Monster Breeder 23. Slime

23. Sli

When I think about it, the best option should be confronting the Dire Wolf. Putting a stop to a threat that could interrupt at any ti is a huge boon. The last thing I want is to get jumped by a bitch in the middle of a fight, and especially not while fucking.

I clench my fist with resolve. This will be a big weight off my shoulders.

“Heading out,” I announce to the room as I reach for the doorknob.

“Where to today?” Gabby asks, getting up from her worktable.

“…Foraging to the east,” I try not to worry her by giving a half-truth.

She looks up and down, her yellow gaze unable to help lingering on my tits and hips. I unconsciously puff up my chest with pride. “You’re going to fight that Dire Wolf you ntioned yesterday, aren’t you?”

How can she read so well?

“I’ve been studying your body language since we t,” Gabby answers my unspoken question like a telepath. “I’m not just book smart, you know.” The little green shortstack nods to herself. “Very well, let’s go.”

“You’re coming with ?”

“Of course.”

I scratch the back of my head. “Well, I killed so Mole-n yesterday, so I kind of wanted to test myself against the Dire Wolf. See how strong I’ve gotten?”

Gabby adjusts her spectacles and ets my eyes. “That’s exactly why I should join you.”

“Huh?”

“Alex, what if you don’t get the one-on-one opportunity you’re seeking? What if there are multiple wolves or even other monsters in the way? I have Wolf’s Bane and Pepper Spray; you’re more likely to get the fight you want with to play interference against secondary threats.”

Damn, such a logical reason… I guess I’ll have to resign myself to having a smart, beautiful, curvy, competent companion with excellent hearing and a bandolier of useful herbs. Oh, well!

Also, that lets cross Goblin and Bunny ears off the list again today.

I have twenty marks to start, minus five Breeder marks I can’t change. Here’s my ‘stat screen’ after taking the bare essentials.

*Selected Marks - 9*

Wolf Nose (After I cross the Wolf's Bane periter)

Wolf Rush

Harpy Sight

Harpy Lightweight

Goblin Apprentice Fast Learner

Cancer Summon Armor

Fishman Summon Spear

Bunny Stamina

Mole-man Earth Magic

*Breeder Marks - 5*

Paternal Malleability I

Paternal Seminal Control – Volu

Paternal Seminal Potency – Sustenance

Maternal Ovarian Control

Maternal Mammary Control and Potency – Pacification

*Available Marks - 6*

Canine – One!

r – One!

Goblinoid – One!

Sli – Two!

Fuzzy – One!

Canine: I’m holding off on Wolf Cock for now. If I make it to tonight without using the mark, I can test other options to see if they unlock anything new.

r: Water Magic and Slippery Foam are both contenders. I may need that mark to switch out my genitals, though.

Goblinoid: I want to test Quick Study tonight, but I’ll spend the mark on Goblin Gut or Ears if the need arises.

Sli: Constitution, Malleability, and Mutability are all mystery boxes I have no idea what they’ll give . I’ll use these marks for ergency purchases when I’m desperate for an edge. Jellyfish Sli Tentacles could be great, but I’m afraid there may be unforeseen complications there.

Fuzzy: The Shovel is tempting, but I’ll keep that mark unassigned. I really want to test so body modifications tonight.

Gabby dons her robes, I don my crab armor, and the two of us set out. Once past her periter of Wolf’s Bane plants, I select my Wolf Nose mark. I don’t find anything interesting right away.

Our projected course has us zigzagging across Fuzzy Field to help pick up a recent trail. At the sa ti, I’m scanning the horizon for threats, Gabby will tell us to duck beneath the grass when she hears sothing, and I’m beginning to get a sixth sense with my Earth Magic. Apparently, Mole-n can faintly detect tremors through the ground. That lets steer clear of their ambushes as they burrow through the soil.

It’s not a perfect system, but I’m happy another mark is helping beco more aware of my surroundings.

We swing by the caves beneath Harpy Mountain on one loop. Gabby shivers and tells she can hear the click-clattering of chitin on stone inside when I ask. There must be a lot of bug monsters in there.

We find plenty of Fuzzy trails, including mouse and bunny monster tracks, on our way. Nothing so interesting as Cottontail’s scent, so I pass over them without comnt.

I finally stumble across the trail I want after an hour of searching. I sll a wolf bitch.

“This way.” I increase the pace after finding the right path. It’s not that fresh, so I don’t expect to find her instantly. It’s not a straight line, either.

We trace the bitch’s scent to the brook by Charlatan Forest. If we follow this west, we’ll find Kani’s grotto… It’s a sha we’re on a mission.

My quarry didn’t cross the water, as I would have, so I don’t lose the trail. I do, however, see a dozen small figures at the stream’s edge.

They’re childlike, with translucent skin. Not unlike Olindia, but waterier, with no sli cores. As one, they all stop chatting or playing when they sense us and dive into the brook.

