Chapter Forty-Six - A Slimey Situation

Chapter Forty-Six - A Slimey Situation

Chapter Forty-Six - A Slimey Situation

Wake up!

I shifted around, turning my back to the noise that had disturbed me.

Wake up you blasted idiot! Someone hissed before I got a rough shove against my shoulder.

Huu? I asked as I looked around and tried to piece things together. It took awhile for the memories to return and for the sleep to wear off. I had gotten first watch, which meant I got to listen to Amaryllis cute whistling snores again while hugging my knees in the near-dark.

She had told me not to play with any magic because it attracted monsters, so I had basically spent a few hours all alone in the dark with nothing to do. No lights to read by and just the sky to watch. At least so far from any civilised places the skies had been truly spectacular. It was easy to look up to them and just... drift away.

Then Amaryllis had relieved me and I got to go to sleep on her surprisingly soft mattress in a tent that I was pretty sure was enchanted to make a person sleep really well. Or maybe I was just really tired.

Wake up you moron!

Thunder boomed.

The ground skipped out from under me.

I screwed my eyes shut and let out a squeak as any hints of sleepiness fled.

The flash faded away as suddenly as it had come and we were left in the dark once more. My night vision is shot, Amaryllis said.

Whats going on? I asked as I scrambled to my feet, bumped against the walls of the tent, then stumbled out into the spot we had chosen to camp in. It was still completely dark out, without even the barest hint of sunlight on the horizon.

Get your gear; leave the tent, Amaryllis said. Slimes!

Slimes? I asked. Some part of me, still mostly asleep, wanted to flop down and go right back to napping, but an electric buzz startled me and I looked up to see Amaryllis, both wings glowing with static sparks and hair-feathers standing on end.

She flung an arm out, her little knife held at the end, and a long forking jolt of lightning shot out and into the marshes.

I stared at the creature it hit.

The thing was big and bulbous, wobbly, and most of all, dirty. It was as if someone had taken the biggest ice-cream scoop in the world to a bowl of jello, then rolled the ball in some mud and twigs.

An unemotional Marsh Slime, level 8.

Electric shocks ran across its body and it seemed to wilt on the spot. Then another rolled out of the woods, and another came after it.

I rushed to the tent, grabbed my backpack to fling it on, picked up Orange, plopped my hat on, and grabbed my spear. An afterthought had the rune-light at the front come on to illuminate our surroundings.

Oh no, I said.

We need to make a run for it, Amaryllis said. There are too many to kill.

You were going to kill them? I asked as I watched the dozens of slimes that had surrounded us as I slept. I couldnt blame Amaryllis for not noticing them sooner, other than that gurgling sound they made while moving they were hard to spot against the marshy ground. What if theyre nice?

Nice? Theyre slimes!

They could be nice slimes?

All they do is eat things. They dont even have brains! World smite me, you could pass for one of them. Amaryllis arm shot out and another bolt of sizzling electricity shot out and splattered a tiny, basketball-sized slime that had bounced towards them. Follow the road north! she said before running off the little cliff we were on.

I followed, leaping off the ground with a burst of stamina that had me overshooting Amaryllis and landing on the path. A flash of my light on the road ahead revealed that it wasnt quite cleared, with a few slimes blubbering about, but not so many that we couldnt avoid them.

The path towards Green Hold, on the other hand, had far fewer.

South? I called out, pointing to the easier path.

No, North, Amaryllis said as she landed and immediately started running that way.

I followed, stumbling a bit as I got used to the weight of my pack, but I caught up with a few quick bounces. We avoided the bigger slimes, both of us taking to the air to pass over them even as they sent out little slimy tendrils to try and catch us.

I thought we were in the clear when I heard a whump and Amaryllis disappeared from my side.

We have, Amaryllis said. There are some rocks over there. We can take a break. Eat.

I followed her pointing finger to find a big hill with a few stones jutting out of it. It was just off the road a little ways. Alright, I said, too tired to voice any other opinions. You dont have your pack though. But, we can share the food I have.

She snorted and shook her head as she took off.

I checked my notifications, making sure to do so quietly because the last thing I wanted was for Amaryllis to think I was the sort of crazy person that talked to her system menu.

Congratulations! You have committed minor genocide! Your kill tally amounts to:

Marsh Slime, Level 1 x 4

Marsh Slime, Level 2 x 2

Marsh Slime, Level 3 x 3

Marsh Slime, Level 4 x 1

Marsh Slime, Level 5 x 1

For refusing to spare the children you have been granted Bonus Exp!

Ah, I said. Ah... ah-ah. Ah!

Amaryllis stared at me, pausing halfway up the hill. Did your last two braincells bounce apart?

I... ah, I explained. Then, because words were failing me, I made gestures.

If you need to piss just go behind a bush. She sniffed. Its not exactly luxurious, but this place is already a swamp.

Ah! I tried again. There was a sting in my eyes as tears gathered.

Congratulations! Through repeated actions your Cute skill has improved and is now eligible for rank up!

Rank C costs one (1) Class Point

Ahhhh!

And youve lost your mind, Amaryllis said. She dragged me the rest of the way up the hill, then pushed me down onto a rock. You sit there and... keep doing... whatever.

Ah, I squeaked back.

Right... and thanks. You know, for back there. Ill pay you back for the trifecta potion.

She moved off to the centre of the hill and I saw her bringing her feathery arm over her head to mask her face from the sunlight.

Th-the slimes, I said. Were they sapient? Sentient? Do they have little slime homes and little slime families?

What? No. Theyre made from concentrations of ambient mana. It takes a particular kind of mana to make them. Then they roll around and stick to anything magical they run across, including people. Theyre a nuisance.

Oh, okay, I said.

It still took a while, and maybe a dab at my eyes, to really calm myself down. Knowing that the slimes werent people made it... better. Not okay, but better.

We can see the fort from here, Amaryllis said. Its actually quite close. I think the scale on my map is off.

I sniffled, then fired a cleaning spell at my face, which tingled and made me sneeze, but at least it cleared my nose up. Um. We were sent to map out the forts location. Where did you buy the map?

Its from the Golden Nest Bank. Theyre a Nesting Kingdom institution, cant blame them for being wrong about misplacing such an ugly building.

I climbed up the hill so that I was next to her and took in the distant form of Fort Frogger. It was a large squarish building some ways away, with a single stubby tower and dull grey walls around it, most of them looked cracked and broken even from afar.

And between us and the fort was a good couple of kilometers of swampland.

It wasnt going to be fun getting there.