'It seems like cultivating gives me some sort of boost. It didn't mention my stats, so maybe this is a qualitative sort of thing, not quantitative? Whatever the case, I need to keep this up. If this is real, I need to embrace it.' He opened his eyes and took one last deep breath, feeling the energy from the air meld with his body before standing and stretching. He could feel a slight difference in his strength, nothing like leveling up, but enough that it was noticeable. 

A smile played across his lips at the progress he’d made as he began to explore the ruined camp, checking in every nook and cranny for any overlooked treasure. ‘I’ve played enough RPGs to check every barrel and basket, especially where slimes are concerned.’ He checked the tents near where he’d entered first, then worked his way towards the largest tent in the back. Mostly he just found junk, but he did find some chipped gemstones that glowed softly. ‘These seem valuable. I’ll see what the Blue Slimes think.’

As he approached the camp square once more, he looked at the only tent that was left. It was larger than the others had been. ‘I don’t remember anything being in there, but I’d better check it out.’ He crept towards the tent, whispering, “Basi, stay close and get ready…” He leaned forward to grasp at the tent flap and peered inside, darkness shrouding the contents of the tent.

A blow took him totally by surprise while his eyes still struggled to adjust to the light. A thick red whip caught him in the face, sending him stumbling. He glanced down at his health bar and saw it reduce by a third, a red ‘21’ flashing before his eyes. He tried to turn his backward momentum into a chance to put some distance between himself and his attacker, planting his feet and jumping backwards into a roll. 

He came up on one knee, ‘That worked out surprisingly well,’ He was thankful for his athletic background. He focused on his bow, the intuitive inventory system dropping the weapon into his hand. He reached behind him to grab an arrow from the quiver. He found his fingers were moving more effectively than they had before. He nocked the arrow and drew the bowstring back turning his body sideways to make a smaller target and then finally he aimed at the tent. He waited one breath. Then two. Nothing happened.

Since he had time, he figured he’d ask: “Why does it seem like I know how to shoot like an expert?” The guide spoke up,

“As you increase your skill levels through practice, a natural adaptation occurs in your body. Leveling your skills up upgrades your actual physical ability. In some cases, that is damage related. In others, that is related to the precision required by the activity.”

Thoughts of the Matrix flashed through his head. “I know Kung Fu.”

He snapped himself back into a more serious mode, his eyes watching the tent so closely they practically drilled holes in the fabric. It seemed like he would have to move first. “Basi, draw whatever’s in there out here.”

The lizard rushed forward into the tent, and his mighty jaws could be heard chomping down. Saul felt anxiety through their bond as his companion backed up, as if Basi was intimidated by the enemy. The lizard backed through the flap, and a second later a large crimson blob hopped out into the square. 

Saul was waiting. With his breath held deeply, he released his grip on the string. A quiet vibrating twang sounding out as the force of the string was transferred into the arrow. The arrow shot forward and slammed into the giant Slime. A giant health bar appeared over the monster’s head that read:

‘King Crimson, Lvl 3’

Compared to the other slimes he was significantly larger. Several whip-like protrusions emerged from its outer layer, the slime itself having a radius of nearly two meters and the whips extending out three or four meters each. Drawing in another breath, he prepared another arrow and let it fly. It scored a hit against the slime, and suddenly Saul saw its health bar - 94% full. 

He gave Basi a mental nudge to resume the attack. His lizard rushed forward, looking to take a big bite out of King Crimson - But the massive slime wasn’t having any of it, and he knocked Basi away with his whips, the force of the blow significantly greater than what the basic slimes had been capable of. Despite the lizard’s hardier skin, a red ‘12’ floated over his head, a good fifth of his health gone in just one blow. ‘This is going to be a tough one..’  Saul thought as he nocked another arrow and took careful aim this time. He felt that energy he’d absorbed coursing throughout his body, but focused it into his fingertips, feeling the connection between the bow and his hands. Then, with another exhale to push the energy , he tried to force the energy into the bow itself.

A soft hum began to sound from the bow, a sign that his attempt might have worked. He felt a tenuous connection to that energy in the bow and willed it towards the arrow as beads of sweat began to form on his brow from the sheer effort of will. It seemed to take an eternity, but in reality this whole process took less than a second. With King Crimson focused on Basi and rebuking his attempts to close the distance, Saul was able to focus.

