I'd been traveling with this group of kids for the past few weeks and things had been going relatively smoothly, but there is something following us.

It's a monster, a strong one based on the intensity of its aura, but it hasn't been showing any blatant hostility. I didn't want to use my power since Ifrit is at risk of going out of control, so I'd avoided any direct confrontation with it so far.

But, it was really getting tiresome, being on guard about this mystery monster for so long and I am starting to debate confronting the creature.

"It really is weird how we haven't stumbled across any magical beasts out here for so long. I'm a little bored, actually…" Eren's voice jolted me out of my thoughts. We were all sitting around a fire, eating some pork miso soup I'd whipped up while clouds scudded across the moon.

"You know, you're right." Kaval agreed, using a stick to prod a smoldering log further into the flame. "We definitely had more trouble the last time we came here."

I frowned, a possibility coming to mind. "I may know why, actually," I said.

"Oh?" Eren looked at me in surprise. "What do you mean, Shizu?"

"There's a monster that's been following us," I explained–better that these kids were aware than getting jumped later. As I spoke I turned my head toward the dark trees, where I could sense it close by; but as soon as I looked in its direction, the presence retreated. It was wary of us, or at least me, for sure. "A strong one too. It hasn't displayed any hostile intent," I added, "but it's been quite persistent."

Kaval looked around nervously at my revelation, and I noticed Gido subtly pull his sword closer from where it had been resting on the ground. Eren, meanwhile, put a finger to her chin ponderingly. "Maybe it's curious?" She guessed.

I couldn't help but let out a short, sharp laugh at that. These kids, I sighed. They're far too naive and innocent. At least the two men seemed to be taking the threat seriously.

"Don't worry," I added to calm their nerves. "I can keep track of it, so I'll know if it comes too close. You three just keep an eye out for anything else strange."

We ate quietly for a few minutes before Gido spoke up. "So you think its aura has been scaring all the other monsters away?" He asked.

I paused, mulling it over. Yes, the aura is quite intense, but not more than some of the high-ranked monsters in Jura. "It's hard to say," I said at last, and left the matter at that; but the question stayed in my mind. Aura is a sign of territory for monsters, so it's possible our little stalker has been killing anything that comes close. It certainly seemed strong enough to detect any intruders within the effect of its aura.

Funny, I snorted to myself. A monster guardian. I better not say that, though; these three look like the type to let their guard down.

The mystery monster has been continuing to follow us, keeping at a respectful distance. But, this is starting to grow tiresome at this point, so I need to do something about them.

I needed to see what exactly this monster is. Its actions had shown that it is likely sentient and intelligent, but that just made it even more of a threat in my eyes.

"Stay here. I need to take care of something."

"What is it, Shizu?" Eren asked, curiously staring at me.

"That monster is still following us. I believe it's about time I do something about it."

"Wait, Shizu! Let us help you!"

"No. Stay back and let me take care of this myself."

The three grumbled a bit more about my decision, but my resolve was already solidified. I don't want to put any of them in unnecessary danger so dealing with this monster on my own is the best option.

Yes, fighting would be a risk, but based on its actions so far, I'm not convinced that it will come after me without reason.

As I approached the monster, sensing the source of the large aura that has been filling the air nearby for the entire time it has been tailing us, again, the monster backed away, remaining unseen.

"Show yourself, I know you are there. You seem intelligent, so can you speak?"

I took the risk of attempting to talk with whatever this creature is, going out on a limb, and assuming that it has intelligence.

There was a rustling in the nearby brush before something emerged from the cover of the leaves. Small, shiny, and blue in color; a slime inched toward me in an almost-sheepish manner.

A…slime? All this time it was a slime that has been following us?!

I was dumbfounded; never would I have imagined this when picturing the monster with such a large aura trailing behind us, but there was no getting around it. This slime is definitely the monster that has been and was still emitting such an overwhelmingly powerful presence.

"YES, I CAN SPEAK!"

A sudden and extremely loud voice entered my mind.

