Ugh! This place has bodybuilding fae with sleeper builds that speak Spanish?! What the frick GOD of space? What sort of messed up world did you send me to?
-Excerpt from the diary of Rotama Zhu, 69Th summoned hero from planet Earth, Year:2023.
The cockroach eyed the slime with caution; the last time it had died too easily and wanted to at least damage it this time. The slime bobbed forward, stopping a short distance away from the cockroach before it began to vibrate. The cockroach knew what was coming next and didn't wait for it to finish. It rushed forward, closing the distance between them rapidly, and slammed into the metallic slime with its mandibles, nicking it in the spot where it had chomped down, but it healed a second later, startling the cockroach, which the slime took advantage of.
Suddenly, a tendril of shimmering metal whipped out from the metallic slime in a wide horizontal arc, slamming into the cockroach, cracking bits and pieces of its exoskeleton but otherwise doing no damage.
The cockroach ignored the damage and chopped down on the slime again, opening a larger wound than before. Silver metal began to pour through before it sealed up itself a second later. Suddenly, the world shifted, and the cockroach found itself looking upward as the slime slapped it upward and into the air.
The insect felt five hard things impact its exoskeleton and move through it, stopping a few inches into its skin. White hemolymph leaked from the wounds, but the cockroach could ignore the injuries. It would still die, however, as it found it hard to breathe and constantly choked on its own blood. It died by the time the metallic slime began to move towards it.
You have died [☠️]
Level up! [✨] Skill: Piercing resistance (Common)(55/100) is now Piercing resistance (Common)(57/100)
Level up! [✨] Skill: Crushing resistance (Common) (40/100) is now Crushing resistance (Common) (50/100)
Fundamental shift: Enemies will now have to expend 50% more energy to crush you.
Level up! [✨] Skill: [Hybrid exoskeleton] (Special) (20/???) is now [Hybrid exoskeleton] (Special) (21/???)
Level up! [✨] Skill: Absorb shock (Rare) (3/200) is now Absorb shock (Rare) (5/200)
Level up! [✨] Skill: Dark sight (Uncommon) (5/150) is now Dark sight (Uncommon) (10/150)
Level up! [✨] Skill: Enhanced bleeding(Rare) (5/200) [Role: Killer] is now Enhanced bleeding(Rare) (10/200) [Role: Killer]
Level up! [✨] Skill: [Bone Mandibles](Special) (5/???) is now [Bone Mandibles](Special) (10/???)
+1 sharpness
A deluge of blue screens poured power into the cockroach, washing over it like a tide, changing it in so many ways forever, making it slightly better at surviving this harsh and cold world. A loud snapping sound resounded behind it, prompting it to turn around. The cockroach saw a peculiar sight: climbing out of the river was the strangest creature it had seen since coming to this place. It had four legs, a hard shell that almost seemed lifelike, rippling and swaying to invisible winds as it moved, claws with two sets that were uneven, and eyes that extended from its hardened shell.
The cockroach throwed its willpower over it and the bluescreens returned the results.
Awakened space crab (Tank) [🦀] (6)
Highest stat: Defense
Level up! [✨] Skill: Willpower Manipulation (Common)(5/100) is now Willpower Manipulation (Common)(6/100)
The cockroach sent its willpower over the crab again to see if it would get more details, but was disappointed when the same information came back. The crab didn’t seem to have noticed it yet, as it was flying around in the air and was relatively high up. However, the cockroach didn’t plan on engaging the creature, already knowing it was going to lose. It was just glad it spotted it before it had a chance to get too close and kill it.
It made its way back to the slime dungeon, promising to run away from anything that had awakened in their name. Most of the slime tunnels were starting to look familiar to it by now, and it could tell which one it went to. Each tunnel had a different color crystal embedded in the top, and it was only because of its dark vision skill that the cockroach could make them out at all.
These had helped it differentiate between the tunnels and guess what type of slime could be in each, there was a completely green one that the cockroach hadn’t seen before and it took it, knowing that it would most likey all it would encounter was green slimes, the cockroach had killed every green slime it had encountred though and was confident that it might even be able to killed one of the awakened ones.
It flew forward and it wasn’t long before it spotted a green slime fighting another green slime over a glowing piece of crystal. The cockroach threw a band of willpower over them.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Acid slime (Killer) [5]
Highest stat: Dissolve
Acid slime (Killer) [5]
Highest stat: Dissolve
[T1] Material Mana shard.
A shard containing the base energy [Mana]
First material identified, Skill unlocked[🔓]: Store material (Common) (MAX/MAX)
Note: You can only use this skill when you want to store materials for evolution.
This was an interesting turn of events. The cockroach had no idea that it could make the blue screens return information about things that weren’t living and now wanted that mana shard for itself; the thing felt important.
The cockroach dove down, slamming into the nearest acid slime and throwing it into the wall where it splashed on before reforming a second later. The insect turned to the other slime and moved around it in a burst of running and flying, moving in for an attack. It chomped down on a large section of the slime that began leaking corrosive blood later; it harmlessly splashed against the cockroach, doing no damage.
It rushed for the mana shard and moved over it, a blue screen popped up a second later.
Store?
The cockroach's silent assent was followed by a poof of blue smoke, swallowing the shard from sight. Unfazed, the two slimes oozed forward, engulfing the insect in a corrosive wave. But the slimy embrace did little more than tickle. With a chomp and a frantic scrabble, the cockroach emerged, taking to the air to assess the situation. It was then that it saw them gone, the two smaller slimes replaced by a single, menacingly larger one, a vibrant green that promised a far nastier bite.
