Boss Battle!
Be be be da, be be ba da, be be be tss. Jazz was the music of the day. Elijah dodged and weaved the slashing tentacles in time with a beat only he could hear. Two, four, Two, four, Two, four, his top half moved with the backbeat, swaying around one tentacle only to snap back to avoid another. His feet moved constantly, keeping time.
Slash, swipe, knock, knock, slap, slap, POW. There was his opening. Elijah snapped his naked hand out, hitting in time with a big cymbal beat. Slime was sent spraying, and Elijah tissed in annoyance; his skin sizzled. The repeated exposure to acid had actually raised his Vitality, but only by one point.
For two weeks, as best as he could tell, the sixteen-year-old had been trying to defeat this monster. The first section had become trivial by this point; he could run through it with his eyes closed and actually had a couple of times out of boredom.
Now, he knew every single move the giant corrosive slime would make seconds before it did. At first, he had been too scared to do anything but run away from the slow-moving monster. But that couldn't last; the second he entered the boss phase, the twisting path which led to the arena was swallowed by bubbling acid. There was no escape!
Elijah had run around in circles for hours. Well, more like a light jog; the thing wasn’t fast. Even so, without the refreshment of constant death, he grew tired. As it turned out, even in this strange game-like simulation, he needed to sleep, eat, and drink… so long as he didn’t die, that was.
Suffice to say, his first bout with the Slime did not end well. By the time he was finally killed, Elijah felt as if he were more jelly-like than the monster. The only good thing that came out of it was an extra point in Endurance, apparently pushing one’s self to the brink of collapse was more effective than lots of short runs that ended in death.
And when he came back, Elijah actually felt there was a difference from the stat gain. He seemed more solid, running appeared easier. Maybe it was the sudden revival that his death brought about; he couldn’t tell.
Since then, he had actually tried to fight. Not that it was much of a fight. Dodging seven tentacles at once was hard. His Dodge Skill saved him more than once, but when his Stamina was depleted, he felt like a walking corpse. At that point it was easier just to die.
Elijah was slightly disturbed by how comfortable he had become with his own death. It was natural to fear the end, but the naked teen would kill himself for the silliest of reasons.
Started the run on the left foot; that’s unlucky; jump in acid. Received a burn to the back of the leg and can’t run; make as much noise as possible to get the slime to kill you quicker. Didn’t make it through the first phase fast enough; dive headfirst into the emerging Slime. Got a tangle in his hair… you get the picture.
After so many attempts, he could dodge every one of the Slime's attacks without hardly trying. But that didn’t matter; he couldn’t truly hurt it. On attempt number 123, he had spotted the slightly darker spot in its centre, which he assumed to be a core. So what? He couldn’t get anywhere near it; he would melt long before he had a shot at destroying the thing.
Maybe he could have tried to use his clothes for defence, but they had long since been destroyed, and, unlike his body parts, they did not return upon respawning.
At this point, he was just toying with the monster. That was until…
New Trait Unlocked!
New Trait Unlocked:
Unkillable: A
You have successfully evaded 1,000,000 attacks that would have killed you. Enemies who do not resist will receive 1% of the damage of an attack you dodge. X10 if the attack would have been lethal.
Excited, Elijah ended himself quickly.
Tap, ta, ta, TSHH. The world went black in time with the last cymbal of the song as Elijah shoved his head inside the acidic Slime. He had tried using the Cerberus Slash Skill, but it didn’t do anything; he was a human and couldn’t do slashing attacks; he even tried using his nails, but it refused to activate.
This Trait on the other hand was truly something! Now that he had a new body, he couldn’t wait to test it out. But first he needed a rhythm better suited for this sort of thing. Elijah started by humming the guitar riff, jumping over tentacles in time with each note.
Then it was time to sing:
“Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine,”
The monster’s combination attack landed with the last two notes, and Elijah expertly dodged.
“Gotta, gotta be down because I want it all.”
Again, two strikes hit nothing but air as the kid stopped suddenly, avoiding the first, then slipped under the second. So it went on through the first verse, with Elijah’s movements slightly muted and small. But as soon as he reached the pre-chorus, he started picking up speed. He timed it so the beast’s heaviest attacks landed on the words “Chest” and “Dress.”
He had “Taken control.” He made it to the arena when the chorus began and immediately turned round to ‘fight’ the boss. The Slime was more than happy to launch attacks with abandon. Elijah frantically jumped, ducked, slid, and dodged, trying to evade as many attacks as possible.
As soon as he finished singing the chorus, he took a step back to rest, evaluate the damage, and hum along to the interlude. Tiny pieces had been nibbled out of the Slime in seemingly random places. The monster hadn’t noticed and was stubbornly dragging itself towards him.
This was perfect! Elijah ignored the string of “Trait: Unkillable has been activated” notifications that flooded in, took a breath, then launched back into the fray just in time for the second verse.
So the fight continued, with Elijah putting himself in the way of more tentacles when the song rose in intensity and stepping back when it lowered. By the time he got to the end of Mr. Brightside, Elijah guessed he had reduced the Slime’s mass by 10%, but he was tired, and that wasn’t nearly enough.
This was a marathon, not a sprint. With that in mind, Elijah switched up his mental playlist to something with a slower tempo.
The sixteen-year-old would have looked mental to an outside observer. Dancing around naked, singing Purple Rain and lighting up in excitement each time the attacks of a giant Slime came within inches of his skin.
