Once upon a time, there lived a girl. Young, kind, and generous. Polite, and caring. She loved the people, and everyone loved her back. That young girl lived a happy life.
In time, she grew older, wiser, stronger. She grew to better understand this wonderful world she lived in.
But, with her wisdom, she came to understand the truth. She came to understand, to peel away the mask that had hidden the truth from her blissful self.
She realised, that all those happy faces she saw, all the smiles she received from them, were nothing but masks. Masks, that hid their true self under them.
But she stood strong, knowing that not everyone was like this. Always, there would always be someone different…right?
She was mistaken.
Even her parents, the people she had looked up to and loved, were no different. They fought, they stole, they lied, and worst of all, they hid this all from her.
Her heart broken, she ran into the forests, where she later disappeared. On that very same day, the entire forest began to wither and wilt. Rumours speak that the cries of the girl could be heard, still echoing through the withered forests.
“And…that’s all?”
“Huh? Uh, yes, that’s all.”
Well then…That was quite…interesting, to say the least. Because of one girl, this entire forest withered and died, huh? Was the girl that shocked to find that out? That seemed like common sense to her though.
What you just heard there was the supposed origin of this withered forest. Honestly, it sounded more like a fairy tale than an actual factual story, but this was a world ruled by magic, so perhaps someone’s emotions could have such an impact!
Also…Masks…Persona, anyone?
Ahem, anyways, there wasn’t really any significant reason as to why Crystal decided to suddenly start storytelling. Since the undead here wasn’t very strong, and the border of this forest was still a day away, she decided to do so, so to not get bored.
And well, that’s over, and there was still quite a bit of time until they’re there, so what now? And Diana’s getting hungry too…And there wasn’t anything to hunt in the first place! Eating rotten flesh wasn’t healthy, alright?
“Hah…I’m hungry…”
……………….
Well, it’s night now. They didn’t have any food, so she didn’t really have anything to cook, nor could she find anything edible in the first place. Her stomach was growling here and there, but she’ll stay strong!
As of now, the three were sitting around a small fire they managed to light, which was nice.
*Boink!*
“Hmm?”
Huh, Slimey seems to be quite excited about something. Well, he is normally excited about everything, so that’s not saying much…
*Boink, boink!*
“Eh? You want me to teach you about skills now?”
*Boink!*
“Alright then, come here.”
With a happy feeling, Slimey hopped onto Diana’s lap as she nestled closer to the fire, enjoying the warmth it gave against the cold of the night. Ah~, this was nice.
“So, you’ve seen me turn into a slime, haven’t you?”
*Boink!*
“I’m able to do that because of a skill, and it’s called [Slime Valley].”
*Boink?*
“Shouldn’t the Slime Queen be able to do that normally, you say? Well, I’m not too su-, wait, queen?”
*Boink!*
Q-Queen, huh…Did she hear that wrong? She may have the title [Slime Queen], but that’s just a metaphor, r-right? She didn’t want to rule over these monstrous creatures!!
*Boink?*
“A-Ahem. A-Anyways, without my skills, I’m pretty much just a normal human-“
A human that stays cooped up inside her own house and sticks to her computer like a clingy lover.
“…Moving on, I grow stronger by gaining and raising my skills!”
Well, levelling was also a thing, but let’s save that for a rainy day. On that note, I wonder when she’ll be able to get to level 10? She’s been stuck like this for several days now, and it wouldn’t probably change any time soon, would it?
Did she do something wrong? Did she manage to somehow glitch the system out? Was such an act even possible? C-Could this be the infamous no Exp glitch?! How unlucky!
“Hah…Well, it’ll be fine, won’t it, Slimey?......Slimey?”
Ara, he’s already asleep? Really? Well, she couldn’t blame the little guy, since they did walk for hours on end. Ah, and the fire finally died out too. Well, time to sleep!
……………….
[Enemy has been slain! – Experience has been gained]
Another zombie down for the count! Sadly, no battle spoils, but that’s fine. She’s about to leave this forest anyways! As if she would miss these rotting corpses! She would much rather fight those cute bunnies than these bastards!
Either ways, it was daytime now, and it was time to get moving once more! With that zombie out and disposed of, their journey towards the exit continues on!
Also! They had weapons now! Since they did beat some variants earlier on in the story, they managed to loot some stuff for themselves!
Diana got herself a small iron wand, which she mainly uses as a beating stick. It could also be used for magic, but she occasionally forgets about that. Crystal didn’t see any worth in their loot, so she left without gaining anything new.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
They also got themselves some new clothes. By ‘New’ clothes, I meant a pair of brown jeans for Diana, and a black robe for Crystal to wear. Actually, that’s a lie, isn’t it? Those clothes weren’t ‘New’ at all!
