Chapter 29: Chapter 21

 

- Shari -

 

I wake up from a sleep one couldn’t even refer to as light.
Maybe I shouldn’t suspect Chris of doing something stupid, with his severe injury, but his attitude makes me think that being wary would be a good call.
However, if I am right we don’t need to keep this up much longer.
Now that he can walk on his own it should be possible to make it today to the town, after our estimation of three days.

Liqu was like always far earlier up than me and patrolled the campsite.
Since we want to make it today and arrive before the gates close, we keep breakfast short and start to move as soon as possible.
Well they do, since I’m still full and don’t need regular meals, as long I replenish myself before it gets critical.

Chris has to be supported to walk and we take the stretcher with us, just in case Chris' condition worsens, but overall we move faster this way.
The journey is proceeding smoothly, if not for Chris' continuous hostile glare at my back when I walk in front of him and the paranoid, condemning looks over his shoulder when I'm behind him.
It feels as if I am treated worse than Liqu.
And that kinda hurts.

To speak of, I haven’t inquired Jacob how it worked out yesterday.
So I do now.

 

"And how was the attempt to teach a slime common sense?" (Shari)

 

Oh well, if this isn’t the hollow gaze of someone who eventually gave up.

 

"This bad?" (Shari)

"Do I really need to speak about this?" (Jacob)

"Not necessarily, but it would help if you could inform me about the worst issues she has." (Shari)

"That would imply that there is even a possibility to work on something. While she pays attention to everything, at the same time she isn’t listening at all. You tell her that she shall abstain from any physical contact because humans don’t want to get touched and she wonders how they can live together when they cannot touch each other. And as soon I tried to correct that impression it was as if she had forgotten everything we talked about. At the same time, she can’t focus for the shortest period of time on one topic and always tries to change it on her own. Did you know that you are the content of most of them?" (Jacob)

"I had suspected something like this. But the good part is you are still alive, right?" (Shari)

"I don’t feel so." (Jacob)

"No reason to get snappish. It was just that you were able to communicate with Liqu on more or less friendly terms and that already is something." (Shari)

"If you say so, I just…" (Jacob)

 

"RAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

 

"The heck!?" (Shari)

 

I see Jacob quickly paling and losing his generally composed demeanor.
It seems he knows what that was, yet I doubt that it will be possible to question him now about the source of this ridiculously loud roar.

The others don’t seem better.
Myra sits down covering her ears, quivering, and Chris is set on defending her within his very limited possibilities.
I feel that he would engage me too if I would come close while he is in this mood.
The only one completely unfazed is Liqu.

She waves me to her in a carefree way.
So I approach.

 

"Do you know what that was?" (Shari)

"Those are perfect! Now we can do something. Just come! This will be great for you!" (Liqu)

 

I shudder at Liqu’s evaluation of what is "great for me".

Currently on my list are having my body melted into slime and cannibalism.
So I would argue her ideas.

 

"What is wrong? Can you not deal with it like always?" (Shari)

"No! This is such a great chance. You need to come!" (Liqu)

"Just tell what you want." (Shari)

"Training!" (Liqu)

"What?" (Shari)

"You need to learn to use yourself better in threatening situations and those are perfect!" (Liqu)

"You-you want me to fight that? That sounded huge! I thought you wanted to keep me safe!" (Shari)

"Don’t worry. Those are perfectly harmless. Nothing can happen." (Liqu)

 

Without even waiting for my response, she drags me with her in the direction of the sound.
I have this slight hope that whatever it was that roared, already left the premise.
Yet, my hopes get shattered when we arrive.
In front of me is a "Rager"!

What is a rager you ask?
Difficult to explain, as until now I only heard stories about this monster.
But what is standing in front of me leaves no doubt.
This thing is a rager.

You could describe it as some kind of bear.
If bears would be standing up to three meters tall, have claws that get seven centimeters long, burning red eyes, and spikes protruding out of their backs.

To say so, this thing is terrifying.
But that is not the real distressing factor here.
The real problem is the reason why they are called “rager”.

