A girl was fighting some monsters somewhere on the third floor.
This girl had red hair and looked around seventeen years old. She wore high-quality armor and held a sword she used to attack the monsters in front of her.
The girl dodged a claw and stepped back. Beads of sweat could be seen on her forehead, and her armor was burnt in some parts.
Gwrr gwrr
In front of her were three wolves glaring at her threateningly.
As she tried to catch her breath, she glanced at what was behind them.
There, a small red slime was visible.
Slimes were normally supposed to be blue.
If this slime wasn't an evolution, then it could only be one thing—a variant.
Finding a variant monster was rarer than finding an evolution. Moreover, they were stronger and had unique abilities depending on the variation.
The girl had been unlucky to encounter this slime.
When the slime appeared, she hadn't paid much attention to it, but when she saw it casting a spell, she was surprised and quickly acted to dodge it.
Still, the fire spell had managed to graze her.
If it weren't for the good quality of her armor, her wounds would have been more serious.
Besides, she still had to deal with these three wolves. If the slime weren't there, she could defeat them with a bit of time.
She was thinking about retreating before the slime could attack again.
Suddenly, a wolf jumped, trying to bite her. Meanwhile, its two companions attacked from different angles.
The girl dodged the first wolf and the one on her right, but the one on her left landed a scratch.
The claws hit her armor but couldn't penetrate it.
(these annoying wolves)
The wolves weren't that strong; what made them annoying was their teamwork.
The girl couldn't escape thanks to the wolves' interruption.
Just as she wanted to retreat again, she saw the little slime casting once more.
(this is bad)
The slime finished its spell and launched a fireball at the girl. She closed her eyes, expecting the impact.
Boom
An explosion sounded, but the girl didn't feel any pain.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that the fireball had exploded midway.
Within the flames, a powerful force stirred the fire around; as it swept through, the fire diminished.
The girl managed to distinguish a figure inside the fire. Moments later, she noticed a boy engulfed in flames.
That boy was Nim.
Nim waved his arms as the flames on his body began to fade.
—That hurts.
Upon hearing the boy speak, the girl snapped out of her trance.
—Hey you, take care of those wolves. I'll handle the slime—without waiting for the girl to respond, Nim charged at the slime.
As he drew his sword, he realized the sheath had been charred and rendered useless. The sword itself had been damaged by the fire.
Seeing this, Nim decided to use his fists against the slime.
He delivered a strong punch, and the slime exploded instantly.
Nim was surprised at how easily the slime died.
It seemed its only strength was magic, because its defense was the same as that of a normal slime.
Nim thought about returning to help the girl. But at that moment, he saw that where the slime had died, there was a small red orb.
He wanted to examine the orb more closely, but he had something else to do for now.
He turned around and went to help the girl.
Now that the slime was no longer pressuring her, the girl was dodging the wolves' attacks while landing her own with her sword.
One wolf had already been wounded with a cut to its neck. Seeing that, the girl aimed for a finishing blow.
But before she attacked, she saw the boy who had stopped the fire spell appear right behind the wolf.
The girl flinched a little at his sudden appearance.
Nim landed a direct punch to its head.
Crack!
The wolf fell dead instantly, its skull shattered.
(What)
The scene made the girl shiver.
She estimated that to kill these wolves with just physical strength, someone would need to be a powerful level 15 warrior or even higher.
Amid her thoughts, the boy continued to kill the wolves easily.
When everything was over, the girl observed the boy in more detail.
The boy's clothes were scorched and torn in several places. His burned skin could be seen through the holes in his clothing.
The largest burns were on his arms.
He must've used them to shield himself from the spell.
Truthfully, the girl was surprised this boy was still alive.
She also felt guilty and grateful since the boy had blocked the spell for her.
—Nice to meet you. My name is Mirra. I'm thankful you saved me. I'd like to know the name of my benefactor.
Mirra broke the silence and politely introduced herself.
—Hi, my name is Nim.
In truth, Nim still didn't understand why he had jumped in without thinking to protect this girl, even if it meant getting hurt.
He simply couldn't stay still when he saw someone in danger.
—Nim… sorry if this is inappropriate, but could you show me your level? —Mirra was curious about this matter.
—If you'd like, I'll show you my level first —without waiting for Nim's response, Mirra projected her card.
[Name: Mirra]
[Level: 9]
[Class: None]
(this girl) Nim was caught off guard by the sudden interest in his level.
It was surely because of the strength he showed when killing the wolves.
Since Mirra had already shown her level, he couldn't refuse. After that, Nim projected his card.
When Mirra saw his level, she was surprised and thoughtful. (Only level 8)
His level was even one below hers, yet he was already that strong. Mirra reassessed Nim.
—Alright, if you don't have any more questions, I'd like to treat my wounds and change clothes.
Nim said, noticing Mirra still staring at him.
—Ah… yes, of course. Here, take this potion—it'll help you heal faster —Mirra handed him a small flask, inside was a red liquid.
Nim looked curiously at the potion. It wasn't that he hadn't seen a potion before. He had seen them in the shops he visited, just couldn't afford them due to their high prices.
What surprised him was that the girl hadn't taken the potion from anywhere; it had simply appeared in her hand.
Seeing Nim didn't take the potion, Mirra said:
—This is a real potion. If you don't trust me, I can drink it first —Mirra began opening the flask.
—It's okay, you don't have to do that. I was just surprised that someone would give away a potion.
—Don't worry. You saved me in that last battle. It's the least I can do.
Nim received the potion and began to drink. The potion had a neutral taste.
After finishing it, he felt a slight itching in many parts of his body.
He could clearly see his burns starting to heal. Even his arms, which were the most injured, were slowly recovering.
Some smaller burns even showed signs of fully healing, but after a while, the effects weakened and stopped.
(What a useful potion) Nim was pleasantly surprised by the potion's effects—it had saved him a lot of time.
Nim knew that thanks to his high vitality, he could recover quickly from these injuries. It had always been that way.
While Nim was happy with the effects, Mirra once again looked strangely at him.
Today, this strange boy named Nim had shown her things she couldn't understand.
The potion was supposed to heal him almost completely, yet it had only healed parts of his body, and his arms had barely changed.
Even if the potion was low grade, this shouldn't happen.
It only meant that Nim's body was special.
—Excuse me, could you turn around for a moment? I'd like to change clothes.
Nim said, noticing Mirra still staring intently at him.
Nim was starting to think this girl was strange. At first, she behaved politely, but little by little her way of speaking changed, and she began to stare at him.
—Y-yes, right, sorry —Mirra quickly turned around, waiting for Nim to change.
Nim walked over to his backpack that he had left in a corner and changed quickly.
—I'm done. You can turn around.
Mirra turned and saw Nim in different clothes. While Nim was changing, she had made a decision.
—Mirra, thanks for the potion. That makes us even for saving you, so for now I'll take my leave.
Nim turned around and began walking away. To him, Mirra had already returned the favor.
—Wait a moment —Mirra stepped in front of Nim.
—What's the problem? —Nim replied, seeing Mirra block his path.
—I wanted to ask if you'd like to form a party with me. You know, even though it didn't seem like it in that last battle, I'm pretty strong.
Seeing Nim remain silent at her request, Mirra continued listing more of her strengths to convince him.
In the end, she said the one phrase that convinced Nim:
—I have a map of this level and of the upper levels.
With that last phrase, a new party was formed.