Nope. A hell of a near miss, though. Or misses.

A mortar beside where I was hiding was sent flying by the bolt. Strangely, it didn't shatter, and it softly hit the bookshelf and the floor unscathed. I feel the ripple of the ward activating.

Don't tell me the entire four walls are warded...

"Haaa... Still nothing." I breathed a sign of relief ( as much as I slime can anyway ) and nearly choked on it as the witch picked up the other mortar and pestle beside me, giving me a clear and intimate view of her soft hand.

I dislodged myself from the mortar as the witch shuffles around probably looking for ingredients. It's only a matter of time before the witch puts away all the scattered objects on the floor. As such, I scooted towards a more open but still secluded area in the corner in preparation for my objective.

Under the bed! Haha!

While the witch is busy putting the alchemical station back together, I would make a mad dash towards the bed and clinging behind one of the posts. It would be a long shot, being on the opposite corner, but it would be the last thing the witch will look at and by then I'm already gone. A brilliant plan.

My train of thought was interrupted by the witch's feet stomping uncomfortably close to my hiding spot. She seems to be spraying some kind of dry concoction in and around her house. The stuff tingles slightly, but apart from that I feel nothing strange.

Goddammit, stop tempting me woman!

I hear the witch mumble above me. "Mhmm... No sign of movement or teleportation magic... No strange monster signature either. Just slimes..."

She paced around a bit at the center, mumbling to herself. "What did I do wrong..? I followed the instructions to the letter. I have the exact ingredients needed. The runic circles are identical to the instructions' one. I am properly leveled to perform this summoning. I have everything prepared! So why-"

The witch seems to be ready to burst into tears. "Why... do I keep failing..." She didn't though.

Finally, the witch walked away dejectedly towards the bed. I was about to come out when she looked again at the alchemical station and the mess surrounding it. Her eyes are empty.

"...I'll clean it up tomorrow." She plopped down face first on the bed, her face barely hitting the pillows and burying itself within.

I waited a couple more minutes to make sure that she's already asleep. She's had a rough day, no small thanks to my actions.

Fucking hell I just want to spend my first day not being someone's pet, you don't have to guilt trip me over it. I cursed to no one in particular. Now I'm trapped here until that ward goes down.

I mulled over my next course of action. First things first, where do I get mana? Slimes are known to 'eat' mana as far as I know, assuming they can give experience they would be my go-to for now. A couple of options come to mind.

One would be to look around the house for any object infused with or exposed to mana. Chemical reagents from the alchemical station, some 'runic chalk' that can be scraped off of the summoning table, the ink from the study table, anything that isn't protected by a ward. It can only be done while she's either away or sleeping, and should be done sparingly enough so she wouldn't be suspicious. It will definitely take a long time, but it will be the safest.

The other would be to... go straight to the source. The witch definitely has a lot of mana, going off of God's Eye's intel, so she wouldn't be suspicious if I leech off some while she's sleeping. The biggest problem would be touching her. I don't know how sensitive she is, and if she spots me draining her mana I am done for. I wouldn't even be a pet anymore, just a speck of ash on the bedsheet. Still, this would be the fastest way to gain mana, and probably weaken the ward enough so I can crawl out of here undetected.