Priorities were clear in Zortex mind. First thing first I must find a way to get food. I don’t want to ever experience starvation again. He had only ten coppers in his pants so he could not buy much with it. He put his hand in his pocket and found nothing. What happened? Where is my money? Were the coins stolen? That’s impossible, I have been alone all my time and I recall having them at the beginning of my isolation period. I don’t remember the last time I heard them tinkling. I must have dropped them somewhere down there and never cared to pick them up again.

Zortex found himself in front of a big issue. The only way for him to make money would be to accept some quest, but he had no idea where to find it. Even more, he didn’t think he would resist the time to actually complete a quest. He was already starting to feel the hunger after those few hours since he finished his last slime. He looked at Pravin and felt bad about even thinking of eating him. He must have been really crazy to consider his pet as a food storage. Also Pravin needed food, so the problem was doubled and he required something right away. He could sell the ring or one of the other items he looted from the Count’s tomb, but he was reluctant to do so right after getting out.

“Let’s see if we can salvage something good for you from the garbage over there” Zortex told Pravin. He was reluctant to rely to that for himself, but slimes would eat basically anything and be happy about it. There was a reason they thrived in the sewer together with rats.

They reached a dumpster in the corner of a building and Zortex threw on the ground the waste inside of it. The smell reached him and he had to admit that it felt fresher to what he was used to. Maybe I could also eat from here. The remnants of those fruits don’t look too bad. Probably they were thrown away just last evening. I don’t know when I will get food again, so I should not discard anything right now.

Zortex picked up a few things in his hands and then left most of the rest for Pravin to consume. He put in his mouth what looked like the peeled part of a yellow fruit and started chewing it. The taste was really strong in his mouth, and for a second he thought to spit it out. Resisting that urge he continued to munch on it until he got more used to it. It felt rancid with the remnant of a sweetness which was probably the original taste of the inside of the fruit. All in all it was not bad for being garbage, even though nothing would compare to the taste of a fresh slime.

From eating homemade cake to eating medieval garbage. Not at all what I expected eight months ago when I entered Endless. From the next time I must find a way to eat proper food. I’m not in the sewers anymore, so I should eat as a normal human being. I also want Pravin to experience human food. I’m curious to see his reaction.

“Ok. Let’s move more in that direction. I see more buildings, so there could be some people I can ask for information.”

Zortex and pet moved slowly towards what looked like a series of low buildings. Now that he had a better vision he noticed that the wall delimiting the city was nearby, so he should be in the outskirts of the town. On the top of the wall he could see some lights moving, probably guards patrolling the barrier. The lights were steady, so Zortex reasoned that they were using light crystals rather than torches. Maybe Matthew didn’t lie about them being cheap. Not that it matters to me right now. Having such a strong source of light just in front of me would be too difficult to handle. Better to rely on my vision and try to not end up in a place completely devoid of light.

It was the middle of the night and nobody was around, so Zortex just walked slowly enjoying the view. When he first entered AoL he was so excited that he had rushed so fast to his demise that he didn’t even have the time to enjoy this new world he had bet his life into. In the sky the moon might have been mostly covered by the clouds for everyone else sight, but to Zortex it looked spectacular. So much time in the dark and now he had this big source of light just on top of his head. It looked also much bigger than the one back on Earth, and with a blue tint to its color. His sense of smell was dampened by the cloth bandage around his head, but the scent of grass and trees was still a welcome upgrade from the rot of the underground. Even the moldy odor of the human houses felt refreshing.

The noises were the best part. The sound of the crickets, or some small bug similar to crickets, felt joyous, and the breeze moving through houses and trees made whistling sounds inviting him to sing. Of course he didn’t actually sing because he had always been completely out of tune. Now he realized how much he had missed all of this. The constant dripping of water and the beating of his heart had been his constant companions for too long. Having something else was opening his mind to the outside world.

He could also hear some sources of sounds in the distance which felt like humans. He decided to go in that direction, but without rushing into it. He was still anxious about talking to another sentient being apart from Pravin and Endless. He decided that he would try to speak first with an NPC. They might be built in such a way that they were basically real and alive human beings, but the idea that they could not exist outside of Endless made Zortex feel less uneasy.

He looked at his own body. He was bare chested under his cloak and his pants were mostly ripped off to a level that not even beggars would accept him. Luckily his new cloak was quite long and it could cover all of him.

Wait! Where are my boots and socks? Did I also lose them like the money? I must have done some crazy stuff during my worst period. Probably I took them off and threw them at some poor slime who had come to eat me. I can feel the ground with the sole of my feet, but not as much as to create any trouble for my senses.

Zortex sat down and started to check on them. The sole was so callused that he even questioned himself for being able to sense anything at all.

That is a problem for another day. I don’t have any money to buy new boots anyway. I need to get a job or a quest or something similar, then I will be able to refurnish all my inventory. The time to stare at the world with my mouth open is over. I need to act. Zortex thought.

