Chapter 86: Chapter 74

 

- Shari -

 

Since at the moment no catastrophe is occurring I decide to enjoy this.
The problem is, I don't really know how.
Having a suite for myself is nice and all, but it's not like I have anything to keep myself occupied.
Right now I become aware that with all the trouble Liqu caused, there was never a moment of respite that I could spend as I pleased.
There are some books in my new room, but we all know why reading them won't work out for me.
Even using the gloves wouldn't work, as they are too rough.
I don't want to explain to the count why I ripped apart his prized items.

Also, I should abstain from taking a stroll immediately after we got our rooms.
Causing an uproar this soon would be rude to our host and possible future employer.
And even the most common way to spend time is not available for me, since I cannot sleep.
Nighttime is still some hours away and would last at most two to three hours for me.
This means I need to find something.
Maybe I could train somehow.
Working on becoming stronger seems like a good idea.
Yet what should I train?
Practicing using the slime bullet worked out for a while, but it's expensive and I've got the basics down by now.
There might be some insecurities, but overall it's fine.

What else can I do then?
I ponder for a while.

...

• Right, why not?

 

I leave my room and peek into Liqu's.
That's something I should do anyway, to make sure she isn't up to cause trouble.
However, I cannot find her.

 

• Where the heck did that walking calamity go?!

 

Panicked, I enter the room, searching for any clues to her whereabouts.
The first things I find, besides some very clean plates of food, are her clothes.
So somewhere around here lurks a well-fed, naked slime.

 

"Drip"

 

One advantage of having an all-around view is that you are aware of places you usually wouldn't focus.
In this case, this leads to the following question,

 

"Liqu... What the hell are you doing on the ceiling?" (Shari)

 

She isn't even in human form, but just a blob, or rather a sheet clinging to the stone directly above me.
Something starts to shift inside that mass and I feel dread at the thought that she might separate and fall directly into me.
I'd like to take a step to the side.

 

• If she wasn't covering every bit of space above me!

 

Yet rather than that her head slowly forms out of the mass.
I wait patiently, as I know how difficult it is to recreate the necessary parts for speech.

 

"Shari! You came!" (Liqu)

"Could you please explain to me what you are doing up there?" (Shari)

"I am resting. This stone has the perfect composition to cling to." (Liqu)

"Sorry, I wasn't specific enough. Why are you doing that?" (Shari)

"Ehm, it was a long time since I could let go of these clothes and as it was such a nice opportunity, I wanted to take advantage of it by doing something special." (Liqu)

"And this warrants clinging to the ceiling?" (Shari)

 

Honestly, I'm extremely confused by her weird behavior, which still manages to surprise me.

 

"It feels great if your mass for once isn't pressured together, but pulled. A welcome change of pace. Do you want to join? I can make some space." (Liqu)

"No. No I don't want to. Also, can you please come down? It's creepy to talk to a head that hangs down from the ceiling." (Shari)

"Everything for you." (Liqu)

 

Before I can tell her that her reply makes my slime shiver all over, her mass gathers in the middle from the ceiling.
Then it slowly lowers down, as a huge pillar that sinks in the form of a strand.
I would really wish I could compare it to something else, but that, that...
That looks like someone with severe health conditions has a dripping nose.

 

• Gross!

 

Worse is just that I cannot close my eyes, due to my way of seeing and have to witness every little disgusting detail.
Nonetheless, I manage this time wondrously to keep it in, until she is done and has completely reassembled herself.

 

"You came for me!" (Liqu)

 

She directly heads in my direction, arms spread.

 

"No! No touching! I just wanted to look if you were up to something." (Shari)

"Ehm, no. You said I should stay still." (Liqu)

"Right. It's important. You might not have realized, but all the people here know about us and we are still fine. The count has control over this place, so if we don't displease him, we can stay. You said once you want to talk to people. Well, this is your chance. You just can't rush things. Hold yourself back and they might grow used to your presence. Then you can talk after a while. Just please, do nothing reckless." (Shari)

"Thank you so much for thinking this much about me." (Liqu)

"Okay, I trust you here. There was something else I wanted to ask." (Shari)

"Ask whatever you want." (Liqu)

"Sigh, how did you push that guy with the lightning sword so far? You barely touched him and I know perfectly well that we can't simply exert physical force." (Shari)

"You mean "impact"?" (Liqu)

