"Did we really win, just like that?" I doubtfully asked Vee.

"Yeah, we did. Why are you so surprised? We had a good plan, and speaking from experience, teleporting your enemies around is a pretty effective way to secure a win. Or did you forget that I instantly won a lot of my battles against the dwarves by having them step through my web portals?"

"I didn't forget. I just… didn't expect things to go this well. I really thought I'd need to go all tentacle monster on them, maybe even turn into a giant worm?"

"And once again we are back to the giant worm…" Vee sighed. "Why is that your trump card?"

"Until I eat a stronger monster, it's my best form," I quickly defended myself. "It perfectly synergizes with two of my slime traits as well. Although obviously being an elf is better for magical stuff."

"Yeah yeah… I guess if you ever do eat a dragon, then I'll have to deal with you being a slime dragon all the time."

"Only if it's better than the worm form," I pointed out.

"It's a dragon. Of course it'll be better!"

"I dunno… I think you're underestimating the synergy I have going on."

"Ugh, whatever!" Vee cried out in defeat. "So what's our next step?"

I looked around at all the undead corpses scattered about, as well as the two defeated humans.

"I think I'll store the elf zombies for evidence, the two humans too, and then eat the rest."

"Gross… but that makes sense."

"I mean I'm using eat in the loosest sense of the word. I'll be dissolving them into slime mass," I replied and began discarding my form and blobbing out.

I spread out and delegated the task to my [Sub-Cores], giving them a strict order to collect and not eat the elf ones. While that was happening, I excitedly looked over my notifications.

Racial Experience threshold reached. Chimeric Cluster Slime (Blue) is now LV 37.

25 Trait Points are now available.

Yes!

Racial Experience threshold reached. Chimeric Cluster Slime (Blue) is now LV 38.

26 Trait Points are now available.

Yes, yes! Two to go!

Racial Experience threshold reached. Chimeric Cluster Slime (Blue) is now LV 39.

27 Trait Points are now available.

Yes, yes, yes! One more!

Proficiency gained. [Triangulate LV 4] improved to [Triangulate LV 5].

Proficiency gained. [Trap Mastery LV 5] improved to [Trap Mastery LV 6].

"No!" I cried out and frantically searched for more. There were no further notifications. I even double-checked my level on my profile, but I was stuck firmly at thirty-nine.

"Who, what, where?" Vee replied, sounding startled.

"I'm one level short," I whined.

"Ah… that's a bummer. But seriously, it's not the end of the world."

I glanced greedily at the unconscious elf, and Vee must have sensed my temptation as she quickly [Warped] between me and him.

"Nope! No, we need him for interrogation! Or do you not want your pink slime core?"

"Ugh! You're right! I know you're right… But I'm so close!"

"I'm sure you can do a bit of hunting and get it in no time. You could maybe even ask the [Dungeon Masters] to spawn something for you?"

"I'd love to, but I don't want to push my luck. They've been far more accommodating than I thought they would."

"That's true, I guess we did kind of say we'd leave as soon as we defeated our assassins."

"Why couldn't there have been a fourth member… this sucks!"

"I'm sure the wait will all be worth it," Vee tried to reassure me. "So, how are we going to transport the necromancer elf? I don't think you want to explain why you're hauling him like a sack of potatoes."

"I'll open a personal rift and throw him inside. Same with the other evidence, so I'm not tempted to eat any of it."

"Great! Well, I'm done collecting my threads—waste not want not, and all that. Shall we get going?"

"Let me just quickly check on the other end that we are safe," I suggested, and exited the spatial area after returning to my elven form.

Juniper was standing there with an expectant look on her face. "Is the deed done?"

"We won and captured the elf necromancer responsible. He's part of the—"

"I'm not interested in the details," Juniper interrupted. "The less I know, the better."

"Okay… by the way, were there any other assailants or was it just these three?"

"I thought you might ask. No, the coast is clear from what the forest is telling me," Juniper replied.

