Salim was having regrets about his first initial thoughts. I mean is it really a good idea to piss off something that could probably kill you with just a thought? And probably an unconscious thought at that too so he probably shouldn't…

But his body didn't really give a shit. It was tired, hungry, and sore as well as knew that killing this thing would probably be the only way out. Why it had so quickly decided this was the ONLY way his mind would never know but that didn't really matter as they were already a foot away from the thing.

With a roundabout start, Salim tried to punch it.

And regretted it almost immediately.

The flesh caved in and his fist made contact with air being sucked into the mold of flesh.

Salim panicked trying to pull his arm back but finding the flesh had molded around his hand making escape seemingly impossible. Oh how much he regretted his thought process before, IT SAID IT WAS BEWITCHED FOR FUCKS SAKE.

The mold of flesh kept pulling his arm and forced Salim to dig his feet into the ground to avoid being sucked up into the folds of Balurm.

Maybe it was due in part to the panic of the situation or his new found strength that he had tested a while ago but Salim struggled him mind aflame to find something; anything that would help him escape.

While his mind scrambled his body was pushed to its newfound limits as it struggled not to get enveloped by the folds.

Suddenly an idea came to him it was better than nothing and he really had nothing to lose.

As the words flooded his mind a gleam began to shine through the folds of flesh causing it to glow an unnatural blue.

The flesh seemed to writhe in pain as the gleam pierced through its body. Salim steeled himself and then wrenched his hand out of the pile of flesh.

Balrum no longer concerned with Salim returned back to its natural state of hypnotic rippling.

Salim, however, was not doing as well having drained his magica pool for the second time he felt like throwing up the very little that he had in his stomach as his muscles retracted and he fell a short distance away from Balrum.

He was beginning to think of Balrum as a person now wasn't he even though it just tried to kill him a few seconds ago. Salim knew he needed to stop this thought process but he really couldn't help it.

It was boring lying there on the ground and Salim wasn't ready to give himself another blistering headache from repeat observes.

However, he realized something that would make him smirk if his face wasn't turned upside down by the urge to throw up.

Touch of Frost hurt the thing. Maybe not physically hurt it but it did something to it that made it feel pain. Maybe it hated cold or it weakened it or something he didn't really care more than that.

He stared up at the floating screens above his face

You have gained five levels in Touch of Frost!

WARNING: Your magica has reached zero you need to wait for it to replenish or find some other means to restore it. You have gained the status affliction “Magica Deprived” due to having no magica left in reserve.

Just same old contrived stuff that he had read before. As cool as it is to sort of be in a video game those boxes are probably going to get really annoying.

Balrum didn’t seem to be doing anything new just sitting there and “breathing” so it was probably just a reaction that caused it to try and eat his arm.

It was almost impossible to judge time at that point it could have been a few hours or a few minutes in which he lay there trying to regain the strength to stand up. There was no sun that he could see and the lighting never seemed to change. It was a place stuck in perpetual lighting.

Well, at least one thing made sense now. Balrum was stuffed up here because even if he came to his senses he would have a very tough time getting down or however you escape.

The only way out either seemed to jump or kill Balrum as this seemed to be a dungeon if the achievement was to be believed. And if Balrum was the boss there would probably be some way out if he “vanquished” the boss.

If the monster hated the cold or at the very least Touch of Frost then he should be able to use it to slowly whittle away the flesh mounds health.

When he had regained his mana and was able to stand up that was. His health didn't seem to be regenerating from his escapade out of the dome so he either needed to rest or use some sort of item to heal.

This extrapolation Salim was doing only came from his experience with games in the past and while he loved to play the games and explore the world he wasn't so sure that being stuck in one with his own morality on the line was something he wanted.

Anyway, it wasn’t a good idea to dwell on such depressing thoughts if he wanted to stay upbeat about stuff. It wasn't ignoring his problems, per se, it was just that he wasn’t going to give a shit about them because they didn't matter right now.

Salim’s stomach growled he was getting hungry of course he was. I mean it was to be expected since he had not had anything for what felt like hours and he was honestly surprised with how long he lasted. It was probably his increased vitality and endurance that helped him there.

Finally, he sat up and looked around for something anything to eat.

Of course, there was nothing on the grassy disk.

Wait. Grass, of course, how could he have ignored this wonderful meal of fiber. He for sure wasn’t taking a chunk out of Balrum even if he could. He had nothing to lose so he plucked up a few and swallowed.

He subsequently felt his mind being blown. Not in a good way mind you the shit tasted awful like cow manure mixed with weeds.

But he felt a warm sensation flow through his body along with a really really shitty aftertaste.

Salim thought for a moment before attempting to use Observe on the blades of grass and there he found the answer to his weird sensation.

Corrupted Sky Grass Lv. 52 Material

Sky grass that has been corrupted due to long-term exposure to a cursed being.

Consumption Gain: +15 HP +25 MP +50 Corruption

Well, that is certainly a problem… While it definitely did benefit him in the short term the large gain of fifty corruption that he just got well. It was certainly going to be trouble.

Just as he finished his thought multiple pings of achievements pounded through his head knocking him out of his pessimistic frustrations.

You have earned the “Corrupted Human” Achievement for giving up part of your humanity for a tiny bit more power. You suck!

+10 To All Stats +Skill: Corruption Boost

Well, he certainly didn't realize what he was about to do when he ate the grass he was just hungry.

You have earned the “Corruption Insanity” Achievement for not being strong enough to bend the corruption to your will. You are probably going to die!

+Skill: Insanities Whisperings

That was definitely not good not good at all. Shitty grass shitty boss why did this have to happen to us. Us? Us. Well, more specifically we.

Us.

But the achievements and notifications did not stop there.

You have earned the “Split Focus” Achievement for having rapt attention on multiple things at once.

+5 Wisdom +Skill: Mind Division

It was a bit… Underwhelming compared to the fact that Salim was not alone in his own head but he guessed it was a fine achievement for them to feed on in the future.

?!

WARNING: BODY IS OVERLOADING WITH CORRUPTION PLEASE FIND IMMEDIATE OUTPUT OR FACE SELF OBLITERATION IN THE FACE OF OVERWHELMING POWER

Well, this just got even more fun.