All that aside, their trip was going quite smoothly! The weather was perfect, there weren’t too many monsters around, and the fog wasn’t all that thick today!
And after several hours of constant walking, the edge of the withered forest could finally be seen! She could finally see something green in the distance!!
“We’re almost there!!”
“Shut up, idiot. You’ll attract more monsters.”
This was it! Just a mile or two left, and they’ll finally be out of this withered forest! No more zombies, no skeletons, no more fog, and no more ditches! The end was near!!
Yeah, as if that’ll happen that easily, am I right?
“Hmm? Who’s that?”
Hmm? There seemed to be someone standing by the edge of the forest? And, it’s a girl? Judging from the long black hair and soft facial features, it seems to be a she alright. Uwah, but wasn’t she a bit creepy, just, standing there?
Well, she wouldn’t find out by standing here, would she?
Oddly, even as they closed in, the girl still stayed unmoving. Oi, did she even notice their approach? Yup, she’s creepy alright.
“Hey-“
“[Phantom Blade]”
In almost an instant, a blade of pure darkness shot out from behind her, cleaving off the girl’s left arm…And yet, no blood was spilled. O-Oi, the girl was even smiling…?
Yep, that confirms it. She ain’t no human, alright.
“GYYAAA!!!”
“Hya?!”
U-Uwah, yep, that’s definitely not a human alright! Blood red eyes, skin paler than vanilla, and no blood. And I doubt any normal human could even screech like that!
Yep, nope. She’s NOT going to fight that, alright?! As if she would survive in a battle against this unholy being! A-And her left arm just regenerated?! Was she a ghoul or something?!
Actually, yes. That girl is a ghoul. Sadly, she didn’t come from Tokyo, but I’m getting side-tracked, so moving on~
Wait, what was it trying to do-
*Buk!*
“Goho?!”
In an instant, the ghoul closed the distance between them, and kicked her in the gut! She was sent flying back, crashing with quite the explosion of dust. Well, Diana’s out for the count! Two fighters left!
Actually, Slimey’s useless, so that’s only one fighter left.
“GYYAAAA!!!!”
“[Shadow Bind]”
At her command, two shadow snakes appeared from the ground and chased the ghoul, but the ghoul was swift, easily speeding away from the two shadow snakes. With a swift chant, Crystal sent another [Phantom Blade] at the ghoul, this time cutting straight to its bare chest.
The ghoul was enraged! That didn’t mean much for an undead, but pain is pain! Dead or Alive, the sensation of pain will never be nice! Unless you’re an M, but that’s a different story entirely.
With its chest wound closing up, the ghoul leapt at her, its clawed arms ready to strike! With a pair of [Phantom Blades], Crystal blocked the incoming attack, but an attack from under caught her by surprise, only barely able to dodge with a small scratch on her cheek!
‘Fast!’ Was the only thought she had as she jumped back and used her [Shadow Bind] to stop its movements. She quickly shot another [Phantom Blade], this time aimed to sever the head from the neck. However, quickly broke free from the bind, causing her [Phantom Blade] to miss and impale its shoulder!
“GYYYAAAAAAA!!!!!”
Well, this gal sure was tough! Although the lesser enemies of this forest were nothing against her, but this ghoul sure was something! Its astounding speed and regenerative capabilities was quite powerful, alright!
It was time to get serious!
“[Phantom Iron Maiden]”
Upon her chant, the ghoul found itself trapped within a dome of darkness, with an uncountable amount of [Phantom Blades] pointed at it from all directions. Their dark edges gleamed with magic.
“GGYYYAAAA!!!”
The ghoul did its best, slashing and clawing away at the incoming blades, but more came, and it was soon overwhelmed as countless [Phantom Blades] pierced through its body, cutting through its very skin.
The dome collapsed, and an assured victory had been reached!
…Or not.
“…Seriously…?”
Slowly, the body parts began to recollect themselves, and merged together back to its original state. In a matter of seconds, the ghoul had reformed itself. Truly, an undead refusing to stay dead!
But oddly, a sense of disappointment could be seen on its face, as if it had hoped for that attack of hers to be enough, perhaps?
But whatever its feelings might be, Crystal wasn’t done yet!
And it seems like someone else wants to join in!
“[Slime Cannon]!”
From a distance, a speeding ball of dense slime came flying in, crashing head on with the ghoul! It wasn’t powerful, not by any means, but it shocked it enough for it to stagger, which was perfect!
“[Slime Wave]!”
This time, a huge wave of slime came crashing in, trapping the ghoul within! Well, even if the ghoul was stuck in there, she didn’t really win, did she? I mean, ghouls don’t need to breathe, since, you know, they’re dead!