There was only one problem. When the Slime shrunk, its attacks became slightly weaker, and the retaliatory damage Eliljah’s Trait did would lessen. The Evolved Slime had decreased from the size of a small house to that of a large dog, and he had sung twenty-six songs when he realised that this strategy had become too slow. Not even Queen was getting the job done!
Throughout the ‘fight,’ the core had remained the size of a fist. Not thinking about what he was doing, so that the fear of pain wouldn’t slow him, Elijah used a brake in the still vicious assault to shoot his hand into the gelatinous blob’s centre.
Skin sizzled and flesh began to burn in the less than a second it took the young man to retrieve the core. As soon as it left the Slime’s sucking flesh, the monster collapsed. And a good thing too. Elijah's arm, up to the elbow, was nothing but exposed muscle; it was difficult to think straight.
He had thought that destroying the core would be necessary, but the System had other ideas.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Congratulations!
You have completed the Trial of Evolution 1: Slime.
Grade: None
Objectives:
- Defeat the Evolved Slime without being detected: ?
- Defeat the Evolved Slime in under 20 minutes: ?
- Don’t get hit: ?
Rewards:
You have earned the right, somehow, to Evolve from an Lesser Slime into 1 of 1(should be 0) Slimes:
- Slime
Choose Now!
The absurdity of the objectives would have made Elijah laugh if he weren’t gritting his teeth against the pain. Were Slimes supposed to be some kind of ninja in this world? That was ridiculous!
Thankfully, his suffering was short-lived as the world fell away and he felt no more. In the darkness, a series of new screens opened.
You have defeated a Lv 26 Acid Slime:
Extra Xp is awarded for defeating an opponent of a greater level. Xp awarded 1429. Xp automatically placed in Class: C?e?r?b?e?r?u?s? ?S?l?a?s?h?e?r?.
You have reached Level 3 in C???????e????????????????r?????????b????????e?????????r?????????u???????????????s????????????? ????????????S???????l??????????a??????????s??????h?????????e???????????????r??????????!
+1 Endurance
You have reached Level 4 in C??????????e???????r???b????????e??????r???????????u???s????? ?????S??????l????a???s?????????h???????e?????????r??????!
+1 Vitality
New Threshold Met!
You have reached 10 in Endurance! This would be the cap for Race: Human (Earth), but the System allows you to push beyond your limits! Having reached the first Threshold, Stamina now depletes at a slightly reduced rate, and physical feats will seem easier. Endurance can no longer drop below 10.
New Evolution Class E?v?o?l?u?t?i?o?n? C???l???a???s???s??? E???v????o?????l????u????t????i????o?????n??? C??????l???????a???????s????s??????? … Unlocked!
ERROR:
You cannot gain a second Class until the first Class has reached level 100.
ERROR:
You have completed a Trial of Evolution and must Evolve.
ERROR:
You are not a Monster and, as such, cannot Evolve.
ERROR:
You have completed a Trial of Evolution and must Evolve.
E???????????R??????????R??????????O??????????????R??????????????????????:???????????
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E???R???R???O???R???:???
???Y???o???u??? ???h???a???v???e??? ???c???o???m???p???l???e???t???e???d??? ???a??? ???T???r???i???a???l??? ???o???f??? ???E???v???o???l???u???t???i???o???n??? ???a???n???d??? ???m???u???s???t??? ???E???v???o???l???v???e???.???
E???R???R???O???R???:???
???????????????????????????????Y?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????o?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????u????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????h?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????a???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????v?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????e?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????c????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????o???????????????????????????????????????????????????????m???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????p????????????????????????????????????????????????????????l??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????e????????????????????????????????????????????????????t??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????e????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????d????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????a????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????T????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????r????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????i??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????a??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????l???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????o?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????f????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????E?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????v???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????o????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????l??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????u?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????t???????????????????????????????????????????????????i?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????o???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????n??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????a????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????n??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????d??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????m?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????u????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????s???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????t????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????E??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????v??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????o??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????l???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????v?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????e????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????.?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
E????R?????R????O?????R????:????
????Y?????o????u???? ?????a?????r?????e????? ????n????o???t???? ????a??? ???M????o????n???s????t?????e???r????? ???a???n????d????, ????a???s????? ????s????u????c????h???, ???c?????a????n???n????o?????t????? ????E????v????o????l????v????e????.?????
Elijah was amazed that he had, apparently, reached the peak of human Endurance. He could feel it; as soon as the notification appeared, he felt a power suffuse his body; everything, even breathing, became slightly easier.
He was happy, despite himself. Elijah wanted to see how far he could push this power. Just as he was wondering how jacked he would be if this continued for a year, another ERROR loop occurred. With the sound of a fuse exploding, Elijah was plunged back into that unstimulating darkness.
It was like oxygen had finally returned and he could breathe again when the screens finally came back.
New Class Trait Unlocked!
New Class Trait unlocked:
Slimy: None
You are Slimy! Objects are more difficult to hold on to, and sometimes you will slip on nothing.
Elijah felt a thin layer of mucus suddenly appear all around his body like a slug. He tried to wipe it off his arms but more instantly replaced it. There wasn’t much, but it was ever present.
“What the Hell kind of reward is this! It took me ages to beat that Trial!” Elijah shouted, but there was no response. Instead, the System just continued to load a new Trial world. It looked like he wouldn’t be going home just yet.
Elijah sighed and repeated one of his grandfather's favourite sayings:
“Just focus on what’s in front of you.”