(5) Party With the Slimes

'This would be a strange sight for someone first waking up. I look like I'm out here stomping on different colored jello.'

Level 2 only gave him 3 AP, which he decided to save for now. Even kicking around four or five Slimes at once, his HP was replenished as fast as it was taken.

'Grimoire, are these Slimes supposed to be this weak?'

:User has woken up early. At the appointed time, these Slimes should reach between Levels 3 and 5. They are currently only Level 1. The slimes in the center will be stronger than these in the outer area:

'Couldn't you have told me this before?'

:As User gains Levels, Grimoire has access to more information:

'Ah, I see.'

It hadn't taken long to kill the 15 Slimes, so he continued killing more, making a small dent in the few hundred Slimes in the area.

'1.. 5.. 20.. 30.. 45.. 60' After the 60th Slime, Taylor received a new prompt from his Grimoire.

:User Geth has reached Level 5. Gained 5 AP, 1 SP, 1 TP. First Talent available:

The Grimoire then turned to page 2, where there were two options available.

:Talents available;

Option 1: Thick Skin - User has an aptitude for taking damage with a grain of salt. Grants 1% extra physical resistance.

Option 2: Mana Sense - User has grown a small Mana pool. To access this pool, and learn future abilities, User must be able to sense Mana:

"Although I don't want to pass up Option 1, I'll definitely be taking Option 2. I mean, who in the right mind would pass up the opportunity to use magic!" Taylor said, talking out loud to his Grimoire without caring about the slimes inching towards him. They were barely moving at a snail's pace.

As soon as the thought was finished, he was felt a breeze brush by and start to spiral around him. His beard blew up in his face from the pressure.

'How inconvenient.' He chuckled, closing his eyes and trying to feel if there was a difference. 'It's almost as if I can feel a very light breeze moving around me...' He reached out towards one of the thin currents and felt that he could slightly guide it. Out of curiosity, he used it to draw a few circles in the air.

While starting the third circle, he felt his mind begin to feel the cooling sensation from his initial level up. As the third circle finished...

*BOOOOMMMMM*

An unseen force pressed outwards from the tip of his finger, causing a small explosion. He was thrown back well over 20 yards, tumbling head over heels.

His wrist snapped backward while multiple abrasions and contusions appeared over his body. Blood was pouring from the cuts on his forehead, arms, and legs.

"Aggghh fuck!" This wasn't nearly as bad as the pain from his skin ripping off but damn if it didn't hurt. 'Fuck. I definitely can't walk.' He looked towards the Slimes to make sure that they couldn't take advantage of his wounded state.

To his surprise, a large chunk of the Slime army had dispersed. Cores were lying everywhere. Once that threat was confirmed to be out of the way, he looked at his injuries.

'I definitely should have broken more than just my wrist from that tumbling.' The Grimoire floated in front of his face.

:User has invested in Defense. Bones, skin, tendons, etc. are more difficult to penetrate or break. User has suffered from Magical Backlash. This can occur by drawing a Rune incorrectly, attempting to use a Spell that costs too much MP, or a mixture of both:

Taylor tried blinking away the blood running out of his eyes while reading the Grimoire. He could barely concentrate. 'I'm going to end up bleeding out long before the others wake up.' He thought.

Before his eyes closed, he noticed new words appear on his Grimoire as he struggled to remain conscious and focused.

:User has reached Level 6 and has acquired 17 unused Attribute Points. Allocating these into Defense will increase your physical recovery speed exponentially while putting some into Wisdom will increase your magic resistance and allow your body to expel the Mana Poisoning faster:

'Oh great, Mana Poisoning too?!?! Put 10 in Defense and the rest in Wisdom.'

As soon as he said this he felt a surge of warmth throughout his body and a strong chilling sensation inside of his mind and behind his eyes. This time there was no pain, only a refreshing feeling.

The pain from his injuries hadn't gone away, but it had dulled. He opened his eyes and wiped away some of the blood with the back of his unbroken hand. The blood leaking from his injuries had slowed to a trickle.

He watched as a long cut on his forearm stopped bleeding completely and a scab was building across it at a speed visible to the naked eye. 'Well, it isn't super regeneration or anything, but I should be healed within 3 or four hours. This really is amazing!'

:Defense has the hidden attribute of increasing HP recovery, while Wisdom has the hidden attribute of increasing MP recovery. There are many hidden abilities for each attribute, though I can only learn deeper information in the Talent levels:

'Did you say "I"?'

:Yes, I do possess my own intellect. Looking at your history, I suppose a Grimoire could be comparable to what you call artificial intelligence. When you learn, so do I. When you grow, so do I. In a way, you and I are one, but we still carry our own individualities:

"Interesting, then should I just talk to you out loud like this?" Taylor asked while thinking about the implications behind what his Grimoire had told him.

:There is no need. We share the same mind in a way. The feeling that there is something extra there is me, while I can feel something similar in regards to you: