Quest - It's Raining Slimes

The Long haired female found herself wandering in the middle of the dense forest with no knowledge of where she could be. She looked around trying to figure out how to leave the forest like maze she found herself in and even went as far as climbing trees to reach a height from where she could make out a path. Unfortunately, no matter how high she climbed, the canopy of the other trees blocked her view of the ground.

'If this keeps up, I will never be able to leave this maze. I shouldn't have tried to go for this quest all by myself'

She thought, mentally scolding herself for her rash decision. When she had gone to the town square, she had found a quest that sounded interesting. Who could have turned down a quest that involved slime falling from the sky? Since she was new and had no friends in the server, she decided to go for the quest by herself. A baddecision.

Now, she walked around, her feet tired from walking, with no clue of where she could find the quest she set out for or how she could get out.

Fortunately for her, she noticed another life form from a distance, whether it was a NPC or a player, she did not know nor care.

"Excuse me, miss"

She called out to the female and ran up to her.

"Do you by any chance know where is it I can find this place where slime is falling down like rain? If not that, do you know how I can leave this forest?"

If the female did not know where she could find the raining slime, she had decided to go back in town and find herself some players who would be willing to go on this quest with her.

@Nina Alexander

 

Nina Alexander sighed, staring at her hands with a confused look in her face. Ashlyn Winters didn’t spend a lot of time in character creation. She didn’t need to. Even before she picked up the game, this game, she already had an idea of what her character would look like. She was human in the real world. She didn’t feel like being human in this world, too. It was her form of escape, after all. Escape from her family, from the judgmental people that knew her family, from her boring and lonely reality. So she went with Caenis, with the same height but a more agile body.

Footsteps. Alexander’s hearing was way better in this world. It was probably because of her Caenis physiology, which in itself was a pretty cool part of the game, really immersive or something along those lines. Ashlyn realized she was going to get lost in this world, perhaps even loving every minute of it. They’re getting’ closer.

She could not only hear their footsteps but she could also smell them, too. At least she thought she could. It could’ve been just the weather, water in the air starting to accumulate, wafting through the undergrowth more aggressively, that sort of thing. Or it could be the fact that this smell was human and she was Caenis. Perhaps her physiology made her more used to being Caenis in terms of her senses and everything else, human and what other species there were, seemed foreign to her?

Alexander decided to put that thought on hold. There were more important things at hand. Like whoever had been stalking her. She placed her left foot forward, inches far from her, and quickly brandished her junk of a sword, pivoting as fast as she could to turn around, to face whoever her stalker was. With the pointy end of her sword at the other being, Alexander couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at finally figuring out to whom those footsteps belonged to, “A girl?”

A human girl (@Libitina Cerin). Alexander quickly realized that it would now be a distinction for her. She was no longer human. Not in this world, and even perhaps back in her own world, she lost that identity even before she was born. She couldn’t be human. Not after what everyone else had done, had been doing. Her blood was cursed. Her name was cursed. And she didn’t even have any choice in the matter.

“Sorry,” she slowly put her sword back down, at least away from the human girl’s face. “I thought you were trouble.” …when you came in. Alexander grinned. She remembered that song. It was her mother’s favorite song, a really old song from decades ago. It only took her a moment to realize she was spacing out. It wasn’t a good look for her, not for anyone, especially in front of a stranger. “Wait, what?”

Alexander narrowed her eyes at the long-haired human girl as she finished sheathing her junk sword away, making a mental note at the same time to go get herself an actual sword. These starter things are pretty useless. Could she even call her sword a starter weapon? Maybe it’d be best she did. No one needed to know she took it from an unsuspecting, blind NPC just a few minutes after she spawned in Brisshal. How did she know that blind guy was an NPC? Well, who in their right mind would choose to play a blind person in a game where everything was possible? Not a lot of people, that’s who. Maybe if that blind guy chased her, maybe she’d think he was more than an NPC, but nope. He just let her grab his sword as he continued to drone on and on about the nearest village or something. This game wasn’t all perfect, Alexander guessed.

“Did you just say slime fallin’ down like rain?”

As if on cue, a slime fell down on the ground, right beside Alexander, right from the sky. It was a tiny green slime with a stupid face. Swallowing air, Alexander instinctively looked up. The sky looked normal. It didn’t exactly look like a fair day but there weren’t dark clouds, lightning, and thunder all over the place. Her eyes grew wide when out of the somewhat clear, somewhat still blue skies, a few dark circles started appearing. Spheres. Of slime. Falling towards them. Uhh, what’s happenin’?

