Chapter 2: The Journey Begins
Now here's where the story gets caught up to the point at which you remember it. I had a dream the night before I was to set out. I was in a gentle, warm place, with serene light everywhere.
A soft voice called out, "Luka... Oh brave Luka."
It was the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. Suddenly, a woman whose beauty matched that voice appeared before me. She was by far the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Even having never seen a painting of the Goddess, I knew this had to be her. Strangely, I also knew I was dreaming.
She spoke to me. "Many, many years ago, in a time man cannot comprehend, I created this world. First was the earth, sky, and sea. Then the animals, birds, and insects. Finally, I created humanity." I had heard this before, and yet something about the way she said it reminded me of something. Really familiar that I just couldn't put my finger on.
She continued, "However, I am not perfect. While creating humanity, I also had many failures. Those failures are monsters. A truly detestable existence. Monsters are nothing but evil. They will seduce humans to commit forbidden acts. Sometimes even committing great acts of violence. Even though humans are weak, I still love them. So I hate these monsters who bring them only harm. I have given my blessing and protection to many men. However, the monsters still have not been exterminated. Not since Heinrich, 500 years ago, has a man been able to defeat a Monster Lord."
I had heard of Heinrich. Villagers had been eager to share history with me, and for some reason I found that I had always loved history. I eagerly consumed what few books were in the village and listened raptly to the tales villagers told. Heinrich was the greatest hero in the known history of the world. He had faced down a Monster Lord and triumphed. Supposedly, the killing blow had split the earth itself! I was pretty sure that was an exaggeration.
"But Luka," she said. "You too have the potential to be able to defeat a Monster Lord! I know you have doubts, but I will be with you, always watching over you. You will learn all about the depravity of the monsters on your journey and you will be filled with the desire to do my will, and slay them all. Until your journey takes you to the Monster Lord's castle, and you strike her down, and fulfill the purpose for which you were brought to this world. You will be remembered throughout all time as the man who left Ilias Village a doubter, but became my most valorous servant. So for now I tolerate your disbelief, because it is all part of my divine plan. Now go, Luka! Learn the truth, and carry out my will!"
"Ilias! The truth?! Can you tell me who I am? Ilias!"
I awoke with a start. It was morning in the small house I had been staying in since I arrived in the village. That had to be a dream, I thought. It was so vivid. But even vivid dreams are often just dreams, even if they seem real and have gods in them.
I put it out of my mind as best I could and began to make final preparations to leave. I looked out my window. It was a glorious day for travel. Sunny and cool with a light breeze gently fluttering the leaves of the trees.
As I turned to grab my backpack and stuff some final odds and ends into it, there was a cry outside, "HELP!!!!" That sounded like Hans, one of the lumberjacks! Was there an actual emergency just as I was about to leave? I owed a great debt to these villagers. My last official day as a constable may have been yesterday, but I couldn't ignore a cry for help.
I grabbed my sword and rushed outside. Hans was only a few dozen yards away from my home which I had just exited, panting and holding his knees. I ran up to him and asked him what was the matter.
"Monster…. A monster is in the forest!"
"What? Really? You're sure, Hans?", I asked.
Another villager ran by shouting, "Everyone, hide in your houses! Quickly before the monster comes into the village!"
Into the village? How powerful was this monster that it would try to enter the village? Panic had begun to set in. Villagers were running around everywhere, some to their homes, others to find their children, others running nowhere in particular. This was not my first report of a monster sighting, but I'd never seen the villagers react this way before. This could be the real thing!
I turned to Hans, "Hans, go to your home, protect your family. I'm going to go out and see if I can find the monster." I didn't even think to ask what it looked like, It's a monster, I'm sure I wouldn't confuse it for something else. Even though I'd never seen one.
Hans panted, "Luka, please! Don't try to face that thing along, I alerted the soldiers, wait for them to form up and join them. Monsters are much stronger than humans, you'll need the numbers to have a chance!"
"All right", I replied, "I'll go to the barracks and join up with them, nothing's going to happen to this village. I promise you. We'll drive that thing off."
