Chapter 3: Stop Bullying my slime!
My sense of self narrowed, twisting to focus on one thing and one thing only, the slime devouring me.
I could feel the gelatin creature shake, spasming as it reacted violently to my mind infiltrating its red core, the item that was the monster's life force and being.
Dissolve dissolve dissolve. Intruder intruder intruder! Its thoughts struck my mind, surprising me that it was intelligent enough to possess the capability to think let alone attempt to rebuff my advances.
You! Are! Mine! I sent back, demanding it submit to my will.
In response, the gelatinous walls encasing my body shook, vibrating wildly until finally it stopped, bringing with it a system message.
[You have laid claim to your first minion! This is a momentous occasion!]
[What is this creature's name?]
Slimy. Of course.
Name: Slimy
LvL: 1
Species: Mutated Cleaning Slime
HP: 10/10
MP: 3/3
Skills: Dissolve LvL1. Slime Shot LvL 1
At my designation slimy shook, a sense of familiarity being established between it and I.
[Quest COMPLETE!]
+100 EXP!
[New Quest available at 10 minions!]
Welp, time to get to work.
It wasn't long before I was mobile. With Slimy slaved to my will, he immediately became my trusted steed. My island. My brace against the sludge. Unbeknownst to me Slimy was quite mobile, the creature intaking water and shooting it out to propel itself around. Something I didn't know slimes were capable of doing.
At first it was disorientating, the noises, the monsters, the smell. The life force of every creature pricking against my own within my sphere of influence.
Sitting on top of the green slime, I slowly roamed, moving to and fro in my acid drenched domain as I commanded my minion to shepherd my body.
Why was I touring my domain when I could just so easily “see” everything within it?
Easy. Because it was mine and liberating that I could finally move.
Well… direct where I went.
For once.
Ah… this feels so good. Although it would feel better if I had legs… or could move… ah what I wouldn't do to be able to stretch!
Moving, the monsters that dotted my domain began to turn away and flee, all except the slimes oddly enough that weren't running but-
Oh. Oh no.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
I could feel them moving, roughly a dozen minds, each brushing against my own as they drew near, no doubt attracted to the same thing Slimy had been to.
Aka, me.
Trudging at me from all directions, the slimes moved in concert, each creature yelling Dissolve dissolve dissolve! Over and over as their minds brushed against my ever expanding conscience.
Heh, easy minions eager to serve a new master!
Foolish slimes. I AM NONE OTHER THAN HIRO! The legendary champion sent to purge the world of filth and grime! GROVEL BEFORE YOUR EMPEROR! FOR-
Suddenly my smooth ride through the sewers quickly became unsmooth as I found myself boxed in and surrounded, dozens of slimes closing around Slimy and bashing him around between themselves with me bobbling helplessly back and forth, disrupting my attempt at dominance.
[WARNING! YOUR MINION IS UNDER ATTACK!]
WHoa hey! STOP THAT! STOP THAT! I DIDN’T MEAN WHAT I SAID EARLIER! STOP! I yelled, but of course slimes being what they were, my pleas fell on deaf ears.
[WARNING! MINION SLIMEY IS AT LESS THAN 80% HEALTH]
A system message appeared, notifying me that Slimey was getting hurt, my bastion against the waves and only means of transport, wiggling valiantly against the other slimes firing slime balls and smashing into him with their bodies.
SLIMEY! HANG ON!
Wiggle wiggle, the slime seemed to reply, losing bits of itself to block attacks aimed at its master.
[WARNING! MINION SLIMEY IS AT LESS THAN 50% HEALTH]
Ahhhhhhhrrrrrrrgh! I JUST GOT OUT OF THE SLUDGE!
THINK HIRO! THINK! I’ve got to find a way out of this!
Closing my metaphorical eyes I opened my skill list and system, reviewing what I had.
[Dungeon System Interface!]
[Name: Hiro Dungeon]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 7000/7000]
[MP: 1000/1000]
[EXP 200/500]
Tamed Monsters: 1/10
[SKILL LIST]
Bubble Blow: LvL1
* Using mana, you create a bubble of charged mana. When it pops, it releases a light burst of mana. 5MP
Squirt Water: LvL1
* Squirt Water. Using Mana you create and squirt water out of your beak. 5MP
Summon Rock: LvL1
* Summon a small Rock. That's it. It summons a rock. 10 MP
Impart Instruction: LvL1
* Teach skills and share experience to minions or selected creatures.
Squeakerlocation: LvL2
* Using squeaks, you ping your nearby surrounds to paint an image in your mind. 1 MP
Bubbles? Useless. Squirting water? Useless. Summoning a ROCK?! I never even used that when I had my human body!
Suddenly an idea hit me as I glanced over Impart Instruction, the solution to my current dilemma.
[WARNING! MINION SLIMEY IS AT LESS THAN 20% HEALTH]
AHHHHHH how do I use a skill?! I screamed in frustration, fumbling around in my mind, searching for switches that were hidden.
[WARNING! MINION SLIMEY IS AT LESS THAN 10% HEALTH]
IMPART! IMPART! IMPART INSTRUCTION!
An interface lit up, an invisible connection seeming to strengthen between me and Slimey before an option to allocate exp or skills showed up.
[200 EXP available to spend!]
I dumped it all, feeding it all to Slimey who suddenly exploded with energy.
To an average human, a hundred experience was the equivalent to killing a big angry boar, but to a slime? One that sat at the bottom of the food chain sucking up filth? It was like a dragon imparting wisdom to an infant child.
Ok, I may be over-exaggerating, but still.
Slimy’s core grew bright, the slime’s level immediately jumping to level three and regenerating, his health capping off at a nice 25 while gaining a new skill.
Name: Slimy
LvL: 3
Species: Mutated Cleaning Slime
HP: 25/25
MP: 9/9
Skills: Dissolve LvL1. Slime Shot LvL 1. Solidification LvL 1.
Solidification! A slime’s natural defensive ability against prey and predators, a skill that allowed slimes to harden to protect themselves!
Immediately I began to beseech my trusty steed, command him to solidify so that we would be whisked away from these cretins who DARE TO IMPEDE MY RIGHTEOUS MISSION TO IGNITE THE UNCLEAN!
Heeding my orders like a good minion, Slimey took me into itself, its oozy disgusting body forming a cocoon around me and activating its solidification skill annnnnnnnnnd we’re plummeting deeper into the sewers. We’re just falling. Oh there's fish. Neat. HOW ARE THERE FISH HERE?!
NEVERMIND THAT! WHY ARE WE FALLING?! I THOUGHT YOU SLIMES WERE BUOYANT! I screamed as I left the range of my domain and descended into the uncharted depths of the sewers.