[hr][center][h3]??? — Dilapidated Shack[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/JhorTIT.png[/img] 《 Level 1 Introvert 》 [@ERode][@TheMushroomLord][@PKMNB0Y][/center][hr] The Slime looked...droopy? Some parts of it almost sloughed off before it seemed to barely be able to reel them back into its central mass. The elf had asked it if it was human--had [i]been[/i] human. [i]Right, monster reincarnation was a thing too...and, oh God, I hope this is a Dragon Quest ripoff world and not one of those Cultivate-For-Thirty-Millenia worlds...[/i] But why was he the only human out of the bunch? And he was still wearing his clothes he'd been in on the flight, whereas this other guy had a whole new wardrobe set and the slime had... Nothing. Not even eyes or antennae or anything. For a moment Connor's overactive imagination, completely overdosed on all the tropes he mindlessly consumed instead of working on anything productive, managed to activate his dulled sense of empathy. To imagine what it would be like, trapped inside such a body. No limbs, no senses. That creature couldn't even...hold itself together. When it answered the elf's question, its distorted, wobbling voice was slow, and quiet, and, maybe only in Connor's imagination, afraid. "W-wait," he said, his own fear and survival instincts trumping any mote of kindness, "M-maybe it's lying!" [i]Maybe the elf is too. Some isekai burn otherworlders like witches, after all...[/i] Not too far from him, a board that must've once sealed one of the windows now hung from a single rusty nail. He could probably swing it with both hands if he tried really hard-- The six-and-a-half-plus foot elf, with inhuman grace, covered the distance between them in uncanny steps. The slime was plopped into his chest before he had a chance to refuse. And... [quote]“If you want to die, tell him. He'll do it for 'EXP'.”[/quote] Connor looked up at the elf, and down at the slime. Physical contact was not something he was familiar with even among his own kind. It was not any more comfortable holding a...a monster. A monster that used to be his own kind. The slime was still drooping. Connor bent his knees and carefully deposited it on top of the tarp it had been under before, so that none of its goopy bits would slip away between the floorboards if it couldn't keep them attached. Maybe being able to sit on a solid surface for a bit would...help it? [quote]“You seem to know about this situation. Let’s head out and talk about it. What's your name?”[/quote] "W-wait!" He shrank back again, in the process falling onto his butt--though a sidelong glance told him he was still within lunging distance of that dangling board. "U-um, I, I think we should stay here, at least while we, um, get our bearings!" He looked around the shack again, not because he expected to see anything different, but because he didn't want to look the elf in the eyes. He gulped down a breath to try and calm himself but his speech still came out fast and nervous. "S-survival 101 is shuh-shelter, water, f-fire, th-then f-food!" Or at least, that's what the bushcraft content creators always said. And he doubted they could punch trees to obtain building materials like in his early-access, never-finished, copycat survival crafting games. He pointed outside, where the occasional shadow of movement and the sounds of muted voices could still be perceived. "W-we don't know if NPCs are hostile, either. So, um..." Slowly he got back up, dusting off his knees and glancing at the slime with concern. "Slime, if, uh...if you can hear me...It's hard to talk to you--[i]for[/i] you, right now. If something you, uh, wanna weigh in on comes up...make...a, um, a loud hiss or...fart noise...or something." Then, he finally managed to make eye contact; at least with the elf's pale, smooth forehead. "Just...call me C, for now." [i]Never give your name to a fae.[/i] "I w-was on a plane. My world was called Earth." [i]Some isekai aren't always Modern Earth to Fantasy. Maybe that's why these people aren't Human--the elf might've come from some Crystal Spires and Togas world...[/i] "I-if you came from the same world...then, uh...who's the current President of the United States of America?" Just about anyone from a "first world" country would probably know that, given how his nation had an unfortunate penchant over the last...what, hundred years?...of butting their heads into everything everywhere. When the elf--and maybe the slime--had answered that, Connor nodded...and, despite recoiling at the idea of being grabbed, held out a trembling hand for the other humanoid to shake. "As f-far as we can tell...we're somewhere that isn't home. I found this, earlier: Status!" He opened the glowing screen again, and using his hand, moved it as if it were a tab on a touch-device. To the elf, "Can you see this? Or open your own?" After receiving the answer he continued, "From what I can read on mine, "Magic" and "Stats" appear to be...a thing. Considering that two of us are non-humans, I'm gonna assume Monsters--Demons, goblins, dragons, whatever--are also a thing." He jerked his head towards the windows. "And given what I can see outside, I'm assuming this world is gonna be like something out of an LotR fanfiction." He took a high pitched breath and continued, "Usually in this genre, um, those who are transported will have some kind of ability the rest of the world doesn't--and, um, sometimes they've been transported for a reason. L-like, a Ch-chosen Hero k-kind of situation." He started to redden in the face again, because he could just [i]tell[/i] the elf probably wasn't a big dumb nerd like him. "We're not standing in front of a King or a Princess or anything, though, so I'm assuming if there's a reason for us b-being here, it's only known by...who, or whatever, [i]put[/i] us here." [i]Lots of times it's a goddess of some sort. But surely they wouldn't just send us in blind? Unless their involvement had to be kept secret?[/i] Again he tried to access that...hole...in his memory, and again his head started to hurt. Was he babbling too much? Was the elf going to get angry at him? Or bored enough to abandon him? Was the slime even taking any of this in? "S-so, um...I th-think it'd be best for us to keep a l-low profile!" He held up a finger, then raised another. "Step two, see if we can find a map, or some roadsigns, or a big building called an Adventurer's Guild, or maybe a, uh, an inn. And step three, um..." He blinked rapidly as he tried to think past the intro chapters of the latest trashy light novel he'd read. "Ask about rumors or news from around the area, maybe? Get an idea of what's going on in this world--like, is the Demon King waging war or something." Still pink in the face, knees shaking, Connor once again looked between his two erstwhile companions. "U-um...do-does...does that w-work for y'all?" [i]Shit! Accent slipped![/i]