Claire wondered if she was hallucinating at the sight of a slime charging with incredible force.
'A slime?'
A slime had suddenly appeared.
After all, slimes were known as the weakest monsters.
-Grrrrr!
Claire wasn’t the only one surprised by the sudden appearance of the slime.
The three Gluttony Bears, whose numbers had increased, stared blankly at the direction where the Howling Fox had been sent flying.
But they quickly refocused and bared their teeth at the slime threateningly.
The slime that had just appeared was nothing more than a nuisance interfering with their hunt.
-Graaaaah!
Whoosh!
The Gluttony Bear at the front swung its forepaw at the slime.
Boing!
The slime easily dodged the Gluttony Bear’s forepaw.
There was no way the slime could be hit by an attack slower than Paulen’s sword swings or Troll’s magic blasts.
One of the viewers watching both first-person and third-person perspectives commented.
▶ Those dumb bears are done for.
Boing!
Thwack!
Right after dodging, the slime unleashed a bounce tackle that struck the Gluttony Bear’s jaw.
The bear’s jawbone shattered instantly, and the force of the tackle sent the massive Gluttony Bear sprawling backward.
As the slime’s body continued to soar upward with the remaining momentum of the tackle,
Pop!
It extended a tentacle to wrap around the body of the Gluttony Bear on its right.
Pulling its body toward the tentacle, the slime changed direction and clung to a tree.
Rippp!
Boing!
Using the tree as a platform, the slime launched another bounce tackle at the ensnared Gluttony Bear.
With the added force and tension, the tree visibly dented as the slime pushed off.
Thwack!
Another Gluttony Bear was killed instantly without even letting out a final cry.
And just as the slime was about to finish off the last Gluttony Bear,
-Graahh!
The remaining Gluttony Bear turned and fled.
Even for monsters with low intelligence, the scene they had just witnessed instinctively triggered fear.
[Noblesse Fire]▶ Haha, look at it run.
[Gothic Luxury Bone] ▶ Squishy, you’ve really gotten strong compared to before.
[Just Slam First] ▶ Isn’t it all thanks to me teaching you body slam so well?
▶ Nope~ It’s thanks to the human and Troll~.
▶ You think just learning body slam makes you strong?
[Just Slam First]▶ Take that back! That comment...!!!
[Squishy Queen]▶ Hmph! Creatures like that are nothing when caught by my kin’s tentacles!
▶ Why not go finish off the one that ran away?
▶ More importantly, we should focus on the new content, human.
▶ We can’t resist new content, hahaha.
To the viewers, a new encounter between a human and a slime was as exciting as new content.
Leaving the fleeing Gluttony Bear alone, the slime approached Claire, who was still leaning against a tree.
Boing! Boing!
"Ugh...!"
Claire tensed and tried to stand up.
Even though it was a slime, it had just taken down a Gluttony Bear in one blow.
In other words, a single attack from this slime was stronger than her full-power punch.
It was clear that it possessed at least B-rank strength, so fighting it now would be a losing battle.
Even though the Howling Fox and Gluttony Bears had been defeated, she couldn’t assume she was safe.
Judging by how it had suddenly appeared and defeated the monsters, the slime seemed aggressive.
'I need to run.'
Claire was ready to get up and flee.
But her body was too weakened to even stand properly.
Continuous fighting had prevented her from properly tending to her wounds, and blood was still flowing from the cuts on her shoulder and leg.
Even if she managed to stand, she wouldn’t be able to move far.
Meanwhile,
'She’s hurt!'
The slime was shocked to see Claire bleeding and started to worry.
'She can’t be hurt! No bleeding!'
Having visited the clinic multiple times with Amelia, the slime understood that humans must not bleed.
'Must stop it!'
Pop!
Stretch!
The slime extended another tentacle toward Claire.
'No!'
Thinking the slime was attacking with its tentacle, Claire tried to flee.
But faster than she could react, the slime’s tentacle wrapped around her bleeding right shoulder and left leg.
“Ugh!"
Claire groaned in pain as the tentacles coiled around her.
She expected the slime to lift her and slam her to the ground or charge her with another body slam.
But several seconds passed, and the scenario she imagined didn’t happen.
'What’s going on?'
Still on high alert, Claire watched the slime.
The slime simply remained still, holding her shoulder and leg with its tentacles.
Even after a minute, it hadn’t let go or moved.
At this point, Claire accepted that the slime didn’t intend to attack her.
However, she still couldn’t figure out what it was trying to do.
"Hah, hah... what are you doing?"
Still not fully recovered, Claire spoke to the slime between labored breaths, though she quickly felt foolish for doing so.
'A monster won’t understand words.'
But the slime did understand.
'Stop the bleeding!'
Boing!
Responding in its mind, the slime bounced in place.
“Ugh?!"
Startled by the slime’s sudden movement, Claire tensed up instinctively.
▶ Hahaha.
▶ Look at her freak out, hahaha.
[Squishy Queen]▶ My kin is showing mercy! Such an insolent human!
▶ Haha, told you it wouldn’t understand, hahaha.
▶ Look at that furry tail standing on end, hahaha.
