"Alright, mom! I'm going out!"
"Please come back with a job, Hiro!"
Hiro had left the house that very morning. He had been packed for adventure, with a sack around his waist. Relda was there along with him, eyeing what he had brought.
"Are we ready to find that first Big Energy Crystal?", Relda asked.
But Hiro shook his head. "Not yet. One last thing before we go."
Hiro led Relda behind the house, to a little wooden shed hidden in the back. The elf boy opened the door of the shed, and then pulled out a sword. He pointed it in the air triumphantly.
"What's that sword?", asked Relda.
"It used to belong to my father.", said Hiro, "He used it on the front lines of battle, back when he was alive. It's one of the last things of his we still have. And I'm hoping that, through this sword, my father will aid us moving forward on our quest.".
"That's a nice sentiment."
***
A while later, the elf boy had led the Slime Queen to the front of a large forest. It looked like an ordinary forest at first, like the kind that Relda's castle ruins was located in. However, they knew that if the Big Energy Crystal was here, that looks would be deceiving.
Hiro, sword sheathed at his hip, held the map and began to read from it. "This is the first spot where a Big Energy Crystal has been spotted. They call it the Forest of Hunger. The monsters here are said to be especially ravenous."
Relda's eyes grew uncomfortable.
"It's okay. I'm afraid too.", assured Hiro.
"It's not that.", said Relda, "It's just... so much happened yesterday, that I had forgotten to eat. I'm quite ravenous myself.".
Hiro smiled. "I packed some food in this sack. You can have some if you wish!"
But Relda shook her head. "No thank you. That food is for you. I'll simply eat whatever monsters we come across in that forest."
***
The inside of the forest had a sweet smell to it. Surrounding Hiro and Relda on all sides were trees with vines and flowers. Disturbingly, some of the trees appeared to have mouths somewhere on their trunks, as if even the trees themselves were hungry. They saw an insect fly by, only to be caught by one of the trees' mouths and eaten.
Relda saw what looked like a big, red fruit hanging from one of the trees. The Slime Queen was enticed by the fruit. She stretched her slimy body upwards, becoming tall and thin, to reach it.
What she didn't expect, however, was for the fruit to suddenly unfold itself into a red, mouse-like creature. The mouse squeaked in panic and startled Relda. The slime's body retracted, as the mouse jumped out of the tree and fled.
Without thinking, Relda pursued the mouse. It wasn't fruit, but she was intending to eat it regardless. Hiro ran with her, to stop her from getting too far.
Relda quickly caught up to the red mouse. She saw it facing a second mouse, this one green and with a longer body.
Unexpectedly, she began to hear the mice speak. "George, they're onto us!", said the red mouse.
"Let's get out of here, Steve!", said the green mouse.
The red mouse, Steve, jumped onto the back of the green mouse, George. Then George ran away with Steve on his back, disappearing deeper into the woods.
Relda and Hiro were left extremely confused, but decided just to move on.
***
Hiro and Relda ventured deeper into the forest, their presence disrupting the calm, quiet atmosphere. Sounds could be heard through the trees, of monsters on the prowl for food. There were bellows, hisses, and more.
"I don't like the sounds of those.", Hiro said. He pointed his sword, willing to threaten anything that came his way.
"Sounds like breakfast to me.", said Relda.
A Waddling Lizard Young, like the ones encountered at the castle ruins, emerged from the foliage. When it noticed Hiro and Relda, it let out a high-pitched howl. It charged at them both, its long tongue dangling from its mouth as it prepared to attack.
Relda acted swiftly. She launched herself at the creature, her slimy form colliding with the lizard's headstrong charge. The impact sent the monster stumbling back. Unfazed, Relda reformed her body, creating a solid club that swung down on the lizard's head, rendering it unconscious.
"Easy meal!", said Relda.
The Slime Queen turned to Hiro, her eyes pleading. "Could you please look away again? I do need privacy when indulging in such barbaric meals."
Hiro nodded, understanding her request.
As the elf boy stepped away, giving Relda the space she required, he couldn't help but notice something else rustling in the trees. Two more Waddling Lizard Young made their way into view. The monsters saw Hiro and howled.
"My turn!", Hiro declared, pointing his sword.
The elf went on the offensive. He charged at one of the Waddling Lizard Young, ready to swing. The monster tried to whip him with its tongue, but Hiro dodged to the side. He was able to deliver a swift blow to its side. It caused a big scratch in the lizard's scales, but nothing else.