Hans, nodded his thanks and ran towards his domicile. I made off for the small barracks on the west side of the village. The chaos was only growing more intense. Villagers were running in every direction. I was bumping and jostling into them the entire way. The scene at the barracks was no better. Soldiers were frantically getting their gear together, sergeants and officers were barking orders, but there didn't seem to be any sense of organization. This group wasn't well drilled under the best of circumstances, now in an actual emergency they didn't even come close to having their shit together. I knew eventually they'd get formed up and sortie outside the village in hopes of getting to the monster before the monster got to the village. I could do more good by scouting for them in the meantime. I pledged to myself not to engage the monster if I could avoid it. Just locate it and return to the village to inform the officer in charge of its location. If it did spot me before I spotted it, I was sure either my sword or my feet would get me out of trouble. I didn't have a hero complex. I was more than willing to run away if I felt overmatched.
I exited the village and veered off the main road to begin my search through the forest, moving as quietly and stealthily as I could. It was critical that I spot the monster before it spotted me if I wanted to avoid a fight. Sadly, my sword skills and speed may be good, but my stealth skills could use some work. Not to mention my situational awareness. After about 15 minutes of searching through the forest, I heard a voice behind me. "Hi!" the voice said, WAY too close to me.
I turned in a panic. The voice said, "Were you trying to be sneaky? Heehee, I've been following you for the last 10 minutes!"
Standing behind me a few feet away was a slime in the shape of a woman. I'd heard of these, they were the most common type of monster left in this area due to being pretty much indestructible. But seeing one for the first time I was fascinated. It was in the shape of a naked woman, kinda purplish-blue, and despite this actually looked more adorable than sexy.
She was giggling, her body jiggling as she laughed. "Am I the first monster you've ever seen?"
I nodded. I wasn't scared. I didn't think a slime could match my speed, so as long as I kept a little distance between us I assumed I could flee at any time and go get the soldiers. I was much more fascinated than scared. I got another slight clue as to my previous life as I got the opposite of a déjà vu feeling. I was positive I had never seen anything like this before.
I managed to find my voice. "Um… You're pretty close to a human village, and you've kinda scared everyone pretty bad. Any chance I can talk you into going say, that way, you know, away from the village?"
She seemed intelligent, maybe I could talk her into leaving? She dashed my hopes immediately.
"Hahaha are you a pacifist or something?" she asked. Her tone lacked derision, it was almost an amiable amusement. I found myself liking her in spite of the potential threat she posed.
Then she said something that made my blood run cold. "I'm too hungry to go away, so there's no point asking me to leave. Or… are you willing to treat me to some of your semen?"
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not a prude, pretty sure(although not positive) that I wasn't a virgin, and as I pointed out, not a believer in Ilias. I'd even fantasized at times about various monster species I'd heard about, wondering what it would be like to have sex with one. I briefly considered asking her if she would leave if I let her milk me, but then reluctantly discarded the thought. I may not be a prude, I might even be interested, but monsters weren't the most trustworthy sort from what I'd heard. The villagers had told me that if , you let them make you ejaculate, that you would experience something called "Critical Ecstasy", a condition in which for awhile you would be unable to offer effective resistance and a monster could then do whatever they wanted with you. Rape you further(not so bad if you were already willing), take you away to be their sex slave or mate(not a great outcome) or even eat you(the worst possible outcome). Some of the more powerful slimes could dissolve a man, and I had no idea if this one was powerful enough. I didn't intend to find out, however enticing the notion of experiencing what that slime could do. That wasn't the only consideration. While not all villagers were devout, having sex with a monster was a sure way to be labeled an outcast. All I needed was for the villagers who had thought so highly of me to find me getting my jollies with a slime girl. "We're here Luka, where is the mons…. Oh. You pervert!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that", I responded. For some reason I felt apologetic. "It's not that you aren't beautiful, and under different circumstances I might want to but…."
I was rudely interrupted by a tendril of slime shooting out of the monster and forming a puddle at my feet.
"Heehee, time to eat!" she laughed.