This story originates from NovelBin. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"I even double checked myself," the voice of Ydrgran replied, his face appearing from one of the walls.

"Great. Thank you both for your assistance. I'm one level short, but as promised, I'll get out of your hair."

"Good. I'm glad you're keeping your word," Juniper said, her tone lightening up.

"Yes… Thanks for that," Ygdran added, still sounding very nervous.

I informed them that I just needed to move things over to my personal [Rift Door] and then we would leave. They replied positively and then vacated, possibly not wanting to identify who exactly we had captured.

I cast the spell, facing the opposite direction, and then walked back in to start transferring everything over. Vee had clearly been keeping busy as I found everything near the entrance in almost sorted piles, and watched her teleport over the last few just as I arrived.

"Syl, I love this place, it's perfect for training [Dimension Magic]!" she cried out happily.

"I'll help you through the steps to cast [Rift Door] as soon as we get back. I imagine we will have some free time while they contact the Carren elves for the antidote, and our business with them."

I finally got a proper look at the elf, and to my relief, I didn't recognize him. If he were the heir to the Dornhallow branch, then things would get extremely messy.

I wonder if he's working alone or if he's acting on behalf of the branch. Considering the dead elves, I'm really not sure. Hopefully, Paeris or someone else can identify who they were, which will answer some questions. Not to mention the two humans working with him… where did they come from? How did they even get here undetected? Isn't this place forbidden for non-elves?

Many tendrils made light work, so I finished the task of transferring them to my [Rift Door] in no time. Vee exited, and then I closed both rifts, causing Ygdran to appear one final time.

"Well, farewell and good luck with whatever you are doing. I wish the best for the Feirelle branch. Send my regards to Loreleia."

"Sure. Hopefully, she's done ascending to a High Elf by now."

"Truly? That is some joyous news!" he replied cheerfully. "Oh, and one more thing, when you do decide to plant your acorn, please be kind and patient with the child."

"The child?" Vee asked before I could.

"Yes. There is a tree spirit inside it, I'm sure you've interacted with at least one, since you came from Caelthal and the Feirelle glade. It will maintain your home and even defend it, assuming it grows to reach that point. It will latch on to whoever grows it, so make sure that's you and not someone else."

"Oh wow. Thanks for the warning! I'm suddenly really looking forward to finding a good spot to plant it."

Vee and I waved farewell to the dungeon and its master. When we were outside and a bit away, both Vee and I used [Triangulate] to record a safe-looking spot. This way, if something occurred on the way to Caelthal or inside it, both Vee and I could theoretically escape.

I was still feeling quite bitter about being one level short of my evolution. I tried to look on the bright side; if I'd reached max level, I'd want to evolve as soon as possible, and in all likelihood, I wouldn't have the opportunity in the immediate future. Even with my plan to hide inside a spatial rift, I couldn't just disappear for who knows how long with everything up in the air like this.

Hopefully, I can leave all of this to Paeris to resolve. I just want to reap the rewards for playing my part.

If I disregarded being just out of reach for evolution, I still accomplished a lot of goals during this dungeon run.

I finally unlocked my [Basic Elemental Magic], which, while I was disappointed, didn't give me any free levels, had immense benefits thanks to the flexibility and customization I'd unlocked. If there was an "Advanced Elemental Magic," I wondered if I could fuse it with Basic and Intermediate to get some mega magic skill.

I'd also made massive progress in [Dimension Magic], unlocking both the skill and spell mentioned in the Riftmancer's notes. That allowed me to complete my debuff, a feat I probably shouldn't have been able to complete so early, but I did it anyway.

Now I just need to figure out a way to safely teach it to Vee. But first, she needs to get her [Rift Door], then she should be able to practice to her heart's content, or at least swim amongst her food supply.

Vee and I remained vigilant as we traversed, as both of us were still worried about another potential ambush. But when we finally reached the colossal tree, home to Caelthal, we arrived safe and sound.

