“Yes - Yes, Ma’am!” Bolt obediently followed Mika’s order. Hastily, He sprinted toward his friends. He stood beside them and held his sword pointed up.

“Mika, I’ll deal with the Slimes on this side. You’ll deal with that one!”

“Okay!”

The ladies started battling the Slimes. With every successful strike they made, the Slimes disintegrated away.

More slimes are coming.

“Are you alright there, Lorelei?” Mika yelled.

“I’m still fine!” Lorelei answered as she wiped the sweat on her face. “Just a bit more, Mika!”

“You can do it, Big Sisters!” one of the kids cheered.

The other kids started cheering too. The two ladies were inspired; they continued slaughtering the Slimes.

“Just a few more!” Lorelei yelled.

“30 seconds remaining in the Enchantment!”

The two ladies doubled their pace.

“15 seconds!”

Mika and Lorelei are tiring.

“8 seconds! Come on, we can do this! 3 more to go!”

“I got one!”

“2 more!”

5

4

3

“I killed one! That’s the last one, Lorelei!”

2

“Yeah! I got it!

1

Lorelei stretched his arm, trying to stab the last Slime with her Knife…

0!!!

The Enchantment ended and just before the Knife could penetrate the Slime’s body, the Holy Magic wore off. The Knife just sunk through the Slime.

“Damn it!” Lorelei uttered. She let go of the blade.

Enraged, the Slime pounced at Lorelei; she was pinned down.

“Lorelei!!!”

“Get off me!” Lorelei’s utterance as she struggled from the Slime.

PHEW! PHEW!

Mika tried to shoot the Slime with the Shards. But it’s doing nothing to the furious creature.

Suddenly,

“Destruction Magic: Fireball!”

A ball of flame hit the Slime and evaporated most of its body. The lifeless blob fell off Lorelei’s body.

“Where did that Spell come from?” Mika pondered. She looked for the potential source of the Spell; she was surprised to find out where the Magic came from. “Bolt? I didn’t know you could use Magic.”

“This is the only Spell I know. Mr. Leo taught me this,” Bolt replied.

Mika and Lorelei moved closer to console the kids.

“These poor kids. Are you guys alright?” Mika asked.

“Don’t worry, Ate. We are unharmed. Kuya Bolt did his best to protect us,” one of the kids answered.

“Good job, Bolt,” Mika praised Bolt.

“Tch! That’s nothing!” Bolt replied in a slightly arrogant manner.

“Do you have an idea where the others went?” Lorelei asked the children.

“We’re sorry, Miss… but we got separated from the group when the Slimes suddenly attacked us,” a young girl answered politely.

“It’s okay. What’s important is you’re safe,” Lorelei replied.

Abruptly, Bolt pulled Lorelei’s shirt with his two hands. “You need to find Spike and Auntie Cecilia!”

“Whoa! Whoa! Easy there Bolt. We’ll do the best we can to find them,” Mika stated.

Bolt grabbed Mika’s torn cloth this time. “Promise you’ll find them!” he demanded again.

“Okay! Okay! I promise!”

Bolt finally let go of his grip.

“But first, we should get out of here. A sitting duck is a dead one!”

Everyone agreed.

Suddenly,

BOOOOOM!!

An explosion was heard nearby.

“It must be, Mario,” Mika speculated. “Let’s head that way!”

“Lead the way, Mika! I’ll protect the kids from the rear side.”

“Okay!”

With Mika’s lead, they head to the source of the explosion. Shortly after, they reached the site.

BOOOOOM!!

“Get blown away, you stupid Slimes! HAHAHA!”

BOOOOOM!!

The explosions were from Mario indeed.

“Woah, Mario! You really burned out this place!” Mika’s reaction when they arrived in the area. “Even Orixa, alone, can’t clear off these flames.”

But Mario wasn’t listening, he continued blasting off Slimes like crazy.

A group of evacuating players was also seen there.

“It’s Merm and the others,” Lorelei mumbled.

Bolt ran to approach Merm.

“Merm! Have you seen Auntie Cecilia and Spike!?”

