Tabula Rasa: Adventures In A New World

A rattling, metallic thump rings through the air as something with a decent amount of weight to it is carefully placed down atop this table.

Krvavy glances up from her breakfast, one of her brows slowly rising as well.

A cylindrical cage stands just a short distance away, on the smaller side but still bigger than this barbarian’s head... horns included. Between two thick plates stretch a number of sturdy copper bars, an odd and misshapen lump of metal trapped behind them, hollow domes and thin disks pinned across its uneven surface. A tangled lattice of wide wires connects those cymbals, bells, and bits of copper, tiny runic symbols carved onto nearly every one of those dense metal threads.

“Your slime lure.” Inanna simply states, rather cautiously sliding that unhinged thing closer to Krvavy. “It will create a cacophonous series of sounds while simultaneously emitting an ‘enticing’ pattern of vibrations, catching the attention of any and all slimes nearby. Please do not test it here.”

The Drakling doesn’t want to doubt the effectiveness of her Dwarf’s work, but... “What if it scares them away instead?” Krvavy can’t help but wonder, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side. This ‘lure’ sort of looks like... a bomb. And the honestly wary way that Inanna is handling it only strengthens that feeling. “Like the crystal golem did with all of its buzzing.”

Thankfully, Inanna is not the type to take offence to such concerns. “That shouldn’t happen.” She quite confidently reassures, copper-orange eyes peering deep into an emerald pair... needing to look up just a bit to meet her large, seated lover’s gaze even though she herself is standing. “Different frequencies elicit different responses, and while I am not an expert on the preferences of slimes, I have had to repair and maintain deterrents against them in the past. This was built with the opposite intentions in mind, avoiding the ‘sharper’ noises that would normally keep slimes away.”

As if to prove her point, this serious shortstack reaches over and gently taps one of the copper bars, striking that metal pole with her well-trimmed nail.

A deep, reverberating hum rumbles through the table, felt just as much as it is heard.

The faintest of smiles plays at Inanna’s dark-grey lips... only to fade away a few seconds later. “Though, that said...” Her dense brow furrows just a bit as she almost seems to glare at the chaotic mess contained within that lure. “The internal section, and the many mechanisms that make it up, may tread that line a little. They are, for the most part, meant to simulate the sounds that small prey animals make when panicked. Or at least the frequencies associated with those sounds. Of course, I based all of that upon memory and built it all by ear. So, as I have repeatedly stated in regards to this lure... I cannot guarantee its effectiveness.”

The barbarian takes a bite of her breakfast, chewing and swallowing before bothering to speak. “Right, well... it’ll be better than nothing.”

“Mhm.” The shortstack nods, the voluminous mass of her coal-black hair bobbing along with that gesture, almost distracting from her stout hand slipping into the pocket of her heavy leather apron. “I also have this for you.” She states, pulling out a pair of... wooden stumps connected together by some leather straps...? “Earmuffs.” Inanna idly explains, her thumb glancing over the thick layers of padded fabric squished and stuffed between those two bits of wood. “They won’t be entirely effective, but they should help keep the noises from echoing in your mind even after the lure is deactivated.”

Krvavy takes those heavy – and hopefully quite effective – earmuffs, placing them beside her far from empty plate. “Thanks.” A faint frown finds its way onto the Drakling’s face as she looks at the food that she still has to eat. And not just because these are all leftovers from last night. “I should probably be getting ready to go now, huh...?”

“Mmm. There isn’t much you need to do to before departing.” The Dwarf calmly comments, casually pulling a chair closer to this Draconic lover of hers, climbing up onto that seat with practiced ease. If she stood atop it, then this short and so incredibly stacked woman would be quite close to Krvavy in height, perhaps even a bit taller. But that isn’t what chairs are for. Her stout feet find a place to rest atop a wooden rung as she sits beside that significantly bigger barbarian. “We – or more specifically, Adeline and Thea – have already packed a lunch for you. And a backpack has been set aside, ready for you to restock our quartz reserves.”

