A Slime Eater

I lay beneath the tree and stared at the sky.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been there.

Five minutes?

An hour?

At this point, time didn't really matter.

Everything hurt.

My ribs felt like someone had taken a hammer to them. My hands were burning. My feet were filthy and covered in small cuts from running through the forest.

I was hungry.

Tired.

Cold.

And somehow, despite all of that, I was still alive.

That alone felt mildly insulting.

I slowly turned my head.

The black slime was still there.

It had stopped moving.

It sat(?) a few meters away, its dark body wobbling gently.

I stared at it.

"You're not going to eat me, right?"

The slime did nothing.

I closed my eyes again. "It's a Corrupt monster, I wonder why it's not attacking me."

Maybe I could rest.

Shruuu.

Shruuu.

Rustling.

From the trees.

I opened my eyes.

Something moved between the branches.

My body immediately tensed. I tried to stand. Pain shot through my legs.

"Come on..."

I pushed myself upright.

The sound came again.

Leaves moved.

Branches bent.

Something was approaching.

The Corrupt Slime suddenly moved. It wasn't coming toward me anymore. It turned away. Its entire body trembled.

I frowned.

Then, vines. Thin at first. Almost indistinguishable from the forest around them. They slid between the trees. Then more appeared. They moved across the ground like roots searching through soil.

My eyes widened.

Something stepped out of the forest.

It looked almost like a wolf.

Almost.

Its body was lean and covered in dark, rough fur.

But its back was covered in tangled growths.

Vines.

Tendrils.

Wild branches twisted around its body and dragged along the ground.

They weren't plants attached to it.

They moved with it.

Like limbs.

Like fingers.

The creature lowered its body.

Its head turned toward the Corrupt Slime.

I knew what it was.

My eyes widened.

"<Gelmaw>."

I remembered them.

They were slime predators.

I had encountered them dozens of times in Hero Chronicle.

They weren't particularly dangerous to experienced players.

Unless you were a slime.

Then they were basically nightmares with legs.

The Corrupt Slime suddenly moved.

Fast.

It shot away through the grass.

The Gelmaw reacted immediately.

Its tendrils snapped forward.

One caught the slime.

"SPLORCH!"

The slime stretched violently.

Its body flattened against the ground as the vine wrapped around it.

The Gelmaw pulled.

The <Corrupt Slime> squealed.

It sounded almost like a scream.

The slime was dragged across the dirt.

Its body stretched several meters before snapping back.

The Gelmaw lunged after it.

I stared.

"What the hell?"

The slime escaped the suction of the vine.

It bounced away.

The Gelmaw chased it.

Vines whipped through the air.

The slime dodged.

Another vine struck the ground.

SPLAT!

Mud flew everywhere.

I instinctively climbed the nearest tree.

I didn't even think about it.

I grabbed a branch and pulled myself upward.

"Not getting involved."

I reached a thick branch and sat there.

The forest floor below me had become a battlefield.

The Gelmaw moved like a wolf, but its vines made it completely different from any ordinary beast.

They spread across the ground.

They grabbed trees.

They pulled its body forward.

Sometimes they wrapped around branches and launched the creature through the air.

The Corrupt Slime bounced desperately between the trees.

"SPLORCH!"

Suction. 

Another vine missed it by inches.

The slime slammed into a tree.

It made that horrible sound again.

Almost like a cry.

I watched.

Something felt wrong.

I had seen monsters die hundreds of times.

Thousands.

I'd watched bosses tear through entire parties.

I'd killed monsters myself.

But this was different.

That sound...

It bothered me.

"Stop..."

I whispered.

I didn't know who I was talking to.

The Gelmaw caught the slime again.

Several vines wrapped around it.

The slime was pulled toward the creature.

Its body compressed.

Then expanded.

It made another sound.

"SKRRR..."

I gripped the branch.

Something inside my chest tightened.

I didn't understand why.

I had no reason to care about a monster.

It was a Corrupt Slime.

A monster.

Something that would attack humans.

Something that should be killed.

But...

It sounded afraid.

The Gelmaw pulled harder.

The slime suddenly slipped free.

It bounced directly toward my tree.

I watched it roll through the grass.

The Gelmaw followed.

I looked down.

The slime was cornered.

