Chapter 6: 6. Garden of Eden (Part 1)

I limped/dragged myself closely to the walls, taking assurance from the fact I wasn’t stumbling blind in the dark. A little distance behind me, I could hear the lightning snap and shock the poor cubes the apex monster was taking its rage out on.

You started this whole thing. Ironic, wasn’t it? I wouldn’t have survived if the apex monster hadn’t awakened my Magic Points and enabled my Skills. Is that just for slimes, or do all monsters need an evolved version to do the same?

A pang of pain spliced through my gelatin body and I grimaced. Looking back, I saw a sad-looking trail of regurgitated green goo marking my path. It would be pitifully simple for any manner of creature to track me down, though that was the least of my worries. My mind was primarily occupied with the possibility the apex monster would venture into the hole to personally excavate my remains.

The chances were slim. I doubted it would hunt down a single, tiny slime, but it had proven to be surprisingly petty. Another glob of slime splattered to the ground and, along with it, a piece of my soul. I was beginning to understand my new physiology and how it interacted with my human mind. The slime which I’d so carelessly thrown away in my reckless efforts wasn’t simply singular parts of my body; they contained my soul as well.

I didn’t have a brain anymore, or at least I was fairly positive I didn’t. I was just a pile of slime molded into the form of a cube with a pair of appendages that seemed to come and go as it pleased. Thus begged the question: where was my consciousness located? The sole explanation I could come up with was that the root of my existence was contained inside the slime itself. What happens when I lose so much of my mass? Is every seemingly insignificant batch of goo, in reality, my essence dissipating into the ground? Even if I could recover, would I be the same Alex as before, with all the new slime replacing the old?

Slimes really were a peculiar brand of monsters. They were so fundamentally unique that as far as I knew, there weren’t any common ancestors we shared with any other creatures. Of course, the foreignity resulted in a critical lack of knowledge. Like what to do when you’ve lost ¾ of your body mass as a slime.

The beginnings of what promised to be a midlife existential crisis of which the likes of this world had never seen before (I doubted dying and turning into a monster was an everyday occurrence) were interrupted when an earth-shattering roar emanated from the pit. The ground upheaved, and I was flung from my position on the land, crashing into the wall.

I didn’t have a moment’s respite before a series of rumbles vibrated through the tunnel and I ricocheted off the wall, hitting another wall and bouncing back and forth. I was getting rag dolled, my tiny weight acting as a disadvantage in this case.

This brought back memories of playing ball when I was younger with Amara and Rob, except now I gained a newfound appreciation for all the crap we put the ball through.

The stifling darkness robbed me of my sight, leaving me subject to being unsure of when I would hit my next obstacle. A heart-pounding fear began to consume me and an intrepid voice whispered that every time I hit the wall, it would be the end of me. I’d simply pop and fade from existence.

Even with my visual sensory deprivation, I still heard the crickt-crakt sound that heralded cracks in the rock. The thought of the tunnel collapsing on top of me was terrifying enough, but the uncertainty of not seeing it made it ten times worse.

A blazing crimson light beamed from the pit hole and, for a brief second, it illuminated the tunnel. I spotted thousands of tiny cracks and dozens of larger splinters that ran the length of the passage, threatening the foundations. A glint of red from the ceiling caught my attention and after closer studies, I fancied I spotted a patch of metal buried under the rock. Before I could examine it any further, the light ratcheted up several notches and seared any thoughts of metal out of my mind.

The glaring flow crescendoed in intensity and for a singular second, I was confident it outshone the sun. Then a fresh wave of earth-shattering noises was set off, and several hundred tons of debris and minerals tumbled down. Within seconds, the entrance to the pit was completely blocked off and the last of the crimson light faded under the barrage of rocks.

A maelstrom of dust and ash swept from the impact and towards me. I crept as close to the ground as possible and weathered the minuscule sandstorm. Once it was all said and done, I was left with a thick layer of dust on my surfaces, which sent nerve endings into a prickling spree. A second later, the itchy ache was overshadowed by jolts of pain zipping through my body. Apparently, my pain receptors were just as sensitive as my human ones.

