I freeze on the spot, a weight I didn't realise had grown so heavy lifted from my metaphorical shoulders and evaporating. Sweet, sweet communication! A tether of mutual recognition of sentience bridging two bein-
What the heck am I doing!? I don't have time for this, I've gotta save that little slime!
Shaking myself free of the profundity of the moment, I crawl into action. I have no idea how to reply, so I let my actions speak for me, gathering speed and assessing my target. This particular specimen has the thickest scales of any mole-dongo I've seen, its joints and spine well protected by natural armour. Even its dorsal spines look damn sturdy.
This one is going to be a tough nut to crack, so I leap for the mole-dongo's unprotected flank, eyeing the wide patch of hair free of scales.
I should have realised that would be too easy.
I must have made too much noise with my approach, or I've gotten strong enough that its animalistic senses register me as more than a mere nuisance. I think I'll take the latter; it makes me feel a little better about being slammed into the floor by a short, sharp thwap of its tail, my soft body reducing the damage I take from the attack. I only lose four hit points, but I'm made keenly aware that this guy hits harder than that corpse flower earlier, even with the help of Soften.
Peeling myself off the ground and readjusting my blade, I don't take my eyes off my opponent for a second despite the blatant disrespect it's showing me by simply turning its attention back to widening the rent in the wall.
Obviously this thing isn't taking me seriously, so I may as well use that to my advantage. Making myself seem smaller, I slink back, turning tail and running for the only path onwards, giving the creature a wide berth.
When I'm behind it I slow down, then stop completely. Being as quiet as I can, I sneak forward, moving as fast as I can safely do so. I'm just outside lunging range when the monster whips it's head around, feelers writhing. It obviously wasn't fooled by my ploy.
Tsk. Nothing for it, I'm not about to let this thing kill the only one of my kind I've seen alive down here. We're going all in!
Staring the mole three times my size in the face, I leap forward blade first, watching it like a hawk. If this doesn't work...
Luckily for me, animal or no, monsters are still aggressive creatures of instinct. Seeing a sharp object leaping towards it, the mole raises a paw to smack the blade away, its claws plenty durable for the job.
Down comes the claw, batting down the laughably telegraphed hail-mary...
...Or it would have, if the swing didn't pass through empty air. Wincing at the loss of the weapon, I suck it back through my body, letting the blade fall to the floor while the rest of me continues on my trajectory uncontested. Landing on a thick shoulder, I find some purchase on the coarse hide and scramble across its back, barely avoiding the claws that reach under its body for me from the other side.
Let's see if this is as effective as it is funny! Splaying myself wide, I leap for the back of the monster's head, seemingly floating above it for a moment before I come down. In that brief instant, I swear I see its beady little eyes widen.
Eat my slime!
...Er, actually, please don't...
Then everything is moving again and I'm fully Engulfed around the mole-dongo's head. I wait in tense anticipation for some kind of searing pain to tear through my innards as it ravages me from within with its teeth... and feel a spark of surprise when all they do is snap ineffectively, the currents within my body simply circulating my mass around so it can't take a proper bite. Huh, now it's closing its mouth for some-
A viscerally unnatural feeling, so intense it may as well be pain, lances through me in multiple places. It's like I'm being stuffed with rods, my membrane being pierced through like it's tissue paper before the mole's claws. I can feel my mass decreasing, my HP dropping as my inner slime leaks from its protective bubble.
Looking at how fast it's dropping, I'm forced to admit I can't afford to keep this up. My Digestive Molecules just won't do enough damage to kill the mole before it kills me. I need to rethink my approach.
Latching my membrane around a couple of the claws that have been stabbing me repeatedly on one side, I make the mole-dongo yank me off its own head, releasing my grip as it pulls back so I fly a short distance away. I actually get some pretty good airtime with how small I've gotten.
Now that I'm down to only six hit points, I'm less than half my normal size.
Looking around for my weapon, I can't locate it against the rough cavern floor before I have to throw myself to the side in order to avoid a rapid charge by my opponent. Bouncing twice before landing approximately ten feet away from it, I can see the mole-dongo's snout tendrils twitching erratically while it paws at its face, the area I'd Engulfed obviously either extremely irritated or in outright pain.
Huh, he really didn't like that, did he?
