“Oops.”

Was I a murderer now? Did I just kill a man? Or… badger man. Giant monster badger man?

Well, first of all, it was self-defense. I was pretty sure that normally, even after considering such an argument, I’d still feel pretty guilty about it. However, the Earthen Siren was a monster! It was like an animal… even if it could talk.

I had gone hunting before with my Dad. Or was it with my friend’s Dad? Or just my friends? My head was still fuzzy, reeling from the surreality of my situation. Whatever it was, I had killed animals before, so killing a monster that was lying to me and trying to eat me didn’t weigh too heavily on my conscience. I felt kind of bad, yes. Maybe it really did have a family— maybe I’d really been intruding in its home.

But that didn’t stop me from gobbling the Earthen Siren up!

“Wasting food is like robbing from the poor and hungry… or something. I dedicate this meal to all the poor kids in Africa who can’t eat. Nom!”

You have replenished 40 Arcane Essence!

Name: Violet [Level 6]

Species: Arcslime

Combat Power: 200

Arcane Essence: 200/200

Skills:

[Appraisal - 10 Arcane Essence]

[Arc Shot - 20 Arcane Essence]

Oh, also, I had leveled up after killing the Earthen Siren. And more importantly, I gained a new Skill.

[Arc Shot]. I got it after defeating the Earthen Siren. But it only cost 20 Arcane Essence, so it probably wasn’t anything that amazing. Probably just barely better than [Appraisal].

How was I even supposed to use the Skill, anyways? For [Appraisal], I just kind of thought about it. Did I do the same thing here too—

The instant I thought about using [Arc Shot], my body reacted. Something built up within me before launching out.

I stared as a piece of my own purple body shot out like a bullet. It struck the tunnel’s wall. The stone broke. A smoking hole was left where it hit.

“That is… wow.” I gaped at the Skill’s effects. “My body’s a gun!”

It left a decent, bullet-sized hole in the cave wall, so it had to be pretty effective in battle. It fired a part of me— a tiny globule of purple goo. However, it didn’t take away any of my actual body.

It was like… magic!

Although, everything in this world had been magical so far. Heck, I was pretty sure this ‘Arcane Essence’ I had contained some sort of magical properties. Even my entire body itself had to be magical, right? I was a blob that could talk. That definitely didn’t align with anything I’d learn in science class.

“Talking monsters, magic body. Now, what else am I going to encounter today?”

I continued down the tunnel, my liquid-like body smoothly sliding across the rocky floor.

“Hm, the Earthen Siren said that there was a village further down in this direction.”

The question was— was it lying? I couldn’t trust it. Not after it lied about being vegan. Oh, and also because it was a monster that tried to kill me. But more importantly, it was cheating on its dietary choices. That was truly an egregious lie.

But without anywhere else to go, I decided to at least investigate if there really was a village here. I proceeded with caution, getting into a few fights that I couldn’t avoid.

I passed by a patch of mushrooms growing out of the ground that grew into a giant mushroom man— like some kind of inflatable balloon animal.

“Hello?”

It didn’t speak, unlike the Earthen Siren. So, I didn’t waste any time trying to talk with it and dealt with it quickly. Its slow lumbering movements were easy to dodge, and I just had to employ my usual trick of becoming a bouncy ball and it was quickly over.

There were also giant lizards, giant spiders, and giant worms. Everything was giant in this world. Why couldn’t there be a regular-sized spider that just had super strength, huh?

You have defeated a [Mushroom Critter - Level 6 (Combat Power: 110)]!

You have absorbed its Physical Essence!

You have defeated a [Scything Spider - Level 10 (Combat Power: 163)]!

You have absorbed its Physical Essence!

You have defeated a [Xellyn Larva - Level 9 (Combat Power: 160)]!

You have absorbed its Physical Essence!

…

You have advanced to Level 7!

- Arcane Essence +20

I didn’t gain any new Skills from these encounters. Something about what I did to defeat the Earthen Siren led to acquiring [Arc Shot]. Perhaps it was when my appendage violently snapped in two and whipped the back of the monster? Or it could've been something else entirely— like passing a threshold of Physical Essence absorbed?

Truth be told, I didn’t know, and I probably wasn’t going to find out until I met someone. And eventually, I did meet… someone?

I exited the tunnel and entered a large cavernous zone— one that expanded in all directions into tunnels or smaller chambers. The slow sounds of dripping water echoed in the background as I took in the scene littered with stalactites and stalagmites.

Such a vast space— I’d have thought it would be teeming with monsters. But I scarcely saw any movement here. At least, compared to where I’d first woken up.

Bioluminescent moss carpeted parts of the floor and wallpapered streaks along the walls of the cavern, although it didn’t exactly let me see better. One thing I was realizing now was that I could actually see just fine in the dark. Like, without any aid whatsoever.

That kind of made sense and did not at the same time. Since I was a blob (magical blob, yes, but still a blob) of purple goo, didn’t that mean I shouldn’t be able to see at all? I’d understand if I had something like ultrasound vision? Or did I have eyes hidden beneath my gooey exterior? Could it really be ascribed to just magic?

My rumination was interrupted by a high-pitched shriek. I thought it belonged to a monster at first, but as I cast my gaze (still confused by how it worked, by the way) to the source of the screaming, I noticed it belonged to humanoid-looking individuals.

There were four of them total, located just in a clearing of stalagmites up ahead. Two of them were ashen-skinned and beady-eyed with pointed ears, standing at just over six foot tall. The other two were green-skinned and far shorter than the first two figures— four to five feet tall at most.

