No Step On Slime

Chapter 11: I Will Build A Refuge

Bit of a late update, but this was a 4.5k word chapter. Took some time to proofread, hope you enjoy.

. . . . .

When I woke up, I found myself staring at a wooden ceiling.

Even though I couldn't really produce warmth, the bed I was laying down in was comfortable. If I had been a human, I probably would've gone back to sleep again right then and there.

But I couldn't. I wasn't human.

It was sometime during the middle of the day. There was light coming in from the window.

It took me a good minute to recollect my thoughts. I was able to quickly recall everything that happened, up to the moment I was knocked out.

But what the hell was that dream?

I didn't even want to call it a nightmare, it was too damn vivid.

There was some odd feeling in my chest that persisted even after I woke up. It was threatening to claw its way out of my chest, through my lungs, and into my throat.

I wanted to cry.

It's been years since I last cried, though. I didn't want to start now.

Despite that, I wiped my eyes, expecting a tear or two. But there weren't any.

I still had the mind of a human, but I wasn't physically human. Not anymore.

To take attention off my somewhat-of-a-mess emotional state, I examined the room. It looked really well-made, with clean walls and straight floorboards.

There was a dresser pushed alongside one corner, and next to the bed was a nightstand. My shotgun was on it, surprisingly.

Rimuru still trusted me with a weapon? Or... no, all my ammunition went off, I didn't have anymore. That was probably why he allowed me to keep it.

Also, how did I get here? Did that slime carry me all the way to the village? I don't remember a location like this unless he had somehow managed to construct this entire thing in the time I was gone.

That probably meant I was gone for that long.

The single door in the room opened up and a familiar face stepped in.

"Oh! You're awake now?" Kaijin asked.

I stared at the dwarf, still trying to process that I was back at the village.

"How long was I out?" I asked him. "And what happened? I remember going unconscious out in the forest."

"You were unconscious for three days, give or take," Kaijin replied. "I don't know what happened between you and Rimuru, but a few days back he ran into my workshop with the Kijin behind, carrying you. He practically begged me to repair you since his healing potions, for one reason or another, didn't work on you."

"You were able to fix me up?"

Kaijin scratched his head. "I did what I could. A few gears that attached your mainspring to the rest of your body were severed. I managed to hammer out quick replacements, but even so, you didn't immediately wake up. So Rimuru tried using one of his abilities to... enter your head, I think?"

Huh.

"But in the end, I'm no clock-smith. Some of your fingers are still missing if you haven't noticed. That's something I can't touch; I'm not an expert in clocks."

I looked to my right hand.

Exposed underneath the skin were small metal parts. Funny how I didn't immediately notice that, I suppose that is what happens when you're unable to feel pain.