Chapter 1: CHAPTER 1 – Spiders & Acid

I was always told your entire life flashes before your eyes at this moment. Instead, I dreamt of another world, a world filled with magic!

“Did’s its works, m-mistress?”

“Another failure, I’m afraid.”

My beautiful dream evaporated as I overheard two individuals speaking. The first sounded like a nasal-infected old man. The other had a seductive voice I found alluring as if Elisabeth Hurley was whispering into my ear. I’ve always had a thing for accents. Normally I wouldn’t care so much about someone’s voice, but oddly enough, that was the only thing I could do since I could not see. Oh god, am I blind?

How am I alive…? Wait, how did I die again? I’m so confused… I am alive, aren’t I? But something’s off... My body felt as if it were suspended in thick fluid, with each limb and nerve feeling numb and tingly. Oh god, I can’t move either! It doesn’t help that I’m so thirsty that it’s almost maddening! Perhaps the nurse could get me something to drink? However, as I tried to ask for some water, no sound escaped my lips.

“What’re wents wrongs, m-mistress?”

“The corpse wasn’t powerful enough to contain the summoned soul. Olin, return the girl’s body to the farmlands where you found it. We can’t have the elves or humans searching this deep into the forest for her and risk stumbling upon the dungeon ruins. If Lord Demidicus doesn’t, the Order will surely coffin me for a century or two if we compromise this location. Take the boy’s body as well. Make it appear as if a griffin mauled them. And Olin, retrieve me two more. Preferably not children this time. Their containers are too weak for what I need.”

“What’re abouts ones of those’s g-goblins, m-mistress?”

“Regrettably, Olin, it will suffer the same results. The necromancing ritual I’m using seems to shatter the container from the inside. I need a sturdier corpse, preferably a high-level adventurer or the like. Oh, what I would give to dig my fangs into a high-level healer and use their corpse. I might even be able to turn our summoned soul into a high-leveled lich with a container like that. Mmm, the wicked deeds we could do together.

“Hmm… Better yet! Olin, take Vorigan and Niamh with the skeleton army and raid Elsternwick to the east. Bring me their corpses and any living prisoners you can capture; I’m feeling a little famished. And Olin, ensure it appears as if it were a border skirmish from the south.”

“As’s commands. And’s m-mistress, wheres the’s s-summons soul is?”

“What?!”

What the hell were they talking about? This has to be some kind of cruel joke! Where am I? What’s going on? I could hear things starting to be flung about as metal and wood collided with stone and glass. God, I wish I could see what is going on! Before I could finish my next thought, for the first moment since awakening, I felt something other than the biting numbness. The sensation was odd, as if something were guiding me up, like a rollercoaster, then I felt a sudden jerk as if I was being thrown. Everything came to an abrupt halt with a sickening splat.

You have taken 8 points of [Blunt] damage. Current Health: 32 out of 40

What. The. Fuck?! Everything hurt as my mind spun. I felt like I was smeared across the ground by a freight train. To top things off, I couldn’t tell if I was reading a system notification or hallucination. This is what I get for reading too much manga! Thankfully the pain was drifting away as the numbness rolled back in.

I tried and failed to stand, but I was thankful I could at least move if wabbling on my belly counted. It took all I had to crawl, but something was wrong with it. The numbness and the darkness worked together like a sensory deprivation tank. As I low crawled on the ground in the murky fog of my new reality, I felt a firm surface scrap my back. The sensation was still a detached feeling, but for an odd reason, I was reminded of the time I wiggled under my bed as a child while playing hide and seek.

You have taken 0 points of [Poison] damage. Current Health: 32 out of 40

Poison? What’s going on?! I need to get out of here! Relief washed over me as I felt something large enough to scale up to stand. If I was going to die again, I wasn’t going to take it lying down. However, I quickly found the thing melting beneath my weight as I climbed it. At first, it was like sinking into a beanbag chair, but it quickly became more like cotton candy as it dissolved underneath me. I don’t know why, but I can taste sugar…

You have defeated a [Trounce Spider].

LEVEL UP! You are now level 1. 1 Ability Point Awarded. 1 Spell Point Awarded. 1 Attribute Point Awarded. Racial Skill Unlocked: [Absorb]

Do you wish to [Absorb] [Trounce Spider]? Yes / No

Oh god, that feels good… Wait? What? No. No. NO! I’ve died and been sent to hell! That has to be it. Only hell would tease me with my own Isekai reincarnation, only for me to have eaten a freaking spider somehow. Alright, Blake, you can figure this out! I’ve watched enough people stream Pathfinder and watched enough anime to know what to do. That counts as life experience, right?

