Chapter 26 - The Slimeball - Markus

Markus found out later at dinner that evening from Anabelle that legally both he and his golem were in no trouble with the law. In fact, all but one of the executed thugs had active bounties and arrest warrants. So Markus was actually entitled to a rather sizable bounty for bringing them to the king's justice.

Furthermore, the Guild Chapter-Master had expressed great interest in discussing Markus’s progress in developing his golems. As per their agreement, Anabelle was asked to remind Markus of his expected obligation in providing golems to the Guild.

Markus had told Anabelle that he was working on it and would have a workable solution in the not too distant future, but wouldn’t reveal much more than that. He had however enquired about the legality of golems pursuing bounties on his behalf. Unsurprisingly, Anabelle had replied that she would need to get back to him about it after enquiring with a more senior Guild official.

Debriefing Hector on what it had learned from interrogating its prisoner was straightforward enough, although not particularly enlightening. Besides confirming that the gang had received payment from an unknown benefactor to abduct Abigaile and Arlee, the thug hadn’t known much else.

On the bright side, Hector had learned the location of the gang’s now abandoned hideout, and after being given free leave by the guards, the golem had ransacked the place for everything of value and returned home to Markus with it all packed in a small handcart.

All in all, it hadn't been a bad day. The immediate danger for the household was sure to be reduced for the time being at least, aided by the brutal execution the gang had suffered at Hector's hands. Markus had also received a small fortune from the combined bounties and the gang's plundered loot. It was not a bad outcome at all really.

Later, while playing a few rounds of Dame with Aela, perhaps as an attempt at distracting him or maybe out of genuine interest, she began pressing Markus on the strangest topic of discussion.

“Markus, Why are all your golems men?” The way Aela asked the question was innocuous enough, but there was something a little off-putting in the intensity of her gaze.

Markus slowly shook his head, “They aren't though. The golems are just golems.” He hopped his token and claimed one of hers while blocking her from doing the same in return.

Aela frowned, “Do you think a woman isn't as strong? Is that why?” She shifted one of her tokens on the board.

“Are you serious? I know for a fact that you could kick my arse while you were blindfolded with both arms tied behind your back!” Markus replied while countering her move with one of his own.

“Then why not make a golem a woman then?” Aela growled in frustration as she moved a token into a position she almost certainly knew would be lost on Markus’s turn.

Markus sighed, “Fine, the next combat golem will be based on a woman alright? It’s honestly not a big deal.” He then ‘accidentally’ moved the wrong token, much to Aela’s delight as she quickly claimed it.

“That’s all I am asking,” Aela replied while smiling somewhat mean spiritedly.

Now having determined why she was upset, Markus continued accidentally losing tokens to Aela’s feints until she won the game. Thinking back on it, he only then remembered that it had been a while since her last win. Under the pretext of defending his title as Dame champion, Markus challenged Aela to a rematch and very carefully lost in such a way that it seemed like it was a close match.

Now that Aela was in a much better mood, Markus thought it might be best if he called it a night and got some rest. He still had a lot of things he wanted to work on in the coming days after all.

Four days had passed since the gang incident and Markus had been anything but idle. Most of his time had been spent devising and adjusting a new set of commands specifically devised for the next golem. Unlike Hector and Dolly, Markus was aware that his next golem would need to blend in better with human company. To that end, Markus would have the dialogue qualifiers become inert when conversing with anyone but Markus himself.

Similarly, the golem would be granted a great deal of autonomy in its decision making and actions since both would be necessary for conducting business on Markus’s behalf. Because of its focus on finance, Markus had also loosened its requirement to directly intervene in upholding the priority protected persons command. While the golem would theoretically be nearly as capable as Hector when it came to combat, personal intervention would certainly dispel the golem's disguise.

One of the reasons Markus felt it was important to hide his next golem’s true nature was largely because of his own observations on peoples blatant bigotry. Another reason was that Markus was not entirely sure whether it was legal for a golem to conduct mercantile affairs. Or rather, he knew it wasn't illegal because no laws existed in that area and he planned on keeping it that way as long as possible.

