Shiroe reopened his eyes. It seemed like he had unconsciously fallen asleep. Even with [Trance], he would need some sleep as its level was low. He blinked a couple of times before locking his eyes on a green slime lying on his chest. Ein was staring at him, or so he thought. He then felt that something was amiss.

He felt like moving, though he clearly wasn't. As if something was carrying him. He turned his head slightly and saw more slimes. There were assortments of colours, along with shapes and sizes. He then noticed that some of them were under him. His question was answered a second later.

He heard a groan and asked, "You're up?"

A voice echoed right into his mind. "Yeah... What did I miss?" asked Ket.

"Well. I taught Ein to shapeshift the whole night. Accidentally fell asleep. And now, we are being kidnapped and carried away by slimes"

"I see... Wait, what?"

"See for yourself"

He then felt like another presence was with him. As if someone just joined a stream in Discord. He raised his head slightly and looked around. There were hundreds of slime around him, and some large ones were carrying him on their backs. He could hear her astonishment.

"I've coded something like this..." she uttered, "But I never expected the conditions to be filled"

"What's going on?" asked Shiroe.

"Well, you see. If a group of slimes, and slimes only, found someone deemed to be worthy, they would carry him to their king"

"Worthy for what? And what on Astra is a King Slime?"

"A King Slime is the second last tier of slime evolution. After a certain tier of evolution, the slimes had some sort of hierarchy. Kind of like a kingdom. The King reigns supreme on all the slime, having the power to control the slime from anywhere in the same continent. There could be several King Slimes at once, and each had its own area of influence. Each Slime Kingdom is an ally to the other"

"Why are slimes too complicated for a small creature-" he said as he looked at the slimes, "No offence"

"I like them. Just look at their cute face. They're so... Huggable"

"Are other animals like this?"

"No. Dragons have a hierarchy system, but it's more of the strong ruled over the weak"

"If you loved slime so much, why did you make them so... Uhh... You get me"

"To make sure they are easier to be made as pets, duh. Cats and dogs are weak, and they're pets. So, in that logic, slimes should be"

"Why are they monsters? What happened?"

"Those other gods sent out teachings that said they are monsters that should be cleansed. Their teachings caused the slime population to dwindle massively. I don't want them to die, so I put a little effort into enhancing them".

All the slimes stopped, which prompted Shiroe to look forward. When he got up, they were at the forest edge. During his small talk with Ket, the slimes carried him to a cliff. In front of them right now was a cliff reaching probably a hundred metres in height. He thought that this world's terrain generation was a bit odd.

Ein slid slowly and sat onto his face, forcing him to close his eyes. He just stayed there in silence, not moving even an inch. He couldn't see anything, but he could still hear things clearly. He heard something like a wall crumbling, and a moment later, they started moving again.

When Ein got off him, he saw nothing but darkness. Rather, that was what he would see as a normal person. For someone who could pass as a god in his own world, with the addition of [Eyes of God], his surroundings were clear as day. They were currently moving through a cave, seeing that there were stalactites on the ceiling.

"Hey, Ket?"

"What is it?"

"What's this 'Slime Kingdom' like? Is it like a group of slimes living together or a primitive settlement underground?"

He could feel her smiling as he heard "You'll see for yourself"

He didn't expect anything much from the slimes. Probably, at most, they're like goblins living in a settlement in caves. However, the moment he saw the door in front of him, he started rethinking about that.

In front of him and the slimes right now was a huge door. On it was a large insignia of a shield, with the image of a slime in the middle of it. Not only that but two huge slimes were sitting beside the door as if they were guarding it.

The slimes let go of him and he stood back up. He then examined the huge slimed closely as a pink slime was seemingly communicating with it.

The huge slimes had a grey colour, that of a stone. Their body seemed more solid than the normal slimes. While standing in front of one, he could see their height difference. Shiroe was about 175 cm tall, but the slime was almost double his height. And they were holding two-metre pikes each.

The weirdest thing wasn't that, however. It was the fact that there was a small iron helmet on top of them. Shiroe thought about the significance of that helmet being there. Was it for occupation? Status? Rank? Because the helmet that's the size of a human was clearly not for defence. Except there's some intricate magic involved, there's no way that helmet served as an actual helmet.

The two slimes shifted their attention to him. Just their glare from their nonexistent eyes caused him to almost summon a sword. They then ignored her and pushed open the large door. It was made of stone, and yet, the slimes easily pushed them. The moment he saw what was on the other side, his jaw dropped. He heard Ket's little giggle from his connection with her.

What he expected was clearly way off. An underground settlement? First, it's not underground. And secondly, it is not a settlement anymore. It's a whole city down here. Complete with city walls to protect the inhabitants from attacks, and farms spanning over the fields outside the walls.