He was able to infuse the arrow with that energy with one last push, and a soft glow enveloped the arrowhead as he did so. He sucked in as much air as his lungs could handle, giving his body strength. He took careful aim at the slime targeting what he assumed would be a weak spot - Its eyes. ‘They seem like they’re made of a different material…’ While holding his breath, he released the arrow.

It seemed to thunder forward compared to his previous shots  accelerating at a much greater speed. While he wasn’t a physicist, he knew that greater acceleration meant greater force so he expected the shot to do a lot of damage. Indeed when it pierced the massive slime’s eye a large red ‘64!’ appeared over the monster’s head, far more damage than he’d had to do to any of the little slimes. His health bar sat at around 80% after that attack.

The shot didn’t stop King Crimson, rather it just seemed to drive it mad. Forgetting Basi, the slime began to hop towards Saul at a surprisingly quick pace. Saul backpedaled while getting another arrow ready, but he hadn’t practiced moving and shooting which left him fumbling with the arrow when he tried to nock it. Giving Basi a mental command to attack the slime while it was distracted, he turned and ran towards the entrance of the camp. He outpaced the monster slightly, increasing the distance between his fragile body and the hard hitting King Crimson.

He heard the sounds of Basi taking a bite out of the slime but he was able to sense the creature’s focus. He could tell it was still after him. Fumbling around, he finally succeeded in getting the arrow ready. He risked the slime’s wrath, turning to face it and drawing the bowstring in one smooth motion. The monster wasted no time, lashing out with two of its whip-like appendages, one aiming at Saul’s head from the right, the other at his knees from the left. ‘Crap!’ Saul thought, relaxing his hold on the string.

Drawing in another deep breath and willing the energy to his legs, Saul jumped backwards as far as he possibly could, soaring across the ground in a leap that would have seemed impossible to him earlier that day. He landed four meters away from the slime and drew in a deep breath. 

He pulled the bowstring back and took a half a moment to aim at the slime’s eyes again, focusing on the one that hadn’t been hit - The other was closed, probably from the wound - and firing. A glancing blow just caught the edge of King Crimson’s remaining opened eye, ‘27!’ flashing overhead. ‘Must need a direct hit to blind him…’ Basi continued to attack the Slime with his mouth, tearing big chunks of flesh out and prompting a series of small numbers to arise over its head, ‘3!’ ‘5!’ 

Saul jumped to his feet again and took off running, this time running past the Slime, dodging those whips as they came too close. He passed Basi as well, hoping the Slime would focus on his pet for a moment, and brought another arrow to the bowstring. He didn’t hear the sounds of the slime jumping after him, so he planted his feet and turned, sliding slightly on the soft ground, drawing in another deep breath.

He willed his energy into the arrow once more and took aim. With his entire body tense, he took careful aim at the remaining eye and let loose. The arrow sprouted out of the monster’s eye and a large red ‘68!’ appeared overhead. King Crimson’s other eye closed at that point and a status floated up from its head: Blinded. ‘Sweet, that should make it easier to…’ Saul’s thoughts were interrupted when the monster began flailing about with his whips, a whirlwind of destruction that seemed almost a flawless offense and defense. The monster’s health bar read: 20%, but he seemed more dangerous than ever.

The blows it was unleashing were so forceful that they cracked the ground wherever they landed and it hopped around in all directions as it rained these blows down. Saul sent a mental command to Basi to pull back to a safe distance and drew another arrow his fingers brushing against those left in the quiver letting him know that he was running really low at this point. He probably had 15 arrows left.

Nocking the arrow, he drew in a deep breath. Turning to take his proper stance, legs shoulder width apart, he pulled the arrow back. He paused as he drew the arrow back past his head and concentrated on pushing the power from his breath into the arrow again. He loosed the arrow and watched it soar towards the King Crimson… Only to be slapped away by one of those flailing tentacles.