“Furry.”
It was the nickname monsters used to refer to beastkin, just like how they called humans "ningen" and elves "kanpun."
'Why did it jump? Is it preparing to attack?'
Claire still couldn’t figure out the slime’s intentions.
At that moment,
'It’s done!'
The slime confirmed through its tentacle that the bleeding from Claire’s wounds had stopped and withdrew its tentacles.
Not knowing why the slime had retracted its tentacles, Claire instinctively looked at the areas where they had been.
'The bleeding stopped. And the blood is gone too.'
Not only had the bleeding stopped, but even the blood that had stained her skin had been cleaned away.
The slime had simply wrapped her wounds and stayed still.
Now that the tentacles were gone, the wounds were no longer bleeding.
Even someone as hostile toward monsters as Claire could guess the slime’s intention.
"Did you... stop the bleeding?"
'Yes!'
Boing!
'Did it just answer me?'
The slime’s perfectly timed bounce made it seem like it had understood her words.
Claire slowly got to her feet.
Even though the wounds still hurt, she held back the pain.
At least she had regained enough strength to stand, but she continued to keep her guard up as she looked down at the slime.
The slime didn’t realize that Claire was wary of it.
In fact, the slime was focused on something else entirely.
'Leg! It’s shaking! Still hurts!'
It believed that Claire, who was injured, needed more help.
Inside the slime’s mind, Claire had now been categorized as someone to protect.
At that moment—
-Kiheeeeng!
-Kahaaang!
"Howling Foxes."
A pack of four Howling Foxes, drawn by the scent of blood, revealed themselves.
Boing!
'Go away!'
The slime turned and approached the Howling Foxes.
The Howling Foxes saw a barely standing human, a bouncing slime, and the bodies of fallen Howling Foxes and Gluttony Bears scattered about.
They assumed the human was the one who had defeated the other monsters.
The approaching slime was dismissed as just a slime.
So as the Howling Foxes bared their teeth and leapt toward Claire—
'Go away!'
Boing!
Stretch!
The slime struck the leaping Howling Fox’s jaw with a bounce tackle while simultaneously extending its tentacles to the sides.
Wham!
The tentacles shot out and struck the faces of the two flanking Howling Foxes at the exact same moment.
One was knocked out instantly, flying through the air.
The other one rolled on the ground, dragging another Fox with it, and lost consciousness.
Thanks to training with Paulen, the slime’s tentacle strikes were now extremely powerful even with just an extension.
'Again.'
Claire had doubted it the first time, but seeing it twice now, there was no mistake.
'Is it really... trying to protect me?'
An idea that would never have crossed her mind before was now starting to form.
-Kiheeet...
One of the Howling Foxes that had been thrown still hadn’t lost consciousness and shakily got to its feet.
Raising its head and opening its mouth, it was about to call out.
It was a scene Claire had seen many times before.
It was trying to howl to summon its pack.
The moment she realized this, Claire mustered all her remaining strength and sprinted toward the Howling Fox.
"Haahh!"
Thwack!
-Kiheeuk!
Before it could let out a sound, Claire’s punch ended its life.
Blocking the howl, Claire let out a sigh of relief.
But at the same time, her strength drained away, and her consciousness began to fade.
"Ah..."
Her body had barely recovered enough to stand, and forcing it to move had taken its toll.
Thud!
Claire collapsed unconscious.
***
Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing!
"Mmm..."
Regaining consciousness, Claire felt a soft sensation beneath her.
'Soft... soft?'
Sensing something strange, Claire quickly sat up and was met with an unbelievable sight.
Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing!
"???"
She was on top of a wide, soft platform.
The platform was bouncing as it moved.
Not only that, it was skillfully dodging trees and obstacles along the way.
Strangely enough, despite the bouncing, Claire barely felt any vibrations.
Startled, Claire rolled off the soft platform.
Landing with a practiced roll, she looked at what had been carrying her.
"A slime?"
It was the slime.
Its tentacle had spread wide and transformed into a platform to carry Claire.
'What is that?'
It was a sight completely beyond Claire’s understanding.
The slime’s bounce tackles and wrapping tentacles were one thing, but this was something entirely different.
She had never imagined that the tentacles could transform like that.
Still in disbelief, Claire rubbed her eyes and checked again.
Meanwhile, the slime noticed Claire had woken up and approached her, bouncing.
'Don’t move yet! You need to rest!'
It leaned its body forward slightly to make it easier for Claire to climb back on.
"Are you telling me to ride you?"
'Yes!'
The slime bounced in place.
She still didn’t fully understand what was going on.
Her body hadn’t fully recovered.
And for some unknown reason, this slime had saved her from the monsters.
'First, I need to regain my strength.'
Deciding to observe the situation for now, Claire climbed back onto the slime’s tentacle platform.
Boing! Boing!
The slime continued bouncing through the forest.
Then, as she glanced at the scenery around her, Claire spoke.
"We’re going the wrong way from the village."
'Wrong way!'
Hearing Claire’s words, the slime immediately changed direction, leaving Claire stunned.
'It understood me!?'