Chapter 4

Previous Summary:

I felt like the slime was looking at me with eyes that wanted to become my companion, but since my slime doesn't have eyes, it must have been my imagination.

4

I gained power, which is good, but I must recognize that my current situation is still very dire.

I haven't had a proper meal in three days. It's great that my injuries have healed and my stamina is being conserved, but if this continues, I'll die a slow, suffocating death.

"Hey, Lily. We need to secure water and food. Can you do something about it?"

In response to my question, I received a signal of agreement. ...I see, this is convenient. It's almost like a form of telepathy, perhaps. In this world of magic, there might be a magical connection established. This connection is what forms our master-servant relationship.

But can she really do it?

Since I basically threw the question at her, I expected a negative response, so this was a pleasant surprise.

"Then, can you prepare it quickly?"

Delighted, I made the request, and once again, I received a signal of agreement. Then, a blue light shone at the tip of a tentacle she extended.

"Huh?"

A water attribute spell was cast, and a large amount of water appeared above my head.

Splash.

"..."

I was drenched from head to toe, and water dripped from my hair in the cave.

Lily's semi-liquid body was trembling, and she looked somewhat proud.

"Okay, you're excellent, Lily."

She was undoubtedly excellent. However, we need more time to understand each other.

First, I need to teach her that humans can't drink water from their heads...

***

"Hakushoi!"

I warmed myself by the fire while eating a whole roasted lizard on a skewer.

My wet clothes were drying. My excellent partner, who had brought firewood and hunted a few lizards, was standing guard beside me.

My stomach was full, and I could drink water whenever I wanted.

So, the next thing to consider is what to do from here.

"What should I do first?"

The first thing that came to mind was ensuring my safety. In this case, the potential enemies are monsters and the other students who were transported to this world with me.

Lily is an excellent monster. The fact that she can use magic is great. Her specialty seems to be water and wind, but the fact that a slime can use magic is already extraordinary. I've never heard of such a thing before.

However, unfortunately, Lily doesn't seem to be a particularly powerful monster. In this forest, in terms of combat ability alone, she seems to be a lower-tier existence.

That said, it doesn't mean Lily is just a common monster.

From the information I gathered through the connection, if I were to name her, she would be something like a "Mimic Slime."

What makes her unique is her mimicry ability. Lily can transform into what she eats.

When I asked what she could do, I was surprised when she turned into a lizard.

This special ability comes with a drawback, which is that her combat ability is not particularly high.

Lily is excellent, but her use is quite challenging.

If she eats a powerful monster, she can mimic it. However, to do that, she needs to defeat a monster stronger than herself.

It's a dilemma.

That said, this is before she became my servant. Now that she is my servant, there are many ways to handle it.

"Alright, Lily. I'm going to gather more servants. Lend me your strength."

I will increase my servants and strengthen my forces. For now, I'll go in this direction.

With just one, she can't fight and protect me at the same time, but if I have other servant monsters, I can assign one to guard. It will also increase our combat power, and if we can defeat a higher-tier monster together, it will directly strengthen Lily's combat ability.

Additionally, I was also anxious. My cheat ability is the power to make monsters my servants—essentially, "Monster Taming."

In terms of combat, this is considered inferior to other cheat abilities.

Before I fled the colony, the other cheat ability users were easily defeating the monsters in this forest.

My direct combat ability depends entirely on the monsters I have. Considering this, my combat power is quite unreliable.

Quality must be supplemented by quantity. Strengthening my forces is urgent.

I have some concerns, but there's no other choice.

"Don't worry. I won't go down so easily."

Lily, perhaps sensing my anxiety, approached with her massive body, and I stroked her smooth surface.

With the connection, my emotions are conveyed to her to some extent, and her concern for me is also conveyed back to me.

Lily, who has become my servant, seems to sincerely care about me. Even if this consciousness is created by my cheat ability, I'm glad.

A warm feeling filled my chest. I no longer felt alone.

With humans, it's different. They are ultimately unpredictable.