The cover story Markus had devised on his side of affairs was rather simple. Having recently lost his last desperate venture to bandits. Mr Peabody approached Markus through a mutual acquaintance to petition an investment in a shared mercantile venture. Markus had of course accepted and would become a majority stakeholder in his business, while Mr Peabody remained the controlling director. All the necessary and relevant paperwork had already been prepared through the Guild and only required Markus and the golem’s signatures to make it all official. In hindsight, it was a little odd that Annabelle had asked so few questions about it, but Markus had to chalk it up to her expectation of this being a necessary step for mass golem production.

Staring at the blank resting face of the comically proportioned doll, Markus could already imagine the silver-tongued merchant artfully flogging wares and carousing with the best of them. With all the enchantments completed, the last step was securing a suitable gemstone for the golems power source. As a merchant, Mr Peabody would likely need to be capable of being apart from Markus for protracted periods of time, as well as being able to adequately defend itself as the needs arise.

Purchasing the fist-sized topaz now buried in the golem’s chest had physically pained Markus as he spent most of his recently acquired fortune on it. The prospect of recouping this loss in the coming months was poor consolation in the present.

Filling the topaz to a quarter of its mana capacity left Markus remarkably tired and served as a reminder that he still had not replenished Hector's reserves either.

Upon receiving Markus’s mana, the golem had very nearly scared him half to death when its eyes suddenly sprang open. “Oof, you will have to excuse my poor manners I think.” Mr Peabody apologized, quickly rising to its feet. “We have documents to sign and a commercial partnership to begin do we not?” The golem smiled wolfishly.

“We do,” Markus agreed. “So you are aware of the cover story? And the nature of your identity and relationship to me?"

Mr Peabody nodded vigorously, “But of course! You are my financial saviour! Without you, I would be bound for debtors prison!” The golem said the last with a pained expression, holding both hands over its mouth aghast at the very idea of such a thing.

In spite of the golems acting being somewhat hamfisted, or perhaps because of it, Markus was rather pleased by how things had turned out. Retrieving the documents from his desk drawer, Markus began applying his signature to each of them with his new fountain pen. Although somewhat prone to occasional malfunction, he vastly preferred it over the quills he had been using previously.

Stepping aside to allow the golem its turn to sign the papers, Markus was curious to see how it would sign its name to the documents.

Without missing a beat, Mr Peabody graciously accepted the fountain pen and lavishly signed G. Peabody at each space indicated.

A little surprised at first, Markus was going to ask where the G had come from, then recalled a small tag of paper within the jacket that had inspired the golem's name to begin with. It had read simply G. Peabody. Since Markus had been having no luck coming up with a name on his own, he had simply borrowed that one instead. Markus didn't know if it was meant to be the name of the character the golem was to have portrayed in the original play, or if it was the name of the tailor who made the jacket. Ultimately, it didn't really matter all that much, for the time being, at least.

Interestingly, Mr Peabody had a cursive style all its own that matched neither Markus’s nor the tag that had provided his name. “And with that, our business can begin!” The golem grinned excitedly. “Benefactor, don't worry I have already devised a number of initiatives that I believe will earn great dividends in the following months. And should your experiments in harvesting mana prove fruitful, I can assure you that the rate and volume of the return of your investment will substantially improve!"

Markus nodded approvingly. While he hoped that Mr Peabody would earn profits through prudent investments, his higher concern was that the golem would fit in amongst its intended peers. This was because Markus wanted all the purchasing orders for constructing future golems to go through Mr Peabody, rather than having to handle the orders and associated merchants himself.

In providing the step of separation, Markus believed that anyone wishing to otherwise cause harm or meddle in his affairs would naturally target his business partner first, falsely believing that the merchant was the more vulnerable target. If Mr Peabody was truly in danger, other golems could be dispatched to its aid or it could simply retreat or defend itself if prudent to do so.

Either way, any potential adversaries Markus was likely to have would certainly underestimate the poor merchant and overplay their hands. Which would make dealing with them so much easier after the fact.

“Alright, are you clear on what you have to do?” Markus asked pointedly.

Mr Peabody nodded, “Upon lodging these forms, I will gain access to a joint account wherein is the sum of fifty gold crowns for the express purpose of conducting business and other mercantile affairs. It shall also formally register my corporate enterprise with the merchants Guild and make clear that you are my benefactor. And finally, the last document is a statement of intent to conduct long term business with the adventurers Guild regarding long term cooperation in the provision of contracted golem labour.” The golem smiled amiably while storing the documents in a leather messenger satchel, “That is currently all, is it not, my benefactor?"

