I gurgle a few more times before giving up entirely.
Alright, damn it, think, think, stay calm and think. How can I manage to make a voice?
I revisit the concept of 'voice' in my head.
Sound waves shaped by movements of the mouth and the vibrations of vocal chords.
...How complex.
Something niggles at the back of my mind as I chew that over, but I shrug and move on.
Okay, so I have the ability to push air, but I lack a mouth and vocal chords. Clearly this is a issue. How can I solve this?
...I don't think I can.
...Maybe I can learn how to speak through magic??
But where would I find magic?
...
First Prey used magic! Maybe they had something that could show me how to perform magic?
It's the only thing vaguely resembling a hint at how I might become able to talk that I have, so I immediately leap into action.
...
Er...
Slide...towards...action. Because I'm a slime.
My best methods of transit are sliding and falling.
----------------------------------------
Okay! So this is First Prey's home. It feels a bit...empty, somehow. Like something's...missing.
.........
Well!
Time to get to work! I'm sure nothing's missing here, hahaha!
I begin searching the area methodically, admittedly using touch more than my sight to understand what I'm looking for.
[You have consumed Paper(!)]
...Shit, what am I doing? I just ate something that could have contained super valuable information that could have helped me learn to talk!
I withdraw from the paper and end up engulfing something else without realizing it.
[You have consumed Gold
You have consumed Magical Distillate (Least)
You have consumed Topaz]
As I read and comprehend the things I've consumed, I quickly accept all of them.
[You have added the Gold evolution!
+1 Charisma
+20 Constitution
+5 Intelligence
+5 Wisdom
You have added the Magical Distillate (Least) evolution!
+30 Intelligence
+30 Wisdom
Int-to-mana +50%
Level-to-mana +50%
Spellpower modifier +50%
Through evolution, you have learned the magical skill Least Magical Bolt
Least Magical Bolt Level 1, cost 500 mana
Unleash a poorly focused and controlled bolt of mana! Waste nearly all of the power you use on this spell because you're a utterly incompetent wizard! Be utterly unable to use this spell in actual combat due to it's prohibitive casting time! Are you proud of yourself?
Damage:20% of Intelligence * Spellpower modifier (current total 30%)
Casting time:5 seconds]
Okay, that description is utterly brutal. Carrying on.....
[You have added the Topaz evolution!
+10 Strength
+10 Constitution
+5 Charisma
+5 Energy Affinity]
Huh, that one's new. Why does a Topaz give me energy affinity? A heart didn't give me Water or Darkness affinity! I feel cheated!
Anyway, all that out of the way, I decide to stop looking with my slime and start....looking...with...my slime...
...
That phrase works a lot better when you have distinct bodily organ systems, I assume.
...Anyway, what I mean to say is I should be working with Visual Scan rather than just fucking with stuff at random.
So I start doing that!
After a few minutes, and hitting level 5 in Visual Scan(as it turns out, the greater the value of the thing I scan, the more experience I get, especially if identification succeeds) I strike gold.
[Golem (Unidentified)
Rarity:Artifactible Unique
Level:200
A humanoid figure. Unnaturally immobile. Seems vaguely... empty.
Identification failed
Visual Scan has reached level 6!
Visual Scan has reached level 7!
Visual Scan has reached level 8!]
This...this has something to do with First Prey and him feeding me, doesn't it? Why else would he keep a item capable of Artifact status here?
Also, holy SHIT, one FAILED scan yielded 3 levels?!
I repeatedly scan the Golem.
[Identification failed
Visual Scan has reached level 9!
Visual Scan has reached level 10!
Identification failed
Visual Scan has reached level 11!
Identification failed
Visual Scan has reached level 12
Through repeated examination of a item crafted using metals, you have learned the skill Untrained Metallurgy!
Through repeated examination of a alchemically treated item, you have learned the skill Moonshine Alchemist!
Identification failed
Untrained Metallurgy has reached level 2!
Untrained Metallurgy has reached level 3!
Untrained Metallurgy has reached level 4!
Untrained Metallurgy has reached level 5!
Untrained Metallurgy has reached level 6!
Untrained Metallurgy has reached level 7!
Moonshine Alchemist has reached level 2!
Moonshine Alchemist has reached level 3!
Moonshine Alchemist has reached level 4!
Moonshine Alchemist has reached level 5!
Moonshine Alchemist has reached level 6!
Identification failed!
Novice Blacksmith has reached level 8!
Moonshine Alchemist has reached level 7!
Moonshine Alchemist has reached level 8!
Visual Scan has reached level 13!
Identification Success!
Slime Concealment and Deployment Armor, Model: Human Mk 1
Rarity:Artifactible Unique
Level:200
A suit crafted by the Exiled Archmage, Azera, to play host to a sentient slime should his attempt to create one succeed. Too bad his creation ate him.]
...What.
No, I...
