Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Friend Request
*SQUELCH!*
*SQUELCH!*
"Is this a joke?"
The thing the goblins locked inside this wooden cage was a one-foot-in-diameter round blue slime.
"A monster is a monster. Might as well kill it."
The slime shrunk and quivered.
*JIGGLE!*
*JIGGLE!*
*JIGGLE!*
"What the?"
(Can this thing understand my words?)
"Hey Slime-san, if you can understand me. Hop twice."
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
(Okay, this is nuts.)
"Slime-san, can you speak?"
The slime rotated left and right in its cage.
"I'll take that as a "no" then."
(What exactly am I thinking asking that stupid question!?!)
(Of course, it can't speak! It's a ball of goop!)
Alex thought about what to do in this situation.
Monsters capable of communicating with humans weren't rare, as some of those monsters were familiars, high-level beings like dragons or demons, or a humanoid race like dryads or beastmen.
The problem is that slimes are, well, just slimes.
It was common knowledge that the lower a monster's rank is, the weaker and less intelligent it is.
However, this slime seemed to be an exception. It would simply be a waste to kill it.
A headache suddenly struck Alex.
"UGH!"
"Alex."
(Whose voice is that?)
"Always remember that we all have one life."
"Once we die, that is the end."
"What about soul transfer? Couldn't you bypass death that way and continue living?"
"HUSH!"
"Haven't I taught you not to interrupt others when talking?"
"Sorry."
"It's alright."
"Now, where was I?"
"Ah, yes, about the part where life is precious. That might not be the best example to use."
"I'll keep it simple. No one ever wants to die."
"Sure, there might be battle junkies who are into the "dying in battle is the greatest honour one could have" concept, but those guys just wanna be famous and remembered."
"The point I am trying to make is to cause unnecessary deaths."
"As long as you do that, you will go a long way in life, cherished by many."
"Does that also go for monsters?"
"Yep."
"What if they try to kill me later?"
"PFFFT! HAHAHA! Indeed, you make a point there. I highly doubt most monsters would pay back your kindness, so I suppose monsters are an exception."
"But!"
"Always remember, if you kill someone innocent and have no wish to quarrel with you, you are no better than a demon or monster."
Were those his...
Memories?
He could only recall the conversation, nothing else.
However, this conversation has convinced Alex of what he must do.
Alex aimed his pistol at the cage.
The slime stood still, accepting his fate that he must die.
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
The wooden cage burst in a spray of splinters while the slime was unharmed.
Confused at why it was not dead, the slime rotated left and right several times, looking at its surroundings before facing Alex.
"You better get going. I freed you because it seemed like you were a victim of the goblins, and you have no attention of attacking me."
"If you weren't capable of communication and reason. I would have shot you dead by now."
Alex walked away from where the slime and went deeper into the woods.
(I need two more monster kills before I complete my Side Quest.)
(Hopefully, I will encounter some soon.)
He felt excited and jittery.
Once he finishes this Side Quest, he will obtain a Special Attribute.
(What's it going to be? The System said it was Special, so will it be something like controlling Space or Time? If so, that is going to be so cool!)
*RUSTLE!*
*RUSTLE!*
(!?!)
Alex awoke from his thoughts and readied his M16.
The rustling sounded like leaves.
There were no bushes or shrubbery as far as his eyes see in this forest.
From these observations, he deduced that whoever made that sound was hidden in the trees.
He didn't see any movement in the trees ahead of him, so he turned around and aimed his rifle at the trees behind him.
"Come on out! I know someone is there!"
*RUSTLE!*
*RUSTLE!*
*BOING!*
A blue slime fell out of one of the trees and bounced toward Alex.
"You again?"
The slime looked up at Alex, jumping up and down as to affirm his answer.
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
"Why exactly are you following me?"
"Oh right, you can't talk."
"Well, you better get back home, I'm hunting monsters and it is going to be quite dangerous."
Alex resumed walking while the slime followed him.
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
"You seriously want to follow me?"
*BOING!*
*DING!*
[A Blue Slime wishes to be your companion. Do you accept?]
[YES/NO]
(WHAT!?!)
Alex rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
When he looked back at the message, its contents remained the same.
(If I accept, what will happen?)
*DING!*
[If the Host accepts the request. The Blue Slime will follow all orders the Host gives.]
[Blue Slime cannot take any action against the Host.]
[A portion of the EXP Blue Slime gains will be diverted to the Host.]
[Only the Host has the right to revoke the Companionship Contract.]
"System is this similar to a Familiar Contract."
*DING!*
[Familiar contract follows the same rules and conditions as a Companionship contract.]
