Slime#47 checked the chains from different angles.
"It's the same as before," he thought.
He had expected them to become a little stronger, since they had devoured all his mana.
"But it seems I'm too weak to strengthen it even a little." He sighed. "Still… It's in perfect condition."
----
Back to the present…
The shadow glanced at the young slime and announced, "The Trial of Wisdom is cleared."
"What?" Young Slime blurted out.
He had been expecting the trial. He still wanted to do a few things there.
"You already possess the Universal Tongue skill, and you have the title True Language Creator. So the Trial of Wisdom is cleared by default," the shadow explained.
Young Slime sighed. 'It seems I can't take advantage…'
"Well then—shall we begin the next trial?" the shadow asked, glancing down at the multicolored jelly blob.
"Yes," Young Slime agreed.
The shadow mused. 'Did he already learn the details of the Trial of Wisdom?'
There were some demons who cleared the Trial of Wisdom before entering the Demon King's Heir trials—but very few.
"The next trial is the Trial of Combat," the shadow said.
"Combat…" Young Slime muttered.
Combat was his specialty.
After over 150 loops and the mental world torture, most of his masteries had reached Tier Two.
And he had acquired true magic at only Tier Two.
He had a little pride in his combat power.
The shadow laughed. "Hahaha. It seems you're confident in your combat strength. Let's see…"
He checked the young slime's status and sensed his power.
"Demonic Force, Tier Two. Extraordinary reserves—both mana and aura."
He snapped his fingers and announced, "Clear the Trial of Combat… in one month."
Slime#47 felt himself float, dizzy, before he could respond.
A bright light flashed in his eyes, and he closed them instinctively.
He felt himself land on smooth marble.
Clack! Clack!
The sound of weapons clashing was the first thing he heard.
He opened his eyes and saw many demons fighting each other. Some trained in the corners, waving swords, spears, and other weapons.
Others did push-ups and pull-ups.
He noticed everyone was wearing the sparring uniform.
The only difference was colour.
Young Slime glanced around.
'It's the size of a few football fields,' he noted.
He spotted glowing blue magic arrays inscribed on the smooth white-marble tiles—and on the gray walls.
'So many…' he thought.
"Demon King's Castle," he muttered, because he had only seen structures like this—packed with arrays—in one place.
Blue arrays were placed every five meters.
Weapon racks stood near the corners, along with training equipment.
Magic lamps glowed yellow from the ceiling, lighting the entire hall until it was almost as bright as day.
"Who are you, little guy?" a black-haired, pale-skinned crocodile demon asked in a young male voice.
He stood on two short legs, his upper body long and thick, and he walked toward Slime#47.
----
After a few discussions, Slime#47 socialized with a few demons.
There was the crocodile humanoid, Alex.
A male black panther demon who looked almost human—except for black panther ears, a tail, and sharp claws—named Jaylen.
And a slime in the shape of a five-year-old kid—except for her blue color and bald head—named Nobi.
"So you're here for the Trial of Combat?" Alex asked, eyes wide.
"From the future… and you're nameless?" Jaylen exclaimed in disbelief.
Nobi exclaimed in a cute girl's voice, "How can a slime be nameless? How far have demons fallen…?"
Slime#47 sighed. 'Here we go again…'
"What's going on over there?" a loud, majestic male voice demanded.
A seven-foot, bulky lion humanoid demon stepped forward.
He had the lion head and a massive, muscular body with an almost human-like—except for a lion tail and two Lion claws instead of human palms.
'Just how does he eat?' Slime#47 mused, noticing the lion's bulky arms, each nearly two or three times the thickness of an ordinary human male's thigh.
"The tank guy of the Dancing Lightning party… utter trash," Slime#47 compared, thinking of the most muscular person he had met before.
"Instructor Thomas…" Alex swallowed as he felt pressure and met the lion's chilling eyes.
Even Jaylen trembled, avoiding Thomas's gaze.
Only Nobi stayed calm. She walked forward and explained the situation.
Thomas nodded and looked down at the young slime.
'How tall is he?'
Slime#47 had to move his eyes as far up as he could just to see Thomas's face.
He itched to check Thomas's status, but the pressure alone told him the lion was too strong.
"If I try to check his status, it could be dangerous," he muttered.
Spying on someone's status was considered invading privacy. And among demons, trying to measure strength like that could get someone killed.
"From the future, huh…" Thomas muttered.
He asked, "Can you change your body shape?"
His eyes pierced sharply into the young slime's.
Slime#47 felt a chill run through him. He shook slightly. "No."
"Nobi," the lion called.
"Yes, sir!" the slime kid replied instantly.
"Teach him how to change shape," Thomas commanded. "Before that, give him the joining badge and everything else."
He waved his hand and walked away with heavy steps. Thud! Thud!
Thomas yelled, "Continue training! What are you watching?"
The demons snapped back to their training.
Clack! Clack!
Swords, spears, and other weapons collided as sparring resumed.
Whoosh!
Weapon trainees practiced their swings, and casters fired spells at target boards across the hall.
'But...I have only one month,' Young slime mused, tense, 'I need to get that body shaping skill faster.'
Nobi turned to Slime#47. "Don't worry. Instructor Thomas is very good."
"That's just for you," Alex muttered.
Jaylen also joined in, "You're a slime. Of course, Thomas won't pay much attention to you."
"It's not because of that," Nobi sighed. "If you're strong, Instructor Thomas will be kind to you as well."
"Yeah… strong…" Alex muttered.
"I'm not that strong," Nobi said, rubbing her forehead shyly.
"You've already learned the style," Jaylen said, eyeing the slime kid.
"Style?" Slime#47 asked, tilting his body.
"They'll teach you later. For now, let's go to admission," the slime kid said, picking up the young slime.
Thud! Thud!
She dashed toward the end of the hall.
'No furniture. No decorations,' the multicolored slime noted. 'After all, it's a training room.'
----
After taking a few flights of stairs down…
They entered the reception room—filled with furniture, ornate couches, and paintings hung on the wall and glittering chandeliers on the ceiling.
"I'd like to admit this slime to military training," Nobi said, pointing at Slime#47.
She hopped up and placed the young slime on the mahogany desk.
Then she sat beside him.
Slime#47 finally got a good look at the reception member.
End of the chapter…