I lurked by the river, timing the monsters that came in and out. It was funny that despite having the time affinity, I was terrible at timing when the monsters would come and go. I was, however, good at recognizing patterns, and the slimes would be the first ones to the water and the last to leave. If I had to guess, they used water in their attacks. I wasn't sure if it was mana or if they needed to replenish themselves.
When the light from the river hit the gelatinous monsters, you could see a rainbow on the floor as if it were a prism. The slime shimmered and swayed when the minuscule droplets from the cascading cave river hit its jello-like form. After I watched them leave, I followed closely. It was hard to tell where the monsters were, unlike the wolves, they made little sound as they crept through the dungeon. I had to listen closely, but the slimes' sound as they tunneled down the caverns was the same as scraping a fresh razor blade across coarse hairs during a shave. It was much easier to track them compared to their canine compatriots. Their snail trail smelled putrid, and the slick surfaces were hard to miss. I followed my nose, and as the light from the magic river faded behind me, I needed to rely on my other senses.
I grew tired of not being able to see. I hadn't practiced mana much since I had to run the mana ropes through my body, but I got a great Idea. What would happen if I ran the strings through the channels in my eyes? I began to channel my mana into my eyes, picturing Superman's heat vision. I couldn't blast the laser out, but my surroundings began to radiate light. I could make out shades, but it wasn't like I could suddenly see every detail as clearly as day. But at least now I have various shades of gray to distinguish the general shapes. I think that's when I noticed the slimes were too translucent to make out their bodies. Instead, I saw a small pebble floating where I felt the heart should be. I looked around me and counted 58 separate floating stones.
They all stopped as soon as I began to channel mana, and they began to shamble towards me slowly. I turned around and began to haul ass out of there. Without more information, I was not about to fight a small army of slimes. I made it back to the river and was almost blinded by the illumination from the mana-rich water. I turned off what I was thinking of as my mana vision. The slimes had followed me back to the river. I ducked back into a crack in the wall and held my breath. I watched the jiggling would-be assailants scour the area in search of me. Something was different. The monsters hunted me precisely in the darker part of the cave. Why were they struggling to find me now?
...
It felt like it had been hours, and the slimes were unrelenting. All 58 of the disgusting balls of sludge were now in the room. More than once, the slimes rolled past my hole in the wall. I hadn't seen the moles or the wolves in the room since the slimes began their occupation in search of the mana-eyed intruder. A couple of times, I activated my mana eyes to see if I could spot the pebbles on the slimes, and each time I did, the slimes stopped moving, almost as if they could sense the mana in the room. These guys didn't see, smell, or hear. They tracked prey based on mana. I figured since they wouldn't be able to see me, I could come out, and just as I predicted when I began walking around the slimes, they just aimlessly meandered past me. I grabbed my trusty pickaxe and figured I could get some easy levels. I picked a small one to start with.
Acid Slime, Level 16, HP?, MP10/10, Threat level Manageable, Recommended course of action: fight.
I couldn't see the health bar, which was strange, as every monster I had faced showed at least a basic health bar since I received the system. My heart began to race. I tightened my grip on the bone handle of my pickaxe. I centered myself, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. My palms were sweaty, making the pickaxe feel like it would slip out of my hand if I swung too hard. I began to walk towards my target, slowly sliding my feet rather than taking significant steps. Just as I got within striking distance, all of the fear, anxiety, and doubt left my mind. I chose to do my most powerful strike: an overhead chop. The movement was much easier now that I didn't have to balance the pickaxe with one good hand and a stump. The head of my pickaxe was met with very little resistance, feeling more like a paddle plunging into water rather than the reverberation I was used to feeling from the stone. I followed through, but the slime reformed after my strike split it in two. The monster gurgled as it coagulated. I looked at my axe head and noticed that some of the rust that was on it previously was no longer there. I tried several more attacks, but none even affected the monster. I was getting more and more frustrated. I began to swing at the beast relentlessly, until I felt something crack under the weight of my axe. It was the same feeling I was familiar with when I would strike a precious gem in a bed of igneous stone. The composition of the slime dematerialized, pooling on the ground in front of me. I saw a broken gem in the middle of the puddle.
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Congratulations on defeating an opponent over six levels above you; you have gained additional EXP.
Level 11 reached
Please choose a skill listed below
True Strike: The rock beneath you crumbles under the might of your pickaxe. Now you don't need as many blows for the same result because the edge always goes where you want it.
Moleman: You have spent more of your adult life below ground than above. Your senses are now sharper and more in tune with the earth. You can feel vibrations in the ground and interpret the cause. Warning: Access to mana sight will be lost upon obtaining this skill.
Vampire: You are not undead or super strong. But you are disgusting. Taking this skill will offset the adverse effects of drinking blood.
Analyze: You have spent much time figuring out your surroundings, which will become more manageable with this skill. This is a direct upgrade to identify.
Caveman: You are simple and not the most brilliant man. But you will find a way to kill it. This skill will help you assess your target's weaknesses.
I understood why I got the skill selections that I got. I could already rule out Vampire, Mole Man, and True Strike. I could use mana vision, so I didn't want to use the skill slot on a sensory skill. I could always get better at hitting where I wanted, so I didn't feel pulled to true strike. Vampire would have been great, but I would be alright with hydration since I could now eat mana stones and access the river.
That just left analyze and cave mana. I was starting to sense a pattern. The system thought I was stupid, and I couldn't refute that after I saw the floating pebbles in the slime and couldn't put it together, I was supposed to destroy that to kill them. After all, they didn't even have a health bar. I chose caveman because, while analyzing was more versatile, I didn't have the creativity to discern what to do with the information. It was the same reason I stayed away from Magic classes. I didn't need to be the most intelligent person as long as my enemies died.
Are you sure you would like to select Caveman Y/N
Yes
I felt my eyes begin to heat up. It wasn't the worst pain I had ever felt, but more like putting my head in a warm bath with my eyes closed. I looked at the slimes again and saw the pebble without using mana eyes. It flickered a dark vermilion. I took my axe and began to slaughter the helpless slimes until I reached the final 15 of them. I was now level 19, and nothing would stop me.
The remaining slimes began to screech a high-pitched whine that stung my ears. They sought out each other, huddling together. I felt like the big bad wolf and had come to eat the little pigs. But the slimes began to bubble and gurgle. They were combining and integrating. I saw a behemoth of a slime standing before me, almost touching the top of the 20-foot ceiling in the river chamber. I used identify
Caustic King, Level 35, HP?, MP150/150, Threat level Boss, Recommended course of action: run.
I used my caveman skill and saw 15 pebbles floating in the monster, but they were moving now instead of being the steadfast target on the individual slimes. I would have to go inside the monster to get some of them, but with the name caustic king, this would be anything but a fun fight.
"Dia, we are going to need to use some space magic. Can I count on you?" I said to my little spirit
"Dane, I thought you would never ask," Dia said, anticipating our first boss fight.
