Slime's Request!

In the heart of a stone forest, sharp stalactites jutted from the ground like ancient fangs, and shadowy pillars stretched toward the cavernous ceiling. Slipping deftly between the looming stone formations, a white-browed tiger; a top-tier F-grade species, moved with the grace and power of a seasoned predator. Muscles rippled beneath its sleek fur as it glided from shadow to shadow, but there was an odd tension in its movements. Despite its regal bearing, the beast was running, each powerful leap carrying it further away from something unseen, something it feared.

A sudden gust of wind swept through the cave, slicing the silence, and a massive scythe dropped from above like the executioner's blade. In one merciless arc, the blade's wickedly sharp tip drove straight into the tiger's forehead, piercing flesh and bone with a sickening finality. The creature's mighty frame went slack, crumpling to the stone floor. At the same moment, a figure clothed in dark robes descended from the shadows, landing smoothly atop the tiger's body as it crashed to the ground.

[Host devours life force +172, life purification is activated, growth value increases by 344 points.]

[Erosion skill activated for the second time. Dark matter obtained: x3.]

The cave's stillness was broken by a swirl of dust and the scent of blood. With a fluid motion, James raised the scythe, the tip pulling free from the tiger's skull with a sickening wet sound. The blade glistened, leaving a red and white streak across the air; a brief, haunting reminder of life and death.

"Hey!" James leapt from the tiger's body, landing on the solid ground nearby, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. As the dust settled, a translucent, shimmering figure emerged by the edge of the shallow crater.

The figure, ghostly and amorphous, clapped its pale, semi-liquid hands with slow, exaggerated movements. It spoke, each word forced and deliberate. ".You. Have. Become. Awesome."

James swung the scythe casually over his shoulder, tilting his head to examine his strange companion. "Ah, thanks to you, I suppose. It's F-grade top-tier now… but you're a little too quick with the compliments, Slime monster. Last person who talked to me like that ended up missing a few limbs."

Over the past few days, James had learned fragments of Slime monster's tragic past. The creature was no simple apparition; it was once a human, someone known as Michael.

As Slime monster's rasping, broken speech revealed, Michael had been born with a rare and horrific affliction. From his earliest days, his skin and organs would periodically dissolve into a gooey, translucent substance that clung to his bones like melted wax. While his form eventually re-solidified, this grotesque transformation isolated him from everyone around him. No one dared come close, not even his parents, who looked at him with a mix of pity and revulsion.

Yet, despite the cold rejection he faced, Michael loved the villagers who shunned him. He was kind-hearted, always watching from the shadows, hoping to one day be accepted.

But then everything changed. A group of heavily armed men stormed his village, seizing the residents and dragging them into a vast, subterranean dungeon beneath the stone forest. Locked in a cell with his fellow captives, Michael's only hope came from a mysterious, beautiful girl who appeared one night. She promised she could cure him, make him normal, give him the life he dreamed of. Desperate and naïve, he agreed, allowing her to inject him with a strange, glowing green serum.

He blacked out, consumed by visions and pain. When he finally regained consciousness, his body had transformed. He was now a creature of slime and shadows, possessing strength and resilience beyond human limits, but at a terrible cost. His humanity was gone, his face an unrecognizable mask.

Determined to protect the villagers with his newfound power, Michael had returned, only to be met with horror and rejection. Even his parents recoiled from him, their fear and disgust plain in their eyes. Heartbroken and alone, he wandered the stone forest, watching over the village from a distance, becoming a silent guardian of the very people who had cast him out.

James, with years of experience as a detective, had listened to Slime monster's tale, his instincts telling him the creature spoke the truth. Against his better judgment, he'd decided to allow Slime monster to accompany him, perhaps out of a strange sense of pity; or a shared understanding of being an outcast.

".You. Still. Mean. To. Say. Me." Slime monster's form wavered, its voice a mixture of bubbling laughter and bitterness. ".Besides. You. Can't. Beat. Me."

James chuckled, casting a glance back at the faintly glowing residue left by the white-browed tiger. "Maybe I can't. But at least I'm still human; mostly." He tightened his grip on the scythe, a hint of grim determination in his eyes. "But stick with me, Slime monster. Maybe we'll both find a bit of what we're looking for out here."

The two figures, a man and a ghostly remnant of a once-broken human, turned and disappeared into the shadows of the stone forest, their fates intertwined by darkness and an unspoken bond of survival.

With the help of Slime monster, the peculiar, translucent being immune to physical attacks, James made quick work of the alien creatures lurking in the shadowy stone forest. In mere days, his abilities skyrocketed, pushing him to the rank of a top-grade F-level scarecrow. His growth value climbed into the tens of thousands, though it still barely scratched the surface of the daunting growth bar that demanded millions of points to reach the next level. Despite the climb, he was still far from his true potential.

