I woke up with Shima sleeping on my forehead. It was weird to be able to see Z's pop up over her head to imitate sleeping. I thought this was only a thing in video games...
"Hey, Shima, wake up. Everybody is already gone, we need to start moving." I poked the gelatinous slime and it slowly rolled over back onto my shoulder. I stood up and stretched, looking for the right direction we should go. If I remember correctly, we would have to turn right out of the campsite to follow the north direction. I double-checked my compass and celebrated after I got it right.
Shima and I continued on our path before my stomach started rumbling. On the previous days I had it easy and could eat if I was hungry in the morning, but being out in the wild was a lot different. I wasn't even sure if this could be considered the wild, considering the several people and opportunities Shima and I saw while walking along the path.
"Hey, Shima, what do you eat?" I asked the slime. Of course, Shima didn't respond, but I thought it was still polite to ask. We walked further into the forest while I looked around for food. I hit a halfway mark for Zyphilia, knowing that I was heading the right way and even making good progress. Every time my feet hurt, I would use heal and would feel refreshed and continue on. I was also continuously using [Raise] still.
Shima benefitted from [Heal] and [Raise] as well, and it turns out Shima wasn't at full health the whole time. When Shima was full on health, it changed into a green-looking slime. So it must've been like me. Green was full health, orange was middle, and a red color must've been now health. I enjoyed learning more about Shima. Small things like this kept my mind distracted.
When I used [Absorption], my body felt slower and I was slowed down, but the fatigue didn't build up either. The skill usage was all insanely complicated at some points, but if [Heal] eliminated fatigue, then I wouldn't have to worry about using [Absorption].
Eventually, Shima and I came across a rabbit bouncing around by the trees. Shima and I hid behind a tree and I quietly observed the rabbit from far away. I could easily use [Bullet] to get the rabbit as I had been with other slimes and animals.
I silently recited the name of the skill and the bullet traveled straight through the rabbit. It died instantly. I walked over with Shima, but when I bent over to pick it up, Shima grabbed it first.
"Hey! You better save some for me!" I yelled at Shima. While the rabbit sat inside Shima's body, all of the skin started to slip off. I looked at Shima in disgust while they skinned the rabbit alive. Soon, all that was left was the meat of the rabbit carefully pulled apart to be eaten instantly.
"Shima?! That was amazing! How did you manage that?" I asked it. Shima sat still without moving or reacting... but it was interesting that Shima knew what to do to make the rabbit safe for consumption.
"You can get the first bite then... let me cook it," I told Shima.
I made a fire and surrounded it with rocks, igniting it with the [Bullet] skill on the side of the path. Nobody was walking by me right now, I haven't seen another person all day. I feel like I would go crazy if I didn't actually have a conversation with a person who could respond.
I cooked the rabbit with the help of my interface and bit into the cooked meat. Shima had already enjoyed a piece that I cooked first and had heart-like shapes made of gelatinous material like Shima's own body floating above its head. I guess Shima must've been satisfied.
I put out the fire, pushed the rocks aside to keep the path clean, and continued towards Zyphilia. "Shima, can you understand me at all?" I asked the slime. Shima rotated her body in a circle on my shoulder, so I took that as a yes. I also decided to refer to Shima as she, beginning at this point. She seemed to be able to understand me, at least I had that.
"We're almost through the forest and into the open field..." I analyzed Shima using my interface and could see her stats and damage capabilities. She had [Absorption] as a skill just like I did, but something told me I would be able to use it to a much more effective degree than Shima would be. Either way, I also noticed Shima had as much health as me, and whenever I used mana, Shima's mana would decrease. That must've meant we're connected.
It was interesting that Shima wasn't just a slime anymore. She was a parasite, but the good kind! Hopefully, she can't read my thoughts as well... I took a peek at Shima and could feel a malicious stare pointed at me. Creepy!
-
We continued walking until around sunset. We would get to Zyphilia tomorrow without a doubt, but we should stop for a break again, even if we're not fatigued.
My mana was now up to 150, which was a 50% increase. Just from simply walking and gathering seven levels in total. I was now level 9, higher than Fuki was during the clearing of the old Demons. I wondered how he was doing. The people in this part of the world, like Gaia, seemed like normal people. I disliked how they were called Demons at a certain point, but now that their reputation has changed, I was hoping to prove to the others that they were real people too.
I frequently thought about how I should build my reputation to clear their names. How can I, as the Magic Hero, prove to Sieve that the Demons aren't actually Demons? I could do it with force, of course, but I was always taught the right thing to do as the Hero was to preserve as many lives as possible.