Let me explain for a moment:

Monsters in general commonly generate from their respective animal counterparts.
A wolf becomes a direwolf, a boar a grindingboar, at least this goes for the basic forms.
In layman’s terms, it has something to do with magical energy, which is innate to all living creatures, causing some kind of mutation in some of them.

You can guess that because monsters are bigger, stronger, and more aggressive, the population of the original animals declined.
That goes for the carnivores.
But those who weren’t fitted to be aggressive fighters didn't spread as much so normal mammals like bunnies and deer still exist.
Eventually, the number of monsters balanced itself with the amount of food the rest of nature could provide.
That’s at least what the scholars say about stuff that happened far too long ago to be still relevant.

Now to the reason why monsters are aggressive.
As their condition is caused by magical energy, they are somewhat submitted to take more in.
And the best source are the bodies of living beings with their innate energy.

 

• Wait a moment! Am I like this too?
   
• Is this why I am prone to take in flesh?
   
• Not now! I was at something!

 

So, monsters hunt living beings to take their energy.
Because of this, direwolves are hunting to get their fill.
But they take what they need and not more.
When they seize one target and the others are running away, they usually stay with their prey.
They are limited in what they can take in and rushing behind could lead to a loss.
Also, it would be a wasted effort.

But not ragers.
Ragers don’t care to seize their prey.
They just do what the name implies: They rage!
As soon a rager draws the scent of blood he loses all control.
They are just going to kill every living thing around they can get their claws on.

That’s why they are feared by adventurers.
Losing a comrade is hard, sad, and demoralizing.
But encounters with monsters often end at that point.
They’ve got their prey and the rest can retreat.
However, with a rager that’s another story.
A rager will follow, kill, and proceed until nothing remains to get killed.
And they have the means to do so.
Like this, they are the cause of many obliterated groups of adventurers.
Sometimes also referred to as "wipers".

 

• You know, since they wipe out a group.

 

So I have every reason to wish myself far away from this place.
Yet for some reason, that stupid slime dragged me here.
What I don’t understand is, why Liqu said this wouldn't be dangerous.

Can she be that crazy?
Well, it’s Liqu.

She was apparently absolutely aware of what would wait here for us, nonetheless, she is perfectly calm.

 

• When a fucking rager noticed us!

 

"Th-this is a rager! Why the hell did you drag me here!" (Shari)

"Rager? Could work for them. They are pretty wild. But I found out they are perfect to train on!" (Liqu)

 

The rager now noticed us and seemingly becomes irritated at our presence.
He might not directly charge at us, still, this thing is obviously hostile and slowly advances.

 

"D-d-do something! It will rip us in so small pieces that there is no hope to recover." (Shari)

"Now you’re exaggerating. They are totally harmless. You have your membrane on right? If you are worried you can apply a bit more cover. The worst that can happen is that he hurls your core a distance. And I will be here to secure you so that nothing can happen." (Liqu)

"Are you crazy? I mean I know you have your issues, but I thought you would at least be able to discern such a situation. I CAN’T BEAT A RAGER!!!" (Shari)

"There is nothing to be afraid of. And you need training. You had problems with that last wolf and it could have been going much smoother." (Liqu)

"Could you please focus on that giant monster! It’s nearly here! (Shari)

"Duh, fine I show you the ropes first, but you will try next." (Liqu)

 

• Just what is wrong with her?!

 

That is no small critter.
That thing is feared by trained fighters as the incarnation of death and slaughter.
Yet, she behaves as if a child could beat it.
The moment Liqu advances she lets fluidly glide her whole wardrobe to the ground and approaches that monster without the slightest impression of discomfort.
The rager got apparently agitated by this and towers itself in front of Liqu.

 

"ROOOAAAAAHHHH!!!"

 

Who fricking turns in my direction and ignores the wall of doom at her back!

 

"You see, the most important is to prolong the fight as good as possible when you engage the biggies. When you are injuring them, they often tend to run away, as long as you don’t disable them from doing so. Better is to exhaust them first." (Liqu)

 

• God, it swings his claw at her!

 

But before it can connect, Liqu takes a step backward, directly into that creature’s space.
She is so close to its body that the thing has no way to strike a decisive blow at her.
Liqu guides the passing claw with her whole body upwards and dives with a move that resembles dancing under the swinging blow to his side.

