Chapter 73: Dangerous green creature

That green creature... it was a slime!

Hell yeah...

Back when I’d given Gopuro and Gopuran those drawing quests, the two goblins had sketched several blob-shaped creatures. I’d immediately recognized them as slimes, and ever since then, I’d been wondering when we’d finally encounter one in the flesh.

And now, at long last, here it was.

A green slime.

It was bigger than I’d expected, roughly the size of a beanbag chair. Judging by its dimensions, it looked large enough to swallow a full-grown raccoon or even a small goblin whole. At the center of its translucent, gelatinous body floated a glowing green core, pulsing steadily like a tiny light bulb.

In the fantasy games I’d played back on Earth, slimes were usually among the weakest monsters. They were the sort of creatures beginner adventurers hunted for easy experience at Level 1.

But that didn’t mean I could afford to underestimate this one.

From what I could see, it looked genuinely dangerous.

After all, it was clearly capable of dissolving matter. Through its semitransparent body, I could watch the dead bird being broken down in real time. Its flesh softened first, followed by its feathers and even its tiny bones, all gradually dissolving into an indistinguishable mush within minutes.

The sight reminded me disturbingly of a living stomach.

So... this thing is basically a giant blob of acid?

Interesting...

I wasn’t sure what practical uses I could find for such a substance yet, but my mind was already racing through the possibilities.

Maybe some kind of biological weapon?

If someone attacks me or my citizens, I could just dump a bucket of slime on their head!

Though, we’d definitely need some kind of protective gear before experimenting with these things.

But before I could say anything, Gopushadow had already leapt down from the tree and landed right beside the slime!

"Whahaha! Hello, jiggly friend!"

He laughed cheerfully and began slapping the creature with his hands.

Bap! Bap! Bap!

The slime’s body rippled with every impact, wobbling back and forth like an oversized water balloon.

Wobble, wobble~

Wobble, wobble~

The slime wobbled.

"WHAT?! SHADOW! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! IT’S DANGE—"

Before I could finish shouting, the slime reacted.

Its gelatinous body stretched upward like a mass of pulled dough, then suddenly collapsed over Gopushadow in a cascading wave of green goo.

In the blink of an eye, the goblin was completely engulfed.

And the idiot hadn’t even tried to dodge!

He’d simply stood there and let the thing swallow him!

"NOOOOO! SHADOWWWW!"

I practically screamed through [Ruler’s Voice], fully convinced that my precious citizen had just been eaten alive.

Dread surged through me as my vision turned entirely green. Inside the slime’s translucent body, I could clearly see Gopushadow suspended in the gelatinous mass, completely surrounded by the creature’s wobbling flesh.

SHADOW! YOU IDIOT! I TOLD YOU IT WAS DANGEROUS!

I watched in mounting horror, waiting for the slime to begin dissolving him the same way it had dissolved the bird.

Five seconds passed.

Then ten.

Then nearly half a minute.

And yet, Gopushadow remained completely intact.

Then...

Bloop!

The slime suddenly spat him out.

Gopushadow landed on the forest floor, unharmed, and immediately burst into delighted laughter.

"Wahaha! That tickles! Again! Again!"

I stared at him in disbelief.

...What?

The slime, meanwhile, seemed to have lost interest in its new playmate. It simply wobbled away through the undergrowth, leaving me to watch its retreat in utter bewilderment.

What the hell just happened?!

****

But before I could even process what had just happened, Gopushadow was already chasing after the slime.

He rammed into its squishy body, then tried jumping on top of it, only to be bounced right back off. No matter how hard he tried, the creature refused to let him inside again, its gelatinous body springing back into shape after every impact.

"Hey, what’s going on?" I asked. "Why did you suddenly jump into it like that?"

"Huh? Because it’s fun!"

Gopushadow replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, before charging into the slime again.

Apparently, whatever the creature had done to him had felt so good that he couldn’t get enough of it.

Hmmm... what the hell is going on?

The whole situation was getting sillier by the second.

Just what did that slime do to my goblin to make him go crazy like this? He’s practically begging to be swallowed alive again! What is he, some kind of masochist?!

Then, something caught my attention.

Wait a freaking minute!

Gopushadow’s arms...

Something about his skin looked different.

It had developed a healthy sheen that definitely hadn’t been there before, almost as though he’d just rubbed on some kind of magical lotion. The usual rough, dry patches were completely gone, replaced by smooth, healthy-looking green skin that looked even shinier than Gopuran’s skin.

Wait... no way!

A new theory flashed through my mind, and I immediately turned my attention back to the slime.

Suddenly, everything started to make sense.

Thinking back to what I’d witnessed earlier, I realized that the slime had only consumed the bird carcass. It hadn’t touched the surrounding grass or trees, and when a few small pebbles had accidentally gotten caught in its body, it had simply spat them out a few seconds later after making them shiny too.

So this thing only digests dead organic matter!

Yeah... that must be it!

And as for Gopushadow... Turns out, it just gave him a full-body exfoliation!

No wonder he was enjoying himself so much!

"WAAHAHA! THIS IS AMAZING!"

I couldn’t believe it. Thanks to Gopushadow, I’d stumbled upon an incredible discovery!

And now, I knew exactly what I needed to do next.

"Shadow! Bring this slime back to our castle!"

"YES! BIG BOSS!"

Gopushadow responded enthusiastically, his grin widening as he lunged forward and attempted to scoop the wobbling creature into his arms like a giant, living jelly pillow.

"Heyyaa! Jiggly friend! Come home!"

Unfortunately, the slime wasn’t having any of it.

Its body wobbled and morphed, turning almost liquid as it slipped straight through his grasp. No matter how tightly Gopushadow tried to hold it, he simply couldn’t get a proper grip, let alone lift the thing off the ground.

Eventually, even he had to give up.

Hmm... if we can’t carry it, we’ll just have to make it follow us.

And that gave me an idea.

Slime bait!

I sent Gopushadow scouting for something suitable and, after a little searching, he returned with several rotten fruits scattered across the forest floor.

Perfect.

We skewered the fruits onto a stick, creating a rather questionable-looking kebab, then approached the slime with our makeshift bait held out in front of us.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, as soon as the fruit stick entered the creature’s reach, the slime suddenly perked up. Its gelatinous body lurched forward, chasing after the rotten fruit as Gopushadow hurriedly backed away!

"Wahaha! It works!"

With a little patience and a steady supply of rotten fruit, we managed to lure the enormous green blob all the way back to my castle.

And just like that, our little expedition returned home with an unexpected new addition.

The slime was safely deposited in my courtyard, wobbling innocently on the ground.