[POV: Sloth]
Atop my Gryphon, I could feel the ferocious embrace of the wind against my cheeks.
I had my legs clamped tightly around the creature's body, my hands desperately gripping its feathers as I tried not to get blown away and lose my staff clumsily held in one hand. If it weren't for my stats, I was fairly certain I would have been detached from the Gryphon's back several times already and sent tumbling through the sky.
"Easy! Easy! Be gentle!" I shouted over the roaring wind. "Please! Just maintain cruising speed! There's no need to go any faster!"
The Gryphon chirped back. There was something distinctly unimpressed about its response. Through our connection, I somehow understood what it was trying to tell me. "Be bolder. You are a grand existence. Act like it."
I stared at the Gryphon's head in disbelief. "Are you seriously lecturing me right now?"
It chirped again. The tone somehow conveyed an unmistakable sense of disappointment. This Gryphon was every bit as over the top as the Nature Sprite. In a strange way, it also reminded me of the Golem Guardian. They were all summons, yet each possessed a surprisingly distinct personality. The Gryphon, in particular, seemed to have inherited the pride one would expect from a magnificent beast of the skies, along with the attitude to match.
As if to drive its point home, the Gryphon suddenly folded its wings and dove.
"WHOA!"
My stomach lurched as the world dropped beneath me.
We plunged straight into the clouds, tearing through the mist at terrifying speed. The experience was probably similar to a roller coaster, except I had never actually ridden one before and was fairly certain roller coasters were designed with considerably more regard for passenger safety.
My grip tightened around the Gryphon. "Slow down! Slow down!"
The turbulence violently shook me.
My staff slipped from my hand.
"MY STAFF!"
I watched in horror as it disappeared into the clouds below.
"Are you kidding me?! Stop doing that! Behave yourself!"
The Gryphon adjusted its speed, apparently deciding that my complaints had finally become important enough to acknowledge. It spread its wings and dove after my falling staff, maneuvering effortlessly through the clouds. I leaned forward as I watched my staff descend. A moment later, the Gryphon caught up with the staff. I reached out.
"Got it!"
I snatched my staff from the air and held it tightly against myself. The Gryphon let out a series of chirps. Somehow, I understood those as laughter. It was laughing at me, chirping cheerfully at me as if to chide me.
"You think this is funny?" I complained, sighing. "You're enjoying this way too much."
This was going to be quite difficult.
Eventually, the Gryphon pulled upward and hovered above the clouds. Its powerful wings beat against the air, keeping us suspended effortlessly above a sea of white. The Gryphon let out a mighty screech, announcing its grandeur to the heavens.
I looked ahead.
The sight stole the words from my mouth.
Clouds stretched endlessly across the horizon, glowing beneath the warm light of the sun. The golden orb hovered among them like a brilliant pearl suspended in a vast ocean of white. Rays of sunlight spilled across the clouds, painting them in shades of gold and silver.
The Gryphon screeched again, proudly presenting the scenery to me. Through the connection between us, I understood its meaning. "Behold, the beauty of the sky."
At least, that was what it seemed to be saying.
I couldn't help but smile. "Fine. You're forgiven. But don't do that again."
The Gryphon chirped. This time, the tone was distinctly teasing. "You'll get used to it. Eventually, you'll even find it fun."
I stared at it. "I seriously doubt that."
The Gryphon merely chirped again, sounding completely unconvinced. There seemed to be quite a difference in intelligence between my summons. Perhaps it was related to their stats. Beasts weren't exactly known for their intelligence, after all. Still, I doubted that was the actual reason. It was probably difficult to form actual words with a Gryphon's beak. The fact that I could intimately understand its chirps, cries, and screeches, translating them into actual thoughts, was likely a consequence of our connection.
More specifically, I suspected it was the work of Voice of the World. It was a passive ability that granted a ridiculous number of bonuses and happened to be one of the main prerequisites for acquiring the Druid class. I vaguely remembered its flavor text from LWO. Something about how the ability allowed ancient druids to understand the world by listening to its voice. At the time, I had thought it sounded poetic. Now, I was beginning to suspect the description had been surprisingly literal.
"All right," I said, adjusting my grip on my staff. "Take me to the mountainside where the slimes gathered."
The Gryphon chirped in acknowledgment. It lowered its altitude. As we descended, a large portion of the forest gradually came into view. My expression stiffened. The forest was... barren. There were huge sections where trees were simply missing. Entire patches of vegetation had been stripped away, leaving behind exposed earth and scattered remnants of what had once been dense woodland.
I winced. I couldn't help feeling embarrassed. I had a pretty good idea of who was responsible. The only logical explanation I could think of was that when I transitioned into this world, my summoned creatures had somehow come with me. The problem was that this world didn't have the monsters they were accustomed to fighting. There were no convenient enemies waiting around for them to farm. So, the slimes had apparently looked around, decided that trees were the next closest thing, and gone to work. Possibly the wildlife had suffered the same fate.
