CHAPTER 406: SHE WHO MUST NOT BE PROVOKED [PART 2]

According to the Lore of Arcana, Eiko was the Fairy Princess and the patron deity of all the slimes in the world.

She was also Dim Dim’s best friend, but she only appeared in one main event of ELO.

’She doesn’t look strong though,’ Alex thought as he watched Dim Dim, Eiko, and a few baby slimes circle around each other while holding hands.

As if she could read his mind, she gave him a pointed look.

Suddenly, Boss Monster Music started playing in the background.

Alex flinched and turned to Chuck. "Are you guys hearing anything?"

"Hear what?" Chuck snapped, already annoyed that someone was disturbing him while he was busy brooding over the slimes’ collective dislike of him. "All I hear is the ’Eyah!’ of these baby slimes."

"Don’t you hear foreboding music?" Alex pressed. "Like a sound that makes you feel that a strong monster is about to appear and fight you to the death."

"Alex, what nonsense are you talking about?" Chuck’s irritation turned into confusion. "Vaan, is what he’s saying making any sense to you?"

"I don’t hear any music, though?" Vaan tried to extend his senses because Alex wouldn’t say such things without reason.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he truly couldn’t hear anything aside from the giggling and merrymaking of Dim Dim, Eiko, the baby slimes, and the other visitors.

"I’m not hearing anything Alex," Vaan said after a minute.

"Nevermind." Alex shook his head.

The Boss Monster music stopped playing after Eiko stopped looking at him.

"Well then, I’ll take a stroll around here guys," Alex said. "No need to follow me. Enjoy playing with the baby slimes first."

After bidding his goodbye, Alex headed towards the lake nearby. There was a hidden treasure chest under the lake, which guaranteed a random Super Rare item.

It could be a skill book, a piece of equipment, an artifact, or even a precious ore that could be used to create weapons and talismans.

But even though the item was random, it would always have the Holy Property.

If the item was a skill book, it would give a skill within the Holy Skill Tree. If the item turned out to be a piece of equipment instead, it would have the Holy Attribute.

When Alex arrived at the lakeside, he gave his friends and the slimes they were playing with a backward glance before removing his clothes, revealing his swimming trunks.

Since he had known that he would be going for a dip, he had already prepared beforehand so that he could swim as soon as he reached Slime Paradise.

But just as he was about to jump on the lake, he sensed someone appear behind him.

"You seem so carefree after what you experienced last night," Lumi commented with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Thinking about it wouldn’t do me any good," Alex answered as he did a few light stretches. "Also... thank you, Lumi. I know that you tried to save me last night."

"No, the one who was saved was me." Lumi shook her head. "I had a feeling that the cloaked man didn’t have any intention of killing you, so I merely observed the two of you while hiding. I just didn’t expect that he was a Rank 8 and easily discovered me even though I was invisible."

She shuddered. "I felt that he planned to kill me when he grabbed my neck, but perhaps after seeing your reaction, he decided to let me go."

If Nero had killed Lumi back then, she would have disappeared and returned to Latifa’s body.

She would have then undergone a rebirth of sorts, which would have taken anywhere from a month to a few months.

There was a small possibility that an alter might lose her personality and memories during this process.

Alex would have hated it if Lumi had forgotten about him, so he was a little thankful that Nero had shown them mercy.

"Please watch my clothes for me," Alex said before jumping into the lake.

As soon as he entered the water, he attracted the curiosity of the baby water slimes that were swimming leisurely in the lake. One by one, they followed him.

Some of them even latched onto his body, as if they were hitching a ride.

Alex didn’t mind having a few slimes following him because they were curious by nature.

Sensing that he was running out of air, the young man resurfaced to take a deep breath before taking another dive.

After five more attempts, Alex decided to change his plans.

"Hey, do you guys know if there is a chest under this lake?"

The baby slimes nodded.

""Eyah!""

"Then can you help me find it?"

One of the baby slime squirted water from its lips and Alex was hit square in the face.

The other baby slimes giggled. Before he knew it, all of them were doing the same, bathing him with their Water Attacks.

The young fox lady, who was watching this scene from a distance, smirked because the young man was clearly outnumbered by the mischievous slimes, who all seemed to want to play with him.

A few minutes later, Alex pleaded for the baby slimes to stop and help him find the treasure chest.

Having had their fun, the baby slimes motioned for Alex to follow them in the water.

"Eyah~"

"Eyah~"

"Eyah~"

Although they were underwater, Alex could hear the baby slimes singing beside him.

Three of them circled around his head, creating a water bubble that allowed him to breathe underwater.

After that was done, they led Alex to what looked like an underwater tunnel with many twists and turns.

’This is very different from the game,’ Alex noted. ’I didn’t know that there’s a hidden underwater maze in this lake.’

The young man couldn’t be blamed for this because the patch of grass at the bottom of the lake that the baby slimes had led him to was actually an illusion of sorts.

The baby slimes and Alex had passed through it and before he could process what had happened, he had already found himself in an underwater maze and doing his best to follow his little guides.

Suddenly, the baby slimes started to rise up and Alex followed quickly behind him.

As his face broke the water’s surface, the bubble that allowed him to breathe popped a few seconds.

"Eyah!" One of the baby slimes pointed towards the underground cavern, which made Alex gasp in shock.

Seated on what seemed like a chair made out of rocks was an old man reading a book.

"Oh? It seems that I have a guest," the old man said with amusement as the water baby slimes started to crawl on his body and play with his hair, ears, and beard.

"It can’t be..." Alex muttered. "Why are you here?"

"Hmm? Do you know me, young man?" the old man asked as he glanced at him. "Well, I guess I was very popular back then. The number of ladies who wish to marry me can circle the entirety of the capital city."

Alex didn’t reply right away because he was focused on the old man’s eyes.

His eyes were cloudy and pale, devoid of light, as if they had long forgotten how to see.

Yes, the old man was blind. And yet, the young man felt that the old man could see through him perfectly. It’s like the loss of his vision had not affected his perception one bit.

But that wasn’t the real reason why Alex was so taken aback after seeing the old man.

The old man was familiar to him, extremely so, which made him realize why he had disappeared in the story of ELO, even when he tried to look for him in the past.

The old man was familiar to him, extremely so. Alex finally understood why he had disappeared in the story of ELO despite Alex’s best efforts to look for him.

Seated in front of him was none other than Luthor Vademont.

Luthor Vademont, the Guardian of the North, and the only Rank 8 who had killed a Paragon on his own.