"Guess we just need to go up…" Vee said, staring up at the tree that pierced the skyline.

"I was told to just touch it and request passage?" I said and reached out to touch it. I had all my elven traits borrowed and active, as I figured I'd need [Nature Commune] at the bare minimum to converse with the tree spirit.

I almost immediately sensed a connection when I made contact, although it felt like a smaller segment of a much larger entity.

Does this tree have its own type of [Sub Cores]? "Sub Spirits" or something like that? I guess it would need some way to be able to interact with every elf living here.

I responded by expressing my intention to go up. There was a pause.

"I'm Sylthaeryn Feirelle, and I wish to return home," I said, hoping for a more positive reaction.

The tree creaked in response, with a knotted hole beginning to glow and widen into an entrance large enough to enter. I entered with Vee on my shoulder, which caused the tree to seal itself, but our surroundings were illuminated with glowing green wisps. I felt a lurching, and the floor we were on had started to rise.

"Do you think our tree will be able to do this?" Vee asked.

"Maybe when it's older? I honestly have no idea," I replied telepathically.

"By the way, you might want to change clothes—it looks like your armor hasn't fully repaired itself yet," Vee warned.

I glanced down at the various holes slowly resealing themselves, my "wounds" from the arrows that had repeatedly pierced me. I groaned and perused my [Core Storage] for the most "modest" princess attire I had and used [Equipment Swap] to do an instant wardrobe change.

"The return of Princess Syl," Vee snickered.

"Hopefully not for too much longer. The freedom we had during the dungeon has made me itchy to go and explore again and go on an adventure."

"So you're definitely not the type to make roots, hey?"

"You and your damn spider puns," I sighed. "But you're kind of right. I start to get a bit stir crazy if I'm in one place for too long, unless I'm working towards a goal. Even my treehome won't change that, especially if I can conveniently teleport to it."

"Oh yeah, this [Triangulate] is a game changer. My only concern is the Mana costs for long-distance teleportation."

"Well… It's a good thing I'm a [Mana Slime]," I chuckled.

"For now anyway."

"Don't even joke about that, or I swear I'll not even look at the species evolution list."

"Ha! You can't fool me; I bet you're dying to see what's there. You've probably racked up so many strange and bizarre things from all you've done. Maybe you'll get a Dimension Slime?"

"That would be a waste… I'd rather get a Time Slime."

"Better ask Llewel to cast a bunch of [Time Magic] on you before the big four zero."

"Right… that was a stray idea I had."

"One of the many ideas you make and then swiftly forget about when a new shiny thing appears."

I frowned. I knew Vee was right, but she didn't have to be so blunt about it.

"Hey… I try. Look at all the goals I accomplished this time."

"Emphasis on this time. Whatever happened to [Light Magic]? Poor Wiggles died to give you that power!"

"Please don't bring up Wiggles," I groaned.

"Speaking of which. Are you not going to try to return to the dwarves to find Trixie?"

I shook my head and pulled out her coin, "Luckily, this was still inside my storage, so she should be able to find me eventually. Plus, it's not like I'll be able to return to the dwarves until I figure out what I want to do with my identity."

"What do you mean?"

"I was told to abandon this appearance after this. Which means I need to figure out what to do with my Syl the adventurer persona."

"Um… what if you made a legally distinct version?" Vee suggested.

"Please explain?"

"Change just enough that you could be mistaken for your original appearance, but enough that it satisfies the mother elf. Change your hair color, eye color, maybe be a bit shorter or taller, stuff like that?"

"Oh, what about blue hair!" I said excitedly. "And crimson eyes."

"That's oddly specific…"

"Well, they are my favorite two colors."

"Let me guess… Because you're a blue slime?"

I nodded, and Vee pretended to groan.

"Looks like we're slowing down, so I think we're reaching our destination," I informed Vee.

"Sounds great. I can't wait to see the look on Paeris' face when we deliver the enemy directly to his doorstep!"