"Please tell me they didn't eat the entire forest..."
The Gryphon gave no reassuring answer. Instead, it continued descending. The mountainside soon came into view.
"What in the world is that?"
I stared in shock. At the foot of the mountain was an enormous hole. It wasn't a natural cave, either. Something had been boring directly into the mountain, leaving a massive tunnel that disappeared deep into the earth.
"Let me down."
The Gryphon gently descended and landed beside the enormous excavation. I carefully climbed down from its back, finally placing both feet on solid ground.
Boing!
A slime bounced past me, then another, and another. Soon, waves of slimes were bouncing around the mountainside, cheerfully going about their mining operation.
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Boing! Boing!
"Look at this one!"
"Mine is bigger!"
"I found a shiny one!"
"Keep digging! Keep digging!"
"More loot! More loot!"
Their thoughts came to me in a strange mixture of simple words, emotions, and vivid impressions. There was something almost childlike about them. They were fascinated by everything they found and endlessly excited by the prospect of discovering something new. Whenever one of them found an interesting rock, the others immediately gathered around it, bouncing excitedly as if they had discovered some priceless treasure.
I found the sight strangely endearing. It also didn't change the fact that they had apparently established an entire mining operation without asking for permission.
Just outside the mountain was a small mountain of shiny rocks.
Some were jagged and rough, while others were polished smooth and round. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, yet most shared the same strange hue. More importantly, each seemed to possess a faint, mysterious energy that lingered around its surface. I approached the pile. Before I could inspect it properly, one of the slimes bounced toward me. It stopped directly in front of me and spat something out. A huge, glittering stone landed at my feet.
The slime bounced up and down excitedly. "Loot! Loot for you!" It wiggled from side to side, apparently performing some sort of celebratory dance. "Found it! Found it! Boss gets loot!"
"You found this for me?" I asked, unsure.
The slime bounced even harder. "Yes! It's yours! Shiny! Pretty! Good loot!"
Its excitement was infectious. I crouched down and picked up the stone. It was heavier than it looked. There was also a strange energy within it, something that I couldn't immediately identify. I looked at the slime again. It continued to jiggle proudly in front of me.
I couldn't help but smile. "Well... Yeah, it's shiny, alright."
The slime bounced triumphantly. "Boss liked it! Good! Now, eat it!"
"T-Thanks, I guess. I'll think a-about it."
I stuttered out a response. I examined it with Life Sense and Mana Sense, but nothing particularly noteworthy stood out to me. There was certainly something strange about it, considering the mysterious energy I had sensed earlier, but neither ability revealed anything useful.
The Gryphon leaned toward me, tilting its head curiously as it let out a series of small chirps.
"You want this?" I asked, holding the stone up.
The Gryphon's eyes immediately lit up, and it let out an excited screech. "I would love to!"
Before I could react, the Gryphon lunged forward and gobbled down the stone. Half of my arm disappeared into its beak.
"Wait, what?!" I hurriedly pulled my arm back. "Let go."
The Gryphon obeyed, releasing my arm without protest. It then glanced toward the pile of stones. Its eyes practically sparkled. It looked at me, then at the stones, and then back at me. Those dazzling eyes were practically begging me to say yes.
"Was it really that delicious?" I asked, still doubtful.
The Gryphon chirped positively.
I stared at the pile. "It is a stone."
The Gryphon chirped again, drooling.
I frowned. "How delicious could a stone possibly be?"
The Gryphon apparently considered this a stupid question, sneering at me for doubting its sense of taste. I felt offended, but whatever, right? "Fine. If you want more, ask the slimes for permission first."
The Gryphon puffed out its chest as it let out an arrogant screech. "Feed me."
I blinked, unsure if I heard that right. "That's not asking for permission."
The Gryphon let out another screech, almost like a tantrum. "Feed me!"
The nearby slimes shuddered, then they fled.
"Hey!" I turned toward the Gryphon. "Don't scare them! You can't just demand their food like that. Play nice."
The Gryphon lowered its head slightly out of shame.
I called out toward the fleeing slimes. "Hey, guys. Would you mind sharing some of your loot with the Gryphon?"
The slimes stopped. Several of them cautiously peeked back at us.
"Don't like bird."
"Big bird scary."
"Bird greedy."
"It eats our shiny rocks!"
The Gryphon let out a pitiful whine. It lowered its head even further, its feathers drooping as it stared at the slimes with the most dazzling, miserable eyes it could possibly muster. I stared, feeling doubtful at the ridiculous sight. Seriously? It was absurdly cute.
The slimes stared back at the Gryphon as they began to tremble.
"Aww..."
"It's sad."
"Maybe just a little?"
"Fine."
"Okay! It can eat!"
