One thing I especially like about being a slime is not getting tired at all. It has its perks after all. It's a handy ability; no exhaustion means faster progress and continuous work. The only setback is how limited I am in my resources. While the ores are a great source of EXP, they only give out a small amount. The more I ascend, the more EXP I need to get.
Fortunately, and very luckily for me, I found a cave that was filled with Allummine ores. It made me happy at first glance and saddened at the last when I finally used up all of them.
Honestly, I was beginning to believe that this cave had to be used for mining minerals, given that some parts are filled with these things. I just need to find them…
I don't know how many hours passed when I first got into the grind. Heck, would I know if it was day or night, but one thing for sure is that I have been in it for quite a while.
[QUEST]
[Stop The Lich!]
[-A lich that has a unique interest in slimes has gathered a large number of them in a remote mountain. Using the slimes as a source of energy for an unknown reason.]
[Time Limit: 47 hours; 43 minutes; 37 seconds]
[If the Host fails to comply, The Host will be eradicated]
I have only been here for an hour. Oddly, it feels longer than that.
‘I got 9 hours left.’ It’s strange that I have to count my hours to live. Never thought I would go this dark in life.
On a positive note, I have made a decent amount of progress.
[STATUS]
[Host: Valt]
[Lvl: 3] [Exp: 40/200]
[Health: 200/200]
[Species: Slime]
[Sections:]
[STATS]
[ABILITIES]
[SKILLS]
[QUEST]
Ha! See that? I am now level 3. A step further to greatness! Well, not really, I mean just by looking at it. I am so gonna die.
While I’m happy with the progress, I'm disappointed at how little I improved in terms of versatility. It’s not even close to what I hope to be. I never expected this to be easy, not once… well, maybe just a little bit.
Given that I had little time to prepare and had only 2 skills for attacks and nothing for defense. I’m basically so screwed.
The level-up rewards this time appeared not as rewarding as my first level-up. I did not gain a huge sum of rewards like last time. I was hoping I’d get the skill chest once more. I guess it was only exclusive to my first ascension. A bummer.
I don’t want to be greedy, so I decided to uplift my already sunken mood by searching for more Aluminum ores. They make me happy. Up to this day in this new life, they are declared as my favorite snacks. Ten out of Ten must try!
As I was looking for it, I stumbled upon something different.
[Rare Substance Found!]
[Golel Herbs]
[- A rare type of herb that is mainly used as an ingredient in making potions that are used to strengthen the body temporarily.]
[If consumed, the host would gain a boost of strength stat and defense +10 for 10 minutes]
If I had eyes like in the cartoons, they would fall off their sockets by now.
A cave filled with Allummine ores and now this? What were the odds? Is luck a stat? It should be my highest by now.
Then the flashbacks of earlier events came back to me.
“....”
Actually, Forget it. Luck should obviously be the lowest if it was a stat, like negative one hundred maybe.
I didn't expect to come across something like this. Unexpected, yet very welcome. In fact, that herb just made my day a little better.
Ten minutes' worth of boost seems short, but for me, it was enough. Since I am very desperate to find anything that will be used to my advantage.
Ten additional points for all attack and defense just gave me a slightly higher chance of winning against the Lich. Not that my chances of winning rose to 50%, no, it just merely rose to 1.5% from my already pre-existing 1% chances of winning, and that 1% is just mostly because of the gluttony skill. Without it, my chances are basically zero.
Now deciding what to do with the herb. I’m not gonna consume it now without giving it a thought. That would be a waste considering that this thing is a rare herb and only had 10 minutes of effect. Surely it would be very hard to find one, and I happened across one due to sheer luck. Not that my luck is godly.
‘What if I could take it with me without actually consuming it into broken segments that lead to the boost but preserving it until I needed to use it?’ I pondered the possibility.
