She stared at me expectantly. I stood, looked in all directions, then walked toward that of the slime.

“Why?!” a wail ripped from her throat as she quickly hurried to walk alongside, her face contorted in confusion and anguish. “You choose a slime?! A slime?! Are you kidding me?!”

“Stop yelling,” I snapped at her. I started down the hill toward the drier section of the plains.

She closed her mouth, offended, but quickly got over it and continued. “Why? Tell me why you would choose a slime over something like a sexy Nymph or an awesome wolf. Hecker Decker, Mister Pecker, even a lousy goblin would be better than a freaking slime.”

“Then why give me the option in the first place?”

“Because I wanted to make you feel like you had choices! To be benevolent, since, after all, I am quite sweet, kind, amazing, caring, lovely…” Her head shook quickly as she refocused, “But a slime?! A Field Slime, no less! The lowest of the lowest of the low… Contracting to pancake batter would be an improvement!”

“I don’t want to risk fighting a wolf. I don’t want to be bothered with a goblin. And I don’t want another yapping woman who just wants to use me as a play toy,” I said simply, picking up my step. The ground crunched pleasantly beneath my shoes, and just walking over the open plains felt divine compared to swinging my arms in reckless abandon. I decided then and there I would start taking strolls every day. Good for exercise, focus, and calming down.

Chaos tossed her hands into the air, “But it’d be funny!”

“For you.”

“That’s all that matters!” She flailed in exasperation at the sky.

“Don’t care.”

“Gaaaaaaah!” With a smack to her forehead, she deeply inhaled and exhaled. “Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine… you get to contract a… boring, lousy, piece of jello.”

I nodded simply in reply, and she glared in reply back. The two of us walked together in silence; me quite enjoying the open sky and endless sea of grass. Chaos, on the other hand, held a pout-lip and kept shooting me displeased glares every chance she could. I ignored them.

Based upon what little I had read in the book Chaos had given me, the sun rose in the north and set in the south on the North mainland. Based on that, I was walking to the South, where somewhere beyond the horizon a massive ocean lay in the center of the largest continent in Mortalis. Though it carried many names, the most popular was the Arinean Sea. It was named after the capital city of the Mer, Arinea, placed in the northeast part of the massive ocean. From Chaos’ readings, the Mer were a very kind, generous, and tender race consisting of mermaids, merun, and other sub-species of the partly human fish folk.

It made me curious. Especially since supposedly they were very honest and moral, to the point of being downright gullible because of it. If I wanted a more permanent place of residence, I thought that near a Mer settlement was a good option. Better to live by and befriend those I wouldn’t have to constantly watch. Of course, I had no intention of just locking myself up in some study for the rest of my life. Or even staying in one place.

But, I did need a residence where I could store my possessions. Rest. Practice in seclusion. A place to call home.

The thoughts mostly arose from the discomfort produced from camping out. Being sweaty and living from a backpack had never lured me into camping before, and with one night sleeping on the ground, I knew that I would not make camping a habit if I could help it.

Nature was beautiful. But sleeping in it as well as living in it? Too much nature.

A bizarre sound reached my ears, causing me to grind to a halt. I had never thought that something could ‘gloop’ its way around, but that was the sound. A mix of water falling into a tub of jello, the high pitches and low splatting finishes came in rapid succession as multiple slimes hopped and slid along the ground before me.

Expecting something a bit more… just more substantial, I stood in slight shock. They were literal orbs of slime. Nothing more. Semi-transparent, a grayish and orange color, they bounced about to different clumps of the greener grass and stopped. Pushing themselves forward, they pulled the stalks into their bodies till it tickled their centers; with their sizes being about as wide as a pillow and as tall as a small dog. And they just sat there, unmoving.

Watching closely I noticed an extremely sluggish, to a painfully slow degree, absorption of the grass. Small fractals of the green drifted into the sea of the slime’s body before vanishing as the acid finished breaking it down. There were at least twenty-odd identical slimes doing the exact same thing in between glopping to a new grazing patch nearby.

Sniffing the air out of curiosity, I smelled freshly cut grass, dirt, and nothing else.

‘So no smell, rather loud, and seemingly very stupid…’ I thought to myself.

Chaos crossed her arms and stared daggers at me, “Do you see why I think you should choose something a bit more… gee, I dunno, not dumb and boring and literally a dollop of sour orange jello that hops around all day absorbing a bunch of grass?!”

I shrugged, “Seems perfect for a novice like me. How do I start?”

“You’re kidding… right? Please say you’re kidding… pretty please?” she placed her hands together in a pleading prayer, trying her best begging puppy look.

“How do I start?” I asked again.

Her face dropped and she hung her head, “Touch one and feed it your Spirit… since it doesn’t have a brain, you just feed it till it attaches to you. There should be a… snapping sensation in your head, when there’s enough of a connection built.”

“That simple?” I asked, surprised.

Balling her fists, she threw them down beside her, straight as boards and her face reddened. “What do you expect from a Field Slime contract? They don’t even have brains! You’d find more intellect in an ant drunk on Dwarven Grog!”

