It hurts!

It hurts so much!

Why didn't you tell me?! Why is there blood on my arm? Look at all the blood coming out! It's on my hands, it's on my clothes, it's staining everything around me.

I can't feel my arm anymore. Something is in my shoulder. I can feel it every time I move my arm. Why couldn't you have told me?

Why didn't you tell me!

『I've told you everything I knew about the slime』

No one told me I could bleed! You didn't tell me I could bleed! You told me about everything other than the bleeding! You didn't tell me how much it'd hurt…

If I had known, I wouldn't've gone to fight alone. I couldn't've known how much the slime would hurt me.

You didn't tell me my sword could get stuck in the slime! You didn't tell me about how hard its shell was! You didn't tell me how it was going to attack!

『I did tell you about how it'll shoot its spikes towards you』

"And what about everything else?!!"

I had to put myself in danger because I didn't know how it'll do its melee. You put me in danger because you didn't tell me anything useful! I almost lost a sword because of you. I almost lost my arm because of you.

I almost died because you left out important bits of information!

Do you even know how much it hurts?

『You got hurt because you couldn't bring yourself to dodge the spikes. For the record, shooting spikes is the one thing I've established about the slime』

I was startled! What did you expect?

I couldn't pull my sword out. The only thing I had left was a shield. What did you want me to do?

I didn't know how fast the spike was going to be. I didn't know when it was going to attack. And you were silent throughout the fight.

You didn't help me at all!

『I saved you with a call out. You would've died if I didn't warn you about that last attack』

You didn't help me before then! What were you trying to do? Did you really want to see me die so bad? You gave me no advice, no help, no nothing! I was on my own for a good 2 minutes!

And look at what you did to me! Look at my arm! Your AI mind can't even comprehend how bad this is.

I've never bled this much before. This much blood… I—I can't…

You're a useless AI!

『Admit it. You're just mad because you thought you could block its spike with that shield of yours. You really thought that wimpy shield could cover your whole body? Even when you crouched, 20% of your body would still be vulnerable』

Do you really think that I can't admit that? Do you really think I'm that petty?

You're missing the point!

I know it's my fault! I know I couldn't block the whole thing with my shield! And I know I'm the one who got my sword stuck in the slime. It's my fault that I was too afraid to dodge. I just… didn't have the instincts for it.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

It was my first time fighting the slime. What did I expect?

...

What did you expect?

I should've come in more prepared. When you said it was weak to fire, I should've known to look for a torch or something, and maybe I should've asked you for fire spells. I mean, that's what a guide is for, right? To help me whenever I needed help. It could've been way easier that way. I know…

I know…

But even then, you could've helped me better. You didn't tell me, or even warn me, that their spikes could shatter and send shrapnel into me. It was because I didn't know that I felt that a shield could do the job. And you could've at least, at the very least, warned me to get a fire source or something. You didn't even glance at the fact that I was going in unprepared.

I was also curious, you know? I wanted to kill the slime with no problem, to prove myself. I thought I could help us finish the quest quicker if I managed to do that without any help. I want to do more things with Star today. I don't want us to be stuck here grinding for the whole day.

I guess it was my fault to take on your challenge…

『It's imperative to doubt an AI's advice』

"Heh… Of course that's your response… I know. I just wanted you to feel bad, I guess. Well… you're an AI. I don't even know why I'm talking to you like this."

『…』

"I'm sorry… I guess."

『What are you sorry for?』

"Heh… Are you trying to rub it in my face?"

『No. I genuinely don't understand your expression. What are you apologizing for? Did you do anything wrong?』

"Oh… Um… I put blame on you? I said some bad things to you? I don't know. Didn't I call you useless? I just wanted to apologize for thinking badly of you, I think…"

『Is that what humans usually do?』

"Huh?"

『Apologizing to another person for something that the other person doesn't find offense to? Even when they know that the other person was the one at fault?』

"Pfft. I don't know. You make it sound way more complicated than it is."

『Is that so?... Then I should say "sorry" too, shouldn't I?

I'm Sorry』

"Meh. It's fine… I'm still bleeding, though. And DAMN! it really hurts when I move. What do I do about it now? I'm surprised I still haven't died of blood loss yet. Also, hey, look at that. Is that the slime's drop?"

『Yes. It is called a Living Crystal. The one you're looking at is of a small size. If you picked it up, it's probably around the size of your thumb. For a beginner, this isn't too bad of a yield.

According to the lore, they're basically condensed slime. Just as they develop shells in their enhanced form, once they die, they condense their own body into a small crystal. The strength at which it glows mirrors its strength when it was alive.

According to the developers, however, I was told that they were just too lazy to think of another item to drop. So, a crystal it became』

"I'm going to ignore that last part. So, what can it do?"

『Do you remember the crystal in Elith's shop?』

"Is that also a living crystal?"

『That is an example of a strong crystal. It can enhance the water indefinitely; maybe it even acts as the water source. What you have is weak, which means that you can't do much with it』

"Okay… So, what can it do?"

『You can eat it』

"… Ex… Excuse me?"

『You can eat the crystal』

"This crystal? The one that just came out of a slime, practically its remains. You want me to eat this?"

『Yes. You can eat it. I advise you to eat it』

"That's coming from an AI that just said to not trust an AI. It's gross! I'm not eating this."

『I promise you, whenever I use the word "advise", it's the best thing for you to do. I don't want to make you hurt yourself again. I advise you, for your own good, to eat that crystal. It'll fix some of your problems… probably.』

I guess you've never lied to me before. But this is a quest item, you know? This shit cost me my shoulder. I ain't eating it.

『It's good for you. Just trust me』

"Why are you so adamant about it? I'm trying to preserve my hard-earned quest item here! Tell me what it'll do to me before I decide to eat it."

『I can tell you the truth, but it'll be a spoiler if I do. Do you want your experience to be spoiled?』

"You've literally spoiled the Enhanced Slimes to me just before. It didn't really take away from the experience that much, as you can see here with my shoulders. Just tell me."

『The living crystal is generally used by medics all around the game world for medical purposes. You can infuse water with the crystal to create something colloquially called Healing Juice. As the name implies, it's used to treat players' wounds. Its healing power is quite limited however, it cannot dispel curses or treat afflictions.

Other than infusing it with water, the other way to use it is to eat the crystal. People have mentioned its texture as being close to that of hard candy, although I can't confirm nor deny that opinion. Eating the crystal will give you a regenerative effect for a limited amount of time. Your wounds will heal, and your skin will be harder. You will gain a small bit of resistance to everything.

If you're interested, it can also ease your pain』

"Alright. So, I just have to eat this then, yeah?"

『That was quick…

Your crystal will buff you for a limited amount of time. It will take effect once it's in your mouth and you've started chewing it. Looking at the glow and its size, it can probably buff you for around 5 minutes. If you'd like, I can start timing once you've started chew—』

*Crunch*Crunch*Crunch*

『Okay. 4 minutes and 56 seconds remaining』