The moonlight hanging in the sky was obscured by passing clouds.
In the deep forest shrouded in darkness.
A building existed there.
It was an unnamed research institute.
The interior of the institute was engulfed in darkness.
A loud siren sounded from within, signaling an emergency.
The walls were stained red and crumbling, and the bodies of people were left scattered in distorted states.
The supplies and equipment on the laboratory tables were destroyed beyond recognition.
Other facilities were no less damaged.
The interior of the institute was in disarray, as if something had passed through.
Every so often, small flames flickered.
In the darkness dimly illuminated by the flames, its presence revealed itself.
Its body shimmered with radiance, emitting a sparkling blue light.
Resembling a large sphere, it moved across the institute, dancing between light and shadow among the corpses and equipment.
Wherever it went, sticky footprints were left on the floor.
It soon came to a stop.
Sliding through the institute, enveloped in the stench of foul chemicals and the thick smell of blood, it concealed itself at the boundary of darkness and flame.
“Is it all over.”
Its identity was Slime.
Its name was Betta.
Betta was a slime, and at the same time, a monster with enough intelligence to think.
At first, Betta was no different from a normal slime.
It couldn’t even think, let alone speak.
Naturally, it had no name.
It was a slime that lived purely by its desires.
* * *
As a slime, Betta lived peacefully in a dungeon filled with slimes.
But one day, tragedy began.
A group appeared in the dungeon.
They were all humans.
No, they were not ordinary humans.
They were all armed with immense power and terrifying equipment.
That group entered the slime dungeon and captured all the slimes, including Betta.
The captured slimes were dragged away somewhere.
The place they were dragged to was filled with white walls.
The humans confined Betta and its brethren behind iron bars.
At that time, nothing came to Betta’s mind.
It simply let its body be led.
Time continued to pass.
As time flowed, the number of its brethren confined with it rapidly decreased.
And one day, the humans found it.
They took Betta and began injecting strange liquids into its body.
A stinging yet electric sensation entered its body.
It soon spread throughout its entire body.
And at that moment.
“Doctor, Betta’s reaction is minimal. Should we administer more medicine?”
It began to understand the humans’ words.
That its name was Betta.
“……”
At the same time, something flashed in Betta’s mind.
It was a thought.
Of course, it was very faint.
But now, it no longer let its body be guided by the flow of time.
Betta began to think a little and recognize its situation.
Time continued to flow.
The humans still injected strange substances into it every day.
The stinging and tingling pain it felt at first was no longer perceptible.
Its whole body felt numb.
Freed from pain, at the same time, power began to surged through its entire body.
But Betta hid it.
“I…”
The repetitive experiments day after day.
Betta realized that it was currently an experimental subject.
It listened attentively to the conversations of the humans surrounding it.
It was good study and learning material for Betta.
Time flowed again.
It was still confined in its current location.
Through the humans’ conversations, it learned that this place was a research institute.
The humans experimenting on it were called researchers.
Their exact identity was unknown.
They were simply beings who conducted experiments on it and its brethren.
“I will…”
A tickling sensation arose in Betta’s heart.
And a part of Betta’s body began to change.
It changed very quickly and then returned to its original state.
But Betta did not miss that brief change.
Something was happening.
How much time had passed.
There were various beings in this world.
There were monsters like itself, and also beings stronger than humans.
The ones who destroyed the world it lived in were not ordinary humans either.
They were Hunters.
And the researchers who experimented on it and its brethren.
But their true identity was still unknown.
One thing was certain.
They had killed Betta’s race.
They were the ones who destroyed the world it lived in.
The feelings, which were nothing when it had no thoughts, were now swirling in Betta’s heart.
The tickling heart began to race.
As it realized this, Betta, who had been empty, gained a goal.
“I want to kill them.”
The face of the researcher who injected unknown liquids into it every day flashed in its mind.
Even the number and location of the moles on that researcher’s face were clearly recalled.
“……”
And at the same time, Betta’s body began to change.
It changed into the form of the researcher it had envisioned.
Fortunately, no one was around.
The laboratory was dark, and no one could witness Betta’s transformation.
Once it transformed into the researcher, Betta felt its own body.
It also opened its mouth.
“Ah…”
A voice emerged.
At the same time, it vocalized the goal it had envisioned.
“…I will kill them.”
Words flowed out clearly from its mouth.
The tone of its voice was also stable.
Betta was a perfect human in anyone’s eyes.
At the same time, Betta’s body rapidly collapsed.
It had returned to its original slime state.
Time flowed.
Now, when the very concept of time began to disappear.
Betta’s opportunity to achieve its goal arrived.
