“M-My…head…ah…”
Clutching her head, Diana stared at the wall and smashed her head, the stinging headache in her head persistently staying. Damn it, just leave already! Ouch, and that head bang against the wall really hurt…
She slightly regretted her choice of immediately trying to use her [Slime Magic] again. As you can see, all it gave her was a huge headache and the feeling of wanting to smash her head to an incoming bullet train. So yeah, that’s a failure.
If it wasn’t enforced yesterday, it surely was now! Learning magic was no easy task! Seriously! She envied those anime protagonists that could easily learn magic because they had the ‘Talent’ or some sh*t like that. Seriously man, what the hell.
But enough of that, because something else in the distance had caught her attention. Through the canopy of leaves, she could just barely see a trail of smoke rising into the air. The slight smell of burning amber lingered in the surrounding air.
Shouldn’t there be, like, a side-quest menu or something? Come on! There’s the status screen, why not add a quest menu too?!
But let’s cast that aside for now. Her mind immediately focused onto the first monster she had killed, the damned goblins. Although they may not look like it, they do have a small ounce of intelligence, which meant that they had societies.
And that smoke trail right there? Perfect indication of a small group or a tribe.
Obviously, she couldn’t go in all gung-ho and kill all those goblins. She would die before she could even morph. But if the group was small enough, and dumb enough, she might have a chance at slowly killing them one by one, or she hoped at least.
Picking up the silver knife, she stood up and walked out of the cave. She softened her steps and made her way through the shadows, making sure that no goblins or cute white bunnies would ambush her…
But soon enough, the trees opened up, and there sitting in the centre of the open area, was a small group of 3 goblins. 2 of them were just normal goblins, while the third was a goblin mage, one that she distinctly recognised as the one with that insane stone tennis ball spell.
A slight feeling of anger rose as thoughts of taking revenge and slicing off that damn goblin’s head came up. This wasn’t just about her being a NEET anymore, that goblin needed to die, for her pride! Not that she had any intact anyways.
But how would she pick out one of them? They didn’t look like they were in any rush, but she couldn’t just slowly solid snake all the way there and not get killed! She wasn’t a highly trained spy made to navigate through a base to stop some giant robot!
She’s a NEET damnit! Before, after, and forever!
So, she picked out one move that she had always used to accomplish a similar task. Looking around, she noticed several stone pebbles lying around, perfect for her plans! Picking one up in her hands, she carefully aimed, and threw it at the goblin mage’s head.
*Tuk*
“Gugha?”
“Gugugha.”
“Gugha.”
They had a small conversation in a language more akin to gibberish, before the goblin mage stood up, took up its wooden staff, and made its way to her direction. Following a stance from a spy movie, she hid behind one of the trees and watched the goblin mage, who had just entered the shadows of the leaves.
A small grin emerged on her lips as she tailed it closely, her knife gleaming white in the shadows.
The goblin mage was the one she feared the most, since her [Slime Valley] would work terribly against its magical capabilities. So if she managed to assassinate this damn goblin mage, her victory was pretty much sealed, maybe.
“Gugha?”
“…!”
Feeling a small shiver up its spine, the goblin turned around and prepared its wooden staff. Ever since it went back into the forest, it had felt several different feelings of being watched. It wasn’t the most skilled in detection magic, but this predator was too damn obvious.
Well, that makes sense! She’s not some ninja!
Well, depends on which ninjas you’re talking about. If you’re thinking of the one with an orange jumpsuit and a headband, then no. There ain’t no shadow clone jutsus, alright? Actually, there might be…
“…Guh.”
Shrugging its shoulders, the goblin mage softened itself and kept walking. She sighed silently and prepared her knife. It was now or never!
“Ha!”
“Gug-“
*Puchi!*
Jumping out from the shadows, Diana dove her knife into the goblin’s throat, injuring it before it could even finish speaking. Blood spilled out of its neck wound as it fell over, its wooden staff rolling softly on the ground. A small *Ding!* entered her ears as a small message appeared.
[Enemy has been slain. Gained 10 Experience]
[[Assassination has been acquired. 1 Skill Point gained]
Well, that should help a bunch! If only she got that skill before that, and she would’ve done it with much more finesse! But the past is the past. She got the skill, she should be grateful! Although, if she had the chance to ask, was she gaining skills to fast? Or is this just easily it was to do it?
Seemed a bit too fast for her, but whatever. Now, onto those two goblins!
With the aid of [Assassination], she made her way back to the camp site as quietly as she could, hiding behind the cover of a tree just as she spotted the two remaining goblins, standing up with their knives held in hand. Did they somehow know of that goblin’s death? How?!
“Gugha!!”
“Gugha!”
“Eek?!”
