I've been tailing this trio of humans as they make their way further into the cave, essentially taking the reverse path that I used to get to the entrance. It seems like they have a better sense of direction than me, as painful as that is to admit.

Still, this is a little boring for me since I already killed and ate almost every single monster in the time I've spent in this cave, so they aren't doing anything exciting. It seems like they are almost as bored as I am, even though they still seem on edge, especially that staff-wielding girl. She keeps almost spotting me, acting like she's somehow sensing me, but I have no clue how. I've had to quickly duck behind this and that rock just to avoid her eyes as she looks over her shoulder without warning, but I don't think she's actually seen me.

This went on for who-knows-how-long, with them reaching where Veldora was before I ate him then turning tail and starting their walk back to the entrance of the cave. They seemed disappointed but also relieved when they found his spot empty and immediately turned back, saying stuff about reporting to the "guildmaster."

Does that mean there are guilds in this world? They do kind of seem like fantasy adventurers.

Finally, after lots of backtracking, they reached the entrance to the cave again, meaning that it was time for me to experience the outside of this world for the first time since I was reborn as a slime!

"Finally!" the mage girl named Eren said, turning to face the other two members of her party while she stretched in the sunlight after stepping outside the cave.

I, meanwhile, was hiding just around the corner of the massive door these humans opened, watching them with [Magic Sense]. They're dawdling, basking in the sunshine, and complaining about how dark the cave was.

Get moving already! I fumed to myself, waiting for the trio to leave. I haven't been outside in months! …Or ever! I have to wait until these idiots move on before I can continue to tail them, and they're taking their sweet time!

"Come on," the one called Kaval, their leader I suppose, finally said. "We need to report back."

"Yeah," Gido, the shady-looking guy of the group nodded. "I have a feeling things are going to get… hectic." As the two men walked away Eren turned back, clutching her staff with a nervous look in her eyes.

"...yeah," she agreed, running to catch up. "I'm glad we're finally getting out of here," I heard her say as they grew further away. "Something about this place just feels… off."

"Well, Veldora was sealed there. Maybe his ghost is haunting us!" Kaval laughed, leaning into Eren's face with a spooky voice. "I am the great dragon, and I shall have… my REVENGE!" he shouts exaggeratedly, flailing his arms around like an idiot for dramatic effect.

The other two started yelling at him, but I wasn't listening to their stupid banter. I darted into the grass, keeping a safe distance while I followed the group into the forest. As I moved from the cave entrance to the safety of the bushes, I was bathed in something I hadn't experienced in what felt like years…

Sunlight!

Oh, it was glorious! Is this what slimes are supposed to eat!? I felt so alive! As the energy poured into me I almost cried, (can slimes cry?) but I had a mission. I composed myself, and stayed hidden; I can celebrate when I finally get to other humans.

As we moved through the forest (way too slow, I might add. Couldn't these guys pick up the pace?) I realized someone else was following the adventurers. It was a wolf, and it was looking in my direction.

I am Direwolf, a loyal member of my pack. I left the others to scout the forest around the Terrible One's cave. The Terrible One has disappeared, and now it is the direwolves who will rule this forest! I want to personally bring back good news to my Alpha–then surely he will praise me and I will rise within the pack!

As I neared the Terrible One's mountain, I sensed a strong presence radiating through the trees. Its aura was tremendous…is it possible the Terrible One has escaped? Eagerly I began to run. If the Terrible One truly has returned, I must find it and report it to my pack!

I followed the aura's trail past a new hole in the mountain. The old man-stone that previously stood here has been broken, perfectly in two, its pieces laid against the mountain wall. In its place is a gaping hole–an entrance into the mountain. Truly, the owner of this presence has incredible power… but now I do not think it's the Terrible One. Similar, but somehow not the same. I take after it, silent as the night sky over this forest, invisible as its shadow, to find this creature and discover its form for the pack.

As I neared the center of the aura I began to stalk, senses alert for what I was sure would be a great beast, tearing through the forest. Instead, I did not find it until it was nearly in front of my nose… a slime.

A slime? I thought warily, watching the creature. How was it giving off such a foreboding presence? Slimes are nothing but food! Perhaps this one was lucky enough to absorb the magic aura of the Terrible One's mountain and survive. It is a delicious, tempting meal.

