Pieces of Sonder

Botan’s last sword swing buffeted black smoke to the edge of the ring. As the crowd cheered, Freya slipped down two rows to sit behind the demoniclasts. The girl she squeezed in next to gave her an annoyed look, but Freya didn’t want to miss this opportunity to eavesdrop.

I’m not assuming things, right? What else could he mean by “Perhaps we can give him the card?”

The player demoniclast, Kamdale, said nothing more for the next round of competitors. He turned his head to see where Botan sat when he returned to the stands, but Kamdale made no move to greet or congratulate him. Freya tapped her foot.

They haven’t given out the new Player Card they acquired? Or did this come from a different player they killed? Why are they trying to give it to an apprentice and not another demoniclast?

There were plenty of non-player demoniclasts. Freya had only counted three so far that had Player Cards. The demoniclast sitting right next to Kamdale didn’t have one. Why couldn’t they give it to him? Eventually, the demoniclast in question got up to rotate out with another inside the ring. The man to replace him also didn’t have a Player Card. 

Unlike the previous demoniclast, this one said absolutely nothing to Kamdale. Instead, the two angled their bodies away from each other until Kamdale got up to replace another demoniclast. Freya bit her lip, watching her snooping opportunity walk away. 

The next few fights were nothing special. One competitor got to go against a lesser fen mushroom. That got some jeers from the audience. 

“This is rigged!”

“Too easy!”

“I could win against that thing!”

Freya agreed with them. Lesser fen mushrooms only posed a threat to young children. Anyone who could withstand a pillow smack could take a hit from one. Perhaps it would be a challenge if they had released twenty of them, but a singular mushroom demon couldn’t do much.

The boy facing the mushroom curled his lip and slashed through the demon in one stroke.

[Arthyen Casworon]

[Lvl 13 Student]

He stomped out of the ring back to his seat, and sat with his arms crossed. The participants around him scooted away. 

Why is he in such a bad mood?

Many others could have used Arthyen’s lucky draw. A few higher-level demons stopped more than a dozen from passing. As Freya’s turn edged closer, the stands around her cleared out. So far, only eleven had returned to their seats. 

Freya shifted and squirmed in her hard wooden seat. She didn’t feel any more confident about fighting with a sword, but she wanted her turn to come soon.

“Oh! This is a special one folks!” the announcer’s already ear-splitting voice screeched louder.  

Rolling her eyes at the showman’s proclamation, Freya was about to tune him out again when a large green shape squeezed out of the trap door.  

“The demon for our next competitor is a special one! Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the rare, the incredible, the ever-splittable slime!”

The circular blob rolled forward. It stood as tall as the boy matched against it and was just as wide as tall. Its green skin had an odd shine to it. The slime had no apparent eyes, ears, or mouth. However, it seemed to know exactly where its competition stood.

Around the ring, the demoniclasts watching all sat at the edge of their seat. 

[Greater Slime]

[Lvl 10] [200/200]

That’s the highest level demon yet, but at least the person matched against it has a chance, Freya thought. She studied the red-haired boy in the ring.

[Kaeso Numerius]

[Lvl 12 Fisherman]

He had a slim frame with gangly limbs but moved swiftly. After a running start, Kaeso sliced through the demon. 

A green chunk fell off the slime. But instead of turning to smoke or laying like a piece of flesh, the lump coalesced into a round shape. The main body of the slime shrunk but returned to its pristine blob shape. Both blobs rolled towards Kaeso. 

[Greater Slime]

[Lvl 8] [150/150]

The smaller slime also had a text box.

[Lesser Slime]

[Lvl 2] [50/50]

Freya had paused when she heard the announcer say “ever-splittable.” She thought that was just an urban legend. She had encountered a much smaller slime during her apprenticeship. A flammable potion and a match had been enough to dispatch it. Her master said that was the easiest way to get rid of them. She didn’t know slicing one slime could create two.

After a moment of hesitation, Kaeso pursued the smaller slime. He cut through it, but once again, the singular slime became two.  As the bigger slime closed in, he madly slashed at the smaller slimes until they were tinier than a mouse.

[Lesser Slime]

[Lvl 1] [3/3]

[Lesser Slime]

[Lvl 1] [1/1]

[Lesser Slime]

[Lvl 1] [4/4]

Some of the tiny slimes still swarmed towards him, but many retreated to the big slime. Freya watched as the large slime rolled forward over them.

[Greater Slime]

[Lvl 9] [177/177]

It’s absorbing them back! What a terrible match for a swordsman. Are we allowed to create a fire? Or perhaps...

The only weapons the demoniclast had supplied were swords. Freya gripped her seat, heart thumping. 

I hope I’m the one to face this slime.