Good! That's what you get for picking on a helpless kid, you heartless f-!
I tense up, ready to leap away, only to raise a mental eyebrow when I barely have to move to avoid the next wild charge, the scraping thumps of its passage passing me by on the left.
Mole-dongo's attack missed!
Perplexed yet cautious, I'm wondering what kind of tactic this could be, when I notice it stub one of its long-clawed feet on an uneven section of ground. Stumbling for a moment before catching itself, it drags the pad of its paw across its face.
Ha-! Hahaha! Can't see where you're going, can you? Not so tough now that you can't see clearly, are you?!
Welcome to the club!
My confidence swells back with a vengeance in response to the chance I've been given stumbling before me. Crawling toward my opponent at top speed, I leap forward while staying low to the ground, a recreation of the move I used to escape one of its brethren in my first minutes upon arriving in the dungeon.
Flying forward as a formless blob, I watch intently as it lifts a claw, ready to shred me to pieces mid-leap. The mole takes no chances this time, aiming straight for centre mass.
Brilliant.
Rather than trying to dodge mid-air or some such nonsense, I stretch out to intercept the attack mid swing, making contact with its paw and pulling my malleable self tight against it. Not giving it a chance to shake me off, I immediately ripple onto it's shoulder-
[Soften has reached Level 5]
[Soften has achieved max level. Advance Skill to [Malleable] by spending 1 Skill Point?]
NOT. NOW.
-and leap off the monster with all my strength straight at the ground, aiming for the blind spot behind the right side of its head.
Naturally, the mole-dongo is both confused and wary by this point in the fight, forced to turn around so it doesn't lose track of me with its poor eyesight-
YOWZAH!
Only to turn directly into the Pound I immediately shoot into the side of its head. Slamming my body into its noggin with as much strength as I can transfer from my bounce, I ring its bell like Quasimodo performing a solo number.
My opponent still reeling from the hit, I don't let up. The moment I land, I immediately start Pounding again, this time hitting it under the jaw, trying to visualise the impact of each strike travelling through its skull and stirring its brain. I get two more hits in before my victim brings its claws to bear, dodging its drunken swipes by jumping to the side and immediately ramming into its flank.
[Pound has reached Level 4]
Even with the increased damage from Pound going up a level- thank you Mr Attenborough -this is categorically less effective, but it serves the intended purpose of forcing it to turn. Unfortunately, it turns the wrong way, the tail I'd somehow forgotten about in all this visibly taut with muscle and in the process of swinging toward me.
Actually, that tail looks like it's glowing! Is this some kind of attack skill? Either way, I really don't want to let it hit me.
Peeling off the ground after the club of pure scale and muscle whizzes over me, I throw myself onto the monster's exposed back. Pancaking myself is proving to be a fantastically effective method of avoiding attacks, so long as I don't overuse it.
Rather than trying to eat away at it with my Digestive Molecules, I make use of the height provided by its bottom heavy physiology to Pound it square in the back of the head, hoping the strength of the newly improved skill is enough to give me an edge.
Looks like I made the right call. Stunned, the mole-dongo flops to the ground and I lay into its head with one, two, three Pounds.
Take that, and that, and that!
[Congratulations, you have defeated a Level 3 Armoured Mole (Mole-Dongo)]
[You have recieved XP]
[You have reached Level 4]
[You have gained 1 Skill Point]
You bloody well bet I did!
Now, where's that little slime?
Much as I would love to revel in the new levels I've gained, I need to make sure the little fella is okay. I didn't have the freedom to so much as glance away during the fight, so I have no idea what kind of condition they might be in.
Crawling over to the scratched up split in the wall where I first spied them, I see a sight that sends a quiver through my gelatinous frame...
My scarab blade! Rushing over to the pieces of my trusty weapon, it's been snapped clean in half, the thick blade of chitin likely crushed beneath the cumbersome feet of the mole in the rough-and-tumble. Sparing a brief moment to grieve for the loss of the simple object that nonetheless turned me into a contender down here, I pack the implications of this deep inside, focused on making sure my new slime friend is okay.
I see evidence of slime wounds around the place, but no slime, nor any leftover membrane for that matter. Moving inside the hiding place, there's ample space for me due to my decreased size.
I'm honestly surprised they survived. There's so much slime matter splashed across the walls and floor that if it had the same amount of hit points as me, I'd say it came ridiculously close to dropping to zero.
