Resilience

Blurp! Blurp!

The slimes moved to Zeid at single hops. Each had a distinct color and element. Red for fire, blue for water, orange for earth, and a slightly blue for air. These slimes surround him in an arc, giving Zeid space behind his back.

Zeid could run since there's a leeway for him to escape but that would only mean death for him. As told, Zeid has to complete one quest today, or otherwise, he loses everything.

A one-way ticket without return.

There are two ways for Zeid to complete one of his quests to avoid his imminent end. One, reach Capital City today although it's days away on foot, or he could simply kill all three hundred slimes.

They were everywhere; the trees, the mounds on the ground, the miry mud, the dirt path, and anywhere that covers Zeid's peripheral vision.

"Come!" Zeid roared as he prepared himself for a beating.

With one roar of challenge, the slimes began to jolt at him with speed. Like an arrow, they strafe towards him with killing intent, thanks to his aggro skill.

Normally, slimes are harmless but when they are in groups, they become bothersome.

The slimes mold and shoot their viscous body like punches. Zeid did his best to dodge and evade their wallop but most still hit him.

One assault managed to hit him and Zeid floundered. Only then he realized there was no pain.

"I'm sure that would've hurt. I guess [Pain Tolerance] came in pretty handy."

He remained composed despite such a dilemma. He glared at the slimes one by one and launched his attacks.

Bam!

Zeid kicked the slime and it only moved three feet away.

"Damn this frail body! Out of all the ages you could've chosen, and you, Lilie, chose my eighteenth out of my 21 years of existence! The year after my muscles atrophied from all that gaming!" He ranted in his mind.

"Master, duck!" Altair roared.

Zeid was quick enough to act before a slime could have whacked him in the face. Zeid ducked and the slime brushed past him.

"Without a stronger stat, I won't be able to kill one in just ten minutes. I need a weapon. Altair?"

"I'm scanning the surroundings for a tool to aid you."

Zeid could feel his senses expand for a moment. Acuity stat, this is what's responsible for this unprecedented feeling.

"There! There's a rusty knife plunged in the dirt behind that tree!"

"What tree, Altair?! We don't share the same conscience! Be specific!"

"The one behind the orange slime that's wiggling!"

Zeid punched, ducked, kicked, and threw slimes that pounced at him. He made way towards the orange slime.

"Those slimes are obnoxious!" Altair vexed.

"I know. I'm the one trying to survive from them after all."

Soon, Zeid reached the orange slime that strangely trembled for unknown reasons. Oblivious to the imminent threat, he went to take the knife behind the tree. The handle is protruding from the dirt and as he reached for it, the ground trembled then spikes popped out.

Luckily the spikes didn't cause any serious wounds and only glazed the palm of his hands. If pain was present, Zeid would've winced.

Startled, he let out a small gasp but eventually, he came back to his senses and pulled out the knife. The knife, rusty and old, seemed to remain sharp despite its current age.

He took no time to waste and impaled the orange slime which was nearest to him. The slime frothed then popped like a water balloon and smeared the ground with its viscous fluids.

The spike that formed near the burial of the rusty knife toppled into rubbles of dirt and returned to earth.

"That slime was the one responsible for the spikes? I have to confirm."

Zeid was about to turn around when a white mist billowed from the lifeless monster. Then a panel appeared above.

[Orange Slime Soul]

His eyes gleamed and curiosity boiled on his veins. He could feel a tinge of excitement, something nostalgic. A feeling similar to how he had bought a new game that he couldn't wait to play.

"Grab it, master! And gulp it down!"

Without thinking twice, Zeid swept the mist and held it within his right hand. The strange mist felt somehow like a pillow, soft yet strange.

He didn't hesitate to slug down the mist.

"If my stomach gets upset, I'll regret it later. Right this moment, there's no reason for me to hesitate."

Gulp!

[Soul Transfusion]

Vitality: 2

His vitality raised one. But that tiny improvement was bigger than he'd expect from it.

The wounds on his hands and bruises on his skin, slowly healed. Even the crack on his teeth was fixed.

[Gained New Skill!]

[Damage Resistance +5%]

"I was expecting a skill as the slime did cast, but there's no room for hesitation. Gotta move fast!" He thought.

With the knife in his hand, he wonders if he could deliver blows skillfully. The preceding assault will prove it.

Blop! Blop! Blop!

Three slimes propelled towards him.

Slash!

He swung the knife in an arc, alas, the knife didn't exactly reach the slimes.

Three slimes pelted him and rammed at his head, chest, and abdomen. His position rasped the ground meters away from the attack.

"Your dexterity is too low to be able to execute attacks with precision. It's better to find a hole from their attacks and strike." Altair suggested.

Zeid nodded.

