After traveling north for a little while, Neso offered me to ride on his shoulder since he could easily scale the overgrown forest with ease. Meanwhile, I was left struggling and unable to make conversation with him as he would easily take a few steps and already be miles ahead of me. It didn't bother me, but since we were traveling together I could see that it was kinda awkward for him since he would often be left talking alone as he paced forward.
In my slime form, I was weightless, so I didn't feel too bad about traveling on his shoulder.
"So where are we going anyway?" I asked Neso, we were already so deep into the forest, that the trees were starting to sprawl upwards so much it felt like they were reaching the sky, and more and more the light coming in through the treetops was becoming less and less. This would usually happen when the forest would grow into the land, meaning we should be somewhere below sea level. Nevertheless, I didn't want to be stuck here when the sun came down, but I trusted Neso since riding on him as a slime, was so much easier and faster than me trying to keep pace with him.
"Well this is Corocona Pass, if I'm not mistaken," said Neso.
"And where does it lead?" I asked.
"Once we clear the mountain, you'll see," he said with a wry smile. "We'll reach the northern part of Sunnet," he explained. "Sunset is such a big forest, it's divided by several underground passes, even though they're not underground, people call them that because at night the trees block even the tiniest sliver of moonlight, and it can be pitch dark," he continued. I liked that he was being honest with me even though I wasn't asking. Neso was power-walking through veins and overgrown bushes, making his way where there seemed to be none.
"Corocona just happens to be one of the most widely used," he said as he took another step over a log. Then finally a dirt road appeared and traversal became insanely easy for him. A straight road from here on out.
"All right, are you afraid of speed little one?"
I wasn't sure if he meant the drug or the action of moving fast.
"I guess not?" I asked.
He put me on the ground gently for a second. He switched his tunic around, it made no sense now. That was until he placed himself on all fours. I was a little surprised he did that.
"Come on get on my back," he said I followed orders and mounted his back.
"You ready?" he asked and all I could was hold on to his clothes.
"Sure thing, I guess," I said doubtlessly. His eyes started glowing blue.
"Spatial Speed Travel Activate!" in an instant, Neso started moving so fast, that I was a little taken aback, but managed to hold onto some of his fur which made me stay put on his back. We were going so fast, it was impossible to see anything around but if not a blur.
"This is amazing!" I shouted. What kind of magic had he used, it wasn't like anything I'd seen before, not on Dragan at least. All my magic had to pass through the Sybil, but it seemed Neso had a different luxury, as we traveled through the dirt road, I could see how his spell was attracting mana from the forest itself. It wasn't like any man I had seen before, it was almost like ether or some form of magical. I wasn't sure.
I could feel how the dirt road came to an incline.
Then in an instant, we were on the other side of the forest.
I got off his back, and Neso stood up on two feet again, I liked him much better like this.
"We're here," he said and through a small opening made of vines, the south part of the forest opened up.
It wasn't like anything I could have ever imagined.
There were all-natural springs, water-filled them all, and you could instantly smell the salts in the air. A waterfall in the distance filled the main spring up top, while it then trickled down into sort of natural pools that led inside the mountain.
"Where is the water going to?" I asked not sure if it was sort of a silly question.
"It goes back into the mountain, where it lands in another spring, much hotter than the ones on the outside,"
"This is so cool!" I exclaimed. The water was crystal clear, and the birds, insects, and all animals alike gathered around this area. It was nature at its finest. Capybaras and otters were sailing some of the pools, and fish would swim downstream and then into the cavern, the main downstream, the one that led into the mountain the springs had been carved into, was quite deep.
I transformed into my human. Neso gave me a wholesome smile.
"This place is amazing!" I exclaimed in awe once more.
"You know what's even more amazing?" asked Neso with a mischievous look.
"What's that?"
"When you get in!" he exclaimed and ran towards the mainstream, the waterfall that led into the mountain was just a small hole so there was no way either two of us would fall into it. As he ran towards the hot spring, Neso started ditching pieces of clothing after clothing until his armor, pants, and underwear were left on the ground. I blushed a little.
But decided since we were already here, why the hell not? It did sort of remind me of the ceremony in Tarragon Village.
But our visit to the Sunset North Springs could not be wasted!
I decided to follow suit and jump into the spring with Neso. I took off my clothes even though they were just an accessory to my human body anyway and would always hold them within my slime body to use them when my human body came out to play.
But I was still able to just throw them out the window just like Neso.
I cannon balled into the spring! The water was just the right temperature. When I finally emerged, Neso was nowhere to be seen.
That is until I felt a presence behind me and then a mighty roar. It scared the crap out of me!
I turned around and saw Neso, his fur like a wet dog. We both laughed it out.
We swam towards the shallow end, where he was able to stand, the water just beneath his knees. He was able to shake out some of the water from his fur, splashing me in the process.
Which prompted a little water fight. He jumped into the deep end once more and took me down with him. It's not like I needed to breathe, but my human instinct still took first place.
Realizing this, I laughed underwater and bubbles did come out, Neso pushed me against his torso and swam upwards. His weight pushed us down quite a bit, even though he did have muscle, he was much more athletic compared to Dragan.
We played for a little while longer.
I was enjoying how Neso was able to switch from his serious side into a much more child-like glee.