It didn’t take the group long to figure out what happened, but the willpower it took Myles not to take Lyna and throw her back into the lake or drag her back to the wolven dens kicking and screaming was astonishing. The smug amusement radiating off of Ashra didn’t help things.

You’re supposed to be on my side, Myles pointed out.

“I am. If she leads Silvetail’s team, she must be strong. If she is, she would be good for you. Strength attracts strength, Myles.”

Myles scoffed slightly. I’m fine picking my own lovers, Ashra.

“You are too slow.”

And strength isn’t everything.

“Here it means everything.”

Myles sighed. He did not need to be taking romantic advice from his bonded monster. Besides, if he wanted to court someone, he’d do it himself. Still, there was the looming threat in the room that had to be dealt with, so Myles turned to his team and the still snickering Lyna.

“Remember how I told you that someone had to watch my home during certain hours?” Myles asked, making a motion to Foliage soon after. “Her team, The Clan, and two of Sindra’s people are on rotation to keep an eye on it.”

Foliage gave a small flick of her tail before bowing, but her eyes never left the group watching them as if expecting something. As she rose back to full height, she gave showed the same teeth as Silvertail with her smile. “I am Foliage, first of my name from the Frosted Peaks, proficient [Ice Binder].”

“That sounds a bit repetitive,” Kendra pointed out.

Foliage’s ears flicked slightly, showing her annoyance. “Which part?”

“An [Ice Binder] from the Frosted Peaks,” Kendra said. “Aren’t your people strictly [Ice Binder]s or [Pyromancer]s?”

Foliage gave a slight shake of her head and a smile. “A common misconception really. We have many craftsmen and warriors like any other established culture.” She turned to Myles as she finished and pointedly added. “Silvertail said you were a cook of some kind, and that you would be making dinner.”

“I didn’t expect you so early,” Myles lied. “We got held up hunting.”

She waved a hand. “I will wait then and speak with your team. I wish to know if you are worth guarding.”

He raised a brow. “If I’m worth it?”

“Strictly speaking, we are giving up good hunting hours to do this. The pay is excellent, but it is quite boring for those that watch us. If we can’t survive long enough to spend it when the caravan arrives, what is the point in it? We would be better set to get a sponsor by going into dungeons and training.”

He couldn’t really argue that. “I’ll try not to be offended.”

“That would be for the best if we are to work together in the long run of this.”

Myles turned to his team next, but he already knew the answer to what he was about to ask. “Are you all staying for dinner?”

“Of course, we are,” Lyna said simply. “I’m getting used to the good stuff now.”

Tail gave her a quick look. “If we are not imposing.”

“Imposing or not, I’d like some fresh bread,” Kendra added. A chorus of agreement followed Kendra’s words. Fresh bread always beat the rations they carried.

However much they liked his cooking, no one liked the creeping, ear to ear smile that crossed Myles face after that. “I think I can accommodate that. Come on, Ashra, we have work to do.”

The way Myles cackled back to his front door with Ashra in tow gave them all pause. After a quick word with Myles, the Monsterkin stood guard at the door, crossing her arms as if to dare anyone to enter after him.

As it shut, Foliage looked slightly apprehensive and approached the others. Her words were spoken bluntly to her new acquaintances.

“Is he always that… enthusiastic about bread?”

“No. No, he is not,” Kendra replied warily. “I’d have expected something like that from Lyna.”

“I’m a little jealous he pulled it off so well,” Lyna said.

“Should I be on guard?” Foliage asked.

“I don’t think so,” “Kendra said.

“You don’t think so?”

Kendra shrugged. “Worse comes to worse, Will can undo whatever he does to us.”

“That is not a comfort.”

She smiled at that. “You haven’t had his cooking yet. A little poison is totally worth it.”

Foliage turned to address the Monsterkin at the door, then Kendra, then the house again, tail swishing slowly behind her as she considered everything.

***

Inside the house, Myles made a bee line for the bathroom to check on his slimes. As he entered, he noticed a lot had changed in his absence. Their little towel nests were larger now, the slimes having gone out of their way to steal more towels from the nearby rack and closet to accommodate their new bulk with their same level of accustomed comfort. Gone were the small clear slimes Myles had started with, and in their places were four glimmering, new creatures in an assortment of different colors.

