Alternate Cover (Katelyn)

  Benjamine.

  Death.

  Benjamine had died…

  As her mind slowly crept from the darkness, scraping and desperate for purchase, that thought remained with her, even as ensuing panic erupted.

  Benjamine had died!

  She'd died! She'd—fallen during her escape when her grandfather's worthless drake had failed it's only worthwhile reason for existing in entire decades!

  Both of them tumbling to the ground in what felt like heartbeats, then—nothing…

  The thought was sobering as much as it was jarring to admit.

  And as the now, presumably deceased, noble dy ruminated on that fact, the brief influx of unwanted hysteria left her, presumably in part because she no longer had a body to provide such feelings.

  Objectively, Benjamine knew she had perished, for there was simply no way to survive such a perilous fall—or, that was to say, there was no way that she could have survived it.

  So, then the question became, why was she awake? Okay, maybe not ‘awake’ in the conventional sense, but undoubtedly aware and conscious again.

  Ugh…

  Frankly speaking, the young dy already had a few theories. While still trapped in the darkness, absent sensation beyond what her own mind could provide. Benjamine made an attempt at guessing what her fate might entail.

  Obviously, a reasonably unfortunate but wholly possible scenario wherein she was being reanimated as an undead came to mind. Presumably, she was ‘aware’ while the peasants killed her all over again and again until even death magic failed to bring her back.

  Not a very attractive eventuality, but she wouldn't put it past them.

  The ‘mob’ was never really known for its tendencies toward mercy or decisions that weren't in some way violent and cruel.

  All it would have taken was for a single necromancer to be among those that had revolted and, just like that, they’d successfully ingratiate themselves to their fellows while giving the rabble a second chance to see her adequately humiliated and disgraced.

  What a shitty way to go out…

  Ha… she’d be lucky if the fucker even decided to put her out of her misery at that point. Sadly, it was more likely that they’d keep her around as a zombie just because they could.

  There was no respect given towards the already risen dead… And the best she could hope for in that scenario was when the king came; his knights would hopefully incinerate her and be done with it.

  Else, well, she supposed it would be eternal servitude…

  Benjamine could only pray that this wasn't the case, yet the alternatives merely got less likely from thereon in.

  Second to having her corpse defiled by magic?

  Well, maybe her soul had been extracted before it could dissolve back into the world… And assuming it had—well, Benjamine had no real idea what might be in store for her.

  She’d heard that some mages who were well-versed in the subject could use a soul to power various magical implements.

  What was known as the ‘spark of divinity’ relegated to the simple task of providing energy for somebody's pet project locked in a dusty basement, presumably where it wouldn't ever see the light of day.

  Not a very attractive prospect, to be certain…

  Yet if that were the case, Benjamine assumed that she now had an inkling towards what it was like for all those many artifacts she’d had in her own possession, many of which were, as it happened, powered by souls.

  Human souls?

  Truthfully, she had no idea.

  But, the young dy doubted she’d have really cared if it had been somebody ‘grandmother’ who had been powering the castle's ovens.

  Well, as bleak as the future was, where she was more or less left alone with her own thoughts until she undoubtedly went insane, the st final option she could guess at was, in actuality, the only positive one she could think of.

  Reincarnation.

  Ha! It was an utter and complete longshot that, quite honestly, she couldn't really even bring herself to hope for.

  Oh, it was a fairly well-known phenomenon, so much so that she’d even met someone from another world, unimpressive and down on their luck as they’d been.

  Or, at least, that was the story they’d told Benjamine while desperately grasping at her dress, begging for a chance to prove himself before she’d snapped and just started stomping on his disgusting face until the cretin had finally let go.

  She hadn't stopped, of course, not hesitating a moment to finish what she’d already started, just as Daddy had taught her, pounding his head into a mushy pile of slop until she’d finally expended her fring anger.

  Savages, the lot of them…

  Hadn't he realized that the fabric of her attire was worth more than he’d presumably make in his entire life? Especially when begging for scraps like a disgusting leper!

  Hmph!

  She’d hardly been able to even look at that dress again, forever seeing the smear that had been left behind, even if the cleaning staff assured her it was gone.

  The boots however—well, she’d actually worn those out a second time before giving them a small clean with her magic. That part was the only happy reminder she had of the experience!

  That being said, the chances of being chosen by the gods to be reincarnated were—slim.

  Moreover, Benjamine hadn't exactly been the most pious sort, not for ck of interest or faith, but, quite honestly, she just hadn't really liked the whole idea of ‘worship.’

  It was so boorish!

