A Life Without Fear

Sunday Morning

The demon lead the slime girl out of the suite. "You went from a coward who couldn't protect their friend when it most mattered, or really yourself, to a very self assured slime girl that knows what she wants. Whatever happens from here, never forget that accomplishment."

Noah perked up hearing that as she oozed out of the master suite. "Well, now what? Am I going to retroactively alter reality?"

"Yes, among other things," The demon continued. "Because you brought it up, lets start there."

The demon did something very strange, at least for Noah. She took the slime girl's hand, and kissed it. What followed was... a massive number of new memories.

In this new timeline, Noah became a slime girl years earlier, although she didn't become as voluptuous as her present self until she was eighteen. This retroactive reality adjustment made slimes a part of the world she and Felix came from, albeit a recent phenomenon that still wasn't well understood. In one fell swoop, the slime girl's primary problem was eliminated, as she didn't have to worry about how her family or friends would react, given that her new status was a known quantity. She had once been a human male, just like in the original timeline, but the change had happened when she was just starting high school, instead of during her time at Harem Hotel. The change itself was a radical medical treatment to help her recover from an accident that otherwise paralyzed Noah from the neck down... and one she had volunteered to do. Something Noah could never imagine her human self doing before her time at Harem Hotel.

That change, where Noah was a slime girl the whole time Felix knew her, changed their relationship in a fundamental way. After all, while the slime girl had learned how to do programming, she couldn't fully take advantage of it, given how making her hands firm enough for typing could be a struggle. Doing that for hours on end was exhausting, to the point where she couldn't program the way she had in her original life. Hence, when she encountered Felix in high school, and saw his struggles, academic or otherwise, she gave him a deal: In return for helping him in school, and teaching him programming, he'd act as her firm, fleshy hands for various projects. It was a deal he accepted in a heartbeat, and proved to be a great one for him, along with other people in his life such as Cammy. After all, Noah gave Felix something that he hadn't had in any prior timeline: Job Security.

When it turned out Felix had severe math difficulties, Noah assured him that it wouldn't be an issue. Programming was often about getting a computer to do math for you, especially in the context of calculations, not doing those calculations one's self. He learned how to code so she could make voice command programs for her use, and later on, helped her make video games. That he wasn't an optimal programmer didn't matter, because he was better than none at all, and the slime girl didn't have to worry about him taking advantage of her. Someone who struggled with math wasn't going to steal her ideas, a worry she had inherited reading about others in the tech sector. Coding wasn't the only skill he learned, as the slime girl also helped him learn how to draw, and do 3D modeling, things he found some aptitude for, so she could express her ideas visually. Eventually, Felix got to the point where he could also express himself, something she encouraged, and over time, where her ideas ended and his began became unclear in the most wonderful of ways. They became more equal partners, and even started to rope in Cammy to their various projects. Whenever something was too hard, she taught him a work around, or they found another way to do it, but they never resorted to pointless effort, or on the flip side, gave up. There was too much Noah wanted to do, and Felix never wanted to disappoint his best friend.

All of this happened because Noah in this world was never held back by fear. She never retreated into playing games and making intricate guides, not the least of which was because she couldn't play them anyway. Slimy hands could screw up controllers, and keyboards, if she wasn't careful, while being hard to use without effort that exhausted her. So instead, with assistance from others, the slime girl did all the things she hadn't been brave enough, or focused enough, to do in her prior life. She made games, she made short videos for the web, she made webcomics, and she was still a game master. Despite all of that, she was also still an ace student, and still had plans for college, even if the primary point of a degree was to prove her intellect to investors, or to anyone who thought her being a slime girl meant she was just a horny ball of slime. More than that, she still had everything she cared about, such as her friends, but those relationships were better, more real, because of how she approached life.

As for Hanson? Being made of slime made it trivial to ignore him, report him, and in one case, beat him up. Noah remembered the day she grabbed the bully off Felix, and slammed Hanson into a nearby set of lockers. The bully's parents couldn't even complain about it, because the footage of her doing it, and the lead up to her doing it, spread all over the school. Everyone could see who had started it, and why the slime girl felt the need to slam him so hard that it broke his arm. As a bonus, it utterly humiliated Smith, especially as Noah was far too much of a star student, even as a slime girl, for the vice principal's usual bullshit to work.