"I can see it. They would bop for several seconds before launching an attack. Probably doing it to propel themselves. I can attack as soon as they land and prepare for another attack."

The slimes began to undulate before they launch their next attack. The blue slime unleashed a whip-like attack and Zeid turned left to evade the attack. The red slime jumped towards him with a kindled body and he ducked. The red slime brushed over him, and the lighter blue slime propelled towards him.

Zeid managed to grab the lighter blue slime, stabbed it, and threw it at the red slime to deter its preparation. The blue slime seemed to be slow in preparation and he managed to pounce in time and slay the slime.

Without a second to waste, Zeid grabbed the blue slime's soul and consumed it.

[Damage Reduction 5%->10%]

Vitality: 3

Zeid could feel still energetic. Like his energy consumed from all the action, he'd had done was replenished in an instant.

Zeid turned to the stunning red slime and threw his knife at it. Just like how he'd figured, he missed.

"Well, it was worth a shot." He scratched his head.

The red slime pounced and together with five more slimes. Zeid ducked and dashed to the knife as he grabbed the lighter blue slime's soul and devoured it.

[Damage Reduction 10%->15%]

Caught his attention on the notification panel, the four slimes sneakily ambushed him. This time, Zeid didn't notice them. As if all the damage that had done was nullified.

The red slime that he had eyes on jumped towards him and caught it by his hand. With a quick stab of the knife, the red slime goes limp like an airless balloon.

[Damage Reduction 15%->20%]

[Level Up!]

Level: 2

Vit: 3

Cha: 1

Str: 2

Agi: 2

Dex: 2

Int: 2

Acu: 2

Flo: 2

Available Points: 5

[End]

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Each time you level, your base stats increase by 1 and you gain 5 points for improving them."

The changes were subtle but he felt them. He could feel his body became much lighter and the mana flowing in his body improved. He could feel the knife in his hand lose a bit of weight.

He threw his knife again, still missed the target but it was better than the last one.

Beep!

[Congratulations On Absorbing Four Elemental Slimes!]

[Gained 4 New Skills!]

[Kindle Shot]

-Shoot a small ball of flame from your fingertips. The fire will spread immediately upon contact with the enemy.

[Create Water]

-Create water out of thin air.

[Earth Modification]

-Bend earth at your will.

[Bouyant]

-Be able to levitate a few feet.

[End]

"Note, using skills consumes mana from your body. You can feel your energy weaken as you use them. Be careful when using skills, because if you lose all of your mana, you will blackout from Mana Fatigue." Altair warned.

Impressed, Zeid smiled and closed his panels. He nodded in reply to Altair and began to return to his work.

"6 more hours until the deadline." He said.

The past 5 hours was mundane. Now that he was Level 2, slimes didn't bother him as much.

As he cleared 25, he leveled up to 3. He kept on his slaughter that pushed his level to 5. He remained resilient and as he felt exhaustion, he invigorated himself with the souls at his disposal. He continued until his level couldn't raise any longer.

There were times when the slimes began to run away, and he had to use [Weaklings!] again to draw them back to him.

The forest became dark as soon as the night curtains the sky. The forest was surprisingly conceivable thanks to the floras and fungi illuminating the dark. Midnight was drawing nigh, about an hour away and Zeid was down to 1 last slime.

[Sub-Quest!]

Survival

Enemies Slain: 299/300

[End]

"Daily Quest is ending soon, Master. You'd better hasten or otherwise, you'll lose everything. And I somehow, don't want to lose you."

"Somehow? How about not wanting to lose me because you don't want to. But don't worry, I'm on in. Seems like [Weaklings!] won't aggro it. That would also mean it's a higher level than mine." Zeid figured.

With his acuity at 5, he could feel his surroundings much better. He could feel strong auras that helped him avoid strong encounters through the night which is the time that monsters are much more deadly.

He was able to register to his mind how the slimes' auras felt. He began to jump from trees to trees, with the help of [Buoyant], probing for his final enemies.

There were howls at the distance. Probably the dire wolves hunting at this time.

Just as Zeid probed from the tree, he felt the aura of his target. Without hesitation, he leaped off from the branch. With a knife on his hand, he landed on his enemy hiding under the thickets.

"Iyaaaaah!"

Just as he was about to stab, the point of his blade stopped at the skin of his enemy. His eyes widen and his ambush halted.

There was no problem at all. His enemy was right in front of him. But he seemed hesitant to deliver its end. To reassure himself, the being pinned before him is in fact a living slime and the one he supposed to kill.

But for some reason, he cannot deliver the deed.

"S-slime..."

"Iyaaaaah! Get off me!" The monster thrashed, trying to fend off Zeid.

"...girl?"

"Please! Don't hurt me! Iyaaaaah!" She wailed.