 

"What you need to pay attention to when you enter their reach, is that your core must always be higher than the legs of your opponent. While the punches are neglectable and bites can be evaded, even allowing critical counters to the head, the only issue could be that your core gets stomped. That is something you must prevent!" (Liqu)

 

She is completely ignoring that thing!
Not a hint that this monster could be a danger to her.

Maybe I am the one who's wrong?

Frustrated that the attack was ineffective, the rager prepares another haul.
This time it lowers its stance and in a wide ark, it slashes the whole ground at height of the knees.
As a response, Liqu just jumps up.
However, she jumps too low to evade and the claw rips directly through her feet.
Nonetheless, Liqu maintains her balance; forms her feet back, and lands where the bit of the mass that disconnected fell, pulling it instantly back in.

 

"When you lose a bit of mass this isn't too concerning, as you can just take it back as the fight continues. The remains will still be around and sooner or later you will have the opportunity to get them. The more there is scattered the easier it is." (Liqu)

 

It's frightening how she plays with that thing, evading all attacks without even looking at them.

 

• No! That’s not it!

 

She is looking, just not with her eyes.
It’s that all-around view she uses to stay aware of all the movements.

It's astonishing.

Not just that she can permanently maintain a state where she is conscious of everything around her, but she is also always able to find the best reaction in time.

Now the rager jumps at her in an act of… well, rage.
Liqu responds, by backing off, out of the area of impact.
But now she is within reach of the claws and recovers from the movement, so the rager uses that chance to strike at her.
Liqu can just raise her arms in an attempt to block the slash from the side, however, that is too much.
It rips her arms and enters her body.
But something is strange.
While she made sure her core is not in the way, the paw passes slowly through her body.
Too slow.

To point it out the swing is running straight horizontal through her frame, but she is completely undisturbed.
It looks like the time of the attack runs extremely slow.

 

• She's holding it!

 

Liqu did catch the arm of that beast.
I would even say that she planned to get hit, using her body to her advantage.
A natural slime.

The strain from the effort the monster puts in to extract its arm out of Liqu is visible.
Slowly it closes to the borders.
And when it finally reaches Liqu’s other side, she lets go and the force is so strong that his own blow throws the beast off-balance.
Liqu still ignores her opponent and tends to me.

 

"In such a moment you could probably engage and aim for a kill. But to make sure, it can be better to take a little more time. It is important to keep in mind that taking a hit can force the opponent to spend much more effort to get a hold of the situation. Through this, you can get a hold of him. When you eventually notice that your prey gets slower you can think about a way to make a safe kill." (Liqu)

 

Having restored its poise the rager tries to rush at Liqu, head first, who jumps again backward.
But she still gets rammed into her center.
Nonetheless, she isn’t the slightest bit deterred by this.
She just flows on top of its back and sticks.
Unable to reach her, the beast lashes in all directions wildly jumping, howling, and smashing at all that is close.

 

• I better take some steps back.

 

"When you can… encompass its head this is usually all… that it needs to put an end. Here we try to stay at… the basics of exhausting. Of utmost importance… is that you pay attention to your core, to… don’t leave it in a dangerous… position. Especially while you cling to the enemy." (Liqu)

 

Impressive, how she keeps on talking during this rodeo.
After a while, the rager slows down and Liqu takes a chance to glide down and quickly approaches me.

 

"See! Now it is slow and easy to kill! Now go!" (Liqu)

 

She still wants me to fight that thing!?

 

Not that the show wasn’t impressive, but I doubt that I can pull off the same.

 

"I am not like you! I cannot fight like you! I don’t have the ability!" (Shari)

"Because of that we slowed it. Now it is easy. And you have the ability. You are a slime so taking that prey down is innate to you." (Liqu)

 

I feel bad being called a slime but at the same time, it has a strange ring when she is so confident that I will manage.

 

"Now just throw these clothes away and start killing!" (Liqu)

 

Regarding things you shouldn’t say this eagerly; I would include everything that contains the word "kill".
And the part with the clothes was also something don’t want to hear from her!

