What began as a vengeful scuffle escalated into a full-on war.
Ashra was naturally faster than Myles. He knew that much, but his Deft Hands made up for it when she began putting out dough faster than any [Baker] he’d ever met. It was messy and didn’t always register to his skill when he tried to store it on the fly, but it did the job his monster wanted well.
From then on, the Great Dough War would not be mentioned.
Emerging from the mess of a house, Myles and Ashra looked like the ghosts of breads and [Baker]s past. The [Succulent Magician] already absorbed what he could, but what was left was still enough to cover them two or three times over.
So much wasted money, Myles lamented, but it had taught him more about his skills. Only true dough could be absorbed by his skill as a resource. That was at least good to know.
“I am…”
“It’s fine, Ashra,” Myles said brushing some flour and watery goop from his shirt. “I started it. I’m man enough to deal with the consequences.”
The monsterkin’s nose twitched, and she sneezed, sending out a cloud of flour and bits of drying mush. Ashra looked herself over and grimaced as she tried to wipe some from her arms, but it only served to make things worse. When it didn’t take and Myles offered a hand, she shook her head.
“I need to clean myself.”
“Go ahead. I have a few projects to check on once I clean myself,” Myles said and waved her back off to the barn.
She didn’t need to be given the offer twice.
After sending Ashra to clean up, Myles took off his shirt and shook out what he could of the unfinished dough. Clouds of white flour drifted from him and dissipated soon after into the air. He didn’t have as much of the goop on him that Ashra did, but a few more shakes shook loose the dried remains like a rain of shrapnel from a mountainside, leaving his clothes with an off-white coloring to their normal earth tones. He examined it once more before shrugging and slipping it back on.
At least it wasn’t blood this time.
Going back into the house, Myles salvaged the rest of what he could with his storage space and flopped down on the couch to think. He still had about two hours until his plan would show any kind of proof, Ashra was busy, and he wasn’t going to meet anyone until tomorrow, so what could he do?
He could check on the dungeon core, but upon checking his empathic link, he didn’t feel anything new.
So, Myles did the only reliable thing for someone exhausted.
He took a nap.
***
Two hours later, Myles awoke to the sounds of sloshing water coming from his bathroom. Half-awake and with a fear of an overflowing sink or bathtub, he rushed in and found no water, just four, larger-than-expected clear slimes.
His plan had worked!
Clear Slime (Variant)
Dungeon Creature - Slime (Medium)
Rank E Threat level
Best trait - Adaptability
Preferred Method of Attack - Absorption, Swarm
Known Drops: Clear Slime Core
Diet: Everything
Breeding Groups: Amorphous
Special Ability: Purification
Tame a Clear Slime to unlock more information.
Each time he checked a different slime with his ability, the same message flashed.
A variant, huh?
Myles didn’t mind as long as the trait was the same. Instead of the tiny things he’d first met, these wouldn't fit in a measuring cup with room to spare. No, these medium slimes were about the size of a gallon jug, maybe larger, and had large, black eyes wiggling with confusion as they looked at Myles.
A smile found its way onto his face as he looked at the four creatures wiggling and jiggling around his shower. This was only phase one of his plan. There was still more to be done.
He had to tame them.
With Ashra, he hadn’t intended to tame a monster. It had been more of a happy accident. Knowing that it was almost as easy as intent, Myles focused on the closest slime and exerted his will. As soon as he started, the slime froze in place and then moved its attention squarely to Myles. The [Monster Tamer] felt his soul tugged towards the other as his intent took the form of his authority and attempted to overtake the monster.
For its part, the clear slime’s mind seemed to feel around the attempt, wrapping its own thoughts through the link in an attempt to do… something.
Essence Bond has been activated!
Challenge in progress:
Myles Chase (Influence 17) Versus Clear Slime (Influence 2)
Myles Chase (Will 15) Versus Clear Slime (Will 1)
Due to a factor greater than three times your target, your Influence is sufficient to subjugate Clear Slime.
Due to a factor greater than three times your target, your Will is sufficient to subjugate Clear Slime.
Link Cost will be a recurrence of 1 Soul Energy.
This will bring your current reserved SE to 3.
Do you wish to subjugate Clear Slime?
Tamer: Yes/No
With a mental nudge, he felt his authority over the Clear Slime take hold. The creature shuddered, and its eyes went glassy for a moment before returning to their previously emotional dark pools.