“Yeah, but the ruins aren’t right next door.” Krvavy softly sighs, her restless leg calmed as a palm gently presses into her bare thigh, simply sharing its warmth. “I have quite the hike ahead of me.”

Inanna touch slowly begins to move, fingertips trailing along the border between black scales and snow-white skin, carefully memorizing each faint bump. “There’s no rush. You have all day.” Those intense copper-orange eyes of hers peer up at Krvavy, this Dwarf’s normally neutral expression having been replaced with a warm and loving look. “All week, even.”

A bit of colour creeps onto Krvavy’s cheeks. “Trying to distract me, are you~?” An attempt is made to make that question sound playful and teasing... but she doesn’t quite put enough energy into it for that to be the case.

Still, a subtle smile tugs at the corners of Inanna’s thick, dark-grey lips. “‘Trying’?” The Dwarf slowly shakes her head. “No, my Ushumgal, you would know if I was ‘trying’ to distract you.” As obviously as she can, this shortstack leans even closer to Krvavy, her truly titanic tits squishing into the Drakling’s arm. A wonderful feeling, even with that thick blacksmiths apron in the way. That bit of protective ‘clothing’ may dull her warmth, but it more than makes up for that with the view it provides, a vast expanse of sideboob and a deep canyon cleavage perfectly put on display.

The Drakling doesn’t even attempt to hide her appreciation of such a sight, staring straight down at those massive Dwarven mountains. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt if I stuck just around a little longer~...”

Dhmmmn...

A deep, bassy sound echoes through Krvavy’s arm as she very carefully places that metallic cage of a ‘lure’ down onto the dusty stone floor.

“Hahhh...” A heavy breath passes through Krvavy’s pale lips. She really didn’t want to drop that thing. It was made by a Dwarf – by her Dwarf – so it almost certainly wouldn’t break from something as simple as that. But just letting it bump against the occasional rock was enough to make her bones vibrate in a way that... has left her feeling a little numb...

The barbarian softly shakes her head, glancing back past the bent and warped metal door not too far behind her. Utter darkness fills the path she followed to get down here, shrouding her escape route... and the quartz filled bag stashed further up that tunnel. It is better to have that ready and waiting, if she needs to leave in a hurry. At the very least, it was easier to collect those crystals before drawing the attention of an entire ancient ruin’s worth of slimes.

And on that note... Hopefully this lure works.

Because Krvavy really needs something to occupy her thoughts right now. Her mind keeps going back to Beryl. She can’t help but worry over her sweet berry. So it’d be real nice if these gooey punching bags would actually show up. And quickly too. She doesn’t want to be left waiting with her thoughts...

The Drakling takes a deep breath and presses the tip of her finger against the small quartz shard embedded into the top of this coppery cage. A slight bit of mana is all it takes to activate the lure.

Dhmnnn! Dhmnn! Khhnnn!

Krvavy can’t help but wince, those rumbling and quaking sounds felt throughout her entire being, from her clawed toes to her carnivorous teeth. But worse than that... even with the crude earmuffs strapped so securely to her head, she can still hear the hard and discordant cacophony of this lure in use... if just barely.

Dozens of different bells are rung, dinging and ringing at painfully prickly pitches... Countless chimes and cymbals are struck, clashing and clanking and clanging away... Metal screeches as it scrapes against metal...

That chaotic noisemaker thrashes around... almost like a crude representation of a beating heart. The coppery cage it is suspended in rocks and wobbles and vibrates, but doesn’t move more than a hairsbreadth over the course of a few minutes.

The Drakling drums her fingers along the haft of her axe.

Slowly and carefully, she sweeps her head back and forth, peering into the darkness. Her emerald eyes keep a keen watch, looking for even the faintest hint of movement.

Inhuman feet pace back and forth across a stone floor worn down by the passage of unknown eons. A thick and meaty tail swishes back and forth, whipping through stagnant air each time she turns around. A single seconds stretches into eternity, taking so very, very, very long to add up into minutes. But just as Krvavy is beginning to get truly impatient... she spots a slime slowly climbing up from the pit below. A relatively small slime.

