It was as Leon was crouched over the remains of the slime king's core, noticing the lack of any kill notification that the slime king finished reforming from its severed head. Springing back to his feet Leon watched as the slime king slimmed down further, a solid chunk of its mass still inert and lifeless on the floor. Now looking like Leon's emaciated twin, a fresh slime blade was formed and with a roar from Leon round two began.
A lesser swordsman would have attacked during his enemy's transformation sequence. Leon did not. His life was truly on the line in this fight and he was loving it. He'd milk this fight for all the training he could get, no doubt there were worse beasts on the island than a slime and he'd need to be comfortable in battle to face them.
"Come on then, you big bag of goo- second verse same as the first!"
The slime responded to the provocation with a lunge seeking Leon's heart again. This time Leon sidestepped the blade and countered with a similar uppercut to the one that had disarmed the slime previously. This time however Leon's sword rebounded, a numbness spreading through his arm from the impact.
The slime king had hardened its arm- clever, Leon could respect the strategy. Though if that was all the slime king wouldn't last much longer. He'd noticed the creature lacked any technique, simply stabbing for his vitals repeatedly. Against an unskilled opponent the strategy might have worked.
Against Leon though? The slime was outclassed.
Before it could react Leon ducked low and swung, carving through the slime's leg, leaving the king floor bound and prone once more. With no core to target Leon focused on the limbs, cutting them off one by one. The left arm came off and the main body stilled- another core found.
Embedded in the palm, this core did not receive the same exuberant pummelling its brother had, instead Leon struck with a clean thrust to crack it open. Once again no kill message and once more the slime reformed. Now choosing to forgo a head and legs the slime looked ridiculous, an amorphous blob of blue goo with the torso and arms of a man grafted to the top, like some mad scientist's twisted chimera.
Leon watched as the slime reconstituted itself, unable to resist another taunt, he affected a higher more nasal tone than his normal voice as he spoke.
"Leave him alone Leon, he's had enough!"
Switching back to his normal tone, he continued even as the slime advanced, its movements now slower than even a regular blue slime.
"I'll decide when he's had enough- round three!"
The slime king's sword strikes were as fast as ever though Leon was confident in facing them by now. He toyed with the slime king, parrying blow after blow with a grin on his face. Every swing, every thrust was another opportunity, to turn his years of training to practical application. Leon thrived in the flow of combat, moving on instinct, suppressing his opponent utterly. At the first hint of exhaustion though Leon dropped the grin.
"Good fight, I'm done now."
Shifting from defence to offence, Leon threw caution to the wind and his blade into centre mass, a horizontal cleave tearing the slime king in two. The top half was blasted back, crashing against the throne in the centre of the room. The bottom half continued wriggling, though it was pointless for the creature to struggle. Leon had spotted the final core near the base of the slime's lower body and with one final thrust he ended the slime king's life. A deluge of pop-ups followed as Leon stood there, viscous goo pooling around his feet, chest heaving as he forced air into his tired lungs, the hot rush of mana swirling through his flesh.
"You have slain a Level 7 Blue King Slime!"
"Level up! You are now a Level 1 Swordsman! +2 Power, +2 Speed, +2 Constitution!"
"You have cleared the Slime King's Court!"
"As the first to clear a dungeon in this Tutorial instance your name has reached the ears of certain interested parties, +1 Fame!"
The level up was great.
Until it wasn't- his whole body felt like it was being ripped apart- his muscles, his nerves and his flesh screaming in concert with him as they were ripped apart and reformed. A minute passed and the pain receded, allowing Leon to shakily rise from the ground where he'd collapsed in pain. Leon's throat felt like someone had sandpapered it, but the rest of his body felt fine. Better than fine actually- he felt pretty good.
Examining himself he couldn't pinpoint any physical changes, though he was sure he was stronger now. He could feel it, in his bones, in his blood and at his core- he was more than he had been before. The notification about Fame was concerning though it didn't seem like Leon could do anything about it. Another thing way above his pay grade.
A sudden sharp pop, akin to that of a balloon, resounded in the throne room and confetti rained down on Leon's head. In the centre of the room a treasure chest materialised, replacing the slime king's throne.