  And it wasn't like the gods ever lifted a finger to save the poor and bleeding posteriors of any alter-boys as they were defiled within their very deity’s supposed presence and by a mortal leader of their own faith, no less!

  She’d actually put a stop to that one once she’d discovered what that rather friendly and surprisingly charming man had secretly been up to.

  Not to save the vilge's children so much as because he was creating quite a stir of discontent in the peasantry.

  Sighing in the confines of her own mind, Benjamine eventually let the outndish notion pass her by…

  More than likely, she’d just be stuck as she was. Trapped in purgatory with nothing to do, she simply gave up. Unwilling to py whatever game this was and letting her mind drift as though she were in little more than a dream.

  Existence, from that point on, was meaningless. And though Benjamine was indeed ‘aware’ during the undefinable span, she was not at all present.

  Many people had what she’d always assumed to be some kind of pesky little voice in their heads. Not quite narration, not quite a conscience, but something that nevertheless kept their minds constantly active and vocal.

  Benjamine did not have that voice.

  For her, eternity would be as easy as simply shutting down. Allowing herself, much like an automaton, to merely close her mind off.

  After all, what was the point if ‘this’ was to be all she had ahead of her?

  Of course, that was when things decided to take a strange and possibly even unwanted turn.

  She could have dealt with inexistence perfectly fine. Her mother had always said she was an abnormal little monster, cold, dispassionate, cruel, etcetera, etcetera, ciming she’d never find a husband because she wasn't even a real person!

  Father, by contrast, she got along with much better. But mainly because the man knew she was competent enough to be given a task and actually see it executed. There wasn't much warmth between them, but Benjamine hadn't really wanted that from him to begin with.

  No, she had always had her sights set on his nds. And while she’d worked quite diligently to ensure no rival heirs sprouted from between her mother's legs, nor the other women her sire visited, Benjamine had never contempted patricide!

  What would be the point?

  His nd would just go to somebody else… No, she had fully intended to ‘give him’ a proper male heir.

  The only difference was that when compared to her mother, Benjamine would be doing so only after she successfully found an individual she could stomach making children with. One that would have the correct pedigree but, more importantly, the proper temperament to be the lovely little puppet she’d need.

  Yet, she was getting off-topic.

  Thoughts could be annoying like that. As soon as she was back to paying attention, they just took off all willy-nilly.

  The thing was, the ‘what’ in regards to the reason for her resurgence of the mind, as it happened, was about as alien and confusing as it could get.

  There was this—garbling… sort of like noise but more vibrational… almost as if she were underwater and listening to distorted voices.

  “This is—pointless…”

  “Keep trying! I’m sure they’re going to work!”

  “They? Abby, there’s no ‘they…’ These things—they're hardly more than piles of goo…”

  “Okay, but they’re your goo! Didn't you make sure it was all going to work beforehand?”

  “I’m not—ugh! Do you seriously not see how this is fundamentally different? At least with the other two we tried, they had skin and organs and bones, freaking muscle and a brain! You know, stuff I actually know about! This bullshit—I don't even know what I’d call it!”

  “It's the core. You know, like the nucleus of a cell?”

  “You know it's not the same, and it doesn't matter how many times you expin it that way; it really doesn't get any easier!”

  Benjamine had no idea what they were saying… The conversation practically rolled right over her like a storm of thunder. Nothing made sense. Nothing was clear enough to make out!

  All she could was their tone, and even then, it was guesswork as she wasn't sure if people were excited, upset, arguing, or… ugh.

  The young woman groaned, still trying to figure out what was going on as she felt, for ck of a better way to say it—wet.

  She tried to move, abruptly deciding that if she could hear things, then she must have a body of some kind, undoubtedly broken as it likely was. Yet, she couldn't really feel anything that she was used to.

  Forget not being able to shift her arms and legs; Benjamine couldn't even tell if she had them!

  T-that wasn't right—there was no way…

  She hadn't lost her arms and legs, had she? Because that would be highly unpleasant. In fact, she decided she’d instead just smash her head off something and finish the job if she was to be relegated to an existence as a mere ‘torso.’

  Why would they have even bothered bringing her back if that was the case? N-no, that wasn't right; there was no way she’d been ‘resurrected’ forget that there were none nearby that could likely accomplish the feat, but, after such a far drop—there wouldn't be very much left to work with…

  Again, Benjamine tried to wiggle, finding a modicum of more success with the action, but it was still so—wrong!

  “Hey! You see, the red one looks like it's starting to do something!”

  “It’s a mindless blob, Abby… It’s not ‘doing’ anything but shifting around, same as the others.”

  “Well, are you sure you did it right? I mean, you're still a snake…”

  “I’m a slime snake right now…”

  “Doesn't look like it.”

