Tanev’s grip was gentle but firm as she skipped back towards town. All the while, her brother grumbled behind her.

  “We weren’t even supposed to be out here. Dad’s worried about the shamblers!” he said.

  “Maybe he won’t notice?” Jaden offered casually.

  “Maybe he won’t notice her holding a slime that could eat half his forge?” Samri’s voice was dry and disbelieving, but still he marched onward.

  Jaden bared his teeth and shrugged. It was a curious behavior, one that I expected to spark hostilities between the boys. In monsters and beasts, baring teeth was a sign of aggression, yet Samri didn’t seem bothered by the gesture. Humans were strange.

  “This wouldn’t have happened if the level drain hadn’t been lifted over Felsporo,” Samri continued to complain.

  Tanev let out a sharp exhale. “Weren’t you just complaining a few months ago about how you wished the drain zone had never been put over Felsporo? Because you wanted to be an adventurer?”

  “That was before it was lifted and the shamblers came!” he shouted. “I haven’t even gotten to see one of those things since it happened! All it’s done is put Dad in a tizzy and limit how much we can go play!”

  A level drain zone? That sounded terrible, but I didn’t really know what that meant. Did it drain mana from something? If that was the case, then it was a very good thing that it had been removed. I didn’t think I could exist somewhere where mana was actively drained from every living thing.

  However, just as worrying as the drain zone were these shambler things. Though Samri, Jaden, and Tanev seemed perfectly unconcerned, the adults seemed quite concerned. Were they an invading species of predators? Would they try to eat the children?

  Tanev gave me a squeeze. “I heard that the Willens’ farm was attacked in broad daylight just yesterday. Aunt Samara said that the guard captain went to take a look, and she said their whole field was blighted.”

  “Better her than any of the Pelslows,” Jaden answered. “They couldn’t investigate their way out of a paper bag. Come on, the sun will set soon. Even before the shamblers, curfew was at sundown.”

  “Maybe Dad won’t get so mad if we are back on time,” Samri said, but based on his tone, it was clear that he didn’t believe it.

  I wobbled my slime, forming the word for “agreement.” None of the children would recognize the rudimentary language of the slimes. It wasn’t much, just a way to communicate the most basic ideas, such as “danger,” “food,” or “frustration,” and it gave me a small feeling of being present in the conversation. Tanev noticed and pat my upper membrane.

  “I think he likes me.”

  “He? How do you know it’s a he?” Samri countered.

  Tanev shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I can’t keep calling him ‘it’ all the time! It’s rude!”

  He, she, or it, I genuinely didn’t care. It wasn’t like slimes had genders to begin with.

  Gingerly, I extended a small pseudopod, wrapping it around her wrist. She had a small bracelet woven from flowers. It wasn’t much, but I was hungry.

  “Awww, do you like my flower chain? I’ll make you a salad when we get home, okay?” She bared her teeth at me the way Jaden did before, confirming to me that it was not a hostile action. In fact, it seemed to be another indication of joy, which only made me happier.

  “Careful, it could eat your hand,” Samri protested, but Tanev ignored him.

  She pulled a leaf off a nearby tree and set it on my membrane. I dutifully took it into myself and watched her squeal in delight. It was nice to make her so happy.

  “Maybe I’ll name you Greeny, or Greenbean!” she exclaimed, squeezing tight enough to deform my slime.

  “Really? Greenbean?” Samri huffed.

  Jaden looked more thoughtful. “What if he doesn’t like greenbeans?”

  His friend, however, looked betrayed. “Not you, too! It’s a slime!”

  “He seems to like the leaves. Greenbeans aren’t far from leaves, right?” Tanev said, completely ignoring her brother. “They’re both vegetables?”

  I may be an omnivore—with an emphasis on omni—but plants aren’t as good as rocks, I thought. I was pleased in spite of myself. Watching the children make guesses about me warmed my core beyond words.

  Tanev continued picking leaves from the trees and giving them to me. Even as the heat of the sun began to disappear from my membrane, she still found various plants to feed me.

