While I was training today, I finally got my first adaptive stat. Shortly after, a rainbow appeared that led to a newly created area in the mountains. My brother brought me, and I arrive to see beautiful waterfalls, shimmering pools, and hordes of adventurers slaughtering tiny rainbow slimes.

I recognize that my first death in Dungeon Quest was from a slime. To be more accurate, running away from a slime... where I tripped, fell, and died from internal bleeding.

But these slimes are different.

The slimes just outside Fountain City are sizable, gooey, slimy things. More like misshapen blobs of goo than anything really concrete. They don't look like the popular tear drop monsters, they don't have faces... and honestly they don't do much. Except for the random adventurer who uses them for target practice, they just sit / jump / slither in the field. They are resistant to most forms of damage, give very low experience, and never drop anything... and anything that touches them gets coated in slime. So no one takes the time to kill them.

The slimes here - I only know they are slimes because for some reason there is a name indicator above each slime in my field of vision (part of the event? Either way it's cool) - are tiny, almost perfect hemispheres around 25cm in diameter. Instead of jiggling and warping as they move, these slimes seem to have very low jumps, and spend most of their time not moving at all. However, they do sing. At least it sounds like music, and I'm assuming that it's coming from the slimes. A constant metallic thrumming made of dozens of different notes... all in harmony with each other.

I get closer to listen - to see if each slime is making one note or if it comes from the group as a whole - and then the slime I'm observing turns to golden dust.

A tiny girl behind me cast ice bolt, and the tiny prismatic slime shattered. Instant KO. It only had one hit point.

"Sweet!!! I got the drop!!!"

Her voice is really, really annoying.

I turn around and look at her. This girl looks like she is only 5 years old. Her face is contorted with emotions - right now it's a look of sheer glee as she looks at a status screen pulled up in front of her.

I watch in shock as she casts ice bolt again toward another prismatic slime, but the bolt simply disappears on impact. Her face scrunches up in anger and she screams.

She casts ice bolt again. Same response. She casts fire bolt, something electric, a spray of ice, then even releases a huge cloud of green (I'm assuming poisonous) gas. But the rest of the slimes take no damage at all. At this point she is screaming, pounding her foot, and seems on the verge of exploding herself.

Get ahold of yourself, girl. Where are your parents? Are you actually 5 years old? And what are the legal implications of that? Am I allowed to reprimand a 5-year-old that's throwing a tantrum without her parents in a video game? Or could someone use silence on you or something?

She continues screaming, spells now flinging from her in multiple different directions.

Just. Shut. Up.

I'm usually great with kids. For some reason tho, watching this kid kill an innocent prismatic slime, then throw a tantrum that she can't kill more, lights something on fire inside me. Why does she feel entitled to give out death? Where did she learn this? Who is this kid? And how can I stop this from happening?

Koji: "Give it up! Once you kill one, the rest are immune to any damage from you!"

He turns to me: "She'll figure it out eventually. These guys are also immune to indirect damage - so it doesn't matter how high you throw them, or if you drop rocks on them etc. The drop is guaranteed... but once you have the drop, you can't kill another one."

He has a slime in his hands.

K: "Just hit it."

I look at his face searchingly. He looks away. I reach out to take the slime - its surface is cool, wet, and slightly slick... but still has enough traction that I can keep it in my arms. It's close enough that I can tell that it *is* singing - one high-pitched thrum that combines with all the rest.

I look at the quivering little slime in my arms and realize something.

For the first time in this game, I don't feel threatened by a creature in my close vicinity. I've been terrified the last few weeks. Every time I play Dungeon Quest I'm terrified... and sure that I'm going to die. Terrified of tiny stinging bugs, big ugly slimes, angry birds, people on the street; I'm terrified even of running or doing push-ups.

All this time I've been afraid of dying, and, here I am, faced with a creature even more fragile than I am.

I wonder if he's afraid.

G: "I've decided Koji. I'm gonna keep this guy. I don't want to kill it."

K: "Gabe. Prismatic tear is a *guaranteed* *legendary* drop item. Just squish this one, and you can keep the next one."

G: "There's no way. This guy is helpless... and I don't care about a drop item."

K: "How are you going to take care of it? What will happen when you log out?"

G: "I don't know... but I'll figure it out, ok?"

I look down at the little rainbow slime in my arms. It's gonna be ok little guy. We can do this together.

And then he shatters in my arms.

---

I look in the direction of the magic bolt that came out of nowhere.

"No fair saving one for a friend! There aren't enough to go around, so first come first served! Serves you right!!!!"

