“You’re not going to eat me the moment its convenient, are you?” Dorin growled. I got the distinct feeling that he spoke like that often, with a disgruntled sort of irritation.

  “Maybe later, but, for now, these things want to eat me as much as you, and I’d rather not let them,” I answered.

  “Fair enough.”

  The shamblers had surrounded us, and, with every moment, wraiths seeped from the ground, encroaching closer and closer to us. Dorin readied his axe and raised his shield, while I split my attention.

  On one side, I studied the shamblers. Their magic was sick, like they’d contracted some kind of terrible illness that ate away at their magic instead of their body. It decayed, leaving behind growing holes and pale colors where once it was healthy and vibrant. I didn’t know enough about humans to know what could cause such a change, but I knew it wasn’t good. Their magic had been corrupted, and in doing so, they’d been turned into monsters.

  However, even as they approached on all sides, I kept a facet of my attention behind me—a benefit of being a slime with 360 degree vision—on the human who was now ready to fight at my side. As far as my limited exposure to humans went, Dorin was an exceptional specimen. He was tall and built solidly. Hair grew from his head and face in a mane I figured was a form of social intimidation to assert dominance over others of his kind. Based on his stance, he was experienced in battle. There was no tremor in his hand as he faced down the monsters who threatened his children, and a fire burned within his magic that I admired.

  Yet, grateful as I was to have an ally, his very presence prompted questions in me. If the children were right, and humans couldn’t use magic in this region, then how was he lighting his axe on fire? That was clearly a use of magic, so what had changed?

  “On your left!” Dorin called.

  “Left?”

  Which direction was he referring to? I was looking in several directions at once. Which “left” was “my left?”

  Rather than puzzling it out, I did what any good slime would do: I squished myself flat, pressing myself into the soil as best I could. Claws swiped over my head, leaving the taste of rot in the air. They attacked from Dorin’s right, meaning that he interpreted my direction as facing away from him.

  He really does see us as back-to-back, even though I don’t have a back…or a front, I thought. It was core-warming. Despite having just met me, he was willing to truly work together, even if we didn’t really have many options.

  I leapt up, wrapping a pseudopod around the arm of the shambler who’d attacked me. Consumer of the Fourth Anchor activated once more.

  The shambler's skin sizzled and the creature howled in fury before its rotting arm broke off and crashed to the ground.

  Behind me, Dorin swung his axe into another of them. The shambler fell, only for one of its brothers to climb over its corpse and lunge at the defending human. Its claws scrabbled for purchase against the metal shield. Dorin held firm, shoving it back and slicing a devastating wound in its chest before backing up slightly.

  Two more lunged at us, this time from both sides. My slime rippled and I hopped onto the one closest to me. It growled and swiped at my slime, but I spread myself wide, covering it completely. I drew its corrupted magic into myself until nothing remained.

  [Creature Eaten:

  Demonic shambler: 8/10

  Evolution requirement progressed:

  Consume human body: 3/5]

  “Dorin!” called the voice from the gate. A woman waited there, a halberd held at the ready. “This way!”

  “We’ll never make it,” he muttered darkly such that only I could hear. “At least the kids made it.”

  “I take it this was why they weren’t supposed to be outside?” I added, slamming a pseudopod into another shambler.

  He nodded. “There are too many of them. They’ll cut us down as soon as we shift position.”

  “I have an idea! Let me get on your head!”

  “What?!”

  Dorin afforded a single, incredulous glance at me. He knew the dangers of my kind, and I puffed up ever so slightly. Contrary to popular belief, slimes can be mighty. It’s why the greatest threat to a slime is another slime.

  I didn’t bother waiting for him to agree, instead putting my trust in him to refrain from cutting me in half as I leapt at his shoulder. He swore as I landed on his shoulder, climbing through the mane of hair until I sat squarely on his head.

  The horde was all around. Wraiths cackled and shrieked as their physical brethren lunged at Dorin. He defended as best he could, but claws tore at his armor, leaving several bleeding gashes on his arms that would certainly be infected, if left too long.

  Best finish this quick, then, I resolved. Steeling my nerves for a single one of Dorin’s breaths, I readied and jumped straight in the air as high as I could.

  Green and silver magic, the light of my core, exploded outward in a wave of wild magic, blinding everyone in sight, including me. The cries of Wraiths and shamblers filled the air as Wild Magic Wave ripped through them.

  [Warning: Mana below 50%

  Slayer’s Stance removed. Applied Healer’s Bearing.]

  When the light faded, I fell, catching myself on Dorin’s shield as he stumbled away from the epicenter.

  “A little warning, next time!” he complained.

  My arcane sensitivity recovered enough to see threads of green and silver rising from his skin and armor where he was hit by my blast. He staggered, a hand over his eyes, towards the shelter of the gates, but I didn’t even have the strength to answer.

  I’d never used so much mana at once before. My slime trembled from exertion, and I clung to Dorin’s shield. He carried us to the safety of the gate, where the woman ushering him in yanked the thick wooden doors shut behind us.

  Dorin’s shield clanged to the ground along with his axe as he very nearly fell to his knees. Only the quick action of the woman caught him and kept him upright.

