[Ravinecrawler - Level 36 (Combat Power: 1713)]

We ran. The Ravinecrawler gave chase. Its hundreds of nub-like limbs carried it smoothly, like it was gliding over the ground despite the cacophony of its footfalls. A deep, groaning shriek echoed out from its massive maw as it closed the distance. Any monster or creature that was within earshot fled, scattering away from this giant threat.

Fissyah stumbled around a stalagmite sticking out of the ground as I bounced ahead of her. She moved slower than Lire in this terrain. Oblec had mentioned that Shrouded Slimes were incredibly maneuverable by design, especially in an uneven landscape. They could move as quickly on an incline as they did on a flat plane.

Even I moved slightly slower when climbing up a cave wall!

The Ravinecrawler was catching up to us. Fissyah knew that. I knew that. It shredded through any obstacle in its path, swallowing the rock and the dirt as it snapped its jaw. Fissyah glanced back and stared into its rows and rows of teeth before raising an arm.

“What are you doing?” I yelled, coming to a halt.

“We can’t escape. We have to fight.” She hurled a fireball in the Ravinecrawler’s direction. The blast made it flinch, slowing it momentarily. The girl brought up the Arctic Wand and created a layer of sleet over the ground. “Otherwise, we’ll just die for nothing.”

I watched her as she stood resolutely, even in the face of the approaching monster. I looked over at Lire. The Shrouded Slime hesitated, unsure whether to continue fleeing. I sighed and fired a volley of [Arc Shots] at the Ravinecrawler.

It let out a screech, recoiling from the attacks.

“Go, Fissyah,” I said as I hopped in front of the girl.

“Violet?” She blinked. “What are you—”

“Take Lire and get out of here.”

Her eyes grew wide. “But the Ravinecrawler will kill you!”

“And it’ll kill us both if you stay here.” I broke off an appendage and activated [Detached Body Manipulation]. “So, what you need to do is find Oblec and bring him back here before it kills me.”

“That’s—” she tried to protest.

I spoke over her. “Fissyah, what are you doing right now?”

The girl hesitated. “I’m… wasting time?”

“And what should you be doing right now?” I sent the blob of purple goo out at the Ravinecrawler, firing another [Arc Shot].

“Finding Oblec?”

“So go find him!”

The Ravinecrawler roared as my limb ricocheted off its back. The attack actually cut superficially into its tough skin. But it wasn’t hurt— only angered. I slid away from Fissyah and Lire as they continued down the tunnel. I shot another [Arc Shot] into the monster’s mouth, drawing it in my direction as I returned to the cave chamber.

I had to keep its attention. And I had to survive. My best bet right now was luring the Ravinecrawler back to the Lair of the Lich Lord. Maybe Bob would be able to help me. Another [Arc Shot] bounced off the monster’s face.

My detached limb continued assailing it from its back. More of a nuisance than anything. It repeatedly whipped the Ravinecrawler like a stinging fly, leaving small marks throughout the long and undulating body. Until, finally, the Ravinecrawler had enough.

I watched as the giant monster thrusted itself into the air. It smashed my limb against the ceiling, crushing it against the stalactites stabbing down from above. My limb wriggled under the first hit. I felt an immense amount of pain, but I could still control it. It twitched once— then was promptly splattered as the Ravinecrawler spun so its back was to the ground.

“Ouch—”

My limb was completely flattened under the weight of the giant monster. It was big, even for a Ravinecrawler. It was literally a hundred feet long!

The chase continued. I once again split off a part of my body and sent it in a diverging direction from me. I loosed [Arc Shots] out from my detached body so that the Ravinecrawler would follow it. As it did, I took a quick look at my Arcane Essence reserves. Only 260 left. I had a choice. Either I could continue speeding over to Bob, or I could try and hide. Maybe even grab a quick bite to restore Arcane Essence.

There were not very many places for me to go. I was close to the lake at the very center of this cavern— the very same place I’d woken up at. Meanwhile, the Lair of the Lich Lord was still further past the lake. Before I could make a decision, the Ravinecrawler suddenly tensed.

Its movements slowed as its jaw unhinged wider than before. It made a guttural noise— a low growling-like sound. Then it spewed out a mouthful of glowing yellow liquid at my detached body.

My detached body melted away from the rain of acid. I flinched, and finally made my decision. I wasn’t going to get far. I needed to hide. I needed to distract it. And I needed as much Arcane Essence as possible to survive this encounter.

With that in mind, I made a break for the lake as the Ravinecrawler quickly caught up to me.

* * *

Oblec paced around in his little hovel as he waited for Violet and Fissyah to return. It had been a few days now— or at least, the bearded Gremlin assumed it had been a few days. He didn’t have a clock. He couldn’t track time. He was simply gauging things based on how often he needed to sleep. And considering that he only needed to go to sleep once a week, he was certain that his encroaching drowsiness meant it had been a few days.

