Chapter 12—Purple Sky
[ —Skills—
—Acid Fist {Common} Lv1—
— Increases the strength of the fist by 10%.
— Covers the fist with the power of the weak corrosive acid.
Note: Acidity and power of the fist are based on the amount of aura input. ]
[ — Masteries—
— Fist Mastery {Tier zero} —
— Proficiency: 1/100 ]
"Increases my strength—good!" Slime#47 clenched his fist and cheered himself quietly.
He trained for another hour without rest.
[ Ding!
Acid Fist proficiency +4! ]
[ Ding!
Fist Mastery proficiency +1 ]
'Not bad for one hour,' he mused, pleased at his efforts, glancing at the shimmering panel.
He then noticed changes in the surroundings—crimson rays of light were spilling down from the sky.
He'd been so focused on his training that he failed to notice the atmosphere change.
His core thumped wildly—almost bursting out of his body—as he glanced up.
The sky had turned dark purple; ten blood-red moons hung above—two large at the center, eight smaller circling them.
His jelly wobbled, and blue sweat fell to the ground.
He calmed himself by taking deep breaths.
'Not just the sun—even the moon's eldritch, now.' He felt bitter, not understanding how his future self would face them.
He then spotted that all the slimes had fallen into deep sleep along with Mama Slime, while Elder Slime glanced at him.
Slime#47 was surprised that he was still watching over him.
Older Slime pointed to the sky and asked seriously, "Beautiful, isn't?"
"NO, I don't think so," the young one answered honestly.
If he'd not known black sun—spider eldritch, he might have felt the moon was beautiful, but now he felt it was very chilly.
"I am surprised by your words, many find the purple sky beautiful… but I heard some say it possesses great danger." Elder Slime said in a deep, stern voice, "Long ago our world had a white moon—so beautiful and very pure… I don't know when the sky turned purple and the moon red." Fear tinged his tone, his body wobbling. "I heard many tales—some say the moon goddess was cursed by the creation god due to her evil acts. Others say the moon goddess simply fell. And the remaining few claim a creature is watching us from the sky."
'A Creature? Do natives know about the eldritch?' Slime#47 wondered, 'if they did, maybe they had found some way to fight them.'
"Go to sleep, child," Elder Slime sighed—Wob!—he bounced on a spot where the grass was longer—it almost felt like a soft bed.
He rubbed his body against grass, and drifted off—ZZZ!
"I'm thirsty," Slime#47 muttered, mouth dry, 'Do slimes even get thirsty?'
He looked at the water trough nearby.
'No wonder they leave water—slimes actually need to drink,' He mused, feeling water and garbage are the only things slimes require to live.
Wob!—He bounced straight to the trough and splashed water.
Gulp!—Gulp!—He drank from his mouth, but his entire body also absorbed water without his control.
Fully focused this time, he realized this—this is why his body absorbs filth without his consent.
Just like a human's unconscious functions—heartbeat, breathing, or an organ doing its thing.
Wob!—He jumped out. "I'm sleepy," he stretched tiny fists and fell asleep on the ground randomly.
------
After six days…
Under the dim rays of the early-rising black sun, Slime#47 yelled "Acid Fist," and he slammed his fist into the fence—bam!
He glanced at a wisp of smoke emitted from the small scratch left on the wood.
'Good.' He grinned, clenching with his tiny fists—any onlooker would've wanted to hug that smiling blob.
[ Ding! Acid Fist leveled up to Lv.2 ]
[ Ding! Fist Mastery +1 ]
He clicked on masteries as—Ding!—new panel opened.
[ — Masteries—
— Fist Mastery {Tier zero} —
— Proficiency: 3/100 ]
'Only three,' his eyes twitched. In five days, Acid Fist had gained proficiency fast and finally leveled up, but Fist Mastery proficiency only increased by one.
He didn't understand, so he could only ask dubiously, "Elder Slime, seriously, why is Fist Mastery progress so slow?"
Elder Slime replied with a smile, "In total, there are skills, traits, and masteries. These three describe the combat ability of an individual. Traits are impossible to gain by just training; masteries can be gained, but are very hard to improve, and skills are easiest to gain and improve. Skills gain proficiency with repetition—your body adapts and improves on it—whereas masteries are based on comprehension and understanding. Skill requires repetition; mastery requires understanding. As simple as that."
'So, not just repeat until it levels, huh?' Slime scowled in annoyance; he'd thought Fist Mastery would be easy.
"Once you master Acid Fist, I'll teach you a movement skill," Elder Slime said as his body twitched.
He pondered on how to teach the young slime, because for the movement skill, he only knew one way—beating him.
But Mama Slime kept an eye; if he whipped the youngling, Mama Slime would jump him. So, he had to think of another method.
------
After a few hours…
The northern gate cracked open—a sharp-eyed woman stepped in, hurling a huge sack of garbage. The stench hit Slime#47.
In the past five days, near noon—or afternoon—she or her eldest blond kid dumped filth for their food.
He tried to skip, but she'd pick him and throw him at the trash; he couldn't escape single day.
All the slimes pounced on filth excitedly—Wob!
"Damn, they're addicted to trash," he sighed, wondering 'Will I ever taste something good food, in my slime life?'
His body absorbed the filth regardless, as yet again he was thrown into the trash by the woman.
[ Ding! Vitality increased! ]
Even after devouring trash for almost one week straight, he hadn't regained the G+ Vitality stat.
'It seems it's not easy to get back. Tomorrow is harvest day.' He mused bitterly, feeling pity for his Vitality.
He finally understood why slimes died young when they were meant to live for thousands of years—harvesting jelly drains vitality; with each harvest, it lowers, and with the lack of proper nutrition, they never recover full vitality and ultimately die.
-------
Seventh day, finally, Slime#47 lived one week in the third loop.
[—Skills—
—Demon Tongue {Legendary} —
—Human Tongue {Rare Lv1}—
—Acid Fist {Common} Lv2— ]
Slime#47 fiddled with status; he'd gained the human language skill after he fully mastered all 321 alphabets of Herica.
Thud!—Thud!— Sound of someone stepping into the field echoed.
"There they are….," he sighed. "What's destined to come, will come. The harvesting of jelly begins." He carefully scanned the surroundings to find someone—he didn't want to die in that blond brat's hands again!
End of the chapter. _______________________________________________________________
How is the story until now? Anyone? Did you enjoy?