  “Abby, you were literally contempting how good I’m getting at looking normal with a body made of slime and—you know what? I just realized I don't care.”

  “What?”

  “I don't care! I’m done.”

  “No! Don't change back!”

  “You know the rules; you want me to do ‘cospy’ for you; you cough up the skill scrolls.”

  “I already paid you!”

  “Not nearly enough…”

  “Ugh! What’s with you today? Why are you so freaking miserable?”

  “I’m not miserable…”

  “You are, and you know you are. Hmph! I bet it’s because Markus hasn't been around for the week.”

  “It’s got nothing to do with him!”

  “Yeah, sure, whatever…”

  “You really want to know why I’m upset? It’s because I’ve been stuck in this fucking cave for three damned days, trying to py ‘dog trainer’ with a bunch of stupid fucking blobs! Face it, this one’s not happening. And no matter how much you beg my boyfriend to go and raid the library for old bestiaries, it's not going to change things. Slime girls aren't happening. It just won't work! At least, not the way we're doing it.”

  “You're being a bitch…”

  “Oh my god! You know what, fuck it. Have fun with your stupid project. I’m heading to the city.”

  “Don't you dare! We're so close!”

  “Then finish it without me or wait until I get back. I’m going to go break my pussy off, then maybe go py some dice.”

  “W-wait! Katelyn! Fucking… Seriously? What about all the people in the cage?”

  “Don't care! Deal with it on your own!”

  The room grew abruptly quiet as Benjamine continued to try and move herself, almost feeling like she was—stretching or some other equally bizarre happenstance. Now that the noises had stopped, the young noblewoman found herself slightly at a loss.

  That there were people around was reassuring in its own way… it meant that she was, more than likely, alive.

  But again, there was the issue of her current state of existence. Moreover, since she couldn't really make out any of the words, she was left wholly unsure what their disposition was towards her person.

  And, never one to rely upon ‘charity,’ Benjamine decided she needed to figure out what was happening, no matter how difficult that was proving. Thankfully, since she was, in fact, cognisant, odd as the sensation was for her, she figured that she did possess a singur means to discern her situation.

  Like ripping off the bandage, she refused to dwell on the fears of what she might see. Unwilling to let such a thing guide her, the noble dy opened her system interface and—frowned.

  It wasn't anger that rose in her.

  It wasn't terror or sadness.

  And indeed, happiness wasn't an even remote contender. However, 'confusion' was.

  Her system page was—wrong…

  Benjamine’s page was, at once, familiar as it was heart-thumpingly wrong!

  Species: Slime girl!

  Name: Benjamine Laurenette.

  Age: ERROR—t-t-twenty six!

  Height: Bzzzt

  Sex: ???

  Level: Nineteen—ERROR! Unable to distribute—Bzzt—One!

  Threat rating: One star!

  "Slime Girl: Slime girls are—ERROR…"

  SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!

  Benjamine winced as a noise, unlike anything she’d ever heard before, submerged her in its all-consuming wail! Her mind simply shut down to protect itself as she was, at once, overloaded with an untenable wave of pain and misery!

  Warning! The current Soul status is incompatible with the current host. Pre-existing anomaly detected—fixing—error, fgged as—Error... Error, p-p-paradox—Alternate solution found! Adjusting baseline for the new entity with closest approximation! Compiling changes—

  Species: Slime girl.

  Name: Benjamine Laurenette.

  Age: One.

  Mass: 3 Kilograms.

  Special designation: Hybrid.

  Level: One.

  Threat rating: One star.

  Css: No longer avaible.

  Profession: Unavaible.

  Feats: Incompatible. Relocating—adjusting for new parameters… Newly avaible feat points: 3.

  Stats.

  Endurance: 18 x2

  Strength: 18 x2

  Agility: 13 x2

  Dexterity: 15 x2

  Intelligence: 24 x2

  Wisdom: 17 x2

  Charisma: 22 x2

  Luck: 11 x2

  Benjamine’s head—hurt…

  Yet once her vision cleared of the tilting blur that had her rocking back and forth as though she were on the deck of a ship, the young woman slowly managed a grasp on her thoughts.

  Groaning, she stared at the terrifying window that had always been a constant in her life as it appeared to go through a mental breakdown.

  When it was finally finished, and seemingly happy with—whatever was happening, Benjamine was left just as confused as she’d priorly been.

  It didn't at all help that she could now ‘see’ herself. That prior visage of the curvy and attractive young woman with bzing red hair and golden eyes had—vanished. And in its pce was something truly abhorrent.

  A Wad of red goop…

  Ha! Yup… Benjamine was clearly already insane!

