Soul Stone

The last time Baal had moved through the forest at night had been the slow careful march with the goblins. The last time he had run for his life through the trees had been when he first met the plated adventure. Tonight he had done both and returned to the dungeon even faster than he had anticipated. He was levels higher than his previous trips. His stats had climbed to match. His speed was at least passable, but his endurance was becoming something greater entirely. He had held Suo and ran nearly the entire distance without stopping.

“Boss back!” The lookout cried from the watch room as Baal crossed the threshold into his dungeon.

The wind elemental and a group of goblins headed by Bunny waited for him on the other side of the metal gate.

“Master? Slimey?” The gobliness questioned him as he pushed his way past.

Baal ignored the goblins and moved for the lower stairs. He still held the slime wrapped in his tunic. Although it was still alive, Suo hadn’t responded to him at all during the journey. With the slime it was impossible for him to tell if it was barely clinging to life or merely sleeping, but the slime had never ignored him or his orders before so that was clearly a bad sign.

Noises from the training arena betrayed Feathers working out her own frustrations, but Baal ignored her as well as he continued to descend. The healing potions had failed to give any result after the slime’s first weak vocalization. There was only one other recovery method the orc had at his disposal to try. He didn’t bother unequiping his clothing as he waded into the manna pool beneath the waterfall. He gently lowered the cradled slime into the warm waters.

“This has to work,” he thought to himself.

There was a soft glow surrounding Suo, not unlike the one on his own mp bar, that quickly faded.

“Suo!” Baal used his most commanding tone. “Suo, answer me!”

The little blob remained limp and unmoving except for the small waves bobbing it in the pool. It gave no indication it could even hear him.

Fuck!

Baal fell back and sat on the lip of the pool, holding the slime in his lap as he thought.

What was he supposed to do now?

What else could he do?

The dungeon had provided so much. Why was he now powerless? He flipped through his building screens, looking for... a slime hospital... something... anything... the Infirmary room sounded promising but the construction was still grayed out and there were no helpful tips why. The other new rooms he could now build all looked useless to heal his first minion.

He closed the building menus and opened his own fame menu. Even after purchasing Minion Link, he still had sixty one fame points remaining. Surely there must be something. A healing skill or item. Again he scrolled through pages of useless options or intriguing ones that cost much more than he had or could gather any time soon. He barely even had enough to summon...

An idea! The orc quickly flipped over to the minion list. It was a slim hope. Maybe fruitless. But it was what he had. If an earth elemental was a builder and an air elemental was swift, then maybe...

Baal pressed accept to pay the fifty points of fame. A drop of water, not from the waterfall, materialized in the air and fell onto the stone floor beside him. The droplet pooled and rippled and slowly began to rise as a form took shape. It had no legs to speak of, just a flowing gown of water that it rode on. Its arms and hands had no real definition, they were merely extended droplets of water that stuck away from the main body. Similarly its head and face was a featureless oval. However on top of its head, the water crowned and spread out to form a precisely detailed lily pad the elemental wore like an over sized floppy hat. The water elemental was roughly a foot and a half tall, much like the dust golems. However, rather than the crude stocky form of its earth cousins, this one was serenely elegant.

Lilypet- ???

The newly birthed elemental stared up at its master and father in mute consideration.

“Heal this one!” Baal issued the command even though he wasn’t sure of the new elemental’s powers, but giving an order was quicker than using the appraisal table on the lump of water.

The water elemental did a sort of quick curtsy then raised its arm like appendages and began waiving them over the slime. A soft blue glow surrounded Suo, and the slime seemed to softly pulse on his lap. After a moment, however, the glow retreated as the elemental lowered its arms and the slime again went slack.

“Suo?” Baal prodded the slime.

There was no answer. No reaction.

“I said heal it!” The orc lashed out in anger and grabbed the lilypet.

It’s texture was similar to Suo’s, but while the slime was rather... well slimey... and pliable; there was a resistant pulse to the water elemental, like a thin but stiff outer shell covering a strong current.

“If it dies, you’re next.” Baal warned it menacingly.

He knew he was being unreasonable. Restoring the slime was likely beyond the newborn elemental’s abilities. But he was angry. It was at hand. And damnit he was out of options. The orc willed himself to not simply squeeze the elemental until it popped, and instead set it back down on the stone floor.

“Slimey ok?” Bunny asked cautiously.

She and the other goblins had apparently joined him near the pool at some point while he wasn’t paying attention. Unfortunately this only made for more targets for his misplaced anger and frustration.

