5 Ryde or Die

It took a little over two weeks until reports were proven. Slimes were here too.

Slow moving, bouncing molasses of magic and organic material.

It took us so long to prove because all the Slimes that had entered our world were attaching themselves to flora, fauna, and creatures of all sizes.

They turned into monsters and it didn't take long before the world got rid of CE and began claiming that the world was entering the Era of Fantasy, the FE. Even though most of humanity despises the mockery that the name elicits on their now small population, the name isn't going anywhere.

To this day, no one knows the connection between Slimeborn and the Gobs, but the Slimes act as an accelerant and mutation for anything it touches. Horses become blazing nightmares, rabbits grow horns, rats shoot lighting, lizards become dragons, monstrous creatures form honey traps to use and abuse their prey before devouring them, and other numerous amazing sights are out there to be discovered.

However and for whatever reason these creatures evolve to resemble human myth doesn't matter in the end though, the ones that are most dangerous to human, Enlightened, and Gob alike are the fusions.

When a Slimeborn creature devours a Proto-Gob, you end up with pure unpredictability and power over others in their tier.

-Exert from "The Real Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," by Connery Hues of the Hawaiian Free People's Republic

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Odd was at the bottom of the food chain. He was wasn't disillusioned by the fact that he had killed a Goblin already. That was pure luck on his part. So, using his brain, he decided to spend more time re-sheathing his knife to his back before jumping from tree branch to tree branch. That was much safer than scurrying across the forest floor.

It was much harder than he thought it would be.

His claws were able to sink into the branches just fine, but some would break under his weight and he would miss others completely!

The position of the sun was dipping past it's zenith, so he knew he was running out of time, but he couldn't abandon his travel method.

So far, he had spotted a terrifying wolf, a giant boat that shook the earth as it walked, and a humanoid creature that he identified as a [Porc], when he observed it. All of these creatures would have been able to kill the young Proto-Goblin with ease if his position was blown.

[Unnatural Sponge] activated

[Canopy Grace] skill gained. Dart across branchlike obstacles at your running speed with the ease of creatures that were born in the trees.

Finally, why was it so fast when he just looked at his mother, but it took so long to learn something helpful this time?

If a Wood Elf heard his thoughts, they wouldn't cough up blood because that doesn't actually make sense, but they would still be angry at him. That skill usually takes decades of practice to learn!

"Haha!" Odd yelled as he darted through the trees in bliss. He was so enamored, that he didn't notice the Hawk that flew down and bit him on the shoulder. A few inches to the right and Odd would have been a dead Gob.

Odd cursed as the hawk flew back up in the air when he tried to shock it with his lightning from his fingers. The current him couldn't damage anything with his magic without touch, so he was forced to relent as it rose in the sky.

His new wound was currently leaking Proto-Gob biomass. Although his kind will quickly perish if a major body part is removed or smashed, a nick like this will heal fairly quickly.

It wouldn't be quick enough, so he grit his teeth and burned the hole in his shoulder with the torturous pain of his Yin Lightning.

It was worse than anything he could imagine. He almost fainted from the self-harm as his skin melted beneath his fingers, but he knew he would die if the wound continued to leak under the bird's onslaught.

[Observe] activated.

Name: N/A

Race: Hawk (Juvenile), T1

Race description: Slimeborn predatory bird with a strong wind affinity.

[Stats: A slightly higher Body than yours that accounts for its much faster speed and a Wind Affinity that it cannot currently use due to its low Mind and Soul.]

The hawk circled the air, giving Odd enough time to ready his weapon. He stared straight into the air, watching, waiting.

And it dove.

As the hawk flew downwards at Odd, he used his gracefulness in the trees and quickly juked between two branches when the hawk was too committed to change its course.

The knife blade sunk into the hawk's back and Odd took the moment where it flapped it's wings and fell to the ground to wrap his legs around the bird.

*Thud*

The bird landed on the ground, but Odd held on to his weapon that was stuck deep between the hawk's ribs. He decided he needed to end this quick as the bird rolled onto its side and shoved him against the ground.

He tucked the knife against his chest and wrapped it with one arm as he rested the other hand against the back of its head and unleashed his magic.

The bird screeched, flooding Odd's eardrums while his world blurred.

[Yin Lightning Affinity] raised from 0.3 to 0.4

When his vision cleared, he noticed that he was back in the air, now holding onto this damnable chicken for dear life!