He stepped in with all the slimes, and the large door closed behind them. He ignored it though, as he was too focused on the scene before him.

Dark green slimes were working on the farms, and greyish slimes were like guards. Small slimes were sliding along the stone-paved road. When the slimes behind nudged him, he started walking.

"Ket" he uttered.

"Yes?"

"I can see your love for slimes"

"What makes you think so?"

"Just... The effort you put in"

"Oh, all of this?" she said, "It wasn't me. I just created an evolution system for them and evolved some slimes from the get-go. Other than that, that's all their doing. They're the most interesting creatures to watch. They harbour no ill intentions towards other slime kingdoms and are keen on keeping their relationship. Unlike humans or other humanoid species"

Shiroe thought about her words. It wasn't wrong, as human-like creatures tend to fight against each other. That wouldn't change in any world. Still, making slimes like this way broadened his vision. Maybe we don't need to fight, after all.

He followed the slimes as they walked through the city. It was just like a regular medieval city, except the inhabitants were slimes of colour. From what Ket told them, after their third evolution, the slimes may pick their profession.

For those who stayed outside colours other than blue, green and pink were those who chose to be Roamers. Unlike the first three colours, these slimes could respawn, though there's a cooldown that varied. Other than that, all the slimes lived in their respective kingdoms.

They walked until they reached a metal gate. This was the entrance to the castle grounds. There were red slimes which patrolled the area. On their heads were helmets with a feather, signalling their occupation as Royal Guards. The gate then opened and he followed the slimes in.

At that moment, he was standing in front of a large wooden door. From all the experience he had with castles, the throne room was where all sorts of things happened. From being greeted as a Knight by a Skeleton King to fighting an Immortal Queen. He brushed off those memories and looked at the slimes around him.

Rather than earlier, there were only several slimes that stayed with him. They were of dark purple colour, which meant they were of high rank.

From what he had seen and deduced, the purple slimes were Mages. The darker the colour, the stronger they were. He wondered what type of magic they could use, before seeing some teleporting from another kingdom. However, it seemed like one could only wield one attribute or element.

The throne room's door opened, revealing quite a scene. Large guard slimes were standing by the red carpet crossing through the room. Ornaments and decorations were present anywhere he looked. A typical throne room, he thought.

At the end of the red carpet was a large throne. Shiroe looked beside him and saw the slime kneeling. Or something. He wasn't sure, but they were bowing down. He then knelt before the throne.

Looking up, he saw the Slime King. It slowly glided towards him as he knelt. He felt a little disappointed though, as the image in his mind didn't match the one in front of him.

He didn't know what he expected, but it wasn't surely a small slime. Its size was the same as Ein, but the colour was different. The slime king had a rainbow colour that shimmered ever so slightly.

As he stared at the slime, he asked Ket through their connection.

"Hey," he said.

"What? Can't you see I'm busy?" 

"With what? Anyways, is this the king?"

"Something. Yeah. That's the king"

"I see... Is it straight? With its colour and whatnot"

"Slimes are Androgynous if that's what you're asking about"

"So... He's bi-"

"No, he isn't. Let's just drop this topic. Look, he's talking to you".

~~~~~

"So let me get this straight. That not-so-straight King welcomes me, a human, to their kingdom" uttered Shiroe as he bit into the bread.

"Yeah," Ket replied.

"Even though slimes... Hate's a strong word... Dislikes species that hunt them"

"True"

"Why? No, he did say why. But the reason is just weird. Like, he deemed me harmless and trustworthy".

"That's good, right?"

"Just. Harmless? Me? To who? I've killed gods before, and probably will again, so how come I'm harmless? My ego is hurt"

"People don't admit their egos, you know?"

"Still. Aren't slimes too trusting? What if I'm someone trying to take advantage of them? Just like-"

He opened his list of familiars on a screen in front of him. On the top showed a number. "Currently, you have two summons," he said as he mimicked a robot's voice.

