"Ding!"The system sound rang in Nawa's head as he opened the system window.
Nawa activated the Quest Navigation function, one of the optional features added to the map function.
Normally, players have to pay around 90 copper coins to activate this feature, but Nawa had 1 reputation point, so he used 1 reputation point to activate it.
Now Nawa saw three red dots added to his map. Two were not far away, while the other was much further away. Nawa guessed it was the location of Taiban Village, the quest target he received from the guard.
"Looks like Taiban Village is further away than I thought."
Nawa estimated that traveling to Taiban Village now would take at least 3-4 days.
"Looks like besides the artifacts, I need to buy other things too."Nawa muttered to himself.
Although he had the item that created the Wizard Alfor's protective barrier, allowing him to safely camp in the forest, he lacked other equipment. He didn't have a tent, bedding, or cooking utensils.
Although these items don't enhance a player's combat abilities like weapons or artifacts, they are indispensable for life in The Oneness, as players often travel long distances and camp in forests, mountains, and remote locations.
Nawa eventually found a used camping set for sale by another player. It included a tent, sleeping gear, and essential cooking equipment.
New, these would cost more than 3 silver coins, but this player was selling it for only 50 copper coins, which was incredibly cheap.
Nawa immediately decided to buy it. Even though it wasn't new, it was still usable.
After paying the seller with 50 copper coins worth of energy crystals, he stored everything in his dimensional inventory and headed towards an area where slimes were likely to live in order to find slime cores.
After traveling for a while, Nawa came across a river. He walked to the bank, drank to quench his thirst, and filled his water bottle before storing it in his dimensional inventory. After taking care of some personal matters, Nawa continued his journey.
As soon as Nawa reached the red dot shown on the map... He encountered a significant problem: he had never actually seen a real slime before, only in games. Nawa could only hope the real thing wouldn't be too different.
After a while, a voice sounded in Nawa's head.
"Ding!"
(Slime [Common Level]: Quest Objective. Requires 50 Slime Cores.)
(Pay 3 copper coins to purchase more information.)
(Accept) (Cancel)
Even though the system notified him that a slime had been found, Nawa still couldn't see it. He had to observe for a while before realizing that the clear, slimy substance on the base of the tree in the distance was slime.
Nawa noticed the slime was moving. It was slowly shifting towards a large worm. In an instant, the worm was pulled into the clear slime, its body seemingly being dissolved by highly concentrated acid.
As Nawa approached, the slime showed no signs of harming him, perhaps because it was busy devouring the large worm. Nawa broke off a nearby branch. Then, he poked the slime with a stick. The stick pierced through its body instantly, like poking a soft, jelly-like mass.
"Fwoosh!"A sound came from the tip of the stick, and smoke rose from it.
Nawa immediately realized that the liquid inside the slime's body was highly concentrated acid. It was ready to dissolve anything it touched.
Not only that, the slime didn't seem to be seriously injured by the stick, as its HP displayed by the system showed almost no change. Therefore, Nawa assumed that physical attacks wouldn't affect it much.
Nawa's action caused the slime to see him as an enemy, as it dropped to the ground and immediately moved towards him. While not as fast as a one-horned wild rabbit, it was much faster than Nawa had imagined.
Nawa immediately recoiled. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if the highly concentrated acid sac attached to his body. Even if he didn't die, his body would be severely injured.
"So this is why few people want to hunt them," Nawa muttered to himself as he watched the slime slowly crawling towards him.
Physical attacks are largely ineffective against slimes, especially since their bodies contain highly concentrated acid. Weapons used to attack them would be corroded by the acid.
Even if you manage to defeat the slime, losing your weapons is simply not worth it. Who would want to engage in such an unprofitable trade? Other players might think that way, but not Nawa.
A fireball the size of a ping-pong ball appeared in Nawa's hand. He flicked his hand, sending the fireball hurtling towards the approaching slime.
"Foom!" An explosion occurred instantly as the fireball collided with the slime.
The moment the translucent body of the slime came into contact with the heat, it dissolved into a large cloud of white smoke, emitting a foul smell like sulfuric acid that permeated the area. Nawa involuntarily held his breath.
Nawa looked at the three-foot-high fireball, thinking that the fireball skill he had used shouldn't have been this powerful.
He soon understood; the liquid in the slime's body, besides being acidic, was also excellent fuel. When the fire died down, all that remained was a small black rock and three copper-colored energy crystals.
"This must be the slime core the shop owner mentioned," Nawa said, picking up the black rock to examine it. He immediately stored it along with the energy crystals in his dimensional inventory.
"It seems slimes drop more energy crystals than one-horned rabbits," Nawa said, his eyes sparkling with delight. He was thinking that if there were more of them, it would be great because they would generate a lot of income for him.