"Yes, that one." (Shari)

"It's pretty easy, but very difficult." (Liqu)

"Alright. Now please without contradictory statements." (Shari)

"Uhh, I mean it's rather simple in theory, but actually very difficult to perform in practice. I usually don't use it, as the execution is problematic. Also, it's not very effective." (Liqu)

"Not effective? How far did he fly? Fifteen, twenty meters? Just like that." (Shari)

"Well, yes. But nothing else. The attack itself doesn't do actual damage. Just the contact with the ground, in the end, hurts. All you do is guiding movement into the target. They usually survive. Dissolving is better." (Liqu)

 

Sure, this slime is more the type to go for the kill, and meal.
So pushing her prey away goes completely against her instincts.
But honestly, to me, this sounds even better.
A non-lethal attack that is convenient to get rid of enemies when you are cornered.
This is helpful against rude people in a tavern or robbers on the street who I don't want to dissolve.

 

"Can you explain it to me? How do you guide force?" (Shari)

"Ehm, how much could you see when I did it?" (Liqu)

"Just that there was a wave in your body, which rushed in his direction." (Shari)

"Well, that's basically it. You start the wave at the place farthest away from the target and make it pass through your whole body to the point of contact while constantly increasing the speed. In the end, it shall directly enter where you touch. The force will then simply pass over and move it away, whatever it is." (Liqu)

"Okay, but what is now difficult about this?" (Shari)

"It sounds easy, but maintaining the control is veeery difficult. Especially at the end, when the speed is the greatest and you have to guide it from your whole body in just one single appendage. Furthermore, you cannot move while the wave passes your body. Because of that, it's not really recommended in actual combat. But when I got this damned lightning user, I just wanted to do it." (Liqu)

"So, creating a fast wave, and I have to stay in control." (Shari)

"This isn't so easy. The slightest aberration and the appendage you want to use gets ripped apart. Also, it has to happen very fast. Just one pulse to enter the target in a single moment. If it's done poorly, it can wreak havoc inside the target's body. This might actually be useful for killing by destroying the innards, but it's more of a sign that you worked sloppily and you can never be sure if and what kind of damage you did, if any. Furthermore, doing so poorly might very well backfire and make you explode instead of your target. Too dicey!" (Liqu)

 

Fine, I get it.
This is difficult and you can make countless mistakes.
Still, I want to learn this.
After all, it looks kinda cool.

 

"Does it cost much energy? It looks quite flashy." (Shari)

"If done properly? Not much. But if you explode it's a hassle to get the good slime back and there's quite a loss." (Liqu)

"Could I practice this? Wait, I have no target here." (Shari)

"You can simply try it on any kind of obstacle. I used trees to train, whenever I had energy to spare. You just have to feel if the pulse really does leave you, but static stuff tends to break from it." (Liqu)

 

• This is also a wall breaker!?
   
• I want to learn!

 

I simply go for the next wall, since Liqu said it doesn't matter.
Naturally, I won't use enough force to break it.
Also, this dungeon looks terribly sturdy.
I take a stance, place my hand in the middle and start a movement which I guide as a wave through me to the wall.
I realize, that this can really only work with a body like mine.
A special martial art for slimes.
If anyone would hear this they might think I'm pulling a joke.

Meanwhile, the wave moves forward, gets condensed to my arm...

 

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"Splash"

 

And my arm explodes, scattering everywhere in the room.
I feel the loss of energetic mass.
Also, the fact that my arm is gone again awakens some troublesome memories.
Sigh, that really was a bad way to wake up.

 

"Shall I help or do you want to fetch the fragments on your own?" (Liqu)

 

Did this slime just now seriously propose to help me gather my scattered body parts?

 

"No! No, no, no, no! I can do this myself! Please don't touch my body. And more important, don't put it back in me!" (Shari)

"Oh. And the pieces that landed in me? Shouldn't I compensate you?" (Liqu)

 

• I really didn't want to be informed about that!

 

"Please, just don't talk about this any further. That's compensation enough." (Shari)

 

Fortunately, she doesn't and I proceed to recollect the batches of mine on the ground and walls.
A very disturbing task.
I know that for a while I relied on Liqu to refill me, but I want to avoid it if it's not necessary.