Which is better than nothing. And it confirms that, at the very least, this ‘lure’ isn’t scaring them away...?

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Krvavy steps forwards and casually swings her Soulbound weapon down towards the little blob that’s no bigger than her own head. The flat side of its oversized axehead effortlessly squishes that small slime.

149.37 Damage dealt to [Little Slime]

[Little Slime] has been slain!

+62 Experience

A puddle of slowly dissolving goo is all that remains of the little thing.

If slimes were actual creatures and not just mindless blobs, then Krvavy might feel a little bad about killing what was essentially a baby. But she has fought enough of these things at this point to know better than that. She has cut bigger slimes apart and ended with smaller ones than this.

And hopefully some of those bigger slimes will come up here so that she can fight them.

Krvavy restlessly paces back and forth, wearing the worn floor down even more as she stays relatively close to that thick, heavily rusted door. Not within arms reach, quite a way away from that in fact, but close enough for it to never be far away. And though she is trying to stay alert... Krvavy’s emerald eyes keep getting drawn towards that blaring and noisy lure.

It is incredibly annoying. Those pounding beats rumble through her bones. Those crashing, clanging chimes echo through her head. Those sharp screeches stab and slice through her soul. Even with these earmuffs on..

Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long for another slime to show up, oozing along the curved path towards Krvavy. And this one is bigger than the first. Though... not by much. Maybe three or so times larger? Which means that it is still considerably smaller than her torso.

The Drakling impatiently spins her giant axe around, waiting for that bluish blob to get closer before –

157.62 Damage dealt to [Bluish Slime]

[Bluish Slime] has been slain!

+116.25 Experience

Krvavy grits her teeth and grimaces, sticky strands of watery goo stretching between the flat of her axe and the ground, already fading away into nothing as she raises that Soulbound weapon back up.

Now she just has to wait for the next slime to show up...

Krvavy feels like she is going insane.

Dozens of thin dissolving puddles surround the ringing, rumbling, clanging, chiming, thrumming, throbbing, beating, blaring, buzzing lure.

She has ‘reinforced’ her earmuffs twice now, strapping them tighter and burning through mana to thicken those wooden covers, but that still isn’t enough to keep the annoying noise out of her head. It will never be enough. Not with it vibrating through the air and stone, through her flesh and fat and muscles, through her bones and teeth and claws and horns.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the thing was better at attracting slimes. Or if it attracted bigger slimes. Honestly, that would make this whole process way less excruciatingly boring. Having to wait a few minutes between each and every slime wouldn’t be so bad if it took more than a second or two to kill them. At this rate, she should really just chop those blobs up again and again and again until they fade into nothing, rather than flattening them right away...

Maybe Krvavy’s expectations were set a bit too high...? A part of her was hoping that it’d lure in an absolute flood of slimes, that she’d be fighting nonstop all day. But... that was clearly a bit too optimistic...

142.64 Damage dealt to [Another Small Slime]

[Another Small Slime] has been slain!

+93 Experience

The barbarian scowls as she lifts the flat of her axe up from yet another squished slime puddle. Yeah, until they start coming faster... or in greater size... she’s going to just chop them into tiny little pieces.

“HEY YOU DAMN GOOBALLS! GET THE FUCK UP HERE ALREADY!” Hot air hisses past Krvavy’s clenched teeth as she steps back from the (literal) edge, those words going completely unheard by her own ears... no matter how loudly and how hatefully they were shouted. She can’t even feel those words rumble through her throat and jaw.

The base of her Soulbound weapon furiously taps across the stone floor as she gruffly stomps back to her spot near the exit to this damned place, every faint sound that she could make drowned beneath the cacophonous lure.

Maybe, just maybe, these headache-inducing noises and constant rumbling vibrations aren’t reaching the depths of this ruin? If the slimes that infest this place can’t hear or ‘hear’ the thing... then they aren’t going to get lured in.

But to reach all the way down there...

No, Krvavy really doesn’t want a bigger version of that lure. This one is already enough of a pain to be near.