“Naiads,” Gabby says. “They evolve into Froglins, Eelings, and… more dangerous things.”

“Kind of like how Fuzzies can evolve into cute bunnies, tiny mice, or scary Mole-n?”

The Goblin girl grunts her agreent. We move on after getting a drink from shallow water. No telling what lurks beneath the surface where the stream deepens.

We zig-zag northeast following the trail; I guess the bitch had the sa idea I did to draw lines across Fuzzy Field in her search for . This brings us much closer to Misty Grove than I’d otherwise be comfortable with. I rember Olindia’s story…

Strangely humid air lingers perpetually in the area despite the rising sun’s heat. Only the vague shadows of trunks and canopies are visible through the fog that never dies.

Gabby’s ear twitches, and she opens her mouth to say sothing.

Then, a blue blur darts from the mists, and I feel a dull thud on my back. My chitinous armor hisses loudly in my ears. I reach for the thing sticking to , but my arms can’t reach that far with my crustaceous protection restricting their flexibility.

My Goblin wife reaches into a pouch before throwing a handful of white powder at and my attacker.

I hear a high-pitched animal scream as the weight drops from my back. Spinning about, I see a five-gallon blue Sli quivering on the ground. My armor continues hissing disconcertingly, and I’m forced to dismiss the summoned item before acid penetrates to my skin.

“Fuck, I didn’t know Slis were this dangerous…”

“It’s not dead!” Gabby shouts as the gelatinous droplet springs at again.

Wolf Rush!

I dodge aside, letting the jumping Sli pass. Then I summon my spear and jab into the goo when it lands.

“Gotcha!”

“Still not dead…”

I must’ve missed its core because the Sli rips itself from my point and makes another leap at . This ti, though, it’s spurting fluid from the hole in its mbrane, and the flying tackle is a lackluster affair. I easily sidestep the jiggly critter, swinging my spear in a horizontal slash that ‘disembowels’ the land-dwelling amoeba.

After resummoning a fresh suit of crab armor, I survey the scene. A tiny dark gemlike core sits in an evaporating puddle at my feet. My wooden-shafted spear’s blade is rely sharpened rock, now lting into acidic sludge.

“I thought first-tier monsters weren’t supposed to be this tough?”

“Slis are probably one of the deadliest first-tier monsters,” Gabby lectures. “Their evolutions leave sothing to be desired, but they make up for that by amalgamating multiple forms’ abilities.”

Nothing like a near-death experience to ingrain a lesson on underestimating monsters I assu are weaker than into my psyche. Even low-tier monsters can be dangerous. I guess this is what happened to Olindia, right? She just got lucky, being reborn after the Sli ate her. I can’t guarantee I’d have the sa fate.

I lick the corner of my mouth, where so of the gritty white powder landed.

“Rock salt?”

“Slis, especially the blue first-tier ones, have delicate mbranes that require humid environnts to sustain their fluid levels. A sprinkle of salt makes them shrivel up like slugs.”

“Thanks, honey. I probably owe you my life.”

Gabby blushes dark green at the complint and fastidiously adjusts her spectacles before answering, “O-of course, Alex. It’s my responsibility to protect my human, after all.”

Playing the scene over again in my mind, Gabby had a split-second more notice than because of her ears. Damn, I may need those after all.

I feel the burning on my belly that indicates my tummy tattoos are changing, and eagerly remove my armor to inspect them. However, instead of a new mark, I see movent.

Olindia’s core generates a tentacle of sli visible on my uterine display window, and it heads south. I feel the slippery sensation of movent in my vagina a mont later. It’s a fucking weird feeling having an autonomous arm reaching out from inside , especially with it being warm from my inner body temp against my thighs.

The translucent pink tentacle gropes in the grass until it finds or scents the Sli’s remains. Another second of searching locates the gemlike core, then Olindia’s tentacle retreats inside with a quiet shlorp.

I shiver like I just took a piss.

*Pets*

*Dormant Pink Sli Core*

*Subjugated Sli Core – One!*

“What the fuck does this an?” I say as the Pink Sli tentacle dissolves to nothing inside , and I redon my armor.

Gabby, who can read along with since her glasses translate the strange marks, says, “I told you Slis have the ability to amalgamate. A single first-tier core won’t have much effect, but it’s possible a certain number will rge into a Giant Sli or assist Olindia’s next evolution.”

Hmm, I may need to spend so ti around here to grind out a half-dozen sli cores. This may not have been enough to awaken Olindia, but maybe a few more…? Sothing to think about for tomorrow.

We don’t run into any other Slis following the bitch’s trail, but we barely skirted the edge of the Misty Grove. Then we start heading southeast towards the edge of Charlatan Forest, Ogre Fen, and Kennel Hills.

The two of us are walking through the tall grass of Fuzzy Field when Gabby raises a hand to signal a stop. I get in front of my Goblin wife, summon a new spear, and brace to receive a charge.

I hear a scream.