  Maybe she’d spent a lot longer in the ‘dark pce’ than she’d given credit, and now that she was right and properly cracked like frozen water, she was finally starting to hallucinate.

  Oh goodie! At least madness didn't seem all that bad! Indeed, if this was just the start, then Benjamine would, at the very least, stay entertained.

  Picking up the broken pieces of her psyche, the young woman corralled her spiraling thoughts, forcing them into as coherent a jumble as she could manage. Focusing, if for a moment, upon the single constant still in her life.

  Her status page.

  It was—wrong but also strange and utterly confusing.

  For one, all her feats were gone, so there was that to deal with!

  On the other hand, she had a ‘threat ranking!’ Something she had thought was exclusive to ‘monsters.’

  In truth, there was a great deal to unpack, but what stood out most amidst it all was the sight of her ‘body’ and her supposed species.

  Slime girl…

  Only the girl in her name appeared to be merely that, a title.

  Idly, Benjamine wondered again if she shouldn't simply attempt to kill herself. Surely, while it could be entertaining, her slip toward insanity wouldn't be all fun and games...

  And yet, the only thing that stopped her from committing to such an idea was the reality in which her own thoughts were still processed.

  Honestly, while her mother hadn't been wholly wrong in saying that Benny was quite like other normal people, she’d never considered herself crazy.

  No, she’d always had a method to what others considered her madness. And while she could, at times, appear a little strange, the fact was that she’d always maintained perfect cognitive functionality without ever needing to wonder if she was somehow broken.

  And, when the understanding hit that she was, even as she considered it, still coherent in her ruminations, Benjamine had a momentary flicker of genuine pause.

  She was—alive.

  She was changed but alive. And while she wasn't ‘human’ by any stretch of the imagination, after all, her status window did dispy a glorified red puddle as her avatar; the young noble dy couldn't help but note that she was not a ‘slime’ but a ‘slime-girl.’

  What was the difference?

  Well, for the uneducated, Benjamine could understand the confusion.

  See, slimes didn't have a gender. They were just—organisms… alive but not in the same manner as people, or even goblins, for that matter! No, slimes were an entity that many heralded to be as ‘simple’ as they came.

  Life at its most basic form, taken to a level in which it could operate amongst all other creatures that were infinitely more complex than its own efficient, if not barbaric, existence.

  So, right off the bat, she had a paradox.

  ‘Slime’ and ‘Girl,' simply put, had absolutely no business being in the same sentence unless it involved something along the lines of a girl being eaten by a slime or that a girl was, in turn, squishing a slime under her boot until its core broke from the pressure.

  In no way should the two words be side by side absent any others, else neither would make sense!

  And yet, here she was… staring at the queer combination as though it were a perfectly rational thing to see in one's status window.

  Now, as to what it meant for her.

  Well, since Benjamine had indeed borne witness to her status having a complete and total freakout, she was hesitant to really give any credence to her theories.

  However, if she were to take some generous leaps of logic, she could reasonably assume that she wasn't actually the same ‘creature’ as Benjamine first assumed.

  And while she’d never heard of a ‘slime girl’ before—ugh… fine! She’d at least make an attempt at survival if only to figure out what was going on.

  At this point, her aspirations were all but shot… her grand pns hurled from the parapets like the infants of a dethroned royal family…

  He dreams, her desires, her schemes… nothing remained but ash…

  So, she supposed that curiosity would have to do until she decided if life was still worth living…

  Mencholy did not behoove her. Yet mencholy was precisely the word she’d use to describe her current outlook on existence. Not surprisingly, really, Benjamine had just recently lost—everything, after all.

  Her best friend, her money, her future… Hmph! Just thinking about all those wasted hours she’d spent while carefully scheming and pnning… Hm... it just made life seem so pointless…

  Idly, Benjamine flipped through her status, noticing that, much like her now absent feats, all of her spells were gone as well.

  Oh well, she wasn't a ‘mage’ through the title of css alone!

  While she couldn't really see anything, more kind of a tremor-like map of her surroundings, Benjamine quickly determined that she was not alone—wherever it was that she was.

  Instead, she could definitely ‘sense’ that there was indeed life around her. And perhaps more specifically, the noblewoman could say that she seemed to be in a sort of lineup.

  To her left and right, there were things that occasionally moved with a kind of burbling, zy, and listless existence. The tremors they were releasing, in an odd way, were both simir to her own and decidedly less and more active from example to example.

  Annoying...

  Did that mean there were others like herself who were getting the hang of this before she was?

  Hmph!

  Okay then…

  If they were going to ud their superior moving abilities over her, then she was going to ude her own talents over them in turn...