A surge of electricity exploded from the Slime King’s body, toasting everything near its near vicinity. Even the lesser Slimes near him were disintegrated by the outburst.

Luckily, Mario was able to create an Earth Wall using the Earth Essence embedded in his Hammer. The Earth Wall protected him and the other players from the blast.

Slightly damaged, the Turret continued shooting the Slime King. However, the interval between the Photon Blasts was much slower than before.

“That attack could kill us all!” Lorelei uttered.

However, there was no sign that the Slime King was stopping. A huge hole - which seems to be its mouth - opened in the monster’s large blobby body. The Slime King gulped an immense amount of air, threatening to perform another disastrous move. And with the direction the Slime King was facing, it could be assured that it was targeting the clumping players.

“HERE COMES ANOTHER ONE! BRACE YOURSELVES!!!”

Using the Essence in his Hammer, Mario erected a Stone Wall for an added layer of protection.

The Slime King closed its mouth; it could be seen in its bloated body that it swallowed a huge amount. With a short delay, the monster opened its mouth again and an extreme gush of violent wind came out of its mouth.

The disastrous wind carried sharp icicles as it forced its way in a singular direction like a beam. The beam of blizzard pushed its way towards the protections that Mario made.

The ferocious icy wind hit the earthy wall. Nowhere to go, the beam of blizzard flowed in every direction, hitting and wrecking the trees it hit. The scattered wind was so strong that it damaged some structures of the camp - it even snapped the tree where the Turret is situated. The watchtower crumbled down and the Turret fell to the ground.

Mario was still holding the earthly structures; the players were still taking shelter in the Earth Dome he made. Inside the Dome, players can hear the damages that the disastrous attack was making.

“If this keeps going on, our camp will be destroyed entirely,” Marco said.

Suddenly, a voice spoke through Mika’s transponder,

“What is happening down there!?” It was Raft. “I told you, Mika - this is not a good plan! You’re sacrificing our camp for this idea of yours!” he admonished.

The Blizzard finally stopped. Mario peeked out to see what Slime King was planning to do next.

The Slime King was glowing red this time, and with the refracted light surrounding its body, it can be assumed that it was because of intense heat - the monster was preparing to perform a heat-induced attack.

“This is bad! Really - really bad!” Mario said as he got back inside the Dome. “The Slime King will perform a pyro-type attack next!”

The players were worried badly.

Lorelei suddenly felt deep guilt, “Mika, I’m very sorry. Your camp won’t be destroyed if we didn’t lure the Slimes here. I’m starting to feel that it’s all our fault,” she apologized.

“Don’t be,” Mika replied. “It was also our choice to accept you here.”

“Mimi, we should do something now,” Orixa said with a weak voice.

Mika faced Lumine, “Lumine, do you still have that Item that can lure monsters?” she asked.

“The Provoking Incense? Yes! I still have it in my Utility Sack,” Lumine answered as she brought out the item. “But what are you planning to do with….” she gasped as she realized. “...don’t tell me!?”

“It’s the only way! I’ll lure these monsters out of the Forest!”

“We can escort you!” Mario offered.

“No! You have done enough. You don’t need to be burdened by my decisions anymore,” Mika replied.

Abruptly, Mika grabbed the Provoking Incense from Lumine. She removed the cap covering the rod-like metallic body of the Item.  A quirky-looking smoke came out of the Incense. Mika got out of the Dome and started running to lure the Slimes.

“Here! Come here! Come and get me!” Mika shouted as she tried to provoke the monsters.

The Items seemed to work; the Slimes started chasing Mika as she tried to sprint away from the camp’s perimeter. The Slime King also stopped what it was doing and also followed the lady.

“Damn it, Mika! You didn’t have to do this alone,” Mario uttered as he watched Mika running away.

“Quick… You should follow Mimi…” Orixa advised.

Without a second thought, Mario, and Marco followed Mika. Lumine stayed to heal Orixa. Arii also stayed to assist the rescued players.

“I’ll go follow her too,” Lorelei said. She trailed the first two.

Merm also followed Lorelei.

Mika ran southwards of the Bridging Forest, attempting to lure all of the Slimes away from the woods and back to the Plains.

But just before Mika can get any further from the camp, hordes of Slimes blocked her path and encircled her. Mika found herself trapped in the middle of the angry monsters. She tried to climb up a nearby tree for a potential escape. But to her surprise, the Slimes guarded every tree so Mika couldn't escape. There’s nowhere to go.

Suddenly, a light shined from the clumps of Slimes.

“Spell Scroll Activate! Area Freeze!”

A Spell Scroll was used and froze a group of Slimes.

“MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!!!”

CRAAAAACKK!!!

Someone smashed and shattered the frozen Slimes.

“Mario!? Marco!? Why did you follow me!?”

“You don’t have to do this alone, Mika,” Marco replied.

“We want to help by - at least - escorting you while you lure the Slimes,” Mario said.

Lorelei and Merm also caught up.

“Mika! It’s working! All the Slimes are now leaving the camp. The Slime King too,” Lorelei reported.

“Good to hear!”

“But that also means that Slimes are now moving their way to us - specifically, to you Mika,” Marco pointed out.

“What’s the plan, Mika?” Lorelei asked.

“Let’s keep moving before the other Slimes can catch up to us.”

Everyone agreed.

“I still have this Spell Scroll - Proton Beam. We can use this to make a path out of these Slimes,” Marco said. He was referring to the hordes of Slimes currently surrounding them.

“Whenever you’re ready Marco.”

Marco nodded his head. Without further ado, Marco unrolled the Spell Scroll. The text glowed and Magical Beam shot straight to the groups of Slime in a certain direction. The Magical Beam vanished the Slimes and created a pathway for the players.

