An hour passes, and my HP returns to max. The quiet reverie has been broken a few times as groups of adventurers explore the pool - looking for stragglers or undiscovered treasures I guess - but none of them have found us and all of them left shortly after arriving. I'm cold and wet still... so I should probably figure out how to get out of this cave.

I put the slime down and begin to dig at the rocks at the entrance of the cave. I move a bunch of small ones, but the vast majority are huge boulders and fallen trees. Nope. A STR of 1 might be enough to carry a slime and wear clothes, but no matter how hard I exert myself, it's definitely not letting me move boulders out of the way. Lol.

I notice that the prismatic slime is glowing faintly. I look in that direction and see a small crevice in the cave. A dark hole that seems to go deeper into the mountain.

It's not very big.

Actually, it's extremely small. Like lay down on my stomach put my arms against my side, and worm crawl through the tunnel small.

No way.

There's got to be a better option than that. If I get stuck in a cave, I'll have no choice but to force quit and respawn at Fountain City.

The prismatic slime jumps a few inches in the air. When it lands, a wave of colored light bounces through its body, and it chirps slightly. It does it again. I'm pretty sure it's trying to get my attention. Then it slides into the hole in the wall.

"Wait! No no no no no no no stop you don't know where that goes!"

Well... that went south fast. I guess I have no choice.

I check my pocket to make sure my one possession is secure. My single Haruka seed is still there, sewed safely into the base of my pants pocket to keep it from falling out.

I lay down on the wet stone. The edges of my vision start to turn blue and icy and my status screen shows "cold/chilled" as a status condition. Well... I was expecting that an hour ago. But it makes sense. Cold and wet aren't great combinations.

15 meters ahead I see the tiny prismatic slime. Every few seconds it bounces, sending a wave of colored light through the tunnel. It looks like it is just wide enough to make it through, and just tall enough that if I keep my head turned to the side, I should be ok.

I begin crawling through the tunnel. It's cold, wet, and terrifying. I remember spelunking in a huge cave in Indiana when I was a teenager, and part of that cave was like this - crawling on my stomach through a tiny corridor. This is more scary, because I don't know what's at the other side. There's no guarantee I'll be able to get out up there. And if I can't, I'll be totally stuck.

I guess I'm stuck already. Haha.

The light from the prismatic slime gets brighter and brighter until I reach it. The slime drops down three ledges and then disappears just out of view.

I slide my body down the ledges. The back of my shirt catches on a sharp piece of rock and rips partway, but other than that I'm safe. At the bottom of the ledge is another small hole - this one, however, goes back in the other direction, at a steep downward slope.

The slime bounces once, then slides down the hole.

This tunnel is much longer, and the steep slope scares me. There is no way I could go backwards here. It's over a 60% slope at some points... at which I'm literally sliding down the tunnel, hoping I won't hit my head and die on whatever is in front of me.

I'm still laying on my stomach, my arms pinned to my sides, head turned to the side. The wall of the tunnel is just beyond my shoulders, and the roof is just above my head. I can't turn my head. I can't move my arms except to wiggle slightly. I can't see anything but the light reflected on the wall next to me. I have to trust that this little creature will guide me to safety.

Twice there are short flat areas of the tunnel. I notice that there is water flowing downward, and that the amount seems to be increasing. Deep breaths.

Since we turned around once, that means we're going back toward the central pool. The tunnel gets steeper and steeper, and then suddenly my light goes faint and disappears. I continue moving forward and my head slides off the edge of the rocks. Above me, the ceiling has opened enough for me to turn my head. I look and see nothing. I'm balanced on the ledge of a sheer drop-off. The hole for the drop-off is significantly larger, so I shouldn't be afraid of hitting the sides, but it ends in water. The prismatic slime is floating what looks like forever beneath me, waves of color rippling through the water.

I don't really have a choice. I can't go anywhere but forward, and as soon as I do, I'm falling in this water.

You can do this Gabe. You can do this.

I brace myself, let myself slide forward, and hit the water.

I pass out on impact.

I mean, who can be surprised? I have an Endurance of 0. I'm not gonna be able to handle a fall of that height even if it is into water.

---

The state of being passed out is interesting. Unlike unconsciousness in real life, in Dungeon Quest I find myself in a blank space of nothingness. Some people can't handle it, and they set themselves to log out when status conditions like that are set, with a notification if the condition disappears. Technically, you can't log out during a major status tho - so your avatar stays alive wherever you left it, without anyone controlling it. And if a creature inflicted the ailment, I'd probably want to be immediately awake when it wears off.

The black nothingness disappears, and my eyes slowly open. I'm laying on my back on cold, wet rock. My head and shoulders are dry, but the rest of my body is underwater. And there is dazzling light on the cave above me.

I pull myself up.

I'm inside a cave with a perfectly rounded ceiling, about the size of the central pool - which is probably far above me. Tiny trickles of water flow from points in the ceiling and drip into the pool. The walls of the cave are made of something like mother-of-pearl, and it reflects light in a million different colors.

The rocky space in the center has a huge brightly glowing crystal. It's the source of the light - not so bright that it hurts, but bright enough and with enough color that it feels like I'm looking at a diamond that can light from the inside.

My head hurts.

I look at my status. 1 HP, but I'm ok.

The tiny prismatic slime is bouncing just next to the crystal.

"Just like you, right? You always have 1 HP. And you're still ok. You led me here, you kept me safe. Thank you little slime."

The slime chirps and thrums, then bounces again next to the shining crystal.

