Chapter 11: Evolution

Thomas stared at the dragon head before him. Alberto, the guilds SSS ranked berserker, had brought it with him to cash it in. Karl reached out for the head, the receptionist slapped the slime's hand.

"No, Karl, that is stealing," Thomas said. Karl bubbled in indignation next to him.

"What is with the slime?" Alberto asked, eyeing Karl with mistrust.

"He is a summon. Harmless as can be. The only thing he had destroyed so far is a couch," Karl reached out for the head again, Thomas slapped his hand again.

"Is it one of those evolving slimes?" Alberto asked next. "Or, just hungry?"

"Evolving," Thomas confirmed.

"Cool, let it eat the head," Alberto urged. He wanted to see a slime dragon.

"Wait, what? But, if I do, you might not get paid," Thomas protested. Alberto shrugged.

"Look, the way I see it, you input the info and dump the heads in the incinerator. Well, just input the info and let the slime eat the head. I am certain that Yima won't mind," Alberto told him, and nudged the head towards Karl. "Come now, big guy. I want to see a fire-breathing slime."

"It is not ok for you to play with nature like this," Alaine snapped from her spot behind Alberto. A bloody sack in her hands.

"As if slimes are natural. The first slime was a lab experiment," Alberto bit back. He nudged the head closer to Karl. "A small dragon for a slime. Come now, eat."

Karl reached out towards the head again. This time, Thomas didn't slap it away. The slime bent, so its body was covering the dragon head, and then began to absorb it within itself.

It was a weird sight, watching a dragon head float in see-through slime. Yet, all Thomas could do was blink, as the head slowly dissolved.

Then, the human head of the slime was replaced with that of a dragon. It was an unnerving thing to behold.

"I think that he needs to have eaten from everywhere to gain new parts," Thomas mused, as Karl opened its maul. A puff of smoke came out, but no fire.

"You lack parts, buddy. But that can be fixed," Alberto said, as he patted his bottomless bag. "A slime dragon. Yes, I do believe I can donate some meat for that."

Then, the berserker unceremoniously dumped the rest of the dragon from his bag on the floor. Karl's now reptilian eyes widened, and it bubbled in joy.

"Hey, you nearly flattened me," Alaine complained, brandishing her sack like a weapon.

"You can't get flatter if you tried," Alberto said under his breath. Alaine hit him over his head with the sack, getting blood in his hair. As the two began to argue, Karl approached the dead dragon.

The slime looked on in wonder at the strong, muscled, body. At the tough scales. At the wonderful colors. Well, the colors, it couldn't do much about. It was a slime. Therefore, blue.

But the rest, it could replicate. It extended as much as it could, but couldn't cover the entire dragon. So, just like it had done to the summoner, it began to taste the skin. Just small bites from it. Something the summoner had not even noticed but looked like sizable chunks missing now.

Karl first created the four legs. Now, it was shorter, but that was a price it was willing to pay. Then, it created the tail, and forced its slime to harden into scales. Finally, with much tinkering, it made for itself bones and muscles. Tendons and veins.

The slime-dragon gave out a roar, and the adventurers, plus one confused receptionist, turned to stare at it.

"Majestic," Alberto said, awe in his voice. Karl couldn't understand what the word meant, but it could understand the admiration. It quite liked that. The slime-dragon preened, waiting for more praise.

"If this thing burns down the guild hall, Yima will have your hides. I'd like to see how Thomas will control it now," Alaine said, as she shook her head.

Thomas's eyes met Karl's. The slime's eyes narrowed, and it bared its teeth. The receptionist paled. Karl liked to test him. When the tests had been done by an apple-sized slime, or the almost harmless human Karl, that hadn't been a problem.

Now, Karl had wickedly sharp fangs, strong limbs, and could potentially breathe fire. Thomas made a step back, then stopped. If he gave up on Karl now, he might as well give up on being an adventurer. Since, all he could summon were evolving slimes, at this point, he didn't have high hopes that the next slime was not going to be able to turn into something dangerous.

Thomas forced mana into his hands, and approached the slime. He touched its back, as it growled at him. Then, he injected it with a bit of his mana.

"See? I created you. I have only your best interest in mind. So, Karl, quit growling," he hoped that this would work. If not, Karl was probably going to maul him before either Alberto or Alaine could do anything.

The slime blinked. The human who had created it was weak. It knew that. Unlike the slime, this chubby man could not evolve. Sometimes, mostly after a meal, the slime felt bad for the man.

Still, strength had to be respected. The man had fought back, the first time. Back when the slime had been small and its acid not that potent. Now, it was a dragon, a small one, but big enough to snap the summoner in two.

The slime had to choose. Does it put its faith in this weak human, who fed it and gave it water? Or, does it kill him and go make a contract with a dungeon? Like many of its kind.

"Karl, if you don't attack me now, I promise to be the best summoner for you," Thomas continued, guessing what the slime was thinking. Karl couldn't understand the words. Not even with its new draconian head, but it could understand the tone.

The slime blinked, then remembered all the food it had received. The soft place where it had slept. The hand it had held.

"K... Karl," the dragon tongue and vocal cords strained to make up the word, to accept the contract. The summoner nodded, and pointed at himself.

"Thomas," and the contract was sealed.