[However, A Companionship contract lasts for a lifetime. A Familiar contract may have an expiration date. The being under the Familiar Contract will keep all EXP to itself.]
Alex was surprised by how the System answered his questions and the contract Slime-san offered.
Under normal circumstances, he would gladly accept such a generous contract.
But.
The one offering the contract was a slime.
"System, are there any downsides to a Companionship Contract?"
[None.]
After seeing the System's answer, Alex made up his mind.
He selected "YES" on the screen.
Even if Slime-san was weak there wasn't any reason to turn down the contract.
Besides, having an intelligent monster on your side could provide limitless possibilities for espionage.
Alex drooled at the prospects of all the possible ways he could obtain classified enemy intel without lifting a finger.
*DING!*
[The Host has learned the skill "Taming."]
*DING!*
[The Host has accepted the Companionship Contract from the entity "Blue Slime."]
[Would the Host like to give "Blue Slime" a name?]
[YES/NO]
"Hold up!"
"What's this about taming!?!"
[The skill, "Taming Level 1," has been unlocked.]
["Taming" allows the Host to gain the Companionship or servitude of a monster.]
[The System advises that the Host uses Taming when the target monster is weakened or when the target monster has a very positive view towards the Host.]
["Taming" a monster costs mana. The stronger the monster, the more MP is used to "Tame" it.]
"Does that mean I can tame a dragon if I have the necessary MP?"
[Correct.]
"Holy crap, that is overpowered."
"I am so glad that I didn't kill Slime-san."
"Speaking of Slime-san, what's this about giving a name."
*DING!*
[When "Taming" a monster there is a chance for the Host to name it. Naming the monster can sometimes boost its power and provide other benefits. Naming a monster will take away some of the Host's MP.]
"Awesome!"
"Okay, what should I call you little guy?" Alex said looking down at Slime-san.
Slime-san looked back at Alex, confused by why he was talking to himself.
"Oh, right. I'm the only one that can see the System."
"Anyways, Slime-san, just note that I have an invisible friend who will help us both get stronger okay?"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
"Excellent!"
"Now, do you have any name requests? My forte is remembering, not creating names."
Slime-san turned around and hopped away from Alex.
After hopping a few feet away from him, Slime-san turned back towards Alex and bounced up and down as though Slime-san was telling Alex to follow.
"Alright, I'm coming."
With Slime-san leading the way, Alex followed Slime-san for a while until they reached a small stream.
"Hey, Slime-san, did you want me to name you Stream?"
Slime-san rotated left and right like how a human would shake their head.
"I'll take that as a no."
Slime-san bounced toward a Tree with bright yellow and orange leaves that grew beside the stream.
"You want me to call you Tree?"
Exasperated, Slime-san deflated a little, imitating a pout from Alex's view.
After thinking a bit, an imaginary lightbulb suddenly went off over Slime-san's head.
Slime-san turned towards the tree and compressed itself.
Alex wondered what it was trying to do. Just as Alex was about to ask, Slime-san showed him what it was trying to do.
*BOING!*
*FWOOSH!*
*RUSTLE!*
*RUSTLE!*
It appeared that the Slime-san compressed himself to boost his jump into the tree.
(Whoa! I didn't know slimes could do that!)
(So that was how Slime-san managed to get up a tree earlier when I found him following me.)
(Anyways, why did he lead me to this tree?)
*RUSTLE*
*RUSTLE*
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
Slime-san dropped to the ground and hopped back to Alex holding a leaf where its mouth would be.
Coming to a stop in front of Alex, it presented him with the leaf it had collected.
"You want me to take it?"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
Alex took the leaf and looked at it with amazement.
"A Maple leaf?"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
"Ah! I get it now! You want to be named Maple!"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
"Alright! System! Set Slime-san's name to Maple!"
*DING!*
[Request received.]
[Changing Blue Slime's identity to Maple.]
[Change is successful.]
[The entity Blue Slime is now Maple.]
"HUZZAH!"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
The good news didn't just end there.
*DING!*
[Naming Blue Slime/Maple has aroused his fighting spirit.]
[A portion of the Host's current MP will be given to Blue Slime/Maple to enhance his current capabilities permanently.]
"AWESOME!!!"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
"Slime-san! No, Maple-san! I look forward to working with you!"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
After their short celebration, Alex and Maple went back to hunting monsters.
"Maple-san, this will be our first fight together, show me what you can do."
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
Alex and Maple were currently hiding in some bushes preparing to ambush two F-rank Wild Wolves.
"By the way, what are your abilities?"
The common views about slimes were that they are a weak pitiful race with no intelligence that manages to survive due to their extremely basic physiology and anatomy that allows them to reproduce at an extreme pace.
