I wasted the rest of that day.

I was totally tapped out by using that fireball.

I ate my food. I rested and read more of the book.

There’s a lot of basic spells and explanations of their properties through the first few pages.

The author wrote to read the first chapter over and over day by day like a mantra for the best effects. Skipping ahead could lead to catastrophic results or disappointing failures.

I scratched the wall with a sharp stone to add another mark to the days I’ve been here.

The vegetable soup is as I expected pretty bland.

At least the texture isn’t all that bad. It’s rather filling and starchy.

I’m feeling my soul light on fire.

It’s time to farm slimes.

Day 3

I slew 50 slimes today.

Maki Hibiki Lv10

Skills:

1H Swords Lv8

1H Skill Lv8

Slash Lv12

Spell Slots:

Fireball - Variations: Burst

Blasting Bolt

Blasting Bolt is one of the most basic lightning spells I learned about in the guide to magic.

As I expected, I got another spell slot on the 10th level.

I thought it could be very helpful. I remember how the blue energy wall made by Unit 08 destroyed a slime with a surge of electricity but left the core intact.

If I can replicate that in someway then I could earn much more money each day.

I was exhausted from the constant use of standard fireballs before reaching level 10.

So I decided to wait until tomorrow before using it. I finally began to see the levels of the slimes.

Their range is from 1 to 8 so far and the number that exceeded 5 was quite rare.

I bought a journal from the merchant to keep track of my thoughts.

I’m sure I’d go insane without something to interact with and lose motivation without a way to track my progress. It cost me quite a lot to get all the writing materials.

I’ll see it as a pricey but necessary investment for my future.

For me of however many days go by before we reach the top… this was the start.

Feel proud of the mountains of paper that you see now.

The ink on these pages is just a fraction of the blood you spilled.

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Day 4

I slew 45 slimes today.

Blasting Bolt is a lot more intensive than fireball.

It’s faster and in many ways stronger. It doesn’t last and can’t stay around, but it strikes with precision and speed.

Controlling it however is a completely different matter.

I perform it by stretching out my left arm and palm.

I hold it in place with my right arm. I point and shoot.

A surge of purple lightning discharges from my body and hits the target.

Slimes are destroyed by it almost instantly.

Unfortunately, only 1 in 10 of the victims leave behind a mostly complete core.

Many give off fractured pieces, usually around four to six.

Better than shattered fragments for sure and the complete cores offset a lot of the cost but if I’m unlucky I’d lose out that day.

Still, I need to practice it.

Each time I use it my arm becomes a bit numb.

After about five shots it starts to have a pins and needles sensation running over it and after that, it becomes so heavy my accuracy is affected.

I sometimes even miss my targets completely.

There’s a positive to it though. If I hit a slime dead centre from a distance and it leaves a complete core, it's green and not red. I found out it sells for significantly more.

About five silver scales. So it’s a bit of a gamble but I think it’s worth using the spell at least five times a day for the chance of a payoff without sacrificing my mobility and efficiency.

I gained a single level. I’m probably going to hit the wall of constant progress soon.

Maki Hibiki Lv11

Day 5

I slew 65 slimes.

Today I found a flight of stairs in my descent of the cave tunnels.

It was shocking to me, sure the cave had evidence of people mining and working the tunnel but never with this level of intricacy. It was crafted with quality and was sturdy to step on.

I saw red paint next to the left wall next to the stairs. It read quite simply… 2F.

I had walked for over an hour downwards into this cave and only now was I apparently reaching the 2nd floor.

It sent a shiver of fear and excitement down my spine as I peered into the dimly lit passage below.

I charged in like a child going on a treasure hunt.

This was a mistake. I had already killed about thirty slimes at that point.

My left arm was rather numb and my body was sweating profusely from mana deprivation.

This was the fifth day in a row that I was pushing myself to the limit.

I encountered more slimes there.

A lot more.

They were in groups of at least seven compared to before where they seemed to randomly wander and just occasionally group up.

This time it seemed that no slime was alone.

Of course they aren’t much of a threat even in small groups like this to me now but it still required quite a bit of energy and focus to swiftly slay them before I took damage.

To take on and eliminate a large group in rapid succession puts a heavy burden on my body.

Still, I was managing fine for a while.

Then I saw it. Something that probably wouldn’t have been a threat if I was at peak performance… but in my half-dead training state, it was a credible and deadly threat.

Twenty slimes all at once. I stupidly charged in to challenge them all without hesitation.

When they sensed my presence close in on them they spread out.

I was baffled by this behaviour.

I ended up in the middle of a round circular room that had the tunnel I had come from and one tunnel before me going deeper in.

Yet now I was surrounded on all sides by slimes. Some had latched onto the roof above.

They fell like a cloud bursting open. A squall of acid destruction.

They rained upon me from every direction.

I dodged and slashed at whatever came close to me. I got very few clean cuts.

After their initial assault was over they stayed completely still as I caught my breath.

Then they began to move. They all travelled to the same place. The exit.

The way I had come from.

Then they amassed, literally into a single blob of blue.

Their blue bodies merged into one lumbering tower of goo while their cores spread out across their new body as if they were bones and nerves.

It slowly began to change shape until it cast a giant shadow that spread out into five points.

While it stood only up to my abdomen it was still something that with one look, I could tell would deal lasting damage if it got its fingers on me.

A hand made of liquid.

With my mana running low.

With only my right sword arm in any real condition to do anything.

With a body that was about to give in.

That’s when I knew I was going insane.

I smiled. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What’s the point in a hollow victory?

I wanted a challenge.

"I was bored anyway!"