The cone of air tore into the Slime, popping it like a balloon as it struck the core.
“And that makes fifty,” Chris groaned, holding his head as he walked over to the fresh puddle, finding a small box lying in the middle, “Wonder what I’ll get this time?”
He opened the chest, sighing as he pulled the two crystals out, slipping them into the small pouch that hung from his belt. He stood, inspecting his gear again, shaking his head in annoyance. He had almost a full set of Slime gear, except for one very important part.
“Why the hell are none of you dropping pants?!” he shouted into the darkness, immediately regretting the action as his head ached, “Fuck, using Mana sucks.”
Flopping down on the ground, Chris opened his Status Screen again, checking his progress.
Name: Christopher Trevor Sanders
Level: 2
Experience: 120/200
Health: 137/150
Mana: 15/25
Stats:
Strength: 5
Vitality: 5
Dexterity: 5
Intellect: 5
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 5
Free Points: 0
Titles:
Leader, Explorer, Truly Ambitious, Mage, Giant Slayer, Survivor
Skills:
[Self-Regeneration lv 7]
[Air Magic lv 12]
[Studious Sage lv 1]
“Stupid fucking Skill,” he muttered as he glared at Studious Scholar, “This damn Dungeon already halves my Experience gain, but this thing halves it again! And it hasn’t levelled up at all!”
Because the higher the Rank of a Skill, the harder it is to level up, he thought, shaking his head as the knowledge flowed into him. At least he had figured out that the source of this knowledge was the afore mentioned Skill, or at least he thought so.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, Chris just went back to hunting Slimes, forming another cone of wind in his hand as he spotted a pair. Through some experimentation, Chris had discovered that simply casting the basic air ball only took two points of Mana but forming it into a cone increased the cost by a further three points. This meant that he only had a total of five shots before he was completely depleted of Mana. Considering he’d gotten a splitting headache just from firing off four of the cones, he wasn’t very keen on running out completely.
Focusing back on the coming fight, he carefully aimed his palm towards the closer Slime, about to fire when the two suddenly stopped, their bodies quivering. Surprised, Chris watched, holding his spell in his hand as the two immediately started heading in the same direction. A moment later, a familiar tendril shot out of the gloom, spearing one of the Slimes and absorbing it in seconds, the other seeming to try running away even faster. The Emperor Slime didn’t let that happen though, its massive bulk sliding over the floor as another tentacle lashed out at the fleeing Slime, slapping it against a nearby Stalagmite.
Chris sighed as he watched his prey being quickly absorbed by the Emperor Slime, carefully edging backwards so as not to draw its attention. Even as equipped as he now was, he had no intention of risking the same kind of fight as his first. At least, not yet. He quickly turned and started to run away as quietly as he could, a feat helped by his Slime boots, which softened the sounds of his footsteps. A moment passed, then he leapt forwards, crashing into the ground as the tendril slammed through several of the nearby stalagmites, sending stones and debris flying all around him.
“Fuck,” he growled, scrambling back to his feet as he started to sprint away, barely getting three steps before the cool tentacle wrapped around his ankle, hoisting him into the air, “Oh for fucks sake!”
The Emperor Slime immediately swung him up and over itself, Chris already able to feel the skin on his ankle burning, about to drop him into itself. Chris didn’t let it. Pouring as much Mana into his spell as he could, his head pounding in agony as he launched the powerful air spike into the creature. The magic tore at the gooey flesh, splattering it all around as the Emperor Slime wobbled and shivered, flinging Chris away. He landed hard on the ground, coughing as the force of the landing knocked the wind from him, his aching head not helping as he staggered back to his feet.
“I’d say eat shit,” Chris groaned as he looked at the writhing puddle, “But you’d probably like that. So just die!”
He watched as the Slime started to reform, wondering why, before he spotted the core lying in the middle of the puddle, swearing under his breath as he charged forwards, running easily across the slime thanks to his shoes. He quickly reached the core, kicking it as hard as he could, hissing in pain as the object shot out of the puddle, bouncing along the ground as it went, before hitting a stalagmite and shattering. The puddle immediately stopped moving, Chris letting out a sigh of relief as he looked around for the item chest, quickly spotting it. Still annoyed, he threw it open, his eyes going wide at what he saw.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
------
Chris couldn’t help the stupid grin on his face as he walked back to the circle of stalagmites he’d first appeared in, looking down at the silly-looking tights he was wearing, the top puffed out like a balloon. He didn’t even care that they’d come from an Emperor Slime, he was just glad to have something to cover his lower half at long last. He was in such a good mood, that he happily went over some of the strange knowledge he’s gained thanks to his Skill.
“So, Slimes are generally the lowest of the low in terms of Dungeon monsters, being Rank F,” he said to himself, “Great Slimes are barely above them at Rank E, with King Slimes being Rank D. Finally, Emperor Slimes are Rank C, meaning that they’re usually considered powerful monsters, but it you know how to beat them, they’re still easy enough to kill.”
Chris nodded to himself as he reached his impromptu camp site, looking around as he entered the space. It was currently lined with a bunch of random stuff he’d gotten from the various Slimes and their more powerful variants he’d killed. A bunch of basic clothing lay in a pile on one side to serve as a bed, while the rest of the space was taken up by various piles of the strange stones he’d collected. He knew what they were, thanks to his Skill, but he had no way of using them at the moment.