She turned to the girl before her with a worried look on her face, “Uhm, we should prolly get outta here.” Alexander pointed upwards, up into the sky, without taking her eyes off the human girl. Should she agree, the Caenis would run with her. Hopefully, they can find some sort of cover. Perhaps a cave or a huge tree with massive branches.

@Vas Schneider @Hikoru

 

Hikoru had been wandering around the main area of the game, where most beginner players stayed and hung out at. He had heard about some sort of slime quest in the surrounding area, and he knew that it would be a good place to get started on gaining some mastery in his skills. He made his way over as he saw a small group of young women nearby. Himself curious, he decided to try and use the stealth mechanic in this game, getting down and starting to sneak up towards them to hear what they are saying.

Before he could hear the conversation, a blue slime suddenly appeared in front of him, about half of the size that he was. He let out a bit of a yelp as he backed away in fear, losing his footing and tumbling down the hill he had been sing as cover, landing on the ground a bit to the left of where they were. He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head a bit confused as to what all happened in a few seconds. He looked to see the women, and he stood up slowly, hands able to be seen easily and no weapon on his person. He looked around to see the blue slime making his way towards him. He took a small step back, a bit worried about it

"Um... Do you guys know how to kill these things?" He asked "Or maybe how to avoid them?" He said with another step back as the blue slime got closer. He heard the sound of the wind being disrupted next to his ear, and the sound of something squishy hitting the ground, and he went a bit closer to the women, avoiding the slime that landed just a few meters next to him.

"Yeesh, these things are coming out of the woodwork aren't they?" He asked out loud, mostly to himself. He didn't read the fine print of the quest, but apparently they seemed to be raining from the sky, which is one of the more scarier things he's noticed in his time.

@Vas Schneider

 

She was caught off guard when she saw the young woman she approached, point a sword at her. She gave an uninterested look and did not budge a bit at the rusty blade pointing towards her. "Understandable. My apology. I should have called out to you from a distance rather than coming so up close"
'great. She seems to be another noob in this game as well. I doubt she would know how to get out or how to get to the slime rain'
She looked away from her, mentally cursing her luck. Just as she turned to look at the girl to bid her farewell, a glob fell right beside the Caenis. @Nina Alexander
"It seems that you accidentally stumbled upon the slime rain and I finally found what I was looking for"
She stated as she brought out her own beginners sword. She took note that it was a rather blunt sword but she hoped it would be enough to take care of the slime. Another slime, purple in color, came falling down right above her head. She held her sword above her, in hopes that her sword would slice off the slime but the only thing the sword accomplished was getting covered in the purple stuff.She watched as the monster tried to crawl its way towards her. She let out a sigh of frustration and threw her sword away.
Another player, just as confused as the two, joined them. She looked at the male @Hikoru for a while before shaking her head.
"I think the best option for us now is find shelter" Just as she said that, another yellow smile fell only inches away from the amethyst eyed girl. "and quick"
She grabbed the Caenis's hand and motioned the male to follow as she walked towards a cave she had seen while she was roaming around. Luckily, the pace of slime falling was really slow so they could easily avoid it. After reaching the cave, the short girl ruffled her hair in annoyance as she started to think what other ways there was to get rid of these gooey creatures.
"for now, our best bet to escape would be to get rid of these slimes. They look harmless but you may never know , and I am not ready to get a phobia of some stupid gooey material kids play with. Oh, normally slime can be taken out by either using hot water or vinegar. I doubt either of us carry vinegar. Is anyone of you using hydromancy by any chance?"She questioned, looking at the male and female. She knew about ways to get rid of slime because of the kids she had to babysit back in the real world really loved their slime

@Vas Schneider

 

A blur of tanned skin and a crimson cloth, a singular Caenis boy visible amidst the downpour of slime bodies. To Vas, everything held a scent whether it knew it or not, using this to his advantage as well as his minor training in movement, Vas was avoiding the scattering fall of slime bodies that made contact with the ground and surrounding trees of the forest. He didn't really know what was causing it but there was nothing for it but to trudge onward until it would cease.

Well that would've been the case if some of these creatures hadn't been hostile. Yes, as cute as the slime buddies had been to gaze upon, there were more menacing ones, in Vas' case it wasn't just a bunch of small angry ones but in fact one large one. Several dark red slimes had fallen near one another, they began to attack Vas immediately. His arms swung out, using blunt force to knock them back, thankfully these creatures weren't acidic - lucky for Vas considering he was a martial artist.

Upon realizing their attacks were fruitless for the moment, the creatures began to deviously inch closer and closer together. Vas knew their positions through scent and visual sight alone but when there were so many slime's falling from the sky, it was hard to keep track of the hostile red ones in keeping out of the fall zone of the still landing ones. The red ones gathered close enough together and the gold eyes of Vas widened when they met the visage of the newly formed large red slime that screeched out as it wobbled.