You mean...
First Pr--Azera, Azera only wanted to help me grow? And he...
...What a waste of a valuable resource. Hmph.
[This suit may be entered by simply sliding in between the seams. Once the suit is full or the slime is all inside, it will seal most of itself over in order to prevent detection without. All non-Slime specific skills are available within the suit, and some Slime-specific ones are still available.]
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Without what?
[Without the suit.]
So...Once I wear the suit... I won't need to wear the suit to be undetected...?
Ohhh, you're using the archaic meaning of 'without'. My bad.
I hesitate to enter the suit, but then I hear a clattering from outside. "Hey! I found(!) his lab!"
Ohhhh fuck. I scramble(er, slide...) to get inside the suit quickly, and the last of me slides into place as the doors open and the suit seals itself. I... I can see! There's a faceplate of some kind. Hopefully that doesn't mean they can see me!
(I would learn later that it was a one-way-mirrored faceplate.)
"There was a struggle in here. No sign of the slime(!), but there's a idle golem and clear signs that things in the area have been digested. The ground's worn down unevenly(!) and shit.
They're talking about me...or another slime... and something about something being uneven?
Apparently listening to them talking is giving a decent chunk of experience, so I stand idly by.
"Oy, you! Come over here(!)!" One of them directs you. Fortunately, they also gesture. You begin to operate the suit...and fall over with a 'clang'.
"....Well, that explains why the slime didn't get killed." The person grumbles. "Clearly, this golem has no idea how to walk(!)"
Oh! I had no idea that I didn't just slide along the ground in this thing! I push it to it's feet and try again.
My motions are a little jerky, but I manage to get into roughly the place the soldier gestured towards.
"No sign of the Brain(!) Slime so far!"
...Ooh! Idea! They're looking for a slime that matches my description!
And I just HAPPEN to have one!
I call your Slime Minion and tell it to approach. With the thorough search they're conducting, they're still in the room when it arrives ten minutes later.
I order it to spit blood at one of them.
Attention got, it slides slowly forwards towards that one.
"Ack! Pfft!" He splutters. backing up and shifting a staff to his hands. "God, even the Brain Slime is just a annoying fucking piece of shit! Wonder why it's spewing blood, though, I thought that was more the Heart Slime's schtick. Good for keeping Vampires satisfied, that finding was." He muses as he waves his staff, a bolt of ice slamming into my minion.
....Oh god, my minion's already down by 40% of their health! What if that had been ME!
Wisdom of my current path confirmed, I order it to stubbornly approach and spit in his eyes as the other guy readies a broadsword.
I take my time to scan that guy.
[Jayson
Title:Slime Stomper(+500% all combat stats against slimes, +50 all combat stats against slimes, +500% damage against slimes)(Achieved by killing 10000 slimes)
Level:20
Strength:75+50*6=750
Dexterity:40+50*6=540
Constitution:75+50*6=750
Wisdom:32+50*6=412
Intelligence:27+50*6=462
Charisma:30
Health:38500/38500
Mana:24100/24100]
...What. Just. What. The. Fuck.
I don't even see him move.
One second, the Brain Slime Minion is there.
The next, Jayson is standing where it was, and the Brain Slime Minion is just... gone. Obliterated.
Jesus. What the fuck was that?!
It's absolutely vital that I don't get detected. Or... Or I'll be next.
I shudder fearfully. Obviously I can't kill these. I remember the numbers from the strongest thing I killed. I'm pretty sure it had, oh, 2000 health, tops.
These two were not Prey.
They were Predators.
----------------------------------------
King Laqerigeos(God, he hated that name. So pretentious.) stood with his hands clasped behind his back as he Observed the crystal in the plaza as the ceremony proceeded.
The ceremony was a daily thing, and really more business transaction than it was a ritual. Mainly the poor partook in it, though there were some who supplemented their income by doing it. When they found children doing it, they made sure to let their parents know.
Not that it was dangerous, but they may have been cut off from their allowance and seeking to bypass it.
[Mana Crystal
Durability 10,000/10,000
Capacity 500,000,000
Storage: 12,043,401]
His eyebrow twitched slightly. Who. Who had allowed someone without full mana to contribute to the Crystal?
Whatever. It's not worth firing or executing someone over, though it's totally worth being grumpy about.
The Crystal was a massive source of wealth, both for the poor and for the city.
For every 125 mana contributed, you receive a single copper coin.
For every 80 mana drained, you must pay a single copper coin.
Now, of course, there were many more people who contributed than who really needed to drain it...
So the King added a additional note.
By paying 4 copper, you may check out a book from the Lesser Royal Library for a week, which was chock full of basic magical texts and books that contained skills that would boost Intelligence, Wisdom, Maximum Mana or Mana Regeneration.
For 10 silver, or approximately 200 copper, you may check out more advanced books. Five gold, or 100 silver would yield excellent techniques.
