My Slime Wife: Training and Pampering Her Makes Me Stronger
Chapter 28: My System Keeps Playing Bad Jokes

Chapter 28: My System Keeps Playing Bad Jokes

The three chicks finished swallowing the berries.

For a few seconds, they remained perfectly still inside the enormous nest.

Their new colourful feathers shimmered under the sunlight.

The Dark Condor continued slamming itself against the gelatinous barrier Lydia had created.

BOOM!

BOOM!

CRAAASH!

Every impact made the entire dome tremble, but Lydia continued to hold it together.

Another blue window appeared before Liam.

[New Allies Acquired.]

Liam couldn’t help but smile.

"Did you see that, Lydia? Looks like it worked."

He looked at the little chicks.

"I think they’re going to help us fight that condor now."

Another deafening crash echoed from the other side of the dome.

But Lydia didn’t answer right away.

A few seconds passed.

Then a message appeared.

[Lydia: Liam...]

[Lydia: There’s something wrong with those chicks.]

He frowned.

"What is it?"

[Lydia: Look at them carefully.]

Liam slowly turned his gaze back to the chicks.

At first, he didn’t understand.

But then...

The colourful feathers began falling off, one after another.

They drifted gently onto the massive nest.

"What...?"

The little bodies began to shrink.

Bones cracked.

Their wings changed shape.

And beneath those bright feathers...

New ones started growing.

Black.

Dark.

Exactly like the giant condor’s.

Liam took a step back.

"No..."

The transformation continued.

A third eye appeared in the centre of each of their faces.

Their legs twisted into grotesque shapes.

And a third limb sprouted from each of their bodies, ending in enormous razor-sharp talons.

The three slowly lifted their heads.

Their new yellow eyes locked onto Liam.

"Kriiiii..."

This time, the sound no longer resembled a cry for help.

It sounded like a growl.

A hunger they could no longer hide.

A chill ran down Liam’s spine.

"No way... Then... So they really were its chicks."

The three of them began stumbling forward.

They were still small.

But they were growing before his eyes.

Every second brought more feathers.

More strength.

More size.

Liam looked up at the sky.

"You stupid damn system!!"

His voice echoed across the summit.

"You’re always pulling these awful jokes on me! You made me think they were going to become our allies!"

The system didn’t respond.

No windows appeared before his eyes.

Liam gritted his teeth.

"Forget it."

He quickly drew the pistol from its holster, aimed at the nearest chick, and fired without thinking.

BANG!!

The recoil caught him completely off guard.

The grip slammed into his hand, and the bullet flew several inches over the monster’s head.

"Damn it!"

He had never fired a real gun before.

He took a deep breath and aimed again.

BANG!!

This time, the bullet struck one of the thick branches of the nest.

Wood splinters flew everywhere.

But the chick kept advancing.

"Kriiii..."

The third one was already beginning to spread its wings.

"Stop growing already!"

He fired again.

BANG!!

The bullet grazed one of the monster’s legs.

It screeched.

But it kept coming.

Every step was steadier.

Faster.

More dangerous.

Meanwhile...

The slime dome shook violently once more.

CRAAAAASH.

[Lydia: Liam.]

[Lydia: I can’t hold this much longer.]

He barely glanced in her direction.

"What can you do now?"

[Lydia: Just tell me what to do.]

Liam thought for only a moment.

Then he smiled.

"Use your new skill, Gust."

[Lydia: On the condor?]

"No. On the nest."

It took Lydia only a second to understand.

[Lydia: Got it.]

The gelatinous barrier trembled.

Then...

A massive blast of wind burst out from the slime’s body.

FWOOOOOSH!!

[Gust]

The gigantic nest began sliding across the summit.

The branches groaned.

The three chicks lost their footing.

"Kriiii!!"

Liam smiled.

"That’s it! Push them to the edge!"

The nest continued moving.

Inch by inch.

Until it was dangerously close to the cliff.

Liam shouted again.

"Now go back to your normal form and knock them into the abyss!"

[Lydia: On it!]

The barrier vanished.

The little slime returned to her usual round shape.

At that exact moment...

The Dark Condor let out a furious roar.

Nothing was blocking its path anymore.

It dove straight toward Liam.

But Lydia was faster.

She unleashed Gust once again.

FWOOOOOSH!!

The blast of wind slammed directly into the enormous nest.

The remaining branches snapped apart.

The entire structure tumbled over the cliff.

"KRRIIIIII!!"

The three chicks disappeared into the clouds.

A wave of relief washed over Liam.

"We did it..."

But the moment the words left his mouth...

One of the little monsters burst free from the falling nest.

It had managed to cling to one of the massive branches.

It leapt.

Landed back on the summit.

And charged straight toward them on all three legs.

"One of them made it!"

Liam raised the pistol again.

BANG!!

The shot missed once more.

The monster kept coming.

Behind it, the Dark Condor was almost on top of him.

Liam rolled to the side.

The enormous talons slammed into the exact spot where he’d been standing a second earlier.

Chunks of rock exploded in every direction.

"That was close!"

He jumped back to his feet and fired again.

BANG!!

This time, the bullet struck one of the little monster’s wings.

It stumbled.

But it kept charging.

Then something unexpected happened.

The enormous Dark Condor stopped chasing Liam.

It suddenly turned and looked over the edge of the cliff.

It had seen the nest fall.

It let out a desperate screech.

"KRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, it dove down the mountainside.

Trying to catch its chicks before they disappeared into the clouds.

Liam stared at the scene, utterly bewildered.

"It... left?"

Only the small chick remained.

Charging toward them.

Hungry.

Furious.

Its three eyes locked onto Liam.

He let out a nervous laugh.

"Maybe... feeding them wasn’t such a good idea."

Lydia replied with an embarrassed emoji.

[Lydia: I don’t think it was.]

At that exact moment...

A new window appeared before Liam.

But this one was different.

It didn’t have the same design as the system windows.

It looked like a small chat box.

And it displayed a name he had never seen before.

[Pix: I’m sorry...]

Followed by a sad-face emoji.

Liam blinked.

"Pix?"

He read the message again.

For the first time ever...

The system...

Seemed to be apologising.

The young man stood frozen for a few seconds.

Then he slowly looked up.

"Wait... Did the system... just apologise to me?"