A day had passed—a day since I discovered the portal that promised escape from this hellhole.

But it was also a day since I had left behind the lifeless body of the young child.

Recalling the failure of rescuing him weighted heavily on my heart.

I had been unable to save a child who had reached out for help, and worse yet, I couldn't even provide him the dignity of a proper burial.

The stone floor of the grotto offered no soft earth to serve as a resting place for his small, broken body.

It's truly sad, even though the child was not well-equipped for the dungeon, he still managed to gather ten crystallized hearts on his own.

I'm not sure about his class or skills, but it was clear he had some confidence to venture here, though fortune did not favor him.

I can't help but wonder how far he might have gone if he had been given the chance to develop properly.

Reluctantly, I had placed him near the wall, close to the portal's swirling exit, hoping that this position might spare him further desecration.

The thought that perhaps no monster would venture near the portal was a small comfort, but it was the actions of potential groups passing by that I found myself pondering.

Would they, find themselves too pressed by their own survival to do more? Or might they, in recognizing the tragedy of a young life cut short, take it upon themselves to carry his body back through the portal to the world outside?

Either way, the harsh reality of my situation didn't allow for prolonged mourning, no matter how much the loss of the young child weighed on my conscience.

I ventured away from the area near the portal, driven by the pressing need to gather the necessary credits.

I opted to stay within a safe distance of the portal, utilizing it as an anchor point.

My slimes, would serve as my guides, able to lead me back whenever necessary.

I became more cautious than ever, meticulously checking every nook and cranny to avoid falling into the same traps he did.

Since then, I've managed to defeat three more vicious slimes and acquire three additional crystallized hearts. Although it's not much for a full day's venture, it was better than nothing.

"Now that I think about it, how long have I been here? Two or three days? I guess I'm doing relatively okay for my current situation..."

But I know things won’t progress well without further strength.

Despite continually telling myself, 'Let's just survive this run,' 'Given my situation, I'm doing well,' or 'It's my lack of skills that’s holding me back,' these thoughts have been a constant since I arrived here.

However, now that I've truly adapted to my circumstances, I can’t help but feel frustrated by my own self-imposed limitations.

Instead of thinking about how to grow stronger, my mind was preoccupied with ways to avoid dying, which seemed like a natural response.

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However, the death of the child made me realize that danger lurks even in the most unexpected places.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that I was poisoning my mind with constant fear and anxiety, limiting my own progress.

In the end, I live here now; I am a resident of this world, and if I don't seek power, I could easily perish in some random ditch.

"But how can I grow stronger? What can I do this early in the 'game'?"

Based on my knowledge of the game, there wasn't a set path to power; this game was the very definition of randomization.

"Can i only hope for RNGesus to bless my run?"

WOBBLE!

WOBBLE!

WOBBLE!

WOBBLE!

"Huh!?"

Suddenly, an urgent wobble from all four slimes pulled me from my thoughts.

It was a signal I had not expected—each slime agitated in perfect sync, their vibrations resonating with a sense of urgency from every direction.

They wouldn't react this way without a clear and present danger.

I paused as I tried to discern the cause of their alarm.

I scanned our surroundings, my eyes darting from shadow to shadow, searching for any sign of movement or threat.

Nothing stirred, yet the slimes continued to wobble, their unease growing more pronounced.

"What is it? What's happening?" I said, reaching out and picking up Slime 1. Its response was to wobble more vigorously, as if urging me to understand an unseen urgency.

That's when I felt it—a faint vibration under my feet.

Curious, I placed a hand to the ground, trying to gauge the vibrations' source.

Then, without warning, the gentle tremor escalated into a violent shake.

The ground beneath my feet buzzed, intensifying with each passing second.

"Move!" I shouted, but the words barely left my lips before the earth cracked open.

The ground crumbled, a network of fissures spreading wildly from beneath me.

I had barely a moment to react. My heart raced as the surface gave way, pulling me down.

A sense of urgency washed over me, trying to find a way out of this situation.

"Come to me!" I commanded, directing each of my four slimes to grasp onto a limb.

Their gelatinous bodies attached to my arms and legs, their weak stickiness just enough to provide a temporary anchor.

Quickly, I sought out crevices and outcroppings along the wall, positioning my limbs like a climber seeking foothold.

My slimes held on, their bodies stretching but maintaining their grip, keeping me from tumbling into the path that opened below.

I glanced downward, where an unexpected occurrence unfolded beneath me.

"Back off! It's too strong!" A voice yelled out from bellow.

Through the dust and debris, i could make out a group in disarray.

"Get back to where? We're trapped! That thing's got the path blocked and there’s nothing but a wall behind us!" a man's voice rose in frustration.

"Watch out! It's coming in for another attack!" a woman shouted, alerting her companions.

My eyes widened in horror as the threat of this whole situation revealed itself.

"N-No way!"

In front of me was the similar entity of this dungeon, a slime but not your typical viscous fiend.

This one was much much more different, its sheer size dwarfing the adventurers who fought desperately against it.

Its body was a deep, murky blue, almost blending into the shadows of the cavern. One could easily mistake it for a wall of the grotto if not paying close attention.

At its center, barely visible through the translucent outer layer, was a small core that glowed faintly. However, reaching it was a challenge in itself; the slime's body was too massive to approach it without proper preparation.

"Focus on its core!" one shouted, a strategy I knew well from my previous encounters with lesser slimes, but this was a foe of a different caliber.

The adventurers' strikes seemed to merely sink into the gelatinous mass, absorbed and dampened by the thick, gelatine body of the slime.

The slime lashed out, its gelatinous body stretching like whips across the grotto's floor, knocking fighters off their feet as they attempted to strike at its core.

"Gah!"

The thuds of their bodies impacting the ground underscored the sheer disparity in strength.

"They don't stand a chance... this thing is out of their league." I muttered, knowing all too well their grim fate.

This was no ordinary viscous slime, but a beast renowned for its devastating power and resistance to most physical attacks.

This creature was known as the most formidable first-floor boss, one that even veteran adventurers try to avoid at all costs.

"The boss of this floor, Viscous Overfiend!"

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https://i.imgur.com/oO7ZpYW.png [https://i.imgur.com/oO7ZpYW.png]