There was a saying left by an architect of an ancient empire.
「A great structure is completed not upon a blueprint, but at the callused fingertips of its craftsmen.」
It was said that even after designing the emperor's magnificent palace, he carried bricks himself and spent his entire life at the construction site.
The same was true of every great nest in the world.
Only when someone's sweat permeated every corner could it be reborn as a perfect refuge.
Now it was time to complete that great undertaking with my transparent jelly.
***
Boing, boing―!
I bounced my round body along.
Quietly reviewing what had just happened in my mind.
Before the jade gate intricately carved with geometric patterns.
Airi had stood there in silence.
A faint light poured through the tightly sealed gap, softly illuminating her and revealing graceful curves through her thin chemise.
Dizzying beauty.
It was truly a sight breathtaking enough to stop one's heart.
And yet, somehow, at that moment.
She looked so profoundly wistful and lonely that I could not bring myself to speak carelessly.
With slender white fingertips, she tenderly traced the pattern carved into the gate.
Then she smoothly turned around. Giving me a faint smile, she opened her mouth.
"The time has not yet come for this place."
Her voice was quiet.
"Even if your curiosity stirs, please do not open it for the time being."
I silently nodded my round head. I willingly chose to respect her wishes.
She gave another faint smile.
"Thank you. Then please keep up the good work."
After delivering that request, Airi vanished into the darkness like a mirage.
The silent corridor settled into darkness once more.
Only the geometric patterns on the firmly sealed jade gate continued to glow softly.
I stared at the closed jade gate for a moment.
Then I quietly turned my head and moved on.
I had no intention of deliberately defying the nest's owner.
***
Well, anyway, that was what happened.
Heave-ho, heave-ho.
I rolled ceaselessly around the nest and cleared away the piles of rock blocking the path.
As a result of diligently tidying Airi's nest.
Several sections hidden behind the rocks finally began revealing their true forms.
I brought my jelly to a stop.
And I drew a map of the nest in my mind.
The place could be broadly divided into general and special areas.
From the traces left behind, the purposes of the general areas were easy to infer.
The first place I entered was the [Lounge], where an old stone table and broken teacups lay scattered.
As proof of the centuries that had passed, a thick layer of white dust rested on the table like snowflakes.
I stretched the tip of my jelly long. Pretending to be elegant, I carefully wrapped it around a teacup with a broken handle.
'Ohoho, my lady. The aroma of today's black tea is simply exquisite.'
'Oh, Count, really. This is cobweb tea aged for hundreds of years.'
In the empty space, I wriggled by myself and played at being a noble young lady.
Rustle.
Unable to withstand the weight of the years, the teacup gave way beneath my jelly's grip and crumbled like sand.
'......'
Feeling awkward, I quietly opened the door to my subspace.
WHOOOSH.
Destroying the evidence, I cleanly sucked up the dust as though nothing had happened.
The next place I visited was the [Dining Hall], where traces of a hearth and cooking implements remained.
A mountain of soot-black dust had piled up inside the hearth that filled the wall.
I moved closer and examined it.
One round crystal radiating an unusually red light stood out amid the ashes.
It was a mass of fire mana condensed after absorbing the hearth's heat over long years.
'That looks appetizing.'
Without hesitation, I stretched out my jelly and gulped down the red crystal.
Gulp.
At that instant, a crimson pillar of flame surged violently within my core.
'Spicy! It's incredibly spicy! An extreme mala flavor that feels like it will make me breathe fire!'
Boing, boing, boing!
With my mouth open, I bounced madly between the cavern's ceiling and floor.
My blue jelly body burned crimson for an instant.
Scorching heat, an exhilarating sting, and condensed fire mana swept violently through my entire body.
[Your Fire Resistance has increased slightly.]
The system chimed cheerfully.
After barely catching my breath between pants, I swallowed every remaining piece of debris in the Dining Hall.
The next general area was the [Barracks], where old weapons and dozens of stone beds stood in orderly rows.
Rusted spears and broken shields lay hideously strewn about with the cobwebs.
In one corner, I spotted an iron helmet that had remained in fairly good condition.
'Hmm, this looks like exactly the right size?'
I curled my body into a ball and slipped inside the helmet.
CLANK.
The size was perfect. The problem was that it completely blocked my vision.
'Kahaha! I am the dark knight who walks the abyss!'
Within the unseen darkness, I boldly propelled my jelly forward.
BANG—!
I slammed my head straight into a thick stone pillar and toppled backward.
My vision spun. My core whirled. A clear, pure ringing battered my mind.
'Ow, my head......'
But then, an ominous cracking sound reached me.
CRACK, RUMBLE.
Spiderweb cracks spread across the stone pillar I had struck, and it soon began to collapse.
The falling pillar crashed into a stone bed beside it. The bed shattered and struck another pillar.
Like an enormous row of dominoes toppling, dozens of stone beds and pillars began collapsing in a chain.
KABOOM—!
Several tons of stone fragments poured down from every direction.
At this rate, instead of being a cleaner, I would become Slime jerky flattened beneath a pile of rocks.
I hurriedly spat out the helmet and soared into the air.
I spun my core to its limit.
WHOOOOOSH—!
I opened the door to my subspace as wide as possible and exerted vacuum-like suction on the falling fragments.
I swallowed every rock flying and spinning through the air.
I managed to store all the debris by a hair's breadth.
It had been a hair-raising moment that left me in a cold sweat.
'Phew, that was close.'
After I left the Barracks, the [Training Hall] appeared beneath the settling cloud of dust.
Did monsters train, too......?
With that question in mind, I moved forward. In the center stood a golem threaded with mana, its operations halted.
A training machine abandoned without an owner for centuries.
