body adapts accordingly."
I jolt toward Tenshi. "Are you ok? How did you even survive the fall?"
"I…" she starts. She clutches her chest with a sharp breath. "I got lucky."
Sera and Viri sit in the shallow water nearby. I can hear them whispering, though Sera's mask hides whatever emotion she feels.
Rei glances over, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Adrian steps forward. His boots echoing against the water. He looks at Teruki with quiet curiosity. He stares at her for a long moment, like he's trying to read her.
Teruki smirks. "Do you like what you see?"
Adrian smiles faintly. "I knew it," he laughs. He turned back toward the group. "I guess it's time for introductions."
He nods to his guild members.
Gerald walks up first, removing his helmet. His black hair falls over tired red eyes. His expression is calm but worn.
"My name is Tank, but you can call me Gerald," he says in a low voice. "I'm the close-range fighter of the guild. I wield an axe."
Calder steps forward. He has short brown hair and matching brown eyes, a spark of excitement in them. A small diamond ring glints on his finger.
"My name is Calder. I'm Adrian's left hand. I'm an all-rounder, meaning I can use any weapon. I don't talk much. Sorry, I'm just a little nervous."
Maki steps up next. Her long claret-violet hair flows down to her knees, strands swaying around a bow strapped to her back. Her eyes match the deep color of her hair.
"My name is Maki, you can just call me Maki," she says with a grin. "I'm a ranged combatant. I use a bow, and I never miss."
"Yeah, sure," Iso laughs from the side.
He steps forward. His light brown hair catches the light. His pink eyes seem to glow faintly.
"My name is Iso," he says with a calm tone. "I'm the tactician of the guild. The eyes of the field. And a strategist. Also, I can confirm that Maki tends to miss, so plan around her."
"Hey!" she snaps, but can't help laughing.
"Are you and Selene related?" Sera asks.
"Who?"
"Oh, never mind…"
"I'm just kidding," Iso says. "Yeah. She's my dumb little sister."
Yuto steps forward next. His black-green hair leans darker, almost pure black, and his orange eyes shine like autumn fire.
"My name is Yuto. I'm the guild's alchemist and healer," he says proudly. "I'm also part of a subguild called Glassthorn. In my free time, I read … and I'm also the smartest in the guild. Confirmed."
"Glassthorn!" Teruki says excitedly. "I've heard amazing things about them! I really want to talk about anti-magic and how you think that would affect alchemy and potion brewing."
"I know, right?" Yuto replies, his expression softening. "Since spells can be used when crafting potions, I've always wondered if anti-magic could neutralize them. Like… would it cancel the effects of a potion mid-brew?"
"I agree. In my opinion, applying anti-magic to potions would likely have strange consequences."
"Pendant keeps her anti-magic secrets to herself," Yuto mutters.
"I think it would be dangerous in a world like ours," Teruki adds quietly.
"I agree!" Yuto says with energy. "If someone can negate the mana of people like Sho or Valen, then they would have no rivals."
"And does anti-magic affect the user?" Teruki asks. "Can they still use magic while others can't? Or is it a field around them?"
"We need to talk about this more!!!"
"Yes!"
Han steps forward. He has salt-and-pepper hair. It's darker at the tips and light gray on top. He keeps squinting. His deep red eyes glimmer faintly in the light. He's smaller than the others. His voice is unsteady.
"I, uh… my name is Han. I'm part of a subguild called Cog and Core," he says. "I'm the guild's inventor, and I've been really interested in your group. Our guild has been trying to replicate firearms for a long time, and I'd love to talk with you about it. I'm also the creator of mana bombs."
"That's an impressive resume," Teruki says with a smile.
Han blushes and looks down. "Thank you," he says shyly.
"I'd love to talk about Cog and Core," Rei adds. "And since your guild is helping ours, we'll show you how to replicate some of our weapons."
"Really? That's awesome!" Han says, his eyes lighting up. "Let's make it through this first."
"Of course," Rei says, smiling back.
"I guess that leaves me," Shino says, stepping forward. Her white hair shines under the light, tied back with a band the color of her eyes. Her sea-green eyes shimmer softly. Unlike the other Crusaders in red and white armor with flowing capes, hers is almost entirely black, bearing only the Crusader logo.
"Did you change your hair tie?" Viri asks.
"I'm surprised you noticed."
"Yeah, didn't it used to be black?"
"I like green better."
"My name is Shino," she says. "I'm the stealth operative and recon expert of the group. I'm also the team mom, because everyone here is stupid. Like Adrian, for example. Why would you tank a hundred-foot fall?"
"We're still on that?" Adrian sighs. "I survived, didn't I?"
"No thanks to Yuto!"
"Thank you, Yuto." Adrian says, looking at him.
"No worries, boss."