Let’s analyze this, I can’t speak, and I’m blind. My body feels weird and numb, almost like I have no limbs but can still crawl. A freaking spider just liquefied beneath me. Eww, Gross! It wasn’t a wolf or something big, but a spider, maybe tarantula size, which means I’m probably tiny. So there’s the riddle, what am I? Please don’t be a mimic chest!

If I’ve learned anything from being a goth nerd obsessed with anime, there is always a character sheet... I hope! Hmph, let’s get this over with. Please be something good—[Status]!

Name: Blake Race: Slime Subrace: Black Pudding Class: Dungeon Monster Level: 1 Unspent Spell Points: 1 Unspent Ability Points: 1 Unspent Attribute Points: 1 Health: 40 / 40 Mana: 160 / 160 Stamina: 40 / 40 Strength: 1 Dexterity: 2 Constitution: 2 Intelligence: 8 Wisdom: 5 Charisma: 0	Racial Skills: [Corrosive] [Absorb] Spells: None Abilities: [Veil Polyglot] Vulnerabilities: [Fire] [Holy] Immunities: [Acid] [Poison] [Disease] [Darkness]	Unique: [Restricted] [Restricted] [Restricted] Unlockable: [Stellar Void]
Do you wish to [Absorb] [Trounce Spider]? Yes / No You are reading story BLACK PUDDING [Isekai/LitRPG] at novel35.com

Crap, I’m a slime, even worse, a black pudding! Aren’t those the worst type of slimes? Maybe I should have listened to my mom and been less of an introvert. This has to be a punishment.

“Ugh! Olin, check the soul crystals on the shelves over there! The summoned soul couldn’t have gone far.”

“Y-yeses, m-mistress.”

I could feel the reverberations of approaching footsteps, but I was still locked in perpetual darkness. My mind was drawn back to the [Absorb] notification, and despite my revulsion for spiders, I mentally clicked, yes. What I would give to see. Heck! What I would give to lose this cotton candy taste in my mouth. Do I even have a mouth?

[Absorb] [Trounce Spider] Successful. New Status Bounces and Unlocks are Awarded.
+ 1 Strength + 1 Dexterity + 0 Constitution + 0 Intelligence + 0 Wisdom - 1 Charisma	Unlockable: [Mana Sight] [Venomous] [Spider Walk] [Silk Webbing]

A negative in charisma? That’s not fair! After glancing back through my status sheet, I was horrified that my charisma was, in fact, negative. What the shit?! I knew I lacked people skills, but a negative in charisma was a bit insulting. Yet, if I had eyes, they would have been bulging out of my head at all those new skill options! Do I even have a head? Huh, anyways, who needs charisma when you can walk on walls!

“M-mistress, these’s crystals are’s empties.”

“Ugh, get Niamh. It loathes me to admit that I need that soul sucker and her [Soulsense] ability. Losing our dark champion is not an option if we are to survive this era.”

“Ates once’s, m-mistress.”

Dark champion, oh hell no! And did she just say soul sucker? I might have been an antisocial goth chick. Maybe a strong argument could be made for emo, but I’m not evil, am I? Okay, focus, Blake. Glancing through the unlockables, I was drawn to mana sight. Anything that could help me see was what I needed right now.

[Mana Sight] 1st Tier – Type: Spell – Passive Gain the ability to perceive the world around you through innate magic. Gain basic awareness of everything within a 3-meter radius. Effectiveness greatly diminishes for every 1 meter beyond the initial 3 meters. Cost: 1 Spell Point Unlock? Yes / No

Regaining my sight was my first priority. I was blind, and [Mana Sense] was pretty clear it would fix that. There was no second-guessing or reconsidering needed. I didn’t even need to know what the other options were before mentally clicking, yes.

It was like a fog was lifted as the ability took effect, and I started to regard the world around me. The only problem was the around me portion. I had a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view, and it was nauseating. A horrible memory of throwing up at the State Fair came to mind. Thinking back, I’m amazed we didn’t get kicked out of the Fair after I had hurled all over everyone on one of those stupid circular spinning rides. I had sworn off carnival rides after that, even refusing to go to Disney Land when I was fifteen because of my hatred for the rides. And here I was, feeling like I was going to collapse while spewing my guts out. I hate my new life!

