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

You have absorbed its Physical Essence!

You have advanced to Level 8!

- Arcane Essence +20

Name: Violet [Level 8]

Species: Arcslime

Combat Power: 240

Arcane Essence: 160/240

Skills:

[Appraisal - 10 Arcane Essence]

[Arc Shot - 20 Arcane Essence]

“Like, seriously, he literally just walked up to me,” I continued, still puzzled. “He not only closed the distance so I could aim better, but he actually thought I was just going to stand here as he tried to cut me in half. Is he alright in the head?”

I stared at the fallen body of the Dark Elf— at the sizzling hole my [Arc Shot] left in between his eyes.

“I mean— was he alright in the head?” I corrected myself.

“Nenifru!” Dency, the other Dark Elf, screamed, running over to the corpse.

“Oh, so that was his name.”

Well, it was too late for introductions now that he was… dead. Also, I seemed to be taking this in quite casually. I just murdered a guy— like, for real for real. He wasn’t even a monster like that dastardly Earthen Siren.

And yet, I felt… only a little bit guilty. Perhaps it was because he didn’t even look Human— despite his humanoid shape— but I didn’t think that I rationally did something wrong. He was a bad guy. However, even if he was bad, I should’ve still felt some semblance of… shock?

Maybe this went beyond just coping and disbelief— maybe something was really wrong with my head. I mean, I didn’t (supposedly) have hormones as an Arcslime. That could’ve been related.

I stared at Dency as he picked up Nenifru’s blade. Dual wielding a pair of curved swords, the remaining Dark Elf turned a hateful gaze to me.

“You monster!” he spat. “I will not let you get away with this. As a soldier of the Dark Empire, it is my duty to deliver justice and rid you off the face of the world.”

“Deliver justice? You were trying to kill and rape two innocent Goblins. Heck, you literally just said you worked for the Dark Empire! You’re, like, the complete opposite of justice.”

“Die!” Dency lunged at me, swinging his twin blades one after the other.

I hopped over the attack and sent an [Arc Shot] for his head. He ducked under the globule of purple goo, pivoting around as I bounced away from him to gain some distance,

“Seriously, how can you possibly say I’m the bad guy here? Are you stupid or something?”

“Silence, monster!” He charged as he screamed.

“Oh, I get it. You really are an idiot. Let me just—”

I watched him draw closer with each step. When he reached me, I leapt back to a nearby stalagmite and threw myself off it at his head. I bounced back and forth, ping ponging between the rock and his hard head.

“Help. You. With. That!” Each word punctuated a hit to the Dark Elf’s head.

He stumbled back, grasping at his bleeding forehead. Steadying himself, he clenched his jaw and wiped the blood off his face. “I can’t lose. Not like this. Not after all I’ve been through. Everything I’ve strived to protect.”

I stared at him. “Wait a minute—”

“I’ve given far too much to go down here. For my comrade— the one you killed with your cruel and merciless hands. I will not lose. I will avenge him.”

“Is he…?”

“I will slay you, monster!” Dency finished, raising his blades.

“He’s really giving a heroic speech, isn’t he?” It seemed like giving him a concussion only made things worse. “Seriously, take a hint and take your leave, already.”

The Dark Elf sprinted full speed at me, uttering a war cry. Sighing internally, I finally decided to put an end to it there and then. No more messing around. I threw myself at him, whipping out with an appendage as he slashed for me.

We passed each other, both coming to a halt, holding our poses for a moment. Then Dency stood up, snickering.

“It seems I w— urgkh!” He fell, coughing out blood. The blades clattered on the stone floor as the Dark Elf collapsed. “I’m sorry. I failed you. I’ll be right behind you… my friend…”

I watched as Dency bled out, a single arm stretched out and grasping for his dead companion.

“...ok.”

You have defeated a [Dark Elf - Level 8 (Combat Power: 140)]!

You have absorbed their Physical Essence!

The screen popped up over Dency’s body, marking his death. A voice drew my attention. I turned to the two members of the audience— the Goblins who I’d helped.

“Y-you…” The Goblin father stared at me, at a loss for words.

“You killed them,” a smaller voice said. It was the daughter. The little girl Goblin who’d nearly been snatched away by the Dark Elves. Her eyes were wide, and she couldn’t take her gaze away from their corpses.

“Don’t worry.” I waved an appendage dismissively. “They’ll be fine.”

“They’re dead,” the Goblin father said.

“And they’ll be alive soon enough.”

It was not like anything bad happened to you when you died. You would just be reborn in another world. Right?

The two Goblins exchanged confused glances. I just slid up to them, putting on my best voice possible.

“So, anyways, now that I’ve helped you two, can you do me a favor?”

They must’ve been just overflowing with gratitude to shower me with right now. After all, I was the adorable purple blob thing that just saved their lives.

I was their cute little hero!

* * *

It was a monster.

A terrible monster that would wreak destruction unseen.

Fissyah knew that this was where she’d draw her last breath. After five years of living, she was finally going to die at the hands of this deceiver. It took the form of a weak Slime, yet it had disposed of Dency and Nenifru with ease.

What was more, the way it moved was unnatural. When standing still, the monster was like a simple mixture of a discolored mauve liquid. A kind of mud that stuck together. But when it crawled forward, it was like it was being split into a thousand threads, and they'd stick out, pulling the monster forward like webbed parts. When its surface was disturbed, vein-like ripples would spread throughout its body. And even with no eyes, it could detect Fissyah without a problem.