“Where are they? Where are they?” he murmured madly to himself. “Lire was supposed to bring them back as soon as they were finished. And Bob wouldn’t have killed them, would he? I mean, he still owes me a favor!”

The Lich Lord had borrowed— stolen— Oblec’s Arctic Wand a few years back. He said he needed it for redecorating, but refused to return it when he was finished.

It annoyed Oblec. The bearded Gremlin had gone out of his way to avoid seeing or speaking with Bob ever since that happened, only interacting with the Lich Lord through Lire. It was the end of a friendship. And maybe that was why Bob killed Violet and Fissyah.

“I’m so, so sorry.” Oblec cried, wiping the tears of his face. “I didn’t think Bob would… Bob would…”

And the door to his hut swung open. Fissyah staggered in with Lire by her side, heaving as the Shrouded Slime leapt off her shoulder. Oblec blinked.

“Oh, praise the World Tree— Bob didn’t actually kill you.”

“Oblec!” the girl said, snapping her gaze up. “We need your… Violet needs your—”

The bearded Gremlin cocked his head. His eyes flickered as he heard Fissyah’s explanation of what happened. Then he rose to his feet and started past her.

“Lead me to her,” he said as a blue glow came over him.

A Ravinecrawler… Those were above Level 30— there was an entire threshold of power separating Violet and a Ravinecrawler. She didn’t stand a chance.

Oblec just hoped that he’d arrive in time.

* * *

I hid within a cluster of stalagmites as the Ravinecrawler chased after another detached limb. I was now down to 200 Arcane Essence. I could only use [Detached Body Manipulation] five more times, or [Arc Shot] ten more times. Hardly enough to bring down such a monster— especially considering that nothing I had thrown at it so far had done any grievous damage to it.

Minor wounds at most. My [Arc Shots] probably gave it a few mouth ulcers, and my physical attacks gave it papercuts.

It was honestly odd. Even if the Ravinecrawler was nearly twice as strong as me, I didn’t think my attacks should’ve been as ineffective as they were. My [Arc Shots] were incredibly fatal to monsters around my Combat Power— even if it wasn’t always a one hit kill.

There was also another discrepancy. It didn’t have many Skills or any gaudy attacks. The most it did was shoot out a ball of acid. At its level, I expected more than just that. And that led me to a conclusion: its Skills were more oriented towards its defense.

It made sense. The Ravinecrawler wasn’t very fast (for its Combat Power) and it wasn’t very physically strong (for its Combat Power) so it had to have its strength in how durable it was.

I slinked further into my hiding spot as I led the Ravinecrawler around with my detached limb. Another [Arc Shot] made it flinch, once again drawing some blood but not cutting too deep into its skin. The Ravinecrawler roared as it tore over stalagmites, revealing within a group of brightly colored creatures. Familiar monsters.

Toxic Toads.

The very first thing I encountered when I awoke. I recognized them immediately, but their levels were so low the Ravinecrawler didn’t give them a second glance. They tried to hop out of the way, only to be smashed by the turning body of the Ravinecrawler.

Their dead bodies landed next to my detached limbs. I stared at their corpses, then at the Ravinecrawler drawing closer. It would catch up to my detached limb in a moment. Since I was going to lose it anyways, I saw my chance and I took it.

I devoured the Toxic Toads as quickly as I could.

You have replenished 10 Arcane Essence!

You have also replenished 5 Arcane Essence due to [Improved Absorption]!

You have replenished 10 Arcane Essence!

You have also replenished 5 Arcane Essence due to [Improved Absorption]!

…

It brought me back up by 90 Arcane Essence before the Ravinecrawler snapped up my detached limb and gobbled it. I didn’t immediately lose sense of the detached limb, instead feeling it slide its way down the Ravinecrawler’s gullet.

Only when it landed in the stomach did my pain senses flare up as my detached limb was melted by the acid.

I managed to suppress myself from yelping, continuing to hide amongst the rocks. The Ravinecrawler wasn’t too far away from me. It was right by the lake, while I was a bit further back. As long as the Ravinecrawler didn’t somehow trample over the stalagmites I was hiding within, I was safe.

It wouldn’t be able to find me. Or so I thought.

Even if the Ravinecrawler was a monster, it wasn’t an idiot. It remembered where it had last seen my main body. It rose up until it met the cavern ceiling, overlooking the area even as I made myself as small as possible. Then it opened its maw and unleashed a rain of acid.

I stared as the yellow liquid meted away at even the stone.

It shaved away my hiding spot, and I bounced around in pain from the patter of the acid.

“Owowow— oops.”

The Ravinecrawler stared down at me as my hiding spot was revealed from its attack. I hesitated.

“We can talk about this…?”

Its roar echoed throughout the entire cave chamber. I answered with another flurry of [Arc Shots]. The attack tore at the Ravinecrawler’s skin even as it drew closer. I couldn’t run anymore. I had nowhere to hide, and too little Arcane Essence left. 170 now.