Even more, since we had that talk about that there's always some lingering mass originating from humans.
And since I made up my resolve to do the dissolving myself, I would like to keep it that way.
I notice that I get most of my energy back through recollecting.
Also, if there really is a gap in the end, I have still our provisions.
We stocked a good amount of flesh and this should work out to get me full again.

 

• So, ready for the next round.

 

"It would maybe be better if you start with a slower wave. The impression when it leaves you might be weaker, but you get easier used to the feel of guiding the pulse. After this, you can increase the speed." (Liqu)

 

She might be right.
I was focused on doing it right from the start, but the idea to slowly get used to the feeling appears right to me.
If I think about this, this is even simpler than the slime bullet.
There I had to push and pull at the same time.
Here it's just about pushing.
Yet the difficulty comes with the tightening space.
I already learned to send a wave through my body, as a means to do a self-scan regarding my current energy level.
It's not too easy, because it's a wave, a thin line of movement which has to stay as such.
But the real difficulty lies in gathering the whole force at a single point.

I've just felt it.
The moment when I tried to gather all the energy into my arm it directly started to spread in all directions, unwilling to stay compressed like this at one place.
The solution is easy and difficult at the same time, like a certain someone said.
I can't suppress that force, but have to guide it.
It wants to escape, so I have to provide a path.
In this case, through my arm into the target.

I take a stance and start the wave from my foot which I intentionally put behind me.
I'm getting the idea that if I would start a second wave from my top and merge them in my arm the power might increase considerably.
However, I should be realistic about my current abilities.
Especially after my initial failure.

This time, I make the pulse intentionally slow.
The moment it reaches the arm I again feel how it wants to spread in all directions.
I concentrate as much as I can, not to press back, but rather guide it along my arm as a way to escape.
Time seems to slow down and I am able to do so.

 

"Whm"

"Great! You're improving so fast, incredible!" (Liqu)

 

• Not enough.
   
• Not even close.

 

There was no real speed and because of that the action had no force to it.
Some of the energy entered the wall, but it would barely amount to a normal shove.
This much I can do even without fancy techniques.
So I have to speed it up to achieve the desired effect.

What became obvious, is that I need high-speed thinking if I want to have a chance to control the direction.
Yet I came to realize that this increase in my processing ability not only puts pressure on my mind, but also costs energy.
This limits this skill's usefulness.

One can't get something from nothing, and so, enhanced processing takes energy.

However, I only need it for the moment when the compressing starts.
This will significantly decrease the necessary costs.
So it comes all down to timing.
I need to spread the wave evenly, start to control the direction it takes, and activate my core to keep up with the development.
And all of this, if it shall apply to a real combat situation, in a perfect short timeframe.

In addition, to make this a bit more difficult for me, the slower I move the wave, so I can adjust the passing into the appendage, the longer it takes me to realize.
My last attempt took me five seconds.
Any idea what this would mean in front of an enemy?
I simply cannot afford to stay this static in a fight.
This means I need to increase my speed.
And while I'm at it, I should also add to my list to train to move the parts where the wave isn't passing, so I can stay mobile during the action.
Yet that appears a little unrealistic at my current level.

I think I have it down now.

 

• Move it faster, stay in control.

 

Sounds easy enough.
I again bring my hand to the wall and start the wave.

 

"Splash"

 

And my arm explodes.

 

• Damnit!
   
• What went wrong?

 

Okay, I know what went wrong, but I don't want to admit it.
I'm simply not good enough.
It was just too much.
I am not used to this kind of movement.
Guiding a wave inside one's own body is nothing a human would or could do and like this is a terrible foreign action to me.
I have no feeling for doing something like this and so I don't know what the right adjustments in detail would be.
Performing this move is difficult because of that.

While I again collect the splatters of my body I ponder what to do.
I want to achieve now some kind of result which I can use as a starting point and not only after an unknown time of practice.
Some progress.
If there would just be a way to decrease the difficulty.

 

• That's it!

 

I take a stance, move my right leg behind me, and grasp with my left arm the place where my right elbow would be if I had one.
Then I start the wave at the same speed as before.
The wave rushes from my legs, up to my torso, through my chest, and enters both of my arms.
Like this, the separated waves join and combine into one.
By doing so I could distribute the compression of force to two instances, my shoulders and the place where my arms connected.
It's still terribly difficult, but during the last moments, I can keep the force together with all my will until it reaches the wall.