Like picking it up and putting it in a bag, only using it when necessary. I wanted to do a similar thing like that, but it wasn't possible. Unless…
‘System, is there any way to take this herb with me?’ It would be great if I had an inventory like the ones in video games.
Actually, do I have that? I never asked it before.
[ANSWER: If the host is required to use SKILL: Gluttony without consuming the target entirely requires 5 intelligence for the Option: STORE to activate. This option is very limited and the given item can only be stored for 24 hours (Note: The Store option length time will be improved if the host STAT: Willpower will also be improved ]
It even gave a requirement for that huh? It’s even connected to the Store length time. That’s handy. It sort of gave me the motivation to improve my intelligence stat in the future. This store appeared like an alternative option to an inventory system.
Still..
‘System-’
[No, The host has no Inventory function]
‘What?! Why?!’
‘....’
‘System? Are you there?’
‘....’
She’s not gonna answer, is she?
“Alright, fine."
Seeing that I had some spare stat points from the extra rewards, I used that to level up my willpower
[Willpower: 2 → 5]
‘Gluttony’
[Skill Activated: Gluttony]
I devoured the herb instantly, unlike the allummine ore which was rather large and tough. This herb was pretty nimble.
[Golel herbs processing…] [Would the Host Like to Consume/Store?]
‘Store’
[Affirmative]
I opened my stat section and it remained open until I was very sure that there were no noticeable changes in it. Don’t blame me for being overly cautious. I just wanted to make sure that the Store option didn’t have any malfunction or whatever.
[Store Successful]
[Slot: 20/50 - Herb(23:59)]
Oh? It does function like an inventory.
‘Can I improve the slot? Is there any stat that is linked to it?’
[ANSWER: The Slot Space cannot be improved]
I was downcasted after hearing that.
Now with the herb in store. I proceeded to move on and do the same thing for the past hour. Even with my progress, the rate was slow. It would take at least a week for me to get a decent rate of progress given that the Ores is the only thing I have for exp.
I was minding my own business but then I felt something quite different.
Huh?
The surrounding looks normal, nothing of the ordinary so what’s this feeling? Then a terrifying realization occurred to me.
‘Someone's watching me…’
It may be a gut feeling, but I feel it’s closer to the truth. Then my suspicion was true when an amused voice somewhat entered through my thoughts.
“Aw, Too bad, I guess I’m caught~”
The heck?
‘Who’s there?!’ I was shocked to hear the voice and took a quick look around and found no one. I was even more confused.
“It’s your conscience, we don't talk a lot these days” And now the voice chuckled, obviously still amused.
‘Huh? Wait, are you in my head?’ Okay now, I was getting scared. How did this guy enter inside me- I mean, entered through my mind?
What’s worse was that the system gave no warning about it.
Shit, could it be the Lich? That thought freaked me out.
This was too early! I wasn't prepared yet!
But it’s weird, it doesn't sound like him though. The voice sounded to be some guy in their twenties or thirties, probably, and not raspy unlike Lich’s.
“Don’t be scared, I’m not here to hurt you”
‘Then, why are you here? And who are you?’
I heard another chuckle.
“If you want an answer so bad then why don’t we talk in private~”
‘Private?’ I asked, growing suspicious of this guy just by hearing the tone of his voice.
“Yes, It would be bad if someone might hear us here, right?”
Again, my confusion grew. Who is he referring to?
‘Who?’
“Who else than that Lich of course”
The Lich? Does he know about him?
‘Wait, you-’
“Hush, I told you we can’t talk about that here” He interjected, and I fell silent.
Then out of nowhere, I felt something begin pulling me from the ground.
‘What’s this?!’ I was terrified. I knew this guy was up to something! He may be even worse than the lich, he’s just straight-up attacking me now.
“Stay Still. This will be quick~” He assured me, but the way he said that did not assure me in the slightest.
Before I could shout to the system for help, Everything went blank.
Nothing to say much about this chapter...
As always, any comment, feedback, criticism, suggestions is very welcome