I could only hope that Oblec arrived in time.

The Ravinecrawler reached me as I leapt onto its back. I struck down with my appendages, targeting the wounds I had already opened up. I slid around its huge body, avoiding being crushed as it thrashed about to get me off it.

It threw itself into the ceiling, but I hopped off at the last moment and clung onto a nearby stalactite. The cavern shook as the Ravinecrawler impacted the stone above, before shaking again when it fell to the floor.

I needed to hit the Ravinecrawler with something hard to get through its defenses. I pried off a nearby stalactite and hurled myself back to the Ravinecrawler with all my strength. I used the stalactite as a kind of spear, targeting an open wound.

The Ravinecrawler let out a shriek as the sharp stone shattered onto its side. More of its skin flaked off— its body tore open, oozing out its blood. Its insides were soft. Weak. I could rip through it like jelly. I beamed triumphantly as I finally inflicted a proper wound onto the giant monster.

It was in actual pain. And I was going to make it worse. I pointed at the wound, firing a single [Arc Shot]—

And the Ravinecrawler came down at me with its open mouth. I slid back, saved only by redirecting my [Arc Shot] to its jaw. It instinctively flinched and closed its jaw too early. It didn’t snap me up whole, rather its front layer of teeth caught onto a quarter of my remaining body.

I squirmed up, once again cutting my body in size as the Ravinecrawler tried to slurp me up. A decent chunk of me fell into the monster’s belly, while I flopped onto the ground. I lay there, exhausted and nearly out of magic.

I was down to 110 Arcane Essence. My detached body fell further into the Ravinecrawler as it loomed over me. But it hadn’t fallen into the stomach acid just yet. I focused with whatever semblance of consciousness I had left, using my detached body to ricochet of the inside of the Ravinecrawler’s gullet.

It writhed back in agony as I continued to assail it from within. Its insides had been weak compared to its outer skin. I forced myself back as the Ravinecrawler was discombobulated from this attack.

“Need… to… get… away…”

But the Ravinecrawler tensed. I sighed as I knew what was going to happen next. If it couldn’t force me into its stomach acid, it was going to bring its stomach acid up to me and finish me off.

I had to do something. Anything. Before that happened.

A powerful attack. Like an [Arcane Blast]. But if I wanted to do that, I needed a substantial amount of Arcane Essence, wouldn’t I?

What was it that Bob said again? That I had unlimited potential? No— he said that my potential was limitless.

That I was special. That I was made entirely out of Arcane Essence. That I was made entirely out of magic.

If I needed magic, then I would just make my own.

I stopped moving. I concentrated every fiber of my being at my detached body. At first, I shrank it. I made it as small as it possibly could while pouring every ounce of my Arcane Essence into it. I could feel it pulsing with magic.

Then I made it expand, releasing the magic. Rapidly and violently. It was like an [Arc Shot], but in all directions. One that blasted out more than it was fired. All at once, everything exploded. The magic. The detached body. The scattering of arcane energy.

The Ravinecrawler froze as its gullet was blown open. The passageway that led up to its mouth was no longer there. The acid that was building up spread further into its own organs as I watched a rain of yellow liquid haphazardly sputter out of its mouth like a geyser.

The acid rained over the Ravinecrawler’s own body. It leaked into its open wounds, melting its rough skin and flesh. I weakly slid out of the way to avoid the acid as a bunch of notifications popped up before me.

You have defeated a [Ravinecrawler - Level 36 (Combat Power: 1713)]!

You have absorbed their Physical Essence!

You have advanced to Level 29!

- Arcane Essence +40

- Skill [Nadir’s Bloom] gained!

You have advanced to Level 30!

- Arcane Essence +40

For advancing to Level 30, you have reached the next threshold of arcane power!

- Arcane Essence +50

- For each new level advanced, +100 Arcane Essence is gained!

- Skill [Arc Blast] gained!

- Skill [Arc Strike] gained!

- Skill [Healing Touch] gained!

- Passive Skill [Arcane Efficiency] gained!

- Passive Skill [Arcane Restoration] advances to [Rapid Arcane Restoration]!

You have advanced to Level 31!

- Arcane Essence +100

I won.

Name: Violet [Level 31]

Species: Arcslime

Combat Power: 1300

Arcane Essence: 190/1300

Skills:

[Appraisal - 10 Arcane Essence]

[Arc Shot - 20 Arcane Essence]

[Detached Body Manipulation - 40 Arcane Essence]

Passive Skills:

[Arcane Restoration - You restore 10 Arcane Essence for every ten minutes of rest.]

[Improved Absorption - You replenish an additional 50% of Arcane Essence from consuming bodies.]

[Morph Shape - Your body can take on complex shapes.]

Special Skills:

[Arc Symbiosis: Fissyah - 50% of Total Arcane Essence]

Titles:

[Destroyer of Fort Erkaed - Arcane Essence +50]