Anime: About That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

“I suppose you could call it magic.”

Lu Minghao nodded, watching Sally, whose eyes were shining as she looked at him. Magic did exist in this world, but it was merely power used by humans. The creatures used ‘skills.’ The difference between the two was that one required chanting and the manipulation of magic essence within the body to activate, while ‘skills’ required nothing at all; they were like instincts.

In this world, powerful and rare ‘skills’ were the key to becoming strong. As for magic, even Razen of the Falmuth Kingdom, who was hailed as the strongest human magician in the original story, was easily annihilated by Rimuru's ‘Wrath of God.’

And that was Rimuru before he had even awakened to become a ‘True’ Demon Lord. So in this world, ‘skills’ were the symbol of the strong.

However, even if Lu Minghao explained all this to Sally, who was not yet ten years old and had grown up scavenging in garbage heaps, she definitely wouldn't understand.

“Oh, oh! Minghao, Minghao, can Sally learn this magic too?”

Sally, unaware of what Lu Minghao was thinking, was currently holding Lu Minghao in her hands, her little face full of excitement and anticipation as she looked at him.

“Sally, are you willing to leave with me?”

Lu Minghao did not answer Sally's question. Instead, he gently exerted some force to jump out of Sally's hands, landing on the ground with a serious expression as he asked. Lu Minghao had already decided to become strong—a strong person who could live wantonly, not a weakling to be trampled and killed at will—after understanding his identity and the world he was in.

That meant that Lu Minghao could not stay in this ordinary village forever. It did not have the abundant nourishment that Lu Minghao needed to grow. With the talent of ‘Gluttony,’ Lu Minghao knew that the best way to grow quickly was to hunt and devour.

“Minghao… Do you not want Sally anymore?”

Sally looked at Lu Minghao on the ground, her big eyes filled with tears. Her tender face was full of fear, loss, and sadness… Her thin body involuntarily crouched on the ground, trembling and curling up.

“When did I ever say I didn’t want you? I’m asking if you are willing to leave here with me, leave this village, leave the place where your father and Grandma Oran used to live?”

Lu Minghao looked at Sally, who was curled up like an abandoned little animal, and sighed. At this moment, he understood that no matter what Sally had experienced in the past or what she was like when facing other people,

in front of Lu Minghao, whom she absolutely trusted and relied on, she was just a child of less than ten years old. She would also feel fear, sadness, worry, and happiness because of his words.

“Really? You won’t abandon Sally?”

Sally slowly raised her head, her big eyes filled with tears as she looked at Lu Qiming, asking again uncertainly.

“Yes, I will definitely not abandon Sally.”

“Then Sally wants to leave with you, Minghao! No matter where you go, Sally will always be with you!”

The next moment, Sally, who had received Lu Minghao's confirmation, pounced on him and hugged him tightly. Her little face, stained with tears, carried an unprecedented seriousness as she looked at Lu Minghao and said, word by word.

“Okay.”

Lu Minghao looked at the girl in front of him, whose eyes were already red from crying and whose face was still covered in tears, but whose expression was unprecedentedly serious, and nodded vigorously.

“Right, Sally, there’s something I have to tell you. We’ll probably be villains in the future, so if you follow me, you’ll become a great witch.”

After all, if Lu Minghao wanted to grow quickly, the price would be countless lives turned into nourishment for ‘Gluttony.’ It was destined that in the eyes of certain beings in the future, Lu Minghao himself would be absolute ‘evil.’

“Great Witch, hehe! Sally is a Great Witch.”

Under the sunlight, the girl looked at the slime in her arms with a bright smile. At this point, the slime and the half-human, half-oni girl had reached their initial and final vow…

“Alright, stop fooling around, Sally. It’s time to find today’s food. After all, if you want to become a Great Witch, you have to eat more first.”

A few minutes later, Lu Minghao had to stop Sally, who was still happily hugging him and spinning around. As for food, it was the main purpose of Lu Minghao's outing with Sally this time. Don't be fooled by Sally's healthy appearance now. Her physical fitness and vitality were even stronger than those of ordinary human children.

But this was also the most abnormal thing. You should know that Sally had half the bloodline of an oni in her body, and onis were considered quite strong among the monsters in this world. At least after adulthood, those with a little aptitude were all mid-level monsters, and the strongest could even grow into high-level monsters.

Sally, who had half the bloodline of an oni, wouldn't necessarily be able to defeat low-level monsters directly, but she shouldn't be like she was now, unable to defeat even ordinary adult humans. This was entirely because she had scavenged in garbage heaps since she was a child, and her body had not received enough nourishment, leading to incomplete development.

And if he wanted Sally to become stronger, the most important thing at present was to allow Sally's body to obtain enough nourishment. After her body was strong enough, Lu Minghao would be able to bestow upon Sally the ‘Power of Gluttony’ and transform her into his familiar.

From beginning to end, Lu Minghao had never thought of protecting Sally like a canary. Since she intended to leave with him, she was destined to face all kinds of enemies. Moreover, the oni bloodline in Sally's body made her naturally warlike and murderous.

It was just because her body was not yet fully developed, and the oni bloodline had not been completely activated, but it also allowed Sally to show her extraordinary nature. After all, how could an ordinary human child survive on their own after losing their parents at the age of five, and still live alone in the forest?

“Sally will eat her fill today! Sally is a Great Witch!”

Accompanied by Sally's cheers and laughter, she picked up Lu Minghao in her arms and ran towards the place where she usually picked wild fruits. Of course, before leaving, Sally also picked up the half-meter-long snake corpse that had fallen on the ground and wrapped it around her waist, casually tying a bow.

An hour later.

Lu Minghao watched with interest as Sally, not far away, stood on tiptoes, her little face flushed red as she stretched out her hand to try to pick the fruit above her head. Then, he turned around and looked towards the dark depths of the forest behind him. Rustling sounds were constantly coming from that direction.

“It should be almost enough.”

Looking at the constantly shaking bushes, Lu Minghao felt that it should be almost enough. After all, in order to monitor the village, they had to live in this place for a few more days. If they caught everything at once, there would be nothing to eat in a few days.

Thinking of this, Lu Minghao quietly canceled the ‘Phantasmal Bait’ he had released earlier. ([Phantasmal Bait]: Emits an irresistible alluring scent to those weaker than itself, and drives them into madness.)

“Minghao, look, look, I finally picked the fruit!”

At this moment, Sally, who had finally picked the fruit not far away, was holding up her little hand, waving the fruit in her hand as she ran towards Lu Minghao. But the next moment, the happy expression on Sally's face became incomparably tense and flustered. A large mouth full of fangs suddenly appeared behind Lu Minghao.