My metaphysical eyes snapped open. Shit, what’s my health at!? The fact I hadn’t popped yet signified I still had some modicum of health left, but last I checked, my health was at 2/10. A chill descended over me at the thought I could cease to exist at any second.

A part of me cowered at the prospect of checking, but the pulsating terror of not knowing when I’d die was enough incentive. I pulled the stat screen up, dreading the bolded letters.

Stats:

Magic Point (MP) : 6/15

Health Point (HP) : 2/10

Strength Point (SP) : 3/10

Endurance Point (EP) : 0/10

Agility Point (AP) : 1/5

I did the slime equivalent of letting out a sigh, my voluminous body juggling up and down. Even though I knew I had to at least have 1/10 HP, it was nonetheless gratifying to see it in print. Of course, it only took a couple of seconds for the relief to dissipate and the apprehension to sink in.

2/10?! Shit, I’m going to die any second! In all honesty, though, it was better than I expected. I’d been flung around the dungeon and bounced off the walls half a dozen times. None of the hits had been pleasant, my aching body could attest to that. With all that taken into account, my health should probably be in the negative range.

Maybe it was the System acting up? A rule that dictated whenever someone was on their last legs, it required much more to get that last Health Point down? Whatever the case, I wanted to kiss the person who made that component because it was the sole thing keeping me alive.

I wasn’t out of the woods yet. 2/10 made for a chilling figure. I needed to eat, and fast.

I assessed my situation. The glaring red light signified the apex monster had given into its anger and unleashed a barrage of its lightning. All things considered, that was probably a good thing. At least now, there was no way the monster could attack me from behind. Though that begged the question: why would it cave in the tunnel? This was clearly a well-worn path it traveled through, judging from how it’d emerged from here in the first place. Was it really willing to lose an easy transportation route just to inconvenience a nuisance? I couldn’t imagine there were a lot of tunnels large enough to be sufficient for the monster’s size.

Unless it believed the payoff was worth it and was certain I was going to perish here. What if there were monsters of similar power lying at the end? I was sure the monster was capable of comprehensive thought; after all, it’d been able to ‘communicate’ with the slimes. It wasn’t a stretch to say its intelligence was potentially at the level of humans, and it could formulate rudimentary strategies.

Not that it mattered. I didn’t have a choice. Swallowing my turbulent emotions, I set off again, sticking close to the walls to guide my way. After several minutes of aimlessly plodding through the dark, doubt creeped in.

What if I was heading towards the collapsed entrance? Or, as improbable as it sounds, I could be traveling in a circle. It was nigh-impossible to tell with this stifling darkness.

It felt like a lifetime passed, worsened by the paranoia and constant threat of death looming over me. Eventually, I spotted a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. I’ll admit, I probably should have been more cautious of what was awaiting me but at the moment, I was too consumed with glee to care. I just wanted out of this soul-crushing darkness.

Dragging myself towards the light that would have been blinding had I retained human retinas, I found myself on the brink of an utopia. On the other side of the hole was an entirely different world compared to what I’d just left behind.

I was met with rolling meadows, a brilliant emerald-green shade unlike anything I’d seen in the lands above. A flowing waterfall cascaded down a tiny cliff, framing the gorgeous floral life growing in the cracks. The water spilled into a pristine pool, and its reflective surface acted as the perfect mirror. Dozens of bushes littered the land, branches sagging under the weight of voluptuous fruits. A single willow tree stood tall and proud, casting a shade that encompassed most of the field. A tranquil atmosphere radiated from the vegetation.

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Everything seemed more vibrant than before, a characteristic akin to an idealistic painting than anything else. It took a conscious effort to remind myself that, in actuality, this was still a cave inside the dungeon. However, underneath the layers of beauty, there was something that tugged at my mind. The underlying of a warning signal whispered to take a closer look, and I did so.