So hopefully her frustrated yelling will do the job. She just needs to catch the attention of a single sizable slime down in that dark pit, getting it to come close enough for this lure to do the rest. Hopefully she’ll get more than one. Hopefully a whole bunch of slimes will end up following that first, drip feeding this Drakling some foes to squish and defeat...

Maybe she can shout down there a few more times...?

Krvavy tilts her head back and heavily exhales, a wave of relief washing over her. “Haahh... Finally...!” Whether that word was clearly spoken or not is a complete mystery to her. And not one she even remotely cares about.

A rather big slime, roughly the same height as she is and so much wider, is slowly oozing its way over towards this battle-ready barbarian.

An excited, and mildly manic, gleam fills her emerald eyes. Krvavy has been down here for maybe... two hours? Probably less, to be honest. Way way less. Even if it feels like it has been so much longer than that...

89.26 Damage dealt to [Big Slime]

The big, bearded blade of the barbarian’s axe passes effortlessly through the large blue blob. The two parts of this slime stick back together, unbothered by her attack.

How... very... amazing!

Finally, a slime that she can’t just oneshot! A slime that she can’t just lazily chop to pieces, carving it into boring little bits! A slime that she’ll actually have to use magic on!

Fiery veins bulge from the Soulbound weapon’s wooden haft, rushing up and down from where this Drakling’s hands hold onto that slightly ‘S’ shaped handle, spreading across the two metallic heads as the crystalline one begins to glow with a fiery fury.

172.53 Damage dealt to [Big Slime]

Blue goo hisses and evaporates as the mana imbued weapon slices through that slime. Fire isn’t the most effective against these things, but a hot enough piece of metal seems to do wonderful work nonetheless.

Both halves of this bisected blob lunge towards the barbarian, even as parts of them begin to merge back together.

A single step backwards is all it takes to dodge that attack. And a casual horizontal swing of her searing, sizzling axe punishes it. The stagnant air of this ancient underground ruin shimmers like a mirage, wisps of steam adding a bit of humidity to the otherwise cool and dry air down here, at the top of this buried panopticon.

136.23 Damage dealt to [Big Slime]

That cut may have been relatively shallow, but the blue blob recoils from it all the same.

Krvavy grins and thrusts her Soulbound weapon forward. The glowing crystalline spearhead effortlessly penetrates into the amorphous mass before her. Bloody light filters through that gooey blob, her carnivorous teeth gleaming bright.

With just a thought and a bit of mana, that synthetic Heartstone is engulfed in red, raging flames.

371.38 Damage dealt to [Big Slime]

A bubble swiftly stretches to the top of this sizable slime, popping open as its boiled insides burst out as steam.

218.84 Damage dealt to [Big Slime]

192.65 Damage dealt to [Big Slime]

Magical liquids froth and foam as the searing hot side of Krvavy’s axehead presses into that mass, transmuting more and more of this slime into steam, reducing its size with each and every passing second. Countless damage notifications flit through her head, the vast majority of them going completely ignored as she irons out this simple enemy of hers, forcing it flat against the ground until nothing remains.

84.35 Damage dealt to [Big Slime]

[Big Slime] has been slain!

+968.75 Experience

That wasn’t the most exciting fight by any means, but it was leagues above everything else Krvavy has done today. It required more than a single strike. It required more than many of the same simple strikes. She could have defeated it without magic, sure, but that would have been a bit tedious. More of a chore than getting to boil that blob into nothingness.

All of the agonizing boredom that she has endured – and will no doubt continue to endure – will have been worth it if more slimes like this one show up.

“MORE!” Krvavy voices that thought with an energetic shout, the earmuffs engulfing her head keeping those roared words from being heard and the cacophonous clamour echoing around her keeping them from even being felt. “COME ON! I WANT MORE OF YOU!”

Already, she can see another slime approaching from the darkness. Sadly, this one is more medium in size... But that still makes it the second largest one that Krvavy has seen today!

Thick, billowing clouds of steam hang in the stagnant air.