The puddle of slime immediately started wrapping around my feet, holding me in place.
"Doesn't it feel good to be wrapped in slime?" she said. "Hehe, doesn't the slimy texture feel amazing? If you just sit back and relax, I'll make it feel even better!"
Even though it was just on my foot it did feel pretty nice. It was cool, yet not cold, and it moved of its own volition even though there was no longer a direct connection between it and the slime girl. While I was contemplating that, it was moving up my leg. I snapped out of it and decided it was time to get the heck out of Dodge. Except I couldn't move my feet. The slime had me rooted in place.
With some effort I was able to get my feet free, and removed the slime from my leg. "Aw, right as a I was about to make you feel good, too," she complained. "Don't you want my slime to wrap around your penis and bring you pleasure like you've never experienced before?" Then she started laughing again.
I very much wanted that to happen, but I steeled myself and made the decision to run now that I was free. But with shocking quickness she shot out another tendril of slime, this time at my groin, again restricting my movement, although not as badly. But running away with slime stuck to my groin wasn't an option. I like my organs to stay in the place they were intended and feared I might leave them behind if I ran. So new plan: I could only move towards her. Knowing it was probably useless, but at the same time not wanting to chance doing her fatal injury, I quickly slashed at the hip of the slime. A cut appeared at her hip… and then closed.
"Oh poo, I was hoping you'd try to stab me through the heart so I could play like I was dying," she said. "This one time a hero cut my head off and I acted like I was stumbling around headless. You should have seen his face when I made a new head pop out! You're sweet though, not wanting to kill me. I'll treat you extra nice."
Okay, so that didn't work. But now I at least had an inkling of an idea. I quickly slashed at her twice, this time not worrying about what specific part of her anatomy I hit. Not that I could have been too precise anyway because by now that slime had somehow removed my pants and was busily working on my penis. The feeling was unique and incredible. I already felt weaker. My resolve was slipping. Would it really be so bad to just let her have her way? She seems to like me, she probably won't hurt me.
She laughed, this time with actual derision, "I'm a slime you moron! Swords are useless against me!" And yet the wounds didn't just immediately close. First one closed, then the other did, somewhat slower. Maybe….
Working up the last bit of resolve I had left, I slashed first at the tendril holding my penis, then quickly slashed her several more times. Her laughing expression briefly changed to one of alarm as multiple wounds opened up in her viscous body. They began to close again, but each one slower than the next. I wasn't about to give her more time to recover. I slashed at her again and again, fearing I might do too much and actually kill her, while hoping I wouldn't. After several more slashes, she yelled, "Stop it! Meanie!" and ran away.
I had won! I dropped to my knees, exhausted. Noticing that my pants were around my ankles, I pulled them up, but was dismayed to find that the slime had actually dissolved a pretty large hole, causing my penis to hang out. Well this is embarrassing, I thought. Making a choice, I turned the pants backwards, figuring it was better to have part of my butt showing than to have my penis swaying in the wind. I was grateful that the slime girl hadn't used that dissolving ability on my skin. Maybe she wasn't so bad and really did just want a little meal. It was a small data point, but I guess I could say that I got my first small answer to my questions about monster/human relations. If most monsters were like that, why were we fighting?
I still saw no sign of any soldiers. How long had that fight lasted? It seemed like awhile but I knew clinically that a fight always seemed to go on longer for the participants than it did in real time. They sure must be taking their sweet time though. Not good with the village in such a panic. Won't build confidence very well if the one guy who managed to drive off the monster is leaving.
After resting a bit, and STILL seeing no sign of any soldiers, I picked myself up and prepared to return to the village to report what I had seen and done, and to grab my pack and go. I noticed that there were still small traces of slime on my lower body. I watched the pieces carefully to see if they were moving on their own. They were not. I thought it might be a good idea to just leave them on me so that I had evidence of my battle in case villagers were skeptical. I needed to be able to reassure Ilias Village that the monster had been driven off. If the slime remnants were still dangerous in some way I was sure the villagers would wash it off me and dispose of it safely.