As I approached, crimson fire lit its empty eyes.
WHIRR—! THOOM—!
With a mechanical screech intended to eliminate an intruder, it raised a massive fist and charged toward me.
The sound of torn air.
'Oh-ho, aren't you quite a fine training partner?'
I did not dodge. Instead, I kicked hard off the ground and charged head-on toward its fist.
I condensed the mana in my core and shaped the tip of my jelly into an enormous hammer.
An application of the Smash Skill.
THUD—!
The golem's fist and my blue jelly hammer collided head-on.
An enormous shock wave pushed the dust outward in a circle.
My jelly's supple elasticity perfectly redirected the physical impact, while the condensed mana crushed the golem's armor inward.
I used the force throwing me back to soar into the air.
SWISH—!
This time, I transformed my jelly into a sharp spearhead.
With the acceleration of my fall, I aimed precisely at the red core in its chest, its power source, and struck downward.
CRUNCH—! CRRRACK—!
The solid steel armor tore like paper. The golem's red eyes flickered, then went completely dark with a hiss.
[You have destroyed the Training Steel Golem.]
[Combat data has been faintly engraved into your core.]
I wrapped my jelly around the red core it left behind.
I swallowed every last piece of loot.
Gulp.
Heavy mana boiled through my circuit along with a sweet strawberry flavor. An electrifying exhilaration swept through my body.
I passed through the Training Hall and headed a little deeper.
This time, I reached the [Underground Garden], where the stench of rotting soil assaulted my nose.
It was a greenhouse where rare magical plants must once have bloomed. Now only pale, crumbling vines that had lost their light remained grotesquely tangled.
But in the middle of that parched land of death.
A single plump mushroom glowing with blue fluorescence was blooming.
Its mysterious appearance radiated the unmistakable energy of an elixir.
Without hesitation, I opened my mouth wide and bit into the mushroom.
Squish.
Cold juice burst in my mouth, followed by a strange, explosive flavor that struck my core.
Is this...... mint chocolate?
'Blech! Why is such a horrible hybrid growing in a Dragon's nest?!'
A horrible chill tasting like toothpaste churned violently through my core. Tingling frost formed across the surface of my blue jelly as it began to freeze.
'At this rate, I'll turn into an ice-cream Slime!'
I hurriedly raised the Fire Resistance I had obtained in the Dining Hall to its limit.
Scorching heat pouring from my core collided head-on with the cold, stirring up a violent vortex inside my body.
HISSS—!
White steam burst fiercely from my jelly.
[You have endured an extreme temperature.]
[Your Cold Resistance has increased.]
The system windows appeared noisily, but I did not feel particularly pleased.
In the end, I had to pull 2 tart, lemon-flavored Mana Stones from my subspace and hurriedly cleanse my palate.
'I'm never eating a blue mushroom again.'
My transparent body shuddered as I hurried out of the garden.
The cleaning continued.
Heave-ho, heave-ho.
I rolled ceaselessly around the nest and cleared away the rough piles of stone.
Happy hours of labor.
Smash, then swallow. Destruction and storage interlocked in perfect time, creating an exhilarating rhythm.
The process of sorting Mana Stones and ordinary rocks within my subspace was an engaging puzzle game in itself.
The yellow, lemon-flavored Mana Stones went in the left section. The red, cherry-flavored Mana Stones were neatly stacked in the right.
I roughly shoved the useless gray fragments to the edge of my subspace.
It felt like playing Tetris.
Every time the blocks fit perfectly, a strange pleasure flowed through my core.
Whenever I found an especially large, shining Mana Stone.
I leisurely rolled it around in my mouth and enjoyed it like a sweet snack.
As the large and small obstacles blocking the way disappeared layer by layer.
The nest's original, elegant contours finally began to emerge slowly beyond the cloud of dust.
And if I included the spaces I had not yet uncovered.
This place had the structure of a dungeon that countless people might once have inhabited.
In addition, the special areas I had designated in my mind were.
Airi's chamber.
And the forbidden space with geometric patterns that I had just encountered.
'Perhaps...... wasn't this place once something like a fairly impressive city?'
Based on what I had discovered so far, that reasonable question passed through my mind.
I felt like an archaeologist uncovering the secrets of a forgotten ancient empire.
A deep, poignant pride welled up in my chest.
And there was one more important discovery that would put the finishing touch on the nest's restoration.
I drew my core's mana to its limit.
With jelly hardened like a hammer, I slammed fiercely into the final obstacle.
THUD—! KABOOM—!
A huge mass of obsidian shattered, scattering sharp fragments.
I immediately landed on the floor and threw open the door to my subspace.
WHOOOOOSH—!
With unstoppable suction, I swallowed every falling fragment in one gulp.
It was a flawless combination that cleared the surroundings like a vacuum cleaner.
The successful demolition washed away a long-standing blockage with refreshing relief.
"Yes! I finally broke all the way through!"
My round, star-shaped eyes rippled with joy.
I bounced my jelly wildly in place and cheered fiercely.
The sense of openness was overwhelming. I had finally reached my destination. A vast entrance revealed its majestic outline beyond the cloud of dust.
Beyond the shattered wall.
A colossal steel door dozens of meters tall stood firm.
Yes, this was the place.
This was the entrance to the nest.
RUMBLE.
My chest swelled.
Starting from Airi's chamber, I had finally reached the nest's main gate!
I swelled my jelly as much as I could.
I hurled my entire body against the nest's entrance, sealed for centuries, and pushed it open.
CREEEEAK―! BANG—!
A heavy metallic sound.
The gap between the doors widened, and a dazzling flood of light poured inside.
A cool breeze from the outside world gently swept over my transparent jelly.
Ahh, what a refreshing breeze―――.