Leon would have examined the chest were he not busy flicking confetti out of his hair. In the process of doing so he caught sight of his sword. The fight against the slime king had worn the blade down, the edges were beginning to show signs of dulling and the blade's body featured a sharp hairline crack that worried Leon. Another fight like that and he was concerned that the sword might give up the ghost.
He was also concerned about his mental changes- out of the fight he now had time to reflect on them. He'd made some objectively bad decisions, letting the slime transform unaccosted, that weird compulsion he'd felt to taunt his enemies. More than that, he was changing, adapting to this new world at a speed that was shocking him. He'd been a mere IT guy a short few hours ago and now he was facing down gooey replicas of himself in mortal combat.
Most concerning of all- he was enjoying himself. Immensely. Every fight, every kill felt better than the last. Ever since he'd made the decision to treat this seriously he'd been going off his instincts. Not his old instincts, that would have urged him toward caution and collaboration. These new ones compelled him to action, they wanted not only to survive, but to thrive.
So far they had led him to power. Leon was wary though, these new instincts may have been right so far but the Tutorial was shaping up to be a deadly place, one misstep was all it would take to die.
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Setting aside these thoughts, having no actions he could take to address any potential issues, Leon focused on the actions he could take. With childlike glee, he ran to the chest in the centre of the room.
It was a solid, oaken thing, with brass clasps. Pulling open the lid Leon was surprised to see the chest brimming with loot. He'd expected only one item though he supposed it made more sense that a treasure chest would be full.
Sitting pretty at the top of the chest was a sheathed katana. The scabbard lacked any distinctive lacquerware design, looking plain and unassuming. Pulling the blade free revealed it also lacked any swordsmith's signature. The blade was exquisite though. The metal was otherworldly, a soft blue sheen visible when the light caught the steel. The distinctive ripple unique to Eastern styles of forging was present on the blade, though it was non-uniform, undulating and shifting as it went up the length of the sword.
"Beautiful..."
Leon's exclamation was involuntary, the blade was simply too striking. The pop-up forced him to tear his eyes away from the the blade.
"Wavecutter- A cursed sword created by a nameless swordsmith, to be used in tandem with a style forgotten by time. Were it carrying only the basic Self-Repair enchantment it may have become a blade of some renown. Effectiveness is crippled by its second enchantment, Sharp Scabbard, which rapidly dulls the blade the longer it is drawn from its scabbard. Disregarding this botched enchantment, the blade is otherwise a masterwork.
Restrictions: None!"
Leon immediately saw what technique this blade had been designed for. Iaijutsu, the art of the quickdraw. A difficult and exceptionally dangerous sword style developed for rapid responses to threats from any position, sitting or standing. A novice practitioner was more likely to cut off their own arm than their opponents head especially so if they hadn't trained extensively with blunted weaponry to gain some mastery of the technique.
Leon decided he would keep the blade, despite its flaws, placing it against the side of the chest as he pored over the remainder of its contents.
A set of leather armour the System refused to identify, consisting of a cuirass, vambraces, gauntlets, a set of shin guards and a belt. Leon appreciated the shin guards most of all after remembering his first encounter with a slime. Pulling on all the armour over his clothes took him longer than he would care to admit, though he felt quite cool once he had it all on. The lack of any waist protection was a minus- though he was a looter not a chooser.
The armour had made up the bulk of rewards, underneath there was a small book, bound in what looked and felt like sharkskin. Lacking any author's name or title Leon flicked open the cover and began reading.
"The Shifting Tides Style. I created these techniques on a whim after witnessing my brother's latest failure. Know- this style was never intended to be used in duels or spars. This style was designed exclusively for extended combat, fights that last for days. Discount it not for this reason however- once mastered you will be a truly terrifying force on the battlefield."
Leon wasn't stupid- the System was fucking with him again. Hand him a useless sword then hand him the technique that was 'forgotten by time' so he could use it. He appreciated it though, perhaps the style would give him the leg up he needed to feel more secure in going solo.