Before I can pounce, I hear voices drift through the forest. Humans; trespassers. With a snort, I follow after the sound. These lands are new to my pack, it is only expected that they would have vermin. The pack's territory is expanding rapidly without the presence of the Terrible One, but we will still need to teach the world that this is our land. I will track down the slime later, right now I must defend my pack's land!

There are three of them, but the armor they wear would tear easily beneath my claws. I stalk around them, keeping to the shadows as I gauge their strength. Two of them have swords, but they will be simple to dispose of. A good bite through the arm and they will be at my mercy.

The third one, though; it is a mage. I recognize the faint magical presence and the long staff in its hand. That is one I will have to be wary of… but not before I show these pathetic interlopers the true meaning of fear!

I leap onto the path in front of them, and my mere presence causes the two with swords to draw their weapons at me. Good, they should know to fear a direwolf's strength! With a fearsome howl, I activate my pack's skill: [Menace]. The humans begin to cower, and I relish their fear. These foolish creatures will suffer before they die!

Yet, just as I prepare to pounce and tear these cowards to shreds, a glint of light catches my attention. It comes from the corner of my eye, and as I turn my head I see thread much like spider silk fly from the forest and wrap around my chest. Before I can act, I am yanked off my feet. I let out a howl of fear and the world flies past me as I am pulled deeper into the forest, struggling, but I cannot seem to reach the strange thread which binds me.

Then I stop, and in front of me, I see the slime, its aura more intimidating than any direwolf could hope to be. The shut eyes on its smooth body seem to mock me. I have made a grave mistake… but I will not die quietly! I snarl at the creature, even as it envelops me. Before my head is submerged I howl a war cry, my skin burning as its power tears me apart… and then everything is gone.

Wow! I just got so many cool skills from that wolf! [Great Sage] lists them to me as I return to the path to follow the humans. [Menace], which I saw the wolf using–that was the one I wanted, but now I also have [Keen Smell] and [Thought Communication]. [Thought Communication] I don't have much use for, but [Keen Smell] is another story!

I immediately activate [Keen Smell] and a whole new world opens up to me. Up until now, I've only had three senses: touch, and hearing and sight thanks to [Magic Sense] (technically [Sense Heat Source] as well, but that's basically just an extension of touch.) [Keen Smell] isn't quite as good as tasting again, but the world suddenly feels much more alive–the musty and humid forest floor, the scent of a far-off lake, even the sunshine seems to smell as it falls through the trees. Eating that wolf was so, soooooo worth it!

Not wanting to lose my targets, I return to the trail in short order. Eren, Kaval, and Gido are still standing there, looking disturbed. Have they even spoken since I left?

"...what was that?" Gido asks with a shiver, still clutching his sword.

"I don't know," Eren gulped. "Did you hear the cry of that wolf? I think it's…" She didn't dare finish. I, meanwhile, was waiting for them to get over it and move on. Show's over, people! I thought impatiently as I watched, let's get going!

"We need to leave this area," Kaval said sternly. "Right now." The other two nodded in agreement and, to my gratification, they proceeded along at a much faster pace.

It took a long time. The adventurers had to stop and rest each night, and occasionally veered the off-trail to refill their water supply. They were serious about getting back to whatever settlement they're from, though, so I bottled up my frustration and waited. During the day I followed a few dozen yards behind the adventurers and at night I went exploring but found nothing very interesting.

After a month of this routine, mapping out my path with [Great Sage], the trees began to thin. This was exciting, but I was lucky my slime body was so small. As the undergrowth grew thinner as well I found myself having to hide in clumps of grass, flattening out to fully obscure myself from sight, or follow even further behind Eren and the others.

Then, all of a sudden, I watched them step onto a road. A road! Well, not much of one–only a dirt trail with tracks for two pairs of wheels, weeds growing on the ridge in between–but that still meant we had reached civilization! I had to follow quite far behind at this point, just keeping the three in the periphery of my [Magic Sense]. Their moods seemed to improve as we passed fields and groves and eventually farmland.

One evening I was listening to their conversation (I had discovered there was nothing cool to find in human country.)

"I'm so relieved!" Eren was saying. "That creepy feeling is finally getting better."