This was a major change, as Noah could remember how much her life was once controlled by trying to avoid the bully, or how she had once done homework for Hanson to avoid his wrath. None of that happened in this timeline, and it all started with choosing to become a slime girl, rather than it being ****. She had to give up being a man, and being a human being... but that was worth it. Memories of her parents being scared, and trying to talk her out of it came to mind. With the tiny bit of communication they had in their paralyzed state, they had chosen what in the original timeline, Harem Hotel had **** on them. That was the decision that was the root of everything in this new, better life for Noah.

"I have a lot to do this morning, so I won't be around to answer questions for a bit," The demon said. "Hence, any questions you have you should ask now, or you'll have to wait a bit to get answers."

"I... what other benefits do I get?" Noah asked. "I appreciate this alteration a lot, to be clear, but you said there was other stuff?"

"Yes," The demon continued to lead the slime girl away. "Slime girls don't really age once they reach adulthood, but this reinforces your health as once. Some slimes have to worry about becoming too liquid as they age, but you won't. Slimes don't get sick, but often carry disease, and that won't be something you have to worry about either. Most of all, you are a representation of how slimes make a mockery of biology, because your health is flawless. You can still get tired and there are still things that can hurt you, but control over your form you will find even easier, and you will never suffer the wear and tear of those around you."

"Amazing," Noah said. "Anything else before you go? Don't want any weird surprises before."

"You'll be in the master suite for the rest of your time here," The demon said while heading off. "You'll also find transformations a less scary proposition..."

The Present

Cammy and Felix came back at around ten or so, not that it was easy to tell in the bunker. They were back in a world without sunlight, or any light that didn't come from an electrical source for the most part. When Cammy went to check a nearby screen, something she habitually to check on other contestants, she realized she had gained VP from what did with Felix.

Helped Contestant In Another Season = 2 VP

But more importantly... she saw Noah had graduated.

Graduated:

Cammy = 106 VP

Noah = 100 VP

Contestants:

Hailey = 60 VP

Jamina = 50 VP

Z/Nox = 80 VP

Janessa Smith = 30 VP

Castelilise = 80 VP

The revelation brought Cammy relief, but also surprise. Had Noah really gained so much from further shapeshifting? It was at that point she saw the titular slime girl oozing towards her and Felix, with a wild grin on her face.

"So, I hear you to went on vacation?" Noah asked. "What was it like?"

"There was real sun," Cammy said. "It also sounds like Felix might have gained something while he was there."

"Gained something?" Noah repeated it back while wagging eyebrows that weren't there when they last saw her. "Well, I got a whole bunch of stuff from graduation. Not the least of which being... a whole new reality."

Upon Noah saying that, a flood of memories entered Cammy's mind. Of Felix and Noah staying up late doing various projects, of them staying at each other's houses so often that their parents seemed interchangeable, and most of all... that it was never in question that Felix was graduating high school. He still had his math disability, but it just didn't seem to matter as much, as he was more than capable as a pair of hands, both literally and figuratively, for Noah's many, many projects. The slime girl didn't displace Cammy at all, but instead was the ever present friend for Felix that she couldn't be, and in this set of memories, while there was a bit of sexual tension, it didn't come to anything until they showed up in Harem Hotel.

Looking over, Cammy could see that her boyfriend was even more overwhelmed with the memories. After a bit, Felix managed to say, "This is amazing but..."

"Overwhelming?" Cammy asked. "Yeah, it's for me too, even though it doesn't impact me as much. You went from being a friend in a study group to being..."

"Inseparable?" Noah asked rhetorically. "It took me a bit to get used to, but I never let fear conquer my life. And that is worth more than being human, or a man. And hey, if I got to fuck my new best friend for eternity, I think I can live that."

Cammy giggled in response. "I can definitely understand that."

They went together to the gym to chat. Cammy told the slime girl about how Felix had a new fitness program which meant today was leg day, which would last about an hour and a half. She also shared his new diet plan, which just made Noah tease Felix about all the food the slime girl got to eat without guilt that he couldn't. In return, the slime girl shared various memories from this new world they were in, focusing a lot on how she had made the decision to become a slime girl, and all the projects, primarily coding and art based, she did with Felix. A lot of it went over Cammy's head, but the excitement with which Noah talked about it, and the way Felix nodded along, or would occasionally add a detail about it, made her smile all the same.

All of this talk made the actual fitness session a bit less optimal than it could be, but Noah eventually left them in peace, as they all promised to continue catching up over lunch. Once the slime girl left to go talk with Hailey, Cammy turned back to her boyfriend.

"What did you get last night?" Cammy asked. "I realize this isn't the best place to talk about it but..."

"I can't talk about it too much, given where we are," Felix said. "However, it will allow me to control Janessa in a way I couldn't before..."