The forest was silent. Too silent. The birds had stopped singing. The wind itself seemed to be holding its breath.
Bren was on the ground, staring. His mouth hung open, but no sound came out. His eyes were wide, first fixed on the empty spot where the giant, terrifying Rock-Tusk had just been, then slowly moving to the small, glowing blue slime that now sat there, pulsing softly. Finally, his gaze landed on Coker's face. His expression wasn't just shocked. It was pure, undiluted fear.
Coker's own heart was pounding, but not from the fight. It was from fear of what came next. He knew that look. It was the look everyone in the village had given him. The look that said he was a monster. An outsider. He had just found the first person who was nice to him in days, and he had ruined it by showing the terrifying truth.
He expected Bren to scramble backward, to scream, to call his badger and run away as fast as he could. Coker braced himself for it. The familiar ache of loneliness started to fill his chest, sharper than the pain in his bitten arm.
Bren's Metal-Badger let out a low, confused grunt, nudging its master's hand. The touch seemed to break the spell.
Bren blinked. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
"It…" he began, his voice a dry, cracked whisper. He cleared his throat, his eyes darting back to the slime. "It… *ate* it."
It wasn't a question. It was a statement of unbelievable fact.
Coker could only nod, his throat too tight to speak. He waited for the rejection.
But it didn't come. Bren's fear-filled expression began to change. The terror in his eyes didn't vanish, but it was slowly pushed aside by something else. Something stronger. A burning, overwhelming curiosity. It was like watching a fire start from a single spark.
"Where…" Bren whispered, his eyes wide. "Where did it go? The boar… where is it?"
He wasn't running. He was asking questions.
Coker found his voice. "I… I don't know," he said honestly. "Inside it, I guess. It just… absorbs it."
Bren slowly, shakily, got to his feet. He didn't take a step back. He took a step *forward*, toward the slime. He moved like someone approaching a sleeping dragon—cautiously, but unable to look away.
"And the light…" Bren continued, his voice getting a little stronger, filled with wonder. "The blue light… that was it? That was the slime?"
Coker nodded again, a tiny flicker of hope starting to push back the loneliness inside him. "Yes."
The dam broke. Bren's questions came out in a rushed, excited flood. All his fear seemed to have been transformed into a need to understand.
"How?!" he finally burst out, the word loud in the quiet forest. "How does it *do* that? I've never… I've never seen anything like that! Ever! Can it do it again? Can it—can it become the boar? Is that why you said it was strong? Because it can… *become* what it eats?"
He was looking at Coker now, his eyes shining with an intensity that was almost frightening. He wasn't seeing a Zero-Star Summoner anymore. He was seeing a mystery.
Coker took a deep breath. This was the moment. He could lie, he could try to hide it again. But Bren had seen. And he hadn't run. He was still here.
He decided to trust.
"Yes," Coker said, his voice firmer now. "It… devours things. And then it can copy them. It can turn into them."
He looked down at the slime. It glowed a little brighter, as if it knew it was the center of attention. The connection in Coker's mind hummed softly. He could feel its satisfaction, its fullness.
"Show me," Bren said, his voice full of awe. It wasn't a demand. It was a plea. "Please, Coker. Can you show me?"
Coker's heart swelled. No one had ever said "please" to him about his summon. They had only ever laughed or screamed. He nodded.
He focused on the connection in his mind. He pictured the Rock-Tusk—its rough, stone-like skin, its powerful legs, its sharp, curved tusks. He poured the image toward the slime, along with a simple command: *Mimic.*
The slime began to change.
It wobbled and then stretched upward, growing larger and larger. Its blue, translucent form solidified, taking on a new shape. Legs formed, thick and powerful. A body, covered in what looked like solid, blue, shimmering stone. A head with two deadly, glowing tusks.
Within seconds, where the small slime had been, now stood a perfect copy of the Rock-Tusk. It was made entirely of that mysterious blue energy, glowing from within, a spectral and powerful creature. It stood perfectly still, waiting.
Bren gasped. He stumbled back a single step, his hand flying to his mouth. His badger hid behind his legs, whining softly.
"By the gods…" Bren breathed. He took a hesitant step forward, then another. He reached out a trembling hand.
"It's okay," Coker said softly. "It won't hurt you. It's… it's still mine."
Bren's fingertips gently touched the boar's flank. He jerked his hand back for a second, as if expecting it to be hot, but then touched it again.
"It's… cool," he said, amazed. "And smooth. Like polished stone, but… alive." He looked at the glowing blue form, his fear completely replaced by wonder. "It's incredible. Coker, this is… this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen."
Tears pricked at the corners of Coker's eyes. He blinked them away rapidly. Those words—*amazing, incredible*—were words he had never dreamed anyone would use for him or his slime. A huge weight, one he had been carrying since the summoning ritual, felt like it was finally lifting from his shoulders. He wasn't alone with his secret anymore.
Bren finally turned away from the spectral boar to look at Coker, his expression completely serious now.
"Everyone…" Bren began, his voice low. "Everyone thinks you're a Zero-Star. They think your summon is a joke." He shook his head, a fierce look in his eyes. "They're idiots. All of them. This isn't a weak summon, Coker. This is… I don't even know what this is. It's legendary."
