16 Chapter 16: Slimes = ???
Before Damian could ponder over the origin of the sound...
The slime's body stopped moving, losing its football-like shape and transforming into a water balloon-like one. The tentacles holding his hand loosened and the slime slid down.
The moment Damian's eyes caught this scene, his right hand advanced forward, catching the falling slime in mid-air, he put it in his inventory at a speed he himself never thought was possible.
"Brave, run!" The moment the slime disappeared, Damian didn't wait for a single breath and, turning west, ran away.
Brave stood still, glaring at the slime. The sheen in her eyes intensified for a second before returning to normal. Turning towards her master, she followed his example, fleeing the scene.
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*Pant! Pant!*
Supporting himself on the tree, Damian wasn't panting because of the sprint, since that was no longer something tiring for him who had invested in stamina. The reason for his exhaustion was his left hand leaking blood.
Trying to lift his left hand, Damian wasn't able to find the strength or courage to do it.
"Uhhh!" Groaning, Damian took the last health potion out of his inventory. Looking at the bright green liquid, Damian was reluctant to drink it.
The health potion in his inventory always gave Damian a sense of safety, and now if he drank it, it would be gone till the next time he leveled up.
*Gulp!*
Releasing another sigh, Damian gulped the potion down.
Closing his eyes at the familiar feeling of calmness, when Damian reopened them, he was greeted by the sight of the always energetic Brave sitting silently in a corner.
"What's the matter, Brave?" Opening his status for the first time after leveling up, Damian put it on hold, inquiring about Brave's problem.
*Squeak!*
Getting the defeated squeak instead of the energetic one as a response, Damian was about to call her when...
*Ding!*
«New material: 1 Slime found!»
«11.5 spirits detected in the collection!»
«Processing...»
«Creation list updated!»
A series of system messages popped up, bringing his attention to the system panel
*Sigh!*
Sighing yet another time, Damian massaged his temple. Preparing himself for the next item made from slime meat using God knows what method, he opened the system panel to the right.
-----//-----
[ ‹Quest› «Inventory» ‹Messages› ]
>----
[ ‹Storage› «Forge» ]
>----
[ Spirits: 11.5 ]
[ Materials (16M):- ]
[ ‹F› Wild rat X 15 ]
[ ‹E› Slime X 1 ]
-
[ Possible creations:- ]
‹1 liter drinkable water: 5M > 1M›
‹E- Comfortable underwear: 7M > 6M›
‹E- Comfortable vest: 9M > 8M›
‹E- Leather shirt: 15M > 13M›
‹E- Leather pants: 11M > 10M›
‹E- Knee guard: 8M›
‹F+ Drager: 20M›
‹Basic Health potion (20%): 5M›
-----//-----
Reading the list carefully, the first thing Damian noticed was the decreased number of Ms required for the creation. The '1-liter drinkable water', which required 5M before, has been reduced to 1M, and so on.
Before Damian thought of the possible reasons, the item at the end of the list took all his doubts away, replacing them with excitement.
Damian's lips expressed his feelings by rising up. Looking at the item, he had a single thought in mind, 'If it is what I think it is... Then...', the journey ahead would be a relaxing one for him, at least that's what he thought.
*Phew!*
Out of habit, Damian took a deep breath, calming his heart as he tried to confirm his doubts.
"System, why has the number of Ms required for forging been reduced for some ite... creations?" A silence followed. Just when Damian thought of changing the question...
«The more suitable materials are used, the fewer Ms are required for forging.»
The confusing system cleared his doubts. Reading the answer, Damian had an odd look. Slime was the new material here... so, 'Slime used to generate water is one thing, but, how and where can it be used to make an underwear?' Damian didn't know and wasn't very eager to either.
Dropping the matter, Damian asked the most important question, "What does the twenty percent in front of the health potion mean?"
«'20%' in front of the item 'Basic health potion' denotes the forged portion of creation.»
Damian wanted to jump in the air with his fist held high. The prospect of creating a health potion, his lifeline, made his heart thump with excitement.
"Does that mean I can creat- forge a health potion if I have four more slimes?" Though Damian knew the answer and was sure he was most probably right, he wanted to make sure.
However, the system's silence did little to make Damian sure of his assumption.
'Of course! One hundred percent means whole, and twenty percent means one-fifth. It is screaming, "Kill four more slimes and get a potion."' Answering his, Damian took the body of slime out.
The dead slime was like a water balloon, the body was soft and cozy, and if it weren't for the creepy round eyes, Damian might have considered using it as a pillow.
Turning the slime, Damian examined the body carefully, trying to find the source of the cracking sound. After a minute or so of searching, he finally found the thing he was looking for.
A transparent ball the size of a rubber ball was present in the body of the slime, floating somewhere in the fluid inside of the slime. The ball was almost invisible. If not for the bright afternoon sun highlighting the crack in the middle of the ball, Damian would never have been able to spot it.
'So that's your lifeline, Mister Slime, resistant to all physical damage.' With a chuckle, Damian got up. Storing the body back in his inventory, he picked up a pebble beside him. Throwing it in the air, his hand caught it again, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Time for preparations." With those words, Damian left somewhere in the woods, leaving the silent Brave behind.
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"Come on, parasites." Cupping his hands around his mouth, Damian shouted. "Come on, cuties, I am waiting for you." With another shout, Damian stood with his hands folded.
Under the evening sky, Damian stood fearless in the same place he had once escaped from, the place where he had encountered his first slime.
Boing! Boing! Boing!
As Damian stood there in silence, the sound of slimes jumping was soon heard. From behind the trees, stone, shrubs, from between the grass, one after another, slimes jumped out, advancing to Damian's location.
"One, two... Seven in total." As Damian finished counting, the slimes finished reaching for him.
Soon, all seven pairs of eyes were locked on Damian as the owner of the eyes leaped at him.
In response to the airborne slimes, centimetres away from him, Damian raised both his hands in the air.
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