NOVEL NEXT Ch. 21
The fatigue and pressure that had built up inside her body all poured out at once.
The spirit Rozelite had been forcing herself to hold up instantly crumbled.
In just a few seconds, she was fast asleep.
Her small head lolled against the edge of the wooden tub, slipping lower and lower, about to sink completely into the water.
At that moment—
Several slender, light-blue tentacles silently rose from the water, coiling around her delicate waist and arms. With undeniable firmness, they lifted the drowsy girl up, steadying her posture.
Her body sat upright again, as though supported by an invisible frame.
“Drowning in bathwater… what a stupid way to die.”
Rozelite did not open her eyes.
A tentacle tipped with an eyeball slid soundlessly out from between her slightly parted lips.
Russell didn’t say anything more. He knew the girl was truly exhausted and had no intention of waking her. Instead, he simply took over control of Rozelite’s body.
He gently untied the towel draped over her chest.
Soft, pale skin was revealed to the air, her graceful curves fully exposed. The atmosphere in the room turned faintly charged.
Yet Russell remained unmoved, expressionless, as he began cleaning her body.
“If this were me in my previous life, being able to freely use a beautiful girl’s body like this—even giving her a bath—would have been enough to make me ecstatic, wouldn’t it?”
Russell thought wryly to himself.
It was almost amusing.
Back when he was human, exhaustion from work often left him insomniac. But after becoming a slime, not only did he no longer need sleep—his human emotions had also vanished.
Was it because this monster’s body couldn’t secrete hormones, leaving him free from emotional impulses?
In a way, perhaps that was a good thing.
Though that raised another question—just how old was this child?
Why hadn’t she grown any hair yet…?
…
Rozelite remained sound asleep even as her body was washed clean.
She slumbered deeply, breathing slow and even.
Splash—
Russell rose, lifting her slender figure out of the water. Tentacles coiled around a dry, fluffy towel nearby, wrapping it gently around Rozelite’s damp body.
The thick cloth quickly absorbed the moisture, drying her golden hair, slender neck, smooth back, then her arms, chest, abdomen, legs, and toes. Every inch of skin was carefully wiped clean.
He then dressed her in sleepwear and guided her body to collapse onto the softened bed.
The tentacles retracted soundlessly.
Outside, the northern wind and snow raged on without pause.
Inside, Rozelite’s breathing was steady and long.
“Looks like she’ll sleep until morning.”
So thought Russell.
A slime had no need of sleep. Yet Rozelite’s body could not leave him behind.
While he could, technically, keep controlling her even as she slept, the essence of sleep was to allow body and mind to rest. Doing otherwise would defeat the purpose.
“Still… there’s one thing that really bothers me.”
【Name: Rozelite Othinus】
【Race: Human】
【Level: 16】
【HP: 85 / 3790】
【Status: Severely Injured】
【Skills: Court Etiquette Lv.6, One-Handed Sword Mastery Lv.5, Ballroom Dance Lv.6, Poetry Recitation Lv.4, Instrument Proficiency (Harp) Lv.5, Death Mark Lv.7, Mana Enhancement Lv.2, Dagger Mastery Lv.2, Weak Point Targeting Lv.1, Tracking Lv.1, Stealth Lv.1】
“Huh?”
Russell froze.
Her skills… had increased?
No—there was more.
He remembered her stats with absolute clarity, especially since Rozelite had no MP bar at all. Leaving aside skills, her level had definitely been 11. Her HP cap was 850. And her MP wasn’t zero—it simply didn’t exist, not even as data.
He could not have been mistaken.
But now—
Her level had risen to 16.
Her HP cap was… 3790.
And those strange new skills… if he remembered correctly, weren’t those the very same he had acquired after devouring the two scumbags who tried to exploit Rozelite back in the alley?
Their levels had been low, but Rozelite hadn’t possessed those skills before.
His ability 【Bottomless Apetite】 always granted him MP and Skills from what he devoured, along with a small amount of unlisted Experience.
That Experience had long proven far more efficient than training, something he had tested countless times in the labyrinth over five years.
Yet now the same phenomenon had appeared on Rozelite’s stats.
Could it be…?
Everything he gained from 【Bottomless Apetite】 had been split with Rozelite—because of 【Symbiosis】?
That seemed like the only possible explanation.
But something was still wrong…
If 【Bottomless Apetite】’s effects were being shared with Rozelite, then why hadn’t she gained anything from the monster they fought in the forest earlier?
Was it because of some unknown variable? Or because humans were special?
Russell pondered briefly before reaching an answer.
It was the level of 【Symbiosis】.
He had only reached Lv.4 after devouring that monster. Before then, it had been Lv.3. That was the sole variable.
So the difference of just one level… had allowed Rozelite to share the benefits of 【Bottomless Apetite】?
No—that still wasn’t it.
The most critical problem was this—
What he gained through 【Bottomless Apetite】 was 【MP】 and 【Skills】. So why did Rozelite’s increase show up as 【HP】 instead?
Was it because she had no MP at all?
Then again, why didn’t she have MP in the first place?
At first, Russell thought perhaps others like her existed—humans without blue bars. But back at the city gate, when he scanned dozens of people, every single one of them had MP.
Russell stared at the peacefully sleeping Rozelite, suspicion gnawing at him.
“What… is this girl, really?”
…
…
Meanwhile, deep within the Dieppe Forest.
Thomas swung his massive black greatsword one-handed, chopping down the bushes blocking the way as if they were paper. Without pausing, he strode forward.
Ahead of him, Chris walked with her head lowered, eyes scanning the ground.
Above them, Kate leapt swiftly from branch to branch.
Together, they kept a remarkable pace.
Suddenly, Chris halted.
She slowly straightened, looking around the vaguely familiar surroundings, her brows knitting.
“What is it?”
Thomas asked.
“The tracks stop here… right here.”
She raised her hand and pointed ahead.
There lay an open patch of ground, covered in snow.