“That’s right,” Markus agreed but suspected there was still something the golem wanted to address.

“Although I am loath to ask, I must uphold my prime directives and request an initial loan of small funds to better facilitate my introduction and establishment into the local merchant community while the forms are undergoing processing.” Mr Peabody’s eyes flashed with barely concealed predatory greed as the golem extended its right hand expectantly to accept the requested funds.

It was at this moment that Markus recognized the monster he created. However, he was not afraid or disappointed, Markus was glad of it. That the golem recognized just how far it could push to get what it wanted, was just a testament to Markus’s triumph. Grudgingly, Markus divided the contents of his coin purse in two and emptied half into the golem’s waiting hand.

“Ah, one crown, thirty shillings and twelve pence, this shall serve most adequately my benefactor!” Mr Peabody crowed, expertly delivering a flourishing bow while simultaneously emptying the coin filled hand into its own purse. “Now, if that is all my benefactor, I really must beg for my leave! The morning is yet young and there is much to be done!"

Markus just shook his head slightly while snorting derisively, the golem was simply too good. “Alright, be off with you. If I have a need for something I will contact you."

Mr Peabody smiled amiably, “Of course my benefactor, I shall now take my leave,” the golem bowed once more and then promptly left.

Markus watched Mr Peabody walk down the street. The golem cheerily greeted passersby with a wave and a smile while scuttling along like a fat beetle. As he expected, most people didn't give Mr Peabody a second glance and the few who did had ulterior motives. Watching his golem duck into a nearby alleyway Markus almost felt bad for the would-be mugger who darted in behind it.

Satisfied that Mr Peabody would be more than capable of taking care of itself, Markus made a point of resting well for the next couple of days to replenish his mana. Aela of course was more than happy to keep him company. So being very nearly bedridden was quite tolerable.

Recovered enough to freely move around the house again, Markus made a point of checking in on Aela’s family. Of course, he made sure to take Aela with him, it's not like Markus had forgotten just how quickly a chimaera with a volatile temperament could turn violent.

“You don't have to do this you know,” Aela reminded him for the umpteenth time since Markus had stated his intentions that morning. “Skadi is doing well, mother and Beowulf have been taking turns with the amulet.”

“Even so, I want to see how they are doing,” Markus replied and quickly added, “Not just for their health, although that is a part of it. I want to see how well the artifice is working at extracting, transferring and injecting mana. It's important for other things I am going to work on pretty soon."

Aela rankled a little but lowered her head in defeat, “Alright, but after you have taken a look you need to leave.” She fidgeted a little uncomfortably. “The draining puts them on edge. Beowulf is easy to restrain, but mother is dangerous."

Now that gave Markus pause. Perhaps it would be for the best if he stays out of the attic for the time being after all. “Maybe I’ll just have Hector take a look later.”

Visibly relieved, Aela smiled, “Yes, have the golem do it,” she agreed enthusiastically. “You have other projects to work on while recovering, perhaps choose one of those?”

“I’ll need more quartzite for the next project,” Markus mused aloud, “Which would mean taking a trip to the glassworks.”

“Oh, really?” Aela replied somewhat suspiciously.

Markus had to stop himself from chuckling in amusement, “It’s a bit of a long walk, but if you are able to lend me your support, it shouldn't be too draining."

Aela’s eyes immediately brightened and she grinned victoriously before quickly dialling back her expression to one of mild enthusiasm, “Alright,” she agreed, taking care not to seem too eager.

Markus just slowly shook his head, smiled and sighed. He knew how fond Aela was of prolonged physical contact. All the more so if it was more intimate in nature, which it would have to be since Markus was still rather weak.

With how heavily Markus was leaning on her, his arm wrapped around her back while Aela’s arm was firmly wrapped around his shoulders. It looked like Markus and Aela were young lovers desperate to advertise that status to the world. Which he supposed they were, albeit that their positions in this public embrace were the opposite of the norm since Aela was considerably taller and broader shouldered.