A guy with black spiked hair is yelling at me. He's part of a group of macho adventurers. I'm still in shock at my loss. I look around and realize that the dozens of slimes I had seen maybe two minutes before were all gone. More and more adventurers were arriving on the scene, and now they're fighting over the remaining slimes. They climb the cliffs, dive into the shimmering pool, rip up the bushes, looking for a slime to kill, then giving it to a party member to destroy.

I look around in horror. I want to leave this place. I feel a sick feeling in my gut.

But then I see a shimmer. It's behind the waterfall on the right side of the pool - the one closest to me. It looks like there must be a depression or small spot behind the water, and somehow, maybe, there might be a slime inside. Someone I can still save.

I break into a run.

Behind me, people start yelling. I get hit by a spell that takes off half my hit points and I stumble, my back on fire.

I reach the edge of the pool and jump, landing in the cold water, swim over to the waterfall and climb the slick rock to the inside. There, quivering on the stone, is a prismatic slime. I curl around it, covering it with my body... and close my eyes.

There's no way I can protect a creature here. I can't even protect myself. I have no weapons, and I don't want to fight. I have nothing to offer except myself, and my hope for a better world. They'll kill me, and then they'll kill the slime and it'll all be over. If only there were some way to change fate.

Something. Anything. This is what I want.

---

Koji:

After the baby slime in his arms dies, Gabe's face looks like he is in shock. He looks around in despair. I feel like it was the wrong choice to bring him here. He starts running toward the pool. He must have seen another slime. Two girls see him running and begin shouting. One of them shoots a magic bolt at him.

No way.

No one messes with my brother.

I shoot magic sparks at the unfortunate girl who targeted my brother and take my stand against her entire party. Gabe has disappeared behind the waterfall. I may not have a chance here but I'm going to support him.

Suddenly the ground beneath my feet begins heaving. A massive earthquake hits, and all of us are pushed to the ground. Boulders and trees fall from the upper falls and crush the alcove holding my brother. Yet again he's dead. And this time it's my fault...

But I don't even have time to be angry or sad or sorry. A roar comes from the central pool and there, completely filling the central pool and shimmering in a million colors, is a massive slime.

Just like the tiny slimes, this one is a hemisphere - rounded and smooth. But unlike the tiny ones, this one is almost 7.5 meters tall and 15 meters wide. "Huge prismatic slime" shows on my status screen, in bold red letters.

The boss has appeared.

The huge group of adventurers begins attacking the slime, which stays stationary in the central pool. Ice bolts, electric shocks, fire, poison gas, arrows and swords and massive axes... yet every single attack only shaves away a single hit point. And most attacks don't even do that. I realize that my attacks do nothing, and I stop. But there are still adventurers arriving, and the mass grows as people freak out about the first ever boss showing up in the wild.

I watch as the life bar slowly drains for the huge prismatic slime, as anyone who hadn't already killed a baby slime slowly chips away at its life. When it hits 50%, a deep thrumming begins, and the slime, instead of simply shimmering, begins to shine.

The light gets brighter and brighter as its hitpoints decrease, until I can't look at it anymore. I doubt anyone can... but somehow people are still attacking.

Then, suddenly, there is a blinding explosion of light.

I look back and the huge slime is nowhere to be seen - only gold dust shimmering in the air. And over a hundred people shouting because they apparently got the drop item from the boss too.

---

Koji:

I wait until the pool is quiet, then leave with the last of the crowd. I was going to look for Gabe's clothing but I remembered that he got his adaptive stat. I had already been here before I brought Gabe. I had hoped he would just kill a slime, or maybe do it on accident. But I realize now it was probably a mistake. Now he's dead. I was going to move the fallen boulders and trees to look for Gabe's clothes, but then I remembered that he got his adaptive stat. Maybe I'll try to find something to apologize / cheer him up in the market... and just wait for him in Fountain Square.

---

Gabe:

My HP is slowly regaining. When the earthquake hit, I got hit with rocks and branches that took me down to 1 HP. But, miraculously, I'm alive. The shining light from before has also disappeared.

I'm cold and wet, but I don't have any status ailments on my status screen... so for now I should be ok just waiting for my HP to restore. Maybe Koji will try to find me? Or maybe he got caught up in whatever caused the earthquake and the light? I don't know.

Time passes. I don't think Koji is going to come looking for me. The sounds outside grow quieter and quieter, until the only thing I hear is water. That, and the quiet hum of the prismatic slime cradled in my arms.

---

Drop item:

Prismatic Tear (legendary) (300/300 charges)

Increases chance of rare drop items for the next 300 monsters killed. Unique. Soulbound - cannot be traded, dropped, or given away.