Training as a Slime(80)

While the headmaster was away, Cloud, the acting headmaster, was busy with the school's administration. Buried with work, his ears twitched with unease and annoyance while his poker face remained cool and unfazed by the piling stream of student reports in the headmaster's office. A brazenly red file laid at the top of the pile- a warning by the headmaster to pay close attention to the particular trainee.

"Mmm... Cori Byten," Cloud read to himself as he tried to recall the story of Hall 777. Its history was so obscured that even the royals had trouble finding the full historical records of the archon. Brushing aside his worries, he continued to plough through the other files until another file made him pause.

"Angel Slime?" Cloud marvelled in his mind. "Hmm, if there's angel slime, the devil slime would also appear. But there had been no sightings so far. I suppose we will need a lot of defensive measures in place this year," he thought to himself and drafted a summary of measures required before his usual routine. "I guess it's time to make my rounds," Cloud muttered as he witnessed the break of dawn from his window.

The tanned beast-kin made himself comfortable and settled in a meditative state and within seconds, his senses widened. Half a breath later, his spirits and souls meandered out of his living body. Right before his 7 souls and 6 spirits departed to make their rounds to survey the school grounds, an egg-shaped object teleported on the table accompanied by a scarlet letter.

Cloud's right ear twitched again, expressing his tingling annoyance at his imperfect day. Even so, through his will, he despatched one of his souls to stay behind and open the letter which read, "Ho ho ho! If you're unsure how to hatch the egg, you can ask Cori. Thanks, Cloud!"

"Hatch the egg?" Cloud's soul thought to himself as he witnessed the egg cracking and falling apart to reveal a mini Santa right before him. "I guess it's done. That's easy," his soul thought to himself and put a tick against the chore. 

"Is Santa going through pinnacles of cultivation- youth rejuvenation?" Cloud's soul wondered, examining the tiny baby Santa. The little creature stared back with wonder, crackling a smile unfamiliar to the beast-kin.

Right before Cloud's hand reached the baby, the door opened; revealing a gentle golden aura. "Erm, sir... someone told me to find you at the headmaster's office," the slightly golden slime said.

Gathering his spirits and souls, the acting headmaster slowly awakened from his meditative state, "Yes, as you can see we have an issue." His hand gestured fluidly to the baby Santa.

"A baby!" Cori gasped.

"Baby? Monsters start as baby slimes, isn't that common knowledge," Cloud thought while observing Cori.

"Is this Santa's baby?" Cori asked.

"To be precise... this is Santa," he replied.

As Cori wobbled to the creature dressed in a white and red onesie, his primordial power resonated. "What is this warm and familiar feeling?" Cori wondered as his memories of being a human started flooding back. The time when he was held by his mother and father, when he and his siblings cried for hours for milk, and when his vision cleared enough to see the face of his parents.

When Cloud was observing Cori, he noticed a strange power resonating between them. "Cori, how is he feeling?" he checked since the baby had yet to learn how to speak.

"I think the baby needs milk," he said.

Cloud nodded and took out a bottle of milk from his inventory; promptly handing it to Cori. The instructor signalled to the slime to feed the baby with a slight movement from his facial expression.

"I don't think you can feed this to him. I think he needs a special kind of milk," said Cori after observing the milk; Cloud's milk was densely packed with protein and minerals which could harm the newborn's weak internal organs. "A milk packed with nutrients, vitamins, and minerals he needs which also do not overpower his delicate body," Cori explained over the baby's sudden death-defying cries.

"Mm..." the acting headmaster looked at the screaming infant with furrowed brows then back at Cori. "You can return to your class now," he said solemnly. He immediately thought of 2 people who could help with the situation.

Cori left reluctantly with more doubts than ever. When he used his skill on the baby, instead of saying that the baby's job was the Saint, the system said: "Name: Santa Claus Eo, Job: Baby". On top of that, he felt a familiar energy radiating from the baby unlike the Santa he had met. "Could the baby be the headmaster's son? And his wife has some form of relation to Eo? And how is being a baby a job?" he wondered while making his way to the class.

"Hey, Cori!" Sam shouted across the road happily, waving frantically in ecstasy.

Cori waved back with his paws. Sam walked to Cori and smacked his back, "Where's Alice? You left her in the dorm today?"

"Yup."

"So what's on your mind? You seemed distracted," Sam asked.

"Hmm, well... our headmaster had a baby," Cori answered.

"A baby slime? That's wonderful news!" Sam said ecstatically.

"Well, not a baby slime but a baby. Like a small, miniature human," Cori said.

"What's that? Isn't that like a dwarf? That's not a baby," Sam answered.

"As expected, a baby human is an anomaly in this world," Cori thought. "Since baby slimes were the norm, a human baby would most likely be viewed as a monster, a defect. Maybe that was why I was summoned, because, like me, Santa is not from this world too," Cori guessed.

"Hello! Eo to Cori, are you there?" Sam said, irritated that her friend was daydreaming and not paying attention to her.

"I'm here haha. It's just... someone just told me his job is 'baby'," Cori replied.

"A baby by profession? That must be a rare job! You have to ask the priest, maybe they know. The cathedral holds all the references to the different jobs. Shall we go during lunch?" Sam suggested.

Cori: "Sure, why not."

Sam: "Alright, I see you then, good luck for class!"