One by one, Myles identified their new forms with his Monster Lore.

—

Dough Slime

Suburban Creature - Slime

Rank E Threat level

Best trait - Regeneration

Preferred Method of Attack - None

Known Drops: Dough, Slime Core, Yeast, Flour, Eggs

Diet: Milk, Slime Cores, Yeast, Flour, Eggs, Ambient Mana

Breeding Groups: Amorphous

Special Ability: Mass Regeneration

Dough Slimes are a unique evolution of the protoslime. Moving into suburban areas, most slimes would have been driven out or killed on sight, but some industrious people tamed the creatures. They gave the creatures a diet of household goods until it became something useful to them. Regenerating quicker than their cousins and tame as a kitten, a dough slime is a [Baker]’s best friend.

Class Specific Information: [Monster Tamer] -

Presenting Only Species-Specific information:

Dough slimes are a tame variant of the slime completely unsuited for combat, but their thick body can be used to asphyxiate an opponent quickly. They are also very emotional creatures and tend to want to help as much as they can. They are edible and regenerate at least twice as quickly as a typical slime on ambient mana alone and eat little.

Class Specific Information: [Succulent Mage] -

Presenting Only Species-Specific information:

Dough slimes can be infused with mana and enchantments despite being a living entity. This enchantment can only be done once per slime and should only be done with higher level enchantments as a result. Their slime core is a mass of magical dough and will similarly hold and enhance enchantments used in your cooking.

—

Heal Slime

Suburban Creature - Slime

Rank E Threat level

Best trait - Regeneration

Preferred Method of Attack - None

Known Drops: Healing salve, healing potion, red slime, slime core

Diet: Medicinal plants, ambient mana

Breeding Groups: Amorphous

Special Ability: Area of Effect - Minor Heal

Heal slimes are a unique evolution of the protoslime. Moving into suburban areas, most slimes would have been driven out or killed on sight, but some industrious people tamed the creatures. They gave the creatures a diet of recovery items until their slime began to take on healing properties. Heal slimes are unique in that not only is their body a weak healing salve, but they can cast a small area of effect healing spell.

Class Specific Information: [Monster Tamer] -

Presenting Only Species-Specific information:

Heal slimes at the second stage are a tame variant of the slime. While they cannot fight, they can be taught to ride in a pouch or shoulder and move to heal injuries during combat. Due to their nature, they are one of the few creatures that physically cannot injure an opponent; however, overexposure of a heal slime’s mass to healthy tissue can cause medical issues healing magic cannot solve. Therefore, these slimes are particularly useful in small sizes as long-term assassins.

Class Specific Information: [Succulent Mage] -

Presenting Only Species-Specific information:

Heal slime cores can be used to add health regeneration to doughs and other baked goods. Powered heal slime core can be used at a ratio of one small core, powered to about a fourth cup, to replace one fourth cup flour to create healing-infused dough.

Slime Mass can be substitute for an equally powerful healing effect. Slime mass can be dried out at a ratio of one pound to one ounce and requires the same replacement ratio as powdered core to create the infused dough.

Infused dough cannot be stored in your resource space and must be used within 24-48 hours depending on temperatures.

—

Aethereal Regeneration Slime

Suburban Creature - Slime

Rank E Threat level

Best trait - Will

Preferred Method of Attack - None

Known Drops: Mana salve, mana potion, blue slime, slime core

Diet: Liquefied mana, Ambient mana, Spell Scrolls, Runes

Breeding Groups: Amorphous

Special Ability: Mana regeneration (Touch)

Aethereal regeneration slimes are a unique evolution of the protoslime. Moving into suburban areas, most slimes would have been driven out or killed on sight, but some industrious people tamed the creatures. They gave the creatures a diet of mana recovery items until their slime began to take on mana regenerative properties. Aethereal regeneration slimes are unique in that not only is their body a weak mana regeneration source by ingestion, but they can enhance an individual’s mana regeneration by bonding with an a sapient’s individual magical aura (IMA).

Class Specific Information: [Monster Tamer] -

Presenting Only Species-Specific information:

Aethereal regeneration slimes at the second stage are a tame variant of the slime. While they cannot fight, they can be taught to ride in a pouch or shoulder and move to wrap around a mage’s chest during combat to restore mana. Due to their nature, they are one of the few creatures that physically cannot injure an opponent, though overexposure to an aethereal regeneration slime to healthy tissue can cause mana burn or soul scaring.