The Gelmaw's vines spread around it.

I didn't think.

I jumped and landed directly on the slime.

"SPLORCH!"

My entire body sank into it.

"WHOA!"

I flailed for a moment before settling on top of the strange black mass.

The Corrupt Slime flattened beneath me.

I stared down.

"...Sorry."

The Gelmaw stopped.

Its entire body went still. The vines covering its back slowly rose. A low growl escaped it.

"Grrrrrr..."

I swallowed.

"Right."

I looked at the creature. Then at the slime beneath me, back at the creature. It was staring directly at the slime.

The Gelmaw lowered its head. One of its vines stretched forward. It stopped just short of me.

The vine curled toward the slime.

I tightened my arms around it.

"No."

The Gelmaw growled.

I shook my head.

"Nope."

The vine twitched.

"You can't have it."

The Gelmaw gave another deep roar.

'Luckily, this Gelmaw is a normal monster. '

I didn't understand what it was saying, obviously, but I was pretty sure the message was something along the lines of:

Give me the blob.

"Yeah, I got that."

The creature took a step closer.

I tensed. Its vines scraped against the ground. One wrapped around a tree. Another dug into the dirt, it looked at the slime, then back at me.

For several seconds, neither of us moved.

Finally, the Gelmaw pulled its vines back.

It growled one last time.

Then turned.

It disappeared between the trees.

I stared after it.

"...haaaa?"

The forest was silent.

I slowly looked down.

The slime was still underneath me.

Except it was much smaller now.

The Gelmaw had apparently managed to suck a considerable amount of its mass away before I jumped in.

It was now roughly the size of a large melon.

Its black body wobbled beneath me.

I slowly climbed off.

"Sploop."

It bounced once.

I stared.

"You okay?"

It bounced again.

"Right. Stupid question."

I stood.

My legs nearly gave out.

"Ow."

I grabbed the tree beside me. My entire body felt like I'd been thrown down a flight of stairs by someone who had taken the stairs personally.

I looked around.

The Gelmaw was gone.

I looked at the slime.

It was still there.

"...You should probably leave."

The slime didn't move.

'Wait, right it's a Corrupt monster by the way.'

I took a step away. The slime bounced after me.

I stopped.

It stopped.

I walked again.

It followed.

I turned around.

"Are you following me?"

The slime wobbled.

I sighed.

I started walking again.

The slime followed.

I glanced over my shoulder every few seconds.

It never attacked.

That was strange.

Very strange.

I knew Corrupt monsters.bThey attacked anything that moved. That was one of the first things players learned about them.

They weren't territorial.

They weren't defensive.

They didn't need to be provoked.

If they saw you, they attacked.

So why wasn't this one attacking me?

I stopped beneath another tree.

The slime stopped beside me.

I stared at it.

"Maybe you're injured."

It wobbled.

"Or hungry."

Another wobble.

"Or..."

I frowned.

I looked back toward the direction the Gelmaw had disappeared.

Then at the slime.

Then at myself.

"...Is it because I saved you?"

The slime remained still.

I waited.

Nothing.

I scratched my head.

"That would actually make sense."

I crouched down.

"When the Gelmaw caught you, I jumped on top of you."

The slime wobbled.

"You were probably scared."

Another wobble.

"And then I protected you."

I pointed at myself.

"So maybe you think I'm... safe?"

The slime bounced once.

I smiled faintly.

"Yeah."

I nodded.

"That's probably it."

It was the only explanation I could think of.

I reached out and gently touched its surface.

The slime trembled.

I pulled my hand back.

"Still weird."

I stood.

The slime followed.

I sighed.

"Fine."

I began walking.

After a few steps, I looked back.

The slime was still behind me.

I shook my head.

"Don't expect me to feed you."

II lay beneath the tree and stared at the sky.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been there.

Five minutes?

An hour?

At this point, time didn't really matter.

Everything hurt.

My ribs felt like someone had taken a hammer to them. My hands were burning. My feet were filthy and covered in small cuts from running through the forest.

I was hungry.

Tired.

Cold.

And somehow, despite all of that, I was still alive.

That alone felt mildly insulting.

I slowly turned my head.

The black slime was still there.

It had stopped moving.

It sat(?) a few meters away, its dark body wobbling gently.

