It Started with Slime - Part 1

Chapter 87 - Survival

He found that his senses were more distracting than helpful, so he chose to close one of his eyes and retract the other two. He also dissolved his nose, mouth and ears. That way, he achieved a balance of opening his one eye quickly if he wanted and removing everything else that would have been a source of distraction.

Just before he closed his eyes, he saw Haemish moving around between stations, "Yes, that is fine, Resh. I will make sure you are not disturbed for the next few hours, and I assure you that you will not be interrupted." Aarav nodded and then closed his eye. He was determined to take as much of this delicious meal in at once. There are probably many more of these somewhere; I will have to ask Haemish!

He opened his eye again, then went through the process of making his mouth, "Also, I am going to need a Mana potion once I finish."

"Huh, what type of creature uses Mana for a basic function like eating!?" Aarav had already retracted his mouth had not produced his ears to listen. He saw the words form on Haemish's lips, but he was already closing his eye. Nothing more interrupted his concentration. He settled into Zen Meditation, helping boost his recoveries a little and calm his racing mind.

He focused on Consume Blorenar again. It was primed and ready. Activating and slowly feeling it ramping up was a very satisfying feeling. Aarav felt like he was achieving something worthy and not playing some silly little game. It's so easy to forget sometimes that this is not a game, with the numbers and stats and with the number of games I used to play and books I used to read. Sometimes it still feels surreal. Even seeing the memories from early in this life through Resh's senses and mind, it was hard to believe that this had happened, and it was only in moments like this that he could relax and take it in. In the forest, where there were always predators around and very few safe places to rest, it was impossible to completely put down the mantle of prey. He felt like this was the first time he could allow himself to relax a little. Not entirely, of course, because he still did not know these people or what they wanted from him.

The fact remained that they were humans, his people. Granted, they were in a strange land, but he could reason with intelligent life forms, unlike the Panther. He seemed to drift in and out of consciousness, never letting his Talent fade. Sleep was fitful during the Consumption process, and he was rolling around.

Content Warning: The flashback may get a little dark for those uncomfortable with this. There is a summary at the end.

Fifteen Years Ago

Aarav rose from the muddy ground where he had fallen. Four children ranging from ten to twelve stood over him. "Muje de! Nahi, muje de!" they were yelling at him. He didn't understand. His battered, bruised eight-year-old body was reaching its limits. He thought they were yelling at him in Hindi, but he couldn't be sure why was his brain not working. He quested a trembling hand to his head, and it came away red. He was bleeding. One snatched the notes his fingers were curled around and ran, the others running after him. He blacked out.

When he came to, it was dark. He was sitting upright by the side of the road, his blood was still on the road, or maybe it was someone else's blood it was hard to tell, as his head was splitting, and as he reached up again, he found the bleeding had stopped, at least the blood was minimal.

"You are lucky. This time, you are still alive. Try to take care. Don't show off your money in a flashy way. You are just asking for someone to rob you." A boy, fifteen by the look of him, sat beside Aarav. He had blood on his fingers and a needle with thread in his hand. He was toying with it as he spoke, not looking at Aarav at all. Once he had said his piece, he got up and walked away. Aarav tried to form the words to thank him. He couldn't. His mouth was dry. He attempted to work the moisture up in his mouth, but nothing would come.