“Hmm. As expected, experiments with slimes are difficult.”
Someone spoke.
Betta knew the owner of this voice well.
The doctor who led the researchers and was in charge of the institute where it was currently confined.
The institute director.
The old director’s white hair was swept back.
Unlike the wrinkles on his forehead, his eyes held a fearsome gaze.
“There’s no other choice. We’ll dispose of Betta.”
He left the laboratory after leaving just one sentence.
As the director left, the researchers inside became more active.
Following the director’s orders, they all approached Betta.
The appearance of one of the researchers was visible.
The one who had injected liquids into it daily.
At that moment, Betta got up.
“!”
The researchers who had been looking at Betta all showed surprise.
Betta, who had risen to its feet, quickly transformed its body.
Its liquid body bubbled and contorted, and in an instant, it changed into the form of the researcher in front of them.
“What is this…!”
Astonishment appeared on all the researchers’ faces.
They could not comprehend what was happening.
Why had Betta transformed?
Their minds froze, and their bodies stiffened from the sudden situation.
There was one thing they knew for sure.
“The experiment was a success.”
But that was also their downfall.
Betta, in the form of a researcher, began to move.
* * *
With a single swing of its hand, the head of the researcher in front of it exploded.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Starting from that moment, the researchers finally screamed and scrambled to escape the laboratory.
But Betta did not let them off the hook.
As if to unleash all its pent-up frustration, it moved here and there, eliminating everyone one by one.
Only screams echoed within the institute.
Betta continued to move its body as if it would leave no living creature behind.
A considerable amount of time had passed since the bloodbath began.
Betta had ransacked the entire institute, but unfortunately, it could not find the director.
“A rat.”
It must have sensed something and made its escape.
It was a shame, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Is it all over?”
Betta looked around.
The interior of the institute was already devastated.
Human reinforcements would probably arrive here soon.
It was time for Betta to make its escape.
“Doctor….”
Even though it had missed him now, Betta vowed to kill him by its own hand someday.
As Betta was about to step out of the institute.
【Follow me】
An unknown voice was heard from somewhere.
Betta turned around in the direction of the voice.
“Who are you!”
But there was nothing there.
【Serve me】
The voice was heard once more.
From that voice, an aura emanated that Betta could not dare to approach.
‘A being far higher than me.’
Betta pondered the content of the voice.
First, it told Betta to follow.
Next, it told Betta to serve.
The unknown entity desired Betta.
Of course, Betta had nowhere to go at the moment.
In fact, since it had overturned the institute, those involved would not leave it alone.
This was something it had learned from spending many years in the institute.
This institute was operated by an unknown organization, and those who defied its will disappeared.
Even fellow researchers.
Judging by its appearance, predicting its future was not difficult.
Betta closed its eyes for a moment.
Too much had changed to return to its former ordinariness.
It was a slime, and at the same time, not a slime.
Its brethren had all died long ago.
There were no longer any beings in the world to represent it as a slime.
It thought so, certainly.
【Slime, follow me】
It certainly thought so, but someone who called it a slime appeared.
“……”
The unknown voice.
Betta thought for a moment and then made a decision.
“I…”
It didn’t know who the other party was.
But there was someone who desired it.
There was someone who told it who it was.
Betta was content with that.
“I will follow you.”
As Betta agreed, the space in front of it began to warp.
The warping continued to expand, and eventually, it pulled Betta in.
* * *
The scene inside the institute, which had been burning until a little while ago, changed.
“A dungeon?”
Yes, it was a familiar yet nostalgic feeling.
Of course, it was not the dungeon it had resided in the past.
“Oh, it seems a new individual has appeared.”
And there was someone talking to it.
It was not a human, but a monster like Betta.
He welcomed Betta.
Betta looked at the other party’s face.
The other party’s face was very handsome.
At the same time, the muscles of its body were sculpted.
“……”
Betta’s head turned to the side.
There were other beings besides the handsome monster.
There was a considerable number of ghouls, and among them, a human trembling in fear.
Beside them stood a knight armed with black armor and weapons.
There was also a skull holding a large book alongside the knight.
They looked at Betta and nodded.
The skull then began writing something.
Betta instinctively knew.
The knight and the skull possessed immense power.
Although not as much as the unknown voice that spoke to it, they too possessed immense power and were allies.
“Click- click-”
The skull, still looking at it and writing something, knocked its bones together.
Betta understood the meaning.
Yes, this was a test.
It was a test of Betta itself and an evaluation of its abilities.
The being it had sworn to serve.
That being had recognized its identity.
Although it didn’t know who, it was time to express itself for that being.
Thump-
Thump thump-
Betta’s body contorted and began to change.
