Ten xp points for one plant slime.

That was a tough sell for the work it took to defeat one slime here. I smiled at the result, regardless. The rock slime was some forty meters away from me. The fire slimes were twice as close.

An old book floated in front of me. Light emanated from the corners and gaps of the book. Running towards the rock slime, I grabbed the book and opened it.

I saw the picture of a baby.

Transfigured Inscription unlocked

Term 1: Do not kill the most harmless, most innocent, most vulnerable and weakest.

Failure to adhere to this term:

Followers of the Covenant of the Holy Mother will bring down retribution upon you.

The Covenant of the Holy Mother holds the record of living beings. The covenant knows which being is most liable to suffer pain. It does not discriminate within the same species.

Benefits

- You may use the covenant’s headquarters as a political asylum at any time. It is a neutral place.

- Benefit from increased healing powers

Accept [Term 1] of this covenant?

Yes

No

I wondered if monsters counted as vulnerable. I threw the golden goose at the rock slime. A damage of [-2] popped up. This rock was pretty durable, but slow. I pressed [no]. I pressed forward. I retrieved the gallon of gasoline from the ground. I ran from the fire slimes.

The page turned over on its own.

Transfigured Inscription unlocked

Term 1: Choose your battles wisely. Protect the weak.

Failure to adhere to this term:

Followers of the Covenant of the Warrior will bring down retribution upon you.

The Covenant of the Warrior has ironclad rules of power. Dissension is treated as concession for new recruits. Privacy is a myth if you are serious about preserving order.

Benefits

- The Covenant of the Warrior knows your enemies. That will be a huge advantage in battle.

- You can borrow its members for special expeditions.

Accept [Term 1] of this covenant?

Yes

No

I kicked the next plant slime on my path. [-4] damage showed above its head. This seemed to have startled the slime.

I pressed [No]. The Covenant of the Wise Fool came up.

I accepted this covenant’s first term.

Covenant application accepted

The Covenant of the Wise Fool has accepted your membership.

Congratulations!

Your status affiliation has been changed to that of the covenant.

The insignia of the Covenant of the Wise Fool has been inscribed on your wear.

‘Pray you are wiser than senile.’

Pending Tasks (1)

1

Visit The Great city to commune with the selected messenger.

This sounded vague.

I looked at my linen tunic. A black-and-white badge had been emblasoned on it. It was a Yin and Yang symbol, with a warrior holding a sword from the white side, and a shrouded figure holding a sickle from the other.

Wasn’t it just another warrior covenant in disguise?

I kicked the plant slime around like a ball. It had lost twenty more points. I thought that weird, then realized the plant slime had taken some fall damage. I gave the plant slime another kick. It crunched like cabbage. The plant slime dried up. It became brown. I ran away from it.

It exploded, after a while.

Plant slime defeated

Experience points

10+10/99

I ran up to the next shrub and hitched it from under the ground. The slime screamed with horror. My ears stung with pain. I lost ten health points. ‘Alright, so this one is a proverbial mandrake’, I thought.

It had a pudgy face. Its eyes were hollowed. It had a blotch of a nose. Its face looked more like that of a natural animal, like that of a feline cub. The creature oscillated its body. I was not sure what was up. I prepared to throw the mandrake slime away. Upon my forward swing, the mandrake slime latched its face upon my arm.

I felt the tension in my arm pull me forward. The knife chinked in my right pocket. I steadied my feet. I lowered and dropped the gallon. I pulled on the slime’s body, but found it to be sticky. That was one cheeky mandrake. I had nothing against babies – at least human babies and some selections.

I incurred twenty damage. 92.6/200 flashed in front of my eyes. My captive arm’s skin was hot and burned when it came into contact with air. This guy was like a sponge. Tendrils stretched out from within the slime, wrapping around my left arm. After three seconds, little pebble-like objects hanging from the tendrils popped.

It sounded like tiny explosions.

I felt like I had firecrackers about my arm. Consecutive damage of [-7] ripped at my health. 30.6/200 displayed. I punched the mandrake slime, dealing a damage of [3.5]. I retrieved my fist, feeling it sting.

I grabbed the mandrake again, and pulled at it. When I dropped my hold with the right arm, the mandrake inched inward. I held its grass-hair again. I wrestled free my left palm. I had 33.2/200 health points. I tore the upper sleeve of my tunic and grabbed the top of the mandrake’s body with my left hand.

I released my right-hand grip. I tore the slime off.

I kept my left arm slightly lowered, wide away from my body. I rotated and threw the mandrake slime at the fire slimes. Thankfully, it was light. It flew stoutly. The mandrake slime hit the fire slimes after skidding across the ground. The leaves at the top of its head burned off.

I could not see the damage the throw did. I lifted the gallon and backtracked.

The lead fire slime kept on course. The second fire slime blasted the mandrake slime, and turned to the lead fire slime. The mandrake slime flamed up. Shortly after, the flames simmered. The mandrake slime appeared scorched.

The mandrake jumped a few times, and stuck to the ground. I approached with caution. I thought I could see the mandrake sink. I lowered myself and dropped the gallon. I jogged forward. Confirming my doubts, I broke into a sprint.

The fire slimes threw bombs in my path. I avoided these. I got to the rock projectile I had used to kill the first plant slime. I lowered my body, and rotated. My hands went to the ground and lifted the projectile. My feet carried me to the mandrake slime.

A quarter of its body was left a-surface. I threw the rock projectile upon the mandrake slime. [-3.5] popped up, but the mandrake slime was still alive. I threw the projectile again.

Plant slime ‘mandrake’ defeated

The mandrake slime needs little water to thrives. It has high survivability in the Plain of Desolation.

Experience points

20 + 20/99

This one was instantaneous. I retreated from the corpse. The ground shortly imploded. It sounded like a cough – a subterranean cough.

The result was churned up soil. I cupped some soil. I grabbed the rock projectile and I covered the distance between me and the fire slimes. I threw the soil over one fire slime and jumped back. I jumped again, aiming for my right.

The attack was ineffective. The fire slimes blasted their furnace.

I took aim at one fire slime. I threw the rock projectile.