  I didn’t blame him. I was exhausted from the outpouring of magic, and everything inside me itched to eat something. Before I even realized it, my acid sizzled against the metal of Dorin’s shield, and I was munching away. It was actually quite tasty, and I thought I detected the aftertaste of old protective magics still lingering in the steel.

  [Enchantment consumed:

  Defensive enchantment: 1/5 to ability unlock]

  A halberd was offered next, and I very willingly hopped onto the axe head and began eating it as well. A scream, then the halberd fell to the ground. I continued eating it. Unlike Dorin’s shield, this one had none of the magical aftertastes that would have belonged to enchantments or charms. Yet, there was value in its simplicity. The flavor of the metal, remnants of the heat in which it was forged, made a subtle and perfect aftertaste that brought the rest of the flavors together.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  [Unknown evolution requirement revealed.

  Evolution path: Unknown, Tier 3

  Requirements:

  Consume Child’s Toy: completed

  Consume Man-made tools/weapons: 2/5

  Consume Human Body: 3/5

  Consume human defenses: 1/3

  Unknown: completed]

  With each unlock to this evolution path, I was becoming more and more concerned by its requirements. If I was a guardian, why would an evolution path ask me to consume defenses and tools? Was I meant to be learning something from them? But, if that was the case, why was the toy a requirement? It painted a suspicious picture, one that I wasn’t sure I wanted to commit to.

  “S-s-slime! Monster! It ate my weapon!?” cried one of the humans that had gathered around the gate.

  I focused my attention on him, confused. “You offered it?”

  “Actually, he was pointing it at you,” Dorin explained. While I was eating, someone had wrapped a piece of cloth around his injured arm. Then, he lifted his gaze to the humans who must have all been soldiers. “I’d recommend leaving the slime alone, unless you want it to eat you, too. It’s way stronger than the lot of you combined.”

  Looking around at the soldiers, I found myself agreeing with him, much to my disappointment. Though they each bore the colors of their own inner magics, they were all on the same level as the children. None of them held even the same quality of magic as Dorin, and even he shone far less brilliantly than he had in the fight.

  “Dorin, you have a pretty serious mana burn from that explosion,” said the woman who’d held the gate. “It’s dangerous, if nothing else.”

  “Captain, even my flames would scarcely scratch that slime.” Dorin sounded weary, and his shoulders sagged.

  I hopped forward to sit beneath the warrior who’d fought at my side. “Why do you slouch? Is your social dominance so great that you do not fear showing weakness?”

  “My…what?” Dorin’s face twisted up in a shape I couldn’t interpret.

  “Humans live in social groups, yes? And you are the strongest , as shown by the strength of your magic and your regal mane?”

  He exchanged a look with the other humans. Their deference to him was by far the easiest thing to interpret so far. “I don’t think that’s-”

  But I cut him off, wobbling my enthusiasm. “Wonderful! I’m a friend!”

  It must have been a stroke of good luck that I found myself fighting side-by-side with the human leader. The bonds forged in battle were strong, and I would need his friendship to survive a human settlement like this. Even if my magic was far stronger than any of theirs, the humans had salt-based defenses they could call upon at any moment. We were at a stalemate.

  “I didn’t realize there were slimes that could talk.”

  “The children were just as shocked, but I assure you they’re safe from harm.”

  At the mention of his daughter, Dorin sat up straighter. He cast a glance around the cobbled street. Nearby, the three children were being watched over by one of the soldiers, and Dorin relaxed. None of them seemed to be harmed.

  “I suppose I ought to thank you,” he said with a sigh. “You protected the children, even when they weren’t supposed to be out in the first place.”

  “I’m a Guardian Slime. It’s my purpose.”

  Dorin’s eyes narrowed again in that gesture that seemed to precede questions. “I’ve never heard of-”

  Before he could finish the thought, an enormous THUD shook the gates, and a terrible shriek filled the air. I shifted my attention, only to find even more of the sickly magic seeping between the cracks in the gate. It pooled on the ground, and the first heads of Wraiths rose from the cobblestones.

  “Hey Slime, any chance you can do that explosion again?”

  I looked inward. I didn’t have enough mana to use Wild Magic Wave again, but that didn’t mean I was out of options. As a slime, I was never without options.

  “We can’t fight this,” one of the soldiers shouted. “We’re barely equipped to fight off lesser harpies!”

  “Hold strong, men. This is our home, and we’re not going to give it up!” barked the captain in response.

  Another slam rattled the gates, along with cries of “a big one” being shouted from the soldiers on the walls. Out of the side of my senses, I notice Tanev bury her face in Samri’s shoulder, as fear colored the young boy’s golden magic.

  So be it, then, I thought. Even without Wild Magic Wave, I wasn’t helpless. I was still a slime; a monster capable of carving through the very earth I walked upon. More than that, I was a Lesser Guardian Slime. Those children were frightened, and I wasn’t going to let that state last even a second longer than I had to.

  “Leave it to me,” I said solemnly. As I hopped away, I asked the Voice of the Creator for a few more details, just in case.