Then, Myles felt curious.
Rather, he felt the clear slime’s curiosity over the link. It was nowhere near as strong as Ashra’s emotions had been when they first linked, but then again, the creature wasn’t much more intelligent than a rock might be and had nerves to match.
Soon, the feeling passed, and the slime went to join its siblings in wobbling around their own slime. A new message appeared soon after.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Essence Bond completed!
Clear Slime is now loyal to you and your kin via a Simple Essence Bond.
1 Soul Energy has been assigned to maintain this link.
Register a name for your Clear Slime?
Tamer: Yes/No
Myles didn’t remember those options the first time but being accosted by a [Rogue] and a warrior with a giant mace had that effect on him. Maybe it was how Essence Bond worked. It was an evolved skill after all.
With another prompt, a new skill window appeared.
Current Name: Clear Slime
New Name?
With a grin, Myles began the process of setting his grand Plan into motion
Name Overwritten.
New Name: Doughnut
View the status of Doughnut?
Tamer: Yes/No
Myles denied this prompt for the moment.
He had three more slimes to tame before they turned on each other.
***
Name: Doughnut
Age: Stage 1
Sex: None
Race: Slime
(Clear)
Patron: none
Primary Class:
Slime
Novice
Brawn: 1
Dexterity: 3
Will: 1
Influence: 2
Soul Energy:
10/10
Mana: 0/0
Elemental Alignment:
None
Skills:
Lesser Purification
Traits:
Adaptability
Slime Regeneration
Core Soul
Soul Link:
(Myles Chase)
Name: Topoff
Age: Stage 1
Sex: None
Race: Slime
(Clear)
Patron: none
Primary Class:
Slime
Novice
Brawn: 1
Dexterity: 3
Will: 2
Influence: 1
Soul Energy:
10/10
Mana: 0/0
Elemental Alignment:
None
Skills:
Lesser Purification
Traits:
Adaptability
Slime Regeneration
Core Soul
Soul Link:
(Myles Chase)
Name: Medic
Age: Stage 1
Sex: None
Race: Slime
(Clear)
Patron: none
Primary Class:
Slime
Novice
Brawn: 1
Dexterity: 2
Will: 1
Influence: 3
Soul Energy:
10/10
Mana: 0/0
Elemental Alignment: None
Skills:
Lesser Purification
Traits:
Adaptability
Slime Regeneration
Core Soul
Soul Link:
(Myles Chase)
Name: Squishy
Age: Stage 1
Sex: None
Race: Slime
(Clear)
Patron: none
Primary Class:
Slime
Novice
Brawn: 1
Dexterity: 2
Will: 1
Influence: 5
Soul Energy:
10/10
Mana: 0/0
Elemental Alignment:
None
Skills:
Lesser Purification
Traits:
Adaptability
Slime Regeneration
Core Soul
Soul Link:
(Myles Chase)
As the last of the slimes fell under his authority, Myles wavered. He’d never used an active skill so often in succession like that. Just like when he’d used the skill gem, he felt empty inside, but the child-like nature of his new slimes lessened the burden somewhat. Slimes weren’t smart, at least, his weren’t. Topoff had the highest Will of the group, but at a simple two, it was barely classified as a thinking creature. Some plants had two, after all. Now that he had tamed the clear slimes, he wanted to go back and look at that entry in his Monster Lore skill.
Clear Slime
Dungeon Creature - Slime
Rank E Threat level
Best trait - Adaptability
Preferred Method of Attack - Absorption, Swarm
Known Drops: Clear Slime Core
Diet: Everything
Breeding Groups: Amorphous
Special Ability: Purification
Protoslimes, also commonly known as clear slimes, are the basis of all slime species. As they feed, they advance to the second stage of life in which they take on elemental affinities and additional traits based on their diet and environment. The more mana rich an environment and the more plentiful the food, the faster stage advancement will occur. Though they are made from mana, they rarely have access to it during the clear slime stage.
Stage advancement usually takes between two and four days from stage one to stage two.
Class Specific Information: [Monster Tamer]
Slime stat advancement only occurs during stage advancement and will be static until another stage advancement occurs. While temporary enhancements will occur, enhancement only lasts half as long. This is also true for any affliction due to the Slime Regeneration ability. As a slime is constantly generating new material, the new material is no longer under the influences of the status enhancement or affliction. This can be bypassed by directly targeting the slime core via touch. Effects via touch are doubled in length.
