In saying that, how to actually go about avoiding my fate? I'm not exactly a combat powerhouse by this world's standards if those two I ran into are anything to go by. Either they're strong monsters that were spawn camping, or I'm just that low on the proverbial food chain. Unfortunately, I am depressingly aware of which option is more likely.
My Thought and Intent are likely both due to my human origins, but I wasn't a 'straight A' student, so it's likely these numbers are baseline human stats...
[Name: Luke]
Species: Baby Blue Slime
[Level: 1]
Hit Points - 15
Mana - 5
Physicality: 8
Fortitude: 8
Thought: 24
Intent: 19
Skills: Pound [Lv.1], Soften [Lv.2], Bounce [Lv.1]
Skill Points: 1
Impurities: 1
Pulling up my status, my heart sinks. Look at my Physicality and Fortitude! If normal humans have numbers around the twenties, I have almost a third the physical stats of your average joe! That's just insulting! I know slimes aren't your big name contenders but they're beloved mascots! Aren't icons like that supposed to at least have gimmicky support due to popularity?
The answer must lie in my species. I'm a Baby Blue Slime, which means there's such a thing as a Blue Slime, or Adult Blue Slime. Maybe there's some kind of growth mechanic, or even better yet, full on evolution? It's likely something I won't be able to figure out until I level up a bit, but how exactly do I do that? Obviously, hunting is not my forte, the only way I can attack right now is by imitating a starter Pokemon and putting my body on the line...
No, curious as I am about how all this works, I can't get ahead of myself. I'm trying to figure out how to survive, not gain levels. Obviously the latter is a big help to the former, but not at the cost of my life.
Avoiding things bigger than me is the obvious starting point. I've never been in a situation where I'm being actively, or even passively, hunted, but it's good to know I'm a flier not a freezer. That would have made my previous escape a good deal more brief and far less effective. As it is, I'm lucky I didn't get closer to that mole-thing, it would have caught me otherwise.
My 'sight' is terrible for making out anything beyond the general shape of objects, I couldn't even tell it was a creature until it started moving.
Despairing over my lack of tools, I glance at my Skill Points and Impurities. Hmmm, I don't really know how to get more of these, but maybe I need to take the plunge and invest in my survival? Then again, what if I need to fight things to get them? I’ll have used what I had with no course for obtaining more.
Gah! Why'd I have to start out as such a light weight! Pushing my mind away from the status screen, I rear back and hop, throwing the full might of my body weight at the floor in my best rendition of an irritated stomp. The fact I spring up again like a bouncy ball only serves to stoke the flames of my righteous fury.
At least those lucky bastards from earlier probably started with claws and teeth! All I've got going for me is non-Newtonian fluid!
Bouncing off the floor and surrounding pillars of rock like a three-quarters full water balloon, I rage at the machine, or whatever it was, that put me here. I eventually tire myself out with the short tantrum, my little body slumped on the floor like a particularly thick pancake.
God, I could go a pancake right now...
Alright, are we done? Feel better now? Good, lets focus up. Although… food would be nice, I haven't eaten since the day I was born... it was like, ten minutes ago, but the point still stands!
I'm getting hungry.
I have no idea what there is to eat around here, but I doubt I'm gonna find golden arches or finger lickin' good food five hundred meters down the next tunnel on the left. I'm a monster now, so I'll likely be eating other monsters.
...Gross...
Though, from what I know of slimes, we can eat basically anything, right? Maybe I can find some plants or small things lying arou-
THAT'S IT!
I preen, basking in the spark of brilliance that ignites within the depths of my molecules. I knew those mental stats weren't for show! Slimes are scavengers, I shouldn't be trying to figure out how to hunt, I should be subsisting off things like plants while I stalk other predators and make use of their leftovers! Who knows, if I'm lucky maybe I can even steal some kills. I have no idea how the XP system works, but that's something I can experiment with later.
I can’t deny that I feel twinge of depression and shame at my only plan being to feed off the scraps of things that could end my life with a swipe of their paw, but I grab hold of that part of myself and smother it in its infancy. I don't have the privilege of qualms and pride right now! This is do or die in the most literal sense, I can't afford to forgo my best chance at securing food and the possibility of getting stronger, regardless of whether it's demeaning or not!