"For now, it's a time to lie low."

I declared this while enjoying Lily's elasticity. It's fine to run for now; the priority is to build up our strength.

The problem is... I'm not entirely confident that my cheat ability will work when facing monsters...

The students who were transported to this world naturally understood what their cheat abilities were. I'm the same.

That's why I don't feel anxious about Lily. However, the fact that I'm not confident about taming the monsters I encounter means that I'm not sure if it will work.

"Still, there's no future in hiding here like a mole."

To some extent, I need to be proactive.

***

When I left the cave with Lily, the pungent smell of the forest hit my nose.

It was a scent I had gotten used to over the past month, but I had forgotten it over the past few days. My nose had been clogged with blood.

We started exploring the surroundings.

I was in a small cave on the side of a small hill. The surrounding area was densely forested, making it difficult to see. Conversely, this means it's a hard place to be found.

We cautiously explored the surrounding forest.

"There it is."

About an hour into the exploration, we encountered a monster.

A wooden, life-sized puppet was wandering around in the forest.

We called this monster a Magical Puppet. It is one of the most common monsters in this forest.

The characteristic of Magical Puppets is their weapon-making ability. Each one is equipped with wooden weapons and armor. Although they are all made of wood, they are magically reinforced and are surprisingly stronger than iron.

In fact, these weapons are the primary weapons of the cheat ability users who were transported to this world.

The biggest problem for the cheat ability users was obtaining weapons. They didn't want to fight monsters bare-handed, but there was no way to get weapons.

In a video game, you could get weapons as rare drops by defeating enemy monsters, but this is the real world. Such convenient things don't happen.

However, if you could defeat Magical Puppets, you could steal the weapons they used. As a result, I heard that the Magical Puppets around the colony were hunted to the point of extinction to collect weapons.

This one must be a survivor.

"Good start."

I patted Lily's body.

"We can get weapons."

The Magical Puppet was equipped with a spear and a round shield. Currently, Lily and I are unarmed. I don't know if Lily can use weapons, but it's not a bad idea to have tools.

The question is whether it will become my servant...

For now, I'll prepare for a battle just in case.

First, we circled around to the direction the Magical Puppet was moving.

It was lucky that we were spotted first. If it turns out that it can't become my servant, at least we can prevent it from catching us off guard.

If we consider combat, we should probably make a detailed plan, but I don't have that skill. Unfortunately, the cards I have are too few to make a plan.

The only thing I can do is to steel myself.

I clenched my teeth and suppressed my fear.

...Here we go. Operation starts.

"Hey, you over there! Look at me!"

I jumped out from my hiding place and shouted to draw attention.

The Magical Puppet turned to face me.

"..."

At that moment, I realized it was no good.

My senses told me, "This one can't be tamed."

I had a bad feeling when I saw it earlier. Damn, I should have trusted my instincts.

This means combat is unavoidable.

The Magical Puppet started charging fiercely.

"..."

This is tough.

The fear of facing an opponent I can't defeat in combat. I bit down on my fear with my molars. That's probably what people call trust.

"Lily!"

A water projectile from the side hit the charging Magical Puppet.

Shattered wood. An arm flew through the air.

The giant body of Lily, who had been hiding in the bushes, emerged.

Lily, a slow-moving slime-type monster, can easily attack an opponent who has been caught off guard.

Her semi-liquid body pounced on the wooden body of the Magical Puppet.

The damaged body of the Magical Puppet creaked.

"Got it!"

I shouted in triumph, but it wasn't that easy.

The Magical Puppet, which had not let go of its spear even after being hit by a magic attack, stabbed Lily's body.

"Aah!?"

The spear tip pierced the transparent flesh. Liquid spurted out, and the pain from Lily, transmitted through the connection, scratched my consciousness, leaving an unpleasant sensation.

"Lily!"

Twice, three times. The spear tip gouged Lily's body. Unable to use magic while holding it down, Lily was hit multiple times. Each time, her body spurted liquid like blood.

Lily is not very strong.

