Is it wrong for slimes to be in dungeons? (revised)

Chapter 39: Soul Catchers

(Aiz POV)

It was thin. A spindly, thin, thing vaguely resembling a humanoid. Thin stalactite-like crystals falling down its "head" to form hair. Long arms that nearly reached the ground. It's torso was more so just a vaguely shaped spin and a hollowed out ribcage and it's legs were comparatively compact to the rest of its body, allowing for quick explosive movements when it's legs sprang out.

A blue sheen to its sharply pointed limbs and thin body, a clear sort of crystalline sky blue. Yet despite the crystalline form it held a smoothness and fluidity that suggested a liquid form. The way its limbs shifted from sharp pointed metal to things that vaguely resemble an arm with hands, was unnatural.

I stared at it from behind as it relentlessly hunted the person before it, Rimuru. Swinging wildly with sharp scythe-like arms that quickly shifted to a sturdy shield when Rimuru attempted to counter and then shifted back into arms for even closer range combat Rimuru seemingly had his hands full just keeping it down.

I silently crouched as memories leading up to this filled my head.

"Do you want to see the lower floors?" Rimuru had asked.

It was the day that the War game reached its conclusion, just a few hours afterwards, actually. Tiona and I had just finished sparring against Rimuru, he had won with ease.

It was too easy...

The way he had defeated us both with little to no effort on his part made it feel as though everything I had gone through all these years was for nothing. No matter how hard I trained or how hard I fought, it didn't matter...

I couldn't help but wonder..

Am I...still weak?

I had been fighting for so long. I knew Rimuru was powerful, yet being forced first hand to have to fight against him was like a slap in the face.

As I sat on the ground and pondered, Rimuru had walked over. "Well someone looks excited." he said in a light tone.

"–?!" I blinked.

Excited? I wondered.

"I've never seen you smile like that before,"

What does he mean? I looked down at my reflection in my sword and saw a faint smile reflected back at me.

I paused and stared at myself for a moment.

Ah, I see, as a feeling of comprehension washed over me.

Excited...? I suppose I am. As I collected myself and my smile fell away I stared at Rimuru intently.

It had been a very long time since I felt this way. It felt like a deep fire that had been smoldering for a long time in my heart had been reinvigorated.

I had always been moving forward; ever since that day I had been pushing forward. And at first it was easy, the road was clear, but as time went on the road forward grew blurrier and blurrier. As my skill reached a certain level I had begun to plateau, and the group of people who were more powerful slowly but surely grew thinner and thinner.

People who held power on a level that I could strive for were slowly ceasing to exist...

I slowly got up clutching my sword and raised it toward Rimuru once again.

He made a startled expression for a moment before smiling. "Alright, round two then."

It was after losing so many times that I had almost lost count that he had asked me those words.