I was left speechless for a moment, stunned by how loud and enthusiastic the voice coming from the slime was. The voice was childish and high-pitched, its gender indiscernible, even cute.

The slime seemed happy to be talking to me to the point of being excessively aggressive with its thoughts. But, based on the tone of its words, I didn't think it meant to be that way.

"That's good to hear, Slime-san, but could you please speak a bit softer? You were quite loud just then."

I watched as the slime flattened slightly, possibly from embarrassment.

"Sorry…I guess haven't quite got the hang of talking yet." It apologized to me in a genuine tone, much quieter than before.

I was surprised by this reaction, finding it strange coming from a monster. On top of that, there are other parts of it that I found puzzling.

The aura that surrounded this slime was very large, but there was no hostility or ill intent to it. Normally, the aura of a monster is used to scare off enemies and flex their power, but based on what I can sense, that is not the case here.

The aura is poorly managed and rough, very unrefined, and seemingly unintentional in its release. This alludes to this slime being very young, possibly, and lends credence to this large aura not being a sign of a threat in this case.

Paying a little closer attention to it, I could actually sense the emotions of this slime, which made it easier to surmise its intentions. Nothing but curiosity and friendliness, combined with a hint of nervousness.

"If I may ask, slime-san, why have you been following me and my companions?" I asked, deciding to probe further about this slime's intentions.

"I…was just curious about you, that's all. I'm not a bad slime, I promise!"

I let out a small chuckle; what the slime just said reminded me of something my old student Yu-kun told me about, but I'm sure that was just a coincidence.

The slime seemed to stare at me for a moment, confused by my reaction, but without skipping another beat, it spoke up again.

"Oh, I should probably introduce myself…my name is Rimuru Tempest." the slime suddenly said, surprising me.

Most monsters lack a name, yet this slime has one. I conclude this is part of the source of its strength since the aura it is releasing is anything but normal for a monster of its type.

"Shizu is my name."

I introduced myself, partly doubting my own actions, but the feeling of familiarity I'm getting from this slime is both strange and comforting. I sensed that I can trust Rimuru, despite its monstrousness.

But, taking care is still a necessity.

"Nice to meet you, Shizu-san!" Rimuru the slime cheerfully said, bouncing happily.

Knowing this monster would likely continue following us, it would be best to meet with it several times to make sure he is safe. Then I can bring it back to introduce it to those kids.

If worst comes to worst, I can take care of this threat… but I do worry about the trio of adventurers with me. For all that they're a B-ranked team (there's no way they'd be allowed to take jobs in the dangerous Forest of Jura otherwise,) they're quite scatterbrained. Really, I should shoo it off, but I'm hesitant to let a monster this strong wander into some unwitting village and cause havoc.

The slime gazed up at me patiently as I lost myself in thought.

"I'll come to meet you a few times over the next few days, slime-san. Then after that, I have a few people for you to meet."

The slime bobbed excitedly. "Sure! I'd love to talk again!"

"Since you are curious about us," I say, "you can follow for the time being. I'll come to talk to you again, but you can't enter the camp."

There; a solid boundary. If it crosses that, I'll know it's hostile.

"Oh, really?! That would be great!"

Shizu, the dark-haired woman wearing a beautiful white mask, approached me. She seemed to notice me many times while I watched her group, but now she finally talked to me!

I was scared at first, worried that I would have another horrible experience when trying to talk to humans, and I did sorta blow it by getting too excited and talking much too loudly without knowing. Is that how I sounded the first time too? I guessed that was probably the case and also contributed to my being seen as hostile. I may have exercised my voice while in the sealed cave, but I had no way to tell exactly how loud I was being until Shizu pointed out my mistake. It was very embarrassing for me, but she was kind enough to break it to me gently.

I fixed the issue immediately and told her my name, first making a little reference to a game from Earth, and I may have just imagined it, but she seemed to get my joke! I can't know for sure yet, though, so I guess I'll have to ask her if she's in a similar situation to mine and is from Japan, which I'm suspecting more and more.