  “Oh! Over there! There are some cava berries!” She jogged ahead to a nearby bush.

  I noticed the colored berries, sparkling with dense blue magic in my senses, but that wasn’t the only thing I noticed. Wisps of black, sickly magic rose from beyond the bush. With a sudden horror, I realized I’d seen that same magic before, moments after I’d become aware. It was the same, nasty looking magic that coated the path from whence I’d come. But here, it was denser.

  The sickly magic was like smoke before my magical senses, but I doubted that Tanev could see it at all. Her eyes were tuned to take in light as it illuminated the world around her. In the twilight, would she see any sign of whatever lurked there? My senses were not dependent on light but rather on magic. I could not see the sun that warmed my membrane, nor the sky above the tops of the trees, but I could see the dangers no one else could, and from every direction at once.

  Panic filled me as Tanev did not slow her approach to the bush. She was prey with no means of sensing the predator! Maybe it was natural selection, but I liked these kids, and this girl, in particular. What good was it to be a Lesser Guardian Slime if I couldn’t guard them?

  I threw myself into action. Wrapping a pseudopod around her wrist, I threw myself to the side, pulling her off balance. She staggered, yelping in alarm as her feet stepped on one another and she fell into a far safer bush.

  Claws coated with magic that made my membrane quiver with nausea sailed only inches over her head. A growl of frustration followed the attack, and a tall creature stepped through the bush.

  It looked human on the outside, probably an adult, given its height compared to the children.

  But inside? This creature had no inner fire or frost. Its mana, that which kept it alive and whole, was eaten through with holes, like leaves after a locust swarm. There was barely anything left.

  “Sh-shambler!” Jaden shouted, fear cracking his voice.

  “Tanev! Run!”

  But, there was nowhere for her to go. The monster already loomed over her, its beady black eyes staring at her. Saliva dripped from its jaws, but there was no malice nor glee in its eyes. It only felt hunger.

  I coiled up my slime and launched myself at the monster. My slime sizzled against its skin as I wrapped myself around its torso. It shrieked and staggered back, clawing at my slime with decayed claws, but where it pierced my membrane, acidic slime ate at its fingers until even the hand was little more than a melted stub.

  [Tag Activated: Consumer of the Fourth Anchor

  Damage increased by 10%]

  Much as I wanted to listen to the wisdom of the Creator, she would have to wait. I battled with the shambler as it continued to claw at me with its other hand. It, too, became little more than a bare stub. The torso fared little better, and soon its legs went limp and it crashed to the ground. Its top thrashed, but there was nothing it could do. My slime spread wide, engulfing first its chest, then an arm. Soon, its heart was mine, and it stopped moving. Moments after that, the creature stopped moving altogether.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  [Creature Eaten:

  Demonic shambler: 6/10 to ability unlock]

  That was odd…where had I eaten those before? What even were they?

  [Unknown evolution requirement revealed.

  Evolution path: Unknown, Tier 3

  Requirements:

  Consume Child’s Toy: completed

  Consume Man-made tools/weapons: 0/5

  Consume Human Body: 1/5

  Unknown: 0/3

  Unknown: completed]

  Maybe the Creator wasn’t as wise as I thought. If that creature was once human, it hadn’t been for some time. The spark of life had left its eyes and its magic was decayed beyond recognition.

  “Greeny?” Tanev whimpered, her eyes wide with utter terror. “You…you saved me?”

  I hopped over, grabbing her wrist with a pseudopod and pulling gently. This place wasn’t safe. Already I could see traces of the shambler’s sickly magic seeping into the ground, tainting the trees and the air around us with darkness.

  She seemed to get the idea and crawled shakily to her feet before picking me up with trembling hands. Her brother and friend still stood nearby, frozen with fear during the conflict. Samri reminded me of a scared rabbit, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

  “Run,” I hissed.

