CH7 Sewer Slime
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Alex felt his stomach churn. He had expected a small, harmless creature. But as he held up the brazier, he saw a huge, disgusting monster. It was made of hardened waste and slime, with brown sludge floating inside its body. Alex was terrified. He had never seen anything like it before. He put down the brazier and grabbed his sword, holding it with both hands. He took a step forward, then another. The dull red light from the brazier didn't provide much light. Alex had expected to see a small slime, but the monster was huge, taking up the entire cavern. There were strange, rock-like things stuck to the floor and walls. Alex searched his memory, trying to remember where he had seen something like this before.

Alex stared at the monster, his stomach churning at the smell. "It looks like a fatberg," he said, wiping his mouth.

"A fatburg?" Fufi asked, tilting her head. "What's that?"

"It's a giant ball of fat, oil, and other stuff that builds up in sewers," Alex explained. "It's caused by people flushing things down the toilet that they shouldn't, like baby wipes and bacon grease."

"That's disgusting," Fufi said.

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "And it looks like this one has merged with the slime and is now blocking the sewer."

"That's why the fountain is dry," Fufi said.

"Exactly," Alex said. "We need to find a way to get rid of this thing."

"How are we going to do that?" Fufi asked.

"I don't know," Alex said. "But we need to figure something out, and fast."

Fufi took a step back and advised Alex to move on, saying that the creature was too big for him to handle. Alex considered his options and said that if the slime was stuck, it might be damaged by ranged attacks and unable to retaliate. He crouched down, picked up a brick, aimed it with his right hand, and switched his sword to his left hand. He told Fufi to stay back and let him know if he got too close. Fufi nodded and stood there, shifting from one webbed foot to the other.

Alex took a deep breath and yelled, "Fire!" as he threw the brick as hard as he could at the creature. He then gripped his sword with both hands and prepared for any counterattack. The brick hit the creature's brown, slimy flesh with a splash, and the creature began to shake.

His phone unhelpfully narrated:

 

[Alex attacks with Brick Throw,It is ineffective]

 

Alex glanced behind him to make sure Fufi was safe, then looked back at the creature. The giant stationary slime's attack was already halfway to him. Alex raised his sword to block, hoping to avoid being engulfed by the slime. However, instead of launching a projectile, the slime turned part of its body into a foul tendril that shot along the ground and grasped Alex's foot.

[Slime uses Tentacle grasp, it is super effective]

 

Alex cursed his useless phone as he felt himself being dragged along the floor towards the slime. He heard Fufi cry out in alarm as he lost his balance. The slime was pulling him towards it, so he hacked at the putrid flesh with his sword, which went through it as if he were trying to cut through jello.

[Alex uses slash it is ineffective]

 

Alex stared in disbelief as his sword made no impact on the slime. He looked down and saw that the blade was now covered in a disgusting brown slime. He cursed under his breath as he felt himself being pulled closer to the creature. His vision blurred as tears of fear and sweat ran down his face. He held on to his sword with one hand and tried to cut himself free, while using the other to claw at the ground. He was no match for the creature's strength.

The slime's tentacle wrapped around his leg and began to tear through his pants. Alex wondered how much longer he could hold on. He knew that his sword would not last much longer against this monster. The slime continued to pull him closer, and Alex thought about his previous defeat at the hands of the cartoon-like stuffed animal. He wondered if he was about to be defeated again.

Suddenly, he heard Fufi honk in terror. She was standing behind him, looking terrified. Her voice was filled with panic as she screamed, "Alex! The creature is turning into a giant mouth!"

Alex looked up and saw that Fufi was right. The slime was indeed transforming into a giant mouth, and it was pulling him in.

The slime was turning into something far worse than it had started out as. The creature was starting to morph into something that had no business being in an underground sewer. The creature was becoming a giant mouth that was opening wide. The tendrils of slime were extending from it to grab at Alex.

 

Alex frantically began hacking away at the tendrils trying to free himself from them, another one wrapped around his sword arm and he dropped the blade. As he struggled against it he could see one tendril of slime beginning to squirm like an earthworm toward him. He swung his arms around trying to fend off the attack but he didn't have much luck. He could see it getting closer and closer. It was almost upon him. Alex swung his arms in a desperate effort to push it away but it kept coming closer. He could see it reaching out with a long tentacle that was trying to snatch him up into its mouth.

Alex's mind was racing, but he couldn't think of anything to do. He knew this was his last chance to act, to do anything!

"Alex, stop trying to fight it like a man," Fufi cried in a shrill voice. "Fight it like a magical girl!"

Alex looked at Fufi with wide eyes, understanding dawning on him.

"Oh god, what do I do?" He asked himself while fighting the tentacle that was about to drag him into the mouth.