After a little more talking, and meeting a few more times, one day Shizu told me to follow her into their camp to meet the people she's been traveling with.

I was a bit nervous at first, following her along toward the tents. I didn't know how they'd react to me.

One thing I definitely wasn't expecting though, was that they were going to be having a long-winded argument over the efficacy of the waterskin and whether or not a canteen is better.

"Clearly, because a waterskin can hold more, it's superior!" Kaval yelled as he held up his own waterskin.

Gido countered and held up a canteen. "A canteen is easier to store and harder to puncture, which is more useful when in a forest or up against monsters."

The blond-haired girl was sitting on a log, dejectedly watching the two men bicker. She let out a long sigh, before noticing Shizu, and then glancing straight at me. "Is that a slime?" She asked.

"This is Slime-san, he can introduce himself."

I prepared for a second attempt at my introduction. "Hello! My name is Rimuru Tempest! I'm not a bad slime, slurp!"

The blond-haired girl seemed confused and alarmed for a moment, holding up her staff, before looking to Shizu again. "A sentient monster?"

"Don't worry, he isn't hostile," Shizu assured the girl, walking up to her and patting her shoulder.

My little spiel immediately got the attention of the bickering men, who promptly forgot their argument and crowded around me curiously. "A talking slime?" Gido asked.

"Wow! How much d'you think it'd sell for?" asked Kaval, a hint of greed glittering in his eyes.

"HEY!" I shouted, using [Ultrasonic Wave] to give him a bit of a scare. The man flailed back screaming, before stepping back a bit to stare at me with a hurt look on his face.

"Nobody's selling me," I huffed.

"Oh my…" Shizu had a hand on her head. "Slime-san isn't for sale, Kaval," she reprimanded him. "He's going to travel with us."

"Ohh!" Eren came over, crouching in front of me fearlessly. "A new friend! Nice to meet you Slime-san," she said excitedly. "My name is Eren! The two idiots over there are Kaval," she pointed to the blonde, "and Gido," pointing to the brown. I knew their names already, but it was probably best if they didn't know that.

"Nice to meet you, Eren!" I said cutely, jumping a bit in excitement. My first human friends!

"Well, welcome to the club, Rimuru." Gido smiled at me, sitting down by the fire pit. "But back to business: we need to find some monsters. Er…besides you," he gestured to me.

"Eh?" I hopped up next to him. "Why's that?"

"We're hunting for monster parts to sell," Eren suddenly picked me up and set me in her lap. I thought about protesting, but she didn't seem like she was trying to be rude, so I let it slide.

"How come?" I asked, tilting my slime "eyes" to look up at her.

"Well," she smirked, "the four of us are adventurers. We're supposed to hunt monsters to keep the forest safe."

Oh! Like in video games! I was elated. "That's great!" I jiggled. "Would you like some help? I hunt monsters all the time!"

"Um…" Eren glanced at Kaval and Gido hesitantly, while the two men exchanged looks.

"The monsters we're looking for are a bit stronger than what you probably hunt, Rimuru," Kaval explained.

"Huh." I huffed. "Well, why don't I show you?" I asked, "if you don't want 'em, we can just look for something else."

The three adventurers exchanged looks again before Kaval nodded. I guess he's the leader of the group. "All right," he grinned, "show us where they are!"

I stared at Eren, sort of dumbfounded. "What do you mean, you're not able to deal with a knight spider? They're weak!"

"Nee! Rimuru, a knight spider isn't weak! They are for A-rank adventurers only!" Eren was waving her hands in front of me, and pointing into the spider nest.

"Hey! Quiet down if you don't wanna deal with it." I was close to sighing, the spider had just woken up and I could see it moving around with [Magic Sense].

Without an ounce of caution, Kaval walked right up to the entrance of the nest and pointed inside. "Why would we need to be quiet, you said it was probably asleep, didn't you?"