I've played games before. A crystal this size is usually a source of power of some kind? I'm expecting something to happen when I touch it. I just have no idea what it will be.

I press my right hand against the crystal... it shines bright enough to blind me, and then everything goes dark.

---

"Beginning Oath of Pacifism"

I'm in a dark blue space. It feels similar to the one at character creation, except there are no weapons. Nothing except a single blue status screen in front of me, which seems to be loading.

The text changes.

"Tenet 1: I swear to never use my power or influence to hurt or injure another, or to force another to do so."

There is a handprint next to the statement. I place my hand on the print and there is a prick in my first finger. I leave blood behind on the status screen, and the first finger of the handprint begins shining. My HP goes from 1 to 0, but I stay awake.

"Tenet 2: I swear to always sacrifice myself first to uphold the peace, no matter who is at fault."

The handprint is still there. I wait a few minutes but my HP isn't moving. I place my hand on the print and feel another prick - this time in my middle finger. Now the middle finger shines as well.

"Tenet 3: I swear to seek out the weak, the afflicted, and the misunderstood, and to make their trials my own."

I place my hand, and my ring finger leaves behind blood and a shining fingerprint.

"Tenet 4: I swear to treat all living creatures with respect for their lives."

I place my hand, and the pinky finger leaves a trace and a shine. My HP is still at 0.

"Tenet 5: I surrender everything in exchange for the power of a Pacifist. (Final Decision)"

This screen feels familiar.

What is the "power of a Pacifist?" Why is pacifist capitalized? And what exactly is it asking me to surrender?

I do want to be a pacifist. I *am* a pacifist. And I think I've already made it clear. No matter what the cost, I'm going to do this... and I'm going to make it work.

I place my hand, which gets pricked all across the skin. My hand is stuck on the status screen, and my own status screen appears next to it.

"Removing visible stats."

My STR score drops to zero and turns gray. No! That's not cool. It took me forever to get that!

"Adding core stats."

I watch as each of my stats changes from gray zeroes to black zeroes, then a number before my eyes.

"Removing drops, gathers, possessions, and currency."

All my money drains away. My clothing disappears. The cursed ring stays on my finger.

"Returning gifts."

My clothing reappears. The Haruka seed is still in my pocket.

"Calculating Pacifist totals."

Two screens appear above the two status screens already present. The one on the left looks like a video screen, and the one on the right is a 0. On the left a video starts to run in fast-forward. It's my life here in Dungeon Quest. At certain points, the video pauses, and then the 0 on the right changes to a different number. 5 added here. 2 added there. A significant amount when I rejected the weapons at the beginning of the tutorial. The video runs in high speed until it reaches the current point in time.

"Obtain Proficiency: Pacifist? (Final Decision)"

I click yes with my free left hand.

My right hand becomes unstuck from the handprint, which begins glowing.

There is an explosion of shimmering light, a rush of water, music playing, even a feeling of... a woman smiling at me? My senses are overwhelmed and again I pass out.

A moment later I'm awake again.

I'm standing on a tiny rock in the middle of the central pool of the shimmering pond. It's dark. Only the moon above and the little slime in my arms gives off any light.

I feel like I'm in a dream. I pull up my status window to confirm that what just happened was real.

>>

Name: Gabe

Proficiency: Pacifist (I)

Level: 1

HP: 50

MP: 20

STR: 2

AGI: 2

DEX: 2

END: 4

INT: 2

WIS: 2

CHA: 4

PER: 4

Inventory: Karmic Ring of Strength (bound)

0 gold (0 in deposit)

Ripped clothing (+0 defense)

Haruka seed

Skills: Oath of Pacifism (1547 pts)

>>

I feel like I'm on Cloud 9. Earlier I got my first adaptive stat. Now I have stats all the way across the board? It looks like having a higher Perception stat makes it so that I can see more on my status screen.

I open up my skill screen and click the button marked "Oath of Pacifism."

There are three boxes.

The first says "Protect (500pts)"

"Pacifist Protection (Level 0): Choose one other being. You will take all damage in their stead. This ability extends beyond dimensions. Damage forms protected depend on range. Becomes invalid if the Pacifist dies."

The second one says "Heal (20pts/HP)"

"Pacifist Heal (Level 0): You may freely give your HP to another being you touch with HP of 1 or more. Your HP will be reduced by the same amount given."

The third says "Peace (25pts/min)"

"Peace of the Pacifist (Level 0): Beings and objects within the range of (touch) are blessed by Peace of the Pacifist.

Current attributes:

Glow - give off a soft glow of light"

I click "Protect" and choose the prismatic slime in my arms. 500 points are used, and the slime glows briefly in a golden light. I let the slime down into the water, then swim across the pool to the other bank.

I'm not sure where to hide this guy. Staying here isn't safe... because more adventurers will come. The city isn't safe for the same reason. Yet again I have no money. Koji and Fred won't have any ability.

I need to find someone who actually lives here. An NPC who can take care of the slime while I'm not here. Someone who won't just want to kill it to get the drop.

I unconsciously slide my hands into my pockets and feel something soft and wet. I pull out a small ticket.

?

It's too dark to see anything. I activate "Peace of the Pacifist" and the ticket begins to glow softly. My entire body begins to glow as well.

I can barely see something written there.

17.33, 24.65

Oh! It's how to contact Miyoko!

I know she said to wait until I have 2 silver coins. But this is an emergency, so she'll understand... right? I hope she will. I turn off "Peace of the Pacifist," then pick up the tiny prismatic slime and start walking toward the lights of Fountain City.