"Yeah," Gido agreed as he tossed some vegetables in a skillet over the fire. "I was a little worried at first, when it followed us out of the cave."

"Well, we'll be home soon!" Kaval said cheerily, lying on the ground relaxing with a piece of straw in his teeth. "I think there's no need to worry at this point."

While the others mumbled agreements, I found myself wondering what they had been so worried about. Creepy feeling? I definitely didn't feel anything, in the cave or on the trip here. I wonder what caused it…

Around midday a few days later, the adventurer trio of Eren, Kaval and Gido arrived at a human city. A city! Well, a town, but it was the first civilization I'd seen since reincarnating here. I was ecstatic!

I stayed a ways back, watching as the gate guard let them through. I figured I could slip between the gaps in the portcullis when no one was looking; and nobody would pay attention to a harmless little slime wandering the city, right?

So, first making sure that the guards weren't looking at me, I stealthily squeezed my way through one of the holes. It was a bit tight, but I managed to slink my way past it with only a little difficulty.

But, as soon as I was on the other side, a strange feeling came across my body; a tingling, almost itchy sensation. Very uncomfortable, but not painful or anything.

What is this?

[[Notice: the effects of an anti-monster barrier have been detected.]]

Just then, a blaring alarm went off and the nearby guards were sent into a scramble.

Oh no…

Just as I realized this is trouble, I was spotted by someone and he immediately made a beeline for me, being joined by some of his companions as they noticed his shouting and pointing at me.

The next thing I knew, I had about a dozen guards all slashing at me without an ounce of mercy, with me rapidly bouncing all over the place, desperately trying to avoid getting diced to death!

"W-wait! Wait!" I cried, hopping away from the sword that was about to slice me in two. "I'm friendly!" I waved two little slime arms at them frantically. "See? A friendly slime!"

Some of the attacking men paused, looking at each other in confusion. I could hear them muttering things like "it talks?" and "what'd it say?" Yes! I thought excitedly. See, I'm just a harmless, lovable slime! We could put this misunderstanding behind us, then–

"Nice try, demon!" A grizzled old veteran stepped to the front of the group and leveled his sword at me. "You may have changed your appearance," he growled, "but you can't hide your nature from me! I will die before I let you close to the people of this city!"

Woah, I stared at him (as well as a slime could stare.) This guy sounds so serious. Demon? What's he mean by that? But, just as I was about to ask, he let out a battle cry and charged. It was a simple matter to evade him, but I realized this was going to be harder than I thought.

"No, wait!" I tried again, zipping around the swings of his blade. "I'm not a demon! I'm just–" Suddenly he changed tactics and made a feint, a move I was unfamiliar with, and I mistimed my jump. The sharp edge of his sword gashed into me, getting stuck a few inches in. The man lost his grip on it as I fell to the ground, the blade still embedded in my body.

[[Notice,]] [Great Sage] reported, [[damage sustained is 3.724 percent.]] [Self-regeneration] was already taking care of it, but it would be a bit before I was fully restored.

Now that I'd been stabbed (again,) I thought it'd be best if I got out of there. My life was in danger at this point and convincing these humans that I'm not hostile seemed hopeless. So, I decided that it wasn't worth it for me to stay and fight or try to talk it out with this group.

I managed to slip out of the circle of guards that had formed around me and made a beeline for the gate, squeezing out the same way I slipped in. I made a run for the forest as fast as I could, but behind me, I heard the gate being raised.

"Crap!" I shouted as the guards poured out of the gate, a couple more joining them on horses. I could outrun humans just fine, but horses? The evidence that I couldn't was becoming clear as the two riders streaked ahead of the mob, making to flank me with spears at the ready.

Crap! What do I do, what do I do, what do I do!? I thought in a panic, pushing my slime form across the ground as fast as I could manage. Slimes must not be very fast creatures naturally, I was realizing; when fighting monsters in the cave I could maneuver by jumping around them perfectly fine, but chasing was turning out to be a different story. I tried hopping for a while, but the time it took me to spring for the next jump was too costly; best to just keep moving straight for now. Using a water cannon was out of the question too–I wasn't looking to water-gun people to death here, as much as they were trying their hardest to kill me!

One of the riders came up beside me and stabbed his spear toward the ground; I veered out of the way, darting under the hooves of the other rider Yikes! Getting stepped on by one of those would kill me for sure! I was starting to feel very small as my pursuers shook the ground behind me.