The goblin’s eyes stared in bloodlust as they charged at her, still hiding behind the tree. Quickly, she ducked and rolled away, dodging the goblin’s incoming attack, that smashed that tree apart?! What the hell, what was that?!
That was when she noticed the different with these goblins. On their arms and their chest, what looked to be black lines streaked across their green skin. They were most likely some kind of rune, or a tattoo, which meant that these goblins were different from the ones he had fought back at the cave!
Well, whatever, they’re coming!
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The goblins charged at her, slashing their knives violently. Being the complete noob she is at actually fighting, she immediately tripped on herself and fell. Her face planted straight onto the grass below. Luckily, she managed to keep her mouth shut, or she might have the chance of becoming a cow.
The goblins saw this chance, and brought their knives down!
“N-No you don’t!”
[Slime Valley] activated, and she quickly morphed into her slime girl form. Her clothes fell through her body as she bent her body, her skill to mold herself proved helpful as she easily dodged the incoming attacks. Her slimy body wobbled slight as she morphed herself back and struck!
*Puchi!*
Her knife stabbed into one of the goblin’s chest. Blood spilled out like an opened bag of candies. The red liquid spread everywhere, but the goblin wasn’t giving up yet!
Knife in hand, the goblin slashed its knife sideways. The knife cut through her slime body, but it remained intact as it melded back together. She quickly brought her knife down and ended its painful life.
“G-Gugha?!”
*Puchi!*
She sent another strike, this time aimed at the remaining goblin’s neck. It tried to pull her arm off, but ended up squishing it instead, causing the knife to get stuck in its neck wound. The goblin screamed several times, before its voice ran out. It silently toppled over as messages popped up before her.
[Enemy has been slain. Gained 10 Experience]
[Enemy has been slain. Gained 10 Experience]
[Congratulations! Peasant has levelled up to Level 1! Your stats have improved]
“F*ck yeah!”
She raised her arms and shouted out. Her heart spilled with happiness as the fabled level up finally appeared! Its been way too long before her level up! Well, its only been 2 or 3 days, but to her, it felt like an eternity.
Let’s take a look at her stats!
Name: Diana
Race: Human
Age: 17
Class: Peasant Lv: 1/5 | Exp: 15/50
HP: 12/12
MP: 6/12
SP: 8/12
[Strength]: 3
[Tenacity]: 2
[Agility]: 3
[Intelligence]: 2
[Dexterity]: 4
[Mentality]: 3
[Endurance]: 3
[Wisdom]: 3
[Longevity]: 2
[Skill Points]: 4
{Skills}: [Slime Valley: Lv 2/10], [Knife Mastery Lv 1/10], [Slime Magic Lv 1/10], [Assassination Lv 1/10]
{Magic}: -
{Titles}: [Slime Queen]
Yes…Look at that stat increase man…Feels amazing. Sadly, her intelligence didn’t get the same increase as the rest, but that’s fine. Was that an insult, who knows? Clenching her fist, she felt the new strength in her, the one point increase she had seemed to affect her greatly.
But let’s take a look on [Assassination] next!
[Assassination]
Lv 1/10
You are skilled in the art of stealth and silence. You deal 15% more damage if you attack without the enemy’s notice. Your steps are slightly quieter.
The skill told her just like she expected from a skill called [Assassination]. I mean, looked at that! Although, it says that she will deal 15% more damage if she attacks ‘Unnoticed’. Does that also include attacking from behind cover without the enemy knowing where you are? She wanted to know immediately, but with no means to do so, she pushed that further down her bucket list.
Sadly, there wasn’t too much loot she could gather from this camp site. Well, these two silver knives could come in handy if hers break, so let’s take those. But the one she was most interested in, was that wooden staff he left back with the goblin mage’s dead corpse.
Following the small trail of blood his knife left, she made her way back to the dead corpse, and just like before, the corpse laid dead on the floor, surrounded by a puddle of goblin blood. On that note, was there alchemy in this world? Can she use this stuff for potions or something?
Meh. She’ll find out soon.
What she wanted though, was right next to the goblin. The wooden staff, somehow not covered in blood. She picked the staff up and inspected it. From its looks, it was literally just a wooden pole, that became bulkier as it went up until the top. It was about…uh…1 metre? Maybe? Math was never her strong point, despite owning a trading site.
But what was most interesting, was the slight tingling feeling she felt in her palm as she held the staff. At first, the feeling was extremely clear, but as she held it longer, the effect seemed to fade away. Obviously, that was magic, but what does that effect mean?
Well, whatever. She should head back now, unless she wanted to deal with more monsters out here, especially that white bunny. A slight bubbly feeling arose as she imagined herself patting that white bunny, but she snapped herself out of it just as quick.
