The herb-gathering quest seemed easy enough: go to the forest, collect ten Moonleaf Herbs, and return before sundown. Simple. Peaceful. Safe.
At least, that's what I thought.
The path into the forest was bright and warm at first, sunlight filtering through tree branches. Birds sang. Wind rustled the leaves. The slime hopped beside me in cheerful rhythm.
"Pyo! Pyo!"
"You're in a good mood today," I said.
"Pyo!"
We walked deeper into the forest until the trees became thicker and the air turned cooler. The sound of the town faded behind us. It was quiet… too quiet.
I crouched and started searching for herbs. "Okay, Moonleaf… Moonleaf… what does Moonleaf even look like?"
The slime sniffed around—well, bounced around—and nudged a silvery-blue plant.
"Oh! Is that it?"I bent down. "Moonleaf Herb?"
Ping!
A blue window appeared.
[Skill Acquired: Botanical Sense][Botanical Sense → Intermediate]
I sighed. "At this point, even breathing will become a skill."
"Pyo!"
We spent a few minutes gathering herbs—okay, the slime found nine of them and I found one by accident—but we were making good progress.
Until the bushes rustled.
A low growl echoed behind us.
Slowly… very slowly… I turned around.
Three Forest Wolves padded out from the shadows, fangs bared, eyes glowing with hunger.
"Oh no," I whispered. "Why wolves? Why already?! I'm too young in this world to die again!"
The slime hopped in front of me like a tiny blue shield.
"Pyo!"
One wolf snarled and lunged at us.
I didn't even think—I just grabbed a stick off the ground.
Ping!
[Skill Acquired: Stick Handling][Stick Handling → Intermediate → Advanced → Master]
"HOW?!" I screamed. "HOW DOES A STICK GET MASTERED IN ONE SECOND?!"
The wolves paused, clearly confused by my shouting.
The slime vibrated intensely, glowing faintly.
"Pyo… pyo!"
"Wait… are you gonna—"
The slime shot forward like a blue bullet.
BAM!
It smacked a wolf in the face. The wolf flew back and crashed into a tree.
The other two wolves stared in horror.
"…What," I breathed, "did I pick up? A slime or a portable nuclear weapon?"
The second wolf attacked. The slime jumped, expanded, and hugged the wolf's head.
The wolf shook violently, trying to escape, but the slime clung on stubbornly.
"Pyo!"
THUD.
The wolf fainted.
The last wolf whimpered and backed away slowly.
"Uh… slime?" I said. "Maybe let that one go?"
The slime hopped threateningly.
The wolf turned and ran for its life.
I collapsed onto the ground, heart pounding.The slime bounced over and proudly sat on my lap.
"Pyo!"
"…Thanks," I said breathlessly. "You saved me."
It tilted its jiggly body… and then—
"Pyo… kira."
I froze.
"…Did you just say my name?"
"Pyo! Akira!"
I stared at the slime.It stared back.
"Wait… you can TALK?!"
The slime nodded.
"Pyo!"
My head spun. "This is too much. You're too powerful. You're too cute. And now you're too smart?!"
A new window appeared.
[Skill Acquired: Monster Communication][Monster Communication → Intermediate][Your companion Slime has gained: Speech Lv.1]
"Of course," I groaned. "Everything evolves around me, doesn't it?"
"Mhm!" the slime said proudly. "Pyo!"
I rubbed my face. "Okay… fine. You can talk. That's good. That's great. We'll figure this out."
The slime suddenly looked sad.
"…Akira?"
"Yeah?"
The slime nudged my hand gently.
"…Friend?"
My chest tightened.
A soft, genuine smile formed on my face.
"Yeah," I said, patting its squishy head. "We're friends."
The slime glowed happily.
"Friend! Pyo!"
With the Moonleaf Herbs gathered, no wolves left conscious, and my sanity hanging by a thread, we began walking back to town.
My first quest.My first battle.My first friend.
This world was crazy…but maybe, just maybe, it wasn't so bad.