Class Specific Information: [Succulent Mage] -

Presenting Only Species-Specific information:

Aethereal Regeneration slime cores can be used to add health regeneration to doughs and other baked goods. Powered aethereal regeneration slime core can be used at a ratio of one small core, powered to about a fourth cup, to replace one fourth cup flour to create mana-infused dough.

Slime Mass can be substitute for an equally powerful mana regeneration effect. Slime mass can be dried out at a ratio of one pound to one ounce and requires the same replacement ratio as powdered core to create the infused dough.

Infused dough cannot be stored in your resource space and must be used within 24-48 hours depending on temperatures.

-

Kinetic Iron Slime

Dungeon Creature - Slime (Variant)

Rank D Threat level

Best trait - Body

Preferred Method of Attack - Kinetic Impact

Known Drops: Iron Slime, slime core, refined iron

Diet: Iron, Ambient mana

Breeding Groups: Amorphous, Elemental (Iron)

Special Ability: Kinetic Blast

Kinetic Iron Slime are a unique evolution of the protoslime. Living in an area rife with combat, these protoslimes have grown by surviving the falling weapons and armor of others. They thrive in such environments and are often taken as pets by more intelligent monsters. Kinetic Iron Slimes are unique in that not only can their bodies be a weapon, but they can substitute for patches of armor as well. As a hybrid elemental slime, they have a distinct sense of danger and deal with it by throwing themselves directly into the fight.

Class Specific Information: [Monster Tamer] -

Presenting Only Species-Specific information:

Kinetic Iron Slimes at the second stage are a tame variant of the slime. They are excellent at fighting, and they can be taught to ride with their master as a bandoleer, belt, or piece of gaudy jewelry. Usually, the slimes already have a preference when tamed. When attuned at a high enough Soul Link, these slimes react to commands in ways such as wrapping around a tamer to mimic iron armor or iron level weapons without more than a though. However, they have to be trained not to attack targets with distance attacks. Feeding the slime higher grade metals will increase the slime at the third stage to a higher quality; however, as a hybrid species, this slime grows at a slower rate than other second stage slimes.

—

Monster Husbandry Attempt Successful!

Class Complexity Increased!

[Monster Tamer] Class increased to Apprentice 2!

Monster Lore Subskill Obtained - Monster Husbandry. Squishy, Topoff, Medic, and Doughnut have complete faith in you. Soul Link for these named monsters have improved from Simple to Fully Compliant. Your basic stats have improved.

—

Myles head swam with all the new information and the increase in power his class advancement came with, but that paled in compare to the feeling of doing something on his own.

He’d done it.

He’d actually followed through with an idea he dreamed up, and it worked! He figured the first three would since he’d heard of them before, but Squishy… Squishy had been a gamble — one that paid off in dividends!

With a thought, Myles summoned his newest ally to him and Squishy obeyed without hesitation, radiating pride at being called to arms. The larger than average slime was surprisingly light for being made of semi-solid iron, but his lore skill hadn’t been wrong yet about his creatures.

So, Myles did what felt natural.

“Dagger.”

Squishy’s attention snapped to the order, flowing from his shoulder to his arm and coating the entire forearm in iron as it flowed into his open hand and took the form of a small dagger similar to the one Myles carried already. The slime core glowed faintly in the pommel of the weapon while the rest of the slime solidified into the blade, hilt, and even a curved crossbar. The slime that hadn’t taken shape felt warm around his arm and didn’t restrict his movement in the least. It didn’t even feel like armor.

The thought snapped Squishy’s attention again, and the blade disappeared with a slurping noise as the core moved to his inside wrist as the slime snapped into place, forming a flexible, iron gauntlet around his forearm.

It had only taken a thought, not a command this time. Was it because the slime was on him?

Myles released the slime’s command with a thought, and Squishy slithered across his arm and back onto his shoulder before slinging itself across his chest like a bandoleer. The large, black eyes moved across the surface of the metal sling, and Myles got a distinct feeling of happiness as he opened up Squishy’s interface.