He increased his pace and moved to an alley crossing into a street where he could hear the sound of footsteps. The light increased as he neared the bigger avenue. There must be some light crystal around here Zortex reflected stopping his advance. He took out the strip of cloth he had prepared for the eyes and strapped it to his head. Afterwards he strolled forward reaching for the exit. His vision was not completely removed but he had a bit of trouble while being still in the dark alley. Pravin of course was following diligently, trying to not fall behind while staring at his surroundings. He had been especially quiet since coming out of the sewers. Maybe he was overwhelmed by the big change he had to experience after leaving his previous haven.

Zortex covered himself as much as possible with his cloak and came out into the street assessing the situation. To his left there were two men stumbling away from him, probably drunk from the way they were swaying while walking. One was still holding a bottle. They were the ones holding the light crystal. There is the smell of alcohol and vomit on their trail Zortex observed. To his right there was a single pedestrian coming in his direction. That person doesn’t have a mark on the head, so it is a NPC. Perfect! I can ask him for directions.

Zortex moved toward him and prepared himself to use the sentence he had been practicing since abandoning the sewers. He felt his heart beating furiously and his body was sweating even in the cool of the night. His throat felt dry and he started to feel also a bit nauseous. There is no coming back. I must learn again how to live as a normal human. I must at least be able to talk to another person, even if only a NPC for now.

“S-Sorry, can you tell m……” Zortex was interrupted mid speech.

“WHAT THE FUCK! Who are you?!?” the other person said jumping back and stopping a few meters away.

Fuck, it is a woman! I couldn’t see her gender because of my partial blindfold and her attire. She was wearing black trousers and a black cloak, not too different from Zortex’s one. She also had black boots and black gloves on her. Her hood was up concealing her face. This complicate things a lot. It would have been already difficult to talk to a man, but a woman is ten time worse. I had trouble talking to girls even in the real world. What can I do now? It seems I startled her.

“I-I am…” Zortex could not think anything to say. Should I present myself? Maybe I can just continue asking for directions. That seems the best way to end the talk as fast as possible. Better to find a male to start my training to rehabilitate my conversational skills. Baby steps, not giant leaps.

“How did you get so close to me? How did you notice me even thought I was under concealment?” The woman asked while taking out two knives from her cloak and changing her stance into a fighting one. She seemed really curious. Zortex just stayed silent, shocked by how the situation developed.

“Not a talker eh? Don’t worry. Even if you don’t tell me I already know. You must be one of the guys from Leylin’s gang. Didn’t they tell you that now this is Zack’s territory? Those two guys over there are my prey. If you want to rob someone go find it somewhere else.” The thief told him while getting closer, ready to dash and slash at him.

Leylin’s gang? Zack’s territory? What are those? Damn it! Again I have stumbled into something which has nothing to do with me. I’m having too much bad luck for it to be a coincidence. Maybe someone has casted a curse on me at the beginning of my adventure. There is magic here, so I cannot exclude it.

Zortex backed away trying to reach the alley he came from. He wanted to run as fast as he could, but he was afraid that the moment he turned away he would be stabbed on his back. He could not talk to tell her that he was just an innocent passerby. She would never believe him after he had revealed her presence.

“My Gods! How can you smell so bad? You stink worse than trash.” The woman said when she was almost in reach for an attack. “Enough of your silence. I will let your corpse do the talking. Let me see what I can salvage from you.” She smiled and charged at him, her right hand dagger targeting his throat.

Zortex threw himself back and fell on his ass. At least he had avoided the slash, but the woman was not done yet. She pressed her attack with the left dagger and stabbed reaching for the heart. Zortex had been totally unprepared for the fight, so he didn’t even think about using any of his techniques. When the dagger was descending on him he tried to parry it with his hand, which got stabbed through, but at least he was able to deflect the attack to his shoulder. He felt the pain but what surprised him the most was the cold. The blade of the weapon had frosted and all the meat around his shoulder and hand had frozen.

Frozen

Part of your body has been frozen. Your healing has been reduced and you have lost some of your movement speed.

The woman smirked taking out the dagger, sure of her victory, but then she was stuck from the side by a tentacle. Pravin once again tried to rescue his master.

The woman thief rolled away with the blow with no apparent damage, but surprised to be fighting more than one enemy. Zortex had lost all sense on his left arm, but he got back on his feet, making sense of what was happening. His HP were already half gone. He looked at his adversary and now he could read the red sign of the enemy on top of her head. Level 22 was written where before there was nothing. The girl had been stalking the two drunk guys, but before she could attack them, Zortex had arrived to ask his questions. He forgot that for anyone else these would be the darkest hours of the night, when the darkness could hide anyone from sight. She believed to be concealed, probably with a technique like the one he had refused, but he went to her to have a conversation as if it was noon. Zortex took away is blindfold. The light crystal now was far away enough and he was facing the other direction. He could make use of his superior sight.

