"Hey, wanna become my subordinate?" the slime asked the massive bear that was standing in front of the group threateningly.
It was only a Rank 5 beast, but the size alone made it look like it was stronger than that.
"Stop trying to tame every beast you see. How are you going to bring them away from here?" Ning asked.
"Can't you help me?" the slime asked.
"I can, but why would I?" Ning asked.
"Hey, you're the one that brought me here," the slime said.
"Yes, to bond with spirits, not tame every random beast you will come across," Ning said.
"Well, I—"
" *YAWN* Teacher, I want to sleep," the princess said. It had been half an hour since they entered the forest, so now that her excitement level had died down, her sleepiness had returned and she was feeling lethargic.
"Sigh, fine tame that beast," Ning said and the slime excitedly bonded with the beast.
Then, Ning used a large piece of cloth to tie the princess to the bear so she could sleep while the rest of the adults continued walking.
They came across beasts, but most of them just walked away when they saw the bear. If they didn't, the Slime or Saphandra simply fought them off without much trouble.
"Ugh, my feet hurt," Tessa cried. She hadn't prepared for the journey, so the clothes and shoes she was wearing weren't the best.
Ori was in a similar situation, but she was just bearing the discomfort.
Ning looked at the sky which was starting to get dark.
"Okay, let's stop for the time then. It's getting dark too and soon it will be night. I don't think you guys will like to walk around at night, right?" Ning said from the back.
The 6 of them stopped after hearing him and looked around for places they could sleep in for the night.
"That tree looks good. If you can get us some cloth again, we can tie it around, create a hammock or something to sleep for the night," Saphandra started saying.
"Maybe tying myself to that branch alone will be enough," Trevain said, but he wasn't so certain about that.
"I… I can sleep in that tree's hole. I think I can fit in there," Ori said, even though she was clearly worried about the insects and reptiles that might get to her up there.
"I don't know what I will do," Tessa said. "I've never slept out in the wild before."
"What are you guys doing?" the slime asked with a confused look on his human face.
"Looking for a place to spend the night at. You should help us look around too," they told him.
"Why are you looking for a place to stay when you have him?" the slime asked.
Everyone turned to look at Ning who had a playful smile on his face. "I was hoping to see you guys come up with some ideas on your own. You should have let them keep going for a while longer," Ning said.
"You have a plan?" Saphandra asked.
"Not so much as a plan as a place to stay itself," Ning said and something flashed from his body.
Suddenly, a large metallic vessel slowly landed on top of the tree, supported entirely by them.
The door at the bottom opened high in the air and Ning looked at them. "Let's go."
Saphandra flew on her own, going ahead in front of everyone. She entered the spaceship and started looking around.
The slime flew behind her and told her not to touch anything, as that was what Ning had told him and his beast the last time he was in here.
Ning took the princess off of the bear and started flying. As he did, he pulled on the other 3 as well.
He entered the spaceship and pulled the 3 in. Then, the hanger door slowly closed itself.
"Is this the spaceship?" Saphandra asked.
"What's a spaceship?" Trevain asked.
"So much metal," Tessa looked around.
"Touch nothing, okay?" the slime spoke up.
The group looked around curiously while Ning took the princess a sleeping quarter and lay her there.
Then, he returned back to the group and showed them around the spaceship.
The awe continued for a while as they looked around at everything that was so new to them.
The slime acted like he was better than everyone because he knew about the spaceship and did act a little smug from time to time.
Ning prepared places for them to sleep in, but the group preferred to stay awake as long as they could and talk with each other.
Given that they were all strangers to each other, they decided to learn about each other.
When Tessa learned that she was walking along with the son and daughter of a Duke of the Taminghall Empire, she didn't know how to respond.
Her face only twisted when Ning told her that the little girl sleeping in the other room was a princess.
Ori caught up with her brother and learned what he had been up to for the last 2 months since he had left. She had heard that he had joined the school and that he had even beaten their elder brother, but aside from that, she knew nothing else.
Ning talked with the slime and asked him how far along he was to ranking up again.
The slime told him that it was only a matter of a few years before he reached that rank.
They continued talking until dead in the night before Ning suggested they all go to sleep.
He led the girls to one of the compartments of the spaceship to sleep where the little princess was already sleeping and took the two boys to another compartment.
He lay on the bed with his eyes closed, listening to the outside jungle that was alive even at night.
Slowly, the sound of the jungle and the distant bubbling of lava lulled him into a deep sleep.