I stared at it.

"You're not going to eat me, right?"

The slime did nothing.

I closed my eyes again. "It's a Corrupt monster, I wonder why it's not attacking me."

Maybe I could rest.

Shruuu.

Shruuu.

Rustling.

From the trees.

I opened my eyes.

Something moved between the branches.

My body immediately tensed. I tried to stand. Pain shot through my legs.

"Come on..."

I pushed myself upright.

The sound came again.

Leaves moved.

Branches bent.

Something was approaching.

The Corrupt Slime suddenly moved. It wasn't coming toward me anymore. It turned away. Its entire body trembled.

I frowned.

Then, vines. Thin at first. Almost indistinguishable from the forest around them. They slid between the trees. Then more appeared. They moved across the ground like roots searching through soil.

My eyes widened.

Something stepped out of the forest.

It looked almost like a wolf.

Almost.

Its body was lean and covered in dark, rough fur.

But its back was covered in tangled growths.

Vines.

Tendrils.

Wild branches twisted around its body and dragged along the ground.

They weren't plants attached to it.

They moved with it.

Like limbs.

Like fingers.

The creature lowered its body.

Its head turned toward the Corrupt Slime.

I knew what it was.

My eyes widened.

"<Gelmaw>."

I remembered them.

They were slime predators.

I had encountered them dozens of times in Hero Chronicle.

They weren't particularly dangerous to experienced players.

Unless you were a slime.

Then they were basically nightmares with legs.

The Corrupt Slime suddenly moved.

Fast.

It shot away through the grass.

The Gelmaw reacted immediately.

Its tendrils snapped forward.

One caught the slime.

"SPLORCH!"

The slime stretched violently.

Its body flattened against the ground as the vine wrapped around it.

The Gelmaw pulled.

The <Corrupt Slime> squealed.

It sounded almost like a scream.

The slime was dragged across the dirt.

Its body stretched several meters before snapping back.

The Gelmaw lunged after it.

I stared.

"What the hell?"

The slime escaped the suction of the vine.

It bounced away.

The Gelmaw chased it.

Vines whipped through the air.

The slime dodged.

Another vine struck the ground.

SPLAT!

Mud flew everywhere.

I instinctively climbed the nearest tree.

I didn't even think about it.

I grabbed a branch and pulled myself upward.

"Not getting involved."

I reached a thick branch and sat there.

The forest floor below me had become a battlefield.

The Gelmaw moved like a wolf, but its vines made it completely different from any ordinary beast.

They spread across the ground.

They grabbed trees.

They pulled its body forward.

Sometimes they wrapped around branches and launched the creature through the air.

The Corrupt Slime bounced desperately between the trees.

"SPLORCH!"

Suction. 

Another vine missed it by inches.

The slime slammed into a tree.

It made that horrible sound again.

Almost like a cry.

I watched.

Something felt wrong.

I had seen monsters die hundreds of times.

Thousands.

I'd watched bosses tear through entire parties.

I'd killed monsters myself.

But this was different.

That sound...

It bothered me.

"Stop..."

I whispered.

I didn't know who I was talking to.

The Gelmaw caught the slime again.

Several vines wrapped around it.

The slime was pulled toward the creature.

Its body compressed.

Then expanded.

It made another sound.

"SKRRR..."

I gripped the branch.

Something inside my chest tightened.

I didn't understand why.

I had no reason to care about a monster.

It was a Corrupt Slime.

A monster.

Something that would attack humans.

Something that should be killed.

But...

It sounded afraid.

The Gelmaw pulled harder.

The slime suddenly slipped free.

It bounced directly toward my tree.

I watched it roll through the grass.

The Gelmaw followed.

I looked down.

The slime was cornered.

The Gelmaw's vines spread around it.

I didn't think.

I jumped and landed directly on the slime.

"SPLORCH!"

My entire body sank into it.

"WHOA!"

I flailed for a moment before settling on top of the strange black mass.

The Corrupt Slime flattened beneath me.

I stared down.

"...Sorry."

The Gelmaw stopped.

Its entire body went still. The vines covering its back slowly rose. A low growl escaped it.

"Grrrrrr..."

I swallowed.

"Right."