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Considering they were still large enough to be seen from the tunnel I entered by, they must be a bit larger than me, possibly even a fully fledged slime!
Looking back at the corpse of the mole-dongo (Armoured Mole?), I incline my head in mild apology. Sorry mate, I take back the 'picking on a helpless kid' comment.
Ah well, looks like they ducked out sometime during the fight. Good for them, live to fight another day and all that! I would've loved to get a chat in, maybe find out if it knows any other slimes, but I'll satisfy myself with the knowledge that I did good by saving one of my brethren. Crawling back to gather my hard won Impurities, I find myself waxing poetic.
Who knows? If the Dungeon isn't too big, maybe I'll see them again someday and we'll have a tearful reunion between rescuer and the first of many rescuees.
My currents stilling at the sudden thought, I check in with that last thought. Do I want to save more slimes? Besides the obvious innate slime decency. I mean, who wouldn't jump in to help someone caught in a pinch?
But when did that become a goal I'd quietly set for myself? I'm getting stronger in order to survive at the moment, but what about after? I've never been good with thinking ahead, but I try anyway, my body rolling around on the spot a refection of my mental state as I think myself in circles.
Finally, I come to a decision; I'll only know what my options are once I get there! So I'll just do what feels right up until I have to make some kind of decision!
Yeah, everything'll work out in the end. No need to spend time stressing over planning out what to do when I don't know what's coming.
Now that that's sorted, time to check out my status while I dig in! Rippling over my meal, I pull up the page. Let's see those numbers!
Name: Luke
Species: Baby Blue Slime
Level: 4
Hit Points - 6 / 15
Mana - 5
Physicality: 8
Fortitude: 8
Thought: 24
Intent: 19
Skills: Pound [Lv.4], Soften [Lv.5]/[Max], Bounce [Lv.3], Stealth [Lv.4], Engulf [Lv.2]
Mutations: Mana Receptors +3 , Digestive Molecules +2 , Motive Molecules +2 , Membrane +1
Skill Points: 2
Impurities: 3
Heh... heheheehee!
Yeeeeeesss, level four! This single level up feels more impactful than the first two I got from the Vine Parasite for whatever reason, maybe because I had to slog through and earn each individual point of XP?
In any case, my skills have never looked better! Pound and Stealth both at level four, and Soften has hit the level cap! My B'n'B as a slime, Soften has been integral to my survival so far, so I can't wait to see what it becomes.
Swapping over to the skill selection screen, I see the notification jump out at me at the very top.
[Soften has achieved max level. Advance Skill to [Malleable] by spending 1 Skill Point?]
[Malleable: Further reduces the damage taken from blunt impacts, nullifying damage taken below a certain threshold. The skill user is also able to manipulate the shape of their body to a greater degree.]
UH, YES PLEASE!
[Success! You have advanced the selected Skill to [Skill: Malleable]]
Upon metaphorically slamming that semi-metaphorical confirmation button, I feel a gush of intuition flood over my mind and throughout my body, new ideas and possibilities percolating within my noggin as the new skill settles in.
Taking in the general shape of what I can make sense of right now, I feel my excitement rise. This is more than I had the guts to hope for!
I love you, Malleable!
It's so easy to shape and warp my body now! Testing it out, I'm pleased to see that it's not limited to my internal mass, the manipulation and generation of my membrane also far smoother now. Extending an appendage an arm's length away from me, I wave it about like one of those wavy guys you see out the front of car dealerships.
Hahaha, this is fantastic! Whooping, I mould myself into a hoola-hoop that fully encircles the shoulder I'm currently eating through.
I wonder what else I can do with this?
[Organism detected. [Initial]Profile: Armoured Mole (Mole-Dongo) unlocked.]
[Tough for their size, these monsters sport scales protecting their vital areas and sensitive feelers on their face. These feelers can have a myriad of uses, from sensing simple vibrations to the flow of Mana.]
Interrupted by the system notification, I look over the new profile. Huh, interesting. So slimes aren't the only creatures that can sense Mana? Fair enough, I don't feel cheated out of my individuality by that revelation. Not at all.
Looking for something to distract myself, the words in brackets catch my mental eye. Focusing on them, a sub-page, like a little pop out box, opens itself next to the monster's profile.