You have taken 0 points of [Poison] damage. Current Health: 40 out of 40

Damn spiders! I didn’t care why my health was full after taking that painful [Blunt] damage. Instead, I tried to eye the seven approaching spiders—no, nine! My world was murky and wide open as if I was in a dimly lit stadium being spun around in circles. And still, it was better than being blind. I could see everything, and yet I couldn’t focus on anything. That’s when I noticed the black sludge or, rather, my tar-like body. As I moved, globs of black slop shot out like tentacles. I was revolted with myself. Admittedly, I was never pretty. I was always the short and curvy girl with a permanent resting bitch face. Add some sunless skin, green-dyed hair, and black lipstick. Also, throw in a shit load of tattoos, and you have yourself the former Blake Lyanna Jefferson. I wish I could go back to being her…

You have taken 0 points of [Poison] damage. You have taken 0 points of [Poison] damage. You have taken 0 points of [Poison] damage. Current Health: 40 out of 40

Before I could even run or crawl away, three spiders leaped on top of me. They were huge or at least compared to me. Like before, I felt a sudden delight as the taste of cotton candy flowed into me. Despite dissolving three of their comrades, the remaining six weren’t deterred as they pounced on top of me one after the other. Idiots! And like my previous victims, each one disintegrated into me like cotton candy in water, and the sensation tasted wonderful. Oh no, I’m eating spiders and enjoying it—YUCK! I would cry right now if I could…

You have defeated 9 [Trounce Spiders].

LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! You are now level 4. 3 Attribute Points Awarded.

Where are my spell and ability points, or even the [Absorb] option? I couldn’t help but feel robbed as I glared at the notification. That’s when I noticed something interesting. I was glaring at the notification… In other words, I was focusing on the notification despite having a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree nauseating field of view.

[Mana Sight] upgraded to 2nd Tier.

 

Like jumping into a refreshing shower, my nausea flowed off of me like water. Ah, so much better. My field of view hadn’t changed, but I could now focus on what I wanted. It was like selective tunnel vision or, better yet, how phone videos get those blurry framed edges when played on a computer. However you explained it, it was a welcomed relief.

“M-mistress, eyes are’s r-r-r-returned’s wishes Niamh’s.

“Slow down, Olin. Don’t rush yourself when speaking. I would hate to replace you so soon.”

“Y-yeses, M-mistress.”

“Niamh, if you would.”

“Aurelia, if I would, what?”

I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know they were searching for me. Listening to their conversation sent shivers down my… Spine? Maybe there’s a mouse hole in the wall like those old cat and mouse cartoons. Oddly enough, I didn’t need to move to glance around myself to notice there weren’t any holes in the wall. At least I confirmed I was underneath a set of shelves, not a bed if that was any help.

I crept to the edge of the shelf and spied on the three of them. The first looked like a zombie or ghoul. His flesh looked like it was in various decomposing stages. Oh, god, I can smell him—wait, why does it feel like I’m salivating? What the fuck is wrong with me?!

Pulling my lingering gaze away from a potential meal… NO! Pulling my attention away from the ghoul, I stared at the other two simultaneously despite them being on opposite sides of the room. I felt like I was going crosseyed, and yet I couldn’t stop myself.

One woman wore black and red trimmed robes that shimmered like silk in candlelight. She had long black hair, pale skin, almost ghostly white, rosy red lips, and stunning red eyes… I think I’m in love! She must be Aurelia.

The other wasn’t what I was expecting. I found the woman to be gorgeous but in a demonic sort of dangerous way. Her wardrobe looked more like a dominatrix’s lingerie than clothes. She had light gray skin and a long tail. What surprised me was the set of antelope-like horns protruding from her long shiny pink hair and the wings coming out from behind her curvy hips. And that has to be Niamh—holy shit, those breasts are enormous!

“Niamh, would you be so kind as to use your oversized snout to sniff out a wandering soul?”

Even I felt the venom in those words. The two looked like they wanted to kill each other. That is probably why they remained on opposite sides of the room. Like a predator stalking their prey, I noticed a subtle movement, and my attention snapped to the mouth-watering meal, worming his way back to Aurelia’s side, almost protectively. Damnit, Blake, focus!

I could hear the teeth grinding a brief moment before the demoness spoke. “And why tell is this soul so important, Aurelia? It’s not like you to give a damn about a lowly soul.”

“Niamh, that is unimportant.”

“Oh, but it is, seeing as she’s currently observing us. I do have to admit, that’s an interesting vessel you’ve chosen for her. So, Aurelia, what’s stopping me from devouring your little pet?”

“YOU WOULDN’T DARE!”

“Oh, but I would if I’m not given a reason not to.”

The room suddenly darkened despite the candles still flickering. An otherworldly presence swept into me as if a thousand needles were stabbing me at once. And at the center of it was Aurelia.

You have taken 0 points of [Darkness] damage. Current Health: 40 out of 40

“Your reason is your life. Harm that soul, and I’ll be feasting on demon blood this night!”

“Ha! Hahaha! You’re so cute when angry, Aurie. Don’t worry that pretty necromancer head of yours. Your pet is below that shelf there. But do be careful; she is so very tiny. Ta-ta!”

Niamh turned and strolled out of the room, hips swaying, as she laughed the entire time. As she went, I returned my concentration to Aurelia, whose red-eyed gaze was upon me. SHHHIT!

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