 

"Wham"

 

That felt right.
I could feel how power surged into the wall.
I remove my hand.

Cracks!
I've cracked a stone wall!

 

"Wow! You're learning so fast! I trained like forever for this kind of progress. You are so great!" (Liqu)

 

Personally, I don't know how I shall feel about this praise.
For one, it's a manifestation of her obsession and so a biased statement.
Also, it lacks any jealousy.
No matter what I do, I can't put her off with my actions.
Not even having the slightest reaction to me overturning her is a tiny bit vexing.

And then there is a third reason.
One that might make me a bad person.
The truth is, I had to learn this technique and need to develop it further.
There is one specific reason.
I realized it when the force entered the wall, but this can really exert some power on a target.
When the energy is guided inside it will force the target to move, no matter what it is.
Be it stone, water, or...

Slime!

This is my advantage!
If applied to Liqu, it might just throw her core out of her body, if I aim right.
I don't even have to touch her much, contact with one hand is enough.
This might still trigger linking, but not too intimately.
It's not like I directly plan to do something to her, but I want to stop being completely powerless against her.
With this technique, I might be the only being in this world able to suppress her.
And we all know that she isn't very stable.

But now that she's praising me like this for learning a way to fight her I start to feel a little guilty.
But nonetheless, for me, this was an improvement.

 

"Thank you. I am sure this will be useful." (Shari)

"Everything for you!" (Liqu)

 

Sigh, sure.

With this, I head back to my room.
I just hope no one will demand that I pay for the cracks in the wall.

When I'm back I practice some more.
However, it only amounts to recounting the theory and some limited guiding of a wave, because I cannot afford to break anything in here.
And I mean afford, since every item inside this room might be a heavy blow to my finances.
Thus it might not be too bad that Liqu took the stone cell with the torture devices instead of a high-quality apartment.

How much do torture devices cost?
Oh no, I'm getting worried again.

When I don't feel like continuing anymore, it got late.
However, even going late into my standby mode will very likely get me back up all too soon.
Maybe I could somehow prolong the time.
Considering my experiences with the standby mode, it might help if I would actually enjoy it and could relax.
Usually, I don't since I always put myself under pressure.
Not only because I was always dressed up.
My other reason is that I absolutely dread turning into a blob.
To let go of all my tension to maintain my form would imply exactly that.
I would stop sustaining my shape.
Until now I had this kind of experience, but doing so voluntary feels like I'm giving in to something and like this would lose in some way, as ridiculous as this sounds.

On the other side, it has something tempting.
That I could just once try to let go, not being concerned with my looks, and having to prevent even the slightest slip.
In this regard, this is an absolutely unique chance.
Liqu isn't here and the door is locked, while I have the key.
She wouldn't know and I wouldn't have to deal with her reaction.
I mean, when was the last time I could spend a night alone?

 

• I kinda want to.

 

Still, I'm a little worried.
When I choose to let go, how far might that go?
What if my structural integrity completely ceases?
Could my core move to the ground?
I know for certain that I don't want my brain replacement to roll on the stone and get scratches.
Yet just for this problem, there is a solution.
There is a special object in this room.
One that outright calls me.

The tub.

I would just have to jump in and wouldn't end as a puddle.
This, even with all my aversions, feels like an opportunity that might never come back.
With that thought, I get rid of my clothes and place myself inside the tub.

There is another positive point.
I really missed sleeping in a bed.
Not only is it inconvenient to rest somewhere on the ground since all fabric gets instantly drenched, to me it just feels plain wrong.
While I'm aware that this is a tub, the possibility to lay myself down is a huge plus on my side.
For once it feels good to rest like this.
It's a bit like a hammock.
Not quite the same, but taking my situation into account this is the closest I can come.

Then I let go.
And become a puddle.
My arms and legs lose shape, flow down, and mix with the current till I can't distinguish the mass anymore.
I closed my eyes, as pointless as that was, but I guess I couldn't open them anymore anyways since they are already gone at this point.
Like the rest of my head, which sank down in this shapeless mass.

Right, that's not very great.

But I don't feel like fighting back right now.
That would be contradicting my rest.
There is a foggy feeling of input above me, but I blend it out since I want to calm down.
I guess this works.
It feels gross, but when I get over this I think this may be really restoring.
I think I want to sleep.
In some way.
.
.
.

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