Slimes do not feel pain to their membrane or their slime layers. Smarter slimes can sense danger when their mass layer is damaged and act pained; however, it is usually a ploy to draw their prey in closer or to escape danger.
Class Specific Information: [Succulent Mage]
Clear slime cores can be used to add mana regeneration to doughs and other baked goods. Powered clear slime core can be used at a ratio of one small core, powered to about a fourth cup, to replace one-fourth cup flour to create mana-infused dough.
Slime Mass can be substituted for a weaker, cleansing effect. Slime mass can be dried out at a ratio of one pound to one ounce and requires the same replacement ratio as powdered core to create the infused dough.
Infused dough cannot be stored in your resource space and must be used within 24-48 hours depending on temperatures.
Myles had to admit, the expanded information was useful. No wonder it’d been locked until he tamed them. The fact that his class could unlock specific information about monsters only useful to him when they were tamed made things even more interesting. What would a warrior’s monster lore unlock? Critical weak points in their defenses? Attack patterns? weaknesses? He would have to talk to Will about how his worked. At least, Myles assumed from the other day in the dungeon that he had a similar skill to him. Maybe all the information was just a unique combination of his Lore Skill and being a [Monster Tamer]?
Still as he read through the information, it calmed him a bit to know that at least he wouldn’t feel their pain when he began harvesting them for step three once they’d taken on their attributes. If his plan worked, their value would be almost immeasurable.
Looking over their stats in more detail now, Myles noticed they didn’t have the same additions to their attributes that Ashra did. Maybe it had something to do with their stats being abysmally low, with the exception of Squishy. A five in Influence wasn’t bad.
With their names, and their missions in life set, Myles began the next phase of his plan and had the slimes line up in front of the shower. It took a few tries to figure out how to connect to them like that, but once he did, he realized how simple young monsters like them were.
They followed his directions to the letter of his intent.
“Now, you are going to be fed three times a day,” Myles began, receiving wiggles of joy at the mention, and a feeling of intent, involving food. “You won’t eat each other’s food, and you won’t fight unless someone fights you first.”
There was less wiggling at this, but Myles felt their instinctual understanding take hold as they took to heart the intent of his directions. With that, the easy part was done.
Now, it was time for his poor wallet to take another hit.
***
An hour later, Myles returned with lighter pockets and a heavier inventory. Spending roughly sixty gold and nearly breaking his heart, Myles had come away from the market district of Runner’s Plaza with twelve lesser healing potions, twelve lesser mana potions, and twelve bars of iron. Thankfully, he had enough dough for Doughnut, but the rest nearly cleared out what he’d earned the past few days. More money than he’d ever carried at one time. It could have even been more money than his parents may have had before starting the bakery, but honestly, Myles didn’t really care.
If this worked, money wasn’t going to be a problem much longer.
If this worked, he’d be bottling his money from now on.
As Myles returned to the ranch, he opened the door to find the slimes still standing in a neat row, bubbling noises passing from one to another. At least they listened well.
Checking the names to make sure no one moved, Myles began their first feeding. A healing potion for Medic, a mana potion for Topoff, a one pound ball of dough for Doughnut, and an iron ingot for Squishy. Doughnut finished quickly, dissolving the lump eagerly while its siblings were fed. The two potion-diet slimes greedily drank the open potions, spitting the glass back out onto the floor with a crack that spooked Myles, dropping the hand-sized ingot into Squishy.
Squishy splat everywhere, almost giving Myles a heart attack and ending his run there and then. He expected pain. He expected to feel the loss that was his Soul Shivered ability, but it never came. Instead, Myles noticed the slime core still wiggling safely in a small puddle of clear ooze. A quick mental nudge later told him that Squishy was just fine.
Myles sighed at the dodged fireball.
Note to self, slimes can’t eat glass.
He couldn’t afford for that to happen again. It was enough of a risk to try and raise weak monsters like this. Being in Runner’s Plaza mitigated the risk heavily, but it was still a risk…
And pointed out something very dangerous about safe zones.
Another loophole.
With his monsters fed, Myles gave the order to his slimes to relax, reminded them of his earlier orders, and went to fetch Ashra.