She turned towards where her cave was, or where she thought it is anyways, and walked. Her soft steps echoed through the shadows, overtaken by the sounds of the rustling leaves. She smiled happily as she stared at the 3 knives and the staff she had. Loot has been acquired!
No money or potions, but weapons? Let her in on this loot train!
Soon enough, she was back at her humble little cave opening, an opening that didn’t really lead to a cave, but a small dead end. She was slightly disappointed, but knowing that no spiders would crawl on her and inject poison while she’s asleep far outweighed her desire to enter this imaginary dungeon.
Hmm…Actually, does dungeons exist in this world? She guessed they did, but she could never truly know until she enters one herself. Sighing softly, she walked into her cave and set the loot she gathered on the floor.
“Knives…and a staff…I wonder if that’ll help me with this slime magic…”
Picking the staff back up, she took a look at her MP. 6 should be enough for now, and if she failed to do it now, she could just rest and wait until it fully restores. Not that she knew how long that would take. She was too lazy to count.
Just like she did before, she tried focusing her magic, to perhaps, perhaps, create some slime in the air. She wasn’t too hopeful, and she shouldn’t be. She isn’t some magic scholar, so this should be much harder. But to her pleasant surprise, a visible reaction could be seen from her staff as it began to shine dimly. Her eyes widened as she stared at the beautiful glow, losing focus on the magic, causing the staff to stop glowing.
“Huh…”
She tried once again, this time swearing to not get distracted. Her mana swirled around as she tried to force it to enter the staff. The staff noticed her will, and glowed, sucking some mana from her. She stared in awe, as above the staff, a small sphere of slime formed, wobbling slightly as she did her best to maintain it in the air.
Sadly, she lost focus and it fell down, splashing all over the floor.
But her mood was no longer down, she was ecstatic! She had just casted magic! Magic!! Albeit not a powerful or flashy one, but its magic, dude! Just, wow…
But the way she casted magic was obviously amped by the help of this staff. She couldn’t control her own mana, but the staff noticed her will and sucked some out, and helped in her desire to form the magic.
But what happened if she lost her staff in the middle of a battle? She would be dead meat! As fast as she could, she needed to learn how to manipulate her own mana, and then cast the magic without the aid of a staff. Well, that goes straight to the top of her bucket list!
“Uaahh…”
But she should really rest now. Her MP was dropping low, and she was exhausted after her hunt. The feeling of the blood spilling on her hand still visibly stuck in her mind, causing her to shiver slightly. Not from the feeling of blood, but the thought of having her own blood spilled.
The concept of death did not stick well with her.
And with those thoughts, she silently drifted into her sleep.
…………………..
Slowly, she opened her eyes, her eye lids still feeling heavy. She was fully rested, but she wanted to just lie down and sleep again, knowing that it was impossible to do. She had many plans to accomplish, she can’t stay here forever!
First, she needed to train, just enough for her to sustain herself in a battle situation. She needed to learn how to use this [Slime Magic] as an offensive skill. Training her skill with the knife wouldn’t be that bad too. And most of all, she needed to learn how to control her own mana.
And she also needed to find how to live on her own without these slimes!
*Boink!*
“Eek?!”
By the cave entrance, she saw a lone green slime, bobbing up and down as it let go of the apple it was holding inside it. Slowly, she took the apple and began to nibble on it, not noticing that this slime had refused to leave.
*Nom*
“Mmm…H-Huh? Why aren’t you leaving?”
*Boink!*
The slime bobbed up and down, jumping slightly closer to her. She tried to back away, but the slime followed her, insisting on staying with her. Why? She didn’t know! Why would she know! There’s no slime language, is there?!
But a name is in order-, why did she want to name this thing? She just met it! Why is she trying to name it?! Gah!! Her personality is getting messed up!!
But no, really, a name is probably needed if it wanted to stay.
“Umm…”
But, there’s a problem. She’s bad with names! Even her nickname ‘ProDavin888’ was given to him from a random name generator he found back on uncle google! There’s no google here! There’s no internet either! How was she going to name this thing?!
“Umm…Slimey?”
Was all she could come up with.
*Boink!*
The slime happily bobbed up and down as her mouth fell open. Not because of the slime being happy, but because of the message that appeared before her.
[Slimey volunteered to be your familiar. Y/N?]
“Seriously?”
This slime took her name, and wanted to be her familiar? Seriously? Wasn’t the process of gaining a familiar much harder than this?
But before she knew it, her finger moved, and pressed ‘Yes’.
*Boink!*
[Slimey has become your familiar]
“……O…kay…”
Slimey bobbed up and down happily, its feelings now shared to her through the familiar bond holding them together. Diana grew surprised for a moment, but later smiled and looked at slimey, who seemed to be staring back. But she was unsure, since it didn’t even have eyes!
Well, she has a familiar now, so…yay?