I immediately shot a [Sticky Thread] and pulled both of them behind me.

A split-second later, the massive steel-colored spider dashed right out of the nest and stabbed its claw into the ground where Kaval had been standing.

I thought I heard Shizu sigh from somewhere near the entrance to the underground we were in.

My own sigh joined hers as I prepared a water blade and waited for the spider to get just a bit closer.

It turned and shot a thread at Eren, before dashing at Kaval again.

One more step... And! I launched the water blade right as it was about to pounce on Kaval, cutting off three of the thing's legs on its left side.

A shower of purple liquid flowed from the slashes as the creature fell onto its side.

Sorry, Kumo-chan.

I sent another water blade to cut off its head, redirecting it with [Water Manipulation] to hit the right angle. "So, you guys were complaining about not getting enough supplies right? Should this be enough?"

Eren and Kaval were standing there with their mouths agape.

"Hey! Hey! Hey, What's wrong? Answer my question. No need to be rude about it." I slouched while waiting for them to speak. Hopefully, they aren't all scared like the humans back in that city.

"Rimuru-san! This is probably way too much! We can't carry all this!" Eren walked up to the spider corpse and waved her hands around frantically while bouncing around it. "Thank you so much!"

Kaval started crying tears of happiness, "This might even be enough to rank up back at the guild! We finally won't get made fun of!"

I wanted to laugh at his dramatics but held it in for their sake.

I think Kaval realized that, because he immediately picked himself back up, and covered his face.

Gido walked up to the spider with Shizu. "Still gonna have a hard time, especially since we can't just go back to Blumund right away. Don't suppose we got any good way to carry this, really." Gido sighed and looked dejected for a moment.

"I can carry it for you," I proposed and brought out some of the things in my [Stomach] to demonstrate the ability. "I should be able to store the spider too, no problem."

If it can fit a full-size dragon, I'm sure I can stick this giant spider in there too.

"Slime-san, that might be a bit much." Shizu took a place standing next to me, "If their ranks are pushed too high they'd be in danger, being expected to do missions they really can't accomplish."

A quick exclamation point popped up on the top of my head. I guess that makes sense. If they get a high rank, they'd be expected to fight stuff like this all the time. Don't wanna babysit them that much.

Kaval looked away and pouted. "Come on Shizu-san... We're not babies! We know what we can handle!"

I stared at him for several, unabridged moments. "You just demonstrated that isn't true, like, less than ten minutes ago." I pointed out without restraint, but this just seemed to hurt their pride. "I have another idea though. How about I cook it for you instead? It should make for good food and I don't want it to go to waste. Though, I don't think I can taste it myself…"

I stared at the large circular pit of rocks and laid out my game plan.

I'll need a crockpot for this... I sighed and turned internally to my skill. Great Sage, do we have enough metal to make a pot big enough for the knight spider?

I'd collected quite a bit while still in the cave, some called "magic ore" and some more that was just normal iron, the former becoming less common as I'd gotten closer to the entrance. Either way, I have an assortment of materials stored away, ready to be used.

[[Affirmative. Creation of the item "crockpot" should be possible at a sufficient size for the creature "Knight Spider" based on memories of the individual, Rimuru Tempest.]]

Great! Can you make one for us now?

Instead of responding to me, my [Predator] skill activated and a massive pot the size of the knight spider shot out of me.

The adventurers around me jumped at the massive metal object that appeared so suddenly.

"Sorry I didn't warn you guys... Hehe." I apologized, even though their startled reactions were kinda funny.

I pushed the massive pot onto the rock circle, then filled it with water from my stomach as well. "Do any of you know fire spells? I should have decent spices to use... But I haven't really figured out stuff like fire yet."

Shizu-san had been staring at me intently since I had made the pot, it was a little frightening honestly, especially with her expression being hidden by her mask. Then, after a moment of uncomfortable silence, she just coughed. "I can show you, Slime-san."

"H-huh? You know fire magic?!" I popped up to the fire pit. "Show me, please!" I said, excited to learn a magic spell.