But soon, Nawa completely changed his mind. Because now he noticed a slime... Numerous slimes surrounded him, emerging from the ground, crawling from the river, and many more falling from the surrounding trees.
"Thump, thump…thump…thump…thump…thump…thump!"
"What is this?"Nawa exclaimed, his face showing panic.
Now, slimes were creeping towards Nava from all directions. Nava didn't dare run away, because if he accidentally stepped on a slime, or if a slime fell on his head, the consequences could be much worse.
Nawa regretted not using his system to check, thinking that slimes were just common, slow-moving monsters and not dangerous. He didn't realize they were in such a large swarm.
"Foom, foom!"
Nawa continuously unleashed fireballs to kill every slime that approached him, but that only bought him some time and didn't improve the overall situation.
These slimes didn't know fear; none of them tried to escape. On the contrary, they continued to swarm Nawa from all directions in even greater numbers.
Moreover, the area was now filled with white smoke billowing from the bodies of the killed slimes. This obscured his vision, making Nawa's attacks inaccurate, forcing him to increase the power and number of fireballs.
Although Nawa could regenerate mana quickly and had almost no limit, he couldn't increase his physical stamina. The more skills he used, the more his stamina decreased, affecting his physical and mental performance in every aspect.
If this continued, Nawa's body would become too exhausted to use his power anymore.
Even so, Nawa gritted his teeth and continued to release fireballs. If even one slime managed to reach him, it would mean death.
In Nawa's heart, besides despair, he was also filled with guilt. Frankly, the reason he was in this situation was his arrogance stemming from past successes, leading him to overconfidence and recklessness.
"Ding!"
(Now his stamina...) (Your stamina is below 50/100, your body will start to weaken.)
Nawa's condition was critical. A stamina score below 50 signals a weakening of his body, reduced skill effectiveness, and decreased mana regeneration.
If it drops below 15, he'll have difficulty moving and won't be able to use skills anymore. If it drops below 5, he'll suffer internal injuries, his health will steadily decrease, and he might even die.
Nawa immediately closed the notification window. Even without the warning, he was aware of his physical condition.
The only way to recover his stamina was to rest, which Nawa couldn't do right now. If he stopped using fireballs, the swarm of slimes would reach him in an instant and dissolve his body, leaving only bones.
Nawa refused to give up. He began firing fireballs at the surrounding trees, hoping to use them as fuel to burn the slimes and create an escape route.
But this was a second mistake. The trees were difficult to ignite, and Nawa's fire wasn't strong enough. Therefore, he couldn't turn the tree into fuel as he thought.
On the contrary, it only attracted more slimes from further away, drawing them closer to Nawa.
It seemed that the more he blamed himself and became more agitated, the more his problem-solving abilities dwindled.
Nawa's actions didn't improve the situation; on the contrary, they made it worse. Now, the slime horde was closing in. Soon, they would reach him.
When utterly hopeless, humans often beg and plead with gods or deities for help. But because Nawa was a Buddhist, he had absorbed the teachings of Buddhism since childhood.
The teachings of Buddhism don't focus on begging or pleading, but on humans helping themselves, as the Thai saying goes, "One is one's own refuge."
In this critical moment, Nawa didn't think of the Buddha statue in the temple, but rather an old sign with short teachings hanging on a tree in the temple. And one of those teachings that flashed through Nawa's mind was:
(Don't dwell on failure. Don't get carried away by success. Everything is merely a flow of cause and effect.)
It was strange, almost miraculous, when Nawa thought of this principle, his heart quickly calmed down. He let go of unnecessary feelings—guilt, fear, distractions—they vanished in an instant.
When the mind is calm, wisdom becomes clear. Even without help, Nava could now see the situation as it truly was. In Buddhism, this state is called Right View (Samma Ditthi).
In just a fraction of a second, logical reasoning connected seamlessly in his mind. Now, even with death creeping closer, Nawa was not afraid. His panicked expression transformed into one of calm.
Nawa stopped using the fireball skill. He let the swarm of slimes creep closer and closer. When they were almost within reach, he swung both arms.
"Foom!"
A wall of fire several feet high appeared around Nawa. The nearby slimes instantly dissolved into smoke.
This skill uses far less energy than the fireball, as it only creates heat in a specific area. Compared to other skills, it's roughly equivalent to a D-rank skill.
In terms of destructive power, it's far inferior to the fireball, but it's perfectly suited to the current situation.
The wall of fire serves as both attack and defense, and its mana consumption is significantly reduced, allowing Nava to use this power continuously for hours.
Therefore, even if there were more slimes, they would just be moths flying into a flame.