Before I could be on my way back to the village though, I heard an enormously loud BOOM! The ground shook. What in the world? It was as if a meteor had hit the forest not too far away. How can all this be happening on my last day in Ilias Village? Well, whatever it was, I owed it to the village to get eyeballs on it and report back. Whatever that was could be dangerous. I ran to the source of the sound.
Pushing through the trees, I ran further into the forest, until I came upon… an absolutely gorgeous if very odd looking woman, lying on the ground, unconscious. Her hair was silver, but that wasn't even the strangest thing about her. She had what appeared to be tattoos all over her left side and even on the left side of her face. Just then I remembered how much I hated tattoos, which apparently were a popular thing wherever I used to live. And yet the markings didn't appear to be artificial. Perhaps she was born with those markings. They did seem to suit her, surprisingly. Even stranger was her blue skin. I got another feeling of whatever the opposite of déjà vu is. I had DEFINITELY never seen a blue skinned woman before. I had, however, seen flowers in hair, and she had two beautiful ones, again on her left side. My brain flashed, "Islands" for some reason, and I had no time to further explore that connection. But strangest yet was her lower body. It was the body of a snake. This was a monster! A lamia! Lamias are powerful! Or so I'd read. This situation could be extremely dangerous.
Did she fall from the sky? She must have, the small crater is around her body. But how does she appear unhurt? Oh no, maybe she has internal injuries! I bent down to check if she was breathing. She was. She didn't seem to have a rattle, there was no evidence of blood. Maybe she's fine. Maybe it would be wise to get out of here. If she were to awaken with prey on her mind I feared I might be toast. As I struggled between the chivalrous and the prudent, her eyes popped open.
She stared at me, then jumped up. Or I should say, the human half of her body did. Just popped right up. The muscles in her snake torso had to be immensely strong!
"Where am I?" she said. Not a "Where am I" like someone groggily recovering consciousness, but a "Where am I" that demanded an immediate answer lest there be consequences. Surprised, I had nothing for a few seconds.
"I said, where am I?"
I stammered out, "Oh, you're near Ilias Village. Sorry, I was just kinda…"
She interrupted, "Ilias Village? That far? Are you being truthful?"
Her eyes flashed. The sensation I had next can only be described as feeling like my brain was zapped. I lost consciousness for a split second and then my sight returned, similar to how old cathode ray tube TVs would turn on. I stared at her blankly, then shook my head to clear it. "That wasn't nice!" I said.
"How did you…?" she responded, her eyes wide. And then zapped me again with her eye flashy thingie. After a few seconds I shook the cobwebs out of my head once again. She asked pointedly, "Tell me the truth now. Where am I?"
I responded, "You're near Ilias Village, as I said before. And why did you do that to me again? It's not a comfortable feeling."
"Oh, it's just a little thing I can do to make sure a human is telling me the truth. I'm not sure why I had to do it twice. Be honest and I won't have to do it again."
I blustered out, "I did tell you the truth! You got the same answers before the flashy thing and after the flashy thing!"
But now she was actually ignoring me. She muttered to herself, "I was blown to such a place. That damn girl. What crazy strength."
"Girl?" I responded. "Who did this to you?"
"Who are you?" she asked, completely ignoring my question.
I responded truthfully again, "I'm Luka. I'm a constable of Ilias Village."
"A constable?" she repeated. "So you protect your village from monsters?"
"Well yes," I replied. "But that's not actually my primary job. More breaking up fights between villagers, telling people not to litter. We don't get too many monsters around-"
Again she interrupted. "You're not baptized. You smell delicious." Uh oh. This encounter might be starting to go downhill fast. Licking her lips after telling me that didn't help.
Remember how I said I don't need to be a hero, that I don't mind running? And how I was sure my feet could get me out of any situation? I was sure I could outrun a lamia. I stared at her for a second as she looked me up and down with a small smile on her face. And then without warning I bolted.
It was a fine idea, other than the fact I never got to see if I could outrun a lamia because her tail whipped out instantly and coiled around my body. "Wait," she ordered.
