11
Chapter 11
A field blooming with colorful flowers.
[A Magical Girl has descended to defend justice! The Administrators of the tower welcome the Magical Girl.]
Yuna and Joohyun appeared out of thin air.
"Wow! Doesn't it feel like we're at a Flower Festival?"
"Yeah. I've heard the scenery on the 2nd Floor was spectacular, but it's truly beautiful."
Rumors were widespread among Awakeners that the 2nd Floor was more beautiful than anywhere else.
So, they would occasionally visit the 2nd Floor for a Mood Change.
Anyway.
"First, shouldn't you trigger your Transformation?"
"Ah, you're right."
Yuna nodded at Joohyun's words and closed her eyes.
The moment she pictured her Transformation into a Magical Girl.
Whoosh-!
In an instant, Flames engulfed Yuna's body.
The fire wrapping around Yuna like a Protective Barrier subsided.
Yuna's hidden Silhouette slowly revealed itself.
A radiant red dress.
Calmly blazing red eyes.
Red hair fluttering softly in the wind whipped up by the Flames.
She looked like a flower blooming in a garden.
She radiated an Overwhelming beauty and Nobility that captivated the eye.
She was completely unrecognizable from her usual self.
Yuna cleared her throat.
"You evil Villain scum! I will judge you with the flames of justice!"
Finishing her Transformation, Yuna spun around and shouted.
"Pfft!"
Joohyun barely held back his bursting laughter.
Yuna smiled coldly at Joohyun, raising her staff.
"What is it? Is there a problem?"
"Ahem! No, this Pollen just keeps tickling my nose and throat."
"Right? That must be it. You almost made a huge mistake just now."
'Terrifying!'
Yuna finally lowered the staff she had pointed at Joohyun.
Only then did Joohyun let out a small sigh and Felt Relieved.
'At this rate, I won't even survive until my Expulsion!'
Shuddering with goosebumps, Joohyun vigorously began his Self-grooming.
Yuna turned her attention away from Joohyun and surveyed the area.
"So, where are the monsters? All I see are flowers."
"Well, you see..."
Just as Joohyun was about to answer.
Rustle-
The sound of something slowly crawling toward them could be heard.
"Huh?"
Yuna aimed her staff at the source of the noise.
"Looks like it's appeared. The monster of this floor."
Joohyun said, climbing On the Shoulder of Yuna.
Rustle- Rustle-
Something on the ground was slowly inching its way toward Yuna and Joohyun.
Yuna's grip tightened around her staff.
Joohyun nonchalantly picked his nose and let out a huge yawn.
Swish-
Pushing its way through the flowers was none other than...
"A Slime?"
"Yep, a Slime."
It was a translucent green Slime.
[Defeat the Slimes! 0/15]
"Kyuu?"
The Slime stared up at Joohyun and Yuna with wide eyes.
"It definitely is cute."
It was known among Awakeners as one of the cutest monsters out there.
"Yeah. Now that I think about it, I've often heard that the Slime living on the 2nd Floor is incredibly cute."
The Slime quietly studied the two of them before squirming its way toward Yuna once again.
"But will it attack?"
"Hmm."
There were no reports of the Slimes inhabiting the 2nd Floor ever attacking anyone.
It was just that they were so Squishy that they couldn't be easily cut.
Furthermore, the Liquid making up their bodies was acidic, so any weapon striking them Would Corrode.
"It won't attack us."
Joohyun said, hopping down from Yuna's shoulder.
Joohyun walked toward the slowly approaching Slime.
The Slime stared at Joohyun with a Puzzled look.
"Kyuu?"
"See? It doesn't attack even if I get close, right?"
Joohyun had already stepped right into Close Range of the Slime.
"But isn't it still dangerous? You said its body is highly acidic."
"Nah, it's fine. These guys are Subtly Cowards, anyway."
He smiled at Yuna, putting on a Nonchalant Act.
That was when Yuna's face suddenly turned Deathly Pale.
"C-CEO, behind you!"
"Huh?"
A Huge Shadow was casting over Joohyun.
Sensing that something was off, he turned around...