“Magic Stones,” he hummed, “Useful for crafting basic weapons and armor that can be used in the Dungeon. Not that they’ll do me much good, seeing as I can’t craft shit down here. I don’t even have a Skill to let me do that.”
Reaching into the slime pouch he’d gotten off a Great Slime, he pulled the various stones he’d collected from it, dropping them into their respective piles. He admired his horde for a moment, before heading over to his makeshift bed and flopping down, intending to sleep off the last of his Mana headache. Staring up at the ceiling, he wondered how things were going in the real world, if there had been more doors like the one that he’d found popping up.
“Shit must be getting crazy up there if they have,” he yawned, closing his eyes and rolling over as he fell asleep.
------
“No way,” Chris groaned as he looked at the massive blob that lounged against the wall, a door barely visible through its bulk, “A Mother Slime? No wonder there are always more Slimes showing up after I kill them.”
From what he knew, thanks to his Studious Scholar Skill, Mother Slimes were considered Rank B monsters, mostly for the fact that they could create more Slimes, and that they seldom attacked on their own. Of course, Chris wasn’t about to let that knowledge fool him, as he knew full well how tricky the little balls of goo could be. His stomach growled slightly, making the man glare at it in annoyance. He wasn’t sure how many days he’d been down here, but it had had to be at least a week, considering how hungry he was. Thankfully his Self-Regeneration Skill kept him from losing Health from starving or dehydration, but he knew he was starting to go a little loopy from hunger and thirst.
“So, you’re the boss of this floor, huh?” he muttered to himself, “So, after I beat you, I can go to the next floor and find some food, right?”
Nodding to himself, Chris opened his Status screen checking over it one last time before he launched his attack.
Name: Christopher Trevor Sanders
Level: 3
Experience: 8/400
Health: 200/200
Mana: 50/50
Stats:
Strength: 5
Vitality: 10
Dexterity: 5
Intellect: 10
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 5
Free Points: 0
Titles:
Leader, Explorer, Truly Ambitious, Mage, Giant Slayer, Survivor
Skills:
[Self-Regeneration lv 8]
[Air Magic lv 16]
[Studious Sage lv 1]
Chris grinned at his new Stats, having decided that survivability and attack were his best options right now, so he’d dumped five points each into Vitality and Intellect. He didn’t feel all that much smarter, to be honest, but he didn’t really care about that.
“More Mana means I can fire off around nine air cones before I need to retreat,” he giggled, “Or I could charge them up and fire off four or five to finish this faster.”
Of course, that was only if the Mother Slime would let him, as it took a few seconds of concentration to charge up a spell with more Mana. Shaking his head, he decided that it was best that he just stick to the plan he’d come up with, hitting it hard and fast with as many spells as he could manage. Not the most elegant plan, of course, but you didn’t need elegance to kill Slimes. They didn’t deserve it, anyway.
“Prepare to die, you oversized bitch,” Chris hummed happily to himself, darting out from the stalagmite he’d been hiding behind, an air cone already in his hand, “Eat this!”
No sooner had he stepped out than the Mother Slime let off a strange warbling cry, the sound so loud it felt like it would burst his eardrums. Chris gritted his teeth through the pain as he aimed his air cone, firing it straight at the glowing crystal in the center of the mass. He let out a slightly crazed laugh as the spell dug into the flesh of the monster, gouging out a decent sized hole, which quickly started to fill. Chris didn’t let it, throwing out another air cone at the same spot, digging deeper into the Mother Slime. He launched his third air cone, the spell striking home as it exposed the core beneath, Chris grinning madly as he prepared to end the fight. Suddenly, the core shifted, moving through the fluid body of the Mother Slime at speed, easily avoiding the spell as Chris could only stare, dumbfounded.
“What the fuck?!” he shouted, “You bitch! That’s cheating!”
No sooner had he said that than a piece of the core split off, falling to the bottom of the Mother Slime’s body, where it quickly formed into a new Slime.
“Fuck,” Chris muttered, watching as the newly born Slime started to head towards him, “Okay, time to retreat.”
He jumped back, spinning on his heel as he started to run away, skidding to a stop as he saw the crowd of Slimes quickly approaching from behind him, several already absorbing the others, turning into Great and King Slimes.
“Oh, this is just bullshit!” he snarled, leaping to the side to avoid the swiping pseudopod of one of the King Slimes, looking back at the cracked and sizzling ground he’d just been standing on, “Fuck you guys!”
Chris scrambled to his feet, running as hard as he could straight towards the horde of Slimes, seeming to confuse them for a moment, but a moment was all he needed. Gathering his magic around his feet, Chris jumped, soaring into the air high above the monsters, landing almost gracefully behind them. He didn’t waste time looking back, instead just sprinting away as fast as he could manage with his head pulsing in pain. A quick check of his Mana told him he’d used most of it already, only having ten points left.
“Because that jump and landing spell each take ten points to use,” he muttered, shaking his head as he continued to run, “Okay, gonna need a new strategy to take down that bitch. But first, rest time!”