Right. Now that I have a plan, it's time to put my resources where my mouth is. It should be pretty easy to give myself a mouth, right...? Hmmm, maybe not, I realise, trying and failing to contort a section of my membrane wall into a facsimile of said orifice. I'll need to practice that as well.
Calling forth the upgrade screen, I look through the options again.
[Available Skills: Stealth - 1 SP: Assists with fine motor control and spatial awareness when attempting to remain undetected
Engulf - 1 SP: Impart instinctive knowledge of how to manipulate density and movements when trapping something within your body]
[Mutations Available: Membrane +1: Increase durability of surface membrane, reducing damage taken and increasing force required to destabilise form
Motive Molecules +1: Increase the speed mass can be moved and manipulated
Mana Receptors +1: Improve Mana Sense
Digestive Molecules +1: Improve rate of digestion and damage dealt to matter inside the body]
Alright, I have one Skill Point and one Impurity, which means I can get both a Skill and a mutation, tapping me out. It only takes a moment to decide on purchasing the Stealth skill, however, I hit a roadblock with the mutations. Thinking carefully about what I need most right now, the problem is that almost all of this is useful!
I can safely disregard upgrading my Membrane at the moment, I doubt the increase to my resilience will hold up to a dedicated attack from anything like the monsters I ran into before, but the rest will all reinforce my main goal of stalking or cleaning up after predators.
In the end, I decide on upgrading my Mana Receptors. I have no idea how much it will improve my vision, but if it increases my ability to discern detail or extends my range, I'll be happy with that. Like I reminded myself earlier, knowledge is integral to survival! If I can't see properly, then I can't stalk anything, or know when I'm walking into a dangerous situation.
[You have successfully purchased Skill: Stealth]
[You have successfully mutated Mana Receptors to +1]
Confirming my choices, I wait, unsure what's going to-
A feeling like a forest stream emptying into my brain sends me drifting off into a light trance, the cool caress of knowledge and intuition washing over me. At the same time disparate pockets within my body adopt a fizzy sensation, like that feeling on your face when you hold it close to a freshly poured glass of soft drink. Overall the experience is pleasant, if a bit weird.
Once the changes have run their course, I look at my surroundings to see if my perception changed. After inspecting my humble abode for a moment, it seems the clarity of my Mana sense has gone up a little bit.
Instead of the stalagmites further from me blending together, I can make out the edges of their individual shapes, like the focus has been adjusted on one of those cameras I could never afford. It’s still blurry, like I’m a foot underwater looking up at a crowded beach, but I make a very useful discovery from this upgrade.
It's apparent now that solid objects block my sight. I was unsure before because everything bled together so easily, but the little forest of stalagmites before me provide a better point of study. When I move to observe the thicket from different angles it's obvious that I can't sense Mana around corners.
As for my new Stealth skill, it's not a switch in my mind I can turn on and off like I thought it might be. Instead, I now have new instincts and a basic understanding of how to remain unseen. It's odd, I feel as if I've always had this knowledge and only just now has it come forth to be applied.
Kinda creepy that whatever is managing these skills is able to slot things into my mind like that...
Oookay, let's think about something else before I start getting paranoid. I'm out of resources, but in return I’ve gained the foundations of a scavenger skill set. All that's left is to find a predator to scavenge off of.
----------------------------------------
I've been wandering around the tunnels and caves for ten minutes now. I decided to bounce along whenever it felt safe in an effort to train my Bounce skill, I know from Soften going up a level earlier that they level up through use.
Well, that's part of the reason. Another is the simple fact that it's amusing, it feels funny on both a physical and conceptual level to be a little blob bouncing their way through a cave.
I found the little tunnel I'm currently traipsing through a couple minutes ago, almost missing the barely visible hole, tucked away as it was at the base of one of the walls further along the much larger tunnel I started in. It's mostly circular, has a gentle downwards incline, and is only three slimes tall, so I end up bouncing and rebounding around it like a partially filled water balloon to maintain my momentum. The method of transportation is actually moving me along at a decent clip, a fact that soon results in me arriving at the terminus of the little tube whereupon it joins another, larger tunnel.
