If the universe brought everyone good things, if you just visualized, then he would have been a rich man, along with about seven billion other people. “Umm, so what kind of weapons do they train people in at the Academy?” Aarav said, starting up the conversation again.

“Well, it’s the usual eight, everything else as a variety of those, swords, daggers and greatswords, axes and spears, hand-to-hand, that’s unarmed combat training, then hammers, clubs and staves or pole-arms. So I guess that’s nine, but then unarmed, I guess counts separately. They are usually quite extensive with the training, making sure all students know how to use them before specialising in what they find most appropriate for themselves. They find their Resonance.” He said it like it had a capital “R”, not like a regular word.

“What is this…Resonance with a capital ‘R’?” Haemish smiled. “It sounds like something special. Is it a Skill or a Talent?”

“Good, you picked up on its importance. Resonance is not a Skill or Talent, though I can’t deny that I am curious as to how a monster knows about those already. Resonance is something that works in parallel to Skills and Talents. When someone shows a great affinity for something, natural inborn latent Skill or talent in a specific area, whether it is a certain spell or a specific Skill, they can go further than others; it is like a boost they receive. In those Skills, one or more.” Haemish focused his gaze on Aarav. “Also, do you mind keeping your mouth closed, not to be rude, but those fangs are very disconcerting?” Aarav closed his mouth with a snap.

“You know, just because I’m not human doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings,” he spoke out of the corner of his mouth this time, trying to hide those sharp yellow-white teeth, likely what the fat man was referencing. “Uh…okay, but I can still ask questions, right?” Haemish had been civil enough with him, considering his prominent status as a monster. He couldn’t blame Haemish for being squeamish at his current appearance. He had taken a little while to get used to it, but it had been an outstanding sixth-month stint, and looks hadn’t played a role.

He was ugly, no two ways about it. Even he didn’t pride himself on his appearance. But he could make some adjustments, couldn’t he? He had just kept what he had absorbed the way it was, but there was no reason he couldn’t adjust some of them. His fangs bleached gave a cleaner look. While the mouth, once reduced in size, was more appropriate for his body size. The pupils and irises of his eyes he adjusted slightly to humanize them, and his ears he reduced in size without compromising the hearing—all minor adjustments but overall effective.

“Oh, impressive, I can see the small adjustments you made, and I have to say I had no idea you could change your appearance.” Haemish made a sound of awe and appreciation at the effect.

“It is limited and purely aesthetic, absolutely no use outside of human or sentient society!” Aarav replied.

Haemish laughed in response. “Yes, I didn’t mean to offend. But you had a scary appearance even if you have great intelligence to go with it.” Intelligent? Alright!? Did I just get called intellectual for the first time in two lives? Or wait, did he mean brilliant for a Slime or just smart in general?

Aarav had to ask. “When you say intelligent, do you mean –“

“Yes, intelligent, not just for a Slime, you seem to grasp concepts quickly and clearly. Perhaps you have some promise.”

“Okay, follow up question, how did you know what I was going to ask? I assume I am the first monster you have spoken to, and second, What do you mean some promise? Now is where you tell me what you have planned for me. Also, can you let me out of the bag? I feel like you can trust me now?” The bag was stifling, and this guy seemed nice enough though he didn’t have much experience with humans in this world. He might be nice now and then bloodthirsty later. Who knew?

“The ride to Brewyn is roughly four hours. So if you behave, I will let you out. How does that sound? Though your words don’t fill me with much confidence, anyone wanting me to trust them would say, ‘you can trust me. I would be a fool to believe that. Still, your actions thus far speak for you” Aarav nodded in acquiescence. Also, you know that if I try to escape, you can catch me again in a heartbeat. So letting me out of the bag is a minor inconvenience at worst. I simple snatch job at best. I am so screwed. “About what you were going to ask, that was obvious.” Haemish stared at Aarav at this point in the universally accepted expression of ‘no, duh’ the little captive was sure he would have put it more eloquently. Then he paused for a moment as if considering his following words carefully.

