Chapter 47: Prelims Day 3 (Part 1)

[Haaaaaa... ...tired.] - Rose

[We have to stay awake Rose, or is it Austin? What should I refer to you by?] - Malaise

[Honestly? Rose sounds more natural to me at this point... P-Plus I think it's probably a bad idea to spread around my past name like that. Never know when someone is listening. Right? That's definitely the reason...] - Rose

[Oh? So your current body is that natural is it?] - Veronica

[Shut it Ver! Anyways I'd agree with your decision to not use your past name, while the average person won't think that you're a reincarnated individual it would be a bad idea to give any ideas to the Church like that. They push the human superiority idea and you're a... wait a second! Was that attack on the social somehow related to this?] - Malaise

[To tell the truth I'm not sure, I only remember bits and pieces of the attack but the Principal and my parents seemed to think it was connected. I don't really know how much they...] - Rose

[If I may interject Goddess Rose, from my calculations based on the memories you've shared with me I would be surprised if this Church you spoke of has anything more than suspicions at this point. I'd recommend hiding your abilities as long as possible to keep them from unnecessary actions although it's a...] - Logic

[Rose! Rose are you okay!?!] - Malaise

Yawning as I squinted into the bright morning sun I thought back to the night before. Our group had stayed up nearly halfway through the night and the inclusion of Annabelle had only extended our time awake to the point that we'd only gotten like 3-4 hours of sleep. Her personal maid, at first angry at being left behind, had quickly learned that everyone present last night knew of her past life which only awakened her tendency for teasing at seeing new avenue's for getting a rise out of me. Of course even she had been shocked to learn that Karen was also someone from my past world and was even someone I knew personally. She'd even wondered aloud at the chances of a person I know not only being reincarnated just like myself but also being reborn as a non-human entity considering the fact that every instance of reincarnation previously had been a human.

Malaise, being the more scholarly of our group, brought up several ideas to solve this seeming contradiction which led to our resident tomboy nerd slime talking excitedly together with her newly found friend. Rather than join in I had decided to watch over them nerding out. As for the issue of my strange birth Logic had come up with several possibilities but he had concluded that more information was required before settling on a specific one.

Thinking about all of that and more I offhandedly answered Malaise's question about how to call me from now on. Embarrassed at revealing my comfort with my new body I quickly thought up another reason to not use my old name only to fail miserably at hiding anything from our resident pervert. Malaise, ever the leash for Veronica, reined the succubus in to agree with my "fake" reason only to have a revelation about the previous event concerning me. Trying to convey what I knew I suddenly felt a voice speaking in my head as Logic contacted me to insert his own idea as to how much our current enemy knew. Distracted by the voice from my inner world I didn't realize that I had stopped speaking in the middle of my sentence until several seconds later when I came back to find my shoulder's being shaken by a panicked foxgirl.

[Sorry sorry, I'm fine. I just got a little lost in my thoughts there...] - Rose

[Okay? Are you sure everything is okay?] - Malaise

[Yeah you were completely out of it!] - Veronica

[...lifeless eyes.] - Shade

[What she said.] - Veronica

[R-Right, hey listen I... actually nevermind I'll tell you later, let's get to the Arena so we can catch Karen's last matches.] - Rose

Hearing their input on what had happened I tried to think of a way to talk about the voice in my head without sounding completely bonkers but decided to let it go for now since I realistically couldn't think of a way to prove I wasn't insane. I hadn't even told Karen about Logic and the other's yet so I decided to tell everyone together later and ask Logic to think of a way to allow other's to interact with him. It's not like my Mind's Palace made much of a difference at the moment.

Malaise, suspicious about the sudden change of subject looked like she was about to object to my obvious dodge but my promise to tell her later seemed to satisfy her enough that she nodded at my suggestion to go and watch the tournament.

[GOOD MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I hope everyone enjoyed themselves at last night's dance, we know we did! Now for any of you new couples turn away from your partner for the next few matches left since you don't want to miss the exciting last day of the Preliminary tournament!!!] - Judico

[We're at the last few contestant's that can continue on and as such we will be having one match per contestant with the tournament continuing until the last 5 people drop out!!! This last leg of the Preliminaries can go any direction so don't give up hope if your favorite already has 2 losses! You never know when the underdog will bite back! As always the betting odds for each contestant are already available in the booking lobby so if you need to make any last minute bets you only have until the first match!] - Judico

[Now for those of you that have been present since the first day this will seem repetitive but as always we will explain the rules once more for any new people in the audience! So first things first...] - Judico

Ignoring the rest of the enthusiastic announcer Karen turned to the prostrating samurai in front of her and sighed. She was starting to get tired of this reaction since they'd met this morning. Apparently blaming himself for not being present in her time of need the man in front of her hadn't allowed his head to leave the ground for more than a few seconds at a time as he asked to be allowed to accompany her at all times to which she had vehemently refused. She was scared of being attacked again but giving up her privacy was out of the question.

[Please Mistress!?!] - Kurata

[No.] - Karen

[But how can this one protect Mistress if this one is not near? If anything happened to Mistress Karen this one's life will have no meaning.] - Kurata

[No mean no, also stop calling me Mistress.] - Karen

Sighing once more at the desperate swordsman's request she once more rejected his request, soundly shooting down any chance of him squirming himself even more into her life. His pitiful gaze however nearly made her break and she quickly turned away to escape his pleading eyes. She truly didn't mean to be cruel to the poor man, in fact she completely understood his reasoning, she HAD been attacked while they were separated afterall. That did not mean however that she was willing to be waited on hand and foot by some person that she'd only known for three days regardless of the reason. She knew he blamed himself for her current condition, which she hadn't noticed until after she'd calmed down. She was purple.

After talking with Malaise she'd learned about her actions after she lost consciousness and the glossed over description of how she had literally eaten the assassin's had sent chills down her nonexistent spine. According to Malaise and the book she found on the subject color seemed to have to do with diet as far as slime's were concerned so it was extremely likely that her consumption of the attackers, dead or not, had fundamentally changed her. On top of that she'd been warned about the fact that as a off-color slime she'd be treated with far more suspicion than she had been previously since in the wild slime's got more dangerous and vicious when they were a different color than blue.

According to the foxgirl her color was strange for a slime however as there hadn't been a single recorded instance of a purple slime, at which point I suggested it might be the halfway point between a blue and red slime but apparently in nature a slime's color change wasn't gradual, literally changing within minutes at the slowest. So bad news was she was now purple and would be trusted less as a result and even attacked without question in some circumstances. Good news was she wasn't likely to change color again and the color was quite fetching as far as she was concerned. All in all, not really that different if someone met her outside of a city so no real change as far as she knew.

[As far as protection goes I can take care of myself, plus I'm more powerful than you so what could you even do regardless?] - Karen

[Mistress is correct, this one is pathetically weak as a warrior... If this one was facing a warrior that was stronger than Mistress this one would use this one's own body as a shield for Mistress.] - Kurata

[Don't talk like that! Didn't I tell you to value your own life?!? If you can't...] - Karen

[N-No Mistress! This one understands! This one will not speak of such things again!] - Kurata

Thinking she'd found a way to persuade the persistent warrior, albeit in a slightly cruel way, she was shocked when the man responded with his willingness to throw away his own life so she could save her own. Angry now at the reminder of how nonchalant he had originally been with his life's worth she threatened him with being left behind to which he instantly backtracked whilst panicking, she hoped he was being truthful since the idea of someone dying for her was far worse than facing those assassin's again. The idea terrified her.

[Our next match brings back a fan favorite! Lightning Flash Karen!!!! Now I've been told that due to a certain event after the matches were over last night our beloved Slime has undergone a bit of an image change but she's still the powerhouse we know and love! Introducing LIGHTNING FLASH KAREN!!!!] - Judico

[W-Well it's time... I hope Austin is watching... I did let him know where to go right? W-Well let's focus on the match.] - Karen

[And on the other side we have another fan favorite that's been hanging on to his last chance since the first day! Supposedly he lost his first two matches on purpose to put himself under pressure! What a contestant! Without further ado welcome Razor's Edge Edgar the Merciless Fist!!!] - Judico

Catching the announcement of her opponent as she made her way to the arena's stage the slime girl couldn't help but be impressed by the man's dedication. And from the sound of it he was a martial artist like herself.

[So you're finally in front of me then? I've watched your matches with anticipation and it seems Lady Luck has finally smiled on me.] - Edgar

[Huh? What you going on about?] - Karen

[Oh just reveling in my good luck at facing a powerful opponent such as yourself. Especially one that uses the way of the fist in an unknown style. I look forward to your instruction during our match.] - Edgar

[R-Right. Well let's get on with it then, try to last more than a few seconds.] - Karen

Tensing her lower body she launched herself immediately upon the match start, more cautiously than she would normally but still faster than the reaction times of all but the best fighters. Closing in on her opponent she was surprised at his seeming lack of a response but just figured that she was too fast for the man only to see sky a moment before her fist struck his face.

[Huh?] - Karen

[You through warming up or do you want to spar a little more?] - Edgar

The ground. Somehow she had gone from nearly invisible levels of speed to a complete stop with her back against the ground in the span of less than a second. Quickly checking herself for damage she found herself completely intact, with no apparent damage in spite of the very sudden stop. Her opponent, hands lazily raised into a defensive position, continued watching her with interest as she continued to lay down with her back flat against the ground.

[I didn't hurt you did I? I'd thought you were made of sterner stuff but I...] - Edgar

Trying something new Karen reformed her body instead of trying to stand up and once more went for a blisteringly fast jab, this time while keeping part of her consciousness focused on the man's response only to not react at all as his fist suddenly slammed into her stomach, stunning her.

[H-How?] - Karen

[Oh? You're still conscious then? Honestly I'd expected that blow to immediately knock you out. This is certainly a pleasant surprise.] - Edgar

Pain. Despite being supposedly immune to pure physical attacks the man's punch hit like a truck and waves of pain radiated outward from where she'd been hit. Something was wrong.

[Punching a slime? How?] - Karen

[Oh that? Afraid you'll have to figure that one out on your own, can't make it too friendly now.] - Edgar

[But tell you what, you beat me and I'll not only tell you how I did that I'll introduce you to my master and the one who taught me everything I know. He'd love to meet someone with such a unique style of fighting.] - Edgar

Rapidly recovering from the strong body blow she'd received the confused slime girl forced herself to focus everything on her opponent, trying figure out how he had actually hit her with his fist as she once more rushed at the man in a straight line. Seemingly expecting her to repeat herself her opponent swung for where he was expecting her to be only to be surprised as she slammed into his side at high speed. During this however Karen noted that the air in front of his fist rippled slightly as if it was vibrating, giving her an idea as to what he was actually doing.

Surprised, but not injured, the man in front of her recovered his stance nearly instantaneously, blocking off any attempt at a follow-up attack.

[Oho? So you do adapt to new situations! I was afraid you were only physically strong and that you might not be able to actually plan ahead. Although considering how you dealt with that foolish mage on the first day I should have known better.] - Edgar

[You're... vibrating the air in front of your fist somehow...] - Karen

[Ah?!? You saw that much? How good of eye's do you even have?!?] - Edgar

[Not telling.] - Karen

[Fair enough, but yes you're right I most certainly am sending vibrations out through my punches. Not that knowing that will help you any. Now bring it on I want to see how far you can go in this match!] - Edgar

Facing each other once again the man in front of her once more praised her abilities, something that was strange in normal circumstances but even more bizarre when fighting against each other. Originally planning to keep her discovery about his strikes to herself she felt compelled to reveal her new knowledge as the man in front of her, despite being her opponent, was actually starting to grow on her and she found herself wanting to keep the match as fair as possible. Mutual fairness had it's limits of course and she declined answering his question about her vision to which he nodded and requested a continuation of the match.