Chomp-
The Slime was stretching its body wide open.
It looked as if it were trying to swallow its prey with a giant mouth.
"Th-this is crazy."
Joohyun quickly jumped back.
Right on time, the Slime snapped its mouth shut.
Sizzle-!
The ground where Joohyun had just been standing melted away.
It was easy to infer what kind of accident would have occurred if he hadn't dodged.
Cold sweat ran down Joohyun's entire body.
'Why did it suddenly attack?'
The Baby Slime was famous for being very docile.
He couldn't figure out why such a Slime would attack.
Joohyun looked at the Slime with puzzled eyes.
The Slime wiggled and began to move again.
However, its bright eyes had changed into the gaze of a predator looking at its prey.
Seeing that gaze, Joohyun remembered something.
'Monsters are exactly like beasts. They know who is weak and who is strong. That's why they often target the weak first. It's instinct.'
'Could it be?'
It was something he had heard while drinking in the past.
'Did it attack because it thought I was weaker than it?'
It was highly likely.
Until now, they had been busy running away in fear of Awakeners with larger bulk than them.
But since an opponent of a similar size appeared, it seemed to have recognized him as prey.
As if in corroboration of Joohyun's hypothesis, the Slime was slowly crawling toward him again.
It seemed as if it were smiling mockingly.
'I have to be looked down on even by a lowly Slime like that?'
It was already frustrating enough that his body had turned out this way.
To think that even a Slime would look down on him.
Joohyun's insides boiled with rage.
"You little Slime bastard!"
A red dot gathered at the tip of Joohyun's hand.
"Fireball!"
As he shouted, a Fireball hurtled toward the Slime.
"Kyu!"
The Slime saw the Fireball flying toward it, but it had no way to dodge.
Thud-!
The Fireball slammed right into the spot where the Slime had been, and the Slime disappeared without a trace.
"Oh, you're the best, CEO."
"How dare a mere Slime mess with me!"
Snort-
Joohyun said, exhaling hot air from his nose.
[Defeat the Slimes! 1/15]
"Kyu-!"
Just then, the sound of the Slimes hiding in the flowerbed wiggling in unison could be heard.
It was clear they were running away after hearing the loud noise.
"We have to catch them all before they run too far! No matter how slow they are, it'll take a long time to find them if they spread out."
"But what should we do! It looks like they're all fleeing in different directions!"
Joohyun pondered for a moment before remembering the headband he had received last time.
"Did you happen to bring the Bunny Headband we got as a reward last time?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. I brought it just in case."
"I have a good idea."
Whisper, whisper.
Joohyun explained the tactic to Yuna.
"Think you can do it?"
"I think it's probably possible?"
Yuna nodded.
Yuna put the Bunny Headband on her head.
The moment she put on the headband.
"Ooh?"
She could feel a surge of power in her legs.
"I'll give it a try!"
"Good."
Joohyun climbed back onto Yuna's shoulder.
Yuna took a single leap.
"Whoa!"
"You're incredibly fast!"
Joohyun and Yuna overtook the Slimes at an incredible speed.
And then.
Yuna closed her eyes and pictured it in her mind.
A ring of fire surrounding the Slimes like a fence.
"Fire Circle!"
As Yuna shouted that.
Whoosh-!
A Fire Circle flared up and formed on the ground.
The fleeing Slimes had no choice but to stop because of the pillar of fire that suddenly appeared before their eyes.
"Kyuu!"
The Slimes were running around in confusion, squirming as if they didn't know what to do.
Yuna closed her eyes again and painted a picture.
'Let's imagine a vortex of fire swirling inside that circle.'
She imagined a massive fire storm large enough to turn everything into ashes.
'I can do this.'
Yuna raised her staff toward where the Fire Circle had formed.
"Fire Storm!"
Along with Yuna's shout, a fierce wind began to blow.
Whoosh-!
The wind soon clothed itself in fire.
And it began to devour everything within the Fire Circle.
"Kyuu!!"
The Slimes' Death Cry mixed into the wind.
The Fire Storm raged on for a short time.
Swoosh-!
As the wind gradually died down, everything in the area had burned to ashes.