“I’m sorry, kiddo. But we also lost them. They're with Vyx and the others,” Merm answered.

“WE NEED TO FIND THEM!!”

“Yes-Yes, calm down, Bolt! We will find them,” Lorelei responded.

“Geez, it’s scorching here,” Mika reacted. “Hey, Mario! Could you please stop it already!? These flames could reach our camp if you are not careful!”

“Oh… okay…” Mario answered like a kid whose candy had been stolen. He stopped what he was doing and walked away slowly from the overkilled Slimes.

“Where shall we go now?” Merm asked Mika.

Mika contemplated. “Hmm… You were originally heading to our camp. For now, let’s head back there. We’ll just return to find the others when we assure your safety.”

Everyone agreed.

Then, numerous Slimes came from a certain direction. It was the most that they had seen since the Slimes’ invasion.

“That’s… That’s too many…” Merm’s reaction after seeing the battalion of Slimes.

Luckily the Slimes are coming from the opposite direction they were supposed to go.

Mika urged the players to move, “Quick! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

The players followed Mika, except for one particular person; Mika looked back and saw Mario standing still, staring at the hordes of Slimes with a crazy smile.

“Mario, what are you doing!? Let’s go!!!”

Mario didn’t listen. He planted his feet and gripped the handle of his Hammer tightly.

“Mario!!! What in the world!?”

“Come on, Mika. Just let me do this one!” Mario shouted back. He swung his Hammer sideways towards his back, preparing to perform a powerful Move.

“Okay - Fine! Just don’t destroy the entire forest, please!”

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t,” Mario mumbled. He twisted the handle of his hammer and suddenly, intense heat started to emanate from the head of the hammer. He twisted the handle again and this time, rocks and stones from the ground started to coagulate on the weapon’s head.

The intense heat melted the collected rocks they turned into lumps of lava. More and more magma starts to build up as he continues charging.

Mario waited for the Slimes to get a little bit closer.

Then,

“IMPROVISED MOVE # 2: VOLCANIC ERUPTION!”

Mario forcefully swung his hammer and struck the incoming slimes.

BLAGABOOOOOM!!!

The blast was so intense that it lit up the dark forest for a short instance.

When the clouds of dust and smoke settled, there revealed a cone-shaped blazing fissure on the ground and along the trees.

Mario ran to follow the crowd.

“Satisfied now?” Mika asked when Mario finally caught up with them.

“AB-SO-LUTELY!!!!” Mario replied with a big smile on his face.

They continued moving.

They were nearing the Treetop Settlement when suddenly, they were blocked by a group of human-sized Slimes.

“Darn it! They have already reached this place?” Mika uttered.

“And what’s with their sizes?” Merm added.

“OH YEAH! Another chance to use my Ultra-Cool Hammer!” Mario excitedly blabbered.

“No, Mario! We’re getting near to the camp. One fiery explosion from your hammer and our camp will be toast!”

“Damn it!....” Mario lowered his weapon. “Next time!”

“What should we do now? These Slimes are blocking our path,” Lorelei asked Mika.

“Let’s take a detour!” Mika suggested.

“No need to do that!” a voice from the shadows was heard.

“Huh? Who’s that?” Lorelei wondered.

The person came out from the shadows. She moved at an intense speed to strike the Slimes.

“It’s Orixa!”

“Crescent Slash!”

With a single swift attack, Orixa was able to slice off all the enemies in half.

“She’s so fast!” Bolt’s awed expression.

Surprisingly, the sliced bodies of the Slimes didn’t come to life; the blobs just melted in the floor like butter.

“How did you do that? Why didn’t they come back to life?” Lorelei curiously asked.

“I imbued my weapon with Corrosive Venom. If the Venom enters the body, it will slowly erode every cell of the victim.”

Lumine also came out and revealed herself. “And that Corrosive Venom was made by none other than me!” she proudly announced.

“Cool!” Bolt mumbled.

Hordes of mid-sized Slimes came to the scene. They were numerous - almost the same quantity as those blasted by Mario.