Greater acid slime (Killer) [6]
The Greater acid slime lumbered forward, flinging globs of vibrant green acid like noxious javelins. One, with unfortunate aim, splattered directly onto the cockroach's face. The world exploded into blinding white and searing green as the corrosive liquid ate away at the insect's compound eyes. A high-pitched, desperate scream split the air, cut short as quickly as it began as the cockroach's face melted away, leaving only a smoking, oozing crater where its head once was.
You have died [☠️]
Level up! [✨] Skill: Acid resistance (Common) (50/100) is now Acid resistance (Common) (55/100)
Level up! [✨] Skill: Dark sight (Uncommon) (15/150)
The world snapped back into existence. The cockroach was alive again. It realized the slimes could merge, and their capabilities vastly enhanced when they did. That greater acid slime had managed to kill it so easily. The cockroach decided it didn't want to go back to the slime dungeon for the time being and took to the sky. It flew through the illusory wall at the back of the cave and was transported to the other dungeon. It instantly took to the air as soon as it materialized, fearing that the dungeon might send another awakened creature at it. It began flying towards the massive crystal ant nest.
The cockroach zipped through the air, a nagging unease gnawing at its instincts. Suddenly, an anomaly caught its eye - a flying creature. Unlike others, it defied logic, hovering motionless with wings buzzing so fast they blurred into a shimmering halo. Vibrant, diverse colors painted its face and scaled body, further accentuated by an almost invisible, ethereal field around it. This creature perched atop a branch of the massive green growth, still unnamed to the cockroach. Curiosity, that ever-present itch, overwhelmed caution. Gathering its limited willpower, the cockroach launched a mental probe at the beast. A moment later, a blue screen materialized, revealing the creature's identity.
Awakened Drag’hum (Killer) [7]
Highest stat: ???
The blue text vanished, replaced by the horrifying sight of the Awakened Drag'hum whipping its head towards the unsuspecting cockroach. Its wings vanished in a blur of violence, ripped from its back by an unseen force. Agony exploded a second later, but by then the ground was already rushing up to meet it. A brutal impact shattered its exoskeleton, sending carbon and calcium fragments scattering like confetti. The plummeting insect slammed into a jagged spike of wood erupting from the earth, the sickening crunch of impalement echoing softly as its insides erupted, painting the splintered tip a macabre white.
The cockroach, impossibly, clung to life. The Drag'hum's shadow loomed, blotting out the light, and then - abruptly - the insect's world split in two. No pain, only the chilling realization that its head was no longer part of its body.
You have died [☠️]
Level up! [✨] Skill: Crushing resistance (Common) (50/100)is now Crushing resistance (Common) (60/100)
Level up! [✨] Skill: Piercing resistance (Common)(57/100) is now Piercing resistance (Common)(61/100)
Level up! [✨] Skill: Willpower Manipulation (Common)(6/100) is now Willpower Manipulation (Common)(10/100)
Power from the blue screens flowed into it, its skills leveling up. The cockroach felt life bloom anew, the recent death lingering in its mind. It was weak, distressingly so. It needed to find a way to awaken, or doom awaited, a fate of dying over and over to awakened creatures.
The cockroach shuddered with the echo of death, but not with fear. Hatred, hot and potent, bloomed in its tiny form. Those awakened creatures dared harm it, dared add their names to the ever-growing list of its enemies. Even the dungeon, its tormentor, would taste its wrath. After all, death held no sting for the cockroach. Each demise was but a temporary setback, a chance to return, stronger, and make them all pay. They would die once, it would live forever, and vengeance would be its song.
A loud splash caught its attention as something came out of the water, something the cockroach recognized instantly, it was a space salmon.
Awakened space salmon (Killer) [5]
Intent: Killing you
Highest stat: Damage
Level six versus five, the cockroach held the advantage on paper. Yet, the Awakened Space Salmon moved with an unnerving defiance of gravity, its purpose clear. Ignoring the level gap, it surged forward, leaving the cockroach scrambling to avoid its snapping jaws. Not a comfortable start. But the insect was quick, zipping past the fish before looping back. Its attack carved a chunk from the salmon's back, a small victory tinged with the sting of the fish's enraged response. A powerful suction force erupted, pulling the cockroach in with unnerving strength. Panic flared, but then… recognition. This attack, the cockroach remembered, a tactic employed by another fallen salmon. Turning desperation into cunning, the insect used the pull as a slingshot, launching itself towards the stunned fish. Mandibles flashed, sinking into one of its glowing red eyes with a sickening tear.
Drak blood, crimson and viscous, erupted from the salmon's ravaged eye, painting the air in a macabre spray. The wounded fish thrashed in agony, its powerful suction sputtering erratically with each convulsion. Seeing its opportunity, the cockroach let the gouged eye plummet to the riverbank before launching into another merciless attack. With lightning speed, it zipped around the salmon, its sharp mandibles flashing as they tore out the remaining eye. A deafening shriek, filled with pain and fury, filled the air as the salmon writhed blindly, its movements becoming desperate and erratic.
With a final, desperate thrash, the salmon tumbled to the riverbank, its dark crimson lifeblood staining the air and ground. Exhaustion and blood loss overwhelmed it, and silence descended. A beat later, a blue screen materialized, its sterile glow bathing the scene in an eerie light. The cockroach landed nearby, its own body bearing the marks of the brutal struggle. It paused, antennae twitching, savoring the fleeting moment of victory.
The battle had left the cockroach exhausted and hungry, and a meal sat before it.
Awakened space salmon (Killer) [5] killed!
[-/-] EXP gained
Level up! [✨] Skill: [Bone Mandibles](Special) (10/???) is now [Bone Mandibles](Special) (13/???)