~~~~~

[Summons]

Things you can summon now:

1. Ein (Green Slime)

2. Schleim (King Slime)

~~~~~

He then continued his banter.

"How can a king easily let himself be employed? Like, does he not realise what he did?"

"Shiroe. Why are you so grumpy today?"

"A slime stole my chocolate bar. Before, it was a baby dragon, but now, slimes"

He bit into his bread again. He knew he was showing emotions unbefitting him. He felt like something changed when he woke back up in this world.

"Fair enough," said Ket, "So now, what are you going to do?"

He looked at his palm and said, "I feel like my sword skills are still lacking" before gripping it.

Just like a typical isekai fantasy manga, Shiroe went through a montage of intense training. He trained and honed his skills up to nigh perfection. His swordsman skills were an art. It was as if he was dancing as he dodged and parried the attacks of the slime.

The slimes were a perfect sparring partner. They could stack up and create all sorts of attacks, whether it's physical, magic or even mental. One might think about how can slimes do mental damage. Let's just say that cuteness is a dangerous weapon.

Even though he strived to be a swordsman in this world, he didn't ignore magic at all. He utilised his skills to the max, grasping their full potential allowed by the system. After all, some of his skills were a bit... Strong.

One who spirited away here would get to choose an Ultimate Skill each. They could learn or gain another Ultimate Skill through a lot of means in the world. Shiroe, like others, only gained an Ultimate Skill that he chose. Unlike others, his powers from the previous world were transformed into skills. Such things were well within the authority of the Admin, Ket, and also some other gods. But for as long as she could remember, there had been less than 10 instances of that happening.

Some of his powers turned into existing skills such as [Fire Manipulation] and [Spatial Manipulation]. Some completely changed as the system couldn't determine what type like what happened to [Mana Manipulation]. It's just a fancy name for using every type of magic. Some forced new skills to be made specifically for that like [Crystal Manipulation] and [Blood Manipulation]. Naturally, all of these skills were that of the Ultimate tier, but their levels were undetermined.

~~~~~

The grip on his black sword loosened as he wiped down the sweat that trickled down his face. The sword melted like jelly and formed a blob, which hopped onto his shoulder. That was Ein, his first familiar and his current weapon. After training for about a year or so with the King, it had mastered shape-shifting. It had also evolved to a new form of slime which specialised in creating weaponry. He was chugging down his canteen of water when he heard a voice from behind.

"Finished your training, Master?" said an androgynous voice.

Shiroe turned around and saw a boy... Or girl... looking at him. Sh-... It had short hair which had the colours of the rainbow. On top of its head was a crown made of gold and diamonds. It wore clothes befitting a royal, but a simplified one. This was the Slime King, Schleim. And Shiroe's second Familiar.

"Yeah... He said as he watched Ein hopping off his shoulder and onto the ground.

The slime then turned into a black-haired boy around 10 cm shorter than the king, which was about Shiroe's height. He was 175cm, by the way. The King patted Ein's head and looked back at Shiroe.

"How about you?" he asked the King, "Finished with your meeting?"

Schleim nodded. It then said that the other three Kings wanted to see their master.

Shiroe agreed and followed behind it, with Ein running at the front.

Today marked the day when it had been a full year since he arrived in this world. "17 years to go," he sighed. During his year over here, he had spent most of it in the kingdom. He trained his swordsman skills to the max, and also his other magic skills.

He wants to say that he grew more muscles, but he remained the same, unattractive white-haired man who's reaching his 30s. He still wonders to this day what made his wife agree to marry him. Other than tricking her into adoption, that is.

He arrived at the place where the meeting was held. It was at the top of the highest tower on the castle grounds. A stereotypical place for a mage to live in. But instead of a mage, this place was a meeting room for the Slime Kings.

When the door opened, he was greeted with a rather modern room. There was a round wooden table in the middle, and the room itself was dim. There were magical torches on the walls, giving the room a medieval feeling. At the end of the room where a window should be, there was a 70-inch screen showing a sideshow.

Around the table were four androgynous people. They looked like boys, and yet, they looked similar to girls. Shiroe could never get used to Slime's gender. All of them turned to him when he entered the room.

These slimes had a similar appearance to Schleim. They had short hair and body that made one rethink their gender. The only thing different was their hair colour which varied.

The Slime King of the South, Schleim, had rainbow hair. The Slime King of the North, Klecks, had silver hair. The Slime King of the East, Marmalade, has bright red hair and the Slime King of the West, Geele, has midnight blue hair. And it just so happened that all of them were

"Master" all of them spoke in unison, "You've come"

