That was it—the first time I will ever fight another creature. No matter how much I try to relax my body, I still feel a bit tense. Miria and Elin are checking me from afar. If something goes wrong, they will protect me, right?

There’s only one way to find out. I have to find those slimes.

Thinking about it, the view of the place wasn’t too bad. The water of the river was so clear that I could see the button of it with round stones. It was at the end of the afternoon, and the sun reflected on the water.

I looked at my hand, wondering if my attempt at independence was the best choice for the moment. They are not wrong; I’m currently powerless in comparison to the others. I’ve seen Vyra herself train, and the gap of strength between us is immense. I don’t even know how I can reach her level, even if I keep training every day.

Kael, at that moment, began flowing the Mana through his body, trying to relax himself for the fight. At that point, he managed to keep a small aura surrounding his body.

*With this, I can only make myself a bit stronger than normal; if it comes down to it, I will have to brawl against the slime.*

*Point poin poin*

*What sound is that? Wait, there’s something coming at the other sound of the margin.*

Kael departed himself, starting at a bubbly round thing of blueish color, and with a transparent aspect coming in his direction, the sunlight illuminated its contour, which made it easier for him to see the creature approaching.

*Here it comes, but why do I have to fight this creature, it’s so cute. Isn’t that just animal cruelty? Well, if that is considered an animal in the first place,.*

Kael pointed both of my hands at it, using the first enchantment that Vyra had thought of.

*MANA SHIELD.*

---

Kael has gained a Mana Shield

60 of Mana spent

Received 30 points of Shield received.

Total Mana: 112

---

*From what she has told me, my shield isn’t too stable currently. And the efficiency of my Mana is pathetic. Fuck, she’s far from the kindest person I’ve met.*

Before Kael could properly react, the boucy creature stopped for a bit and gathered itself on the water.

*Where did it went? Are you kidding me? I can’t see it.*

Kael kept staring at the water while his hands were extended towards it. Although he wasn’t able to cast a spell, maybe he could try to defend against it. Still, he was getting anxious as his body began to tremble.

*There’s no way a creature like this can be that strong… maybe Vyra was jo-*

And in a matter of seconds, the slime threw itself at his chest, pushing Kael a few meters behind as he felt his stomach burn like hell. He tried to catch his breath, but obviously the impact left him a bit stunned.

---

You received 20 damage to his HP.

Your shield was shattered.

Total HP: 152/172

---

*What the hell is this? Why does this hurt so damn much? I couldn’t even see that thing moving. It jumped from the water faster than I could react.*

The slime, which previously appeared to be docile and somewhat slow, began moving around like a king cobra. It didn’t directly attack him; instead, it began wandering around him, looking for a spot that he wasn’t covering with his eyes.

*This thing is so damn fast. Is this supposed to be a weak creature or something? It is moving like a serpent and apparently also changes its shape at will. That might be a problem—brawling, something like that. It’s not even an option. This might be the worst possible enemy to combat just using my fists. DAMN, if I had an offensive spell, this would be different.*

As Kael kept facing the creature that moved circles around him, he made sure to never show its back to the slime. He tried to compose himself, but all he could think of was how to even touch something that unpredictable.

Lost in his thoughts, he found a desperate solution as the creature prepared to launch itself at him again. The speed was much slower than the first time, but still incredibly fast. In a movement of panic, he summoned his shield again. A much weaker one just to experiment this weird idea.

---

Kael gained Mana Shield.

20 of Mana was Spent.

Received 10 points of shield.

Total Mana: 92/172

---

*THERE IT GOES.*

Of course, it was just a theory and nothing more beyond that. As the creature reached him with extremely high velocity, he expanded his shield once again, and at that moment, the creature was going to hit him. He discarded all of his shield, throwing it all at the creature.

Some sort of psychic forced launched the creature far away. As pieces of its body splattered around the margin of the river.

*Wow, it worked! I don’t even know what I did, but it worked! Wait, the thing separated itself. Can it divide itself into different parts? It might be harder than I expected. Even if now I have a way to attack, I also don’t have a lot of Mana remaining.*

While the creature recomposed itself, Kael could notice that it moved slower than previously. Instead of just wandering around, the creature immediately went in his direction. The slime was set in the same position as the previous launch, as Kael desperately cast another shield and immediately attacked it.

To his surprise the slime didn’t launch himself at his chest but instead at his feet, quickly taking a hold of both of them forcing Kael to fall on his back.

---

You spent 30 of Mana dispersing your Aura.

Total Mana: 62

---

*Fuck, this creature is also adapting to me. How can this thing be so smart? I can’t move in this situation. It is spreading over my body. Fuck, in the end, Vyra wasn’t wrong. I’m too weak to defend myself at the moment.*

While Kael tried to move, the creature slowly began biding his body as the slime started to enter inside his clothes.

*If this keeps going, I will be finished... I have to bet on my next move.*

*EMPOWER*

While casting his spell, Kael pushed all of his energy towards the Slime, he didn’t know the result of it. The man only took that as a desperate action. He hasn’t cast his spell before. Maybe it would have a different effect.

As the energy began concentrating within the smile, the creature grew exponentially. Before it only had the form of a bubbly creature, the shape of what he was gazing at was much more defined. The elegant curves of a woman could be clearly seen taking form as he was still bound to the ground.

*Fuck, I messed up. I’m going to lose to the first slime I come up against.*

Before that creature even touched its eyes, it stared into the few trees from a distance. And with a silky, womanly voice, it spoke.

“This is not what I’ve expected it. In this form, I’m far too weak to combat the tree ladies over there. I wish I had my true body. This could have been so much fun.”

She then looked at Kael, pinned down on the ground.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen a man. You are also the type to spark some interest in my Queen. A man who is able to use magic is so cute.”

In the exact moment the creature gave him a slime, her head was instantly cut by Miria. Kael couldn’t even hear her steps. It was like lightning had struck, and the only thing he managed to feel was awe of her power. Not for too long, his Mana was completely depleted, and as he stared at Miria's feet, trying to take a look at her face, he was only able to hear a few things.

“What was that thing?!”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen a slime act that way before, that level of shape-shifting is impossible for a normal slime.”

He tried to force himself to stay awake as much as possible. He wanted to hear about it, but...

“So maybe this was a fragment of...”