“If you don’t have anything useful to say then leave!” Baal gave a single warning.

The shock and hurt clearly registered across the goblin’s faces, most especially Bunny, but they loyally followed orders and retreated away from their sulking lord. All except for one.

“My lord?” The elder goblin softly inquired.

“I said leave!” The orc snapped.

“In point of fact, my lord said ‘leave if you don’t have something useful to say’.” The robed goblin tactfully corrected his new master. “I believe I may have something useful.”

Baal was slightly taken aback. First by being talked back to by a minion, and a goblin at that. Secondly by the fluent way the goblin spoke.

“Let’s hear it then,” the orc covered for his momentary shock.

“First please allow me to inspect the slime, my lord.”

Baal careful sat Suo on the ground between them. The water elemental followed the slime, never dropping its healing magic and risking the master’s anger again. The old goblin knelt on shaking knees as he leaned into his walking stick. His wrinkled and spotted hands carefully rolled the slime as he examined it from different positions.

“It’s as I thought,” the goblin elder finally spoke.

He rolled the slime slightly towards the orc as if to show him.

“Do you see the stone held inside the slime?” He asked as he pointed out the dull crystallized stone that Baal had never noticed before. “That, my lord, is the slime’s core. It appears to have been damaged.”

Indeed there was a deep ugly gash on the delicate clear stone, nearly cutting it in half.

“Yes,” Baal agreed.

“This should be a mortal wound for a slime.” The elder cautioned, then quickly continued as he saw the orc tense. “Restoring its health and manna were the correct choices. It reduces the strain on the core, even if it can’t fix the damage itself. And I must assume this creature itself has incredible willpower not to simply accept its fate and pass.”

“My lord’s quick thinking was also impressive. Your... familiar’s... magic may not be enough to fix the core. However, tying its elemental nature into your dungeon and creating an infinite recovery was genius. The slime won’t be fully healed but neither will it pass. I wonder if this is what adventurers refer to as a ‘cheat’?”

Baal understood that the injury to its core was the cause of Suo’s condition. And he understood that fully healing it was outside of his means. But what was the old man talking about, infinite recovery magic? Then the orc saw the long trail of the water elemental’s gown had grown and flowed until it connected to the manna spring. All of the elementals had so far had a stamina boost thanks to the dungeon, but this one had used its watery nature to merge with the pool. As long as the manna spring flowed, it effectively had unlimited mp.

“Of course,” Baal bluffed. “But how do we heal the core itself?”

“Unfortunately I am unsure of that, my lord. I’ve never seen a slime so injured not immediately perish, let alone recover.”

The orc was quiet for several long moments. The time and silence calmed his mind and dulled the anger that threatened to tear everything apart.

“You know,” Baal finally broke the silence, “you are very well spoken for a goblin.”

“It is as you say,”. The old goblin chuckled lowly. “And you, my lord, are very well spoken for an orc. Yet here we are.”

“Here we are,”. Baal agreed before he realized the old man’s smooth back talk for what it was.

“I suspect the gods made me talk in this way to better assist in my purpose.” The elder goblin eased his teasing.

“And what exactly is your purpose?”

“My purpose is... or rather was... to assist adventurers. Rangers, druids, monster tamers, any of them that existed with a connection to nature would seek me out. I was a ‘Quest Giver’. An adventurer would come to me in the great forest and suddenly the gods would speak through me. I would task them to kill monsters or find items... to deliver letters I had never written to friends I had never met... to escort me to some random place I had never been... knowledge that wasn’t my own would fill my head to assist them. Sometimes, very rarely the quest would deliver some items of actual use to me and those around me. The boon of items as well as the gods using me as their vessel caused the tribes to venerate me as an oracle.”

“So you’re possessed and think you know everything?” Baal asked wearily.

There was another slight chuckle from the old goblin.

“Possessed may not be too far from the truth, though I hope that the gods will be silent as long as adventurers won’t seek me out inside your domain. As for my knowledge... knowledge without understanding is more burden than gift. For instance I know how slimes function, their skills and possible evolutions... many of the more odd adventurer tamers seemed to have a preference to those creatures for some reason... but I know nothing about how slimes live or why they behave the ways they do. Likewise, I know where rare herbs and berries can be found, but I have no clue what use they are. It is my sincere hope that my knowledge may be put to some use by you, my lord.”

Knowledge

Power

The two men knelt in silence over the slime. The water elemental continued to poor out healing magic. Yet at best, Suo’s condition was merely stabilized. At worst the damage to its core was already past critical. Slime cores must be important, they were rare items, he recalled. Important enough that the thief had stolen the three from his own dungeon inventory.