I hadn't learned any spells yet, just skills, so I'm eager to finally get one.

Shizu-san held up her fingertip and slowly an orange flame came from it like a blowtorch. "I am using spirit magic... But I think as a monster you should be able to copy the spell if you can figure it out…"

She seemed to shake a little bit while using the spell, which concerned me.

I wonder what's wrong…? Great Sage, analyze the spell, please! And try to figure out what is wrong with Shizu-san if you can, too. I twiddled my little slime fingies while staring at the little piece of fire.

Shizu kneeled down and held the fire close, but kept it at a kid-safe distance.

[[Affirmative. Analysis and imitation of fire spirit magic, successful. Analysis of individual, Shizue Aizawa, blocked.]]

Huh?! Blocked? How?!

[[Anti-magic effect detected in item held by individual, Shizue Aizawa.]]

Ugh… I was hoping to know what was wrong. Alright, I guess. I looked up to Shizu-san and gave a little slimy thumbs up. "I got it!" I assured her, and a little puff of flame came from my slimy appendage.

Shizu giggled. "You are quite skilled, slime-san. That only took you a moment." She then dissipated her own flame and stepped back.

"Thank you, Shizu-san." I turned to the rock pit and blew a massive fire into it. Great Sage… Can the spell stay here if I step away from it?

[[Affirmative. So long as magicules are provided, the spell will be sustained.]]

I hopped up to the edge of the pot, and carefully ejected the knight spider into it. Then I asked [Great Sage] to mince up some of the herbs that I had collected from the forest, to make spices and put them in too. Finally, I made a lid for the pot and placed it on top before plopping back onto the ground.

"You are putting in a lot of work for this, Rimuru." Eren seemed a little worried for me when I landed.

"Huh? Oh, this is nothing. Though I do feel I am misusing my power a bit." I sighed internally.

Gido perked up and sat cross legged. "Speaking of power, Rimuru. Shizu told us you've been scaring off all the monsters around us." He paused and mouthed a few nothings. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome."

"But…we do have a job to do, though. We're here to document monster activity after the disappearance of the storm dragon. That's been really hard with you scaring them all off." Gido sighed.

"Huh... Sorry for messing with your job." I turned away a bit embarrassed.

"It is fine, Rimuru! You stopped us from having to fight stuff like that knight spider!" Eren walked toward me and picked me up, then started petting me soothingly.

Oh... That's nice... Wait! No! That's embarrassing! I am not a housecat! I tried to jiggle away a bit, but Eren held onto me firmly.

Kaval sighed. "Don't suppose there is any way you could help us chart out the monster activity, Rimuru?"

I had a question mark pop onto my slimy form. Huh… Well maybe, I have been keeping that mental map since before I left the sealed cave. Great Sage, could you make a map of monster activity like that one?

[[Affirmative, this is possible with the skill, [Magic Sense].]]

Good! Thank you, Great Sage!

I turned to Kaval and began coming up with a scheme. "Well... Maybe I could. But! I will need you guys to do something for me."

I felt sorta Veldora-like, with what I was about to ask.

"What is that, Rimuru?" Eren shifted me in her arms to pet me again.

Really, I want someone to come and pet m- I mean talk to me like this again! I popped into the air and made a loud declaration. "I will make a map of monster activity for you to turn in, if!"

They shook a bit in anticipation as I let my point hang for dramatic effect.

"You come and visit me again later!" I declared and puffed my slime body up to look bigger.

"Oh, why didn't you just say that earlier? Sure!" Eren cheerfully agreed and caught me out of the air again.

"Yeah, you are making food for us and everything!" Kaval assured.

Gido nodded. "As long as you can keep us safe in our journeys, it'd help us as adventurers."

And so we chatted the evening away, my new friends eating hotpot and me enjoying the smell. Things are looking up.

Eventually the sun set, the fire died, and all four adventures fell asleep. I was left alone, twiddling my slime thumbs and watching the stars move by painfully slow.