She pushes me in the direction of the now heavily panting and stumbling monster.
If I get now close my attire will get destroyed.
However, she is stronger than me.

 

"Wait, wait! Stop! Okay fine, I do it. But let me first remove my clothes." (Shari)

 

I take off the cloak and what I did wear below.
Since my whole outfit now lies on the ground, I have not much of a choice.

Anxiously I approach the beast.
I probably have already my dissolving activated, due to the discomfort.
One more time I look back at Liqu.

 

"I honestly don’t believe I can move the same way you did. I lack the coordination." (Shari)

"Because of that we train! Awareness is important, as it keeps you alive!" (Liqu)

 

So that’s what this is about?

 

She wants me to learn to use that all-around view consciously to prepare me against threats.
I slowly approach the rager, holding my hands in front of me, as if they could obstruct the claws of that thing.

 

"And by all means stay focused! Don’t let the situation get a hold on you!" (Liqu)

 

Fine! Only three more steps. Two, one…

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As soon I approach the rager raises itself up again.
Towering so high over me that I need to look straight upwards, I would catch my breath if I could do so.

Still, I note the movement on my left and duck down before a strike would have ripped my head away and a good part of my upper body.
The swing goes high and staggers a bit the balance of the already exhausted beast.
Nonetheless, this just gains me a moment before it is smashing its other claw down on me.

But a moment helps.

I can anticipate that when I move in the direction where the strike goes, it will eventually catch me.
To retreat out of range, the ark is too wide.
And rushing forward would only make me hug that thing, which I'm not very keen to do.

So I dive underneath the swing of that monster.

What is surprising me, is that my movement was not a jump like I planned.
Somehow an instinct took over and led me to pull my whole in the direction I wanted.
It was a completely unnatural movement.
Totally defying the nature of living creatures, by flowing like water in one direction.
A dash no living being could imitate.

Just then I realize:

 

• What the hell was this?!

 

I don’t mean the move, as I am already a bit used to the thought that my body has unnatural capabilities.
I mean the thing I did before I moved.

 

• I was thinking!

 

Yes, I know how that sounds but I'm referring to something different.
What I wanted to say was that this strike came fast.
A rager, even exhausted, is one of the most ferocious things you can encounter.
And I did just evade its attack.
And that’s bugging me since I have this much of an evaluation of mine to know I couldn’t do something like this before.

My plan was to avoid a harmful strike and retreat at the first chance I get, so that Liqu sees the danger for me, gives up, and ends it.
This way she wouldn’t force me to more training lessons in the future and stop threatening my cloak.
Also maybe I wanted myself to feel a little more independent of Liqu since there are obvious issues with her taking care of everything for me.
She was at least right that with my core inside its shell, the worst that could happen would be it gets a hit and sent flying.
The claws are not sharp, due to the constant usage, so as long my core wouldn’t get grabbed there was no dire risk.
And if that thing wouldn’t have been visibly in its last breaths, nothing could have got me to approach it.

But suddenly there was this instinct that surprisingly took over.
Like in a rush I decided to evade as the most appropriate solution, in the best way I deemed possible.
I dodged two strikes!
My focus was impressive!

And what is frightening is that I had four thoughts to evaluate the situation before I did so.
It’s simply not possible to think so much in that timeframe.
However, I did exactly that in the blink of a moment.
Fighters in general learn to use techniques and abilities on instinct, judging the situation by feeling and moving as it's ingrained in them by countless training sessions.
For sure that was not what I just did.

So how did I do this?
The rager apparently doesn’t intend to give me the time to figure this out and throws his whole body at me.
I again perform a dash backward.

A move that besides the fact that I do usually loath all these slime-related things is pretty cool in my opinion.

I escape barely the impact of that monster's plunge directly in front of me and immediately revert the dash, launching myself at its head.
I put my hands at its ears and activate dissolving.

 

"Zsch"

 

While I still have issues against killing in general and especially the way a slime does, I still comprehend that it is my strongest weapon and I would be a fool to neglect it.
Also, this is a monster that I really don’t feel too guilty to kill.
I mean dad took me in the past out to hunt animals.
I was quite bad.
Not because I couldn’t find the resolve to kill, but more because I was completely inept with the bow.

