Deep in the heart of the dungeon''s frozen tundra floor, a snow slime could be found tirelessly rolling snowballs.  Dozens of snowmen surrounded the slime, like a shimmering snow-clad family.  The slime finished the newest snowman, hopping on top of it with a sigh of contentment.


    A cool breeze wound through the snow-capped trees, carrying flurries of snowflakes dancing through the air.  The giant icicles hanging from the ceiling glittered like diamonds, beautiful, but deadly if they fell on you.  The slime shivered at the thought.  Those beautiful spears were a constant worry, but he''d managed to avoid them so far.


    Fresh snow fell around the slime as he wiggled, viewing the snowmen he''d created with pride.  Each one looked slightly different, from the short little snowmen to the massive ones he''d spent hours on.  The next time somebody came to visit, they''d be sure to appreciate the snowmen and think highly of the slime who made them.


    Maybe they''d even stay long enough to say hello.  The snowmen were great, but they didn''t know how to talk, and the slime was dying for some company.  He''d traveled far and wide looking for other slimes of his kind, but the tundra was more dangerous than he''d expected.  Better to stay here with his snowmen than risk the ire of the polar bears, the frost giants, or worse, the blizzard wolves.


    As if summoned by his thoughts, a howl swept across the land, far too close for the slime''s liking.  He hopped off the snowman just as icy claws swiped at him.  The slime screeched as the snowman burst apart, snow flying everywhere.  He bounced as fast as he could toward the cave he often hid in, but more blizzard wolves were joining the fray, their icy breath crystalizing his slime enough to slow him down.


    Thankfully the snowmen distracted the wolf pack just enough for the slime to slide down the mountain, gaining speed and snow as he rolled.  Those poor snowmen got ripped apart all the time.  He''d build them, admire them, and then abandon them to save his own life.  He was the lowest of the low: a snow slime who abandoned his snowy creations.


    At the base of the mountain, he shook off the extra snow he''d accumulated, and stared up at the wolves.  He''d find a way to keep his snowmen safe one day.  Maybe he''d set traps for the wolves or build them inside the cave system.


    "Ugh, what''s with this snow?" a man''s voice complained.  "It''s so damn cold I can''t feel my fingers anymore."


    The slime shrank in on himself.  The only thing worse than blizzard wolves were adventurers.  They hated this frozen tundra he called a home, always cursing the cold and grumbling, bundled up so much they couldn''t even see the beautiful landscape around them.


    "The snow''s falling harder so there''s gotta be a monster somewhere," a woman said.  "Kill it before this turns into a blizzard."


    The slime squeaked, burrowing deep into the snow.  Adventurers hated anything cold, especially little snow slimes who had a near constant flurry of snow falling around them.   He found it comforting, but they just cursed him and threw very sharp daggers.  The snow slime had respawned far too many times at the hands of cold-fearing adventurers.


    Maybe they needed more fur, like the blizzard wolves.  Then they''d enjoy the snow.


    They poked around the snow, just barely missing the slime more than once, before finally giving up.


    "Let''s just find a cave and make camp," the woman said.  "We''ll light a fire and wait out the storm."


    The slime exhaled.  He was safe for now.  Once they were gone, he leapt out of his hiding place and started making his way back up the mountain.  His little snowman family was just a pile of snow now.  He''d have to start all over.  The slime sighed.  What was the point of all this?  Why keep building something that was going to be destroyed?  Why keep letting himself get attacked?  Wasn''t there anything he could do to level up like those big boss slimes he''d seen?


    A blue box appeared in the air in front of him with words written on it.


    [Are you happy on this floor?]


    Happy?  Hmmm....the slime had never thought about that before.  The frozen tundra was gorgeous, but the dangers were great.  The slime wished he didn''t have to risk his life or be cursed at just for being cold.  It wasn''t his fault he was made of snowy slime.


    [Understood.  If you could go anywhere else, where would you go?]


    The slime tilted to the side. What other places were there to go?  All he''d known was this tundra.  Maybe somewhere hot where his cold wouldn''t be so hated would be nice.


    [Somewhere hot then. I can do that.]


    A door appeared in front of him, creaking open ominously.  The slime waited for adventurers to stomp out, but none came.  Maybe this door...was for him?  He bounced forward, entering the dark doorway slowly.  He slid down a slide, leaving an icy trail behind him as he squealed with glee.  This was pretty fun!  Not scary at all like he''d expected.