Uh oh. The two riders were trying to herd me in the direction of the rest of the guard, and that was not a fight I wanted to enter. I tried to backtrack, rapidly reversing direction (this slime form was turning out to be super agile,) and streaked past them, but I was still too far from cover; the riders turned their mounts and caught up in no time. They started using their spears to force me back in the other direction.

How am I going to get out of this?! I started thinking rapidly; I could outrun most of the guards, but not the two horses… so, get rid of the horses! I was still hesitant to attack the humans, but the horses I didn't care about. I quickly reversed myself again (I could technically attack using any portion of my slime body, but I was still used to using the "front.") Jumping in the air, I shot two water blades at the horses' feet.

My aim was a little shaky and the power level was hard to control while moving this fast, so I couldn't cut them off, but both animals got deep lacerations on their front legs. They went down in a heap, flinging their riders forward, and I took the opportunity to dart away into the forest.

Finally out of sight of the human town, and almost back to the true wilds, the fight I just went through replayed in my mind.

"...why didn't they just listen?" I dejectedly asked myself.

Not once did I attack them, yet just showing up was enough for them to try to kill me without mercy! Chasing me down and calling me a demon too…

It's… annoying.

It made me mad, my words not being taken seriously. That was my first direct interaction with humans and it went horribly because of those stubborn, narrow-minded guards!

It took a few minutes for my frustration to subside somewhat and I started to reflect a little on what just transpired.

"I'm really not human anymore, am I?" I muttered quietly to myself as the reality of my situation sunk in further.

I'd accepted that on some level, learning that I'd been reborn as a slime, but it didn't really hit me until this point—or at least not this hard. When it came to those humans, I was seen as a monster, nothing but a threat to their safety.

"Maybe that was too brash, trying to go through the gate like that without permission…"

I wouldn't exactly call the approach I took charismatic, but I was just so excited to see what a human town is like in this world! It's definitely a method I won't use again.

So for the past few weeks, I've mostly laid low. I did stumble across a few monsters that targeted me, but it didn't take much for me to take them out. None of them seemed as dangerous as what I encountered in the Sealed Cave, so killing and subsequently eating them wasn't any issue for me.

It was mostly just a way of passing the time for me since the group of humans I was stalk-...um, I mean watching, were out of reach, still inside that town I have no access to.

But, after some time spent hunting beasts in the forest, guess who I happened to come across again? That exact group of adventurers, this time with a plus one.

Another lady, this one with long, black hair and wearing an interesting-looking white mask with intricate patterns carved into it and a crimson gem in the center.

I questioned why they were back in the forest again, but it's not like I can ask them…or can I?

No, no, that's not a good idea. After how my last interaction with humans went, I didn't think approaching them out of nowhere and talking to them would do me any good.

So, I took the same approach as before and kept my distance, simply observing the trio, now made quartet, from cover. A few more monsters went after either me or them; it's hard to tell since I didn't wait and see who they were targeting, I just noticed them approaching the area we all were in. But, either way, I think my actions made their travel easier since these four didn't end up having to fight anything along their journey.

Honestly, taking beasts out and eating them is kinda fun, as sick as that sounds when I lay it out this clearly, but part of me really does get satisfaction from it. Does this have to do with me being a slime now? I have no idea, but I'll have to be careful not to lose myself to it.

I dared to get a little closer to the four adventurers while they were taking a break to eat. Their newest member never bothers to take that mysterious mask off, even eating with it on, somehow. I have no idea how she does it, since it definitely covers her mouth completely, but I guess you can chalk that up to it being magical or something.

As soon as I made a move to get a better view of them though, the lady with the mask suddenly turned her head, her still-masked face now staring right in my direction. I felt as if her eyes were boring into me even though I had no way of seeing behind with her face covered.

I felt another movement inside of me; Veldora again, but I wasn't sure why. Was he reacting to this woman for some reason? I had no way of knowing, but maybe this was a warning that I shouldn't mess with her.

Not wanting her to come after me, I backed off, choosing to play it safe this time, and this seemed to calm her down since she went right back to eating right after I did.

"Shizu?" Eren asked the other woman. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing." She softly replied.