Jiji no. 8

Spot

It was indeed very unexpected for Holder to see Benny Flick in the Blacksmith house, or even as the blacksmith itself. If he would be guessing the game: ‘who is the Blacksmith?’ perhaps he would loss in an instant, for the least man whom he would expect to be the Blacksmith, is this man Benny.

The first time he saw the man, he was impressively neat and fragrant with a scent of lady-like perfume. Wearing his battle suit which then is made only of fiber and cotton, he looked a person belonging to the royal family. But he wasn’t. Instead, here he was, at the family of Blacksmiths, with an incredible skill of crafting iron-made weapons and armors.

Currently, Holder’s neck and nape was bursting with tired sweat. He was breathing hard as he did his best not to fall down.

He was hanging. Two hands dangling, grabbing forcefully to the metal bars above, so that he won’t then fall miserably. Below him, the world seems glowing in bright illumination of red. He doesn’t want to look at it, but when sometimes he forget why he was there, hanging, he would look down the ground. But instead of ground, he would see a red and bright molten metal from a thousand degreed hot Sen Coal. He would then remembered that Benny placed him there, above a huge cauldron with extremely hot and molten metal that if his arms would slip from the metal bars, his blood and bone and meat would be a special ingredient for whatever weapon would Benny create. The thing inside the cauldron, is a molten metal.

“Benny, please . . .” Holder asked as he struggled to keep his arms holding at the metal bar. His hands were starting to feel numb. It was starting to be weak as well. His sweat trickled down from his forehead, to his neck. The steam of the molten metal was adding a special effect to his misery. Damn.

“Uh, uh,” said Benny. “You have to do that punishment for an hour, remember?”

“I’m sorryyyy! Being late was just—was just inevitable for me! You know … this was my first time in the central kingdom. Won’t you consider it? Come on, pretty Benny, I’m just . . . I wasn’t familiar with the Central Kingdom. I do not even have any idea earlier where the Blacksmith house would be, or who would be my trainor!”

“Aweee. How sad, you wandered in the central kingdom without anyone to guide you.”

“Yes! Can you imagine that, Benny? I am . . . I am just alone, wandering at the streets filled with random people, hoping the evil would not smell the blood of fragrant me, oh goodness! The world . . . the street . . . it was the street of evil. A chupacabra! A chupacabra! And I have to travel alone. I . . . a lonely man who knew nothing . . . travelling in the most lonely and most evil streets,” Holder said dramatically. He sounded the man reciting poem in a theatrical play. He even pretended to shed tears and a “huhuhuhu!” to add an effect to his poetic despair.

It seems working, Holder thought, as he saw Benny gasping and placing his palms on his chest, as if he was indeed pained from what Holder said, who just randomly acquired poetic license to narrate his supposed ‘hardships’.

“Oh holder,” he said, “what pain do a man as dashing as you have to encounter.”

“I don’t deserve!” Holder again, said dramatically. This time, it was as if he was at the peak of a climactic event.

“You don’t deserve!” Benny said.

“Oh my life, how could this happen? I would leave the world and swam in despair of . . . of . . . a huge cauldron bringing all the misery crystallizing in my heart! Huhuhuhu!”

“No, Not! No, Holder, a life is a life, it was precious. Come! Live on!” Benny said. He then ran with two hands half raised, like how a maiden would run if chased by their lover. “Spot, oh spot! Where art thou!” he called. He looked at the smokey room of his house, and finds a certain ‘spot’.

From his bulky shadow, a creature appeared. A dog. White is the skin, with black spots dotted around its body. A Dalmatian, one of the most intelligent breed of a beastdog. Quickly, the dog stood up with only the use of its hind legs. It placed one of its free legs in the air, spreading as if it was a hand, gesturing to welcome someone. Another of its free legs were placed on its chest. He bowed. And then, he whined—poetically.

“Oh, spot, dear spot, please help me!” Benny was persevered with his role.

“Spot, oh spot, please help me!” said Holder. His hands were too numb. It was about to slip from gripping the metal bar.

When spot saw the situation, he gasped—poetically. And then barked—poetically.

A poet dog, nice.

Spot looked at Benny, and then nodded. He quickly went to where the cauldron was. His arms started to bulge and become sinewy. He then pushed the cauldron effortlessly, despite the fact that it was too hot—yet it seemed Spot was used to it. Or maybe he was just simply not being affected by the heat. Heat-resistant?

When Spot finally removed the cauldron, Holder finally jumped down, safe. The first thing Holder realized is that maybe, the Dalmatian beastdog was Benny’s Sankt Vessel.

“Oh Holder! I am glad you are safe from the doings of the evil!” Benny said, and hugged him, despite the fact that he was the one who made that insane punishment. And then, “alright, let’s stoppy-stop this act. We have to train nowwww!” he added.

“Glad I’m alive. I think I tricked you,” holder said, grinning.

“No, Baby boy, you are actually right at the end of the duration of your punishment. You’ve been there for an hour already. Just in time. And the poetic thingy you’ve done, Ugh! I love it! Let’s do it again some other time.”

Holder felt embarrassed from what Benny said. So, it was him who was actually tricked. Benny just went with the flow of all his embarrassing acts. Bullshits.

“Uh, where is Jiji?” Holder asked. He wanted to change the subject.

“Oh, he was just there,” Holder looked at a closed room. “follow me, I will show you that cute little slimey thingy.”