The whole time they were out on the errand, Markus could feel her heart beating like crazy. Her cheeks hadn’t stopped flushing until they were back home again. Markus would have asked her if she was alright, but he was fairly certain Aela was in perfect health. She was probably just a little excited by displaying their affection in public so openly.

Markus wasn't sure if Aela had noticed, but a number of townsfolk had not been favourable towards their unofficially announced relationship. Although limited to scowls and mean glares, Markus was well aware that negative sentiment could erupt into violence with little provocation. It gave him little comfort that the majority of the town's displeasure was not directed towards Aela, but directed squarely at himself.

Although Markus was better protected under the law, Aela was the one more capable of defending herself and scaring off would-be attackers. Unfortunately, there wasn't much Markus could do about it at the moment. It actually made prioritizing the mana reclamation project all the more important. Because it was required for mass golem production and deployment, which would in turn guarantee Markus’s future safety.

After showing Dolly the combinations of sigils he wanted to be engraved on the first fifty quartzite scraps, Markus took the opportunity to have a quick meal and a long nap. Depending on how the experiments would go, it was fairly likely that Markus would need to expend a lot of mana before seeing even the slightest results.

Refreshed from his nap, Markus gathered his materials downstairs. In attempting to spawn mindless monsters from the quartzite core, Markus had to be prepared for things to go wrong. So with that in mind, the core, along with some food scraps would be deposited in a large metal pot. If the experiment worked but wasn't quite as expected, the pot would stop the monster from running amok before being put down by Hector who was stationed nearby. The stone floor would also prove resistant to damage if it got loose.

Now, Markus just had to choose which of the first fifty test samples he would try. Theoretically, they were all capable of yielding valuable data regarding the desired outcome, but knowing he would have only enough mana to try a four or five at most, Markus couldn't help but hesitate.

Markus spent so long dithering over his choice that Aela grew impatient and chose for him.

Snatching up a small broken chunk of quartzite from the sack, Aela dropped it into the pot, “There, that one!” She growled irritably.

Grateful for her decisiveness, Markus channelled mana into the quartzite and patiently waited to see what would happen.

He didn’t have to wait long. After a few seconds, a translucent liquid began congealing around the quartzite. After a minute, the liquid had nearly doubled the quartzite's size, suspending the crystal in its centre. The strange blob had a silver sheen to its surface but was otherwise remarkably transparent.

Unfortunately, the food scraps beneath the experiment were left completely untouched. Dropping scraps on top of it had no effect either, so Markus regrettably had to accept that the experiment was a partial success at best.

All the same, Aela was impressed, “You really did it,” she whispered breathlessly, “You actually made a monster!"

Looking at the blob through his tablet, Markus wasn’t surprised to find that the mana of the blob was a pale red, although it completely lacked mana veins.

Signalling for Hector to destroy it, Markus watched as the golem snatched the quartzite core from inside the blob.

Hector quickly drained the mana back out of it before crushing the crystal and depositing its remains in a prepared bag.

Without the crystal, the blob rapidly evaporated and disappeared.

Not keen on wasting time, Aela chose another chunk at random, “Maybe this is the one?” She muttered.

“Maybe,” Markus agreed amiably, channelling mana into the quartzite.

Similar to the first, the quartzite began oozing a translucent liquid shortly after being injected with mana. However, unlike the first experiment, the liquid was runny and struggling to hold any sort of form. But interestingly enough it was dissolving the food scraps in the pot. After about a minute, the liquid stopped filling the pot.

Gingerly dropping some scraps into the pot, Markus was not disappointed to find that it greedily dissolved them and rose slightly higher in the pot.

“Should we try putting more in?” Aela asked excitedly, “Or will it just overflow the pot?"

“Um, that's a good point actually,” Markus hadn't thought of that. Technically the slime was meant to grow to a certain size and then the crystal would start leeching the excess mana to the collection jewel. So with that thought in mind, Markus now wondered how large the slime needed to be before the crystal would begin leeching its mana.

Focusing on the quartzite core, Markus could tell its mana level was barely a quarter of its capacity. So theoretically, the slime would still need to grow over twice its current size before it would begin transmitting to Markus’s tablet.

