15 One Punch

"Surely, you know how to do that."

"Yeah."

Lyrica dragged the hologram projection to the corner of her eyes with her left hand. The projection shrank in size, allowing Lyrica to see what was in front without hindrance.

"In the online games I played, you can gain experience or EXP by doing some quests or clearing mobs in certain areas."

Lyrica turned her head to the aqua slime in the near distance.

"I guess I should go and kill some to level up."

"You took the words right out of my mouth!"

The voice replied with an elated tone.

"Do you even have a mouth?"

Lyrica had been wondering about it ever since she started conversing with the voice. Only this time she found the chance to speak her thoughts.

"Of course, I have." The voice answered. "It's just that I'm in a place far from where you are so I had to communicate using telepathy."

"How far exactly?" Lyrica asked while twirling her left finger around her silky, jet-black hair. "Like you're on another planet or something?"

"Something like that."

"Huh... do you think the place where you are now is far peaceful and less troublesome than this one?"

Lyrica started moving forward.

"Believe me, Alteria is the safest world you could ever go to right now."

"Is that so..." Lyrica doubted.

She could feel the sincerity in the voice's words. But even then, she couldn't help but think that Alteria is just as troublesome as Earth, considering that more bizarre and dangerous beings are roaming the land.

"It doesn't look like you believe me one bit."

"Well... I kinda stopped believing everyone at some point."

On the way, Lyrica thought of a way to attract the aqua slime to her without taking the other creatures' attention.

But before she made her move, another hologram image appeared. This time, however, it appeared right on top of the creature she was trying to approach.

Lyrica stopped and looked at the text which was highlighted in green.

[Aqua Slime - Lv. 2]

Lyrica whispered, "Apparently, my level is only at zero."

"That's right."

The voice replied, imitating Lyrica's tone.

"That aqua slime is level two, but its name is highlighted in green."

There is a concept in some online games where a player can tell if they can take on a monster based on the color of the name hanging over or under the creature.

From what Lyrica remembered, a monster with its identity highlighted in green are creatures that she can take on without much concern. The red ones are at a level where defeating them would be more than difficult, and the orange ones are in between the two.

Lyrica wanted to know if her guess was right. And so she asked the voice.

"Well? Do they work that way?"

"Yes, it follows the same function as that of a game."

"I see, thank you."

Lyrica got the answer she wanted to hear. She gathered the confidence to quietly approach the aqua slime once more.

Back when she was being chased by the mob of slimes, Lyrica figured that slimes don't have eyes to see and would only follow the nearest sound around them. On top of that, Lyrica got a grasp on how loud of a sound she needed to attract the slimes that are over ten meters away from her.

With that knowledge in hand, Lyrica approached the aqua slime like a lioness stalking her prey.

"Why are you being so cautious?" The voice curiously asked the stalking Lyrica. "It's just an aqua slime and it's only level two and highlighted in green."

Lyrica carried on, ignoring the voice's comments. Eventually, she reached the ten-meter distance where she can attract the monster to her.

"..."

Before anything else, she gave her surroundings one last look, confirming that there were no other slimes near her other than the aqua slime.

Using her left hand, she started making a soft rustling sound with the grass. Little by little, the sound increases in volume. And before long, the aqua slime picked up the bait.

"All right."

Boing~! Boing~!

The aqua slime began moving toward her direction, unaware that the noise it heard was nothing but a trap. An oblivious prey, serving itself on its predator.

"Now!"

Without hesitation, without second thoughts, Lyrica lunged and grabbed the monster with both hands, suspending the creature right against the ground.

Lyrica's arms trembled as the aqua slime attempted to break free.

"Now that I've touched one and got a closer look, these slimes are soft and bouncy."

"Lyrica, there's water swirling inside!"

Lyrica frowned as the aqua slime prepared to attack.

She has to be quick and eliminate the monster before it could shoot its swirling pool of water like before. Otherwise, the slimes in the vicinity will certainly come for her.

"But how am I going to kill it? With just a fist?"

"Do you really have the time to think about that now?"

Just when Lyrica has to be quick and decisive, the girl found herself in a dilemma.

"Can't my magic make something else other than my headphones?" Lyrica worriedly asked whilst holding the slime tight. "Can my magic make a knife, at least?"

"You desire to live in peace and without trouble, not to cause harm and violence!"

If she desired to cook or something else relating to a knife, she could have been summoned to Alteria with a sharp weapon in hand rather than a gadget on top of her head. But just like what the voice stated, Lyrica was brought in Alteria with a desire to live in peace and without trouble. And so, her magic manifested into a device that can help her achieve that desire.

"Ah, damn it."

Leaving her no choice, Lyrica rammed her fist against the aqua slime.

[You have defeated an Aqua Slime - Lv. 2]

[You received 220×2 EXP]