He struggled against the tentacle. It was like trying to escape from an octopus that was trying to drag him into its lair. The slime's mouth opened wider as it struggled to swallow him. He was suspended in the air with his legs spread apart by tentacles. His right arm was secured and so he grasped at the only other thing he could, the feather duster. The slime's tentacles tightened around his wrist and forearm until it seemed like his bones were about to break. He gritted his teeth in pain and yelled in desperation as he tried to bring the feather duster into a position to dust the slime. He swung his arm around and swept the feather duster along the side of the slime's mouth trying to clear some of the slime away.

 

His phone narrated:

 

[Alex uses skill: cleaning on sewer slime it is super effective]

 

Alex could hear Fufi cheering behind him as he fought the slime. The slime was losing mass with each brush of the duster. Alex saw that the slime was struggling to control itself as most of its mass had been removed. The slime opened its mouth wide to engulf him, but Alex took one last swipe of the duster across its mouth, causing it to recoil. Alex used this opportunity to dust himself with the duster. Much of the slime turned into a brown gas that dissipated into the tunnel, and several blue droplets of a thick liquid fell to the ground. Alex saw that most of the slime had turned into a thick brown gas that had already filled half of the tunnel.

Alex tried to stand, but his legs were weak. He sat on his knees to catch his breath, while Fufi hovered above him, looking concerned. "Don't give up," she said. "This isn't over yet." She pointed to the brown slime still coating the fatberg.

Alex nodded and stood up. He knew that Fufi was right. He had to finish this. He took a deep breath and charged at the fatberg, swinging the duster wildly. The slime fought back, but Alex was too strong. He beat the slime until it was nothing more than a thin blue sludge.  

Alex collapsed to the ground, exhausted but triumphant. He had done it. He had defeated the slime. Fufi landed next to him and nuzzled him affectionately. "Good job," she said. "I knew you could do it."
Alex smiled. "Thanks, Fufi," he said. "I couldn't have done it without you."
Alex dusted off the slimy pieces in the chamber. Even the foul bits of hardened waste turned to vapor with enough dustings.

"Keep going until you see something different," Fufi told him.

After twenty minutes, Alex couldn't even see any traces of fatberg slime. The only thing left was a small blue puddle that settled in the middle of the passage. Fufi landed on Alex's shoulder and chirped, "Now it should be safe to proceed."

"Maybe there will be some treasure here," Alex said as he stepped forward.

[Sewer Slime defeated]

 

Alex and Fufi were startled by the noise from Alex's phone. Alex looked down at his phone in confusion, which displayed the text "defeated 1/20 monsters." Alex realized that his phone was now tracking his progress towards leveling up and decided to ignore it. He took a deep breath and looked into the darkness of the passage ahead. With the fatberg removed, there was a broken ceramic pipe that spilled water into the room, which flowed back towards the way they were heading, presumably towards the river. Alex noticed some movement in the blue puddle that was the remains of the sewer slime. He started moving slowly towards it, as if it were a wild animal that might attack. He reached out with one hand and touched it. He quickly pulled his hand back, while Fufi watched in wonder.

Alex looked at the flamingo quizzically, then back at the pool that seemed to be alive. He reached out with one hand and this time dipped one finger into the puddle. It was not a pleasant experience, as it felt like his finger was being sucked into a jelly, but it did not sting or cause any pain. He watched the blue fluid flow through his fingers like gel. A feeling of energy shot through his body from his spine and out of his hand. It felt like getting zapped by an electrical fence. He wondered if he was supposed to do anything more than stick his hand in there, like pray maybe? Alex didn't know, but he wasn't going to stick his head in there, so he decided to stop there for now and just watch. A couple of minutes passed, and the blue jelly formed itself into the shape of a small slime girl. She opened her mouth and said, "Merumeru!" as she stuck her tongue out at him, then she shot off into the water, splashing down from the pipe and playing around, splashing everywhere.

"That's strange," Alex said. "What's going on here? This is bizarre."

"I think I know," Fufi replied. "It's the power of a magical girl. And congratulations, it's a girl!"

Alex looked around and said, "It is? Also, why are you phrasing it like I just gave birth?"

"Well, you are a magical girl, aren't you?" she asked. "You have powers, right?"

Alex, still shaken by his near-death experience, grumbled, "No, I'm not a magical girl, I'm just an ordinary man."

“Really? Maybe you should check your class again.” The bird sounded smug.

Alex sighed but wanted to get the last word in. "I don't know what I am anymore," he said. "But I definitely can’t give birth."

 Fufi changed the subject and tried to bring up something less heavy. "Merumeru is cute! Luna would approve of her. Don't be rude. Your magic is what formed her after all."

"Slime girl?" Alex asked, trying to make sense of it all. "But how did she turn into a slime girl? Is there something about me that made this happen?"

Fufi flew above his head and excitedly gushed about the small, toddler-shaped slime. "There is something about Merumeru," she said. "She is very cute. Can we keep her?"

