[Slimy Slime] Chapter 47: A startling change.

It was time to go back! In fact… it had been time to go back for a long while now. But! I needed some me time. As I’d disturbingly learned very early on… there aren’t a lot of ways a slime can relax! Becoming a puddle on the ground did well enough but I made sure not to go to sleep. It had gotten dark by now but what a day…

However. There was one tiny small little issue. I was afraid.

Every single time I go home something new has happened! An army of goblins, people and a baby, a mountain of corpses, them all learning how to speak Common so quick! I could see the stone walls of the first ‘circle’ and I had never felt more proud. I practically felt chocked full of emotion actually. Death, pain, dying, battle but… but this wall was mine. Everything beyond it was my Kingdom. Maybe one day I’d replace it with steel and build farther and farther out but… for now… this wall was a symbol to me.

My childish dreams come to life.

Come on Slimy Slime! Just take a deep breath and face whatever is on the other side of this wall! I can do this!

Slowly, cautiously, I flew up into the sky. I could hear sounds coming from the other side, strange sounds. This was the village ‘slice’ so I knew I’d be seeing a bunch of the goblin's houses but it would be fine. I just had to-

I gasped.

My brain went into turmoil and I nearly crashed, landing on top of the stone wall. What I was seeing… my brain misfired again in such a short period of time. I could understand it but, but it was like a hammer blow to my brain.

People.

I’d seen goblins, I’d read about their tendencies in their description, I knew they were the enemy. I’d seen the damn ocean worth that Krrrgg brought back. In many, many ways I considered them… I guess like animals. Normal ones, at least. If they attacked, fair game. I still hadn’t and didn’t want to eat a goblin… way too human. But besides Krrrgg… I hadn’t been thinking much of them. I don’t know what I expected. I guess, part of me just thought of them as robots as well, because I guess I never expected them to do anything but eat, fuck, and die. Maybe train under Krrrgg’s command.

Now… I saw them. People. Given the chance, they were people like anyone else.

I hadn’t been mean or stupid when making their houses, I’d made them nice, fit for a human with some modifications according to Krrrgg. And while I could see a lot of goblin’s training under Krrrgg on training yard I had never set up… I also saw goblins just… existing.

One of them seemed to be weaving something in a chair she’d brought outside, another group was building new houses out of some of the trees Michael had chopped down, many we’re talking amongst each other, and some were facing towards the setting sun with smiles on their faces and arms wrapped around each other. Heck, I could see goblin children, probably no older than a few days, already up and running around and playing. Someone had even made a ball somehow.

It was a village, a true village. Not just in name. It didn’t, it didn’t make sense. Not to me. Krrrgg was smart but goblins… they were nearly mindless beasts, like stupid children. But how much intelligence did you need to smile at a sunset, talk to your fellow people, weave and build? How much did you need to train like your life depended on it and play with the other children?

Not much.

I sat there and watched, feeling worse by the minute. I’d seen dead goblins before, in a pile, and thought not much of it besides general horror. I would have reacted… very differently had it been a pile of dead humans. I was in a fantasy world now and I wasn’t even human anymore. People didn’t come in one shape or size here. They barely had back on earth, with dolphins, octopuses, and crows having human level intellect.

I imagined all of the goblins evolving, how their intellect would grow, how they’d be no different from Krrrgg. All they needed for a rapid increase in development was higher stats. You can’t judge a human by their time as a baby. That would be beyond unfair. These people… they hadn’t been given the chance to grow. I saw what the [Goblin Chief] was scared of now. There was a massive difference between ruling over children and adults.

No longer were these just… creatures I was using for a war. They were people. My people. And every person the [Goblin Chief] sent my way, was another person I’d have to kill. 100,000… I… I can’t… I don’t want to kill so many people.

“It’s amazing isn’t it?” A voice called out, knowing me out of my thoughts.

“Huh?!” I said, quite intelligently if I do say so myself.

Michael looked down at me and I once again noticed just how small I was. I didn’t even go up to his knee. I looked up and up, noticing how was smiling down. He took a seat nearby, watching the village with me.

“I knew goblins were social creatures and made villages but I never thought I’d get to see it with my own eyes.” He chuckled slightly. “Never wanted to see it either.”

“Goblins can’t just be evil right? Look at them… there has to be a community out there right?”

Michael scratched his face a little.

“Goblins are usually nasty little buggers. Very, very nasty. Every village knows about them and what they’ll do if they are allowed. They’re usually culled pretty quick. I don’t know what it’s like outside the human kingdoms though. There are monster kingdoms out there though, the Empire has fought with more than a few of them as they expanded. Most kingdoms run into one sooner or later.”

I frowned, heavily, my slimy eyebrows falling.

“Is there no peace between Monsters and [Humans]?”

