Chapter 184 - Unstable Condition

"Uh... Err..."

As it stands, the kid wasn't having a great time with Rynold. It was understandable, though. For a stranger to suddenly wake a sleeping child while holding a gun would be terrifying.

Although Rynold wasn't trying to scare the kid or do anything of the sort, things like this happen. Whether he liked it or not, he had to defuse the current situation. For the sake of the child right in front of him.

Rynold averted his gaze slightly and looked at the spot the slime was beforehand. With but a single glance, Rynold could already tell something rather obvious.

There was a small crater in that very spot, in shape much like the shape of the slime's body. It appeared as though the acidic properties of the creature burned through the ground. Half-expecting this, Rynold then turned his head back to the child.

He was scared, and Rynold couldn't blame him for it. Who knows how long since the child had been aware of his counterpart. Perhaps, he wasn't even aware of what had happened all this time.

The ruination of the town. The death of its people. All of which could have happened during the child's slumber. But none of that mattered now. What mattered now was: how Rynold would proceed given the circumstances.

Fear, terror, anger, and pity.

These were the emotions that Rynold made sure he wouldn't show, as scaring the kid would be the last thing he would want. He was careful not to make his expression indicate anything he was feeling. Otherwise, things would go the opposite way he wanted them to be.

So, with that, Rynold did the only thing he could think of at this very moment.

He smiled.

It was a simple thing to do, and Rynold himself would admit that. But, he didn't know what other way to approach the situation. Scaring him would only do more harm than good.

As an act of friendship, Rynold lowered his guard significantly. He then repositioned himself as he sat down, legs across, in front of the terrified child.

"Um...," Rynold then reinitiated the conversation, "You hungry? I've got some snacks here. Not sure if you'll like them or not."

Pulling out a chocolate bar meant for his sweet tooth, Rynold gave the candy to the child. It wasn't much, but Rynold figured it was a better way to put himself in a new light.

To which the child responded by hurriedly snatching the candy from Rynold's hand. Then, he retreated soon after. It was better than nothing, Rynold thought, as he put his arms down and smiled.

"I'm sure you're confused about all this," Rynold spoke in a kind manner, "Believe me, I am too. So, if there's anything you know, anything at all, I'd greatly appreciate it."

Rynold tried to make this situation feel safe for the kid. It would be wise for him not to agitate the child. Since he had no idea what the conditions were for the slime to come out, after all. Either way, Rynold didn't want to find out.

Sitting in wait, Rynold watched as the child eyed him doubtfully. The sense of fear was no longer lingering within the kid's mind. It was a step in the right direction, Rynold thought, as the child nibbled on the food Rynold had given him.

'Who is this kid?'

With the silence ensuing the space, Rynold wondered as to the child's identity. From where Rynold was, the child doesn't seem to belong here. Not that any slime-human hybrid would, for that matter. Instead, Rynold meant the kid wasn't someone from the slums.

The boy's skin was relatively fair and without blemishes. Hell, there weren't even any cuts or bruises on him. It was like he was some kid from a well-off family, pampered and sheltered throughout his childhood.

So, why was he here?

That was the question that boggled Rynold's mind as the two eyed each other. One with curiosity, the other with doubt and fear. That is to say, Rynold and the kid were now at a point of standstill.

However, that very silence broke as the child suddenly cleared his throat. Audible and with great force, Rynold reactively smiled. Immediately after, though, Rynold noticed that his smile seemed to be ill-received. So, he quickly covered his own tracks.

"It's the chocolate," Rynold casually mentioned, as he pulled something out of his inventory, "Have some water."

Handing the child yet another item, Rynold felt glad that the kid was starting to open up. It was slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

However, that seemed to be for naught, as the child saw Rynold pull something out of thin air. The very sight of which spooked him as the kid stared at Rynold with a blank face.

"Calm down," Rynold smiled, "It's nothing to be scared of, you know. Take a drink first. I'll explain it all to you later."

Hand reaching out, Rynold didn't want to force the kid to do anything he didn't want to. He waited until the child acted of his own volition. Being patient during times of uncertainty was a given.

As the child reached out and snatched the bottle of water from Rynold's hand, the kid drank it all in one gulp. It was water meant for Rynold to drink out of for whenever he might need to, but the kid had downed it all without wasting a single drop.

"You sure are thirsty, huh?"

As the boy finished drinking, he suddenly started coughing. Such a reaction was typical, considering what the kid had just done. But, something unexpected happened as the kid let out his coughs.

His figure seemed to shake. Not in a manner of a shiver or trembles, but his actual, physical form was shaking. It was as if the slime was about to come out of its rest.

'Crap.'

Taking notice of this, Rynold instinctively reached out. He wanted to help the child come out of its coughing fit and realign his focus on this mortal plane. Luckily, Rynold didn't have to do anything as the child soon recovered on his own.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Rynold sat back down. He then looked at the child with a hint of seriousness in his eyes.