“Should I use my Hammer now?”

“No, Mario! I told you! It’s too risky!”

“Just leave it all to me,” Orixa proudly stated. She split her Chakram in half, disassembling it into two Special Curved Blades.

Bolt was amazed once more. “Wow! Her weapon turned into two Swords!”

Orixa stood firmly and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and after a while, she started moving her feet with rhythmic steps. She started swaying her body, her arms, hips, and shoulder in an artful way.

“Why is the pretty lady dancing?” one of the kids asked in curiosity.

“Just wait and enjoy her performance for a while,” Mika replied.

Moments later, Orixa stopped moving; she opened her eyes. “Moonlight Tango,” she whispered. And after that, her body glowed elegantly. She prepared to move,

FWOOSH!!!!

And like beams of moonlight in a dark night sky, Orixa moved swiftly to strike each enemy. Her speed was so intense that only the glare of her weapon could be seen. In a quick instant, all of the incoming Slimes were sliced in half, perishing without even having the time to react.

The kids were stunned by the performance.

“She’s so elegant!” one of the children said.

“What’s so cool about that? Did you see how this Hammer obliterated those Hordes of Slimes back there?” Mario’s words of jealousy as he tried to steal the spotlight.

But no attention was given to Mario, all the kids continued admiring Orixa.

When all the Slimes were eliminated, Orixa approached Mika.

“What is your plan, Mimi?”

“I’m bringing them to the camp. I mean… It’s the safest place I can take them - it’s dark here in the Forest, and we have a proper Security System in our camp. We have Defensive Turrets that can give protection from the Slimes.”

Orixa doubted Mika’s plans. “Uhm… Ergh… I think we will have an issue with your plan, Mimi.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because you know… ‘Raft’” Orixa emphasized.

“Oh… yeah, about that - I’ll just persuade him after all of this is done. Let me just, at least, take them to the Basement below the camp. They’ll be safe there.”

“Hmm… okay…” Orixa responded. She’s still in doubt. “Well… I just wish you good luck, Mimi. You know that my heart also wants to help these people. But ‘Raft’...”

“Don’t worry, Ori! I’ll handle this!” Mika responded confidently.

“Okay! I’ll continue searching for more players scattered in the forest,” Orixa stated.

“Ok, be safe!”

“Hey, beautiful lady! Can you please find my auntie and my friend!? I’m starting to get worried. You need to save them!” Bolt pleaded at Orixa.

“Don’t worry, Kiddo! I’ll do my best! What do they look like?”

“Aunti Cecilia - she’s about as tall as you. And she has short hair! Spike looks like an innocent boy, but he's a fighter inside.”

“Hmm… That’s sooo vague... but I think that would do!” Orixa agreed.

“There are still lots of people lost in the forest. Is it okay if you search for all of them?” Merm requested.

“Uhm… I’ll definitely save those who I can find. But I’m not sure if I can find them all,” Orixa replied.

“If that’s the case, I’ll continue my search too!” Mario volunteered. “Welp, the camp is near, I think you won’t need my assistance anymore, Mika.”

Mika agreed.

“I’ll head back to the camp with you,” Lumine said to Mika.

“Okay.”

“Well then... We’ll be moving!” Orixa declared.

Mario and Orixa left to continue their search. Mika, Lumine, and the rescued players continued moving toward the camp.

After a short travel, they were about to enter the boundary of the Treetop Settlement.

“We’re almost there! Once we enter the perimeter of the Defensive Turrets, we will be safe!” Mika announced.

The rescued players finally felt a sense of relief after hearing Mika’s words.

After a few more strides, they finally reached the Turrets’ perimeter.

But suddenly,

The Defensive Turrets started shooting the rescued players. They had to move back hastily and leave the perimeter again, trying to escape the hostility of the Turrets.

While catching his breath, Merm uttered, “Why is it attacking us?” He was shocked.

“Guys! Stop in your tracks! Do not enter the perimeter of the Turret!” Mika warned suddenly.

Note: Kuya is a Filipino term used to address an older man. Almost the same as Oppa in Korean.