As an F-level scarecrow, James's physical prowess and skill damage had grown remarkably. His body felt stronger, more durable, and even his Aura reserve surged, now holding a solid 300 points. Yet, his skill, Life Harvest, still had its limitations. He could only use it effectively against beings with fewer than 50 life force points, a frustrating cap given his newly acquired strength.

He let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head at the irony of his own power. "Hmph," he muttered, half-amused, half-irritated by the constraints of his abilities.

But then, a thought crossed his mind. He turned to Slime monster, his voice casual but curious. "Hey, you've been tagging along with me these past few days. Don't you need to check on the villagers? They must be waiting on you, right?"

Slime monster waved a jelly-like hand, dismissing the concern. "Don't worry about it," he said, his words slow and deliberate, each syllable sliding out as if dragged through mud.

Slime monster explained that the gelatinous fragments he shed; sticky, translucent pieces that sloughed off from his amorphous form, had unique properties. They emitted an aura that repelled alien creatures, creating a makeshift barrier. He had strategically scattered these fragments around the dungeon entrance where the villagers were kept, forming a protective shield. The dungeon itself was solid, nearly impenetrable. Even if an alien creature managed to slip past the defensive line of his fragments, the thick walls of the dungeon would hold.

"In that case," James tilted his head, regarding Slime monster with a curious grin, "why do you still stay there, guarding them?"

Slime monster glanced down, his gelatinous body trembling as he reluctantly answered, "I'm… afraid they'll starve." He extended a semi-liquid arm and rolled up the carcass of the slain white-browed tiger, stuffing chunks of flesh into his gelatinous maw as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I've… prepared… many days… of supplies… for them."

James nodded, his tone thoughtful. "Seems like we've almost cleared out all the aliens in this forest. You could take them out safely now."

Slime monster's eyes, two floating orbs within his gooey body, sank low, nearly touching the ground. "It's useless," he muttered, his voice laced with a sadness that was almost tangible. "They… don't believe me. Even after all this time."

A flicker of concern passed through James's eyes. "Why not?"

Slime monster hesitated, his gelatinous form quivering with anxiety. "Because… the riot is coming."

James's eyebrows shot up. "Riot?"

Slime monster explained, "Every half-month… new creatures swarm the forest… in droves. It's been about that long. Should be any day now."

James's eyes gleamed with excitement, a sly smile tugging at his lips. So, the stone forest would soon be overrun with fresh creatures. He'd been running out of targets, and this so-called riot was exactly the opportunity he needed to boost his growth even further.

But he noticed Slime monster's hesitant gaze, those jelly-like eyes trembling as they looked up at him, as if the creature wanted to say something more. "Alright, spit it out," James said, folding his arms with an amused smirk. "What is it you're so desperate to ask?"

Slime monster's form shuddered, and he took a long, trembling breath as though bracing himself. ".I. Have. A. Request." His voice was shaky, almost pleading, each word dripping with cautious hope.

James's expression softened slightly, sensing the gravity of whatever Slime monster was about to say.

"I… I hope…" Slime monster's voice dropped to a near whisper, the words struggling to find shape. "After… this riot… you'll help me… lead the villagers… out of the stone forest."

The silence that followed was heavy, thick with unspoken emotions. James studied Slime monster, his gaze penetrating as he weighed the request. He could see the desperation in those trembling eyes, the remnants of a man once known as Michael, a human clinging to whatever humanity he had left.

The silence stretched on until Slime monster's eyes began to wobble nervously, sinking lower as though bracing for rejection. Finally, James let out a soft sigh, nodding ever so slightly. "Alright," he said, his voice quiet but firm. "I'll help you get them out of this stone forest."

It wasn't out of compassion for the villagers. In truth, he felt little for them; after all, they were the ones who'd rejected Michael, condemning him to a life of solitude and sadness. But there was something about Slime monster's resilience, his loyalty to these people who had abandoned him, that stirred something within James. Perhaps it was a mutual understanding, a kinship forged in their shared experience of being outcasts.

But James had his limits. He would help, yes, but only within reason. If things became too dangerous, he'd prioritize his own survival. However, for now, he owed Slime monster this much, for all the help he'd given in leveling up and clearing the forest of hostile creatures.

As they stood there, side by side in the eerie silence of the stone forest, Slime monster's form seemed to shimmer a little brighter, his trembling easing as a rare glimmer of hope sparked within him. For the first time in a long while, Michael, the creature who had once been human, felt he might just be able to keep his promise to the people he still cared for, even if they no longer cared for him.

And beside him, scythe in hand and eyes fixed on the path ahead, James prepared himself for the upcoming riot, his heart steeled, ready to face whatever horrors the stone forest would unleash.