Markus rubbed absently at his chin for a moment before making a decision, “Alright, let's try feeding the broken hollowed out bones from the attic." The upside would be disposing of the growing mess in the attic which was rapidly becoming a health hazard anyway, so Markus wasn't too worried about the level of success and failure of this particular experiment.

Aela eagerly rushed upstairs with a large sack in hand.

Gingerly sloshing the slime around the pot a little to make sure it wasn't eating through the metal, Markus was relieved to find that so far there was no sign of corrosion.

A couple of minutes later, Aela had returned, her sack brimming with broken and splintered bones.

Seeing the eager look on her face Markus chuckled, “Dropping them in can be your job if you like."

Aela smiled, “Thanks!" She enthusiastically dropped a few pieces of bone into the pot and watched them dissolve. Aela kept repeating this process until the slime stopped growing. “Should I keep going?” She asked hesitantly.

“Just a moment,” Markus checked the mana level remaining in his tablet. “Alright, add a few at the same time. A bigger increase would be more noticeable."

Aela didn't have to be told twice. She gleefully tossed in four handfuls of bones and had a fifth handful at the ready.

Much to Markus’s delight, the mana level in his tablet was slowly increasing. If the slime had been able to maintain its form independently, this would have been a real triumph. Still, Markus was glad for noteworthy progress all the same, “It works! I mean it’s still not exactly what I want, but it’s close!"

Aela grinned and gave Markus a playful shove. “Is it alright for Hector to remove the core from this one?” She asked curiously.

“I don’t know,” Markus replied. He honestly wasn't sure. Hector was made of wood and its gauntlets were made of leather and iron. This would actually be a good test on a number of levels. Hector already had similar drain resistant enchantments to those Markus had developed for the chimaeras. Hector also had protective enchantments to strengthen both itself and worn materials.

That train of thought actually gave Markus another idea, “Aela?” Markus asked cautiously.

“Mmm?” Aela had been distracted by swirling the slime in the pot.

“This is going to sound strange, but could you try touching the slime?” Markus asked somewhat hesitantly.

Aela stopped swirling the pot, clearly surprised, “What?"

Markus quickly moved to explain his strange request, “I want to see if the protective enchantment I made for you works against the slime."

“Isn’t it acid?” Aela asked sceptically, “It would still burn me."

“Well, yes. If it is acid, it would burn you. But I am not sure if it is acid, or perhaps the monster just strips the mana out of things as a sort of special ability,” Markus explained patiently.

“That's because its special ability is acid!” Aela retorted somewhat heatedly.

Markus sighed, “Alright, it's fine. I just wanted to do a test now in a controlled environment rather than waiting for something similar to happen when we might be in danger."

Aela frowned and gnawed at her lip. After a short pause she sighed and glared pointedly at Markus, “First you have to agree that when it burns me, you will have to do something for me, no matter what I ask. Deal?” Aela’s expression was deathly serious.

Now Markus had to reconsider whether his curiosity was worth it. He had a pretty reasonable idea about what Aela would ask for, most likely something along the lines of advancing their relationship or something similar. But there was a chance that it could relate to something else. What if she asked something truly unreasonable like abandoning Arlee and Abigaile? They all seemed to get along well enough now, but Markus still recalled their initial impressions of one another and couldn't help but feel nervous.

“Alright, deal,” Markus sighed, “Just nothing too unreasonable alright?"

Aela grinned and slowly inched her index finger towards the slime. Surprisingly, her claw wasn’t dissolved or damaged in any way. Pressing deeper, it became obvious that the slime was avoiding Aela’s touch by actively attempting to recoil from her. “What the...” Aela muttered in understandable confusion.

Now, this was unexpected! Was the mana-drain blocking enchantment driving the slime away? Or was it perhaps Aela herself? “Hector, remove the mana core from the pot,” Markus ordered, keen to see what would happen.

Hector obediently reached into the pot and snatched up the mana core. Similar to its behaviour with Aela, the slime was actively avoiding touching Hector wherever possible but was also desperately attempting to maintain contact with the quartzite core. The overall effect was a roiling mass of translucent goo undulating around Hector’s closed fist.

“Hector put the core down by the wall over there,” Markus ordered, motioning to a spot not too far away. He was keen to see what would happen when the slime no longer had the restrictions of the pot and wasn’t forced to contort around Hector's fist.