    The little slime shot out another doorway, instantly feeling overwhelming heat pushing against all sides of him.  The ground was covered in bubbling red lava, shooting up into the air at random intervals.  Giant dragons swam through it, their scales bright red.  The air was so hot it hurt to breathe and the moment the slime touched the ground, his body began to melt, sizzling against the hot stone.


    Not this hot! He’d melt!


    As his body started losing shape, pooling into a snowy puddle, another message box appeared.


    [Sorry, my bad.  Maybe somewhere a little less hot...]


    Another door appeared, but the slime could barely drag himself to it as his vision turned hazy from the heat.  He panted, inching closer and closer until he finally made it to the door.  The slime sighed in relief, but the new floor wasn''t any better.  It was covered in water and the slime didn''t know how to swim!  He gurgled, sinking further and further into the depths of the salty sea.


    [Not this floor either then, huh?  Okay, let''s try again.]


    The system tried floor after terrible floor until the poor little snow slime was so exhausted he wished for the blizzard wolves and grumpy adventurers again.  Wasn''t there anywhere nice he could call home?This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    [Don''t give up just yet.  There''s one more place to try.]


    The slime wearily climbed a set of stone stairs, exiting the magical door onto a humid jungle floor.  It wasn''t steaming like the lava floor, but it was definitely still warmer than he was used to.  He summoned more snow to keep himself cool and gazed out at the greenery.  It was fine, but he really just wanted to go home.  Being happy was obviously asking too much.  He''d settle for a little danger as long as he had his snowmen friends.  It would be okay.


    [Look to your left.]


    The warm glow of dozens of lanterns drew his eye to a cozy little building with all different kinds of slimes hopping around together.  There were blue slimes, dirt slimes, fire slimes, and even a boss slime!  The snow slime''s eyes widened.  What kind of slime haven was this?


    [Not quite a slime haven.  A slime cafe.  Go see what you think of it.]


    The slime had no idea what a cafe was, but it sounded like an adventurer thing.  He really didn''t like those troublemakers, but it couldn''t hurt to at least take a peek.  He bounced carefully, leaving a tiny trail of snow behind him as he climbed up to peek in the windows.  A woman was inside cooking, passing little handfulls of food to a group of slimes next to her.


    The snow slime pressed up against the glass for a better look.  She was actually feeding the slimes!  Not only that, but they looked happy too.  A tea slime rested in a giant pot of tea, spinning and smiling like it was the best thing in the world.  He wanted to try that too!


    Fog clouded the glass until he couldn''t see the strange sight of an adventurer feeding slimes anymore.  He searched for another window, leaping for a peek of her patting a slime on the head and hugging it.


    His mouth dropped open.


    An adventurer was hugging a slime.


    What kind of absurd place was this?  Never in all his years had he seen such a sight and he''d been in this dungeon for a while.  As each window fogged up, he moved on to the next, watching this wonderful woman play with slimes.  He wanted more than anything to join them, but the inside of this building felt so warm and cozy that he knew deep down that they would shun him.


    Nobody wanted to be cold when they were having a good time like that.


    The slime slumped back to the ground.  This floor felt like the cruelest floor of all.  It was time to go back home.  But as he bounced away, the sound of a door opening made him freeze in place.


    "Oh hello, little one," a woman''s voice said.  "I don''t think I''ve seen you around before.  My name''s Hazel.  Is that snow?"


    He quivered, just waiting for the inevitable attack, but none came.  He peeked back to find the woman, Hazel, kneeling in the doorway, holding her hand out to catch snowflakes with a big smile on her face.


    "Everyone, come say hi to our new little snow friend."  Her voice was warm, but her words made no sense.  "The snow feels so refreshing!"


    His eyes widened.  That''s exactly what he thought too!  He felt himself bouncing without meaning to, excitement causing even more snow to fall.  One of the fire slimes got close enough that the snow turned to steam.  The fire slime leapt back, but then wiggled and started steaming other bits of snow like it was a fun game.


    Hazel laughed.  "You like the snow too, huh?"


    This had to be a dream.  Nobody liked the snow, not a single adventurer the slime had ever met.


    [This adventurer is different.  She''s kind and full of curiosity when it comes to slimes.  Give her a chance and you''ll see.]