The Waddling Lizard Young prepared a counterattack. It whipped Hiro with its tongue, sending him falling to the ground on his rear.
Hiro, now on the ground, watched as Relda intervened on his behalf. The Slime Queen punched one lizard with a slimy tendril, sending it flying into the other. Both lizards slammed against a nearby tree, and were rendered unconscious.
"Are you okay, Hiro?", asked Relda.
The elf boy got up and dusted off his pants. "Yes, thanks to you." He then looked at the unconscious monsters, somewhat sad. "You've saved me yet again. I'm sorry I couldn't be useful to you. I really tried my best."
But Relda was not upset. "You're fine. You're a rookie when it comes to fighting, and I get that. But you know what? As long as we fight together, we'll both gain EXP from it. You'll get stronger. So lean on me for now, until that happens, okay?"
Hiro reluctantly smiled. "Okay..."
***
Going deeper into the forest, Hiro and Relda came across a large pit in the ground. Staring down the pit, they saw that it was deep, with a heap of spiked vines lining the bottom. The vines were equipped with gnashing jaws, like those on the trees. It was apparent that if anything, or anyone, were to fall into the pit, they would be both skewered and eaten at the same time.
Fortunately, there was a wide bridge of wood going across the pit, a way to the other side. The elf boy and Slime Queen looked at each other and nodded. They knew they needed to cross the bridge to get further on their quest.
As they stepped onto the bridge, they heard a distinct creaking sound. The ropes holding the wood together began to wobble a little. Hiro and Relda continued to cross nevertheless, their hearts pounding with each step.
As they reached the midpoint, a ominous creak echoed beneath their feet, signaling danger. Sure enough, a section of the bridge collapsed, sending Hiro tumbling towards the spiked vines below.
Quick as a whip, Relda extended a slimy appendage and caught Hiro, pulling him back up onto the bridge. There was a collective sigh of relief.
"You saved me... again.", said Hiro, "I've lost count of how many times by now.".
"Not a problem.", nodded Relda.
They carefully made their way across the remaining half of the bright, their eyes fixed on the ground ahead. Reaching the other side, the forest seemed to grow darker and more ominous.
***
On their way through the woods, Hiro and Relda had encountered what looked like a pair of skeletons on the ground. They weren't any monster skeletons, however, but disturbingly, looked to be elvish skeletons. Other elves like Hiro had made their way into the woods and met some horrifying fate.
Nervously, Hiro walked past them. He then came across a third elvish skeleton, a short distance away. And there was a creature picking at the bones, trying to eat whatever flesh still remained. The insect resembled a bee, but much larger, and with a horn on its head like that of a unicorn.
"Looks like free EXP!", said Relda.
Hiro, on the other hand, gulped. "You sure? Those things look too small and fast for me to get with my sword. And they probably have all kinds of venom in their stingers."
"Believe in yourself, and in me.", said Relda, "Together, we can conquer this whole forest.".
Hiro walked slowly towards the big bee. He kept his pace quiet, hoping to catch it by surprise. With a swing of his sword, he attempted to strike the bee. However, it quickly flew away. The bee fled, and disappeared behind the trees.
Hiro felt disappointed, but also relieved.
Suddenly, there was a loud buzzing sound. The big, horned bee had returned with a whole swarm. Hiro nervously pointed his sword when faced with this danger. But Relda was not afraid.
Suddenly, the Slime Queen unveiled a new trick. She transformed into a large Waddling Lizard. She matched its shape, its size, its color, and everything. The only way that Hiro could tell it was still Relda was because of the crown.
As the swarm of big bees charged them, Hiro slashed a few with his sword. Relda then took care of the rest. In her new form, she used the lizard's whip tongue to incapacitate the insects. She was able to knock them all out rather quickly, sending them to the ground before Hiro could receive much injury.
Relda then turned back into her normal white Slime form. "See? I told you."
"How did you do that?", asked Hiro.
Relda answered, "We Slimes have the ability to transform into the different creatures we consume. Since I had eaten that large Waddling Lizard yesterday, I was able to use its appearance and abilities.".
"Wow."
"Eating monsters has a lot of benefits for us Slimes.", continued Relda, "We not only gain a new transformation, but we also gain a little extra EXP, and even heal our HP a little. It's just not... something that I want someone to see a queen doing. You understand.".
The elf boy then looked to the litter of defeated bee monsters. "Are you going to eat those ones too?"
Relda looked embarrassed. "If you don't mind. I do need to become stronger for our quest."
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