Hector silently obeyed, depositing the core on the ground.

At first, the slime spread outwards across the floor, but when it grew thin, the slime recoiled back into itself, forming a gently quivering mound of translucent goo that at its height barely covered the quartzite core. Interestingly, the floor didn't seem to be dissolving either, which was an added bonus.

“Try throwing some bone near it,” Markus suggested.

Aela was just as curious and wasted no time in skidding a reasonably sized chunk of bone near the slime.

A first nothing happened, but ever so slowly the slime began to move towards the piece of bone. Upon touching the bone, the slime suddenly washed over it like a wave, enveloping it. As the bone dissolved, the slime retracted back into its resting state again.

“Well that’s weird,” Aela commented.

Markus had similar thoughts. “Hector, go bring me a large jar with a secure lid." He wanted to study this slime some more, but it was clear that at the moment it was potentially quite dangerous so he had to take some steps to contain it.

After scratching the sigils for durability and blocking mana drain into both the lid and outer faces of the ceramic vessel, Markus then carefully enchanted it. Theoretically, the slime would be content with remaining inside the jar, since attempting to open the lid would expose it to the mana-drain blocking enchantment it seemed to take pains to avoid.

This time Aela took the initiative and snatched up the quartzite core. She giggled a little as the slime began undulating around her hand. “It’s so weird." After Aela dropped the core into the jar, neither of them were surprised to see the slime slurp into the vessel after it.

The slime seemed more or less content in the jar. Even though it filled more than half the jar, the slime made no attempts to leave and looked disturbingly innocuous in its inert state. Markus made a mental note to lock it away somewhere Arlee couldn't get at it. Then he made another mental note to invest in such a secure hiding place and wondered how much a personal vault would cost.

With the partially successful slime stashed away, Markus narrowed down the best candidates from their remaining pile of forty-eight to six. These were the cores with the most similarities to both cores tested so far. The reason he still showed preference towards the first core despite its relative failure, was in part because of the aesthetics. Its resting state had seemed more appealing than the gelatinous mess the second displayed and would be easier to control in the intended environment.

Activating the core by infusing it with mana, Markus couldn't help but feel optimistic. However, as the minutes passed by and nothing happened, he had to accept that the latest core was a dud. Something in order, placement, or balance of the enchantments had rendered the core completely ineffective. Letting out a disappointed sigh, Markus ordered Hector to retrieve the mana.

“That one didn’t work at all?” Aela asked, clearly confused by the fact that Markus hadn't even partially succeeded on that attempt.

Markus shrugged, “Yeah. It was actually rather surprising that the previous one was so close to what I wanted actually. There is usually a lot of trial and error with new enchantments. Dealing with combinations of enchantments like this, it only makes sense to encounter setbacks like this really."

“Oh, is that how it is? I guess that makes sense,” Aela agreed, although she still seemed a little disappointed.

“Pretty much,” Markus agreed, “Only thing to do is try and figure out why it didn't work, then try again,” he chuckled and placed the next core in the pot.

Repeating the process of infusing the core with mana, it immediately became obvious that this core was a dud as well. The liquid generated by the core was runny as water and evaporated almost as fast as the core could generate it. Signalling for Hector to drain and destroy it, Markus contemplated the remaining three cores he had chosen to prioritize.

“Hrm, maybe I am having a bad string of luck.” Markus wondered aloud. “Aela, how about you pick the next one?"

“Alright!” Aela grinned enthusiastically and then carefully considered the three cores in front of her. “Hrm, it’s this one I think,” she made her choice and deposited it in the pot.

Charging the core, Markus patiently waited to see what would happen. Regardless of what happened, it would be the last for the day.

After about half a minute, thick liquid with a consistency similar to tree sap began congealing and running down the surface of the core. After the past couple of failures, it was a promising start. Unlike the other experiments, after a couple of minutes, the slime had grown to nearly a foot in diameter. It was suspending the core in its centre like the descriptions of a true slime, so that was encouraging.

Markus nodded in appreciation. It seemed like they were getting closer to the desired result. “Aela, try feeding it some bones."

