Levi didn't want to slither through the blood covered dirt, so he swallowed his pride and hitched a ride on my shoulder. I didn't blame him. Even though most of the moisture had dried overnight, there were still places where the red stained mud was squishy. The whole place stank with carrion and decay.

I wanted to wince every step. I mean, I just put my fresh, new, clean armor on and immediately I walked into this filth. Ha, it was tough to be a clean-freak Hunter.

I'd almost forgotten how big the unknown monster was. I mean, yes, I remembered the comparison when it was ripping through a building to try to eat me. But I still felt so small standing next to its decapitated head. The rounded body was like a large hill in the middle of the flat field that just got bigger the closer I got.

"You ... killed this," I muttered to Levi, looking up at the top of the body, so high above my head. He used to be big enough to kill this. Frankly, the whole event still seemed like just a bad nightmare I somehow survived.

Levi hissed and lunged off my shoulder. He bit onto a flap of dislocated scale and thrashed his small body, trying to rip the carcass apart more. Blame and hatred filled his thoughts as he hurled his emotions at the unknown with each bite he took. Even though it was dead, he still refused to let go of his animosity. The same emotion that drove him to decapitate the body after it was dead. Unfortunately, he was too weak now to cut through the hide with his little snake teeth. That fact sent a whole new wave of loathing through his thoughts. All of which I felt very clearly.

"Hey, Levi, calm down," I said and reached out to him. Even though I knew they weren't my emotions, his vehement feelings were uncomfortable. Probably because I spent so many years learning how to hide and kill off my own intense ones so I could pretend to be fine. Should I just leave him to his own thing and finish my task – get some unknown flesh?

He hissed again and whacked my hand with his tail before I could touch his cool scales. He obviously wasn't ready to let go.

I shrugged. "Okay. I'll be over there." I pointed to the front of the carcass. Levi tore open a couple holes in the unknown's chest yesterday. Hopefully, the inner flesh was softer and my sword could actually cut through it. And, you know, I didn't contaminate the sample with my bile.

I left Levi hanging there and walked away. I didn't get very far before I paused, took a peppermint cap-stick out and smeared it over my lips and nose with a heavy hand. The minty smell numbed the harsh, overpowering carrion stench, and I could finally breathe through my nose naturally. It wasn't as good as the oils we had in the shop, but it was the only option right now. I still didn't dare breathe through my mouth though.

The unknown's mutilated, long neck flopped at an odd angle, blocking part of the torn chest. I leaned into the gap left and peered in. The holes in the unknown's chest cavity were much bigger than I thought, at least five feet in diameter. One gaped open, revealing the tattered organs inside. The other was more 'normal' looking. Dried blood smeared the opening, but there was still a small trickle of thick red liquid that dribbled down to the stained mud. Given the size of the unknown, it could take days for the carcass to bleed out, especially without help.

The gaping hole didn't show signs of being chewed on, so why did it look different? I couldn't feel any monsters in the area. Did the wound get jostled more than the other during the fight? It was possible, but it seemed unusual to have that big of a difference. I mean, one was literally an enormous hole, while the other wasn't.

I paused and examined the wounds again, pushing my aura out as far as it would reach. I didn’t feel anything – just Levi still throwing a temper tantrum. Maybe I was just too high-strung. After this last week, anything out of place made me feel a little jumpy. Maybe I learned from my mistakes. Or maybe it's because I was right next to a huge monster. Carcass or not, it was intimidating.

I took a vial out of my Items Bag to collect blood with. The top was big enough, I could even wedge a bit of meat inside. With a small knife appeared in my other hand to help scoop the blood in, I reached over.

The unknown's carcass shivered.

Alarm bells screamed in my head. I lunged back in a flash, the vial and knife in my hand replaced with my sword. Levi! I thought, in warning.

He didn't need my warning. His thoughts changed from anger to caution just as fast as mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his slither to me, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the carcass.

Why the hell would a dead body move? I mean, it was missing its head, there was no way it was alive. There are some monsters that could animate a body, but those ghost-types only appear at night. So why ...

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The carcass shivered again and the gaping hole in the chest shifted, the stiff muscles rocking and turning.

I gripped my sword. Should I run or not? I couldn't feel the monster yet, so I didn't know its level. It would be safer to retreat until I knew, but knowing didn't change the fact that I needed a piece of the unknown's carcass.

Before I could decide, a trail of blood smeared green goo leaked from the hole. That split second was the only warning I got before a seven-foot glob of semi-transparent slime spat out of the hole. It rose up like a mounded green triangle, displaying the only features on its body – circular divots where 'eyes' would be and ‘lips’ that opened and closed. It didn't have arms right now, but every part of its body could stretch to create any form of attack it wanted. The title bar over its head read: [Slime Lv 13].