“What if we replaced the core?” Baal asked. “Wouldn’t that fix it?”

“I do not think so, my lord. A slime’s core is its everything, its heart and mind, its very being. We could no more replace it, than say attach another orc’s head in place of your own. And even if such a spell did exist to replace the parts, the slime would likely die the moment its current core was removed.”

The two sunk back into silence. Baal was lost in thought as a new alert flashed open

Fame increased!
Fame: 62
Survive an Enemy Vendetta for 6 days! +6
A Quest Against You has been Updated! (Expanded)
Quest Failed (x3) +5
Quest Failed (x2) +5
Quest Failed (x1) +5
Quest Accepted! +1
Quest Accepted! +2
Quest Accepted! +1
Diplomacy +4 (Expanded)
Rumors of your skill and cunning are spreading! + 2
Rumors of your domain are spreading +2
Got a minion! +7 (Expanded)
Domain Sired lesser minion +7

It must be morning already. Baal waived away the menu. It kept raising more questions he didn’t have time to find the answers to at the moment.

His primary concern now was his first minion. At the end of the day all of them may have just been pawns to him, but they were _HIS _pawns. Only he could decide their fate, not some mangy mutt skulking in the woods.

“Not the core then,” Baal muttered mostly to himself. “But the thing inside. The...”

He trailed off. What was the blasted thing called again? He had read the description on the appraisal table but he should have paid more attention, instead of just admiring all of the shiny new toys he had collected.

“I believe you are referring to a Soul Stone my lord.” The elder goblin filled in.

“...Soul Stone...” that sparked the orc’s memory. It sounded right, but was it even the key to restoring the slime?

“They are incredibly powerful, exceedingly rare items. I know they are related to a slime’s core, but I confess I don’t know how or why, or even what the exactly the stone does. Even if you procured such a stone, I am unsure if it would assist you. I apologize for my ignorance, my lord.”

“Enough,” Baal dismissed the needless apology. “Any plan is better sitting here doing nothing.”

Before he stood he took a moment to size up the hard working water elemental. It had been unfair of him to take his rage out of the squishy thing. Just like its fellow elementals, it was tirelessly fulfilling his orders.

“Good job,” he tepidly praised the worker. “Keep it up.”

Baal stood on aching and shaky legs. He was tired. He was sore. He wasn’t even sure if this was the right path, but it was the one he had.

He climbed the stairs to the production level. The other goblins had dispersed and now he actually needed them. But he had a strong suspicion where Feathers would be. He moved to the arena, and sure enough the barbarian goblin was once again training herself. She had likely gained proficiency with her axes as well as levels by now. He made a note not to fall too far behind in his own training lest she surpass him. Especially when he couldn’t spare the manna to keep the summoned skeleton to gain experience for him.

Several other goblins were training as well. The red caped trickster was practicing with his short bow and had started to hit closer to the target. One of the new goblins was practicing next to him, copying his movements with the lesser arena provided equipment. The goblin’s clumsy attempts only amplified the skills his own band of goblins had gained. Another goblin was attacking a wooden construct with a spear. The orc noted that this one carried a new piece of equipment, a small leather wrapped wooden shield. On its own the small change meant little, but it was yet another improvement to his growing followers.

Baal pulled the scout and Feathers away from the arena. He didn’t have the time to waste searching. The goblins knew the forest better, and he needed them to guide him back to their hunting grounds from before.

Bunny had reappeared, holding the infant Ash. Her eager eyes betrayed her intention to follow him this time, but again she was rebuffed. Instead Baal ordered her to oversee the dungeon. There were still rooms to construct and items to craft. Not to mention watching over Suo and the water elemental healer. Anyone not working would train in the arena. Given the orc’s foul mood, the goblins simply nodded and rushed to follow his orders.

Another stack of stones along with the carcass of a wild rabbit had been left in front of the dungeon. Baal ignored the loot as he left and shouted at the lookout goblins to take care of it.

Baal was tired as he once again descended the mountains. He hadn’t eaten, hadn’t slept. At this point his anger and stamina were keeping him moving. If the trickster and barbarian were likewise exhausted, they wisely didn’t complain. They moved down to the forest, ignoring resource points and prey. They were hunting, but not for food or random monsters.

Eventually the trio found the hidden pool once more.

“Oy, fucknuts! Ya get the fuck outta here, before I kick ya useless tiny nuts off and feed them to the squirrels!” The foul mouthed fairy screamed from the tree tops.

