Shun and Dumdum made their way back to the spot where he'd left his bag, the path lit only by moonlight.
Shun was already thinking about food and rest when something felt off.
Then he saw it.
A small purple slime was clinging to his bag, its surface bubbling as the fabric slowly melted away.
"FUUUUCK!" Shun shouted.
Without thinking, he gathered his power, muscles tightening as he lunged forward. He rushed the thing and swung his leg in a full-powered kick.
"HAAAAAA!"
At the last second, his instinct screamed.
Shun yanked himself back mid-motion, boots scraping the dirt as he slid across the ground.
He skidded to a stop and dropped into a sitting position, dust clinging to his clothes.
He rested a hand under his chin, breathing hard, eyes locked on the slime.
"If I kick that bastard," he thought, "my foot either gets stuck and melts… or melts the moment I touch it."
The slime wobbled.
Shun's lips curled into a grin.
"You tricky bastard…" he muttered.
Shun noticed the slime was getting dangerously close… too close… right where his explosives were packed.
Kek… a grin split his face, wide and unhinged. A short laugh slipped out as he stood up and backed away, putting a safe distance between himself and the slime.
The slime suddenly stopped dissolving the bag.
A faint flare of light pulsed inside its gelatinous body.
Shun's eyes lit up.
He pointed at it, arm straight, finger trembling with excitement.
"Ex."
A pause.
"Plo."
Another step back.
"Sion."
He even posed—because if something was about to blow up, it deserved a presentation.
The glow swelled. The slime's body warped, expanding unnaturally, skin stretching thin as it ballooned outward. Shun braced himself, teeth clenched, waiting for the shockwave.
…
Nothing.
The glow fizzled. The slime shrank back to its original size, wobbling
"Eh?" Shun tilted his head, blinking. His grin vanished, replaced by pure disbelief.
His head tilted slowly. Silence hung there, awkward and heavy.
"…tch."
He clicked his tongue, irritation creeping back in as the slime continued to wobble—very much alive, very much annoying.
The slime went right back to work.
It oozed over the bag again, purple body hissing softly as fabric melted away.
Shun clenched his jaw.
Then he saw it.
Behind the slime—
Dumdum.
Just standing there. Still. Too still.
Shun locked eyes with the horse.
"…Don't you dare," he muttered.
Dumdum's jaw slowly opened. Wider. Wider than it had any right to. His lips stretched, teeth flashing under the moonlight, drool dripping as if his brain finally aligned on a single thought.
Then—munch.
The slime didn't even get a scream.
Its body split clean in half, purple goo splattering the dirt before the rest vanished down Dumdum's throat with a wet crunch.
Silence.
Shun stared.
"…Daaamn."
A faint UI flickered near Dumdum's head.
Dumdum +1 EXP
Shun let out a tired laugh, rubbing his face.
"All that shiii for one exp," he muttered. "I can never get tired of this stuff…"
He shrugged, with what little stuff survived.
Dumdum kept chewing, purple residue dripping from his mouth as he worked through the rest of the slime.
Shun knelt beside his bag, what was left of it anyway. He dug through the soggy mess with growing dread. His fingers froze.
Empty.
All his Klips—gone. Completely dissolved.
"FUCK," he swore.
He pulled out his dagger next… Or half of it. The blade looked like it had been bitten by acid.
"Even my trusty dagger…Great."
He set up a small campfire. The flames crackled low, warm and steady.
Shun stood, tied Dumdum to a nearby tree, then dropped flat onto the ground. He stared up at the night sky.
Shun closed his eyes and let the world fade. He didn't care that he was sleeping out in the open, where monsters crawled and prowled just beyond the firelight. Tonight, none of that mattered.
His mind had been running for years. Running from hunger, from debt, from classes he barely survived. Running from the day his family cut him off like he never existed.
Thoughts piled up. Questions with no answers. Anger with nowhere to go.
They finally loosened their grip.
His breathing slowed. The weight on his chest eased, just a little.
For tonight, his mind rested.
Tomorrow… everything would catch up.