[BONUS]

After a rigorous journey to Tentacle town, Ren and the others arrived at a pool of yellow liquid, warm enough to smoke but not hot enough to boil.

They thought the tentacles were bad enough . . . but it turned out that there was something worse. The area was filled with acid, Sebastian was nowhere to be seen, and the Princess seemed to be in another room.

The only saving graces they had with them were two Generals and their soldiers.

But there was something worse. Not only did they have to endure constant acid damage, but also probably had to deal with the slimes on the hot yellow pool. They looked like they were enjoying a nice hot bath, not minding the players.

"I think the trick here is not to disturb them," whispered Roxy to Ren.

Ren didn't comment. It was obvious anyway.

"Is there another way for us to cross?" Erica questioned one of the inhabitants, drawing Ren's attention to her.

Erica was alone, and her twin brother was either dead or simply separated from her. Ren commended her for reaching this far when most players simply vanished after the second room.

"Nope. Our scouts have surveyed the area. The door out of here is past those . . . liquids. The walls and ceilings here constrict and contract, so whoever attempts to fly or climb the will become engulfed by those fleshy walls."

". . . Great." Erica sighed in resignation. Good thing that she was a White Mage. She could heal herself just in case, but those slimes looked like bad news. Eric wasn't there to defend her against those, and she would be an easy target if ever those slimes attacked.

The only solution to her problem was to seek other players to defend her just in case. At that moment, she felt a stare her way. Looking to her left, she briefly met Ren's eyes before he looked away, not one bit concerned that he was caught staring at her.

Maybe if she sought their company until the core room, Erica entertained the idea but then shook her head forcefully.

Ren stole the [Monarch Sovereignty] that was supposed to belong to them! What's more, he charged overprice for that [Amulet of Ooze]. White Unicorn had lost millions within a day because of him.

Even if he was innocent until proven guilty, how many players with the name Ren could achieve such a feat — stealing from one of their regular members whose LCK was already in the fifties?

Erica was certain that it had been Ren. She could feel it in her bones. There could no longer be cooperation between them after he stole the legendary item. Her pride wouldn't let her make peace with someone who stole from them.

What would others think of White Unicorn if she went to him and begged to be let in his group?

"Not in a million years." Erica's beautiful face crumpled before she looked around for other potential candidates that would have the honor of being her guard. She would pay them if necessary.

But to her dismay, all the top guilds were either dead or in another room. There was not a single guild nor player she knew in here aside from Ren. Golden Phoenix, Fate Alliance guild, Guns and Knives, or even the lesser-known guilds like Iron Roses, Poison Viper, and Roaring Tigers were gone. Dead or not, they weren't here.

There were at least only a dozen players remaining, yet she only knew one.

Erica took a deep breath. Faced with a choice between her aggressor and death, she'd chose the latter.

However . . . If Ren went up to her and asked her to join his party, she might reconsider if — only if his knees were on the ground. Or . . . if he returned [Monarch Sovereignty] to her.

Eventually, the armies took the lead in wading the waters toward the exit. Their first step didn't alert any slime, but the constant decrease of their HP posed a threat, just like they initially thought.

The others released the breath they held. At least the slimes weren't out there to kill them. Though there was something about the slimes' relaxed faces that urged them to destroy their happy time, they restrained such evil thoughts lest they unleash a pandemonium that would add fire to this hell hole.

"At this exact moment, I envy Leonel. At least he's dead and doesn't have to suffer this ordeal," Ragnar said.

Ren ignored him and pressed on. The first contact didn't feel so bad. That water was just the right temperature for a warm shower after a tiring day.

The only weird parts were its texture and consistency. It felt like wading in a . . . pudding? This would definitely pose a big problem sooner than later.

Their movement was slow, as expected since their body felt two times as heavy from the high viscosity of the yellow liquid.

Ren had taken five potions in total to replenish his health in the span of five minutes. And the problem he thought about a while ago came too soon.

The army abruptly stopped, and with their halt, the players paused as well.

"What's going on?"

"Why did they stop?"

The reply they got left everyone feeling like doom was upon them.

"The waters in this part are deep," said a soldier. "I am currently walking on tiptoes. I'm afraid that we have to walk underwater."

"Can't we just swim?"

"The water is too sticky and thick for swimming. It's more like a quicksand than a pool."

"It's impossible to swim. We have to walk blindly to reach the other end," said a General with a very serious expression.

"Yeah, I expected that. I felt that something was amiss when everything was too easy," lamented Roxy. "There's always something bad that happens in the end."

"When blind walking, our chance of disturbing a slime increases to a hundred," commented Ragnar.

"I wonder if we could just kill the remaining slimes up ahead before we go further?" another suggested.

"The slimes here are unkillable. They constantly respawn within seconds as long as Jibblinplip is alive. If you wish so much as to touch them, they'll engulf you," explained a soldier. "There's no other way but to go blind and hope for the best. May God protect us all."

( . . . continuation on NOTES)