-his summons.

~~~~~

It should be a normal scene. Familiars gather around their summoner to show affection. Every summoner loved this. But that wasn't the case for Shiroe. Why? Well, his familiars were four androgynous creatures. Humanoid, at that.

He signed and said, "I'm leaving this kingdom". His statement caused all the slimes to abruptly stop what they were doing.

"W-Why?" asked Schleim, "Do you hate it here? Is it not enough".

Klecks then said, "That's why I told you to bring Master to my place. It's much better there".

The slimes started bickering and Shiroe just stayed silent. He reopened his mouth and continued.

"I want to see the world. It has nothing to do with your kingdoms. It's wonderful, really. So don't worry". He then patted all four of the slimes' heads.

"Do you really have to go?" asked Schleim. All the other slime kings nodded, asking if his decision was set in stone.

Shiroe smiled and nodded. After all, he was only planning to stay here for a couple of months or two. But before he knew it, it had been a year.

"Why don't you take one of us with you?" asked Klecks, "Maybe we can help you?"

"I can't do that. All four of you have your own kingdoms to take care of. A kingdom without a king is just doom. But don't worry, I'll be taking Ein with me"

The kings all nodded. They had a dejected look on their face, but they still forced a smile.

It's not just them who gathered to send him off. Shiroe looked around and saw slimes filling his field of vision. Almost all the slimes from all four kingdoms of slime gathered. And it was out of their own decision to come. Never had he seen this many people send him off. His last farewell only consisted of one person, after all.

"Talking about leaving," he said, "Where is Ein? Did you guys kidnap him?".

The kings looked at each other and shook their heads. They too didn't know the whereabouts of that one black slime. It was then that all of them noticed him running towards them. With someone else behind him.

Ein stopped before the kings and Shiroe. Everyone looked at the person he was pulling. It was a girl who had white long hair. She was wearing a one-piece dress. Her height was the same as Ein.

All the kings asked him where he kidnapped the girl, but Shiroe's eyes were locked on the girl herself. After all, she reminded him of someone dear to him. The four kings noticed him staring at her and asked, "What's the matter, Master?".

Shiroe was pulled back to reality when he heard the voice. He blinked a few times and shook his head. "Sorry," he said, "She reminds me of my little star".

Schleim then said, "So. Ein kidna-... Uhmm, took her here. She is his close friend from the Kingdom of the North. And she too, evolved into a weapon".

"Oh," said Klecks as it clapped its hands, "I remember her. When I brought you two that time, Ein disappeared. After you returned to the South, a small slime came to me. It asked if it could be like Ein. And in terms of shape-shifting skills, she should now be second to Ein"

"I see" uttered Shiroe, "So, Ein? Why did you bring her here?"

Marmalade then spoke. "He wants you to bring her along. He said he'll take full responsibility".

All the king's attention turned to the girl. She flustered and hid behind Ein who was looking at Shiroe with expecting eyes.

Shiroe mulled over for a bit before nodding. "Fine," he said, "But you need to take care of her because I sure won't"

Ein nodded.

The kings looked at each other and nodded. It seemed like they agreed with her tagging along. They then called the girl, who was still hiding behind Ein. She was shy because all four Great Kings were in front of her.

All of the four gave their blessings to both the girl and Ein. They wanted to do the same to Shiroe, but it involved kissing on the cheek, so he refused. Politely, he said "Hell no".

He reached out a hand to the girl and a screen popped up.

[Do you wish for "White Slime (Weapon)" to be your familiar?]

Shiroe's closed his eyes and clicked agree. He then uttered the name for her.

[Congratulations. You have gained "Zwei (White Slime)" as your familiar]

After finishing the process and his farewells, Shiroe called out for Ket.

"Hey, Ket! Time to go!" he shouted. Then, her voice could be heard from the crowd of slimes.

"No! I can't get these even in Heaven"

He sighed and reached out a hand. He then uttered, "Ichi. Come forth".

A slime appeared in his hands. Or that was what should happen. Rather, someone's collar appeared.

It was the collar of a green-haired girl. She was probably 18 or under from how she looked. She was wearing regular Villager A clothes, one that you would see in medieval NPCs. And she was trashing to free herself.

"Nooo! Let me go!" screamed the girl as she wiggled around. Her hair turned back to brown.

"I need you to survive, you know? Have you forgotten what your mission was, my revered God"

"But I want to stay here! Can't you do it yourself?"

It's hard to believe that the girl he's holding by the collar is his God. The one he fought before was now a powerless girl. It's not that she lost her power, but she was in a vessel. Her power was simply nerfed. 

Shiroe, with the help of the four kings, made a vessel for Ket. Together, they created a mindless slime on the same tier as the kings. Shiroe named it Ichi, or Chi for short. From what he tested and learned, the Slime King can absorb Stellaron, though in a small quantity. So he fed the vessel for a month straight.

Since the first month he was here, she had been using that vessel to live along the slimes. As expected of a god, she instinctively knew how to act as a slime. Her slime-form colour was green, the colour of the most common of slimes. She could change her appearance at her will. 

Shiroe waved farewell to the kings and the slimes as he walked through the large door, dragging Ket along with him. He looked at the huge guard slimes, and they bowed to him. A Purple Slime, or a Mage Slime, escorted him out.

He reached the end of the cave and stared at the sky. He let go of Ket and took a deep breath. It's been a while since he was in the outside world. And now, he has 17 more years to waste.

With a smile, he started his journey.