The moment permission was granted, the Gryphon exploded into action. It excitedly leaped toward the pile of stones and began munching on them with incredible gusto. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Stone after stone disappeared into its beak. I was frankly speechless. I slowly turned toward the slimes, focusing on more important matters like understanding the current changes. Something about the slimes had changed fundamentally in more ways than one. Their health was considerably greater than what I remembered. Their bodies were also noticeably shinier, almost as if their translucent forms had been polished from within.
There were also slimes of different sizes now.
Some were small enough to fit in my hands, while others had grown considerably larger. They bounced around the mining site, happily chewing through rocks and boring additional tunnels into the already enormous hole at the mountain's base.
Boing! Boing!
"The great lord accepted our offering!"
"Our offering was awesome!"
"Praise the great lord!"
"Keep mining! We need more offerings!"
Some of them bounced past me.
"Greetings, great lord!"
"Good day, boss!"
"Look at how much we found!"
Others seemed considerably less enthusiastic about the Gryphon's presence.
"That bird is making too much noise!"
"Stupid bird!"
"Stop eating everything!"
I couldn't help but stare. The slimes had apparently developed an entire society around mining these strange stones. I walked toward the enormous hole, curiously inspecting the place. There were far more slimes than I had initially realized. In fact, there were enough of them that their population should have already exceeded the number of pawn-class creatures I could normally maintain through my mana regeneration. Even if slimes possessed powerful replication capabilities, my mana was not infinite. At least, it shouldn't have been. I activated Mana Sense and examined myself. My eyes widened. There was barely a dent in my mana reserves.
"What?"
I checked again, but the result was the same. This was a really weird development. Still, I supposed it could be considered a win. I picked up one of the smaller shiny stones. It was roughly the size of my thumb.
After cleaning it off, I hesitantly put it into my mouth. I bit down, creating a resounding crunch. It was sweet, almost like bubblegum, except it was really hard. I chewed cautiously, wondering whether I was about to break a tooth.
A normal human trying to eat this would probably cut their mouth to pieces.
I picked up another stone and placed it into my mouth, then another. I rolled them around my tongue like pieces of candy.
"Yeah."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"I guess this is the right way to eat it."
I wasn't even sure whether these things qualified as food to begin with. Still, they tasted surprisingly good, like hard or chewy candy. I summoned more slimes. They appeared around me one after another, bouncing happily before immediately joining the others.
The older slimes greeted them enthusiastically.
"New workforce!"
"More workers!"
"The great lord has blessed us!"
"Thank you for your grace, great lord!"
The older slimes immediately began teasing the newcomers.
"You're too small!"
"Bounce harder!"
"Don't get in the way!"
"Mine faster!"
The new slimes bounced excitedly.
"I can work!"
"I want to dig!"
"I want shiny rocks!"
"I will work hard for the great lord!"
I watched them for a while. The new slimes quickly demonstrated that they liked these stones just as much as the others. They ate them. As they did, their bodies gradually became shinier. Once they had eaten their fill, they would collect the stones and carry them outside, adding them to the growing pile as offerings for me. It was almost like an instinct. Back in the game, any loot acquired by my summons would have been transferred directly into my inventory. Unfortunately, I no longer had access to my inventory. So, the slimes had apparently decided that the next best solution was to pile everything up for me.
It was oddly wholesome.
When I got outside the cave, I looked around for the Gryphon. I eventually found it lying on its back at the very top of the stone pile. Its belly was considerably bloated. It looked like it had eaten enough stones to feed an army.
I approached it cautiously. "Gryphon?"
It didn't move. I poked its belly, but I got nothing. For a moment, I became worried. If it had actually died, I would have known. The bond between us would have made that obvious.
"It just ate itself into a food coma..."
I sighed.
"Serves you right."
I left the Gryphon where it was and turned my attention back to the slimes. They were working harder than ever. I watched them bounce around the mountainside, mining, eating, carrying rocks, and expanding their enormous excavation.
"You're all doing good work." I raised my hand into a fist, cheering them on, while subtly asking for permission to continue watching. "Keep it up. You don't mind me watching, do you?"
The slimes stopped. Hundreds of little eyes turned toward me. I thought something went wrong when they stopped still and suddenly began shaking in place.
"The great lord praised us!"
"The great lord is watching!"
"We must work harder!"
"Don't disappoint the great lord!"
"The great lord likes our work!"
The slimes erupted into excited bouncing. Their childlike wonder remained, but something else had appeared alongside it. Devotion. Almost fanatic devotion. I watched as their pace increased. They dug faster, carried more, and searched more eagerly. Some of them practically threw themselves into their work. I felt a strange nervousness creeping over me.
"...Uh."
I rubbed the back of my head. This was starting to become a dangerous trend. My summons seemed to be developing a tendency to like me far too much. Judging from the way the slimes were currently worshipping me for nothing more than a few words of praise, I had a feeling this problem was only going to get worse.
This world only continued to become stranger to me.