I looked at the creature. Then at the slime beneath me, back at the creature. It was staring directly at the slime.

The Gelmaw lowered its head. One of its vines stretched forward. It stopped just short of me.

The vine curled toward the slime.

I tightened my arms around it.

"No."

The Gelmaw growled.

I shook my head.

"Nope."

The vine twitched.

"You can't have it."

The Gelmaw gave another deep roar.

'Luckily, this Gelmaw is a normal monster. '

I didn't understand what it was saying, obviously, but I was pretty sure the message was something along the lines of:

Give me the blob.

"Yeah, I got that."

The creature took a step closer.

I tensed. Its vines scraped against the ground. One wrapped around a tree. Another dug into the dirt, it looked at the slime, then back at me.

For several seconds, neither of us moved.

Finally, the Gelmaw pulled its vines back.

It growled one last time.

Then turned.

It disappeared between the trees.

I stared after it.

"...haaaa?"

The forest was silent.

I slowly looked down.

The slime was still underneath me.

Except it was much smaller now.

The Gelmaw had apparently managed to suck a considerable amount of its mass away before I jumped in.

It was now roughly the size of a large melon.

Its black body wobbled beneath me.

I slowly climbed off.

"Sploop."

It bounced once.

I stared.

"You okay?"

It bounced again.

"Right. Stupid question."

I stood.

My legs nearly gave out.

"Ow."

I grabbed the tree beside me. My entire body felt like I'd been thrown down a flight of stairs by someone who had taken the stairs personally.

I looked around.

The Gelmaw was gone.

I looked at the slime.

It was still there.

"...You should probably leave."

The slime didn't move.

'Wait, right it's a Corrupt monster by the way.'

I took a step away. The slime bounced after me.

I stopped.

It stopped.

I walked again.

It followed.

I turned around.

"Are you following me?"

The slime wobbled.

I sighed.

I started walking again.

The slime followed.

I glanced over my shoulder every few seconds.

It never attacked.

That was strange.

Very strange.

I knew Corrupt monsters.bThey attacked anything that moved. That was one of the first things players learned about them.

They weren't territorial.

They weren't defensive.

They didn't need to be provoked.

If they saw you, they attacked.

So why wasn't this one attacking me?

I stopped beneath another tree.

The slime stopped beside me.

I stared at it.

"Maybe you're injured."

It wobbled.

"Or hungry."

Another wobble.

"Or..."

I frowned.

I looked back toward the direction the Gelmaw had disappeared.

Then at the slime.

Then at myself.

"...Is it because I saved you?"

The slime remained still.

I waited.

Nothing.

I scratched my head.

"That would actually make sense."

I crouched down.

"When the Gelmaw caught you, I jumped on top of you."

The slime wobbled.

"You were probably scared."

Another wobble.

"And then I protected you."

I pointed at myself.

"So maybe you think I'm... safe?"

The slime bounced once.

I smiled faintly.

"Yeah."

I nodded.

"That's probably it."

It was the only explanation I could think of.

I reached out and gently touched its surface.

The slime trembled.

I pulled my hand back.

"Still weird."

I stood.

The slime followed.

I sighed.

"Fine."

I began walking.

After a few steps, I looked back.

The slime was still behind me.

I shook my head.

"Don't expect me to feed you."

It bounced.

"I don't have anything."

Another bounce.

"I barely have anything for myself."

The slime continued following.

I looked toward the distant trees.

The capital was somewhere beyond them.

I had no money.

No proper weapon.

No shoes.

No shirt.

No guild.

No place to sleep.

"You know..."

I almost laughed.

"You're probably the only thing in this world that doesn't hate me."

The slime bounced beside me.

I looked away.

For some reason, that made my chest feel a little less heavy.

I kept walking.

The slime followed.t bounced.

"I don't have anything."

Another bounce.

"I barely have anything for myself."

The slime continued following.

I looked toward the distant trees.

The capital was somewhere beyond them.

I had no money.

No proper weapon.

No shoes.

No shirt.

No guild.

No place to sleep.

"You know..."

"Sploop"

I almost laughed.

"You're probably the only thing in this world that doesn't hate me."

The slime bounced beside me.

I looked away.

For some reason, that made my chest feel a little less heavy.

I kept walking.

The slime followed.