Name: Squishy

Age: Stage 2

Sex: None

Race: Slime (Kinetic Iron)

Patron: none

Primary Class:

Kinetic Iron Slime

Novice

Brawn: 12

Dexterity: 7

Will: 5

Influence: 5

Soul Energy: 30/50

Mana: 0/0

Elemental Alignment: Earth

Skills:

Mimicry (Iron)

Kinetic Blast

Density Shift

Traits:

Slime Regeneration

Core Soul

Soul Link: {Myles Chase)

Squishy’s power had grown by leaps and bounds since its first stage, but Myles noted that it still didn’t share any of the bonuses he had with Ashra despite the strong bond. The fact wasn’t enough to concern him yet, but if Squishy didn’t gain those shared points by the third stage, there might be problems down the line with monsters raised like this.

After a few more tests, Myles learned that Density Shift allowed the slime to shrink and remain the same weight as it was in its full size, and Kinetic Blast…

Well…

“Sket!” Kendra cried from the outside, clearly audible through the knocked open window.

“Sorry!” Myles yelled back as he looked out the bathroom window. At least Squishy hadn’t broken it though. “Don’t hurt Squishy!”

“Squishy?” There was a pause followed quickly by a loud curse. As if that were a magical word, Squishy reappeared, peaking back into the knocked open window with concern as Kendra called after it. “To the Mists with you, Myles!”

Kinetic Blast allowed Squishy to fly with breakneck force forward in whatever shape it was currently in. When Myles tested that, Squishy had been in the shape of a marble-sized ball. Despite the size, Squishy still was as heavy as when it was full sized. Myles thought only a moment longer before Squishy slithered back up through the window and returned to Myles’s chest in the form of the bandoleer.

Feeling a bit more confident that Kendra wasn’t waiting to decapitate him for whatever Squishy had done, Myles reappeared at the window to see the team conversing with the Foxkin and called out, “I’m starting dinner now.”

“Gotcha!” Lyna called back. “I want pasta!”

“No pasta!” No, tonight would be a simple thing, the Rising Star Meat Roll — something his father had made a few times that needed just a good bit of dough and meat. He could practically taste it even if his wouldn’t be nearly as good with his limited supplies.

“Cake then!” Lyna snapped back.

“No cake.”

“Cookies!”

“No cookies.”

Lyna grumbled as she turned back to his guest. “No fun either apparently.”

“I don’t blame him,” Foliage said simply.

“You’re no fun either.”

“Not for you, halfling.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Myles smiled and went back to the task at hand. He had a dinner to make.

“Alright, Doughnut, your turn,” Myles said to the slime once Squishy had gotten comfortable and the young [Monster Tamer] was confident in the new weight. “I just need a little bit of your...” The word flesh was about to escape from his mouth, but it felt disgusting to think that way. So, he settled for what the Skill had called it. “Your mass, buddy.”

Going to Doughnut, Myles had his new iron friend take the form of the sharpened knife again. This time, Squishy had a longer, taller blade than usual, looking similar to a pastry knife rather than a dagger.

Doughnut protested, eyes wide as plates and wobbling quickly back as Myles approached with the cutting tool. Myles felt the surprise and feeling of betrayal, but he also felt where it came from.

“It won’t hurt,” Myles promised, knowing full well that if Squishy could survive having his heavy food dropped on him, his information had to be right. “You’ll grow it back in no time.”

The quick explanation of what he needed it for and why quelled any other concerns Doughnut had. Within moments, Myles and Squishy had cut a large chunk of mass from the dough slime, careful not to get anywhere near Doughnut’s core. Thankfully, his slime didn’t feel a thing and was back to being the size of when it’d been a clear slime without much more protest. With the not-so-grim task done, Myles carried away what would have been three pans worth of dough with the extra mass stored in his extra dimensional resource space.

—

Resource absorbed.

Dough: 22/100

—

Now that Myles had dough and an idea, there was still an ability he hadn’t used yet. Curious to tinker, Myles summoned his Phantom Oven with the intent to create three loves of venison bread. It wouldn’t be the spiced sausage bread his father made and probably wouldn’t have the deliciously orange, greasy crust on the bottom, but it should be close enough to make the Skill recognize his intent.

