[Slimy Slime] Chapter 54: The Goblin Elite! Goblite, if you will.

I now had a force of fifteen hob-goblins run by Krrrgg. That was weird and bizarre to think about. Not only that but it was clear that there was some kind of… species block I wasn’t aware of. I mean heck, the moment they got up from their kneeling…

“Return to your training!” Krrrgg shouted out.

The hob-goblins, I swear to my slimy eyes, looked like actual soldiers as they snapped to attention and spoke in unison.

“””Yes Commander!”””

And then almost as one, went back to training with their iron spears. But now instead of the random attempts of funny little goblins trying to use them, they looked like they could actually kill with them. It wasn’t just the added foot of height or noticeable physical improvement… the mental changes were so… sharp.

“Wow.” I said.

Krrrgg had a serious face but that serious face was all smiles. For a moment, I saw a real general in the making. Krrrgg was a commander. I knew for a fact that wasn’t the only thing she could’ve become, goblins were extremely diverse. But I could definitely see why she had become one, why she had survived till now. She was basically made of grit, will, intelligence, and training. The Krrrgg I had originally met who wanted a quick monster snack was long gone. This Krrrgg had purpose. She was no longer constrained and she was pushing with all the force she could.

It lit a fire in me. Fighting against monsters was all well and good, and breaks were great, but I wanted what she had.

“Krrrgg! Train with me!”

A bloodthirsty expression appeared on her face but it almost seemed, tempered. Krrrgg was growing fast. Her world was more than just surviving from the next moment to moment. Hell, clearly, all the goblins were growing. I wouldn’t be left behind, don’t think you all can get character arcs without me! I’ll become the best damn King around and make this the best city in the world!

A [Goblin Commander] ran at me and I readied my fists.

******

Sandra sighed, stretching out her back. She had been pouring a lot of work into the city planning but it was finally done. It was rough and unusable for most, any proper [Architect] would tan her hide, but it was enough. It was amazing, what went into a city. It was different from just having one spring up and grow over decades, everything had to be planned because what took decades took King Slime weeks or months.

She could heard the sounds of fighting now. King Slime probably didn’t realize it… but he made quite the cute sounds when he fought. It was sometimes hard to understand. No, it was always hard to understand him. He was a monster, a slime, but also a [Dungeon Master]. His personality seemed to bounce around but he was usually cheerful and a bit… naive maybe. Always rushing head long into everything.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see her husband. Michael. He was smiling at her but not just her, but down at what was in her arms as well. Tilia. Her baby. Her daughter. She was sleeping right now, resting in her arms. Sandra smiled wide, feeling relaxed.

“How’s the tree chopping going my mighty [Lumberjack.]

Michael just laughed softly. “Great. I guess you didn’t manage to get King Slime to take a break?”

Sandra huffed. “I did actually… but it only lasted so long. You know how he is.”

Michael nodded, smiling sadly. They both understood the why, the how, the what. There was a goblin horde coming their way and that was terrifying. But King Slime… Slimy Slime… had not just nearly died… he’d actually died multiple times. As he got more comfortable with both of them, he’d told them more about things. He didn’t say where or why or how… just that he had an incredibly powerful ability to revive from the dead once a week, because of a certain item.

And he’d used it multiple times in the past few months. Not even that long ago, apparently.

“It’s not healthy.” Michael started. “Him dying like that, over and over again. I don’t care if he’s a monster… it’s not good for him.”

“I know that but…” Sandra sighed. “He won’t stop.”

Michael frowned. “But what’s there left to do?”

At that, Sandra was stumped. Slimy Slime hadn’t exactly held back on his complaints. He couldn’t find any monsters to eat for stats. He refused to say why but had simply said he couldn’t go too far from his [Dungeon Core] right now. He was, by every metric, trapped here. That’s why he’d gone after the wolf and why Sandra sometimes ‘looking’ at the odd Slime like item inside him. It was like he was anxiously waiting… and he was. He’d mentioned that after his ring was ready again, he was going back to hunting birds. The same thing that had resulted in his death the last time.

Sandra walked with Michael, her hand in his, with Tilia held in the other. It was so… strange to think about. But they’d begun to adapt. There was some precedence, they’d heard about plenty of monster kingdoms before. This was still… a bit much though. She never thought she’d be serving a monster King…

Sandra wasn’t stupid, she’d quickly realized that besides them and Krrrgg… Slimy didn’t have anyone. He never mentioned years, only months. As if that was all the time he’d ever spent in the forest. There might be more to his past… or he was simply born less than a year ago. That would make them the first humans, and the first people besides a goblin, that he’d ever spoken to. Sandra doubted that though, he knew too much. She wouldn’t pry, he’d tell them if he wanted to.