“Nice one, Marco,” Mika praised. “Let’s go!”

Unexpectedly,

FLOOP!!!

A Slime sneaked in and pounced at Mika just before they could move. She was pinned down.

“MIKAAAA!!”

“Where did that Slime come from?” Merm uttered.

FLOOP!!! FLOOP!!! FLOOP!!! FLOOP!!!

More Slimes appeared and swarmed the grounded Mika.

“Those Slimes - They mutated to camouflage in the greeny forest floor!” Marco observed.

“Guys, quick! Mika is being…. AAAAHHHH!!”

FLOOP!!! FLOOP!!! FLOOP!!! FLOOP!!!

Lorelei was also swarmed by camouflaged Slimes.

“Mario, I think now is the best time to use your Hammer,” Marco urged.

“The heat in my Ultra-cool Hammer is too intense; it can also burn them off.”

FLOOP!!! FLOOP!!! FLOOP!!! FLOOP!!!

“GAAAHHH!!! HELP MEEEEHH!!” Merm cried as Slimes also sneaked at him.

“Mario!”

“Okay! Okay! But please don’t blame me if something goes wrong!”

Mario twisted the handle of his Hammer, the head started blazing. He lifted the weapon overhead and attempted to smash it to the ground.

“VOLCANIC SMASH!!!!!!”

BONK!!!

Nothing happened.

“Ugh! This Slime again!!” Mario uttered.

Indeed, the large Slime from before came out of nowhere and absorbed Mario’s attack. The Slime attempted to pull Mario’s hammer into its body.

“HEY! LET GO OF MY HAMMER!” Mario yelled as he tried to pull out his weapon as if he were playing tug-of-war with the Slime.

“Mario! Let go of it!” Marco uttered. He was pulling Mario away, urging him to let go of the weapon.

“No! I already lost my Super-Cool-Ultra-Magnificent Hammer last time! I can’t afford to lose another!” Mario insisted.

The Large Slime shrunk its body. And with a quick huge slurp, the Slime gulped the Hammer whole - together with the stubborn Mario.

“Shit!” Marco uttered as he saw his friend being swallowed in an instant.

All the other players were slowly being absorbed by the Slimes that attacked them.

And before things could get any worse…

THUMP!! THUMP!! THUMP!!

The Slime King came. It faced Mario, gulped a huge amount of air, and prepared to use the Blizzard Move on the helpless player.

“Damn. This is a lame way to die,” Marco murmured as he accepted his faith.

All of a sudden,

SHIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!!!

A green-colored light glowed from the clusters of Slimes that swarmed Mika’s body.

The Slimes spewed out the swallowed players and started running away. The Slime KING halted his MOVE and also started escaping like a terrified chicken.

A palm-sized Gem-like Item levitated out from Mika’s Utility Sack. The Gem-like Item floated in the air and sent off waves and waves of shining energy.

The Slimes continued escaping as if they were being repelled by the divine energy.

“Wha - What’s happening?” Merm uttered as he regained his strength.

“It’s the Anahata!” Lorelei mumbled with a smile on her face. She was referring to the glowing Item.

“NO!!! MY ULTRA-COOL HAMMER!! IT’S DAMAGED!!!” Mario cried as he hugged his Hammer, not caring about what was happening around him.

The Anahata kept sending energetic waves until no Slimes could be seen in the place.

Mika also recovered and got back to her feet. Her body was still glowing in sync with the Anahata.

“If only Mika can fully control the Anahata, she would be very OP,” Marco commented.

The Anahata stopped glowing and dropped to Mika’s palm like a baby.

The place was now cleared off of Slimes. Their wristbands glowed a violet color - signifying an Event Notification.

Marco opened the UI and read the message. “‘OBJECTIVE FAILED: You didn’t defeat the Slime King.’”

“At least, we’re safe - for now,” Merm said.

Lorelei dropped her ass to the ground and sighed. “Finally! It’s over,” she mumbled in relief.

“Oh - we’ll get those Slimes next time! NEXT TIME!” Mario swore as he continued to cradle his broken Hammer.

Mika let out a deep exhale. “Let’s head back to the camp,” she stated. She started walking.

The others followed.

…

…

…

Back to the camp…

“Mika! You came back! You successfully lured the Slimes away!” Arii greeted Mika on her return.

“Actually… I didn’t - exactly… It was the Anahata again,” Mika replied.

“Still… We admire you for your bravery.”

“And we thank you for your kindness,” Mrs. Cecilia added. “Thank you for helping us.”

Abruptly, a player kneeled in front of Mika and thanked her. “Thank you for saving us! I was not yet prepared to die! My daughter is still waiting for me outside the game,” the man cried with all his heart.

Mika was touched by the man’s words. “You don’t need to thank me. I’m just doing the…” The memory suddenly slipped into Mika’s mind again. “... doing the right thing,” she mumbled this time. She felt warmth in her heart.

“How are the players?” Marco asked Lumine.

“Some are now fine, I already helped them heal their injuries. But most of them… most of them - I don’t know how to help. They were damaged emotionally; they lost their loved ones in the incident,” Lumine reported.

Marco took a glance at the rescued players; some were healing from the physical injuries caused by the Slimes; some were already in slumbers, resting. Most were devastated - as can be seen in the terrified looks on their faces; they were grieving and mourning.

“Poor them,” Arii commented.

“Well… at least they’re safe now,” Mika said.

“We may have solved one problem, but a much bigger problem still lies ahead,” Marco stated.

Mika sighed. “You’re right.”

They were referring to Raft.

…

…

…

Later that night,

“I already told you, Mika! These people are out of our concerns!”