[[Personal] Profile: Mole-Dongo]
[Enter text here]
Oh, I can make my own profiles? Neat! This means I don't need to remember every itty-bitty detail I learn about the creatures I face! That's a relief, my memory is shoddy as hell when it comes to information and other stuff. Give me pictures or a slide-show any day.
Putting down a few notes on what I've learned about the monster so far, I debate doing the same for the others but decide against it. It'll give me something to do later, and I should really be moving as soon as I finish eating. I don't like how exposed I am here.
[[Personal] Profile: Mole-Dongo]
[1.Well protected, the head is a good target if I can avoid the claws.
2. Those feelers are sensitive, leave it vulnerable if damaged.
3. Avoid the claws, duh
4. Be cautious, may eventually breathe fire like in LoZ.]
Nodding my satisfaction, I close both profiles and finish eating. Trying something out, I stretch myself over what's left as thinly as I can, using my newly advanced skill to maximise the amount of surface area I'm consuming. Unfortunately, spreading myself too thin seems to slow down the process. Maybe my molecules need time to rest before going back in, and they normally just rotate out with the ones that aren't in use floating around inside me?
[You have consumed 1 Impurity]
Slowly increasing and decreasing my thickness over the next two minutes of eating, I find a nice equilibrium where I digest at top speed while covering the most area possible. This would have been doable before, I tried it with my first big meal, but it took too much concentration for it to be worth the effort. Now, though, all I have to do is think and my body reshapes itself at my whim.
[You have consumed 1 Impurity]
Meal finished, I find I mind the taste less, unpleasant as it is. I don't have any other options for food, the Impurities are a nice dopamine hit, and although I certainly can't see myself going around espousing the benefits of this questionable cuisine, I'm resigned to it at this point.
Righty-o! I'm back up to full HP, I've got my Impurities, the obvious next step is to get to mutating!
In saying that, I'm not happy with my current locale. I'd far prefer somewhere secluded where I can spend some time having a serious think about where I want to invest right now. This last fight has revealed some key weaknesses in my capabilities I should really address, and I don't want to be caught distracted by some wandering hunter.
Starting the long trek back to my hidden paradise, I don't bother creeping on my way up through the tunnel. It's one way, and the sound of my passage is negligible without footsteps. If I'm going to run into something, I'll hear it before it hears me.
Arriving back at the (probably) rest stop, I consider simply hiding inside the storage locker. It's tempting, I doubt I'll find anywhere more secure in this area of the Dungeon, but I don't know where the people that made it are, or how frequently it's used. I could hide out in there for days, sensing neither hide nor hair of anyone, or they could come by in a few minutes and find little ol' me sliming around amongst their stuff.
Somehow, I doubt they'd find the situation as amusing as I would. Just a feeling.
No, the safe option is to go back to my beach cave. Also, I must admit I'm hungry to see how my previous fights measure up on a human size scale. That Vine Parasite was the size of a small house, I want to figure out what it would have looked like next to a person.
Crawling into the smaller tunnels on my way back to the watering hole cavern and home, I hide myself against the wall whenever a monster comes by, making a note of intersections with the most traffic in my personal profile for the Monster Hyena. I don't know enough about them to put down anything else, so I may as well use the space for something even mildly helpful.
Rather than trying to take out anything on my way home, I hide against the wall or sneak by the few monsters I pass. I've achieved all my objectives, even the sub-goal of finding another slime, I don't want to push my luck here and end up bringing a group of enemies down on me in these tunnels where sound travels easily.
So, I continue to slip by unaware monsters without fanfare, quietly vowing to myself that I'll come back stronger than ever to show them what a slime is made of.
----------------------------------------
Settling into the silt of my own private beach, I look around in wonder and not a small amount of pride. I'm a bloody madman, no question about it.
Measuring myself against the hole in the ground where the roots used to be, then hopping back to imagine the monstrous bulb filling the cave once more, it must have easily towered over a normal person. It wasn't the size of a house, but it was definitely over nine feet tall, with vines as thick as forearms.
The fact that I was able to beat the thing as a measly level one baby slime shouldn't have been possible, but my human intellect and a hand-dandy pokey implement were apparently enough to make up the difference.
Once more, I thank my lucky stars that I was able to catch it off guard, the recent loss of my only weapon surging forth once more as a keen ache.
Without a way to cut or stab my targets, I'll be hard pressed to take the upper hand with a decisive blow without relying on outlasting them, a tactic that seems unlikely with my small health pool. I've been alright so far, only fighting monsters that rely on smacking or squeezing their prey, but the clear danger presented by sharp objects has never felt stronger after getting stabbed by that mole-dongo a few times.
Opening up my mutations, the inevitable decision to put off upgrading my Mana Receptors leaves a sour taste in my molecules. I'm getting by as I am, hazy as my 'vision' still is, but without the blade, I need to improve my damage options.
Looking between the stockpile of five Impurities and my collection of partially upgraded mutations, I choose to improve Digestive Molecules to +3, and my Membrane to +2. I worried at first that upgrading the durability of the membrane might make it harder to manipulate my form, but after fighting with it for the past hour, I haven't found any difference besides the fact that it held up against the force from that vine-assisted bounce when I didn't expect it to, fighting the Corpse Flower. If I upgrade it further, I might even prevent taking damage from impacts like the one that followed, which would open me up to a whole new tactic.
Reading the confirmation prompt, I lock in my choices.
[You have successfully mutated Digestive Molecules to +3]
[You have successfully mutated Membrane to +2]
Tingling with pins and needles, the changes go to work throughout my body. After five seconds or so, I wiggle around, feeling out the film that contains my body. I don't wobble quite so freely as before, but moulding myself is just as easy as it was.
I doubt it'll hold up against direct attacks, slimes aren't known for their toughness, but maybe if I'm smart about how I use my new skill...
Drifting off in thought, I let my mind wander, taking this moment of peace to figure out my next move...
----------------------------------------
...Elsewhere in the Dungeon...
The sound of brawling monsters rings out through the trees, barely perceptible vibrations shaking the ground every couple of minutes.
This does not worry the small shape slipping between moss covered rocks, bushes and roots providing ample cover. The fighting is far away, and will not come this way.
The fighting rarely stops, but it never travels this far.
Well, almost never.
Rounding the tree-bound rock marking the edge of safety, the small shape makes no visible change in its approach, maintaining the subtlety that has kept it alive so far. Stretched out before it is a small lake with an even smaller island in the middle, the spur of soil and rock completely overtaken by a large tree whose roots spill out of the soft earth to dip into the lake.
Approaching the shoreline at a glacial pace, the shape is soon lost beneath the surface of the water, its passage betraying nary a ripple that could alert the other denizens of the lake.
A brief stretch of time later, the same shape appears climbing up a root onto the small island, making for a barely visible gap beneath the woody tangle. Only once it is well past the hidden entrance does some sign of relaxation make itself visible in the small shape, though most wouldn't notice the change.
Passing a number of almost identical shapes, difficult for anyone but them to distinguish in the darkness, the group questions if the foray was successful.
Flashing a vague gesture to the negative, the lone shape quickly makes for the centre of the hideout to give its report. Passing through a number of tunnels and small chambers in its descent through the shadowed depths underneath the island, the only light this far down the seams of crystal running through the tunnels.
The shape eventually emerges into a barely lit cavern of soft earth, the largest cluster of crystal in the hideout anchored to the roof releasing the only meagre light around the sizable chamber. Seemingly unaffected by the darkness, the shape moves with surety for the sole occupant.
While much like the others in overall morphology, this individual is larger, more imposing, an air thick with command and firm resolve rolling off of it, leading the whole chamber to feel full despite its singular occupant.
Without waiting for a sign or gesture to begin, the small shape gives its report.
Search was unsuccessful. Intercepted by a predator, forced to retreat.
Pausing a beat to let the larger shape digest this information, the imposing shape flashes for it to continue, sensing there is more to come.
Swirling their confirmation, the shape goes on to say it managed to escape thanks to the intervention of another of their kind, an infant at that. Pulsing in wonder, the small shape conveys that it fought like no infant they had ever seen, rather...
Listening intently, the imposing shape feels a swell of pride for its immature sibling. Yet, the emotion is accompanied by a larger swell of concern. They and theirs can't reach the isolated one in the caves with things as they are right now. It will need to fend for itself for the time being.
Hopefully, the infant can avoid the Hunters.