Benny started to walk. Holder followed. He was wondering why Jiji did not follow and help him. He was at the verge of the death, and he would surely feel his fear. But no slime to the rescue. Earlier, Benny asked Jiji if he can go to a room (which is where they were heading right now), to get some important thing, before they could start the training. Jiji, with the help of Holder’s command, had willingly followed the order. Then soon as Jiji entered the door, Benny quickly moved and placed him on his punishment. Jiji never came back, mysteriously.

When they opened the door of the room, Holder was shocked when he saw what was inside. A slime, floating in the air. Warm steam of bubbles was erupting from the boiling water down him, on a bath tub. Jiji’s pinkish face was in a twisted way, saying that the pleasure he was having all around his body was stellar.

“That’s the reason he never came back,” said Benny. “That’s a trap for the Sankt Vessels.”

“What is that?” asked Holder.

“Zenny called that as Sankt Vessel Pleasure Emulator. SaVePE. Weird name, right? They mimic secret pleasures of the Sankt Vessels, and induce it towards them with the use of those bubbles.”

“Seriously, Jiji is unbelievable.”

“Get Jiji now. We’re going to start the training.”

****

“You can do it, Jiji! Come on!” Jiji’s face was surely on the verge of hardships. He was staring at the huge gun which Benny was holding earlier, when they first met him outside. Sweat (slimes do sweat, Holder recently discovered) was pouring down his shiny and rounded body as he tried to do something.

Mimicking the gun.

Benny said that the real demon Jiji was a great decoy. He too was a great mimic. He can mimic anything willingly, according to what he wants. That is the reason why, perhaps, Professor Zen Maxxes transferred the power into a slime. Because a slime too, has a skill similar to the real demon Jiji. At the beast kingdom, in the forests, they are considered as the greatest camouflage users. They can blend well into the surrounding so that they can escape the beasts that predates them. They can blend well by means of mimicking one inanimate thing in the forest which would never interest other predators. They can be a plant, a flower, a tree’s bark, a branch, a grass—anything that is found in the forests.

But Jiji was modified into a newer, extremely complex kind of beast. He was more than a master slime. He was a beast who can be as destructive as the project Neptune. Only that, he have to discover it himself. He too have to train his powers.

That is the reason why they were having this training: to make him get used of his power.

“Come on, Jiji. You can mimic that gun!” cheered Holder.

Benny was just staring at them, assessing their performances.

“Krrrrrr!!!” Jiji was having a hard time. But he was never giving up. He had this strong determination to continue pushing himself to do the task. It was because Holder was at his back, cheering, supporting him. How could he not do his best, then?

“Jiji, maybe the reason why you are having the difficulty to mimic the gun is that beacause you are neglecting the details,” said Holder.

Jiji looked at him with wonder. Holder too looked at him.

“I mean, have you checked the over-all look of the gun? Where was the trigger placed? The nozzle? the thing carved at the body, this bumps, and even how shiny is the gun. Have you noticed it already?”

Jiji then looked back at the gun. Holder too, stared at the gun and examine its over-all feature.

“Look at this Jiji, this place was shiny, this face was rough, like sand.” Holder was helping his partner assess the gun. What a cool sight to see. It was just one day since they started to know each other, but then now, it felt like they were bound tight to each other.

“Hmm! Hmm!” Jiji nodded with a cute voice to say he agrees.

“And then the nozzle of the gun is rounded. Hey, it was thick! Look at the place where Benny places one of his hand. It was made from a shiny wood.”

“Hmm! Hmm!”

And when they were done, Holder asked, “Can you do it, Jiji?”

Jiji nodded with a “Hmm! Hmm!”

“Then go, I’ll support you.”

Jiji then exclaimed an excited jump. “Wuu!” he then looked at the gun on his front.

The sharp, bloodied eye started to form on his eyes. He growled as he looked at the thing, as if it was a dangerous enemy. And then, he jumped. With a flick in the air, he landed down back at the table. As a gun. Similar and identical to the gun Jiji was just staring at, a while ago.

“My gods,” said Holder. “Jiji, you have made it!”

Jiji returned back being a black slime, and then jumped in joy. Before he could land back at the table, however, he returned back being the gun.

“Such a strong Sankt he is, Baby Holder,” said Benny.

“Why?” Holder asked.

“The other Sankts here had mastered the basics of their skill for at least a week. But Jiji here . . .” he tapped the Gun which was Jiji, “he did it in just a couple of hour.”

“Woah.”

“That means you are strong too, baby.”

“Huh? Why? And hey, please refrain from calling me ‘baby’, Benny.”

Benny pouted. “You’re just like my baby Duthor. You always refuse to be called by my affectionate endearments!”

Unbelievable Benny, he is.

“But yes. The Sankt would perform depending to the strength and perseverance of their owner. Perhaps the reason why Holder had outstandingly performed is that you are supporting him well, and that he was overwhelmed with your strength too. You know the saying, the strongest would set the standard. And everyone would dare to defeat the strongest by being the strongest.”

“What a weird saying.”

“Weird, but that applies to the Sankts.”

“That means . . .”

“Accept it, baby Holder. You are strong.”

Holder did not reply.

“Alright,” said Benny again. “Since Jiji managed to do his basic skill, It’s now your time to train. Grab Jiji and we’re about to practice shooting.”

“Shooting?” Holder followed Benny who was about to head to the second floor of his house.

“Shooting. You’ll use that gun to shoot something. Unless you mean other shooting.” He raised his eyebrows up and down.

Holder doesn’t understand anything, so he just followed Benny.

Still, Benny’s voice was ringing on his ears.

‘Accept it … you are strong.’

Am I? Holder asked himself.