She turned me around to face her again and brought me close to her. She looked like she was going to say something but then seemed to react to something she had seen on me.
"Why are your pants on backwards?" She turned me around quickly, then turned me back to face her. There was a smirk on her face. "It looks like you had an encounter."
Her tail lifted me off the ground and brought me even closer. She sniffed me, then picked a piece of slime off my leg and sniffed that as well. "With a slime girl. Did you enjoy yourself?"
I responded, "Actually, I drove her off. She was the first monster I'd ever seen. You're the second-"
"Shut up", she said with authority. "Now you're going to be absolutely honest with me. Did you kill her?"
"Of course not!" I said, offended. "I don't think I could have if I wanted to."
Her eyes flashed a third time. I shook my head to clear it yet again. "Would you please stop doing that!"
"How-?" and flashed me a FOURTH time!
"Argh, what the hell!" I complained.
"Never mind." She said, and sniffed another piece of slime. "You're telling the truth. This slime is still living. If her body had been destroyed these pieces would be dead."
"Really? Does that mean they are still dangerous to me?"
She gave that thin smirk again. "Only a little bit, and only if you don't wash it off soon. Kept away from the main body for long enough, as well as her mental connection if she gets far enough away, the slime will decay, and one of the stages of decay it goes through is quite acidic. You'll get burned a little, although nothing life threatening."
She paused a bit, then seemed to get to what she had originally intended to ask me. "So I guess that answers my question about why you didn't try to kill me while I was unconscious. It would have been a golden opportunity for you to be a hero. But apparently you're not a killer. So why all the concern for the welfare of monsters?"
"I don't hate monsters," I replied. "I don't really understand why humans and monsters hate each other so much. I'm not going to just randomly kill monsters, unless they try to kill me or someone I care about. I had no idea what kind of person you were. Why would I assume you're bad and try to kill you?"
"Interesting," she said. "So you don't see all monsters as an enemy?"
"Most people in Ilias Village do," I replied. "But I don't see it that way. I can't imagine hating anyone just because of who they are. Its your actions that dictate whether you're an enemy, not your very identity."
"Hmmmm….". She paused in thought.
I added, "What does the hate and fighting between humans and monsters accomplish anyway? Why can't we all just get along?" Another flash of recollection went off in my mind. I'm sure I got that from somewhere.
"What?!" she said. "You're an idiot."
"Why does that make me an idiot?" I protested. " I just think we should all be able to get along. As a matter of fact, I was just about to go on a journey to try to learn more about why we don't get along."
She had looked like she was about to interrupt me again with another retort, but instead seemed to reconsider and choose her words carefully. "I get where you're coming from, and I'm glad that you seem to want to learn. But this pie in the sky ideal you have, that it's just so simple as 'Let's not fight, let's be friends' is silly and I'm surprised a grown man would think like that."
Oh, I guess I should have mentioned for the majority of you who played the video game, I'm not a little boy. That was an artistic choice by the game designers. I was actually twenty at this point.
Continuing to hold me captive with her tail, she seemed to be lost in thought. After a full minute or two, I said, "Penny for your thoughts?"
She looked up at me with a start, obviously annoyed at having her self counsel interrupted. "What? Why would you pay for my thoughts?"
"It's an expression, just means I'd like to know what you're thinking."
"None of your business. Now be quiet while I think."
Another couple of minutes passed. "You're not going to violate me are you?" I asked.
She snapped around to me again. "Wait, what? No! I mean, probably not. Maybe. Why, do you want me to?"
"Um… I don't think so?"
She glared at me. "You don't sound very sure."
"I guess it depends. What are you going to do with me afterwards?"
She smirked. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
"I think I can answer more firmly with 'no' then."
"Wise choice", she said. Her tail released me. "Anyway, you can go now."
"Oh, thank you! By the way, you're the second monster I've ever met and I think you're awesome! Great to meet you, have a nice day!" I didn't realize how fast I was talking and I'm sure I was annoying her even more so I turned and ran off, heading back to the village.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone