No Step On Slime

Chapter 2: He's No God, I'm No Master

There was a large metal door that was slightly ajar at the end of the cave. Judging from the dust that was gathered on only certain parts of the door, it was opened recently.

Neither Rimuru nor I wanted to find out who the visitors were, so we made off quickly.

The outside world wasn't the hypothetical hellish landscape or frozen-over world that I feared. In fact, it felt so close to how spring at home felt that I could almost imagine being back in the States when I closed my eyes.

There was wildlife, and it wasn't actually hostile! I wasn't keen on meeting another oversized angry insect, for sure.

"I haven't really met any other living thing before you," I told Rimuru. "Well, there was that centipede. Bastard tried to kill me, so I skinned it."

"I could tell," Rimuru replied. "You've made some interest armor with its shell. A craftsman in your former life?"

"Something along those lines, I suppose."

The air here was so crisp. So many years of industrial work back home had made the touch of humanity almost impossible to avoid, no matter where you tried to go. Heavy metal and plastic contamination ran in the soil, even if you were to travel to wood land that had no other manmade structures within miles.

This forest in comparison was untouched, untainted, and most importantly ripe for exploitation.

But I knew the lessons of my old world. Destroying an environment such as this was certainly not a course of action I was going to take.

"Rimuru, you happen to have any idea on what the hell I am?"

I wasn't expecting him to have a direct answer to that. But getting an idea of what I am is better than not knowing at all.

"You don't know?" the slime asked. "And you aren't able to tell?"

I shook my head. "I ain't human, that's for sure. Haven't felt hungry or tired once at all. And there's seams around my body with some metal material beneath them, that's about all I know."

"Give me a moment," Rimuru replied. "Let me check..."

I watched the slime as he stopped hopping. It seemed the little guy was focusing.

"It seems you're... well, I'm not getting anything. Sorry, but it says you're unidentified."

Rimuru was quiet for a bit more, before adding, "You're a monster for sure. Or not a human, at least. You're definitely not a human."

"That's all you know?" I asked.

"If I had to guess, based on the metallic seams around your body, you're some type of robot? Maybe a golem, or even a doll. I'm taking this from video game knowledge so I don't know if it's actually true or not."

I was curious: If I was some sort of 'doll', that would mean that I should be able to hear my interior mechanics when they move. I held a hand up to my ear and flexed it open and closed.

There was a faint clacking sound... but I couldn't tell for sure. The sounds of the surrounding environment were drowning it out.

"You're able to 'check'? So, uh, you're not sure?"

Rimuru then looked up at me with confusion. "I don't know why you were asking in the first place. Shouldn't you have been able to examine yourself?"

"No, whaddaya mean? You think I have an encyclopedia on hand?"

Rimuru hopped into my arms and looked up. "No, I'm talking about Sage. Mine isn't working on you, but yours should tell you about your race, shouldn't it?"