Greg's lungs hurt as he pushed through the crowded festival streets. He looked everywhere for Hammy's see-through shape or the unique coat Varian had been wearing.

The slime's sad chirping had stopped a few minutes ago, drowned out by the sounds of street performers, merchants selling their goods, and the general craziness of thousands of people celebrating.

"Hammy!" Greg yelled, not caring how desperate he sounded. "HAMMY!"

A few people looked at him with interest, but most of the people at the festival were too busy to notice another person yelling. Every second that went by made Greg's panic worse.

What did Varian do? What was wrong with Hammy? And where the hell had they both gone?

He came to a sudden stop at a busy intersection and spun around to look in all four directions. But there was nothing. No slime, no Varian, just many people and brightly colored decorations that made him feel even more hopeless.

"Fuck... fuck... fuck...!" Greg hit a wall with his fist in anger, but as soon as his knuckles hurt, he wished he hadn't done it.

A vendor at a nearby cart selling roasted nuts looked over with worry. "Are you okay, friend? It looks like you lost something."

"I did," Greg said, grabbing on to the possible help. "A slime. It's blueish and see-through, and it's about this big." He moved his hands. "Has a hammer in it. Did you see it go by?"

The vendor thought for a moment and scratched his chin. "Slime with a hammer in it? That's very clear detail about the slime..."

"Yes, I did see something like that bounce by about ten minutes ago going about... that way!" He pointed down one of the side streets that led away from the festival center.

"Thanks!" Greg ran away before the man could say anything.

He asked everyone he saw. Most people hadn't seen anything, but every few blocks, he'd find someone who remembered a weird slime bouncing around in a certain direction. Every confirmed sighting took him farther from the Grand Forge, the city center, and closer to the edges.

"I watched it go toward the west gate," an old woman said, her wrinkled face kind even though she was clearly upset. "That poor thing looked scared. Jumping around like its life depended on it."

"West gate," Greg said under his breath, and his legs were already moving. He remembered from the maps they'd looked at that the west side of Meridian faced the forest. "Why would Hammy go there?"

The sun was starting to set by the time he got to the west gate. The sky was painted in orange and pink colors that would have looked beautiful in any other situation. The guards at the gate remembered seeing Slime go through.

One guard said, "That's a strange little thing."

"I didn't try to stop it because it wasn't causing any problems, but they went straight into the woods. That's not how a slime usually acts."

Greg looked at the trees beyond the gate. The shadows were getting longer, and the trees were already getting darker.

It was never a wise idea to go into the woods at night. Everyone was aware of that.

Monsters came out at night. They stayed away from human settlements during the day, but they were brave enough to hunt when the sun went down.

"I have to go in there," Greg said, mostly to himself.

The second guard said, "Sir, I wouldn't recommend it. It's getting late right now because after dark, the forest isn't safe."

Greg said simply, "My friend is in there," and turned on his arm guard. The Guardian's Oath shield appeared for a short time before he got rid of it to show that he wasn't completely unprepared. "I'll be alright because of my shield here."

The guards looked at each other but didn't stop him. Greg thought they saw a lot of adventurers and competitors taking risks at the festival. They probably weren't too worried about one more person going into danger.

...

The smell of pine and earth greeted him as he pushed deeper into the trees, and the sounds of the city faded behind him. Once he got under the canopy, the temperature dropped a lot, and Greg suddenly felt chills that made him cautious of his surroundings.

"Hammy!" he yelled, and his voice sounded strange among the trees. "Hey, Hammy! It's safe now!"

There was no answer, just the sound of leaves rustling and a bird calling from far away as it settled in for the night. Greg kept going, hoping that the path he was on made sense instead of getting completely lost.

He called Hammy's name every few minutes and stopped to listen for a response. The light kept getting dimmer, and Greg had to turn on his arm guard just to use its weak glow as a temporary light source.

"This is fucking dumb," he said to himself as he pushed through a thick patch of undergrowth. "Why did I go alone like this...? I should've gotten help or maybe grabbed a lantern."

"But still... the important shit is that I should've done anything but run into a forest alone at night."

But the sight of Hammy bouncing around in fear and the sound of those sad chirps kept him going. His family had faith in him to get their slime home safely. He was not going to let them down.

He had been walking for about twenty minutes when he heard a soft, barely audible chirping coming from somewhere to his left. Greg stopped moving and tried to hear it again.

There. It definitely chirped, and it sounded like Hammy's voice.

"Hammy?" Greg called out softly and moved toward the sound. "Hey, is that you?"

The chirping got a little louder and more persistent. Greg pushed through a thick group of bushes and ended up in a small clearing. Hammy was huddled under the exposed roots of a giant tree.

The slime looked awful. It was no longer bouncing around happily. Instead, it was shaking and still, which made Greg's heart hurt. He could see the hammer inside, but it looked dim, as if Hammy's pain was affecting even that.

Greg said softly, "Hey, little guy," and moved slowly so the slime wouldn't get scared. "It's okay. I'm here now."

Hammy made a sad chirping noise but didn't come out of its hiding place. Greg knelt down a few feet away and pulled out one of the energy bars Lylia had packed for everyone that morning.

In all the chaos, he had completely forgotten about it. He took his time unwrapping it and broke off a small piece.

"You must be hungry, right? And afraid. I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner."

He held out the energy bar, and after a long time, Hammy slowly came out from under the roots. The slime moved slowly, as if it were checking to see if this was real or a trick. It got close enough to eat the food through its jelly-like body, and Greg could have sworn he heard a joyful sigh.

Greg said, "There you go," and gave him another piece. "See? It's all good now, buddy."

Hammy bounced once, then twice, and then, out of nowhere, jumped at Greg's chest, holding on to him and chirping quickly. Greg carefully wrapped his arms around the slime and felt its cool, jelly-like texture on his skin.

"Alright, alright, I have you. Stop being so spoiled," he said softly. "You're safe now."

"Let's take you back home."

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