Landing with a muted splat a just shy of the T-junction, I slowly roll forward, keeping close to the wall while remaining alert for any moving Mana sources. Doing a bit of experimentation on the different ways I can get around, I've discovered that if I keep my 'muscles' tense like I'm pulling myself together to bounce, my body is firm enough to roll if there's a bit of a downwards slant, which is a good deal faster than crawling if there aren’t obstacles in the way.
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Looking around this new tunnel, it's a bit smaller than the one I was born in, maybe eight slimes wide and a couple more high? With no idea how big I actually am, I'm just going to have to judge distance and sizes on the fly.
There's nothing much here, just the same old stony cave vibes as always, though there's a distinct lack of stalagmites and stalactites adorning the roof and floor.
Failing to locate any other monsters during my observation, I slip out of the tunnel, keeping low while pressed against the wall in case a monster happens to pass by. Rippling along, I count any side tunnels I pass, making sure I can find my way back. I've been going slow, so I haven't made a lot of progress, but I never had the best memory without relying on landmarks. I wouldn't want to lose track of where I am-
Freezing, I suppress the shiver that runs through me when a familiar shape rounds the corner not too far up the tunnel, the muffled sound of claws clacking against stone making me twitch anxiously instead.
A mole-lizard a bit smaller than the first one I saw trundles towards me down the tunnel, more details coming into focus as it gets closer. I didn't get a good look at the first one, distracted as I was by crawling for my life. This one doesn't seem to have such large claws, but otherwise, they're almost identical.
Its broad rump supports a tail that just about doubles its length, the thickness and the way it swings reminding me of the crocodiles I saw at the zoo when I was a kid. Its rear feet are flat and splayed out to either side, the thick, blunt claws there likely meant to help shovel dirt out of the way while digging.
As for the front of the body, it's relatively low to the ground, like it's in a perpetually shallow downwards dog. The scales present on the tail travel all the way along its spine, also appearing as patches in-between the joints, likely for protection. The mole's forelimbs are surprisingly short, but those claws are no joke.
Moving my attention to its face, that weird blob on the end of the snout I vaguely remember from last time is easier to make out thanks to my upgraded Mana sense. It consists of maybe ten stubby little tendrils surrounding a flat pad, five on each side, where its nose should be. They sway and twitch when it turns its head this way and that, probably some kind of sensory organ.
Overall, it looks like a mix between a mole and a bottom heavy version of that King Dodongo boss from LoZ. It's even got the teeth! At least, I don’t think moles are supposed to have so many pearly whites. Even if they do, I'm almost positive they shouldn't be that big.
Hoping against hope it doesn't notice me, I hold stock still, waiting for it to pass me by. My slime feels like it's congealing inside my membrane as the monster comes level with me, scraping its feet across the stone barely eight slimes away.
I almost find out whether I can defecate or not when the monster's head sways my way, its feelers wiggling in my direction... before deciding there's nothing to be found here, snuffling at the ground further along the path as it continues on.
Not daring to release the tension holding my body together until it's made some more distance, I watch the mole-dongo shuffle past, it's tail swishing behind it like a big rudder-
[Stealth has reached Level 2]
HOLY CRAB-FUCKING MONKEY CRACKERS!
Now is NOT the time David, regardless of how soothing those dulcet tones are! You nearly gave me heart attack, and I don't even have a heart anymore! Looking up at the ceiling, I fume in silence. It’s a good thing I don't have vocal chords, or that would have had me screeching like a little girl!
Looking back to see if the killer mole has noticed my brush with cardio-vascular demise, I let myself relax a touch when I see it hasn't so much as adjusted course.
Here it is Luke, go time! Keeping my movements slow and careful, I drop down as a puddle and ripple over the floor after a predator three times my size. This Stealth skill is certainly something! I slide along soundlessly, slipping from one bit of rubble or uneven section of wall to the next whenever there’s cover available.
Haha, I feel like a proper ninja!
Staying back while keeping my meal ticket well within sight, I allow myself a quiver of anticipation. I almost can't believe it! This is actually going to work!
----------------------------------------
That didn't work at all!
Squeezed into the small crack in the wall that I'm beginning to think of as the bedroom of my little residence, I shake my head in disgust at the poor showing. Turns out those mole-dogno's aren't the badass killing machines I thought they were! I spent what feels like the whole day tailing my target and the only thing it successfully took down was a scarab beetle! Granted, the beetle was the same size as it and had blades on its foreclaws, but still! It was already wounded, the mole just finished it off!