244.42 Damage dealt to [Large Slime]

A sharp hissing sound follows the arc of Krvavy’s Soulbound weapon as it cleaves through a brownish blue blob, boiling and evaporating all in its path.

The Drakling’s heart drums away in her ears. Adrenaline courses through her veins.

345.23 Damage dealt to [Tiny Slime]

[Tiny Slime] has been slain!

+49.60 Experience

The flat of Krvavy’s axe clinks into the stone floor as she splatters a small and almost certainly harmless slime out of existence, before turning her attention back to her main target.

127.83 Damage dealt to [Large Slime]

The big blue blob bounces a bit as it partially dodges that attack... not on purpose, but by lunging towards the headache inducing lure. It nearly gets close enough to engulf the coppery metal in its jiggly body.

283.74 Damage dealt to [Large Slime]

[Large Slime] has been slain!

+995.10 Experience

Krvavy’s pale skin glistens slightly in the dim light. One of the quartz crystals she set into the wall ages ago flickers and dies. The synthetic Heartstone at the tip of her Soulbound weapon shines a little brighter to compensate for that. Its own mana reserves are deep enough to allow such a luxury.

289.46 Damage dealt to [Tinier Slime]

[Tinier Slime] has been slain!

+37.20 Experience

A small smile pulls at the corners of Krvavy’s mouth. The vast majority of the slimes that are showing up are... fairly inconsequential. But they’re showing up a pretty steady pace now. She barely has any downtime between each ‘wave’ of these living puddles.

Which is great! Krvavy can just focus on killing these things and doesn’t need to worry about her mind wandering onto any topic that isn’t squishing slimes. She can fully focus on fighting.

A bead of sweat drips down the Drakling’s forehead. She kicks her leg forward, dislodging the small slime that had latched onto her ankle. A slightly tingly sensation lingers on those black scales of hers, even though that little blob was nowhere near strong enough to start dissolving her flesh.

Not a single slime in here seems to have that level of strength. Not that Krvavy has seen, at least. But that doesn’t mean she can take it easy.

159.73 Damage dealt to [Medium Slime]

281.56 Damage dealt to [Medium Slime]

[Medium Slime] has been slain!

+516.15 Experience

A quick swing that curves back into a second strike makes quick work of yet another slime, veins of fiery magic pulsing across the heads of her halberd-esque axe.

Reshaping Imbued Inferno into what it is now has been, without a doubt, the best idea that Krvavy has ever had. She no longer needs to stomp on puddles or meticulously spread these slimes thin enough that they naturally begin to evaporate into nothingness. No, she just needs to cut and chop these blobs apart. Which... was what she was doing before, yes, but now Krvavy doesn’t need to waste her time with the extra tedious step that came after, scattering those pieces well enough that they don’t just immediately stick back together and reform. Because these blobs can’t exactly absorb each other if they get boiled into steam.

God, she loves magic.

A wet mass grabs onto the Drakling’s tail, tugging her back and nearly causing her to fall off balance.

10.11 Damage dealt to [Clingy Slime]

Fire and flames pour from the depths of her soul, that intense and raging heat flowing along the vein-like lines of her mana channels.

23.34 Damage dealt to [Clingy Slime]

19.45 Damage dealt to [Clingy Slime]

42.24 Damage dealt to [Clingy Slime]

Sizzling noises fill the steamy air, liquids hissing as it they turn to gas, bubbles popping as they boil and burst. The sticky slime that dared to touch this Dragon’s skin and scales recoils... but that brainless blob’s reaction was a bit too delayed.

38.54 Damage dealt to [Clingy Slime]

[Clingy Slime] has been slain!

+193.75 Experience

Krvavy has been down here for... maybe four or five hours at this point...? Her stamina and mana reserves are being pushed to their limits with this increasingly near-constant fighting. But throughout all that time she hasn’t taken even a single point of damage to her health.

That... is almost intoxicating.

She feels invulnerable. Unbeatable.