As he finished casting, he could feel the mana being given shape as the Skill guided the parameters of the Phantom Oven. He could feel a familiar tingle in the back of his mind as the magic tapped into his recipes then true to its name, a ghostly teal oven appeared in the bathroom complete with three pans, a cutting board, and measuring cups.

“Alright, ready Squishy?”

Squishy cooed like a finger running around a metal cup and reformed the knife. It seemed to enjoy being helpful. It was interesting as Myles felt the link rest neatly in his mind. It was so much simpler than Ashra’s was. It was so easy to tell Squishy was enjoying his role in life helping Myles.

Myles took his time cutting the meat, shaping the bread, layering it properly, and putting it into the pan. He could feel his depleting mana, but there was still something he wanted to do to the loaves, so he called on Topoff. It responded with a happy bounce before settling on his shoulder opposite Squishy and offered a tendril. Despite prompting, Topoff wouldn’t wrap around his chest or body. After the third try, Topoff sent Myles the distinct impression that Squishy was there first, and only one slime could be bonded to him at a time.

It sounded more like gurgle, gurgle, pop, slurp, but Myles got the general feeling of it just fine.

Trying not to think too hard about what he was doing, Myles took a bite to get the quick mana regeneration. The slime tasted like the minty clear slime cores but sharper and colder. It was like he’d swallowed a blizzard until it hit his stomach and instantly vanished. Myles tried not to think too much about how the creature projected its happiness with being eaten. With a little bit of focus and a few more bites from his recovery slime, Myles got the message he’d been hoping for.

—

Enchant Dough - Crust (3x) has been successful.

Three units of dough have been enchanted for 15 mana.

***

Crust

Enchantment

Cost: 5+ Mana (Scaling with size and thickness)

Effect: Imbue your dough with a resilient crust. This enchantment will increase the density of your finish product’s crust and impart the Stoneskin status when eaten, increasing the targets natural defense by one stage.

—

As Myles watched the enchantment take form, the dough seemed to firm from its proofed state, but from the way the enchantment was written, Myles hoped it would still be edible. It did have to be eaten to take affect after all, and the last thing he needed was Lyna and Kendra to use his cooking as a weapon in front of the entire nation.

Even with that fear, putting the finishing touches on the dish didn’t take Myles much longer, and soon the three loaves of enchanted bread were in the oven. He wished he had more spices for it, seeing as it would be a little plain otherwise depending on what his Skills filled in.

As Myles closed the oven and let the mana drain in accordance with the recipe. He felt his mana nearly bottom out, but he hesitated to take a bite out of Topoff again. He needed to get used to feeling low mana even if it made him queasy. As he steadied himself, Myles turned his thoughts back to his cooking. He really couldn’t wait for the traders to arrive in seven days. He needed more spices, meats, sugar… there was so much he never realized he’d miss when he left home. Now that he required it for his Skills and his ideas were overflowing, well, he needed to get back into practice.

Enchanted treats that made Squishy all the easier to swing or throw were at the top of that list.

With the oven running and the timer set at forty minutes, Myles felt for his links. Ashra was still standing guard, but nearly came running when he told her what he was about to do. She did her best to steady herself at his order, and Myles leaned out the bathroom window.

“Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”

His comment was met with varying levels of disgust.

“We’re starving now,” Lyna complained. “I’ll have to cook for myself at this rate.”

“Does that mean we get your share?” Will asked with an all too obvious excitement.

“Mists no. I don’t want to poison myself again. I’m making a point. It’s Myles’s duty to keep us healthy.”

“Then wait for him to cook.”

“He should know that I could poison myself if he doesn’t hurry.”

“You can all come in and relax, you know,” Myles added. “I’m going to go check on a few things in the barn and join you in a bit. Just stay out of the bathroom, I’m cooking.”

His comment was met with happiness, if a bit of apprehension and confusion, as he closed the bathroom window and chuckled, cutting him off from further discussion.

Myles gave his slimes a pat on the head each, marveling slightly at how firm they felt despite their near liquid bodies. It was like touching jelly without being too sticky. Squishy was the only exception, feeling the most solid of its siblings. It purred again and vibrated in its bandoleer form as Myles rubbed between its big eyes like he might a cat’s nose. With the meal cooking and his slimes tended to, there was nothing left to distract him from the task at hand.

“I’m coming, Silpha.”