His motivations were simple, if nothing else. He wanted to be a King. Sandra has asked one day “Why?” The answer had been so… childish.

“Why? Uhh, I guess because it’s always sounded fun?”

Sandra frowned. “Fun?”

“Of course! Can you imagine it? I get to lie back on some big fancy chair, sideways of course like a true aloof ruler, while attractive people feed me grapes and I look on and am all like ‘Hmm yes, yes, very good. Very good. Leave me now my subjects.’ and then there might even be people who wave big fans at me to cool me off, all while some really cool guy plays music. Maybe even on a harp!”

Sandra blinked a few times, trying to process the utter insanity she had just heard.

“...you want to be a king to be pampered?”

“Hey! Don’t describe it so weirdly! It’s just… you know…. uh… fun! Sure, sure, there's a few other reasons here and there, a promise to be kept and such, but really why not? It’s fun to be at the top.”

Simple… and pure. That was better than most [King]’s or [Ruler]’s. Much better, even. It wasn’t really power or worship or wealth… Slimy Slime simply wanted to be at the top. To be king to be king. And she had felt it, seen it, knew exactly how much his citizens meant to him. Michael had too. It wasn’t act or even simply compassion, although that was there too. King Slime… he wanted all his citizens healthy, happy, and protected. Sandra was positive by now that he considered negativity a failure and he seemed to, if not hate it, fiercely fight against failure. Always doing something, always progressing. Never wanting to relax or take a step back.

“He’s going to work himself to death.” Sandra said as she and Michael walked down the stone roads towards the village.

“Literally.” Michael said. “He already has, apparently.”

Their lives and the life of their daughter were in the King’s hands. His many, many hands. If he died now, for good… Sandra worried what would happen. The Goblin’s nearby were friendly… but they were still goblins. Wild. Without Krrrgg to keep them in line, she was positive there would have been problems by now between her family and them. Goblins had almost no real restraint and their eyes practically gleamed with malice. There was a reason they were known for… some of the worst atrocities imaginable.

Yet, there was more to them. Sandra stared in awe, as they watched Krrrgg and Slimy Slime fight. They’d seen him practice… but actual fighting was unbelievable. They moved so fast they practically seemed to teleport, with King Slime actually teleporting. The [Goblin Commander] seemed to hold nothing back and as they watched the axe fall onto King Slime, their hearts skipped a beat. A shred of slime fell to the ground and Slimy Slime seemed to deflate a little.

“Dang it! Point for you.” He said, before resetting his position across from her and going again.

It was… brutal. All while fifteen Hob-Goblins-

Sandra whipped her head to the side. Fifteen Hob-Goblins? Her mouth dropped open, as she pointed them out to Michael.

“They evolved…” Michael said, Sandra nodding. She had taught them how to speak for almost a week now, she knew these goblins. No, these [Hob-Goblin]s. No wonder a flame had been lit inside King Slime… he must have felt like he was being left behind when he still couldn’t evolve.

It was an amazing scene. Their King and their… army leader fighting. It was utterly brutal, unrelenting. A force of fifteen [Hob-Goblins] training with iron spears. All while hundreds of goblins watched a little ways away from their village, staring with wide eyes. More than a few were already at the training field, practicing while trying to also watch the fight.

Sandra clenched Michael’s hand.

“I’m going to change my class soon.”

“Huh?” Michael said, tearing his eyes away from the scene. “Wait… you’re…”

Sandra smiled, nodding. “Level 51, Bronze Commoner.”

Michael’s face lit up, as Tilia stirred a bit.

“Are you going to become a [Seamstress]?” Michael asked.

“No.” Sandra said.

“No? Then…”

“Our lives… have changed. It’s only been a little while but where do you think we’ll be in a year? Two? Ten? I think we need to change with it. I’ve been thinking about this a while.”

“Whatever you feel is best.” Michael said with a smile.

Sandra glowed for a moment and she was a commoner no more. Slimy Slime, King Slime, paused his battle for a moment to look at her.

“Aw, damn, you switched classes already?! I was going to ask you to be the mayor of Slimetopia!” Slimy Slime said, as if offering a mayor position was nothing.

Sandra laughed as Tilia woke up in her arms, happy as can be.

“No thanks… but I don’t mind being your first [Architect].”

“Huh?! That’s a class too? That’s so cool!” King Slime said, before returning back to fighting Krrrgg.

Sandra smiled, looking down at her happy daughter. If nothing else… they seemed to be in good hands.