But Krvavy can’t let that confidence become overconfidence. These slimes may not be able to overcome her Base Armour or True Defence, but she still needs to breathe. If they piled on her, engulfing and immobilizing her, then she’d be as good as dead. She would suffocate and drown as they ‘swallow’ her whole.

That little bit of danger helps to keep her on her toes.

It, honestly, is making this a little more entertaining. She isn’t just treating these mindless masses as punching bags. There is a slight bit of risk to all of this. Not much, but it is there. Honestly, the embarrassment of dying in such a stupid way is a bigger deterrent than that (unlikely) death itself.

Krvavy takes a deep breath. A comforting heat burns away within her core.

341.5 Damage dealt to [Slime Remnants]

A quick burst of fire erupts from the Drakling’s opened mouth, sweeping over a few coalescing blobs that had been cut off her other foes. Ones that were big enough to not immediately be boiled into steam. Ones that were big enough to be a threat if they were allowed to gather together and grow into one massive mass.

[Slime Remnants] have been slain!

+652.07 Experience

Level Up! You have reached Level 27. As a Drakling blessed by a divine power, you have 6 attribute points to allocate and have gained +2 to Might & Toughness. If not allocated by the time you fall asleep, it will be done automatically.

+2 Divine Favour, for growing in strength.

Krvavy grins, wiping the back her hand across her chapped lips.

That took long enough. But... maybe she could squeeze in another level up before having to end all of this fun...?

“Haaah...!” Krvavy sharply exhales. Her heart drums away in her ears, louder and more deafening than the muffled noisemaker. An incredible and almost unbelievable accomplishment.

A pang of discomfort shoots through this Drakling’s aching arms as she swings her oversized axe.

284.65 Damage dealt to [Huge Slime]

The gooey thing sizzles, a small part of it evaporating away. But that ‘wound’ closes as soon as Krvavy’s Soulbound weapon exits the slime.

Pale and parched lips twist into a grimace. And, in that same moment, Imbued Inferno abruptly cuts out. Her axe quickly begins to cool down, faster than it realistically should considering how that metal has been glowing... But that, unfortunately, is not something Krvavy can change. She only has so much mana to spend and the quartz batteries that she brought with her have already been drained.

67.12 Damage dealt to [Huge Slime]

A deep chill settles inside this Drakling’s stomach, growing within her core.

Krvavy can see, in the dim flickering light of her crystalline spearhead, another slime approaching from the side. One which looks larger than the slime that she is currently fighting. Much, much larger. Big enough to be a problem on its own.

“Hhhh!” Krvavy rolls her shoulders, twirling her axe around to keep her foes at bay. A few slicing cuts don’t mean much to a slime, but those sweeping slashes and spinning strikes still create some space, buying her some precious seconds.

This... this is exactly what she wanted. If these stupid slimes didn’t take their sweet time and simply just showed up at the very beginning, then this would have been perfect. But they didn’t do that. Instead, they made her wait and tire herself out. Not on purpose, of course. But... Krvavy has still been down here for... maybe a bit too long. She has overstayed her welcome and bitten off more than she can chew. She is not too arrogant to recognize and admit that.

A puff of condensation leaks from this Dragon’s flared nostrils. Her lungs expand as she so deeply inhales, the air welcomed into her body imbued with an icy chill.

The huge slime that she is fighting lunges forward, only to be caught in a stream of ice and snow.

73.58 Damage dealt to [Huge Slime]

The bluish goo crystallizes and freezes in a matter of moments, crunching and cracking as it tries to push through her Boreal Breath. But it doesn’t quite have the strength or the momentum needed to overcome the billowing blizzard bursting against its blobby body, more and more of its mass shifting into a solid.

215.76 Damage dealt to [Huge Slime]

The back of Krvavy’s Soulbound weapon, the more modestly sized hammerhead opposite to that impressively oversized axe, slams into this thoroughly frozen slime. Her burst of magic cuts off as that ridged chunk of metal sends a hail of icy debris flying through the air.

Krvavy scowls. Little frosty flakes cling to her painfully dry lips.

