《A slimes time》 A monsters heart The marketplace stirs as the morning sun rises, I open the door to my store, the beasts inside already awake and trying to get my attention. I send a silent prayer to Loyt for the silence rune on the cages. Standing outside to try to gauge the customers, a quiet falls over the surrounding market. I look over at my neighbour, usually a loudmouth who catches everyone''s attention, he delicately places fruits on the outside rack. ¡°Morning John, is something happening?¡± He looks over my shoulder and points down the street, I turn to look at the disturbance. A man quietly walks through the forming crowds, a young girl sits atop his shoulders, a smile wide on her face. I watch as the crowd parts, although the thing drawing the most attention isn''t him but the three tall metal guardians following behind. A noble crest covers the front of the armour as purple ruins flow along the surface. I slowly slink back into my store, my heart pounding, I swear the man was looking at me. Reaching the nearest cabinet, I grab out a feeding bag and a cup. Moving along the cages, the first animal is a small pink ball of fluff. I think it was related to faireys somehow but is now just a domesticated pet. It yips around in excitement as I pour the green cubes into its cage. The next cage is covered by more runes as the creature inside is a large black snake, a black aura flowing out of the creature. Unlike the usual hissing and biting at the cage, it''s quiet and shaking, its attention solely focused on the front of the store. I look around and notice all the other animals as the same, some cowering in corners and others playing dead. The bell in the door rings making me jump in surprise. ¡°Morning, how may i-¡± My voice is caught as I realise it''s the man, the girl still on his shoulders. Being this close i realise, they have small horns on the front of their heads, a trait for demon nobility. A shiver goes down my spine as I realise the girl is staring at me, her eyes constantly changing color, pointing out of her flowing blond hair, a white and black horn sitting in the same spots as the man.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°So can you help us?¡± The man says, as if forced back to reality. ¡°Sorry, I was caught in thought, how may I help you young sir?¡± The girl giggles at my bad acting, the man sharing a smile. ¡°It''s my daughter''s birthday, and she really wants a pet. I was wondering if you could help us¡± I slip back into my professional personality and put the food away, the list of possible pets suitable for such a young girl. Anything in the elemental section is out, the draconic subspecies are too heavy and hard to feed. Ah, sprites or maybe a plant based creature. A thud catches my attention, the few animals either too stupid or lacking a survival instinct still make noise. The sound comes from the garden pests section, often used for tests or food for other creatures. ¡°Oh, a slime, how curious¡± The man says already at the cage''s location, I didn''t even notice him move. ¡°Local hunters use them for bait, Sir if you come over here I think one of these would be better¡± ¡°Daddy I want that one¡± Her voice was quiet, barely audible. I could sense something of warmth in each word, my curiosity peaking. Her father looked at her with a chuckle and looked over at me with a pleading look. ¡°2 silver for the slime, food is basically anything, I caught that one myself. I think it was trying to eat a villager''s crops last winter when it fell into a mud pit.¡± I chuckle at the memory of the slime slowly eating the mug only to be washed back down. ¡°We will take it¡± The man said looking at the girl, she nodded quickly in excitement. ¡°I will get the key fo-¡± A crunch sounds stops me in my tracks, the man had touched the cage. An anti theft rune kicked in, but unlike the usual zap, the entire rune collapsed. The man looks devastated at his hand than over me with an apologetic look. ¡°Its okay, must have been the age¡± I say with a chuckle ¡°consider the slime on the house, coverage for the rune zapping you¡± After a moment of bickering the slime is sitting snugly in the girls arms, I smile at the two as they leave my shop. Only now do I realise that the animals weren''t looking at the man but the young girl. The smell of animal urine fills my nose, should have installed smell runes, Guess it''s time to clean? Friendship In a small room located at the upper layers of the castle, a young girl plays with a slime while a man chalking runs into the floor. A maid quitely stands next to the girl, holding a bucket of small glowing rocks. ¡°Young miss, I believe the lord has finished.¡± She looks up to the maid and over to her father, a detailed runic circle covers a section of the floor, each layer more detailed than last. ¡°Father?¡± she says standing up, slime jumping on the floor. The lord looks over at the two, a shiver running up the maids'' backs, those cold calculating eyes, the mark of his less noble side, the side that is about to force a rune of binding onto a slime. ¡°Lily, bring the slime over¡± ¡°Mr slime¡± lily pouted at her father not using Mr slimes name, of course slimes don''t have genders but she didn''t know this nor did anyone consider the risk worth it telling her. ¡°Sorry sweetheart, Please bring Mr slime to the circle¡± A smile rose on her face, she grabbed a glowing rock from the bucket and offered it to Mr slime. A hop later and it was happily sitting in girls arms, devouring the stone. She slowly stroked the slime, walking into the circle, avoiding the runes as best she could. ¡°Meria would you mind finding leo?, he should be here in case anything happens¡± ¡°Yes my lord!