She must also have some skill to help her see in the darkness, but looking at her it seems she is having trouble assessing who attacked her just now. I must use this to my advantage Zortex thought. Maybe he could avoid the fight altogether. Her eyes kept scanning the surroundings warily checking for other assailants. Zortex prepared for his time to attack, his right arm changing consistence. Pravin made four new tentacles at once and whipped them at the thief. Somehow she was able to see and avoid them by side stepping once to the right and once to the left. Zortex used the chance to elongate his tentacle and attacking from her blind spot. She was aware that she would be attacked from that side as soon as she gave him her back, so she turned around and crossed her arms ready to defend herself. The attack connected and she was thrown away from him, but after rolling on the ground a couple of times she got up as if nothing happened and dashed again to avoid Pravin’s tentacles that were reaching her.

She must have a strong armguard, that’s why she was willing to take an attack from me defending just with the arms. She was baiting us to use our attacks so that she could be prepared from now on. She cannot see clearly, but well enough to avoid us with her superior stats and skills. Her attacks also have an ice skill. Even in a slime body getting stabbed would be really bad.

The woman had taken a few meters of distance and was waiting for their move, but seeing that they were not reacting at all, she took the initiative.

“Accelerate” the woman said throwing one of the daggers. It left her hand at incredible speed and reached him before he could even react. Luckily for him, probably she was not able to pinpoint his exact position in this darkness, so the dagger embedded in his left shoulder once again. The hit caused him to stagger backward and he almost fell down. The next moment he looked up she was gone from her previous position.

He looked for her and saw her standing in front of Pravin, dagger in hand ready to stab. She must have avoided his tentacles and got within range for the attack.

“PRAVIN! RETREAT!” he shouted to his companion, but it was too late. The thief whispered: “Ice Piercer” and her blade emitted a soft blue light. She then stabbed the slime, and from the wound veins of ice diffused through his body. She then stabbed again and Pravin broke in many pieces. Just like that his pet had died once again.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fucking bitch! I will kill her! But not now. She is completely above my league. I have to run. RIGHT NOW!

Zortex turned his back to her and started running as fast as he could. His upper-left side of the body felt awful, but his legs were working properly, so he sprinted away with all the energy he had. From behind he could hear the sound of running, but he didn’t dare turn his head to look at his assailant.

He was going in the direction the drunk guys had been walking, but there was no sign of the light right now. Maybe they had entered a building, or maybe, hearing the commotion behind them, they rushed away scared.

The noise behind him signaled that the woman was reaching him. She was without doubt the faster one, thus Zortex had to think of something.

Attacking is not an option. The moment I stop I die. The only advantage I have right now is my increased sight and my slime transformation. I must find a place where sight matters and then hide somewhere she cannot reach with an human body.

Zortex turned right as soon as he saw a little alley crossing the bigger road. There were some crates on the ground and he was able to jump over them hoping they would hinder the thief. Two seconds later he heard her swearing when she toppled onto them.

“Accelerate” Zortex heard from behind and he threw himself on the ground. He had not been fast enough because a dagger still grazed his ribs on the right side, but he was still alive and able to run. His body was hurting everywhere, his stamina and HP bars where very low and he had an headache from all the sensations he was getting from around him. Still he wanted to survive. He ducked into another small alley and then another, footstep following him. This part of the city was like a maze and it was difficult for the thief behind him to assert her superior speed. Sometimes there were obstacles that she could not avoid in the darkness and at a certain point Zortex heard some tumbling from behind and some swearing.

This is my chance! Zortex turned at a crossing and when he saw a small barrel he threw away the contents and entered into it by slime transformation. Then he went perfectly still.

A few seconds later his running enemy passed by him and continued on her way without even stopping to check.

Zortex stayed like this for a while, not daring to move. After around five minutes he heard the footsteps of the thief and he could smell her odor. She was breathing hard and mumbling to herself. Apparently she was not happy at all to have lost her target.

“I will have to tell Zack that Leylin has still some men surveying the zone. There might be another war between gangs. I hope to find again this guy so that I will make him pay for chase of today. I also lost two daggers and got no loot.” The woman said to none in particular. Zortex could hear her low voice passing by him.

The slime warrior stayed in that position as long as his mana permitted him to. Afterwards, he left to find a better spot to heal his wounds.

Once again he stood defeated by his enemy, but surviving for an hair’s breadth.

Things need to change. My power is too low and I forgot the first lesson. This is a dog eat dog World. In AoL I can lose my life to anyone. I must consider anyone as a potential enemy. No need to hold nice conversation with NPC and real people alike. Just get what I want and leave them alone, the same as the real world. I already have enough problems. When I will be powerful I will have the time to socialize.