Its faceless gaze snapped towards her, and she flinched, moving behind her Papa.

“So…” it said, breaking the moment of silence. A piece of its body protruded out like a deformed arm without a hand. “Wait, first, are you going to…?” It gestured at the corpses of the two Dark Elves.

Papa took a step forward, shielding the girl. “What is it that you want?”

“Oh, I was just asking if you wanted to… you know?”

Was this a trick? Some kind of mind game from the monster? Fissyah didn’t know. She opened her mouth to speak, but Papa stopped her. He deliberately chose his words as he replied.

“We are not aware of your intentions, creature of the dark. Please, we humbly request you to elucidate our feeble minds on what you desire of us.”

“Uh…huh.” It made a weird sound. “Well, I was just wondering if you wanted the bodies. ‘Cause if not, I’ll be taking them.”

Fissyah’s spine prickled as the monster moved to the corpses. Was it a Necromancer? It was going to claim the bodies of the dead for its own. It had to be a Necromancer. The girl had heard tales of such vile fiends— what they were capable of. If it really was a Necromancer, she couldn’t let it defile the dead. She had to stop it.

Against her better judgment, FIssyah spoke. She moved forward, speaking in a soft voice.

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Hmm?” The monster slowly craned its body to face the girl.

She steeled herself. “I-I…” Papa gripped her hand tightly, shaking his head, but she continued anyways. “I asked what you were going to do with it?”

“Oh, well, this is kind of embarrassing, but the fight earlier left me starving. Like, god— you don’t know how hungry I get.” It happily crawled over Dency’s corpse, its body spreading thin and wide. “So, I’m going to eat them.”

Fissyah blinked, and the monster enveloped the body entirely. She watched as Dency’s flesh dissolved under the Slime’s touch. Gradually. Eaten away, in front of the girl’s very eyes. She wanted to turn away, but she couldn’t. It was like she’d been paralyzed by a Basilisk. Forced to watch in horror as the monster ate both Dark Elves.

* * *

“Yeah, you probably don’t want to watch this. Oh my god, this is actually pretty embarrassing. Where are my manners?”

I felt my face burning red after I finished my meal and restored some Arcane Essence. It was a good thing I was purple so they probably couldn’t see me blushing. The Dark Elves had been wearing some light armor and other parts which I couldn’t consume, so I had to sort of inconspicuously slide those things out of my body before returning to the two Goblins.

“So, where was I again?”

The pair exchanged uncomfortable glances, although neither said anything. Yeah, I definitely made it awkward by pigging out in front of them. And they looked kind of disgusted, too.

“I take it you guys are vegan, then.”

“V-vegan?” the Goblin father asked, confused.

“Uhm, nothing— maybe forget you saw anything,” I suggested, and they both nodded hurriedly. “Look, I need your help,” I tried to change the subject.

“H-how may we serve you, creature of the dark?” The Goblin father bowed deep as he spoke.

These Goblins spoke kind of weird, but I wasn’t going to judge them for it. It was probably a dialect or something.

“Do you guys live around this area?” I asked, hopeful.

The Goblin father hesitated. “O-our village. It’s ten miles away from here. We didn’t mean to stray too close to the Karhid Caves, creature of the dark. We assure you.”

“Oh, cool! So you do live around here. Can you take me to your village, then?”

He shifted slightly. His daughter glanced up at him, wide-eyed. But he continued, “If I may ask, creature of the dark, why exactly are you planning on visiting our village?”

I could tell he was a little bit hesitant. After seeing me gorge on the Dark Elves, I would be too if I was in his shoes. He definitely didn’t want me to strip his pantry bare. I tried to reassure him.

“I won’t be staying for long, alright? Don’t worry. I’m just looking to crash at your village for a bit then I’ll move on.”

The Goblin girl’s jaw dropped. “You’re going to crash our village?”

“No, no, no. I’m going to crash at your village.” Silly little girl. She got it mixed up. How cute.

“You—” she started, but her father spoke over her.

“I will take you there, creature of the dark.”

I brightened. “Really? Thank you so much!”

“But I must request of you one thing,” he said, meeting my gaze.

“Uhm, sure, why not?” I didn’t mind doing him a favor. As long as it was within my abilities, I would try my best to carry it out. “What do you need?”

“I will take you to my village. But, please, whatever you do, just ensure no harm befalls my daughter.”

He wanted me to protect the Goblin girl? She seemed like a bit of a troublemaker so he probably wanted me to keep her safe and stop her from getting herself caught by a Dark Elf again. That didn’t sound like it was too hard.

“Sure. Why not?”

With that settled, the Goblin father lowered his daughter’s head as he bowed. “I thank you for your generosity, creature of the dark. I shall now uphold my end of the bargain.”

“Of course! And by the way, what are your names?”

“Creature of the dark, I am but called Szen in my village. And my daughter is called Fissyah.”

I nodded. “Well, Szen, Fissyah, you don’t have to be so formal with me.”

“Then how may we refer to you?” Szen asked, still keeping a respectful tone.

“Oh, uhm, Sta— no.” For some reason, that didn’t feel right. I shook my head and said my new name, “Violet. You can call me Violet.”