Not needing to be told twice, Aela dropped a few pieces of bone into the pot. Or at least she dropped them over the pot, but as they left her hand, translucent tendrils erupted from the slime's body engulfing the bones and dragging them into its body. “Woah,” Aela exclaimed, recoiling her hand in surprise.

Markus was just as surprised as she was. Watching the bones dissolve, he noticed another difference to the other slime. This slime was dissolving the bones more slowly. Markus wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. If it was because the deconstructing enchantment was weaker from consuming less mana, it was a good thing because its dormant state would be more efficient. But if the enchantment was just weaker without the gain in efficiency, then it was objectively worse.

“Aela, try giving it a bunch of bones all at once. I want to see what it does when it has a food surplus.” Markus asked and leaned in close to watch what would happen.

“Alright, here goes!” Aela eagerly upended the remaining contents of the sack into the pot.

The slime reacted just as quickly as before, tendrils whipping out and enveloping individual bones, only this time it dissolved the incoming bones in a matter of heartbeats. If Markus hadn’t been paying such close attention he wouldn't have believed it, every shard and flake of bone had been intercepted and drawn into the slime’s body or immediately dissolved.

After such a feast, it was no surprise that the slime began growing again. When it stopped growing, the slime easily fully occupied two-thirds of the pot and was gently wobbling side to side.

Thinking of what to try next, Markus wondered why the slime hadn't tried lashing out at him while he had been leaning in so close to the pot. Did it perhaps recognize that he was its creator and should not be harmed? Maybe the slime didn't see him as a threat? Or maybe Markus just hadn't been inside its previous feeding range.

“Would you mind getting some more bones for another test Aela?” Markus asked. “I forgot to check whether the mana was being transferred or not."

Aela nodded excitedly, “Okay!" She really seemed to enjoy participating in these experiments.

While waiting for Aela to return, Markus had an idea. “Hector, pick up the core,” he commanded.

Hector obediently reached down into the pot towards the core. Unlike the previous experiments, the slime did not shy away from the golem’s touch, although it did seem to form a thick membrane around Hector's hand that became more visible as the core and slime were retracted from the pot.

The slime was maintaining a roughly spherical form around its core, which covered close to half of Hector's forearm. The membrane separating Hector from the slime’s insides looked to be a quarter-inch thick and matched the outer skin of the slime itself. The membrane was also stopping Hector from making immediate contact with the core itself as well. Besides this reactive response, the slime seemed no more agitated than before and was gently wobbling to its own rhythm.

Feeling somewhat brave, Markus tentatively reached out with his index finger to touch it. Beads of sweat were running down his neck as his hand entered the slimes demonstrated striking range. Markus’s nervousness only grew worse as his fingers came closer to the slime. With the image of how rapidly the bones had dissolved still fresh in his mind, Markus was seriously reconsidering what he was attempting to do.

Still, the slime made no signs of turning aggressive, continuing to ripple and wiggle.

Taking a deep breath, Markus took the plunge. Pushing his fingers into the slime more forcibly than he had intended. His entire hand was engulfed by the gelatinous and oddly warm body of the slime. Terrified that his hand was being dissolved, Markus quickly stumbled backwards.

After taking a minute to calm down, Markus realized that his hand and fingers were still very much intact and unmarred. Looking over at the slime, he had the distinct impression that it was watching him with what would pass for a perplexed expression, if it was capable of such a thing.

While the slime did not have a face, it had the senses of hearing, sight and touch. Markus had figured that allowing the slimes to hunt down rats and other vermin in the sewers would be good for both public health and collecting mana. It made sense at the time, but now it made him feel a little uneasy.

Taking out his tablet, Markus connected the slime's sight to the tablet to better understand what it was doing. A little surprised at what he was looking at, it took Markus a moment to realize he was looking at a mildly distorted image of himself. According to what he was seeing, Markus had the slime’s utmost attention.

A wet ripping sound made Markus look up from the tablet again. “What the..."

The slime had altered its form, its skin thickening and contouring to form a rough approximation of a face, although it completely lacked a nose and its mouth was a yawning slash that appeared to be in a perpetual state of collapse.

Overcoming his initial surprise, Markus now recognized why the change had taken place. It wasn't just a normal slime monster, after all that wasn't what he had been attempting in the first place. This was a slime boss monster! The differences so far were rather obvious. And he had been taking them for granted.