'So, that's the trigger, huh? Risky, isn't it?'

Understanding the risks, Rynold calmed back down. The conditions for the boy to turn into a slime seemed dangerous. Unpredictable, even. Moving forward, Rynold would have to be careful of what he'd say next.

"Where... where am I?"

The first the child asked was a question Rynold couldn't answer. He could lie, of course, but in doing so would be digging his own grave.

"To be honest?" Rynold answered with a sincere-looking expression on his face, "I don't know. There's not much to go on here. I'm as clueless as you are."

Rynold wished he could have given a more satisfactory answer, an answer that would've settled the young child's heart. But, as it stands, Rynold couldn't offer anything but consolation.

"I know waking up to this dark place isn't what you expected. But, if there's really anything you remember. I'm sure that would help."

As Rynold calmly talked his way into a better light, he couldn't help but think that the child was still skeptical of him. He wanted to offer a helping hand, but it was hard to avoid being overbearing. Rynold wasn't a person who would appeal to people's good side at first glance, after all. So, he had to exert effort into being sincere and approachable.

Having heard this, the kid seemed to lower down his guard significantly. It was nice to see another person in this dark and dingy place, after all. Rynold took notice of this and smiled with genuine glee.

"I... I don't remember," the kid struggled to recall any earlier events, as evidenced by the grimacing expression on his face. "I think... I found something. Something important. Then, I, I..., I..., Ahh!!"

'Shit!'

From doubt turned to anguish, the child seemed to lose it. Rynold had realized that he messed up. He barked up the wrong tree, and the child was bearing the consequences thereof.

"Kid!" Rynold called as he reached out. He wanted, nay, needed to stop the kid from losing it. And, as much as Rynold tried to hold back his worry, doing so was hard now. Because the shaking of the child's physical form became more and more prominent, Rynold couldn't rest easy any more.

"Kid, kid! Hey! Don't freak out on me now!"

Not knowing what to do, Rynold reached over the kid's shoulder. But, once he made contact, the shoulder turned to goo. It started to swallow Rynold's hand whole. Luckily, he was able to react in time and pull his hand back.

'Crap. Don't have much time left.'

Rynold had to think fast. Come up with a solution that would take away the kid's focus from the pain. To cure it, or maybe just alleviating it. He needed to do something. Anything!

As panic took over Rynold's mind, he extended his Mana Gauntlets to its Strength-form. Doing this has its risks, risks which Rynold accepted. But it was a hell of a lot better than the alternative.

Aiming for the child's facial area, Rynold released a quick breath. Raising both his hands, he then swung both of them forward in a wide arc.

One gauntlet made contact with the other as they stopped an inch away from the child's face. In other words, Rynold clapped loudly. The resonating sound of being in Strength-form echoed throughout the room. Without the exact measurements, Rynold estimated the decibels numbered 100s.

The sound was damaging to the ears. It wasn't akin to that of a stun grenade, but it was pretty damned close. But, none of that mattered if the result wasn't what Rynold had intended.

Separating his hands, Rynold looked at the child. Rynold was worried that he might have been too late. Or, perhaps, the situation would have gone worse.

Fortunately, it didn't.

The child calmed down as he stared at Rynold's gauntlets. The Strength-form Mana Gauntlets was larger. Thus, making for an unusual sight. But, Rynold didn't really mind that as he kneeled to the child's eye level and smiled.

"Almost lost you there, kid," Rynold smiled as his Mana Gauntlets reverted to their original size. He felt that he lucked out, and the sound attack worked.

Eyeing the kid from head to toes, Rynold made sure that his physical form was stable. And, after confirming that it was, Rynold could now rest easy. He learned his lesson and would think twice before asking questions that would lead to the undesired outcome.

"Can you walk?" Rynold asked as he stood back up and turned around. He glanced at the area to see if there was some other way to leave. And, as it appeared, there was one that led to the first floor of the building.

"Uhm... yes. I think I can."

The kid stood up with some struggle. Rynold turned to support him, but the child swatted away at Rynold's attempt. It appeared that the child's strength hadn't fully recovered, and, even so, he was still wary of Rynold's presence.

Ultimately, Rynold couldn't blame him. A stranger was still a stranger, no matter how much work that stranger would put in. At this point in time, patience was the better method.

"Let's get out of this place," Rynold calmly spoke as he walked towards the nearby stairs.

"Where are we going?" Reluctant as usual, the child didn't move from where he stood. Rynold needed to provide more detail than that.

"Oh," Rynold casually acknowledged the question, "I dunno. Let's just get some fresh air first, alright? Hopefully, we'll figure out what we can do next from there."

Rynold wanted to figure out what caused the kid to get these strange powers. But, with no one to ask and an unstable child, Rynold had no choice but to figure things out by himself.