Levi’s head felt light, and his eyes were heavy.

  I won… I actually won!

  Most of tonight was a blur. Levi remembered Professor Thomas looking surprised as the older man handed him a small trophy and had presented him before those gathered in the hall.

  The amount of clamoring that had taken place by all those present as representatives of potential jobs had overwhelmed him. He had a dozen offers to consider, and each of them offered more money than he could fathom at the moment.

  Gold… actual gold… and not just a single coin, but fifty gold coins a year!

  The amount of money they had thrown at him as they fought with each other to get his attention had been preposterous. The entire time his Grams and Gramps stood beside him, looking on and not saying a word during those moments with the representatives.

  Finally, the night was drawn to an end and Levi knew he had drunk too much; the memory of his Grams and what she said was a little fuzzy.

  “Your parents would be proud,” she said. “We’re prouder than you’ll ever know, Levi.”

  She had kissed him, her eyes watering the whole time, and his Gramps had the same problem as the older man hugged him.

  Now, he was on the floor in his room, trying to understand what had happened.

  “You enjoying that?” Levi asked as he looked at Arin who was in his glass container under his bed. A whole turkey leg was being consumed by the slime that seemed giddy at the amount of food it was being fed. “You earned that… for what it’s worth… I’m glad Professor Thomas is giving me another few days with you before he makes me turn you in.”

  Struggling to stand, Levi used his bed for assistance and felt the world spinning.

  “Note to self, don’t drink that much… ever.”

  Wincing, he grabbed his head and blinked a few times.

  As Levi started to undo his belt, a soft knock sounded on the door.

  Groaning, he moved to the door, undoing the lock and turning the handle. As the door began to move, it was forced out of his hand. Three shapes raced through the open doorway and a fist connected with his jaw.

  Stumbling backwards, Levi heard his door shutting and voices he recognized.

  “You stole my tournament,” Dax growled, now standing over him, grabbing Levi’s shirt in a hand. “I warned you.. You should have listened.”

  A fist connected with his face, and sent Levi’s head backward, smacking into the stone floor.

  “Hurry up,” someone said. “Give him the beating you said you were giving and we've got to go.”

  Levi blinked, trying to see through the pain, feeling blood running down his face.

  “No,” Dax growled, letting go of Levi’s shirt and turning.

  There in the two small lights of his room, Levi saw Havel and Bram. Both boys were glaring at him.

  “What do you mean, no?” Bram asked. “You said we each would get a turn to punch him a few times. That’s why I’m here.”

  Levi tried to speak, but he couldn’t; blood was running down his throat and when his tongue moved, he realized a few teeth were missing.

  “What’s he saying?” Havel asked. “That he’s sorry?”

  Dax laughed and shook his head, turning back to face Levi. He pulled a knife from his belt and Levi tried to focus on the blade.

  Levi’s hands came up, and the red-haired boy grabbed one, twisting Levi’s wrist and forcing it down. A knee was placed upon his chest as Dax kneeled upon him.

  “You’re going to die,” Dax growled. “I can’t go back as the only one who didn’t win. You wouldn’t understand how my father ignored me. How could you? You don’t even have a dad.”

  The cold metal touched his cheek and Levi felt pain as it sliced open. He tried to speak, receiving the butt of the knife against his jaw, shattering more teeth and silencing him.

  “No, we can’t kill him,” Bram said. “We’ll be wanted men.”

  “No we won’t,” Dax replied. “Our stories will be the same. We spent the night in my room, talking about how bad things went and how we’re hoping our parents wont be angry with us. No one will know it’s us.”

  Levi tried to talk again, but no words came out. Everything was a garbled mess of words. Blood and a jaw that wasn’t working made it impossible for him to protest more than a low moan.

  Pain came, and Levi grunted as the blade was plunged into his shoulder. Dax leaned close, twisting the blade and severing something that made moving his arm impossible.

  “You’re nothing. A nobody,” Dax said, his green eyes cold. “You’ll die alone because no one wants you. Not even your own parents. That’s why you’ll never–”

  Levi’s whole body hurt, but his left hand came across, punching Dax in the face. It wasn’t a strong punch, yet it knocked the teen off him slightly.

  “Shit,” Dax cursed. “I’ve got blood on me now.”

  “So we leave? Call healers?” Bram asked.

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  “No, you idiot,” Havel said. “We’d be jailed and beaten ourselves if not killed. There’s no way out of this now, beyond killing him. Get it over with, Dax. We need to go.”

  Dax didn’t say a word, mounting Levi again and driving the knife into his other shoulder, twisting the blade and making it so that the arm no longer worked.

  He wailed or tried to but the blood was choking him.

  “Levi Wilson… you’re an idiot… all those book smarts,” Dax said. “What you really needed was to learn how the world worked. You should have bowed out, admitting defeat before our match ever started.” An evil grin appeared on the boy's face as he leaned close.

  “Just so you know, the tournament was rigged,” Dax whispered. “That’s what makes me not winning even worse.”

  Levi spat with every bit of force he had, sending a few teeth and blood into Dax’s face.

  “Shit! You little–”

  Dax didn’t say another word as the knife was plunged into Levi’s chest. It slid off a rib and entered his lung. Without waiting another second, the teen stood and held out the knife to Bram.

  “What? You already stabbed him!” Bram protested.

  “Either stab him or I’ll stab you,” Dax growled. “No one gets out of here without a turn.”

  Levi watched as Havel didn’t hesitate, grabbing the knife and sticking it in his gut.