Her skills had definitely advanced a step compared to the 1st floor.
Ding-!
[Defeat all the Slimes inside the tower! 14/15]
"Huh? Where is the last one?"
"Right? Didn't we get them all?"
Joohyun and Yuna Looked Around their surroundings.
They had no idea something was squirming on the tree branch above their heads.
"Kyuu-!"
The Slime leaped and plummeted toward Yuna's head.
Joohyun looked up and spotted the Slime, but...
The Slime was already falling toward Yuna's head.
"Watch out!"
It was already too late to dodge.
It had reached Close Range.
At this rate, the Slime would drop on Yuna's head, potentially causing serious injuries.
But using a Fireball would definitely harm Yuna as well.
"Ugh, whatever!"
Joohyun threw his body at the falling Slime.
"Kyuu!"
The Slime panicked at the sudden impact.
The Slime and Joohyun rolled across the ground.
"CEO!"
Seeing that, Yuna immediately raised her staff.
"Fireball!"
She shot a Fireball at the Slime.
"Kyuu!"
Unable to put up any resistance, the Slime was hit head-on by the Fireball and evaporated.
Sizzle-!
"Hot! Hot!"
However, beside her, Joohyun's fluffy fur was melting where the Slime's Body Fluid had smeared.
"CEO!"
As soon as she confirmed the Slime was dead, Yuna ran to Joohyun and scooped him up.
Then she hugged Joohyun tightly in her arms.
"Uh-oh? Don't do that, Accountant Yuna! I've got Slime Body Fluid on me right now, even if it's just a little! If it gets on your clothes, they'll melt!"
Sizzle-
It was exactly as Joohyun said.
The part of Yuna's clothes touching Joohyun was sizzling and melting away.
Fortunately, the amount of Body Fluid was small, so only her clothes melted slightly, and she didn't get a Burn Injury.
Perhaps because her Level was still low, the clothes' Durability didn't seem to be very high.
"It doesn't matter! The clothes will reappear if I trigger my Transformation again anyway! More importantly, CEO, why are you so Reckless! What if you get seriously hurt!"
"Ah, it's nothing."
Joohyun looked up at Yuna.
Yuna was looking at Joohyun with an expression that looked like she would burst into tears at any moment.
Groan.
Joohyun couldn't say anything at the sight of her and quickly turned his head away.
'She's making a fuss over nothing.'
Actually, he turned his head Out of Embarrassment.
"Thank you, CEO. I would have been seriously hurt if it wasn't for you."
Saying that, Yuna hugged Joohyun even tighter.
"H-hey! No melodrama! Melodrama is forbidden! Boo to Korean melodrama, boo!!"
Joohyun wriggled out of Yuna's embrace to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Look at this instead. Let's see what reward we got!"
Only then did Yuna look at the Status Window floating in front of them, as Joohyun suggested.
"Ooh, isn't this amazing?"
Joohyun was Snickering unpleasantly as he looked at the reward.
Yuna blankly stared at Joohyun.
Joohyun had always been like this.
'Are you ignoring our employee right now! Who do you think you are to yell at our kid!'
In the past, Joohyun had covered up Yuna's mistakes and defended her, even if it meant taking a loss himself.
'Keep your chin up, Accountant Yuna. It's no big deal.'
He had laughed it off as if it were nothing.
'The CEO has always been like this. Pretending to be indifferent while always taking care of me from behind.'
Thump!
It was strange.
Her heart felt a bit ticklish.
A tingling sensation, as if a bit of Electricity had passed through her.
Yuna realized that her face had turned bright red.
'I'm crazy! Crazy! What am I thinking!'
Yuna slapped her own cheeks with both hands.
Smack, smack!
Startled by the sound, Joohyun looked back at Yuna.
"What is it? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Ahaha... I'm just a little tired."
'What is she thinking about now. Sometimes, Accountant Yuna is really eccentric.'
Joohyun shook his head and checked the reward that had appeared.
'Right, it's just because of his cute appearance! Otherwise, there's no explanation!'
Yuna tried hard to suppress and deny her gradually rising feelings.