The screech would be audible throughout the dense forest, reaching the cave nearby where the others had taken refuge from the storm of slime. Just his luck, right? To be the only one left out in the rain and to be up against a big guy like this? The Caenis weighed his options, he could either attempt to outrun the creature and seek out shelter, possible additional aid from others or he could fend it off for as long as possible.

Wobbling mass, outstretched slime swept at Vas' head, leading the boy to flip backwards out of it's strike but not unscathed. The slime had made an edge with it's slime limb, cutting his cheek and causing the tattooed skin to bleed a tad. He wasn't expecting it to be able to alter it's form like that for such a strong offensive - if he wanted to deal with this creature, he couldn't do it alone. Even he had limits and a lone martial artist even with Caenis senses and acrobatic skills couldn't fight a towering slime like this alone.

Vas turned on the heels of his feet and pivoted against the ground beneath them, dashing away from the large enemy. It wasn't fast but it began to follow after him, Vas jumped upwards, clasping a hand onto a tree branch and began to jump from the trees, attempting to lose the creature in the dense thickness of the forest. It would work, at least for some time, eventually having Schneider's body jump down in front of the Cave the others were at.

"This will have to do for now..." Vas spoke as he walked towards the entrance only to spot the other players now inside. "Ah-- you all shouldn't stay here long. Despite this being a nice spot to hide out from the rainfall of slimes, a large one is following me - damn thing is dangerous so unless you wanna help me fight that off, it'd be in your best interest to seek another place to hide away. Oh, names Vas by the way -- sorry for not introducing myself first." He was unarmed, but that was a given since he was martial artist, he just hoped these players didn't start swinging at him when he arrived thinking he was an enemy or because he surprised them. No telling yet though... this was just the start of a really long day.

@Libitina Cerin @Hikoru @Nina Alexander

 

Nina Alexander simply nodded at the human girl in response to her apology. She didn’t need an apology, but based on her own experiences, apologies are usually for the people giving them, not for the people who were supposed to receive them. Most of the time, people were sorry they were found out, not because they did something wrong. It was just human nature, something that Alexander always considered when it came to such situations.

“Why were you lookin’ for slime rain?” she thought it was odd that someone was intentionally looking for something like this. If it were Alexander, she’d have ran to the other direction, oblivious to how valuable a slime rain is. If anything, it was just going to mess up her hair and her clothes. Unless killing slime gave them gold or something. That would be a good reason to mess up one’s hair and clothes. She took a step back, instinctively, as the girl, her hair and clothes, ended up covered in purple. “We really should go.”

Nina Alexander was caught surprised when a man appeared right after the slime appeared. Was it a coincidence? Probably. Or maybe it was intended? Maybe this man was connected to the slimes somehow? Maybe he was the reason the slimes were raining down on them. Alexander put a hand around the hilt of her sword, her grip tight. If anything happened, she would be quick to take a slash at him. There was no way she was going to die at such an early part of her gaming life. At least throw her a boss or something.

Before she could talk to the guy, Alexander found herself dragged to someplace, some shelter perhaps, by the human girl. If that guy knew what was good for him, he’d follow their pair. Inside the cave, Alexander listened intently at the human girl’s observations. “Hot water or vinegar?” Alexander shook her head. She had nothing on her but her junk starter items. Where would anyone even get vinegar in this game? Next you’ll know, someone would be asking her for some curry. “I don’t have either, sorry.” She showed the girl her sword before pointing at the shield on her back. “I only have my sword and my shield…and a really terrible temper.” She grinned, though it might’ve looked more like a threatening grin than a friendly one.

Footsteps? Alexander quickly turned to the entrance with her sword drawn. Slimes couldn’t have made those sounds, especially since they didn’t have feet. They would’ve made a more plop-plopping sound. Or something along those lines. Her scowl slowly turned into a confused stare when she saw it was another Caenis, a boy, who spoke of a rainfall of slimes and a giant slime following him. So her choices were either to run away and find another hiding spot or fight with this boy? Heh. Easiest decision of her life.

Lowering her sword to one side, she walked forward, towards the other Caenis, though she made sure there was still at least a few steps between them. Could slimes change appearances and impersonate an actual Caenis? Probably not, but it’s always better to be safe. “My name’s Alexander. Nina Alexander. These are…” Ah, crap. I didn’t even get their names. She stood there in complete embarrassment, one hand gesturing for the others, as she looked at them, pretending to remember their names she didn’t even get.