“Oh! No, there is, uh, dragons and werewolves are well respected. The Kingdom of Beasts have some tension but I hear it’s a good place. They say Elves get along with them really well! A-And it’s not like Monsters are disallowed everywhere. Dwarves and elementals are close friends even! Humans,” And strangely, I could hear the vocal difference here. “Are a bit… uh… they don’t along with most but there’s still plenty of Monsters around as long as they follow the laws and stuff. Like, wizard familiars and I once even saw some a kobold walking around in the capital!” Michael was quick to answer.

Hmm. That’s… interesting. I know a lot of people won’t be too pleased with me but… I may actually be able to form alliances huh. That’ll be important in the future.

“What about me?” I asked.

“You?” Michael looked at me, surprised.

Then he looked at me with frown and a bit of shame.

“...you have a [Dungeon Core].” Was all he said.

Ah. Allies might be just… a tad harder than expected. Wait! I can probably hide that fact… but not the species I am going to evolve into. Well… whatever. Right now wasn’t about me. Not really. It was about them.

I watched for a little while more, feeling the weight of my crown even as it wasn’t on my head. People were going to die. I was going to kill them, kill them before they had a chance to truly become what they were meant to be, because one goblin had gotten a bit stronger than the rest.

The crown wasn’t on my head… and yet it had never felt heavier.

“Well! We better get back to work. Got an army to fight! How was your day? I died! Almost twice! Oh, uh, and the [Black Eyed Wolf] is dead!”

Michael gaped at me for all of half a second.

“WHAT?!”

*******

“You… really… killed it?”

“Yes.”

“It’s… dead?”

“Yes.”

“But… but how?”

Now that was uncomfortable question.

“Well, I mean, I killed it. I’m pretty strong ya know?”

Sandra and Michael just gaped at me, little Tilia suckling on her mother’s breast. I was patient, as a good king should be, not at all exhausted and wanting to go to bed for a good long, long while! Maybe even have a totally manly, not at all vulnerable cry about how bad my spirit hurt from earlier and the fact that I had actually nearly died for real. That part was even true! Only true men and women can let out their emotions and not keep things bottled up, all others are just faking it like idiots!

Sadly, right now I had to present the image of a totally emotionally and mentally stable individual that was also somewhat wise and definitely powerful enough to actually beat that wolf. No reason to panic my people with details!

“P-Please King Slime!” Sandra called out. “You must give us details!”

Fuck.

A long conversation ensued, with me revealing everything that I did today. Sandra and Michael and even little Tilia shivered when I talked about The Big Bird and they had no idea what it was. Damn. I went into detail over my fight with the [Black Eyed Wolf] and they were horrified to learn it had a Berserker Skill. It had never used it before. That thing was truly a beast. Then I… sadly went into detail over how I killed it. After all… never bottle things up! Sometimes that meant painfully explaining to your blossoming friends and second batch of citizens after Krrrgg that you basically exploded into a life sucking blackhole that somehow healed you and saved your life, by pure accident.

“Amazing…” Michael said.

“Stupid.” Sandra immediately replied.

They looked at each other, one squinting and the other looking slightly ashamed.

“You could have died.” Sandra said and I sensed real fear in her voice.

“Well… it’s not like I was planning on it! What else could I have really done?”

Sandra glared at me, which was new. “You said your stats were limited to, Gods, 50 each? Why didn’t you increase them all to max before trying to fight something a tier higher! Even if you increase the limit, so what? How does that help, unless you’re going to dump it all into Spirit or Strength?”

“Uh… well…”

“And you’d just died earlier that day! Why didn’t you wait or come back and get that bracelet you told me about from Krrrgg?! I’ve seen her use it, she teleports around like a shadow!”

“Well… ya see…”

“And why didn’t you call for backup?! You could have gotten Krrrgg to help you! Your weird dungeon core system never said you had to kill a Generation 2 alone right?!”

I coughed. I had told them roughly about the [Crowned System] but just attributed it to the [Dungeon Core]. It was mostly true even, just in reverse. I’d gotten the [Dungeon Core] because of the system (and Demon being pretty cool), not the other way around.

“And on top of that…”

Sandra tore me to shreds, over and over and over again, railing into me. Alright, alright! I get it, I’m stupid! It’s not my fault, I haven’t even been in this world half a year! Tactics and fighting and strategy beyond wacky ideas don’t come naturally to me! I’m not a general or a born fighter! Please, someone save me!

Michael eventually did, the glorious man. Sandra took a pause for breath, Tilia seeming to also get worked up with her, making me feel like I was getting tag teamed as she copied her mannerisms in her arms.

“I’m glad you survived.” He said.

Sandra let out a deep breath.

“King Slime… if you die… You can’t. We can’t go through another change like that. Tilia…”

My heart lurched.

“I will survive.” I said, iron in my voice. “I won’t die, not permanently, not forever. I’ll always come back, I’ll always still be here.”

Sandra looked at me, seeking reassurance in my slimy eyes, and nodded. Thank god I made myself some slimy eyes to go along with my eyebrows, even if they were more vague indentations.

With that said, the couple left to get some rest as night had truly fallen. As for me… I was absolutely pooped.

I was gonna hit that new pillow bed like it owed me money.