For a moment I feel the current entering through the ears driving further inside.
The rager lifts its head with me on top but has nothing of the wildness it displayed when Liqu was riding on him.
Maybe my memories are transfigured, but even the grindingboar was more of a challenge.
A moment later the liquid in the ears comes to a place where it can spread.
Suddenly a spasm runs through the rager's body…
And it drops dead.

 

• I’ve killed it!
   
• I’ve killed a fucking rager!
   
• On my own!
   
• Yes okay, Liqu helped. But I dealt the killing blow!

 

I don’t know if I should be overjoyed praising myself or become scared of what I became.
I mean that was really ridiculous, being able to do something like this.
Killing one of the most feared monsters by myself.
If I had fought those adventurers which tried to kill me with such a clear mind, I could have obliterated them.

 

• Wait! What am I thinking there?
   
• Yes, self-defense is fine, but goddammit Shari! Stop sounding like you would enjoy this!
   
• Think less monstrous, less monstrous, less monstrous!
   
• Okay, I guess I am fine.
   
• I hope.

 

Directly I cut the slime in the ears when I separate myself from the head.
Hell, I know what I’ve dissolved there.
There's no way I let that into my system.
Being an all-devouring monstrosity is difficult enough of a change.
But I will not add "brainsucker" to my titles.

 

• No way!

 

"You were great! I knew you can do it! What a performance! So cool! Awesome! But be careful with the rushing or you might leave your core behind. But still, magnificent" (Liqu)

"What was that? How… How did I do this?" (Shari)

 

Now that I think about this, even if I had made up my resolve, the action was too smooth.
How the hell did I know exactly how to react?
It’s not only the idea of attacking the head as I did.
That one was probably a leftover from my boar-encounter.
What is concerning is the instinctive accuracy with which I performed.

To kill, fight, or even just stand your ground in a distressing situation without making mistakes, demands in general great efforts in mental training and relentless repetition of the act.
So how could a layman like me do this?

 

"What do you mean?" (Liqu)

 

She tilts her head at me.

 

"I mean, how could I do this? I know what I am capable of and that was far above me. It went all so fast. Still, I could keep up. The thoughts came so fast. How?" (Shari)

"Isn’t that normal?" (Liqu)

 

If you tilt your head any further your neck will break.
Urgh, never mind.

 

"No, that is not normal! I am not this fast! And I surely never had close combat training!" (Shari)

"But it is always like this! It’s normal!" (Liqu)

 

• Huh?

 

"What do you mean?" Shari)

"You can always think fast if you enter that mode. It gets quite exhausting, with the energy as well mentally, so I never use it for longer periods, but that is really nothing novel." (Liqu)

"H-how? It shouldn’t be possible! My mind could never keep up with something like this, it would be too fast, this much would cause such a headache I…" (Shari)

"Ah! Keyword! There’s the answer you wanted. Didn’t know that there was a difference." (Liqu)

 

I look down.
She’s right that was the answer.
I don’t have a brain.

Unconsciously I lift my arm to my head.
It enters without any resistance.
My head is empty.
There is nothing that can get overloaded.
No headache.
I just have…

I stare at the red, round, glowing gem in my body.
Is it just me or is the glow brighter than usual?

I have a core!
I don’t think like a human.
Well, from a technical viewpoint.

 

• Hopefully, that's all.

 

That explains the ability to process things faster than usual.
But does this even apply to the execution?
I mean I surely never trained to attack properly by using the dissolving ability.
And anyone who did has to answer me what the hell is wrong with him!
But to use something without any prior experience perfectly.
That feels foreign.
That is not me. That is…

 

• Wait!

 

"What have you done?" (Shari)

"Huh? We just hunted our supply! Something else?" (Liqu)

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" (Shari)

 

I’ve just realized now, that these instincts aren’t normal.

 

"The hell did you do? Have you changed my mind? Changed the person I am?!" (Shari)

"Don’t know." (Liqu)

"What?" (Shari)

"I don’t know the difference in mind. And it’s the first time for me too. I don’t have any advanced experience either." (Liqu)

"But… that is not normal. I don’t know what is normal anymore. I… I am scared! I am deeply frightened of what I will become." (Shari)

 

What is if I stop behaving like a human?
To behave like me?