Flicking through the manual Leon was shocked to see in the index that the technique began at the [H] grade and went all the way up to [F] grade. The manual made it clear that your grade would need to match that of technique to be able to use it. Aside from being able to access a few pages outlining a circuit of some kind and the few [H] Grade techniques, Leon found he was unable to turn the pages that covered the higher rank techniques- a restriction of some kind perhaps?
Ignoring this for now Leon flipped back to the [H] grade section and studied the basics of the style. Each move was accompanied by a short description.
"High Tide- Draw your blade and perform an upwards slash. Then return the blade to its scabbard and perform a downwards slash within a second. Throughout channel water aspected mana into a circuit encompassing your arms, legs and waist, a detailed circuit has been provided below. Successfully executing this technique is a foundational movement of the style."
"Low Tide- Draw your blade and perform a horizontal slash. Return the blade to its scabbard and follow up with a second horizontal slash within a second. Throughout channel water aspected mana into a circuit encompassing your arms, legs and waist, a detailed circuit has been provided below. Successfully executing this technique is a foundational movement of the style."
"Ebb and Flow- The name of this style's mana circuit. Requires proper usage of the tidal stances, when swapping from High to Low or Low to High you will move faster and hit harder. This bonus will continue to build until your physical stats are double that of their base. The bonus is lost if you lose control of your mana circuit. Control the ebb and flow of battle and the tides will never turn against you."
"Tsunami- Return your blade to its scabbard, channel the accumulated mana from your circuit into your dominant arm and draw your blade. This will purge your accumulated bonus to greatly empower your next strike. The degree of empowerment is dependant on your accumulated bonus stats. Improper use will lead to you blowing your own arm off due to the excessive recoil from the slash you unleash. This skill is the only way to purge your bonus safely unless you want to suffer mana backlash, though even when used successfully this technique will leave you drained and weakened."
The mana circuit below the skills was beyond Leon's understanding. The anatomy displayed was human, so the skill should one day be possible for him to learn. The requirements were too high for the current him though. The style seemed to be strong. It was like a flowchart- execute your High and Low strikes to build a stat multiplier then purge your bonus to obliterate the enemy.
He also had a proper list of goals now:
1. Learn how to use mana
2. Master the four [H] Grade Shifting Tides Style techniques
3. Find the biggest, meanest creature on the island and kill it.
Solid goals established Leon realised he'd nearly forgotten about the other survivors. One of them might be able to help him with learning mana manipulation or at least give him an idea of where to start. Plus, they could probably get some use out of the slime dungeon.
Stowing the Shifting Tides manual in his pocket, Leon strapped his new sword to a convenient clasp on his belt and once he'd done so the walls of the throne room shifted, receding to reveal a tunnel that presumably led out.
Leon's presumption had been correct and he found himself standing in front of the same cave entrance he'd entered from.
Judging from the position of the sun, obscured as it was by the trees... Leon had no idea how long he'd been in the dungeon. It still looked like daytime, so half an hour max was his tentative guess, though he'd need to confirm it once he got back to the others.
Back he went, following the slime trail which hadn't entirely disappeared yet. It wasn't wet though which was further evidence in favour of it having been not too long.
Following the trail was fairly boring so Leon occupied himself by practicing his own sword moves along the way. He liked the Shifting Tides style but without mana it was unusable and his fundamentals hadn't steered him wrong so far.
Reaching the camp Leon was surprised to see what had once been a disparate group of shell-shocked survivors huddled round a river had transformed into people gathered in a circle round a roaring fire sharing food.
Mike still seemed to be in charge, standing closest to the fire, with the others spread out on his sides forming a loose semicircle. To his left was an older guy, out of shape, carrying a bit more timber than was healthy for a man his age. Balding and dressed in an ill fitting suit he was the only one still armed, the steel of his spear glinting in the light of the fire.
The rest had left their weaponry aside, focused on quiet conversation amongst each other, skewered fish of some kind in their hands. These conversations stopped as Leon entered their sight, the light of the fire illuminating his imposing figure, sword in hand and clad in armour.
Mike made no move to greet him which was odd but Leon supposed he'd need to rip the band aid off and introduce himself to the group at this point. Throwing on his best relaxed grin he spoke to the group at large rather than focusing on any individual.
"Any spare fish for a poor monster hunter?"