Baal responded to the tiny tirade by throwing a blast of dark energy after her. The spell might’ve been stronger than before, but it was still as slow as always. The nimble pixie easily dodged the blast.

“Watch it ya cock sucking oaf!”

“Do you still have the sling?” Baal asked the goblin trickster.

There was a quick nod yes.

“Good. Save your arrows but kill the bitch if you can. At least keep her busy and shut her up,” Baal ordered.

Blue slimes were already emerging from the cool deep waters. It didn’t matter to Baal if they were called by the fairy, disturbed by the commotion, or just drawn by the presence of potential food. He needed their drops. The more the better. While the trickster flung rocks at the fairy, Baal and Feathers made quick work of the blue slimes.

These things were not just a different color than Suo, they were also much slower and weaker. While Feathers had been outmaneuvered by his faithful slime minion, she was able to quickly dice these slimes apart with her enhanced tomahawks. They either lacked Suo’s damage reduction ability; or, more likely, they were simply overwhelmed by the barbarian.

Baal likewise easily took the slimes down with his magic. He didn’t summon the skeleton though. Even as improved as it was, it was still a bad match against the slimes. His mp was better spent on his dark energy spell and blasting the enemies apart.

The first time they had come for fresh water only three slimes had attacked. This time, as they lingered a small but steady stream of the blue slimes emerged from the pool.

The experience points were also flowing in. Leveling up hadn’t been Baal’s intention today, but with each slime giving thirty experience points on its ****, the orc quickly received a pop up.

Level up!
Baal, Level 9 Orc Initiate
Monster, Microboss, Orc, Explicit
Experience to level up – 476
Attributes:
Strength 23 > 24
Dexterity 15 > 16 (+2)
Stamina 40 > 43
Charisma 14 > 15
Intelligence 20 > 22 (+3)
Wisdom 25 > 26
Luck 27 > 28

Baal quickly minimized the window. Being stronger was nice of course, but at the moment it was merely a distraction. The orc and goblin systematically slaughtered the mindless monsters as they emerged from the waters. Baal wasn’t counting but the cores were supposed to be a rare drop and the soul stone was supposedly an even rarer refinement. He might need to kill dozens even hundreds of the slimes just to get one stone. It was all a numbers game. He might not find one at all.

The orc pushed the thought out of his head. No point worrying about that now. Instead he focused on fighting and killing. It was an outlet for the frustration and rage that had been simmering inside him. The barbarian was likewise drunk on her bloodlust, her feather braided hair and rabbit fur armor were covered in chunks of blue slime as she put on her deadly dance across the clearing.

When Baal ran out of manna he drank restore potions. When his flasks ran empty he switched to the short sword in his inventory. The fights became more drawn out. He had a strength and stamina advantage but the slimes were faster and more resistant to his attacks. Still the orc continued to fight.

Eventually the trickster returned, the fairy having finally given him the slip. The goblin joined the fight for awhile before running out of stones to fling and giving up in exhaustion. Even Feather’s berserker state eventually subsided and she collapsed with fatigue. Still Baal fought on. It was a battle of wills. Baal against the endless depths of the pool. It didn’t matter to him that he was quite literally fighting against a natural tide. It was actually Feathers who eventually broke through to him.

“.... ster... aster... Master!” The female goblin was nearly hoarse, she had pled ineffectively for the orc's attention for so long.

“Feathers?” Baal paused as he took in his surroundings for the first time in hours.

The entire clearing was now covered in a film of light blue slime. Baal’s fingers ached as he struggled to hold his weapon. What had he been doing?

“Please stop!” Feathers begged the orc. “Many shinies!”

Baal moved to open his inventory. Just changing the position of his arms hurt, he was so accustomed to the mechanical swing of the sword. Maximizing his menu again he was somewhat surprised to find it flashing

Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!

Ok, what had he been doing?

He ignored the character screen and went strait to his inventory. There with his walnut staff, torches, empty flasks, and remaining pork bellies were new stacks of items

Slime Core (rare) x 99
Slime Core (rare) x 62

By the time he condensed the cores the goblins had also collected there were two hundred and sixty three cores in his inventory. Now he moved back to his character screen

Baal, Level 15 Orc
Experience has grown Initiate into Apprentice
Monster,
Experience has grown Microboss into Mini-Boss
Orc, Explicit
Experience to level up – 570
Attributes:
Strength 24 > 33
Dexterity 16 > 24 (+2)
Stamina 43 > 64
Charisma 16 > 19
Intelligence 22 > 31 (+3)
Wisdom 26 > 35
Luck 28 > 34
New Spell!
Armor of Darkness - shrouds the target in an aura of darkness that obscures their features. Cannot be seen through with normal means as well as temporarily grants the Dark Vision feat. Additionally the armor absorbs caster’s intelligence/3 damage. Armor of Darkness is dismissed when the damage limit is exceeded or caster’s level x 10 minutes passes.