794.46 Damage dealt to [Huge Slime]

Earthen magic echoes through her weapon as it crashes into this mostly frozen slime once more. It all but explodes, sending a rain of sleet and slush off towards the others of its kind.

[Huge Slime] has been slain!

+1,181.10 Experience

15.67 Damage dealt to [Small Slime]

46.24 Damage dealt to [Brownish Slime]

0.04 Damage dealt to [Massive Slime]

Krvavy twists her weapon around, clunking it against the coppery noisemaker beside her. That deafeningly discordant device screams and screeches, sending a spike of pain through her ears and causing these many slimes to all flinch in unison, before finally and mercifully falling silent. Grabbing that damned thing up, the barbarian begins backing up towards the metal door.

Without the lure, she is the only thing keeping the attention of these slimes. Maybe it would have been wiser to kick it out into the darkness, sending it tumbling down into that deep pit...? Eh, too late for that now. Plus, Inanna would appreciate not having her work get carelessly destroyed.

Krvavy heavily inhales. Her back bumps against the rusted and warped door. Her insides burn. Her jaw snaps open, sharing that pain with these slimes in the form of a red, raging blaze.

34.56 Damage dealt to [Small Slime]

57.42 Damage dealt to [Small Slime]

61.89 Damage dealt to [Small Slime]

[Small Slime] has been slain!

+77.50 Experience

94.01 Damage dealt to [Wobbling Slime]

102.84 Damage dealt to [Wobbling Slime]

84.51 Damage dealt to [Medium Bluish Slime]

137.81 Damage dealt to [Brownish Slime]

241.61 Damage dealt to [Brownish Slime]

[Brownish Slime] has been slain!

+516.15 Experience

Level Up! You have reached Level 28. As a Drakling blessed by a divine power, you have 6 attribute points to allocate and have gained +2 to Might & Toughness. If not allocated by the time you fall asleep, it will be done automatically.

+2 Divine Favour, for growing in strength.

80.12 Damage dealt to [Massive Slime]

35.84 Damage dealt to [Massive Slime]

A barrage of notifications flow through Krvavy’s mind, going almost entirely ignored as she sweeps her head back and forth, side to side. Her raw throat stings as the energy feeding her Blazing Breath cuts off.

“Haahhh...” The barbarian gasps, resting her axe against the wall for just a moment, slipping the crystal filled backpack over her shoulder.

A wall of blue ooze creeps around that distorted door, closing in on her.

The barbarian’s very being throbs with pain and discomfort. The last of her power, borrowed from the wonderful crystal topping her axe, swirls within her lungs. Frozen needles prick her so recently singed flesh. A cold stabbing pain rushes through the well-used channel from her core to her mouth.

15.14 Damage dealt to [Massive Slime]

84.64 Damage dealt to [Massive Slime]

80.89 Damage dealt to [Massive Slime]

48.18 Damage dealt to [Massive Slime]

73.25 Damage dealt to [Massive Slime]

A thick layer of ice clings to the worn stone walls. The foggy silhouette of a bent door is just barely visible, buried deep within the frost. Krvavy’s pained breath billows through the chilly air as a thin fog. Snowflakes dance around her.

The Drakling shakily steps back. Her exhaustion helps hold back the immense urge to just smash that frozen slime into thousands upon thousands of little shards. She might get some good experience from that... But no. She needs it to stay there, blocking off this ruin and buying her plenty of time to retreat.

Still... having to leave a bunch of slimes alive doesn’t sit right with her. Not after all the time wasted just waiting for them to show up.

“Tsk–kgh...” Krvavy’s unhappy click of her tongue quickly shifts into a pained cough. Annoyance washes over her as she climbs up through the rocky tunnel, heading back to the surface. To sunlight. Hopefully.

She really should have left that ruin a bit earlier. Even if that meant she wouldn’t have gotten a second level up. Her limbs are aching. She just wants to lie down and go to sleep. But, for obvious reasons, that isn’t an option right now. It won’t be an option for at least another hour.

Krvavy still has quite the way to go until she is home.