She tried to wrap her tentacles around the Magical Puppet's arm to interfere, but the spear tip continued to pierce her body. The wooden body of the Magical Puppet was gradually being corroded by digestive fluid, but the situation was not promising.

I couldn't just stand by and watch.

"You bastard! Die already!"

I ran over to the two monsters entangled in combat, shouting in anger.

Lily is my only combat power. Losing her means I can't go on from here. Besides, there was a pure fear of losing her as a partner.

I don't want to be alone anymore.

I can't bear the loneliness.

Lily is the last hope given to me in a life that was about to end in despair.

I can't lose her.

"Uaaaaaah!"

I grabbed the spear that was hurting Lily.

Lily's strength and my weak but determined arm strength combined, and finally, the spear stopped moving.

If the first attack hadn't blown off one of its arms, it might have ended here. We still have some luck. Whether we can connect this luck is up to us.

"Damn, damn... Die, die, dieeee!"

I kicked the head of the Magical Puppet repeatedly.

Damn. It's not working. There's no sign of damage.

Lily's digestive fluid is gradually damaging the Magical Puppet. If we can maintain this balance, we'll win.

But can we maintain this balance...?

I desperately tried to shake off the pessimistic thoughts.

It's okay.

We can definitely do it. We have to!

Despite the miscalculation of Lily's weaker arm strength, we still have a slight advantage.

I believe that.

This is the decisive moment.

"..."

I froze in place.

There was another Magical Puppet standing among the trees.

A new type of Magical Puppet, equipped with an axe and shield, was looking at us with its featureless wooden face.

"No way..."

My throat went dry instantly.

What terrible timing.

I usually thought I had bad luck, but this is too much.

We don't have the luxury to deal with the new arrival.

Lily can't let go of the current opponent. Even if I let go of the spear to fight, I'm just a human and can't buy enough time. Should we run? No, that's impossible. Lily is slow, and I can't outrun it even if I run at full speed.

What should we do?

What can we do?

Before I could come up with an answer, the new Magical Puppet started charging.

Damn. It's faster than the one we're holding down.

The distance, which was over ten meters, quickly closed.

"Lily! Defend!"

Following my command, Lily redirected some of her tentacles.

In the end, this was a bad move.

"Whoa!"

The Magical Puppet, which had been held down, shook off the loosened grip and pulled the spear out of Lily's body.

"Uwaaaah!?"

I was dragged to the ground by the momentum of holding the spear.

When I opened my eyes, the wooden spear tip was about to fall on me. The featureless face of the Magical Puppet loomed over me.

Lily tried to wrap her tentacles around it, but it was too late!

There was a loud thud, and the head was shattered.

The wooden fragments scattered on the ground.

A life was extinguished, and the noise of battle subsided.

"...What...?"

I was drenched in cold sweat, staring at the spear tip that had pierced the ground a few centimeters from my face, trying to understand what I had just seen.

The shocking scene of the head of the spear-wielding Magical Puppet being shattered into pieces in one blow.

Something had flown, but that's all I could tell.

I heard a creaking sound. Looking over, I saw a giant battle axe embedded in one of the trees.

The tree, cut in half, fell with a loud thud.

"..."

I sat up. Immediately, a bright white light enveloped my body, healing the small wounds I had sustained from falling. It was Lily's healing magic. I should probably tell her to heal herself first, but I can do that later.

And beside me—kneeling on one knee, the figure of a Magical Puppet holding an axe and shield. It's not holding the axe now.

"...Don't scare me like that."

When I complained, a confused feeling came from the Magical Puppet.

It was the same kind of connection I felt with Lily.

It seems that I can tell if a monster will become my servant just by a glance. ...If I had calmed down. This information is a significant gain.

I collapsed on the spot.

It seems I managed to survive the first battle.

And not only that, but I also gained a strong companion.

◆Thank you for reading this far.

◆I plan to post up to Chapter 6 today.

◆Because the scene with the heroine is around there. I think I should recover the tags early.