The rest of the day was spent watching the monster I'd pinned my hopes on shuffling around the tunnels and caves, going from abandoned fight to unsuccessful ambush. I saw a few more of those beetles around the place, a couple of the hyena/piranha combos and a large, thick limbed spider that ended up cashing in my meal ticket when it caught the mole-dongo in its terrifyingly large web. Those threads were only barely visible to me, but the fact I could even see them means they must have been disgustingly thick. The second it was caught I knew that thing was done for.
Rather than sticking around to watch the gruesome spectacle of a spider the size of an SUV partake in lunch, I cut my losses and headed back home. It took me a couple hours just to do that, backtracking and exploring paths I couldn't quite remember, until finally finding my way to what I'm now thinking of as my 'birth cave', then once again locating my little stone forest.
I expended a lot of time and energy today, and for what? I knew it would rear its ugly head at some point, and as if to ratify my statement, I feel the beginnings of a gnawing hunger take hold within my stomach. In truth it's probably just those Digestive Molecules, but they seem mostly concentrated towards the centre my body, so it's an accurate enough analogy.
All in all, that was a disaster.
But I can't let it get me down. I picked the wrong target is all, next time I’ll follow a stronger monster.
Or a weaker one, I ponder, swirling silently in thought. It wouldn’t work for the spider since it sets up shop to hunt, but if I follow something I think might get taken out, it'll either survive and I can learn how it does it, or I can swap to following whatever does the deed.
Nyeheheheh, my deviousness knows no bounds! I am truly the master of machinations!
Oi, what's that sound?
The new development distracts me from patting myself on the back. It sounds like... scraping? It's different to the walk of a mole-dongo though, I got very familiar with what they sound like over the course of my stakeout.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I leave the safety of my crack in the wall and slip amongst the thicket of stalagmites that conceal my abode. It sounds like whatever is making the sound is... doing something to the rock? Shit, maybe something's found me!
Keeping very quiet, I slip out the side, staying in the first few rows of cover while I try to figure out what in the world is going on. I get my answer in the form of one of those scarab beetles I've seen around up on its hind legs, running its forelegs across the thickest stalagmite in reach.
Wondering what the heck it's up to, knowing it'll never cut through solid rock like that, a lightbulb goes off in the desert of my mind.
It must be sharpening its blades! It needs to use those forelegs to walk, so they must be getting constantly blunted by the stone floor! By using the stalagmites like this, with their naturally formed grooves, the beetle can keep its most important weapons in tiptop shape. I'm honestly impressed, that's a lot more intelligence than I would have expected from an insect.
Though, I guess it's not technically an insect in the strictest sense. It's an insect monster. I really shouldn't expect monsters to behave like a normal animal would, it sets me on a dangerous road to underestimating them.
Case in point, it's about the size of a 4WD. Keeping a wary eye on the bug, I watch it for the full minute or so it spends running its claws against the rock. Apparently done, the scarab pauses for a brief moment before dropping down abruptly, scuttling off with purpose.
Maybe it has somewhere to be?
Weighing the risk against both the possible reward and my insatiable curiosity, reward and curiosity win out. Sliding out from behind cover, I hasten to follow the rapidly departing beetle, putting on more speed than I'm comfortable with in order to keep up. This guy's really moving, you running late or something?
Risking making a little noise, I jump at the nearby wall, rebounding off so I can start bouncing after it when we pass through a particularly damaged section of tunnel. I don’t know why, but I have the feeling that if I let myself lose this chance, I'll be missing out on something... well, something.
We turn down branching tunnels, pass through one of the first actual room-like caves I've seen (there's a melee of about three different monsters, so entangled I can't tell where one ends and the next begins), more tunnels, and I nearly lose it when it scuttles up and through what looks like a hole dug into the rock halfway up the wall. Thankfully, it's low enough that I can jump in with a bit of a run up.
[Bounce has reached Level 2]
Oh, sweet! Crawling up the steep incline of the tunnel, I notice it transitions to unevenly packed earth shortly after breaking through the rock, the whole thing just big enough for the scarab I'm following to squeeze through, going by the scrape marks on the walls. Maybe it was the one that dug it out?