Hearing someone else say it out loud made it feel real. Coker felt a smile touch his lips for the first time in what felt like forever.
"But…" Bren's expression turned worried. "You can't let anyone else know. Not yet."
Coker's smile faded. "I know."
"If people found out… if the Guild found out…" Bren trailed off, but the meaning was clear. They would either try to take it, try to control Coker, or they would be so scared they would try to destroy him. Power like this scared people.
Bren looked at Coker, really looked at him. He saw the tiredness in his eyes, the poorly wrapped wound on his arm, the old clothes. He saw a boy who had been kicked out of his home for being "useless."
A new determination settled on Bren's face.
"Your plan was to go to Ironhaven and carry water," Bren stated.
Coker looked down, embarrassed. "Yes."
"No," Bren said, his voice firm. "Absolutely not. That's a waste. A complete waste."
"What else can I do?" Coker asked, the hopelessness from earlier threatening to return.
"What else can you do?" Bren repeated, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Are you kidding? You can become the strongest summoner who ever lived. That's what you can do."
He stepped closer, his eyes blazing with excitement. "You don't need a Guild. You don't need their training. You just need to *feed it*."
He pointed at the glowing Rock-Tusk, which shimmered under the forest canopy.
"Think about it, Coker! If it can become a Rock-Tusk after eating just one… what happens if it eats something bigger? Something faster? Something with wings? There's no limit!"
The idea was so huge, so overwhelming, that Coker could barely grasp it. He had only thought about surviving the next day. Bren was thinking about conquering the world.
"But… how?" Coker asked. "I'm just one person. I almost got killed by a wild dog. I got lucky with the boar."
"You're not one person anymore," Bren said, putting a hand on Coker's shoulder. The gesture was friendly and solid. "You've got me. And my badger might not be a fighter, but he's an amazing tracker. He can find anything. He can lead us to monsters. The right monsters. We can be smart about it. We can find weaker ones first, so you can practice. We can avoid big groups. We can hunt together."
He was offering everything. Friendship. Help. A purpose.
"Why?" Coker asked, his voice thick with emotion. "Why would you help me? You have a life. You're going to be a blacksmith."
Bren's grin turned a little crooked. "My dad was disappointed I got a badger. He wanted a Wolf-Hound for our family's prestige. Being a blacksmith is a good job, yeah. But it's… normal." He looked at the glowing blue boar again, his eyes full of wonder. "This? This is an adventure. This is being part of something… huge. This is a lot better than pounding metal all day."
He looked back at Coker, his expression completely sincere. "Let me help you. Let me be your… your strategist. Your scout. Let's do this together. You protect us with your slime, and I'll help you find the food it needs to get stronger. A pact."
Coker looked at Bren's outstretched hand. He thought about the lonely road, the shame, the fear. He thought about the crushing silence in his house. Then he thought about having a friend. An ally. Someone to talk to. Someone who didn't think he was a failure.
A single tear finally escaped and rolled down his cheek. He didn't bother to wipe it away.
He reached out and took Bren's hand. The grip was strong and warm.
"Okay," Coker said, his voice choked but clear. "Together."
Bren's smile was brilliant. "Yes! A pact! Partners!"
The glowing Rock-Tusk dissolved, melting back into the small, happy-looking slime, which jiggled enthusiastically as if agreeing.
"First things first," Bren said, his practical side taking over. He pointed to Coker's arm. "We need to properly clean and bandage that. Can't have you getting an infection." He rummaged in his pack and pulled out a clean cloth and a small pouch of water.
As Bren carefully helped him clean the dog bite, Coker felt a warmth spread through him that had nothing to do with the sun. It was the warmth of friendship, of acceptance. He wasn't alone.
"Okay, next," Bren said, tying off the bandage. "We need a new plan. We're not going to Ironhaven. Not yet, anyway."
"Where are we going?" Coker asked.
"We need to find a safe place to make a camp. Somewhere hidden, near water." Bren closed his eyes and concentrated. His Metal-Badger sniffed the air, its nose twitching, then grunted and pointed its snout toward the east. "Riley says there's a stream that way, and a rocky outcrop that might have caves. We can hide there."
Coker was impressed. "Riley?"
Bren patted his badger fondly. "That's his name. Didn't you name your slime?"
Coker looked down at the slime, which had crawled back into his pocket. He hadn't even thought of that. To everyone else, it wasn't worth a name. He pulled it out. It glowed softly in his hand.
"No," he said softly. "I didn't."
"Well, you have to!" Bren said. "He's part of the team now!"
Coker looked at the slime. It had been his shame, his curse. But now, it was his strength. It was his future. It was his partner, just as much as Bren was.
A name came to him, simple and perfect.
"Apex," he said.
Bren raised an eyebrow. "Apex? Like… the top? The best?"
Coker nodded, a new confidence filling him. "Yeah. Because that's what we're going to be."
Bren laughed, a happy, excited sound. "I like it! Come on, Team Apex! Let's go find a home!"
And as the two boys and the badger turned away from the path to Ironhaven and headed east into the deeper, unknown woods, Coker felt a feeling he thought he'd lost forever: hope.
The path ahead wasn't lonely anymore. It was an adventure. And for the first time, he couldn't wait to see what was next.