On the surface, this was a garden worthy of the gods. At first glance, I was instantly enraptured by the beauty and lulled back into the trance. Of course nothing was wrong, everything was immaculate to an uncanny degree. But when I peered more intently, a slight discrepancy made itself known and wouldn’t go away.

How come there’s no sound?

One would think that in a bountiful garden like this, there would be thousands of critters and little mammals who came to seek refuge and food. Yet the garden was distinctly devoid of chittering, humming, and chewing. The only noise to be heard was that of water spilling into the lake and the rustle of knee-high grass, a sound that was becoming more and more eerie the longer I listened.

It felt far too manufactured. As if someone had envisioned the perfect garden but forgotten to add the tiny, natural details.

Suffice to say, it sent a shiver down my body. This garden now seemed more haunting than the death pit I’d just escaped from. I briefly considered turning when another twang of pain rippled across my surface and prompted me to inch into the harrowing fields.

Keeping an eye on all possible angles proved more difficult than I expected; the bright splashes of color were erratic and wreaked havoc on my vision. My slime sight was evidently much more sensitive than my human sight; that, combined with the vivid shades resulted in a disorienting headache.

Grimacing, I slumped forward. I was surprised my health hadn’t run out yet, but it was only a matter of time. Narrowing onto the nearest berry, I altered my course. Even though it was only a couple of meters away, I was wracked with nerves. What if my HP runs out right before I reach it? What if my agility fades?

I nearly collapsed with relief when I reached the bush. Once I was within proximity, I waited for my appendages to shoot out and consume the fruits. I pinned all my hopes and prayers on it.

Which was why it devastated me when nothing happened. It could have been because I was too low on stats, or perhaps slimes didn’t interact well with berries. Regardless of the reason, the conclusion was the same:

Death.

The last dregs of energy fizzled away, and I slumped into the trimmed grass, taking a small solace that at least I would perish on a comfortable perch. Faintly, I wondered what would happen to my body after I passed away. Would I decompose into the earth like normal animals, or burst apart? Heh. Amara would love to know.

It was a shame. I’d really wanted to avenge their deaths, but it looks like I got ahead of myself. I thought I’d escaped death's grasp, but in reality, it had been waiting for me the entire time, watching my hopes climb. How cruel.

This is the second death experience in as many days. The thought made me lucidly smile. How many people could say that? I was pretty sure my grasp on sanity was rapidly weakening, but who cares? It’s better to accept death peacefully than to struggle futilely. After all, it’s—oh, who am I kidding? I was scared. And furious. And disgusted with myself.

For all my blunder, all my big talk, this was all I’d amounted to. I’d thought this was a chance to start over, to become stronger than before, to exact the vengeance my people needed. Instead, all I got was an extra day of slaying slimes. Worse of all, I couldn’t shake the feeling that anybody would have done better with this opportunity. Rob probably would have escaped this dungeon already. Tami would have cracked a way to take over the slimes and become their overlord. Marilyn would have been halfway through butchering the bandits. And Amara…she would have probably tried to negotiate with the bandits and make them see the error of their ways.

All of them were better suited for this opportunity than I was. I’d been content knowing they were still on the mortal plane and avenging my soul. Instead, they’d gotten me, who squandered this priceless chance in less than a day.

Resigned, I waited to rejoin my friends and family, dreading what I’d say when I met them.

Ding!

You have been administered to [Solace of Light] by a Will-o’-Wisp!

Stats:

Magic Point (MP) : 20/20 (+14)

Health Point (HP) : 20/20 (+19)

Strength Point (SP) : 15/15 (+13)

Endurance Point (EP) : 20/20 (+20)

Agility Point (AP) : 10/10 (+4)

What the hell?

I looked up and found a flickering orb of blue fire hovering in midair over my prone body. It jittered in its position, almost like it was asking me what I was doing on the ground.

The emotional whiplash of going from death's door to better than ever sent me reeling. However, I couldn’t let that stand in the way. The fact this was the first encounter with a friendly being in the dungeon made it paramount to make a good impression.

Hihowdidyouwowblueglowingtiny.

The ball of fire completely froze. I smiled.

Nailed it.

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