He steps forward with a half-smile. "My name is Adrian. I'm the guild leader. A defender and vanguard. Also, apparently, the child of the group since I make terrible decisions and am a terrible leader. I'm part of a subguild too, though not by choice … the Virtuous Court. I'm also an S-rank, unlike Shino."
"Wow, you're really going to say that?" Shino teases.
"You called me a child, but we're basically the same age."
"No way, I'm a year older."
"You don't look a year older."
Their back-and-forth earns quiet laughs from the others.
Our guilds finish introducing ourselves, sharing our weapons, specialties, and strategies. Adrian keeps cutting in now and then with thoughts or questions, like he can't help himself.
Rei clears her throat. "Now that introductions are done, what's the plan?"
"Since physical weapons can still harm the boss and we don't have any items with mana drain yet," Adrian says, "it's best if my guild focuses on defense."
"Sounds like a plan," Teruki nods.
"How hard is this boss anyway?" Maki asks. "I know it's called the Tenth Sun, but what does that mean?"
"In the game," Teruki explains, "the boss was easy if you were the first to reach it. Every ten seconds, it had a chance to use a skill it absorbed. So if you used a spell that drained its mana completely, it would die."
"Wait, doesn't it have infinite mana?" Iso asks. "How would we survive a skill like that?"
"That's why you'd pick a skill that doesn't use much mana," Teruki replies. "Something like an enchantment or a low-tier alchemy skill."
"That actually makes sense," Yuto says, nodding.
"The issue," Teruki begins, "is that this is real. I highly doubt it will just kill itself. It will probably choose not to use the attacks we give it."
"What do we do in that case?" Adrian asks.
"The boss's mana isn't actually infinite," Teruki explains. "It's just a lot. The best strategy is to keep draining it repeatedly using low-level magic skills, or by applying mana drain directly."
"Can we just mana bind it?" Iso asks.
"That wouldn't work," Adrian says. "Mana bind only works if you have more mana than the target, whether it's a person or a monster."
Tenshi glances at Yuto. "Do you know how to make mana foam?"
"I do," he replies.
"Perfect," Teruki says, a spark of excitement in her eyes. "We can use mana foam to absorb the boss's mana until we have more than it."
"Is that possible?" Gerald asks, frowning. "Isn't this boss just a manifestation of mana?"
"Yes," Yuto confirms. "But if we carefully control it, it can accumulate and store the boss's energy until we reach critical mass."
"What happens then ?"
"BOOM!" Yuto shouts, throwing his arms wide in an exaggerated motion.
"This plan relies on it behaving like it does in the game," Rei adds, her tone cautious. "In reality, it might not."
"Then we'd need to avatar with it as a last resort," Adrian says.
"I've never seen this boss willingly become an avatar," Teruki says.
"There's a chance," Adrian shrugs.
Teruki groans. "This plan isn't going to work."
"Sorry," Teruki mutters, "We're just not very hopeful either."
"Once we spawn it, let's see if it can even talk to us," Adrian says. "If it has infinite mana, we just need to survive long enough. Also, the boss isn't intangible. We can touch it. Why didn't we have Yuto enchant our weapons with mana drain earlier?"
"How long will that take?" Rei asks.
"Not long," Yuto says with a grin. He pulls out a pack from his bag, carefully separating different items: flowers, cores, teeth, and other materials.
"I thought you needed mana enchants to make mana drain?" I ask.
"Every enchantment can be made with items," Yuto explains. "The quality depends on the materials used."
"Since we have the Slime King's core," Shino notes, "making a mana drain of high quality should work perfectly."
Yuto nods.
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Mana Drain Enchantment Recipe
Base item: Weapon or tool to receive enchantment (sword, spear, arrow, etc.)
Core ingredient: Slime King's mana core
Mana conduits: Crushed elemental crystals (size depends on weapon)
Binding agents: Rare flower petals, dried herbs, and goblin teeth
Catalyst: A vial of concentrated mana foam
Activation: Combine ingredients over moderate heat while chanting mana alignment sequence. This process requires no mana from the chanter.
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Yuto moves efficiently, distributing the ingredients to each guild member. Each weapon glows faintly as he covers them with the mana drain gel. Swords, spears, and arrows all hum with energy.
"Once we finish, these should be able to slowly drain her mana with every hit," Yuto explains. "It won't be fast, but if we stay coordinated, it's enough to give us a chance."
"Are we ready?" Adrian asks.
"Yeah," my guild replies in unison.
"Now we need to decide who pulls the sword," he continues, looking at everyone.
"I think I should do it," Shino says with a small smile. "I'm the fastest, so I can get in and out. I also have the least mana."
We all nod in agreement.
"Alright," Adrian nods.
We move a safe distance away from the seal. We gave Shino some room. She steps to the center. Her hair shifted as if caught in a breeze.
Her hands close around the sword's hilt.