  All three children blinked at me in surprise, which was ridiculous given that Samri and Jaden heard me speak before. However, after only a breath of pause, they seemed to get over their surprise and took off.

  Feet pounded against the forest floor as I warily eyed the trees. I reached a pseudopod over Tanev’s shoulder, extending my senses to see behind us. All around, the dark, decaying magic began to fill the air with dancing threads of death that grew more and more dense with each passing moment.

  Another shambler burst from the foliage with enough speed to crash into a nearby tree. It growled, but the children were already running. The addition of a new threat only increased their speed.

  I trusted that they would find the way and turned my attention to the Creator.

  I wasn’t listening before. I think I need to know the rest of my abilities now!

  [Name: ????; Lesser Guardian Slime, Tier 2

  Status:

  Health: 21/22

  Mana: 46/46

  Injury Index: 1 - Damage recoverable

  Health and Mana regeneration operating within optimal parameters

  Abilities provided by Lesser Orator Slime (Tier 1)

  Poison Resistance (Passive)

  Arcane Resistance (Passive)

  Arcane Sensitivity (Passive)

  Body Manipulation (Passive)

  Core Resonance

  Pseudopod Slam

  Efficient Eater]

  Though I wasn’t quite sure what it meant by “Orator Slime,” given that I didn’t have a mouth, the rest was fairly self-explanatory. Slimes were made of condensed magic, and thus, are resistant to magic and poisons, since the latter required something with flesh and organs to have full effect. Core Resonance provided the magical vibrations that allowed me to speak with others. Though, what surprised me there was that I’d gotten the ability at Tier 1. I could only guess that it gave the raw capability to speak, but not the intelligence to speak real words.

  The last two items on the list were the bread and butter of slime-fighting. Extend pseudopod, smack enemy, eat enemy, absorb enemy, gain power. It was as simple as that.

  What was less simple were the abilities corresponding to my Tier 2 advancement.

  [Abilities provided by Lesser Guardian Slime (Tier 2)

  Swap Stance

  Cleansing Aura (requires Healer’s Bearing)

  Wild Magic Wave (requires Slayer’s Stance)

  Soothing Touch (requires Healer’s Bearing)

  Sealing Touch (requires Slayer’s Stance)]

  Those were about as far from base slime fighting as I could reasonably comprehend at that time. It seemed like I was some kind of stance swapping, monster slaying, healer kind of monster. Useful as that was on the surface, this was not the time to go in without all the details. As the children continued their flight, I inquired further.

  [Swap Stance: Changes Healer’s Bearing to Slayer’s Stance or Slayer’s Stance to Healer’s Bearing.

  Healer’s Bearing: The passive state of the guardian. While in this stance, healing delivered and received by all abilities is increased by 10%. Modifies other abilities.

  Slayer’s Stance: The active state of the guardian. While in this stance, damage dealt by all abilities is increased by 10%. Damage dealt to demons increased by 20%. Modifies other abilities.

  Current Stance: Slayer’s Stance]

  A shock of relief rushed through me. I was already in the stance required to eat some major shambler hide. However, in an effort to practice, I shifted once to Healer’s Bearing, then again back to Slayer’s Stance, just to be safe. The change was as effortless as eating rock.

  Creator? With the last shambler, something activated when I ate it. What was that?

  [Logged tag activation: Consumer of the Fourth Anchor.

  Damage increased by 10% during the activation period.]

  What’s that?

  [Inherent Tags

  Monster, Slime - this creature is made of a dense mana core surrounded by a slime of condensed mana.

  Arcane Entity - This creature is made entirely of magic and is susceptible to anti-magical traits and attacks.

  Dungeon Born - This creature is the creation of a dungeon for the purpose of protecting it from invaders.

  Consumer of the Fourth Anchor - Origin; unknown. Purpose; Unknown. May modify abilities.]

  The trees thinned, and a thick stone wall came into view. It sparkled with faint traces of magic embedded in the stones. The kids did not waste any time and all took off at a dash towards the south side of the wall.

