An incandescent sword smashed against an ashen one.

The battle was rife with sparks and eye candy. Caecus sent wave after wave, of plagues. Fides imbued himself with faith, and stroke each wave with precise navigation.

It was like two political octopuses fighting each other.

***

I slipped off the pond’s floor.

The ground was clammy, but firm. Noting a clear path, I plunged forward. The fire slime’s breath sounded like a furnace’s jaw opening and closing. It was a blast.

My hands touched the shore and slipped off. The water came above my head now. I looked down into the depths. It was crystal clear. Not a trace of the first slime could be discerned. I leaned onto the wall leading to the shore and escalated to my right with short jumps.

It was not a giant pond.

I was lucky I got this terrain. I could scarce swim. I surfaced again. I pulled my legs forward. It glided quite easily. There was no huge undercurrent. It was fresh water. It was crystal-clear water.

My mind was clearer too, in this brief moment. It did not ramble with uncoordinated thoughts.

I lifted myself up. I already was outside the ‘whale’’s jaws.

I would be there again if I rummaged.

I drew a clear breath. I waded in a straight line. My skin felt sticky. It wasn’t the most pleasant feeling. The fire slime was in front of me. I kept my distance and threw batches of water at it. [-2] registered as damage.

I observed its front body. When it opened its mouth, I jumped to the side. I stumbled farther to the right. The fire slime had swerved its body. The fire brewed closer than I thought.

That was a close call.

I splashed more water in its direction. It was more batches than I cared to count. More [-2] values appeared above the fire slime. Water sizzled about it. Punching this fiery creature with my bare hands was out of question. Its dark red lantern glowed.

Three brown rocks were shot in my general direction.

I backstepped. I staggered and turned. I remained within the range of two brown rocks when they exploded. My linen shirt billowed. My skin burned. I incurred [33 + 25] damage, my health dropping from 165.8 to 107.8. This guy was a tougher adversary. I threw more water in its direction. Its health clocked below half.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

I could deal with this guy just fine.

I saw another fire slime heating the pond, from the edge I had plunged into the water. A red flighty alien appeared. I got out, all swift. Fire sprang from the alien as it approached. The flighty alien roasted the water. It slowly evaporated. I watched the water heat up. Its vapor simmered.

That looked scalding.

The flighty alien power-posed and left. ‘What the heck?’ I thought.

I mentally alienated myself from the flighty alien. It had left an impression behind. How would that impression affect my perception of the fire slimes heading my way?

Two sets of bombs were at my feet. They exploded. I sustained cumulative damage of [33 + 33 + 25 + 25]. My health points moved from 131.8 to 15.8. I saw a projectile heading my way. I dodged it.

The rock slime and the plant slime had joined the party again. The projectile’s source had been the rock slime. I congratulated myself on having noticed the rock projectile on time. The projectile looked like the spherical ball used for shotputs. I did not need to think twice about the damage from its impact.

My skin sizzled with burns. There wasn’t water around to help me either. It smelled of roast and wet dogs. This was no good. The ground was charred. I turned and jogged. I breathed and bore upon the plain’s scene. Some shrubs had shifted.

My health regeneration rate was as good as a flammable income source. Literally.

Concluding my vulnerability, I kept running. In the distance, I could see a shed. The sky rumbled. I could see a film of rain in the distant left side. Directly overhead, it had gotten sunnier. No use counting on rain as my cavalry. I reached the shed. I identified its door’s knob and turned it. There was no one inside. It had somber lighting. If anything, I could see a miniature golden goose hanging from a rope. I took it from its hold.

The goose was heavy. I hunched my hips and held it. Among the objects lying about the shed, I saw a knife and a gallon. I opened the gallon. It smelled like gasoline. On the other hand, the knife’s hilt was shaped like a smiley.

I closed the gallon. I smiled and got out of the shed.

The fire slimes were outside to greet me. I got out of the way of their explosives. I heard these explode. I got close enough to throw a cup filled with gasoline at one fire slime. The gasoline burned. [+4] popped up above the slime. The fire slime had recuperated some health. In fact, his health bar was almost full.

This must have been the flighty alien’s effect.

I ran on. I came to the plant slime. I threw gasoline on it. I got away. The plant slime was aggroed. I waited for the fire slimes to catch up. I dodged the rock slime’s projectile. I put the gallon down. I lifted the projectile, with some difficulty. I threw it at the plant slime.

The plant slime incurred [-6] damage. I lifted the rock projectile. I threw it at the plant slime again. The plant slime became yellow.

I ran away. The plant slime exploded. One wisp stuck to me. A second wisp did. I stopped moving. I incurred [-10] damage.

74.6/200 flashed in front of my eyes.

Plant slime defeated

Congratulations on defeating your first opponent in ‘Life of no legacy’.

The plant slime is the weakest enemy you can find on the Plain of Desolation

Experience points

10/99