  His chest and stomach burned. Levi blinked through the tears, wanting to plead for them to stop but knew they wouldn’t. He locked eyes on Bram and saw the teen chewing his lip.

  “Now,” Dax growled.

  Bram didn’t hesitate, taking the knife from Havel and stabbing Levi in the thigh.

  “Pfft, what was that?” Havel asked.

  “It doesn’t matter… I cut him, now let’s go,” Bram said.

  “You going to finish him off?” Havel asked.

  Levi felt everything getting colder and he could barely make out Dax as the boy came closer.

  “No… he’ll be dead soon and he can’t call for help. Let him suffer for another minute or two. We’re done.”

  Pressure came across one of his legs and it felt like someone was wiping a blade off on his clothes.

  Boots against stone made noise and the soft sound of his door shutting left the room quiet.

  Choking and coughing, Levi tried to call out, but his lungs weren’t working, blood filling them.

  Something cold and warm touched his cheek.

  Turning his face toward it, Levi could barely see Arin bobbing near his face.

  “Arin…” he managed to get.

  I’m dying… we’re both going to…

  “Eat… me,” Levi coughed.

  Arin froze. The red slime didn’t move at all at the words that Levi had just spoken.

  “Please… eat… me,” Levi got out, needing seconds between each word. “They’ll… kill… you. Run… Arin.”

  Blinking, Levi felt a wet sensation against his cheek. Through the fading light he could see a small tendril of slime stroking his cheek.

  “Please…” he gasped once more.

  Levi’s eyes bulged as Arin’s slime slid across his face and began to enter through his broken nostrils. Breathing was already almost impossible and yet the pain that came was not what Levi had expected. His slime moved down his throat and into his lungs.

  The world went dark, and Levi said one last prayer before the last flicker of his life vanished.

  Find a way to live, Arin… live for us.

  ***

  [ Soul Consumed ]

  [ Analyzing Soul ]

  [ Soul was a willing sacrifice for consumption ]

  [ A thread of consciousness and affection detected ]

  [ Modifying Status ]

  [ … ]

  [ … ]

  [ Evolving ]

  [ Sapience granted ]

  [ Advanced System Access Granted ]

  [ Emotions Unlocked ]

  [ Will Unlocked ]

  [ Learning Unlocked ]

  [ Speech - Locked due to vocal limitations ]

  [ Awareness Unlocked ]

  [ Soul - Granted ]

  [ … ]

  [ … ]

  [ Welcome, Arin - your creator has given you life and granted you their dying breath. ]

  [ The system recognizes the bond between you and your creator. ]

  [ Your slime essence has evolved. All previous traits are kept.]

  [ New traits may be acquired ]

  [ Special Class acquired ]

  [ Say or think 'Status' for information ]

  A weird sensation flooded Arin’s mind as he felt pain, remorse, sorrow, gratitude and dozens of other feelings all at the same time. He shifted, feeling his gelatinous mass move as the body of his creator and friend was almost all gone from the waist up.

  Levi… I… I am Arin.

  That single thought sent a pulse of power and more through his core. The fact that he now felt aware of who he was in a way more than ever before was impossible to believe. All the tasks and things that Levi had taught him seemed like nothing now compared to the way his mind seemed to work.

  Do… I really have a soul? Am I really a being?

  The whole room was visible from his perspective. Arin could see in every direction at the same time and a small mirror was above a basin that he had watched Levi wash in occasionally.

  Without waiting, Arin moved to the shelf and extended his body, creating a pair of tendrils that latched onto the counter and began pulling himself up. It seemed to take longer than usual or what Arin expected it should take, but upon peering in the mirror, he began to understand why.

  I’m about four times the size I was before. Did I really consume all that mass?

  Glancing back at the one who had given him life, taught him how to survive, and now given him a soul, Arin felt pain of a different kind in his being.

  Then another sensation welled up in his chest.

  Anger. Hate. Rage. Revenge.

  Those three.. They need to die…

  At the same time other emotions came and fought against the torrent of fire that burned within his red slime.

  No… Levi wouldn’t want that. He’d want me to find a way to survive and if I try to go and kill them now, I’ll probably die. I need to find a way to get out of here.

  His vision saw the handle on the window and he somehow knew that was the thing he needed to take care of. With a little bit of time, Arin managed to eat away the wood around the metal and the window began to swing open.

  A cool breeze came over his gelatinous skin as the night wind blew into the room. Above were more stars than Arin could count. His vision also revealed that he was way up in the tower and far out below was the city.

  This… is the city of Vyrdan. I remember Levi talking about it. There’s a body of water… a river.

  Words that had never made sense suddenly did and all the things Arin had heard Levi talk about filled his being with what felt like lightning, like when he fought the nematode.

  I need to get out of here… The forest. Levi mentioned that it was a great place to find ingredients for alchemy and that there were lots of animals and monsters out there. I should head there and see if I can’t find a way to…

  The word that Arin was looking for felt weird.

  Live.

  The concept of living was foreign to him. For so long just eating rotten bread or meat had been everything. Learning what Levi wanted him to do had given him some sense of pleasure, but also meant he got more bread and meat.

  Yet now… what did living mean? What did Levi want him to do? How could he honor his creator and… friend?

  A memory tickled Arin’s mind and he remembered the words that had seemed to appear all around him.

  Status.

  My patreon has up to chapter 14 at the time of posting... and I've got another chapter or two I need to edit before continuing on it. This is a fun story I've been working on slowly.