  [Soothing Touch—mana cost: 10. Restores the health of a monster equal to the user’s [Affinity]. Touch range. May interact with Tag: Consumer of the Fourth Anchor. Requires Healer’s Bearing.

  Sealing Touch—mana cost: 10. Disrupts the mana of a creature and any active magical effects. Touch range. May interact with Tag: Consumer of the Fourth Anchor. Requires Slayer’s Stance.

  Cleansing Aura—mana cost: reduced mana regeneration. A powerful aura of pure protective magic. This aura serves to promote healing in monsters and also provides resistance to arcane corruption and decay. Requires Healer’s Bearing.]

  The last words of the Voice vanished from my mind just as I reached the gate. Confidence bubbled in my slime, and I hopped forward, squeezing myself between the cracks of the gate and into the fray beyond.

  “Well, aren’t you big,” I mused at the aptly described “Big One.”

  It was huge. If the regular shamblers were formed of humans, then this thing must have been formed from an ogre or worse. It was at least ten feet tall, and would have been too tall to enter the gates, had they been open. It slammed a fist against the gate, and I saw wood splinter.

  Quickly, I hopped to the monster’s leg, slamming a pseudopod into the creature’s ankle. The big shambler howled and stomped its foot.

  I yelped as it caught a bit of my own slime in the blow. The damaged slime detached, leaving a puddle of green on the ground. I wobbled again with mild frustration. Slime was expendable. The blow had only taken five hit points, but it proved that this monster was far more dangerous than the rest of the shamblers around.

  The big one turned and tracked me with its gaze as I hopped back out onto the road. Shambler corpses still lay in a heap where Dorin and I defended ourselves, and I dove into the pile, trying to hide amongst the bodies while I developed something resembling a plan.

  It slammed a fist into the ground, shaking the entire road beneath me. The sound of cracking earth filled the air as I scrambled to put some distance between myself and my enormous enemy. Another fist cracked the ground in front of me, and I reeled back, only to be faced with another fist behind.

  The shambler groaned and lifted a foot to crush me within my hiding place of bodies. There was nowhere to go, and even if there was, slimes were not built for speed. All I could do was try and squeeze into a widening crack in the road and hope that the beautiful earth with its sturdy rocks would protect me.

  Earth crumbled beneath the overwhelming might of the shambler, squeezing me in my hiding place. I yelped in pain as pieces of my slime were pinched by the roiling earth and severed from my main mass.

  [Warning: Health at 50%]

  “Lead it this way!” the cry from the wall-top was gruff, but it filled me with great relief.

  I crawled from my hiding spot, waving a pseudopod at the giant. The mana in my core was a more than tasty treat for a creature whose primary diet was magic. Its head turned with a sickening crack before it charged after me. I dove back into a pile of bodies, using it to obfuscate my position as I made my way closer and closer to the gate.

  The earth shook with every step the big one took towards me. Just as it reached the final pile, I leapt from the bodies, throwing myself as high as I could, which, admittedly, was not that far. It would have to be enough. I slammed into the shambler’s kneecap. In the same instance, I spied a flash of fire from above.

  Dorin leapt from the top of the walls, crossing a distance I didn’t think possible for humans, before slicing downward with his axe. He cleaved the shambler straight down the spine, burning flesh where he passed until he landed next to me.

  “I thought you were damaged!” I shouted over the sound of the falling shambler. “Your fire is burning low!”

  “I’m fine,” he growled back. “My mana pool just isn’t what it used to be.”

  Even as he spoke, though, his inner fire seemed to flicker, and he fell to one knee. He breathed heavily, leaning on his axe as he tried to force himself back to his feet.

  “I am a knight, the only one in town. I will manage.”

  Though I had serious concerns about his wellbeing, I kept them to myself. The large shambler put a hand to the ground with a thunderous tremor and began pushing itself back to its feet.

  “Not on my watch,” I said.

  Three hops carried me to the creature, and a fourth brought me to its back. I clung to its back as it swiped at me with decaying claws. I applied Sealing Touch. The creature seized as the magic sustaining it was momentarily disrupted. It was only stunned for a moment, but that moment was all I needed. I raced up its back, wrapping around its throat and spreading my slime to eat through it. Acid ate through flesh, and soon the enormous head was severed. It slammed into the ground, alongside the body.

  “Watch out!” Dorin shouted.

  Though the shambler had been defeated, the danger had not passed. From where it had slammed the ground, cracks spread. They pulled wider and wider, and a painful shriek of pain echoed from the ground. Jagged spikes of metal pierced the land from below, and the earth beneath our feet turned to liquid.

  “Dorin!” came a shout from the wall.

  I threw myself at the knight. His strength was greater than mine. If anyone could climb from the shifting landslide of rock and earth, it would be him.

  He struggled, pounding his legs against the shifting earth, trying to gain any ground at all as gravity dragged at us. I clung to his armor, but it quickly became apparent that even the big, burly human couldn’t hold out against the forces of nature. For every step he took, the ground pulled him further back. Soon, he was up to his knees in soil, then his waist.

  The force became too much, and the two of us disappeared beneath the ground.