Alex looked at the slime girl playing in the water, happily saying "Merumeru" over and over again. Then he looked back at Fufi. "Okay, I guess she doesn't eat people. What should I do?"

"I think her name should be Merumeru," Fufi said, looking at her new friend.

"Merumeru?" Alex asked. "What kind of name is that?"

Fufi flew above him and looked down at him. "I don’t know, it is just what she says so it can be her name. But she is cute! She can be anything she wants to be!"

Alex scratched his chin and pondered what he would have named her if it had been him. "Fine, fine," Alex said. "Merumeru, does that sound like a good name for you?"

The slime girl gave him a bright smile and replied, "Merumeru!"

Alex thought for a moment and replied, "Well, Merumeru, I guess we are keeping you then."

"Thank you!" Fufi said, flying around in a happy circle above his head.

Merumeru was playing with water while looking in his general direction with big eyes. It seemed she wanted him to play with her too so Alex walked over toward her as he took a seat on the ground next to her and looked at her curiously.

 

"Meru?" she asked him in a cute voice.

 

"Hmm? No, my name is Alex." He responded.

 

"Meru." She repeated back to him. Then she looked up at him curiously, "Meru?"

 

Alex chuckled, "Is Merumeru the only thing you say?"

 

"Meru, muru!" Merumeru replied happily, "Meru muru muru."

 

Alex reached out his hands to try and grab her but she immediately popped away from his reach and splashed water at him playfully. Alex sighed, "It seems I am out matched here."

 

The little slime girl stomped around splashing water around and said, "Meru muru!"

 

Alex took another glance at Merumeru who was looking up at him with her large eyes while she played with water going down from the pipe creating a stream deeper into the sewer. He turned to look at Fufi who had stopped her happy circle to land in front of him and said, "I think she got stuck here."

 

Fufi looked down at Merumeru and chirped, "Do you want to play?"

"Meru!" the slime girl chirped back. Fufi hopped after her and they both ran circles around Alex. After a few minutes, they stopped running and Merumeru came closer to Alex, hopped up and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. Alex could hear Fufi saying something, but he was too distracted by the fact that a slime had just kissed him on the cheek. He looked down at the little slime girl and said, "You're getting soaked. Don't complain if you catch a cold."

The little slime girl looked a little disappointed by his reaction, but then she giggled and said, "Muru muru!"

Fufi said, "I don't think slimes can get sick. Any germs that get on them will just dissolve."

Alex laughed and said, "Well, let's try to get out of here before anything important gets dissolved."

"Muru muru! Meru muru!" Merumeru replied happily as they walked out of the sewer.

The little slime girl was initially saddened by Alex's reaction, but she quickly recovered and giggled. Fufi then explained that slimes are immune to germs, which made Alex laugh. The three of them then left the sewer, and Merumeru continued to chatter happily.

Alex, Merumeru and Fufi stepped out of the sewers in front of the fountain and placed the grate back in place so no one would fall in there by accident. It may be just the three of them in this town but safety should always be a priority. Alex looked down at Merumeru as she followed after them.

 

"Are you hungry Merumeru?", he asked the little slime girl.

 

She shook her head and said, "Muru."

 

Alex smiled, "Ok, then let's go to the river and get some fish and berries. What do slime girls normally eat?"

 

Fufi helpfully answered, "I think they are like slimes and can eat almost anything."

 

Merumeru nodded enthusiastically in response, but said nothing further. Alex watched as they headed to the riverfront, where he prepared a meal for the three of them. The meal was the best he had ever made, but he felt bittersweet about it, as he had not asked for the cooking skill. After dinner, Alex and the others returned to the adventurers' guild as the sun was setting. They sat on the stone steps, watching the sunset and taking a moment to relax.

"Merumeru is not going to eat us in our sleep is she?" Alex whispered to Fufi.

 

"No," Fufi replied, "She is too cute for that."

 

Alex didn't buy that logic, "Will being cute keep her from doing bad things?"

 

"Of course," Fufi whispered back, "Anyone who uses the power of cute for evil deserves divine punishment from Luna."

 

Alex just rolled his eyes. He didn't buy that kind of logic but was too tired to argue.

 

Alex yawned and stretched his legs. Merumeru crawled up his leg and settled next to him, using his leg as a pillow. Alex looked down at the sleeping slime girl, her head resting on his leg. He remembered the tentacle that had been going up his leg and shuddered. Maybe he was just being paranoid. Alex decided to let sleeping slimes lie and went back to watching the sun set. He carefully carried the sleeping girl downstairs and wrapped her in bunny pajamas before going to bed himself. He tried to put her in a separate spot, but she clung to him tightly even with her eyes closed. Alex sighed and let her snuggle against his side. He pulled the cloak over them both and fell asleep with the slime girl warm against his side.

 

Edited 10-9-2023

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