“I’ll take your input into consideration…” I mumbled, walking up to the nearest one. I move carefully, ready to jump back if it tried to jump on me. Closer. A little closer. And still, it didn’t so much as move. The rippling liquid of its body wavered with the wind, but overall it didn’t seem to realize my presence in the slightest. Or care.

Reaching out, I touched the top of it. The creature’s body rippled as if I were disturbing water, but otherwise it made no effort to move. It felt like plastic. Yet, a wet plastic that bent from the slightest provocation and held just a snippet less resistance than a floppy wet sponge of the tofu consistency.

“What an odd feeling…” I commented, lightly patting the thing’s peak and watching in delight as the ripples carried throughout its entire body. The light within the body warped, making the ground shift and the grass within to seemingly bend and twist in all manner of unnatural ways.

“Oye, kitten with its new toy… I don’t want to waste my precious time watching you play with a freaking… fricking bicking salad kicking Field Slime! Gaaaaah!” She clutched her head and spun around, still unable to believe I had chosen a slime. I grinned. Watching her hate it so much was quite fun. Maybe I was part sadist too.

My attentions shifted back to the slime and closing my eyes, I tried pushing out my Spirit. Just a little. Nothing happened. No feeling of power flowing through me.

“Oh for the love of… jello,” I said, shooting a grin at Chaos who wailed again. Using a small pocket knife, compliment of Chaos, I sliced the tip of my thumb. It hurt. And the sudden invasion of metal made me jerk a little. “The movies made it look so painless…” I whispered, sliding the blood over the slime’s top and pushing in the Spirit.

The feeling shivered through my veins. My blood glowed softly and colored the slime a deep red. For a few seconds the slime didn’t respond, but then, as it began filling its body with the red color, I felt an odd connection form to the thing.

It wasn’t like another presence in my mind. Or even a connection. Instead, it felt like I could almost feel a ghost of an extra limb that would listen to my whims now attached to me. I willed the slime to climb onto my hand. Slowly, but surely, it rolled onto my hand, taking it inside its body as its way of grabbing hold. I half expected it to start eating my hand, but it didn’t; instead, a warm, wet tofu feeling covered my hand and wrist.

“Heh. Hey there little guy,” I whispered, lifting it up. It stayed motionless, save for its rippling body, and held firm to my hand. It was a bit heavier than I expected. Though it made sense, since it was mostly water.

“My prophet… a Thalwesse… just contracted with a Field Slime. This must be a horrible nightmare…” Chaos hid her face in her hands as if weeping.

I just cast a sidelong glance at her, “How do I use magic with this?”

“Form the spell you want and channel it through the slime…” She mumbled into her hands.

“Okay…” I looked at the slime, then at Chaos, then at the slime, then at Chaos again. A devious idea formed in the back of my mind and I focused. I wanted the slime to heal. Not to channel it through and back into me, but to hold the power itself and then release it when I wanted it to. Oddly, the knowledge was there. It wasn’t solid in the form of raw knowledge, but instead of feelings and movements, as if I could cast it naturally all along.

“Say… Chaos,” I called out, “How durable are slimes?”

Her hands were still covering her face, “…against physical attacks, practically invincible…”

“Great.” I charged the slime till it glowed with blood red from the spell I charged it with. Then, I shifted into a pitcher’s stance, facing Chaos. I readied the slime; loosening its hold on me and preparing to let go. Lifting my foot I let it fall as I swung my arm around, telling the slime to let go at the right moment.

It obeyed. It zipped through the air and to my utmost glee, Chaos seemed too busy moping to herself to notice its silent flight. It splattered across her hands, earning a yip of surprise and a little jump. The slimes body bent around her head, but stayed connected, rebounding back into form and sliding down along her hands and torso.

Chaos just stared at me, fuming as if about to kill me right then and there.

“You looked like you needed a heal,” I said, snapping my fingers and saying “Invoke.” The slime released its spell, the glow surging to encompass Chaos’ entire body for a flashing moment.

“Haaaaaah!” she let out a surprisingly erotic cry and shivered. Red bloomed on her cheeks and she covered her mouth quickly, looking at me sheepishly.

I blinked. “Ummm… what was that?”

“A hiccup… I have… sexy hiccups…” she whispered.

I planted my hands on my hips, smiling, “Oh yeah…?”

She frowned and quickly said, “You ever tell anyone and you’re dead…”

“What, that my Heal spell feels amazing?” I asked, guiding my slime to hop back to my hand again; a little surprised it was still so reddish now.

“Your Spirit energy, actually…” Turning quickly, she crossed her arms. “I’ll grant you mercy this time… next time, I’ll toss you to the moons.”

“My thanks for your benevolence and mercy,” I said, now grinning. Chaos just marched back toward the campsite and I followed. I could use the slime to cast spells in a way not even a Goddess expected. Store them inside its body, toss, and then release on impact; and as long as I was careful, the slime would be completely unharmed.

‘What a fun idea!’ I thought, petting the slime’s peak again. The day was quickly improving. Not only did I just get a new little friend to accompany me on my adventures, but I had seen a side of Chaos that she obviously wasn’t used to showing. Yep, if the day kept on like that, it would be a great day.

“Well little buddy… I’m going to name you… name you… Ditto,” I said, chuckling as that seemed far too fitting to pass up.