A blob of slime

To your surprise, a blue slime emerged from the bush and stopped when it noticed you. You noticed the slime looked quite odd, with no core visible in its clear gelatinous body. Usually every slime had one, a certain weak point for anyone who wanted to defeat a slime. Aside from that, it seemed to be smaller than its peers. Perhaps it had lost some of its mass due to an attack, as well as its core. But this was the first time you saw a slime that was still alive without their core.

You watched as the slime seemingly tilted its head and started to bounce towards you. Some slimes were scavengers, so this one might came here to feast on Pochi. It might be because of its injuries, but it seemed to lack caution as it hopped closer to you. You slowly reached for your dagger, ready to protect yourself and your grey wolf. However, your attempt to intimidate the slime had no effect at all, and it kept going towards you. Then, the slime jumped towards one of Pochi's legs, enveloping it in its body.

You shrieked, slapping the slime away. You knew it was part of food chain, you'd have to let Pochi return to the earth. But you'd prefer if his body not be devoured right in front of your eyes. The small creature bounced back from the impact and landed on the ground, your slap was stronger than you expected. It didn't seem to hurt, but the slime jiggled and wiggled around before it settled down and stared at you. You prepared for an attack, but the slime did no such thing. It looked hurt instead of being angry. Maybe its current condition was too weak to be feeling anger.

You started to feel sorry for the little one. It might have just been following its natural instincts, and you slapped it for doing nothing wrong. You glanced at your wolf and back at the slime, before letting out a sigh and gesturing with your hand. The slime glanced at your hand for a second, before understanding that you were telling it to get closer. It then crawled towards you again, this time settling on your palm. The slime felt cool, perhaps slightly cold.

You took the half empty bottle of the weak healing potion and poured out its content, gently pouring it on the slime. The liquid went inside its body and swirled around a bit before disappearing. You assumed the potion worked and helped the slime. And it seemed the slime realized the same as it wiggled and jiggled on your hand excitedly, though still looked rather weak. You stood up, taking the slime with you. It seemed content being carried by you, even looking comfortable. As you walked away from your deceased friend, you gave Pochi one last look before leaving towards the bear that you took down.

"Wait here, okay? I'll give you some food," you said as you put the slime down gently.

The slime stopped moving as soon as it touched the ground. You couldn't tell whether it was tired or if it actually understood your words. Not wanting to waste time, you began skinning the bear. It was not your first time, so you managed to complete it pretty quickly. After the skinning, you removed the viscera, cleaning the body from its innards.

"Here, eat it," you said, giving the slime the bear's liver and other organs.

You knelt on one knee and laid the raw innards on the ground, watching as the slime engulfed them one by one and fairly soon they disappear within itself. You were surprised at how quickly this slime seemed to digest its food, compared to other slimes you had encountered so far. After eating all the offered food, the slime seemed full, its size increased a little.

"Okay, that should be more than enough"

You said, finished cutting some of the bear meat for you to take home. As much as you wanted to bring all of the meat home, you were nowhere near strong enough to do that. Not to mention, you had to carry the bear's skin as well. As you finished packing the bear's meat and skin, the slime bounced towards you. It looked like it had recovered from its previous injuries a bit. You smiled slightly, never wanting to unnecessarily hurt weak forest dwellers.

"Okay, goodbye little one. Be careful next time, don't pick a fight with strong creatures, okay?"

As you walked away, hands full with the bear's skin, the slime suddenly jumped onto your leg. You panicked for a second, afraid that the slime's seemingly strong acid would hurt you. But it didn't look like the slime wanted to eat you. It jumped back down when it got your attention.

"You want to come along?" you then asked it a question.

The slime responds positively to your question. You started to think of taming it with your skill. Maybe it could help you recover from your loss of a great friend. But probably not right now, it was best if you got to a safe place first.

"Alright, hop on my shoulder"

The slime understood your words, and immediately climbed up your leg and rested on your right shoulder. Once it was comfortable, you started walking back to the town. You were already thinking about what to name your new friend.

This slime seemed to be different than the rest, smart as well. But you didn't know just how different it was. Later on, you would discover that this slime was truly unique.