New class, new title, new spell... what the fuck had he been doing?!

Leveling up was not this easy. The pain and strain of even a single battle was hard enough to bare. The only way this made any sense was that the massive jump in stamina must have given him the boost to keep fighting. But that was reckless to the point it was almost ridiculous. Even the mindless slimes weren’t spawning as fast as they had before, as if to avoid the gruesome fate of their fellows. And as easy as slimes were to kill, if any real opponent had come across him while he was mindlessly hacking at them, the orc would have been caught completely unaware and likely killed.

That was too dangerous.

“Master?” Feathers pleaded once again.

“Yes,” Baal agreed. “That’s enough. Let’s go.”

“Oy that’s right! Piss off you slimy dick holes. Crawl back into whatever ass...” the fairy shut up as she caught the look in the deranged orc’s eyes.

The trek back to the dungeon took even longer than usual. The two goblins were exhausted and even Baal’s stamina had finally neared its limits. He shared one of his pieces of pork during one of their many rest stops and they ate it raw and in silence. The trickster collapsed part way up the mountain. Causing the orc to carry him under his arm. Feathers pushed further but eventually even her massive stubbornness lost out to fatigue. The **** barbarian goblin was hefted over his shoulder for the final leg of the climb.

“Boss back!” The goblin lookout yelled out as Baal entered the dungeon.

As soon as the portcullis was raised the orc not so gently dropped the **** trickster into the nearby alcove. With Feathers he at least placed the groggy goblin on her feat.

“Go to bed!” The orc ordered her as the other goblins appeared up the steps.

Baal passively acknowledged his minions even as Bunny rushed forward to greet him. She clung to his thigh and he was too tired to push her away. The soft cushion of her body against his tired muscles felt good. He wanted nothing more than to lay down with her and forget his troubles. But he knew if he relaxed now he wouldn’t be able to stand again, and he was finally on the last leg of this particular journey.

Half supported by the tiny goblin, Baal moved down the stairs to the production level. He made his way to the appraisal table and opened his inventory and eyed the massive amount of slime cores therein. He placed one in the table and reviewed the almost forgotten description.

Slime Core (rare)
A small orb containing the central nervous system of a slime. Crack open for a rare chance to obtain a soul stone.

No time like the present. Baal tapped the shiny crystal like ball and a new window emerged. Like the gemstone mini game this was also a wheel. However, unlike that game with its evenly split wedges, the vast majority of this wheel was blank. Only the tiniest sliver of a wedge showed an option for successful refinement. Another tap and the wheel spun into motion. The single good option lit the board as it spun, as though it were actually many spokes supporting the diameter. However, as the spinning slowed, the option shrank once again until it was all but invisible.

Failure

Hardly surprising. Baal knew this would likely be a herculean effort to refine a single stone. The first core vanished from the table with the failure and was quickly replaced by another from his inventory. Again the wheel spun into motion, and again the narrow margin for victory seemed to fill the wheel as it blurred past. As the wheel slowed Baal realized that at least this time he would be closer. The arrow at the top of the wheel was agonizingly close to the sliver of refinement. It stalled and hovered for a second, then clicked over.

Success!

Soul Stone (Special)
A fabled stone capable of returning the souls of the dead or imbuing life to the lifeless. The object of many an alchemist’s fruitless pursuit. On use casts the Holy magic ‘Resurrection’ disregarding all requirements.

Holy fucking gods this thing was amazing. It was capable of resurrecting the dead? Did he even want to waste such an item on a mere slime?!

“Don’t think about it,” the orc muttered to himself.

He knew he had gotten lucky. His efforts had been rewarded for once, and there was an important reason for those efforts. So did this mean he should just let the slime die then resurrect it? The orc somehow doubted it was that simple.

He collected the soul stone from the table and ignored the hundreds of remaining slime cores in his inventory. He carefully moved down to the lowest level of the spire. The water elemental was still casting healing magic over the unmoving slime. The elder goblin had been resting against the wall away from the pool of water but stood with his walking stick in greeting.