However, there's a discount for a very specific kind of book.
Enchanting texts are a mere 1 gold to check out for a full month.
This is where the Kingdom makes it's money back, and the King was in fact confident that eventually that crystal would see a greater demand than supply and they'd have to designate drawing days where people were allowed to pull rather than add mana.
Enchanting was a very magically intense procedure. It took 1000 mana to get the very weakeest of enchantments. It would make something marginally more effective. A very skilled enchanter could perhaps milk a +1 to a single stat out of that. More likely, they'd fail to do anything with a significant enough effect to cause a mechanical effect like that. But they could make, for instance, a scrubbing brush that's a little more effective than most, or wears out a little slower.
This kind of item was mainly in demand by petty nobles for their staff, housewives, or moderately wealthy merchants, and you could perhaps expect to receive a silver above the normal value for it at best.
A Enchanter that did this with mana from the Crystal would not only make a 7.5 copper profit, but they would receive valuable experience with enchanting.
A step up from that, you have 5000 mana items, which you can typically expect anywhere from a +2 to a +6 from. The lower end of that tended to recieve sneers, but the high end could yield a gold coin.
And all this commerce was, of course, taxed.
Mind you, material and mass were both limiting factors in how much a item can be enchanted. Still, a decent robe could accept 25000 easily, and anyone who got wealthy enough to afford a miniature mana stone that could hold that much charge had the skills to get at least a full point per thousand mana
The only issue was that there was too little surface area on The Crystal and he was leery of allowing multiple people to touch it, in fear that one would decide that they could totally manage to take some mana or claim another person's contributions without being noticed. So instead what the King did was order a bunch of smaller mana stones commissioned that he could send around with armed guards, then have a skilled mage transfer into the larger Mana Crystal.
He had 100 stones, to serve five thousand men, women and orphans who gave up their energy willingly for the promise of a few coins to rub together..
More than one person who had failed to pay their taxes or a debt had been chained up and brought to a Stone to bleed their mana until it was paid in full. But the number was surprisingly low, and there were few truly homeless people on the street owing to the simplicity of obtaining money.
Unless you had a trait that reduced your Mana or Regeneration, even someone with 5 Wisdom, 5 Intelligence and 1 Level could expect to make a pittance of money reasonably. A little over 10 copper, enough to get food, to possibly bargain their way into sharing a room in a inn, and to check out a basic book. Even if they chose not to check out a book, the very act of donating their energy to the Stone would slowly train their Wisdom, allowing their mana to recharge to full more frequently, as little as it was.
A far more reasonable Level 5 with 10 in each who spent all day stopping by mana stones would net a much more respectable 80 copper. Enough to get their own room all to themselves, good meals, and save in a few days to get advanced books.
After studying enough books, they could go out and kill a few weak monsters with relative confidence, especially if, say, they were to buy a item of Constitution or Defense with a week's savings.
At the moment, the King calculates that there's about 100,000 copper's worth of mana in the Crystal(as in, what they paid for it; selling it would net 150,000). And over the last year, he reckons that at least 25,000 has been paid directly for more mana to be pulled from it, and 50000 for library usage directly related to the Crystal. So really, he's running a direct deficit. But indirectly, he's sure he's running a surplus from tax on enchanted items.. Within the last year, many enchanted items have been crafted, and many more have been exported, stimulating the economy.
In any other city, adventuring is considered the safety net. However, hunting a Dire Rat for bounties, meat and what precious little mana it's teeth contain was dangerous(for the un-levelled) for little pay and a pittance of experience.
Mana Farming was by far more luc-rat-ive(Damn the jester! Even he's thinking in puns now!) than that. And the rewards would make it easier to break into adventuring.
While the number of adventurers hailing from Rainhold had dropped to a mere fifth of what it had been, the number of Rainhold casters who reached level 25 had doubled. Additionally, all of the adventurers from Rainhold had added a small amount of magical tricks to their arsenal from the Library, as had the guards. There was, of course, a effort made to keep them out of the hands of criminals, and a fairly successful one as each book was covered in tracking charms, and most career criminals didn't bother checking their books in.
That tendency had resulted in a great reduction in crime, and a increase in prison population. He kept a second crystal there, along with a runeset that actively drained a few mana per second from each prisoner.
...
Of course, that ALSO slowly trains their wisdom, but it's still pretty damn good for keeping their magical prisoners in check. All at the low, low, price of making those FUCKERS more powerful if they ever manage to get OUT.
Of course, it also helps to justify keeping them alive rather than just executing them to his nobles.
All in all, Rainhold wasn't the richest city, but by God was it the least poor.
If most other cities were cheap whores in outfits that hid all their worst traits, then Rainhold was a plain Jane in a farmer's outfit with decent muscles and a perfect bill of health.
So why, then, did King Laqerigeos feel like something was about to go very, very wrong?