However, Alex's viewpoints on slimes changed when he met Maple, who was a rare case of being an intelligent slime and capable of communication.
He wasn't sure if that was all there was to Maple, especially after the System took away a portion of his MP to enhance the blue slime sitting next to him.
Alex looked at the MP bar on his status screen.
459/1000 MP
After his fight with the goblins, Alex's MP was sitting at roughly 700-800 MP.
When Maple led him to the maple tree, his MP regenerated almost to full.
So Alex roughly had a little under 1000 MP before he named Maple. After naming the round blue slime, his MP dropped to a shocking 250 MP.
Just naming the Maple had consumed nearly three times more MP than fighting goblins!
This naturally led to Alex believing Maple had more moves than your average slime.
(This is going to be difficult.)
After a solid thirty minutes of walking, Alex and Maple finally managed to find two monsters to hunt that will allow Alex to complete his Side Quest.
He didn't want Maple to get trounced and die in the first few seconds of engagement.
But he also really wanted to be able to obtain an Attribute and use Magic!
(Is there any way to check out Maple's Stats and Skills beforehand?)
(Oh, wait.)
Didn't he already have something capable of displaying Stats and Skills?
"System, can you open up Maple's stats and skills for me?"
*DING!*
[The Host has not obtained the skill "Appraisal."]
[However, with "Taming" the Host can view a monster's HP bar, MP bar, and basic info regarding name and race.]
[Higher proficiency in "Taming" will allow the Host to view tamed monsters' Skills and Stats.]
[Would the Host like to check Maple's MP and HP bar?]
[YES/NO]
"Obviously, yes."
"WHOA!"
Name: Maple
Species: Slime
500/500 HP
2000/2000 MP
"What the heck!"
This was unexpected.
He knew that Maple would be much stronger than ordinary slimes, but this was unprecedented.
Looking at the stats, was Maple perhaps a Mage? In class/job speaking of course, not an actual Mage.
To confirm his suspicions, he asked Maple.
"Maple-san, are you capable of using magic?"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
It seems like his suspicions were correct.
"Maple-san, can you use medium or long-range spells or magic?"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
"Good, here's the plan."
"I'll start the battle by using my M16 to eliminate one of the wolves."
"After killing one of the wolves, I'll engage the remaining two wolves with my bayonet and SIG pistol while you give me supporting fire from a safe spot."
"Got it?"
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
"Let's go."
Maple compressed himself and bounced up to a nearby tree.
Alex drew his M16, got into position and unleashed a salvo of bullets on the wolves.
*RATATATATA!*
*RATATATATA!*
One of the wolves fell. The remaining two leaped away just in the nick of time.
The two wolves turned around and growled to see who was the cause of their comrade's death.
Wasting no time, Alex leaped out of the bushes with great speed and locked himself into close-quarters combat with one of the wolves.
He attempted to jab one of them in their vitals.
Both of the wolves leaped out of the way of his bayonet.
(Damn, I underestimated them.)
Seeing he lacked the speed to hit them, Alex drew out his SIG and fired out half of the bullets.
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
Three of the bullets hit home and injured one of the wolves in the leg.
The remaining three were dodged due to the wolves' agility.
(Excellent, the one with an injured leg should be easily taken care of by Maple-san while I focus on the other guy.)
Alex holstered his pistol and charged at the uninjured wolf with his bayonet.
"AWROOO!"
"Hunh!"
The wolf suddenly emitted a bright glow and a message popped up in front of Alex from the System.
*DING!*
[Wild Wolf has activated the skill "Quicken."]
[Wild Wolf's speed will be boosted by 50% for three minutes.]
"This is bad."
"ARWOOOO!"
The wolf leaped towards him with bloodlust in its eyes, its jaws spread wide open, revealing sharp yellowish fangs.
"Son o-*CENSORED*"
Alex jumped to his right as quick as he could, missing the wolf's fangs by a hair and fell on his side.
As he tried to get back up, he saw the wolf he injured in the leg earlier coming towards him, although the injured wolf was much slower than the "Quickened" one Alex wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time.
Thinking fast, Alex used his rifle to block the wolf's open jaws that aimed at his neck. The wolf bit on the barrel of the M16 and Alex saw it slightly crack and teeth indents formed.
Seeing that it had failed to bite Alex, the wolf clawed at him with its front claws.
"GAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!"
The wolf sliced through Alex's uniform and left several lacerations on his body. Luckily, when the wolf sliced at his chest, the tactical vest he got from Gerard managed to negate the damage. However, the vest didn't cover his arms, so they ended up covered in multiple bleeding wounds.
