My Slime Wife: Training and Pampering Her Makes Me Stronger
Chapter 14: A Level 1 Insect

Chapter 14: A Level 1 Insect

Amber braced herself against the trunk of a tree to keep from collapsing.

Her breathing was ragged.

Blood slowly ran down the side of her face.

Even so, when she saw Liam, Lydia, and the two women approaching, she frowned and shouted with every bit of strength she had left.

"Run! Get out of here! It’s far too dangerous!"

Her eyes locked onto Liam.

"This is a Rank S Dungeon!"

The world seemed to stop.

A chill ran down Liam’s spine.

’Rank... S?’

Instinctively, he opened his system window.

Nothing had changed.

[Dungeon Detected.]

[Rank D.]

Liam looked back at Amber.

Then at the system.

Then back at Amber once more.

’Which one of them is wrong?’

Because the difference between a Rank D Dungeon and a Rank S Dungeon wasn’t small.

It was an abyss.

The two women they had rescued took a step back.

Their faces turned pale.

One of them pointed at Liam.

"Didn’t you say this was a Rank D Dungeon?"

The other looked at him suspiciously as well.

"Did you lie to us?"

Liam felt the atmosphere grow tense.

At that moment, a message appeared.

[Lydia: Liam.]

[Lydia: Stay calm.]

He took a deep breath.

Thought for a few seconds.

Then smiled reassuringly.

"Yes. I lied to you."

The two women stared at him in shock.

"I didn’t want to scare you. You had just been rescued. If I’d told you we were inside a Rank S Dungeon, you probably would have panicked."

He paused for a moment.

"But don’t worry."

He pointed toward Amber.

"The Ace of Swords Guild is here."

Then he pointed at Lydia.

"And so are we."

The women still looked uncertain.

Liam folded his arms.

"Or have you already forgotten who defeated all those goblins?"

He looked at the little green slime.

"My wife."

Lydia gave a tiny hop.

"And who got you out of that cage?"

The women slowly lowered their heads.

It was true.

If it hadn’t been for them...

They would still be waiting to become the goblins’ dinner.

The tension gradually faded.

Liam let out a relieved sigh.

’That worked...’

At that moment, Amber pushed herself away from the tree.

Grimacing in pain, she forced herself back onto her feet.

She didn’t seem to have any intention of resting.

She looked back toward the forest.

Then charged straight back into the battle.

Liam watched her disappear between the trees.

’What do we do now...?’

His mind began racing.

’If this really is a Rank S Dungeon... we don’t stand a chance.’

But they couldn’t just stand there either.

He looked at the two women.

"Stay behind me."

They both nodded.

Liam carefully moved forward until he reached a large bush.

He crouched down.

Gently parted a few branches.

And looked.

◇◆◇

The first thing he saw was fallen trees.

The forest looked as though it had been devastated.

Enormous gouges scarred the earth.

As if some gigantic creature had torn through everything without effort.

Then he saw the hunters.

Many of them were lying on the ground.

Some struggled to stand.

Others remained completely motionless.

Every one of them wore the emblem of the Ace of Swords Guild.

And in the middle of that battlefield...

There was a monster.

Huge.

Its body was long and slender.

Covered in a gleaming yellow exoskeleton.

It had four massive legs.

Two transparent wings.

And a head that vaguely resembled that of a dinosaur.

Liam swallowed hard.

His system reacted immediately.

[Monster Detected.]

[Level 1 Insect.]

Liam blinked.

He read it again.

Then looked back at the monster.

"An... insect?"

He clenched his teeth.

"This damn system is making fun of me."

That thing was bigger than a house.

It looked like a dragon.

And it had just destroyed half the forest.

Yet the system insisted on calling it an insect?

It made absolutely no sense.

He shook his head.

Now wasn’t the time to argue with a floating window.

He focused on the battle again.

Amber had already returned.

Her fists were wrapped in crimson energy.

Every punch made the air tremble.

She leaped forward and slammed her fist directly into the monster’s torso.

BOOM!

The sound echoed throughout the forest.

But...

The dragon barely moved its head.

It didn’t even seem to feel the attack.

Perched atop one of the trees was another hunter.

A young man wielded a massive bow.

Every few seconds, he fired an arrow made entirely of blue energy.

Each arrow exploded on impact.

Yet none of them managed to pierce the monster’s hardened armor.

Standing directly in front of the dragon was an enormous woman with white hair.

She stood well over two meters tall, clad in heavy armor and carrying a shield even larger than herself.

Suddenly, golden light enveloped her body.

The dragon stopped watching Amber.

Its full attention shifted to the woman with the shield.

Liam’s eyes widened.

’Is she taunting it...?’

It looked like a skill capable of drawing all of the enemy’s hostility toward herself.

That explained why Amber could attack without constantly being chased.

’So...’

’A tank.’

’A damage dealer.’

’And an archer.’

It was a perfectly organized team.

And yet...

They weren’t winning.

The rest of the guild members lay defeated around the battlefield.

Liam began thinking.

’If they coordinated their abilities better...’

’Maybe...’

A message appeared.

[Lydia: Liam.]

[Lydia: I’m ready.]

[Lydia: Tell me what you want me to do.]

He looked down.

The little slime was staring at him eagerly.

As though she were waiting for an order.

Liam smiled.

"Come with me."

Lydia gave a little hop.

The two of them slowly stepped out from behind the bush.

The two rescued women stayed hidden.

Amber was the first to notice them.

"What are you doing here?!"

She slammed another punch into the monster.

"I told you to run!"

Liam raised his voice.

"You’re not going to defeat it like that!"

Amber’s eyes went wide.

"What?!"

But at that exact moment...

The enormous dragon took advantage of the distraction.

It raised one of its massive legs and brought it crashing down toward Amber.

The hunter barely managed to roll out of the way.

The ground exploded beneath the impact.

Amber gasped for breath and immediately shouted,

"Millie! Keep your taunt up!"

The towering woman with the shield seemed to realize her mistake.

"Sorry!"

She slammed her shield into the ground.

Golden energy enveloped her once again.

The dragon immediately turned toward her.

Amber used the opportunity to retreat and regain some distance.

Then she looked up.

"Evan!"

The archer answered from the tree.

"Yeah!"

"Don’t stop firing! We’re still nowhere near bringing it down!"

Evan nodded.

Another energy arrow shot through the air.

Then another.

And another.

Even though none of them inflicted any visible damage.

Liam watched the entire scene.

Then looked at Lydia.

A completely absurd idea had just appeared in his mind.

He smiled.

"Lydia."

The slime turned toward him.

[Lydia: Yes?]

"Are you hungry?"

She seemed confused.

A message immediately appeared.

[Lydia: Huh?]

Liam continued.

"Do you think you can stretch far enough to wrap around that dragon?"

There were several seconds of silence.

Then another message appeared.

[Lydia: Hahaha.]

[Lydia: That was a really good joke.]

Liam didn’t laugh.

He kept staring at the enormous monster.

"I wasn’t joking."

The little slime stopped moving.

Lydia realized that her husband was completely serious.