The slime lunged at me, mouth opening wide enough to swallow my whole head. I dodged, my mind turning fast.

The outside 'skin' of a slime wasn't toxic – something to do with a chemical reaction to air – but the slime inside the monster was acidic. So I could smack the surface with my hand and be fine, but once my arm went inside, I'd get burned. Oh, and melee weapons were useless against slimes. Most Hunters didn't even bother with them and simply retreated, because they were that much of a pain. Slimes were also tenaciously territorial.

If I wanted a part of the unknown, I needed to kill this thing first. And the only way I could do that was with magic.

My eyes narrowed as determination filled me. I'd wanted to use Water Manipulation since I got the ability, and now I had the perfect excuse.

Several long tentacles grew out of the slime and smashed towards me.

I jumped back and my sword disappeared, replaced with my bow. I drew the string back and conjured a water arrow. There wasn't any water near me, but I felt the water essence I cultivated yesterday stir and a glowing magic arrow formed. The water magic came from the reservoir I created inside last night, like a pool I could take with me anywhere. The question was, how much could I use before I ran out?

I released the arrow before the monster had time to pull its appendages back. My attack hit the monster in the face, digging a hole where its nose should be. The slime jolted, its face losing shape from the force of the arrow and its HP only dropped a smidge.

"Shit," I muttered, glancing at the pathetic damage my best attack did.

The green tentacles flexed and snapped at me. I gasped and dodged, but didn't get away in time. As flexible as it was, the blunt force behind the attack was alarming. Each hit felt like a painfully thick rubber pole when it smacked me across the chest, shoulder and thighs. I gasped, feeling the bruises that instantly formed over most of my body and my HP bar dropped more than I was expecting. My bow hung by the tips of my fingers, but I refused to let it go. Residual goo smeared across my gear. The brown leather smoked lightly wherever the goo touched, until the goo hardened from the oxygen a couple seconds later. The green crusty stuff flaked and fell off as I drew another arrow.

Levi hissed at the slime, rising high to appear bigger than he was. He snapped his teeth, but didn't get any closer. Frustration radiated from him because he knew physical attacks wouldn't work and he was too far from the river to reach it at his strength.

I shot the arrow, chipping off another bit of the slime's HP and jumped back out of range from its new attack. Thinking fast, I put my bow away and took out a bottle of water. I popped the lid open and tossed the bottle to the side, all without taking my eyes off the slime. Levi needed water, and this was the best I could do at the current moment. I just hoped it was enough.

The slime lunged forward, its body suddenly shaped like a huge block.

I stiffened. If that hit me, it would cause a lot of damage. Maybe even kill me if it caught me inside. I lunged to the side just as the slime slammed its body down. Instantly, I knew I wasn't fast enough. The slime was going to flatten me. A water rope wrapped around my wrist and jerked me to the side, the momentum adding to my initial movement. The slime thumped onto the ground, missing my toes by inches.

I gasped and glanced at Levi, who was next to the empty water bottle. The water slipped from my wrist and curled back to him, as if waiting for the next assignment.

I jumped to my feet and flung a Bubble at the slime. The attack cost MP, but it didn't affect my personal water supply. The Bubble hit the monster, knocking off another chip of its HP. My eyes narrowed. I was going to run out of MP before it died at this rate. I needed to come up with a different method to fight this. But what?

The slime shifted back into a mounded blob with a 'face.’ It chomped its mouth in agitation, but didn't make a sound. After all, it didn't have vocal cords. Since the monster was semi-transparent, that fact was super obvious. Four sharp tentacles erupted out of the slime, all aimed at me. I dodged and aimed a water arrow at the slime again.

Just as the closest tentacle reached me, Levi sent water slashing through the air and cut the end off. The severed slime dropped to the ground with a splat. Now that it wasn't connected to the main body, the slime oxidized almost instantly, turning into crumbling green flakes. The cut tentacle slinked back to the monster, which rocked and bobbed as if irritated. Meanwhile, the water flew back to Levi, as he slithered to the side, out of the way of the slime's next attack.

My eyes widened in realization. As soon as a part of the slime left the main body, it naturally decomposed. So I just needed to take this mound of goo apart bit by bit. Water arrows were no good – they didn’t cause enough damage per attack and every time I cast one, it ate up MP. But cutting with water was effective. Got it.

The bow in my hand disappeared, replaced with my sword. While the slime focused on Levi, I took a breath and cast Water Manipulation. A film of water covered the two-toned blade, just like I instructed. The water magic shimmered and shifted, faintly glowing pale blue. As long as I didn't release the water magic, I wouldn't have to recast it, so I could cut with my water blade as long as my heart desired.

Or until the slime was dead. Gripping my sword, I charged back into battle.

*****