¡± Meria left the room, leaving the bucket near the door. ¡°Okay Lily, i''m going to start the ritual, remember that I will be here to stop it if anything happens¡± ¡°Okay daddy¡± lilly smiled as mana flooded out of her fathers hands, stroking the slime to calm both her and it. ¡°You won''t be able to hear me for a few minutes, try to form a bond with Mr slime, cover yourself with mana if it starts to hurt '''' The mana poured out at an increased pace, the chalk circle lighting up a range of colors. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The room was filled with light as the girl and Mr slime were encased in mana, to the young girl, it appeared as if it was just her. Panic slowly rose up on her face, as she felt something bump into her chest, looking down, Mr slime was bouncing around. *Panic* The girl stroked the slime, she knew that this was the result of the ritual. Her auntie had a pet griffin who could talk to people telepathically. She cried when she first met it, only to receive a strong sense of peace emanating from the bird. *confusion* ¡°It''s okay Mr slime, I won''t hurt you¡± She smiled while petting it slowly, each stroke pushing a tiny bit of mana into it. *Joy* ¡°Do you want to be my friend Mr slime?¡± she received an odd send of emotions from this, she could feel the slime focusing on her. Trying with its limited reasoning to understand a concept so alien and foreign to itself. *confusion* *happiness* Lily smiled at this, she had earned a friend today. She hugs the slime as a blinding light emanates from the two
¡°CONTRACT INITIATED BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS {Lilly Ridmah} {#####}¡±
[ERROR]
[SYSTEM CORRECTION INITIATING]
¡°CONTRACT INITIATED BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS {Lilly Ridmah} {Mr Slime}¡±
¡°AGREEMENT OF FRIENDSHIP ACCEPTED¡±
¡°CALCULATING REWARDS¡±
[ERROR]
[SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS LOCKED]
[RAISING COGNITIVE LEVEL]
[SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ACCEPTED]
[INITIATING SYSTEM FOR INDIVIDUAL ¡°Mr Slime¡±]
¡°CALCULATING REWARDS¡±
¡°CALCULATING TITLES¡±
¡°CONTRACT COMPLETE¡±
{LOYT SMILES UPON YOUR ACTIONS}
¡®Hungry¡¯ was Mr Slimes first though at seeing these odd squiggles, the experience of something new made little notice for him, food was his current goal. ''he?'' he thought, the fact he could think was as odd to him as these squiggles were or the increasing sharp feeling in his jello, ''pain'' he came to realise, something else new and it hurt. Soon the pain overcame him, the darkness over taking his newly cognitive mind, another new experience that he hated. Friend Lily Understanding of self is a weird concept, especially so for our friend Mr slime, who was currently sitting atop the head of his only ¡®friend¡¯ Lily. His current problem was that since recently he had only the desire to eat anything that would fit in his mouth, but now, there were so many new feelings and desires. With the limited understanding he had gained, the realisation of that friend Lily was the one who saved him and kept feeding him tasty things. After he had awoken, he found friend lily also asleep, as such the only reasonable action was to find something comfortable and wait for friend lily to give more tasties. Which might have been friend Lily''s head. The other non friends took exception to this, the tall horned one ran to pull him away from friend lilly. The other non friend, a small fellow with a beard and a long stupid stick in his hand. Shouting something that seemed panic as the horned one touched him, which is often frowned upon, even for non slimes. The liquid covering the slime''s body changed, the horned one quickly took back his hand, a lack of hair on his hands but no damage to the skin, a clear threat from the slime. **********The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. It took another hour for the lord to move lily to the couch, the slime not reacting unless hostility was shown to it or lilly. ¡°Well at least we know the binding rune worked, or she would have already lost her haid¡± The old man said, dark but true though the lord had to admit. ¡°You priests and your jokes¡± he turned to the man, Leo, a high priest that had worked for his family for years. ¡°Can you wake her up, gently as you can¡± Leo lifted his hand, mumbling something non legible, the air in the room gained a sweet scent. Lily began to stir, sitting up and wiping her eyes, she looked around the room, confusion clear on her face. Realisation hit and she reached above her head, Mr slime falling down onto her lap with a plop, she smiled and started stroking his head. ¡°Dad, Mr leo¡± she looks at the two, a stern look in her eyes ¡°did you hurt Mr slime while I was asleep?¡± Her horns glowing slightly, Mr slime suddenly bounced at her stomach, calming her down. ¡°I''ll calm down,¡± she said, hugging it closely. ¡°We didn''t lily, It just sat on your head the entire time.¡± The lord looked at the slime and Lily looked at each other. ¡°How did the contract go? Can you understand it?¡± The room went quiet as she looked at her dad ¡°Hes my friend, It isn''t like talking, more like i can sense it or feel his intent. Mainly right now he''s hungry and happy I''m awake¡± she looks around the room again and spots the bucket in the hands of her favorite maid. ¡°Meria, may i have that bucket please?¡± ¡°Yes, young miss¡± Grabbing a stone out, she drops it onto Mr slimes head, quickly falling into its body and starts to dissolve. The slime happily jumping in return, the mana swirling around the jello inside. Grabbing the slime, she walks out of the room, a stone in each pocket and a slime on her head. ¡°Time for a tour Mr slime¡±