My contemplation is cut short when I see the end of the tunnel approaching. Cautiously edging forward, I poke the edge of my body out to get an idea of what I've gotten myself into.
My brain stalls, unable to accurately process what is visible before me.
Holy shit.
Moving into the roughly circular cavern, I estimate it to be around twice the size of a school gymnasium. I look around in wonder at the dense foliage that fills this space in a daze, the brilliant glow of pure life suffusing absolutely everything in sight. I've never ached for sight so much as right now, just so I can soak in the verdant colour I'm certain decorates this hidden pocket of thriving plant life.
The Mana in here is wild, it’s like looking at an impressionist's painting of the night sky. Streams and whorls of energy bleed from one aura into the next, an almost hypnotic current of motion that strikes me dumb.
Small, fleshy trees with broad leaves like palms, ferns as big as bus stops, dense carpets of vine decorating the walls and dangling from the roof in places.... even the ground itself is a departure from the hard, relatively barren environment of the tunnels. Dense, loamy soil, thick with a carpet of soft grass, fills me with a sense of comfort and safety.
The sound of gently flowing water is carried from further in, the ever present crystals I've seen sprinkled throughout the cave system visible in small deposits, poking out from between dense blankets of plant life, or wrapped in vines on the walls.
There are more varieties of growing life here than I could think to name, every slice of foliage I pick out presenting me with beautifully alien growth.
I think I might cry. And that's okay. Even taking into account everything I saw in my past life, this is the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed.
Loathe to cut short what feels like a nigh spiritual moment, I look through the blue-ery (get it? cos greenery? But Mana is... never mind, ignore me) for the beetle that led me to this paradise. I see a copse of ferns shaking ten or so feet off to my left, the sound of chewing noticeable even to my limited hearing.
Creeping forward through a tall patch of clover and hiding beneath the shadow of a low hanging fern with leaves like a banana tree, I glimpse the rear carapace of the bloody big bug.
[Stealth has reached Level 3]
Brilliant! My hard work is paying off! Keeping hidden will keep me alive, so let’s rake in those levels!
It appears to be digging into the roots of one of the traffic light sized fleshy trees with gusto, mandibles ripping and masticating loudly.
I experience a momentary flash of rage. The sheer audacity of this bitch! Coming into this sacred glade of life and defiling it so? For shame!
Restraining from leaping forward to give the bug what for, I circulate my internals into a soothing spin cycle. It's the closest alternative I've found so far to taking a few deep breaths, imparting a similar effect.
Stepping back from the brink of a very poor decision, I slump slightly. I've been keeping my senses peeled for any sign of greenery throughout my admittedly brief time here, and this place is the first I've come across.
I'm a slime, I don't have the luxury of being picky about what I eat, more so because I've not eaten a single thing in what I'm pretty sure is a full day, and I doubt I was born on a full stomach.
Having shaken free of my initial reaction upon laying Mana Receptors on this place, I take another look around the verdant underground terrarium I find myself in. The edge taken off after moving past my surprise, I see this place for what it really is; a source of food and concealment.
It's unlikely this beetle and I are the only monsters to have found this place, so why isn't it crawling with them? It could be that most of the monsters down here are carnivores… but if so, why can't I at least hear any other beetles munching away in the undergrowth? There's something strange going on here...
Right as I think there might be something I’m missing, I hear an odd stretch, like the subtle sound of a rope creaking under strain. Turning my attention back to the beetle monster, I do a double take at the predicament it's found itself in.
I guess this explains the lack of other monsters, I think weakly while I watch the scarab scuttle to and fro, dodging the inexorable, curling grasp of four vines writhing and reaching down from the canopy of the tree it had been feasting on. As for the tree itself, it's noticeably swaying, despite a definite lack of breeze of any kind.
Monster plants. Of course there are monster plants. Why wouldn't there be monster plants in this HELLSCAPE of a world!? How silly of me not to expect that!
Nervously eyeing my cover, not entirely convinced of its safety anymore, I eventually decide that if the fern or clover was a monster, it’s one that doesn't mind me sticking around.
...Nice bushes... you're very pretty....
No harm in being careful though.