  “If we can make it to the gate, the guards will let us in!” Samri called, all his former levity gone.

  “Where is it?” I asked.

  “Just ahead and around the bend!”

  “Run faster, then!”

  The shambler behind us picked up its pace, shrieking and howling its hunger throughout the night. I cringed. Any creature with sense knew that hunters only made noise for one reason: to call others of its kind. This was a pack predator, and it was in hot pursuit of the children.

  [Warning: Salt detected on outer membrane. Immediate attention required.]

  Where my slime met Tanev’s skin, I could taste it. Her skin began to produce salty sweat, no doubt as a defense mechanism against the perceived threat, and I was forced to retreat up her body to cling to the top of her head where the reaction was the weakest.

  The shambler was gaining ground, quickly outpacing the short legs of the children. I could clearly see the saliva dripping from its jaws, as well as the almost unseeing look in its blackened eyes. It was quickly joined by two more, then three. Soon, five of the monsters chased the young humans.

  “Open the gates!” cried Jaden. The three children veered to the right, hopping over a small mound and onto a road that had appeared from the forest and led directly to the gate. This was good. Easier footing meant it was less likely that one will fall behind.

  Yet, as the trees thinned, the forest gave way to more of these wretched shamblers scrambling up the road behind them. They were close. Tanev screamed. At the top of the walls, the guards were already in a flurry of motion, readying arrows and taking positions. The wall was creeping open to welcome the children.

  Shamblers were joined by several ghostly figures which reeked of the same death as their brethren did, just without the body. They seemed to appear out of the very earth, rising up from the ground to join the hunt for the children.

  I tucked that information away for another time. There was a time for thinking, and there was a time for being a slime, and this was most definitely the latter. I took a moment to ensure that Slayer’s Stance was active and prepared for battle.

  Jaden cried out in alarm as a wraith emerged from the ground before them, blocking their path to safety. They scrambled to a halt. The horde of shamblers was close behind. They didn’t have time to slow down!

  Flames illuminated my senses with brilliant magic, and an axe sliced through the wraith. It wailed in fury as its magic was dispersed on the wind.

  I didn’t stop to find the source of the fire. The shamblers were too close behind. I launched myself from Tanev’s head and into the fray. The acid in my body sharpened, increasing in its potency in preparation to consume my enemies. My slime stretched, wrapping around the nearest monster.

  [Tag Activation: Consumer of the Fourth Anchor

  Damage increased.]

  Acid sizzled against rotting flesh as the shambler quickly dissolved. With the second meal, I found that the shamblers didn’t taste as bad as they looked. The first taste was like month old meat, but, after that, the taste lightened and was almost pleasantly earthy. The wrongness was cleansed, and all was right with the world…or at least with that one shambler. Many of them still hounded the children.

  [Creature Eaten:

  Demonic shambler: 7/10 to ability unlock

  Evolution requirement progressed:

  Consume human body: 2/5]

  “Greeny! This way!” Tanev shouted. She hid behind a much larger human holding an axe.

  “Tanev, get to the gate!” growled the older human. Magic swirled around him and his axe in great fiery waves.

  “But, Dad!” Salty projectiles formed in her eyes as she stared up at the man. “He’s a friend!”

  “He’s a slime! Now get inside!”

  Her father’s tone left no room for argument, and, with a sad look, she turned and fled for the open gate. Arrows rained down from the wall tops, skewering the growing army of shamblers and Wraiths.

  “Dorin! We can’t hold them forever!” a voice called from the gates. “I’m coming to help!”

  “No! Close that gate! I’ll be there soon!” The axe slammed into the neck of another shambler, beheading the creature completely. However, his flames burned lower than they had in his initial strike. He needed protecting, too.

  I hopped closer, growing a pseudopod to slam the knees of one of the monsters between us. “I’m with you!” I shouted.

  The man, Dorin, blinked in shock, but he quickly overcame his surprise and lunged across the distance between us. There, we stood, back-to-back, human and slime, against an ever-growing sea of monsters.