Chapter 63: Step 63 to Greatness: Complete The Advancement Quest, One Task At A Time.

"This pond will serve as the optimal breeding ground for me," the slime said.

"Wait, you want to do it here?" Adrian asked, taken aback.

Just because he had done it outside before didn’t mean he wanted to do it right where anyone could hear them. Besides, it was cold! There was no way Adrian was doing her there, in the open, next to the longhouse where Amika and the others were sleeping.

"Yes. This pond offers plenty of nutrients needed for my children. It is also rich in life energy. If my babies are born here, they will be stronger than ever before."

The slime continued, looking around the area, "It would be an ideal home for me and my future children. The water is clean, the soil around it is fertile, and there is space for them to grow safely."

The woman was planning her entire life there even before Adrian had agreed to mate with her. At this point, it seemed she would force herself on him even if he were to decline.

The slime woman tilted her head. She could sense his discomfort but did not fully understand it. After all, they had seen the slimes, and some of them were already living in the settlement with them. So what was the problem with her birthing more children there?

"You seem... uncomfortable. Why is that?"

"You’re asking me that?" Adrian rolled his eyes. "You have planned your entire life here, and you didn’t even bother asking for my approval? Don’t I have a right to decide the future of my children?"

"...your children?" the woman mumbled, looking baffled for the first time.

"Yes, my children. Just because we mate for a mutual goal does not mean I won’t care about them. If they are my children too, I would like to be involved in their lives, even if they aren’t fully human."

The woman stared at him for a long second, then almost broke into laughter. Seeing her laugh, Adrian was even more confused. He was trying to be serious for a moment, but the woman wasn’t taking him seriously at all!

"...You have misunderstood," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "My kind reproduces asexually. I do not need you, or any kind of male companion, to create new life. I just require a nourishing environment. So, I was merely seeking your permission to turn this pond into my home, not to... mate with you."

Embarrassment was a small word for what Adrian felt at that moment. His face turned redder than the ripest tomatoes. For a long moment, he just stood there, wishing the ground would split open and swallow him whole.

"Ah... right. Of course. Asexual. That makes a lot more sense..." Adrian cleared his throat several times, trying to regain his composure.

"However, if it is something you desire, I can do it—"

"Uh-huh! No need for that," Adrian cut her off, vigorously shaking his head to the point it could’ve snapped. "There is no need for that... None at all! Forget I even said anything! As for your request, of course, you can stay."

Adrian might not have agreed if he hadn’t seen the variations among the slimes. Besides, he had wanted to find a way to mass-produce the slimes, and with the slime woman there, it would happen on its own.

He would have let her stay even if that wasn’t the case. After all, recruiting a non-human, humanoid creature was a requirement of his advancement quest.

The only other way he could recruit someone was through the recruitment card, but the card he had might not have given him a humanoid monster, so recruiting the slime woman was the easier choice.

[Task completed!]

[⬦ Recruit one non-human, humanoid being into the tribe. (1/1)]

[A quest task is near completion:]

[⬦ Expand your tribe. (9/10 tribe members recruited).]

"Before that, let me make some things clear," Adrian said. "I will not hunt your children anymore. In return, I ask that you help the settlement."

"What do you wish me and my children to do?"

"First, you can start by producing stronger slimes that can help defend the base when needed. In exchange, I will make sure you and your children are fed properly and won’t go hungry."

The slime woman nodded. As she was already planning to do that, even if Adrian hadn’t pointed it out.

"Second, we may need to drink water from this pond in the future and even raise creatures in it. So I want to know if it would be possible to do that even if your children live in it?"

The woman thought for a while before dipping her hand in the pond. When she took it out, she had a blue slime in her hand.

"This child of mine is what you call a purified in your language. It can absorb any impurities in the pond and make it cleaner for consumption straight away."

Adrian watched the blue slime. It did not look any different from the slimes he had been hunting. However, he trusted the slime woman because he had seen these slimes eat, or as the woman said, ’purify’ whatever he threw in the pit.

"Alright... that works," he muttered before raising a third condition. "Do you have a name?"

"...I do not," the woman replied. "Since I have always been alone, there hadn’t been a need for a name."

"Hm... everyone in the settlement has a name. It would be difficult if you’re the only one without a name."

The woman remained silent for a long while, her golden eyes flickering as if she were searching through the memories of the humans she had assimilated within herself.

Just like Adrian said, having a name was indeed a common occurrence among humans. Now that she would be living among them, she needed a name too.

"Nysa..." she whispered. "I will call myself Nysa."

"Nysa..." Adrian repeated the name. "It’s better than anything I would have come up with."

"Then it is settled," she said, once again extending her hand to him. "I, Nysa, and my children will accept your conditions and shall reside in this pond and protect this place."

Adrian nodded and accepted the handshake. Her translucent fingers wrapped around his hand, making it all... slimy.

Just then, a notification appeared before him.

[Congratulations!]

[You have become the first player to have successfully recruited a Non-Human Entity into your tribe!]

[You have received: Slime Giant Recruitment Card (Rare)]

Adrian didn’t let go of Nysa’s hand and just checked the recruitment card’s details instead.

xxx

Name: Slime Giant Recruitment Card

Type: Recruitment

Grade: Rare (Blue)

Description: Upon activation, this card will summon a powerful Slime Giant to serve as a guardian for your settlement. The summoned entity will be loyal and can grow stronger over time.

Note: The Slime Giant is a heavy-duty defender capable of absorbing physical damage and using elemental attacks.

xxx

Another guardian? Was having Freki and an army of slimes not enough to defend the settlement? If you wanted to give me something, give me an attack dog!

Suddenly, he remembered about Freki and Huginn.

"Um... Nysa, would you mind waking them up?" he asked, scratching his head.