So the battle pretty much hit a stalemate!
“So! How do we beat it?”
“How should I know, idiot?”
“Muu, okay…And stop calling me an idiot!”
Well, what now? I mean, sooner or later, the ghoul’s going to break out of its slimy prison with enough time! They couldn’t just let it do that, could they?
But surprisingly, the one to take action, was Slimey!
*Boink, boink!*
“…Eh? You want to try talking to it? Is that even possible?”
*Boink!*
“W-Well, I guess that could possibly work, but…Meh, why not?”
*Boink!*
With all that said, Slimey jumped straight into the slime Diana had created, and merged in! It was time to execute the plan!
…………….
Within, the ghoul kept slashing away, trying to break free from the dense slimy prison Diana had caught it in. The slime may be sticky, and movement might be quite hard, but the ghoul kept clawing away!
‘Hey! Stop that!’
But, to its surprise, the slime started talking to him! Not literally, of course, but the ghoul could hear a voice calling into its mind!
‘…What?’
‘Stop it! I won’t let you hurt my Queen!’
‘…Queen?’
The ghoul was genuinely confused. After all, this person talking to it was clearly some sort of slime, and those people on the outside definitely do not look like slimes, not one bit. And none of them looks like a queen either!
‘…Forced?’
‘Huh? No! Of course not! I love my Queen!’
‘…Lie.’
‘Heed my words, I do not lie!’
‘…Why?’
‘Because she is kind! She loves to share, even to other monsters!’
‘!...Lies.’
‘Look at that lady with the dark hair!’
‘…Queen?’
“Eh? No! That woman is merely a servant, an enemy my Queen has defeated! But look! She is alive, because my Queen has given her mercy!’
‘…Slavery?’
‘No, of course not! That woman has simply submitted to us!’
‘…Impossible.’
‘Do you not believe me? Then come out, and let me show you!’
………………….
“Ah! It seems Slimey’s done!”
“Took him long enough.”
Hey! The slime’s melting away, leaving Slimey and the ghoul behind in one piece! Slimey seemed unharmed, from the outside anyways. Well, since the ghoul’s not clawing her to death, it worked, I suppose?
*Boink!*
“Huh? The ghoul wants to talk to me?”
*Boink!*
“W-Well, alright…”
Well, this is unnerving. She was supposed to talk with, her? Was she going to be okay? The ghoul won’t just go and eat her right away, would it? Let’s hope so!
“Umm…uh, hi?”
“…”
U-Uwah…I-It’s staying silent. D-Did she do something bad to it? Was it mad at her for putting it inside that slime? And the glare it was giving her was not helping either!
“Uh…I’m, uh, my name’s D-Diana, and, uh, nice to…meet, you?”
“…Awkward.”
“H-Hey!”
B-Besides that sick burn right there, the ghoul seemed to have softened, a bit. It’s still glaring at her like an eagle searching for breakfast, but this was a start!
“Ahem, s-so, w-what do you, uh, want? You know, since you, uh, kinda attacked us, and, stuff.”
“…Worthy.”
“Huh? Worthy? What’s worthy?”
“Human…worthy…killing.”
“Eh? Uh, what?”
Now this was just getting confusing! What does it even want? Did it find her worthy and wanted to kill her? Nah, probably not. Diana’s as worthy as an ant in the middle of the pacific ocean!
“Hey.”
If so, did it find Crystal worthy to kill? I mean, that would kinda make sense, but-, agh! She didn’t understand!! Her language was beyond her comprehension!! Could it be talking in code? Or Dothraki even?
*Boink, boink!*
“O-Ou? I-Is that really true?”
*Boink!*
Now then, according to our lovely translator Slimey, the ghoul judged that we were powerful enough to kill it completely. But, alas, even Crystal’s mighty attacks could not win against the ghoul’s incredible regeneration capabilities…Wait, something doesn’t seem right. Why would it want to be killed? Could it be…?
“B-But why…?”
“…Tired.”
“Huh? T-Tired of w-what?”
“…Living.”
Yep, called it. By the amazing process of elimination, this ghoul must be immortal! I mean, its super powerful, can regenerate really fast, and wants to be killed! This gal totally immortal! That, or she’s just way too strong and her [Longevity] stat was incredibly high.
Still, immortal or not, being alive like that does kinda suck. She’d seen enough movies to know what immortality can do to a person. And the results are never pretty!
But what can she do? If Crystal couldn’t hit the nail, then could she? I’d doubt that really.
“D-Do you…hate living, so much?”
“…Hate.”
“R-Really…?”
“…Hate.”
Hah, no good, huh? Her hatred for life was serious, alright. It seems, convincing her either wise won’t be easy…Damnit, if only her Charisma skill was higher!!