“My lord, the slime still lives but only just. Did you recover a stone?”

“Of course,” Baal replied. As if there could be any doubt to his abilities.

The orc knelt at the pool, but before he examined the slime he took a drink from the manna spring. His depleted mp bar blinked and rapidly refilled. It was an odd sensation. He was still exhausted and at his physical limits, but he was also now energized and surging with power. At the very least he wasn’t now struggling to keep his eyes open as he turned to the slime and elemental.

The orc took the soul stone in his hand. While the slime cores were rounded crystalline balls; this stone was even smaller and more delicate, more oval or egg shaped, and though it was likewise clear, it seamed to pulse and glow from deep inside.

“Now what?” Baal asked the old man in an almost solemn whisper.

“I don’t know,” the elder goblin eagerly replied.

For a moment Baal fantasized about punching the old man hard enough to remove his balding, wrinkly, over sized head from his body. Instead he just took a deep breath. He was the liege lord. This was his responsibility. He started to use the stone’s ability but stopped himself. This item was never intended for monsters. Was resurrection really the answer? Suo wasn’t dead, it was just dying. Its injury was to the very core of its being.

Baal smoothed over the small slime and found the cracked core once more. He carefully pressed his fingers into the slime’s thin membrane and cupped the damaged organ in his hand. He brought the hand holding the soul stone closer and its innate glow grew brighter. He would take that as a good sign. The closer he moved the stone the greater the light it produced, but also it began to actively repel against the slime’s existing core. Like two similarly charged magnets they pushed each other away. The metaphor was more apt than he knew as he muscled his way through the problem, using his brute strength to **** the two together.

There was a noise similar to the level up chime or system alerts but the musical notes were disjointed and loud as thunder as the light from the soul stone filled the entire dungeon spire. Baal held the burning core in his hands as he prayed to gods he had no faith in to make this work.

“My lord!” The elder yelled over the storm, “something is wrong!”

No shit.

The goblins couldn’t see or hear. Some screamed and ran in terror. Bunny struggled to find her love. The old goblin poured over every shred of knowledge that had ever filled his brain.

The slime couldn’t complete the transfiguration on its own he realized. The slime’s body was whole. Its HP was full. The problem was its spirit. Slimes were not creatures of magic. They possessed little to no mp. The slime was incapable of performing the spell enveloping its body; but once it had begun, the magic wasn't stopping. The world itself was breaking in response. This magic was beyond that of a monster or an adventurer. It was world level magic. Perhaps godly. It was attempting to reshape the very fabric of their existence but it was stuck.

“Manna, my lord! Give it your manna!” The elder screamed above the screeching chimes and howling winds.

Baal’s hands were burned and peeling. His eyes were blinded by the intense light. His ears were bleeding. He had given everything he had and more today. But mp was the one thing he now had to spare. Level fifteen would be considered average for an adventurer but it was five times stronger than he had been before the dungeon. And orc or no, Baal was a magic caster, he had reserves of manna. Those reserves now flowed into Suo.

The little slime expanded and contracted under the competing pressures on its body. It threatened to fly apart but Baal forcefully held it together as he continued to pour his magic into it.

“...master?”

The voice was familiar yet unknown. It was slightly feminine but it was different than the sweet half guttural sounds of Bunny or Feathers. It flowed like water but was strong as steel. Even more curious was that he could barely hear the goblins shouting over the din, but this voice was soft, almost as though it was whispered in his ear.

“I’m here!” Baal bellowed into the heart of the storm. He drained the last of his mp into the fusing crystals and gave his final order, “Come back!”

The maelstrom vanished as quickly as it had begun. The searing light flashed and blinked out of existence, plunging the dungeon into darkness. The broken notes of the system music realigned into a short chime, though the ringing in their ears refused to stop. Agonizingly slowly Baal’s eyes readjusted to the dim lighting of the dungeon. The goblins huddled together at the stairs, staring at him with a mixture of reverent awe and terror. The elder rested against the wall once more and simply smiled cryptically. The water elemental sloshed behind him in the pool where it had dove for safety. And on the ground in front of him, with his hands still resting inside, was a small, whole slime. However, rather than the clear translucent slime to which he was accustomed, this slime was pitch black.

Had the spell failed or backfired? Was Suo still damaged? Was this slime even Suo, or had he inadvertently created a new being with the stone’s power? Life to the lifeless he recalled.

He carefully withdrew his hands from the dark ball of slime as it wobbled. It jiggled softly in place as it too seemed to be taking in its surroundings.

“Suo?” The slime chirped.