Thankfully, the bird couldn't get very high in the air, but it was falling and rising, shifting erratically in the air on its death throws.

The knife eventually came loose and Odd held onto its neck for dear life for with all his remaining strength as the bird crashed near the bank of a river that was roughly ten foot wide.

"So close..." Odd grimaced as he caught his breath. He never swam before, had no idea what lives in that water, and was tired as hell. He could barely move a muscle right now, let alone swim!

After recovering a for a moment, he retrieved his knife and looked over the corpse. It was heavy and he could probably carry it back to the cave as it is, but he could could make the trip easier.

Slowly and methodically, Odd sliced down the abdomen and started removing the guts to lighten his load.

"Ara ara, aren't you an interesting one?"

[Observe] activated

Name: Sophia Shells

Titles: [Wanderer]

Race: Mermaid, T3

Race details: An Enlightened, race following the 'fish,' evolutionary path of Proto-Gobs that lived near water, Mermaids refuse to take the step to walk on land again and boast high water affinities that give them a natural ability to form water in the air as they breath through their gills. They usually possess empathetic abilities that work on other creatures of the ocean.

They tend to avoid humanoid contact in preference towards sea life, but will attack just as often as watch if they come into contact with one.

They are identified by their humanoid upper half and fishlike tails.

[Stats: You should run because it can't follow you on land.]

Shells? What kind of horrible, cliche last name is that. 'Wait,' Odd thought to himself. 'I don't have a last name, should I just take my mother's?'

He broke from his thoughts and finally answered the newcomer with eloquence that matched his intelligence.

"Uhh, thanks?"

The mermaid was, as sailors of ancient times could imagine, stunning. Half of Odd's instincts were telling him that should run from this blue eyed, fiery-haired beauty could kill him with a wave of her tail that glistened from moisture with a shine that matched her eyes. The other half didn't care, it just wanted to stay and stare forever. Those oversized breasts were barely held in place by a wrapping that looked very much like seaweed bandages.

He wanted her as his own, but he knew he was not only weak, but ugly and small. Such a woman would never want him. His mother was the one who told him he was too ugly and he believed her.

"First you ride the bird from the sky and now you are dressing it like a human? Your kind just doesn't do, well, any of the things you're doing!"

"Well that's speciesism."

The mermaid frowned, "Stereotypes exist for a reason, ya know?"

Odd continued dressing the bird, but the pretty mermaid didn't leave. She just watched the sight with an amused expression. He decided to rinse his hands off in the water and explain himself.

"My mother wanted some cooked meat cause she's chained to a wall, so I wanted to get her some and it was to heavy to carry without gutting it first."

"The... what? You're a newborn Gob!" she yelled as if he didn't know what he was.

"And you're a mermaid," Odd retorted.

"But why do you care if your mother gets... anything?" Sophia asked.

"Cause. I wouldn't want to be raped and chained to a wall. Would you?"

She... blushed? "Of course not! But that still doesn't make any sense, what about the other breeding sows your tribe has or whatever has? Do you think they want it?"

Odd paused and rubbed his chin. That was an interesting thought. It didn't take him long to come to a conclusion though, "They... I don't care about them."

"What? Why do you care about your mother then? You're a Proto-Gob, I've seen thousands of them and they don't care about anything but eating and fucking!"

"Uhh, I don't know yet, but I feel like I should and I think she should be taken care of." Odd answered. "I'll think on your point later, but I don't feel like I should save anyone that isn't... mine?"

Is his mother his? The boss of the tribe said she was, but the woman would never submit to him in. She was a prisoner, but would never be broken. And he didn't like the idea that she could be broken anyway. His feelings were confusing, so he pushed it to the back of his head. It was definitely that [Empathetic Anomaly] bullshit.

Odd went to grab the bird, but Sophia stopped him.

"You're weird, but let me help you here. Your mom said she wanted it cooked, right?

She flicked her finger in a show of power and an orb of water wrapped around the bird. Odd watched closely as the feathers fell off before it started steaming and the smell of freshly cooked poultry filled the air.

"Wow."

The mermaid giggled and waved at him, "Goodbye weirdo."

"Okay," he picked up the bird and slung it over his shoulder before starting back to the cave. "Goodbye Sophia!"

The mermaid didn't realize the Proto-Gob knew her name before he was too far from the river to catch.