That would be a problem. He drew another arrow, deep breath in, aim, loose… This arrow also got knocked down. Frustrated, he willed the bow into his inventory and decided to try his dagger. Flipping the weapon in his hand with a flourish, he observed those appendages, watching as they moved in what initially seemed to be a chaotic fashion.

He began to see a pattern to the flailing, one that made it seem as though he’d be able to make it in. The only problem was that he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be hit and he knew he couldn’t take much more punishment. “What happens if I die, guide?” The response was swift, and ominous.

“Death in the dungeon is permanent unless you’ve found an extra life hidden throughout the dungeon or as a rare quest reward.”

Saul gulped. 'I can do this.' Another deep breath helped to steady his nerves. He looked over to Basi, "We can do this." He looked between the flailing appendages, and the holes they were leaving in the ground with each strike. "...Maybe I can't do this." He turned away from King Crimson and took off running. The monster, as if able to sense his presence, shrieked. A piercing sound split his eardrum. It was debilitating. When he stopped moving, the sound ceased. "I guess we can't escape this one, buddy."  His grip tightened on the hilt of his dagger as he turned to face the monster once more.

He forced the energy to gather in his hand, concentrating it further and further towards his right hand where he held his dagger. He willed the energy into the weapon as he pulled his hand back. He was assuming the arrows were getting slapped down because they didn’t have much momentum. 'A heavier dagger at the same speed should have better luck.' He directed half of his gathered energy into the weapon itself, then he began to force the rest into his legs and hips. He stepped forward with his lead food, hips torquing, arm extending, and the dagger exploded from his fingers. 

It flew true towards King Crimson and as one of those flailing appendages swung down the dagger actually pierced through it and continued until it buried itself in the massive slime’s gelatinous body, another huge damage marker appearing overhead. Saul exploded into action, running forward behind the dagger itself, ducking low to avoid one of those whips and reaching the inside of the monster’s guard.

He ripped the dagger free and began to plunge it into King Crimson’s body frantically, slipping and dodging each whipping appendage in the small amount of space he had to the best of his ability. He wasn’t perfect, however, and he did take a heavy glancing blow on his shoulder from one appendage ‘18!’ flashed before his eyes. The hit was so powerful his knees quaked and his back screamed out in pain. That wasn’t good. He had 21 health left.

It was a war of attrition that he couldn’t escape at this point.  A glance at the King’s health bar indicated he was down to his final 1% of health. As Saul stabbed forward with what seemed as though it’d be the killing blow, he saw another appendage falling towards him at such a speed he wouldn’t be able to dodge. He wasn’t sure if he could take the blow, so he did what he’d learned to do from an early age. 

As he buried his dagger into the monster one last time, he leaned back away from the blow, accelerating as much as possible in the same direction the blow was coming from, his entire body groaning in protest as he took another massive hit. By moving with the blow he softened it enough, a red ‘19!’ flashing before his eyes as he was knocked backwards.

He watched King Crimson explode into thousands of little pieces and saw:

 Exp Gained: 260! 

Flash before his eyes just one moment before he hit the ground, a final damage marker displaying in his vision ‘1!’ Looking at his own health bar in the bottom right corner of his vision, he could see that it was virtually empty and flashing an angry red color at him. He'd come dangerously close to death. He felt like he hadn’t evaded death at all. His entire body felt cold, and heavy… ‘Oh so heavy.’ 

He drew in a deep, shuddering breath. He started to get up and realized he didn't have the strength. Mentally pulling up his inventory, he imagined the minor health pill appearing in his hand and he felt the weight as it dropped into his hand. It felt like it weighed a million pounds. He reached up towards his mouth, his entire body screaming in agony as he managed to slip the pill into his mouth. He began to chew on the pill, even his jaw feeling like it had nothing left. He slipped into unconsciousness even as a healing light began to spread throughout his body. Basi proved to be a faithful companion and moved to guard him while he healed.

A treasure bag appeared next to his unconscious form. 

A few minutes later he came to, his body feeling better but still wracked by intense agony. He reached out to brush the treasure bag, notifications appearing before him:

He drew in a deep breath, ‘I’m just going to lay here for a while…’ His eyes were on his health bar, reading 40%. Every few seconds, it seemed to increase by a %. He’d wait it out, then he and Basi would return to the Blue Slime.