Man, I sighed, not being able to sleep sucks!

It had only been an hour or two since everyone went out, and frankly, I was surprised I lasted that long. I needed something to do… but the only things I had done so far in my slife were hunt monsters, eat random objects, and practice my skills.

Hmm… practice. Hunting right now was out of the question for obvious reasons, and I definitely don't want to go back to the monotonous task of mindlessly eating things, but I could still practice my skills.

I would still keep watch, of course, but [Magic Sense] made it trivial to watch the wider area from some distance away. Apparently, I'd been scaring off the strong monsters too, whatever that meant, so it should be fine if I slip away for a bit.

Giggling a little as I disappeared into the brush, I found a clearing a reasonable distance from the others–just enough so that any noise I made shouldn't sound unusual against the backdrop of the forest.

Going over my list of skills, I searched for one that sounded interesting but that I haven't had the chance to try out yet. [Black Lightning].

It sounds a little…dangerous. I dunno, but it seemed like something I shouldn't play around with willy-nilly. But, right now, I'm in a clearing all alone with nothing else to do, so giving it a little test run shouldn't hurt.

To be safe, I'll try it out as a slime since from my past tests with [Paralyzing Breath] and [Poisonous Breath], I've figured out that not transforming into the corresponding monster tapers the strength of skills that come from them.

I focused on a spot right in the center of the clearing and activated the skill. A blinding flash of light followed by an extremely loud boom filled the air as a large bolt of lightning struck the spot I aimed at. As the echo of it rang throughout the forest, I sat there in the grass, shocked and horrified by my own actions.

"Maybe…I should tuck that skill away and forget about it for now…add it to the "emergencies only" list…yeah…that sounds like the right thing to do…"

Having had enough excitement for one night, I hopped back to camp, deciding to pretend that didn't just happen, but it seems while I was gone, all four of my friends woke up.

"I don't think I've ever heard you scream that loud before, Eren…" Kaval muttered sleepily.

"I'd say…what was that anyway? It sounded like an explosion or somethin'..." Gido added his own complaints to the mix, looking disgruntled and annoyed that he's been woken up.

"Dunno…it was scary, though…and I was having such a nice dream too…" Eren whined as she rubbed her eyes.

Shizu was the first to notice my return and immediately turned her masked face toward me and I felt as if she somehow knew it was all my fault. A woman's intuition is a scary thing, man…

"Hey, guys…that was quite the loud boom, huh? It was a big stray bolt of lightning, but I don't think you have to worry." I said in as casual of a tone as I could, trying to play it off as some freak accident.

"Oh, there you are, Rimuru!" Eren said, scooping me up into her arms.

"So ya say it was a stray lightning bolt?" Kaval asked, peering up at the clear night sky with skeptical eyes. "And there's not a single cloud in the sky…weird…"

"Perhaps it was the product of a monster's skill," Shizu suggested, sending another glance in my direction. Yeah, she definitely knows it was my fault!

"Were you fighting something out there, Rimuru? You came from the same direction, I think." Gido pointed out.

"Uh…no, I wasn't fighting anything," I replied.

"Well, if it was nothing, I suggest we go back to bed."

"You're not concerned, Shizu?"

She shook her head at Eren's question, not seeming at all nervous about this.

"I am confident it won't happen again. Slime-san will also continue to keep watch for us as well, so I think getting some rest is the best choice."

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye out while you all sleep."

Eren crouches to set me down, but before she can, Shizu takes me out of her arms.

"You can do that from inside a tent, right Slime-san?"

"Uh…yeah…of course."

"Goodnight Shizu!" Eren waved before she ducked back into her tent.

Kaval and Gido did the same, and Shizu carried me with her to hers.

Lying down with me right next to her head, she said in a whisper "Do be careful, Slime-san."

I nodded, or bobbed, I guess. Either way, I believe that Shizu got the meaning out of my gesture and soon went back to sleep.