Chapter 10: A-Rank Slime?
After hours of non-stop travel on her personalized motorcycle, the giant metallic walls of Nara City finally appeared in Clara’s field of vision.
With her heart pounding against her ribs, she gripped the handlebars tightly and accelerated, speeding through the outer security checkpoints and arriving at the city gates.
Without wasting a single second, she rode straight to the First Company’s central command post.
She pulled up to the main entrance, dismounted, and removed her helmet, handing it off to an attendant who hurried over.
"Where’s Commander Clame?" Clara asked breathlessly, wiping a stray drop of sweat from her forehead.
"Young Lady Clara," the attendant replied respectfully. "I’m not entirely sure where the Commander is at this exact moment."
"Fine. I’ll ask her assistant."
Clara pushed open the heavy glass doors and entered the sleek administration building. Several officers in the lobby greeted her as she passed. Their uniforms were a sharp combination of navy blue and golden yellow, and unlike the laid-back militia in Suran City, the officers here stood with rigid, disciplined confidence.
"Miss Clara?" a sharp voice called out.
Clara turned to see a female officer stepping out from an office. It was Nair, her sister’s deputy commander and personal secretary. Nair wore a pristine uniform, carried a high-tech tablet, and emanated an aura of composed authority. She had been with Clame for years, acting almost like an older sister to Clara as well.
"Nair! Just who I was looking for," Clara said eagerly. "Where’s my sister?"
Nair tapped her tablet, scrolling through a schedule before looking up. "She just finished meeting with the city elders. She should be down here any minute."
Clara let out a deep breath. "Thank goodness."
Nair set her tablet down on a nearby desk and crossed her arms, looking at Clara with a raised eyebrow.
"If you don’t mind me asking... why are you back so early, Miss Clara? Weren’t you assigned to the benchmarking program with Suran City’s elite squad?"
"About that..." Clara’s face lit up, a confident smile spreading across her lips as she placed a fist over her chest.
"I have amazing news for my sister. I found the ultimate solution to her problem!"
Nair’s brow furrowed. "Problem? What problem?"
"You know! The severe lack of frontline strength for the upcoming dungeon raid!"
Nair let out a tired sigh, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Miss Clara, your task was to gather intelligence on Suran City’s tactics. You joined their Alpha Squad specifically for benchmarking, and now you’re claiming you found a solution to a high-tier raid?"
Nair’s stern tone felt like a gentle scold, perfectly mirroring how Clame usually spoke.
"I want to officially pull out of the benchmarking program," Clara declared firmly. "There’s something much more important I need to focus on."
Nair shook her head with a faint, fond smile. "I don’t even know what to say. But if that’s really what you want, I’ll support your decision."
"Clara? What are you doing back so soon?"
A calm, commanding voice echoed across the lobby.
Adorned in a pristine navy-and-gold commander’s uniform with two gold stripes glistening on her shoulders, Clame walked into them.
Beside her militia emblem sat the first company badge. Her posture was flawless, radiating a powerful, pressuring aura that instantly commanded respect.
Clara’s eyes brightened, and she quickly stepped toward her older sister. "Sis! I found the solution!"
Clame paused, turning her gaze toward Nair. "What is she talking about?"
Nair stood up, giving a long blink and a light sigh. "She claims she found a solution for the upcoming raid. I didn’t push for details. You know how optimistic your little sister gets."
Clame smiled softly, her sharp gaze softening as she wrapped an arm around Clara’s shoulders. "Alright, elaborate. What did you find?"
Clara finally exhaled a massive sigh of relief.
"We need to buy beasts," Clara said excitedly. "I met someone who sells insanely powerful creatures. That’s how we win the incoming raid!"
Clame paused, looking at Clara with concern. "Clara... you mean hire mercenaries to capture wild beasts. Nobody sells pre-contracted beasts. You know caged monsters degrade instantly."
Clara pulled away from her sister’s embrace, shaking her head. "No! I mean directly buying them!"
She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a sleek, card-sized Pocket Sanctuary—a compact spatial device with a glowing blue core and a thumb-scanner in the center. She pressed her finger against the glass.
ZIP!
A bright blue light flashed, and a squishy, translucent blue blob plopped out onto the polished marble floor. It wobbled harmlessly, smiling innocently at the high-ranking officers.
Both Clame and Nair stared down at the small creature. They looked at the blob, then at each other, and let out a simultaneous sigh.
Clara already knew what was going through their heads.
"Clara... is this a joke?" Clame asked gently, her voice full of pity. "This is what you call a powerful beast? Did someone trick you into buying a common slime?"
"Before you judge me, just inspect it!" Clara pleaded, pointing urgently at the blob. "Put on an Inspecting Frame and check its rank!"
"Clara, even without a frame, everyone knows slimes are the absolute lowest rank," Clame replied, shaking her head. "They’re harmless."
"I saw this exact slime effortlessly obliterate a monster with my own eyes!" Clara insisted, refusing to back down. "Please, just check it!"
Nair sighed, reaching into her uniform pocket and pulling out a sleek, military-grade Inspecting Frame. She placed the monocle over her right eye and directed the blue scanning laser straight at the slime.
"It’s alright, Miss Clara, I’ll scan it so we can put this to rest—" Nair began, but her voice abruptly cut off.
The reading materialized on Nair’s frame lens.
Nair froze. Her jaw dropped open, her eyes widening in complete shock as the data processed. She didn’t move. She didn’t even breathe.
Clame looked at her secretary, misinterpreting her silence. "See? As expected, it’s just an ordinary slime, Clara. Let’s not waste any more—"
"Wait..." Nair stammered, her voice trembling violently as she pointed a shaking finger at the blue blob. "Commander... look at this screen!"
Clame frowned, leaning over to look through the secondary display feed on Nair’s frame.
[Species: Guard Slime]
[Rank: A-Rank]
"What?!" Clame gasped, stumbling back half a step. Her calm composure completely shattered into absolute disbelief. "An A-Rank... Slime?!"
She whipped her head toward Clara, her eyes wide with shock. "Where on earth did you get an A-Rank beast like this?!"
"I told you!" Clara said, puffing out her chest with immense satisfaction. "I bought it from Terrence Lee!"
"Terrence Lee?" Clame repeated, her mind racing as she stared down at the glowing A-Rank creature. "The outcast from the Lee family in Suran City?"
Clame looked back at the slime, then directly at her sister, her expression instantly turning deadly serious.
"Nair," Clame ordered, her voice sharp and decisive. "Cancel all my afternoon meetings. Prepare an official transport immediately. We are going to Suran City to meet this Terrence Lee right now!"