“You are sentient. That is obvious to anyone who speaks to you, whether a Boss Copycat Slime or anything else. However, you are still a monster, and in any situation where it mattered would be considered as such. Under normal circumstances, with you as a human, it would make sense to put you in the Academy and learn the basics there.

“However, seeing as you are a monster, and if I am honest, I still don’t know what your motives are. I also cannot see anything that I understand in your status screen apart from the complete gibberish that I penned for you-” he quirk is brow at Aarav at that, perhaps suspecting some deception? “-I cannot allow you out of my sight until I understand what you can do and what danger you pose. That being said, I am not inherently mistrustful of you. If you do not give me a reason to suspect you of nefarious dealings, then I will treat you as; not an ally, but at least not an enemy.”

“Oh wow, strong words indeed! Not an enemy!” Aarav wasn’t going to mess around. He had minded his own business on their gryphons. Flying around the forest just like any of those other creatures, and biting the one human he encountered, perhaps slightly poisoning him, and just living his life the way he wanted, that one I can own didn’t do anything wrong there. Come on, conscience! Would you stop cropping up at inconvenient times? The Way Forward is… Forward, I am looking at you! A hard look, damn it. I wish it would leave me alone once, just once. Can’t I rant and rave and just blame them!?

“Hey, best I can do, and considering how well we know each other so far, I would say that is a lot more than I should strictly be giving.” Haemish raised his hands in a pacifying gesture to the Slime.

“Yeah, yeah…fine, whatever. You have all the power here anyway. Nothing I can do about it,” then, under his breath, “yet.”

Haemish frowned as he looked at the Slime but said nothing more. The conversation lapsed into silence. I’m feeling tired anyway, I’m exhausted, those potions did something weird to me, and I had a hell of a day almost dying and whatnot. It’s time to nap since I am unlikely to face imminent death anytime soon. It had only been a few hours since his startling awakening, but it had been a lifetime. His eyes closed as he drifted off into what he hoped would be a pleasant slumber.

*********************************************

Rain pelted his eyes through his eyelids. The droplets were heavy against the thin skin. He couldn’t feel his legs for a moment until a moment of realisation. I’m Slime. I don’t have legs. But then, why were his arms and torso on fire? Everything hurt. Where was he? What was going on? The irritation of water hitting his eyes seemed tiny by comparison to his other pain. How had he not noticed that before? What was going on?

Come on, man, you’ve been in near-death experiences before. Take one step at a time. Aarav thought to himself as he tried to take stock of the current situation. What had been doing?

Okay, I was riding a gryphon. Hey, wait, I fell asleep? What kind of idiot does that? Now I am lying on a tarmac road and a view of the suspension cables of a suspension bridge. Why does it seem so shockingly familiar?

Only when the looming figure silhouetted against the full moon came into view did he understand what was going on. These were his final moments. “Haha! The RASH finally bit it. I can’t believe that was the code name he wanted to use!” Even over the rain, Aarav could make out the man's words and his laughter. His boot swung for Aarav’s ribs, and even in his current state, reflex made him flinch away. Even more, pain flared through his upper body, lower body unmoving and unfeeling from the sternum down. The boot still caught him in the small ribs, and a grunt burst from his lips. He would not give this thing the satisfaction. He would not scream with his last breath, instead he would go with a bit of dignity. Of course, pride may have flown out the window when his bowels had emptied upon lower body death.

The idiot’s insult echoed in his mind as his vision faded for the last time. “The RASH”…”The RASH”…”The RASH”

**********************************************

Aarav or Rash or was it Resh?...woke with a start. Pleasant slumber by the tiny slimy ass! It turned out he had been wrong about that.

Those guys, even when I was dying, couldn’t allow me a little dignity? A single incident, and they label you for life! I hate the lot of them! No one ever treated me with any respect. I’m glad to be rid of them.

Aaarv had no idea if it was the captivity after all the times captive in enclosed spaces or just that he was still feeling claustrophobic in the bag, but that nightmares had come back, and with a level of clarity he hadn’t had in life. After that brief moment of realisation, he again drifted off into uneasy sleep.