Regular slime monsters were near mindless, waiting for something to literally stumble into them and then attempting to digest it. Slime boss monsters had a sliver of intelligence that allowed them to become much more dangerous. Boss slimes would actively hunt for prey, striking from ambush at the opportune moment. Besides a difference in size, the two other means of identifying a boss slime was by the dungeon core suspended in its body, and by its disturbing appearance. Usually taking the shape of a melted face.

Markus had only read descriptions before, but looking at the slime on Hector’s arm, he really had to agree with the description. If he were to describe the slime's current appearance as a melted or melting face, he doubted many people would be dissatisfied with the accuracy of the description.

“Woah!” Aela exclaimed, quickly bounding down the stairs to get a closer look, “What happened?!"

“I am not sure. I tried touching it and accidentally poked it. A short while later it became like this,” Markus explained. “But this is what it is meant to look like in the first place as a slime boss monster. According to records of eyewitness accounts anyway."

Aela grew more excited than before, “Doesn’t that mean this experiment is a success?!” She asked.

Removing the connection from the tablet, Markus nodded, ”Mostly, we just have one last test to do. If it works, then this is the one we want."

“What is the last test? Just feeding it again?” Aela asked, clearly somewhat disappointed.

“Hrm, well, we could have Hector put the slime down and then see if it will chase after food on its own, or just eat what comes within reach,” Markus offered. Thinking about it some more, it wasn't actually a bad idea. “That would be good to know actually. Hector put the core down by the wall again."

After Hector complied, the slime slowly rotated on the spot, as if taking in its new surroundings.

“So what do we do? Just throw bones in its direction? Or throw them farther away and to see if it will go after them?” Aela asked, still a little unsure about what they were doing.

”A bit of both would be fine. You can have some fun with it if you like,” Markus replied while carefully paying attention to the mana level in his tablet,

Aela shrugged and began throwing bones around the room.

This caught the slime monster's attention immediately. While it managed to intercept some, Aela was deliberately trying to throw the bones in such a way that it wouldn't be able to immediately reach them. Quivering excitedly, the slime began rolling around the floor, snatching up the bones it had missed while still trying to intercept the ones still being thrown by Aela.

Seeing the mana level in the tablet steadily creeping higher, Markus was very pleased with how the experiments had gone. While this may not necessarily be the most effective or efficient version of the concept that was possible, it was a great starting point for experimenting with later on. The next step would be improving specific aspects to fit his needs, and that would be a somewhat lengthy process of trial and error.

After all, Markus still had to figure out how to put the slime under a golems command without making the slime itself another golem. But that could wait for another day.

Aela dumped the last of the bone shards from the bottom of the sack on the ground and sighed “It seems pretty lazy, but it managed to get all the bones, in the end, So I guess it was just conserving its strength.” She looked over at Markus expectantly, clearly waiting for him to say something.

“That’s a good thing,” Markus replied, “It means that it is efficient, avoiding wasting energy, which in this instance is mana. From what I could see, the mana absorption and transmission enchantments were working fine, so this experiment is quite a big success,” he gave Aela a wide smile.

“What are you going to do with it now though?” Aela asked, somewhat warily eyeing the slime as it bodily engulfed the small pile of bone fragments.

Since Markus had let it out of the pot, he hadn't actually given much thought as to what to do afterwards. It looked like it should still fit in the pot, so Markus figured he might as well try storing it the same as the other slime in the jar.

Scratching the required sigils into the outside of the pot and the topside of the lid, Markus carefully laid the enchantments and ordered Hector to deposit the core inside.

Rather anti-climatically, the slime didn't resist being returned to the pot again. It almost seemed relieved, slipping off Hector's arm with its core into the pot before the golem had a chance to release it.

Securing the lid and tying it down with some cord, Markus felt increasingly tired. Smiling wryly, he turned to Aela and asked, ”I don't suppose you would mind carrying me to bed?"

Cheeks blushing, Aela snorted and hefted Markus over her shoulder with one arm and lifted the pot with the other.

Yawning sleepily Markus made a mental note to spend more time with Aela that week and just leave the experiments alone for a while.