    The system had gotten the slime into some rough spots during this adventure, but it had always gotten him back to safety too.  He should trust it one last time and see just what kind of woman she was.  He inched closer, nudging up against her outstretched hand.


    "Oh, you are cold," she said, jerking her hand back and shaking it, "give me a minute."


    She abandoned the slime, walking back into that warm and cozy cafe of hers.  He waited, bouncing slowly, as time stretched on.  When she eventually came back, she had a piece of fabric in her hands.


    "Here you go, a scarf just for you."  She wrapped the white fabric around him, tying it at the corner.  "I hope you like it."


    The slime blinked, not sure what to do.  He''d never had clothing before, but the fabric was so soft against his slime that he couldn''t help but wiggle to feel it slide across his body.  It was warm too, just enough to make him feel like he could summon even more snow around them.  Beautiful snowflakes appeared in the air, falling down around Hazel in big piles.


    Her smile widened.  "I think that means you like it.  I''m glad."


    The tea slime from earlier hopped outside, staring at the snow quizzically before bouncing into it.  The slime''s eyes widened and he made a happy trilling noise.  He rolled around, gathering snow around himself like he was making a slime snowman.


    The snow slime giggled, showing the tea slime how to roll snowballs without getting stuck inside them.  Together they created a new snowman, one worthy of this wonderful slime haven.  Hazel added coal for eyes and a mouth, giving the snowman far more life than the snow slime''s ever had.


    The other slimes bounced over, making their own snow art.  The big boss slime opened his mouth to catch some falling snowflakes, grinning and wiggling every time he got one.  Warmth surrounded the snow slime, not just from the new scarf that had so kindly been given to him, but from the joy of playing in the snow with friends.  He''d never thought he''d get to experience such a thing.


    "Anyone want something to eat?" Hazel asked as she set plates of cookies on the ground.  "I''ve got hot cocoa too if anyone''s cold."


    Her cheeks were rosy from the chill air, but her smile hadn''t dimmed for a moment.  The snow slime cautiously ate a cookie.  It tasted sweet and delicious!  He moved to grab another one, but paused.  He shouldn''t be greedy and risk these new friends he''d found.


    "It''s okay," Hazel said with a smile as she pushed the cookies his way.  "I''ve got more than enough and if we run out, I''ll just make more."


    The snow slime dared to take another cookie.  This one was filled with spices that filled him with warmth.  Another one tasted cool and minty.  Every cookie was like a new adventure, full of deliciousness.  When the plate was empty, Hazel smiled and nudged a hot drink toward him.  The slime tried that too, slurping it up in one big gulp.


    Warmth spread through his slime like never before and he couldn''t help but smile and create even more snow out of sheer joy.


    Hazel smiled.  "It''s called hot cocoa with little marshmallows.  You can have another if you want."


    And so the slime had another, drinking the sweet chocolate until he was full.  Never had he been so welcomed before, with good food and slimes to play with.  As the other slimes slid around on streaks of ice, rolling around in the snow with delightful chitters and giggles, the snow slime thanked the system for bringing him to such a kind place.


    The woman patted his head and he could feel her hands shaking a bit.  She rubbed her arms, looking just like those other adventurers when they were cold.  She gazed out at the snow, smiling.


    "This reminds me of something," she said softly.  "I''m not sure what, but it makes me happy.  I feel like we should go inside and decorate, make this day really special.  It''s the first snow I''ve seen here after all."


    The first snow?  That did seem like a good thing to celebrate, but he felt himself hovering outside the door.  Was it really okay for him to go inside and ruin everything with his cold?


    Hazel turned back.  "You''re safe here and you can stay as long as you want.  Maybe we could even try making snow cones or..."  Her eyes lit up.  "I bet we could make ice cream!  With your snow, we could keep it cold for as long as we wanted.  Ohhhh, I bet you''ll love it."


    Little balls of ice pooled around his eyes.  She not only wanted him to be safe and warm, but she could make use of his snow too?  His cold could actually help somebody?  Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought to ask for that when the system asked if he was happy.  Thank you for showing me such a welcoming place, system.


    [You''re welcome.  Take care of her and yourself.]


    Take care of her he would.  For as long as his slime life lasted, he would stay with this woman and make all the snow she wanted.  He''d finally found a place to belong.  A place he could call home.