 

"When my mind is changed, how do I know who I am? Pl-please just tell me that this is nothing. That I am just imagining things." (Shari)

"Don’t know. You could be right." (Liqu)

She says it slowly, contemplating the words while she speaks them.

My face distorts. I can tell even without looking.
It turns past disturbed and enters desperate.
Slowly I start to sob.

I don’t want to lose myself.

Liqu loses her calm too and tries frantically to soothe me.

 

"Ahhh, no! Sorry! That’s not what I meant! I-I think maybe we both got it wrong!" (Liqu)

 

It is quite funny to see her reacting this agitated if I wouldn’t be this absorbed with myself.

 

"Maybe it’s not as bad as you believe! Let’s figure it out! Please." (Liqu)

 

She pleads at me and is almost more disturbed than I am.

Maybe she’s got something.
I should at least give hope a chance!

 

"What do you mean?" (Shari)

 

I say slightly tearing.

 

"Y-you see, in such situations, I always first gather what I know and then look for the answer, before delving too deep in." (Liqu)

"And now?" (Shari)

"I-it’s like this. I definitely made the core of a slime grow inside you." (Liqu)

 

Thanks for the reminder.
You don’t help your point Liqu!

 

"But I am absolutely certain that it was empty. No soul, no mind, no mix-up! It can just be you in there!" (Liqu)

 

She points at my core.
I feel bad referred like this, being just a stone, but this could be positive.
If it’s really just me, then I could at least be sure of my identity.

 

"Furthermore, I am confident that your mind was transferred properly, completely intact. There should be no change with you." (Liqu)

 

Again a bad reminiscence.
You certainly don’t know how to relay things, Liqu.

 

"But then why those differences?" (Shari)

"Let’s see: You had these instincts you say, which are useful in predatory situations for a slime." (Liqu)

 

Urgh, I hate to be referred to like this.

 

• Stop with these disturbing impressions about me!

 

"Then it could be, albeit your core was empty, that it still had a basic construct before your mind started to enter and it grew." (Liqu)

"What are you implying?" (Shari)

"I mean the ground template is still for a slime. Not In regards to personality, thoughts, purposes or even just your basic demeanor. But the kind of being you are." (Liqu)

"I don’t really understand!" (Shari)

"How do you think you are able to move your mass?" (Liqu)

"Didn’t you ingrain that before I woke up?" (Shari)

"No, I just helped with the shape and adjustment. You could move before. Less fluent but you had no muscles or the likes before I helped and you still moved." (Liqu)

"Now finally tell what you want to tell!" (Shari)

"A core is stable. It is not impossible to learn but it is slow. Yet you will never forget anything." (Liqu)

"Your point?!" (Shari)

 

I start to get agitated.
Could she please just say what is going on with me!

 

"Yes. So without a basic template, it is simply impossible that you on your own could directly figure out how to move your mass. You need to have a base. That base was the ground set up of your core. You are a slime at your core, literally, so you know how to use your body. And so it seems that you have also some innate instincts. In this way, hunting and killing prey." (Liqu)

"So you say I did change?" (Shari)

 

That’s hard to stomach.
She basically said that even on the inside I am no longer human.
How shall I deal with this?
I honestly don’t know!

 

"I don’t think so." (Liqu)

"What!?" (Shari)

"I mean your character is still the most important. You may have some new desires or innate reactions, but that doesn't change who you are. Your origin is not determining who you are! You are still the one I decided to hold dear. Like I am not just a slime. I am Liqu! That’s how I see it!" (Liqu)

 

She says this with absolute confidence!

The thought, regarding how far I'm still the person I was, is unsettling and sad.
But somehow her words get through.
I don’t know what makes it better.
Nonetheless, my perception of myself feels less threatening to me now.
Maybe not human, but I believe her that I am myself and no one else when she says it like this.
It’s weird how after everything she has done to me, she now manages to cheer me up.
She must never know she got at my feels.

 

• Stupid slime!

.

.

.

• Stupid Liqu!

 

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