@Libitina Cerin @Vas Schneider @Hikoru

 

"It was a quest that was put up and it seemed interesting to me" She stated. She nodded at the female. "well, I do not have much luck either. Just a beginners dagger" She told. The amethyst eyed human watched as the Caenis drew her sword. She recalled how her species would be good at hearing and turned towards the entrance of the cave to see who was about to appear. Unlike the female, Libitina stood without even attempting to draw her weapon.Last time the Caenis was on guard, she was pointing a blade towards her. She noticed a male figure entering the cave and tell them about the incoming slime.

'Great. How are we to defeat them? Touching them could be dangerous. When I tried to cut them in half, my sword got covered with it, but that was only because my blade was rusty.. now that I think about it' She took out her dagger to see it was in a much better condition. She believed this weapon would actually be more useful. The girl lifted her head to look at her companions.

She was too busy in her thought process that she did not get the female Caenis's name nor did she notice the other female was gesturing at her until she looked at blond. She stayed silent for a while, wondering just what could be the reason the Caenis was pointing towards her.

"My apology, I was just thinking something. If you told your name Miss, I'm afraid I didn't catch it. Speaking of names, My name is Libitina Cerin. If what Vas is telling is indeed accurate, it means we do not have much time to sit around and chat. We need to think and act quickly. Getting to know each other can be done after we deal with this situation. Tell me Vas. Do you think that huge red slime you ran away from could be the main leader? As in, do you think if we kill this slime, we could finish off this quest?" She asked.

@Nina Alexander @Vas Schneider @Hikoru

 

It was good to see that he hadn't just been picked out as some kind of enemy despite his shady appearance, it helped a lot in getting this all figured out. First was another Caenis wielding some sword in her hand and introducing herself as Nina, then another girl came forth and introduced herself as Libitina. It was amusing to see how awkward Nina was when she realized she knew neither of the other two people's names. While the man didn't introduce himself quite yet, Vas took it upon himself to focus on what Libitina had to ask towards him.

"Tell me Vas, do you think that huge red slime you ran away from could be the main leader? As in, do you think if we kill this slime we could finish this quest?"

It was an interesting question to say the least! Vas wasn't even aware that this was a quest, he just happened to be in the right place, at the right time or rather in terms of luck the wrong time! Vas rubbed his chin in contemplation, trying to figure out whether it would indeed end this quest if they were to defeat the large slime that was no doubt still on it's way after him. It was slow and sluggish but it wouldn't be long until it did arrive.

"I don't want to lie to you since you seem like really nice people, I don't know if it will end the quest if we kill it -- but honestly, do we really have another choice? If we don't kill it, it'll just fall onto someone else's shoulders and become their problem. I don't know about you but I hate being a burden on other people if I can help it, that's why I warned you ahead of time because I didn't want you to suffer from my mistake of letting it follow me here. If you want to escape, I won't stop you."

Vas turned around and walked out into the rain of slime, punching away any falling slimes around him that came close to landing on his body. He stopped once he was some twenty feet away from the cave and dragged the bottom of his heel against the ground, digging a line in the ground horizontally across from himself. He smiled back towards both Libitina and Nina and just gave them both a thumbs up with his right hand.

"If worse comes to worse, I'll just by you guys some time. Until I'm dead, I won't let the Red Slime get passed me or this line. So feel free to count on me, okay? It's the least I can do for nice people like you."

Just as he finished saying that, the sound of a sludge-like movement sounded out in the distance and coming closer towards the cave was a HUGE red slime. The slime seemed to have collected a few more red slimes that fell from the sky to make itself even bigger than before. It wasn't anything like a giant but it definitely wasn't a pushover in height either. It even caused Vas to take a swallow down his throat and just grin.

"Man... what a pain in the ass..." With a deep breath Vas' eyes seemed to sharpen and the Caenis' hands moved into a stance with his claws bared. His legs eased slightly apart from one another and his tail flicked from side to side. His body was beginning to work together it's own connection to his skill in Martial Arts that he'd taken as his primary offensive talent.

Assist Mode ON: Martial Arts Activated -- Battle Start

Vas pivots quickly from the line, dashing forwards at the slime and jumps, twirling his body in mid air sideways which saves him partially from the whipping swipes of the Red Slime's tendrils, even though he manages to avoid a more crucial impact from both of them, one does slice along his thigh.

It's when he starts cascading down towards the ground again that he makes his move, landing on his hands in an impressive handstand and spinning his body around to perform spinning kicks against the Slime's body. While the slime gets impacted enough to slide backwards a bit more from Vas, the blunt damage doesn't seem as effective as a cutting weapon would be in this instance.

Vas takes the opportunity of their distance to perform a backwards cartwheel into a back-flip to land just ahead of the line he made again. True to his word, he wouldn't let it past the line if he could do anything about it. Whether any of the others decided to help him or not however, was completely up to them.