NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: The Azure Slime, part 1.
[Transfer Succesful]
[Taki Yahama Matsumoda, welcome to your new dungeon.]
[Would you like to rename it?]
[Current Name: Crypt of the Dark Lord]
[Yes] [No]
Taki grinned. This was nothing else than wonderful. Everything was going right. He got the Slimes to stick to his side, he had a new purpose, and now he had the mysterious access code.
Although he decided to ignore the fact that this cellphone knew his name.
He tapped Yes, and quickly typed "Kingdom of Azurea".
[Renaming Succesful]
[Dungeon 81 is now named "Kingdom of Azurea"]
[Starting Operational System]
[Error: No Dungeon Core found. Would you like to create a new one*?]
[*Warning! Creating a new dungeon core requires heaps of life-force, and if you utilize your own, you will become soul-bonded to it.]
[Yes, utilize sacrifices] [Yes, utilize my own life-force]
[No, deactivate core features.]
'Oho? Dungeon Core? I wonder what that is...' Taki tapped his temples.
"Bluesy!" Taki called, from his throne.
Bluesy, who was absently poking at a crack with his pseudopods, ran to Taki and bowed. "Poyo, King?"
"Do you have knowledge on Dungeon Cores and Soul bonds?" he asked, not taking his eyes out of the dungeonphone.
"Poyo, let me see... Dungeon Cores are what make dungeons, dungeons. They allow for the summoning of different monsters, creation of traps, and other tools of the kind. Soul-Bonds have many different meanings. Soul Bonding usually refers to the act of transferring your soul to an object, granting you immortality as long as the object remains intact."
"So, dungeon cores are something gamey, and soul-bonding means becoming a Lich. That's enough info for me."
Taki hammered the [Yes, utilize my own life-force] button.
And immediately fainted.
--- --- ---
Bluesy was a simple being. A Slime, poyo. Slimes didn't have purpose, a sense of belonging, or ambitions, limited to their instincts to feed on everything. Rocks, bones, meat, plants, it's all fair game to a Slime.
Like all other monsters, a Slime was a mindless, primal beast, with no knowledge of self, poyo.
But all changes, po, when you are summoned by a dungeon master.
When a monster swears to serve under a core, he receives a gift bigger and better than any tasty meal, riches or fame. A monster receives the gift of sentienty.
Bluesy no longer was just a Slime. He now was a thinking, talking Slime. With the ability to learn, improve himself, and think.
A lot of things happened since then. He split brothers in the hundreds, worked hard to serve his dungeon, and was there when everything was destroyed. His old dungeon core was gone, poyo, and he thought he would have lost his intelligence, that his life as a 'living' being would end.
But instead, that was not the case, poyo. He survived, pretending to be part of the water, and never lost his conscience. Bluesy was still alive, but his old live had been wiped away.
And now, he had the hope of serving in another dungeon, poyo! To having brothers and sisters in arms again, all serving to further one single goal. His new King, Taki, would surely lead him and his brothers to greatness.
However, that King just fainted, planting his face on the ground, and something was being siphoned out of him.
Bluesy shook himself, and rushed to the side of his King. His two brothers, who were part of the King's Guard, accompanied him.
"King! Poyo, what happened?!" Bluesy flipped Taki over, and looked at the dungeonphone that Taki had in his hand. He remembered his old dungeon master also having one of these, and tried to look at it.
Bluesy read the screen, and... Oh, Bluesy forgot he didn't learn to read.
Bluesy looked at his brothers. "Poyo, po. Poyo Po po po. yo?" he ordered.
The Slimes nodded, and slid outside the room in a hurry.
Bluesy lifted Taki up, and carefully propped him on the throne.
'Poooo. I hope this is what I think this is...'