They were in the middle of a discussion.

“Fools!” the first ashen-skinned man said. “You shouldn’t have strayed so close to the Karhid Caves. What if your screaming had attracted monsters, huh?”

So, they could talk. Although, if they didn’t want to attract the attention of monsters, they shouldn’t have been shouting.

“I-I’m so sorry, sir,” the taller green-skinned figure said in a soft voice. “My child ran off on her own and I—”

“Silence!” The ashn-skinned man slapped him.

I paused as I snuck closer. These were… people? At least, I thought they were people. Sure, a common indicator of whether a person was actually a person and not a monster would typically be speech, but after encountering the Earthen Siren, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

And I especially wasn’t so sure if those ashen-skinned dudes were people, considering how they were acting.

“Your daughter has endangered all our lives. We’ll have to take her in for some… punishment.”

“No, please—”

They roughly pulled the smaller green figure towards them as the green man struggled. I didn’t like what I was seeing. It ruffled some jimmies. I really wanted to intervene, since this looked like a clear abuse of power, like officers making a false arrest, but I wasn’t sure if I could even do anything about it yet. Only when I was close enough to finally use [Appraisal] on them, did I make a decision.

[Dark Elf - Level 11 (Combat Power: 185)]

[Dark Elf - Level 8 (Combat Power: 140)]

[Goblin - Level 3 (Combat Power: 50)]

[Goblin - Level 7 (Combat Power: 120)]

The first thought I had was, Elves? They don’t look anything like the Elves I see in movies, followed by, And Goblins, too? I took a good look at their faces. Yeah, crooked nose, pretty ugly… definitely Goblins.

Finally, my mind focused on the issue at hand. Hmm, I think I can take them. The first Dark Elf was close to my Combat Power, but I’d taken out multiple monsters with similar Combat Powers just earlier, so I knew I could take him and his friend alone. I couldn’t just stand idly by as they took the green man’s daughter from him to imprison her. Or even worse— to rape her.

With my mind made up, I emerged from the shadows and confronted those two bastards.

“Hey you!” I called out as the two Dark Elves separated the father from his daughter. “Leave them…”

“Please, she’s all I have—”

“Let go of me, idiot!”

“Papa!”

“I said leave them alon—” I started.

“Dency, pull him from behind. No, not me— him, you moron!”

“Sorry, boss.”

“And how many times did I tell you to call me ‘partner’? We’re equals in this relationship, remember?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Uhm…”

I stared as the struggle continued, and my heroic cry was totally ignored. I tried to clear my throat to catch their attention, except I didn’t have a throat. I was just making sounds with my not-mouth that resembled the clearing of a throat.

They still ignored me.

“I’ve had enough!” The first Dark Elf raised a curved blade at the Goblin father.

No— I reacted as he swung the blade down. A small appendage protruded from my body as I activated my new Skill.

[Arc Shot]. Just like before, a globule of purple goo zipped out of my body and at the target. I aimed for the Dark Elf’s blade. A warning shot. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good at aiming.

“Ah, FUCKKKKKKKKKK!” the first Dark Elf screamed as he dropped his weapon, clutching at his forearm.

“Oops— I mean, uhm, yeah! Take that! I told you to leave them alone!”

The first Dark Elf rolled on the ground, screaming a multitude of curses. The Goblin father covered his daughter’s ears, and I gave him an approving nod. Good dad.

“Are you alright, boss?” Dency, the second Dark Elf, rushed to the first Dark Elf’s side.

“Does it look like I’m alright?!”

I stared at the bleeding right arm of the first Dark Elf. “You are kind of all right, yeah.”

“You!” He glared at me, getting back to his feet. “Do you not know who I—” Blinking, he finally got a proper look at me. “A slime?”

“Excuse me, I have a name, thank you very much.” Although, did I introduce myself as Violet or Stacy, here? “Also, weren’t you about to introduce yourself?”

“Are you telling me that a pathetic little slime thinks it can threaten me?”

“Aren’t you going to question how it’s talking, boss?” Dency asked, shifting uncomfortably.

“Oh, you’re still new here, Dency. There are monsters out there in the Karhid Caves that can play tricks on your mind. Ignore its words. It’s nothing but a distraction.” The first Dark Elf— who still hadn’t given me a name to work with— picked up his sword with his uninjured hand. “Also, I’m not your boss, I’m your partner.”

“Right, sorry boss.”

“Hey, did you just call me a monster?” I raised an angry appendage. “I’ll have you know that I’m a person. P-e-r-s-o-n. Person.”

The first Dark Elf (who should seriously introduce himself so I don’t have to keep calling him the first Dark Elf) strode forward, flipping his blade around with a wicked grin. I backed up as he spoke casually.

“You’re still new here, Dency. Come, watch, let me show you how it’s done.”

He loomed over me and brought his blade up. The Goblins flinched as the blade was swung. Dency intently stared at the demonstration playing out before him, taking notes. And I fired a second [Arc Shot].

There was a thud. The lifeless body of the first Dark Elf crumpled to the ground as I quizzically lowered my appendage.

“Uhm, did he think I was just going to let that happen? He did realize I shot his hand off just a minute ago, right?” I glanced between the wide-eyed Goblins and the horrified Dency. “Right?”

You have defeated a [Dark Elf - Level 11 (Combat Power: 185)]!

You have absorbed their Physical Essence!

You have advanced to Level 8!

- Arcane Essence +20