"You'll pay for that!"
Ignoring the pain, Alex kicked it hard here the groin area would be.
"AAWROOOOOOOO!!!"
The wolf stopped temporarily stopped its onslaught from the pain it felt in its crotch.
Seizing the opportunity, Alex threw the wolf off him and drew out his pistol to end the fight.
(WAIT!)
(Where did its buddy go?)
"AAAWWROOO!"
"Oh, great."
While he was distracted for a few moments by the wolf he just kicked in its doggy jewels. The wolf that used "Quicken" circled around and attacked him from his blind spot.
"You guys are sons o-*CENSORED*"
Alex braced himself for a brutal melee brawl when out of nowhere.
*SHINK!*
An ice spike pierced the wolf's chest.
The wolf thudded to the ground dead without knowing what hit it both literally and figuratively.
Alex looked around and saw the one who was responsible for the wolf's demise.
*BOING!*
*BOING!*
Maple-san bounced happily bounced up and down in the tree he was hiding, ecstatic at having killed the wolf.
(Author's Note: I'll get hate for this, but I have decided to use male pronouns for Maple-san, otherwise it'll be too confusing to always use the pronoun "it.")
"Excellent work Maple-san! Leave the last one to me!"
Turning towards the wolf he kicked in the crotch, he found it still whimpering on its side.
"Damn, I kicked him harder than I thought."
"But this works in my favour."
Alex aimed his pistol at the last wolf's head and fired.
*BANG!*
*DING!*
[The Host has levelled up!]
[You have acquired 1x [Full Status Recovery]]
[You have acquired 5 Status Points.]
[You have completed Side Quest: Kill 10 E-rank or F-rank monsters.]
*DING!*
[You have obtained a Special Attribute!]
[Would the Host like to unlock the Special Attribute?]
[YES/NO]
Alex used the Full Status Recovery to replenish his HP and MP points that were sitting at dangerously low levels.
He called for Slime-san who bounced down from his tree to Alex.
Alex told Slime-san to keep watch while he unlocks his Special Attribute.
Slime-san bounced twice in agreement and went back to the tree he was keeping overwatch in.
"Now, let's see what Attribute I unlocked."
Alex selected Yes on the blue screen in front of him and waited in anticipation.
*DING!*
[Please wait while the System retrieves the Special Attribute.]
Why is the System always so slow? It had two hours to prepare the Special Attribute for Alex.
[The System takes offence to the Host's remark.]
[The Attribute System is retrieving for the Host is SPECIAL and cannot be given randomly.]
"Umm, sorry."
[The System accepts the Host's apology.]
This was a first.
Alex had never seen the System express its thoughts or feelings up to now.
"System, can I engage you in a conversation whenever I want?"
*DING!*
[Please wait.]
"For the Attribute or your answer to my question?"
*DING!*
[The Administrator sees no harm in the Host interacting with the System. Therefore, the Administrator has granted the System and the Host permission to converse with the Host whenever the Host wishes.]
"Excellent!"
"Now, I have a few questions for you. Do you mind answering them?"
[The System will answer to the best of its abilities as long as the question isn't unreasonable or belongs to the restricted category.]
(So the System isn't omniscient or omnipotent since it takes orders from the Administrator and said not to be given an unreasonable question,)
(But what intrigues me the most is that there are certain questions it can't answer. I already have some idea of what the restricted category is. But I might as well test it out.)
"System, can you tell me why I was chosen for the position of Host?"
*DING!*
[The question falls under the restricted category. The System is sorry to inform you the question cannot be answered.]
"Can you tell me who this Administrator you work for is and what this guy wants?"
[The question falls under the restricted category. The System is sorry to inform you the question cannot be answered.]
"Hmm."
"Last question, is my past connected to the Administrator or the System."
*DING!*
Alex blinked his eyes several times to make sure the latest message was displayed correctly.
[The Host's past has no connection with the Administrator or the System.]
"Well, that's pretty much all the questions I have for now."
There were several other things he wanted to ask the System about, like the Class section in his status or the Shop.
But now wasn't a good time to get distracted with those questions since he was still in a Dungeon.
"Hey, System. Is the retrieval process nearly done?"
*DING!*
[The System has just finished retrieving the Attribute.]
[The Host's Attribute will be...]
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
DAMIAN_POWERS
DAMIAN_POWERS Hey everyone, Damian here, and wow! Cliffhanger right there! I know that my posts weren't consistent. So I would like to thank the 2k+ viewers for your support and my best pal Noah for your support. Noah, if you are reading this, thank you so much! I'll try to post a chapter on the weekends if I can.
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