Chapter 7 - Slime Crystal

The sun’s rays were coming down on everything, only stopping with the occasional cloud. It was an extremely hot day; not that it mattered. Blake found refuge in the shade coming from the trees, but his mind was on the task at hand. He thought back to what Aaron said the day before.

“Okay Blake, today we had a slight diversion, but tomorrow will be the day. There’s many creatures to hunt in the forest. There’s quite a variety but we’ll start small. A slime perhaps; yes, a slime will be perfect. You can find them almost anywhere and most are easy enough to kill. One fireball should be enough to kill one but it doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. For having no legs they happen to be surprisingly fast. Catch them off guard and shoot it; you are a hunter and they are the prey.” Aaron said.

“Do they fight back at all?” he asked.

“Most don’t but some do. Don’t go wasting a shot because you get surprised if it charges at you. I understand since it will be your first try at this, but your opponent will be a slime, one of the weakest things around so you shouldn’t have a lot of trouble.”

He planned to head deeper into the forest but it didn’t take long before Aaron spotted a slime and pointed it out to Blake. He started sneaking toward the target, slowly and quietly. He had to be careful, he had only two shots to kill it. He was staying close to the ground, using the advantage of being in a small body to stay hidden.

He reached a good position to fire from and he started to observe the slime. It was hopping all over the place. Just when it seemed like it would stop, it kept going up and down all over the place. It seemed to be overly energetic.

After a while it seemed to have tired itself out and Blake started to aim his arm at the slime but a crunching noise from behind startled him. He turned around only to see Anna standing there, half hidden behind a nearby tree. He pretended not to notice her and turned back to look at the slime. It wasn’t where there.

Instead it was charging straight at Blake. In the spur of the moment he said, “Augue.” A fireball was launched straight at the slime but it dodged to the side and kept going at a rapid pace. It was incredibly fast compared to what Blake expected. Before long it had reached him. With one big jump it tried to attack Blake. He ducked and the slime missed landing right on the ground.

The slime quickly recovered and went for another attack. Blake attempted to dodge to the side but the slime hit him square on the chest; he fell to the ground. Blake started to feel a slimy painful sensation on his right hand. He looked over and saw the slime stuck to it. He tried to shake it off but it only made the pain even stronger. Without a second thought he muttered, “Augue.” As the fire kept gathering in Blake’s hand, the slime started to boil. Then it evaporated until there was almost nothing left. Only a small blue crystal remained; it fell to the ground.

Aaron materialized and gave Blake a hand to help him stand back up. “I never expected you to kill it that way, but it works so it’s fine. Go and pick up that crystal.” Aaron motioned. Blake did not ask why, he went over to the crystal and picked it up.

“Now what?” he asked

“Eat it.” Blake turned to Aaron but he had a completely serious face on.

“What is it?” he asked. “What does it do?”

“No questions. Just do it.” He hesitated but slowly put it in his mouth. “Now bite down.” With a big gulp, he quickly bit into it. He expected it to hurt his teeth, but it came apart easily. As he bit into it, he was able to notice that it had a really bad taste. He almost threw up but he managed to swallow it.

“Why did that taste so bad?” he asked. A smile came over Aaron’s face.

“Why wouldn’t it, you just ate the slime’s feces.” Aaron laughed. Blake just stared back with his mouth hanging wide open.

“What the heck. Why did you make me do that?” He charged at Aaron but he moved to the side and Blake went crashing into a tree.

“Don’t worry, I was messing around with you again. What you just ate was the essence of the slime that you killed. It gives you experience and while extremely rare, has a chance to give you a skill. You can also sell it for money.” Aaron stated. Blake was still trying to get the taste out of his mouth.

“I know this is supposed to be good but if it tastes this bad then I don’t know if I can go through with this.”

“Don’t worry, you can swallow it whole and you won’t taste a thing.”

“The why did you specifically make me bite into it?” he asked furiously.

“I thought I already told you that I was just messing with you.” Aaron laughed again. Blake wasn’t satisfied but there was little he could do. “So that’s one slime down. It should be enough experience to get you to level 2, which means that you should be getting it around...now.”

“If you say so but nothing is popping up.” As to make him eat his words, a pop up appeared.

Level 1 --> 2

Health – 10 +5

Stamina – 10 +5

Strength – 5 + 3

Defense – 5 + 2

Agility – 5 + 2

Intellect – 50 + 1

Magic – 5 + 3

Experience needed to next level: 40

He turned around to head back but saw Anna half hidden behind another tree. He decided to sneak around and surprise her. She poked out her head but she saw that he wasn’t there. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder and she almost jumped. She turned around only to see Blake, and got a little angry.

“Why did you scare me?” She asked.

“Because it’s funny.” He responded. His response only resulted in her pouting. “Don’t get mad, I didn’t mean bad.” She didn’t stop. “Let’s go back and we can do whatever you want.” She stopped pouting and instead started to smile.

“You mean it?” She yelled.

“Yeah, I mean it.”

“Yay!” Blake started walking back and she followed. They weren’t too far from the house but farther than any day before. “I wonder why the slimes don’t get closer?” he thought. He was thinking about what other creatures or monsters he could go after but the little girl next had some questions to ask.

“What happened to the cute monster that you were playing with?” He wasn’t ready for this kind of question. He didn’t feel like explaining death to her.

“It left because it got tired.” He answered.

“Oh. Can I play with the monster next time too?”

“Maybe when you’re older.”

“Aww, why Blake?” She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“Then just take me with you next time” He turned his head planning to refuse her but she had puppy dog eyes. He couldn’t refuse.

“Maybe.” He answered. With a smile she grabbed Blake’s arm and started skipping, pulling him along.

“Where did she learn puppy dog eyes?” he wondered. It didn’t take them long to get back. They entered into Blake’s home, but she started heading to her house.

“I will be back soon.” she said. Aaron appeared behind him.

“This will probably be quite the sight to watch.” He laughed. Blake didn’t understand right away but he had an idea as soon as she walked back in. She was holding a baby doll.

“I will be mommy and you will be daddy.” She said. “I always play with this doll but mommy told me that I need a daddy if I am a mommy.”

“What kinds of things are you teaching your daughter?” he thought. “What about hide and seek? You hide first and I look?” He asked. She tilted her head seemingly lost in thought.

“I do like hiding. I also like playing with my doll.” She pondered. “Fine, we will play what you want but I get to pick next.”

“Just barely saved.” He thought. Blake started to count and she went hide.

“Remember to restrain yourself.” Aaron mocked. Blake turned to look at him with disgust.

“She’s a little girl. Besides I’d be more worried about what the spirits might do to me.” He shivered.

“You won’t be able to say that she’s a little girl in a few years, but I do agree about the spirits. Might be best to keep as little contact as possible.” He laughed.

Blake played hide and seek with Anna until she got tired and her family called her home. Being decently fatigued himself, he went to sleep early only to be woken up early the next day.