LEVEL UP! RELDA III IS NOW LEVEL 2!
Hiro and Relda tried to pick up the pace. The white Slime Queen was looking a lot more confident now, more than she already was. Hiro, on the other hand, was rather surprised.
"You just now became Level 2?", Hiro questioned, "So the Slime who saved me from all those monsters... was a Level 1 Slime?".
Relda began to giggle a little bit. "A level 1 ROYAL Slime. We're stronger than normal Slimes. A Level 1 normal Slime would have stood no chance against everything we've fought so far."
"I sure am glad the Slime Queen's on my side."
The pair of adventurers came across a strange sight. It appeared as though walls had been constructed out of mounds of dirt. These walls became increasingly common as the two went forward.
"Are these more ancient ruins? Like your castle?", questioned Hiro.
Relda wasn't sure what to make of it either.
Just then, a new creature appeared from behind a wall. It was a goblin! It chuckled as it looked mischievously at the two who had wandered into its territory.
"I didn't know there were goblins in these woods.", said Hiro.
Relda became worried. "Look out! That's no ordinary goblin!"
The goblin opened its mouth wide, then pulled something out from its throat. In its hand, it now held a black sphere with a skull marking on it. It threw the sphere in the direction of Hiro and Relda. It didn't hit them, but landed on the ground in front of them.
"Move!", shouted Relda. The slime pushed the elf out of the way.
The strange sphere that the goblin had pulled out of its throat exploded. The blast radius was rather small, but could have gotten Hiro if Relda hadn't moved him in time.
"What are they?", Hiro asked.
"Bomb Goblins!", answered Relda.
More Bomb Goblins made their way out from behind the walls, laughing and cheering at the explosion that the first one had caused. Their presence spelled even more trouble for our two on their quest.
Relda continued to explain. "An indigenous culture of Goblins! We, the Slimes, occasionally came into contact with them a century ago. And with contact came conflict."
One of the Goblins pulled another bomb out of its throat and tossed it at Hiro and Relda. This time, the two of them were prepared. Hiro struck the bomb with the side of his sword. The explosive bounced off his sword, towards one of the walls.
When the bomb finally exploded, the wall was cracked. The Goblin hiding behind that wall took notice, and visibly grew worried.
"Good thinking, Hiro!", said Relda, "If we can blast down the walls using their own bombs, they will be defenseless against us!"
Hiro and Relda worked together in sync, with the elf's sword deflecting the incoming bombs. He directed the next one towards the first cracked wall. When that happened, the wall collapsed, and the Goblin behind it was left exposed to attack. This gave Relda the opportunity to attack the goblin directly.
She charged at it, slamming it with her body before pummeling it with slimy tendrils. The first goblin was killed. Relda devoured the small creature to regain HP and gain a little EXP.
Hiro managed to destroy a second wall with the deflected bombs. Relda rushed over to dispatch of the next Goblin. Very soon, the next wall came down, then the next, then the next. The Slime Queen rushed each of the native creatures, until all had been defeated.
LEVEL UP! HIRO IS NOW LEVEL 2!
As the last goblin fell, the forest seemed to grow quieter. The constant buzzing and hissing of the monsters had ceased, leaving an eerie silence in its place. Hiro and Relda looked around, unsure of what to expect next.
"I... I leveled up too?", Hiro questioned in disbelief.
Relda nodded. "Sure looks like it. You've been gaining EXP by assisting me in these battles, it seems."
Hiro grew a little confident. He pointed his sword in the air. "If that's the case, I'll help you out some more!"
Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the trees, shaking the very ground beneath their feet. The Elf and the Slime looked to see the cause of it. They saw another Bomb Goblin, much larger than the ones that came before it. It was taller, looking both more muscular and fatter at the same time. In one of its massive hands, it carried what looked like the headless corpse of the standard Bomb Goblin. The adventurers watched as the big goblin swallowed the remains of the smaller goblin whole in a grotesque display of gluttony.
"Did it just... eat its own kind?", Hiro asked with disbelief.
"This is the Forest of Hunger after all.", Relda considered aloud, "I suppose even the Goblins are insatiable in a place like this.".
Hiro pointed his sword at the big Goblin. "Well, looks like we better fight it! I'd rather not end up on the menu next! And I doubt you'd want to either!"
Hiro and Relda braced themselves as the large goblin approached them, its eyes filled with malice and hunger. Hiro's sword was poised and ready, while Relda's slimy form rippled with anticipation.
The goblin pulled a dark sphere from its throat, this one larger than the ones that had come before. Hiro and Relda both took a step back, knowing this was one of the deadly bombs they had encountered earlier. The goblin hurled the bomb at them. It landed in front of them both. They both took cover behind some nearby trees to evade the oncoming explosion.
The explosion was large as well, covering much of the area, though the trees protected our adventurers. They were, however, left intimidated by the explosion.
Relda, trying to improvise in this situation, used another transformation. She transformed into one of the horned bees she had eaten earlier. With this, she flew towards the big goblin, buzzing all the way.
The Big Bomb Goblin pulled another bomb out of its throat and tried to toss it at Relda. But the Slime, in bee form, was too small and fast for it. She dodged the bomb and descended to sting.
She stung and she stung. However, there was a problem. The Big Bomb Goblin, though annoyed, was not affected by the attack. It roared at her, opening its mouth wide in anger, but did not seem to be hurt.
"Darn it!", Relda said with frustration, "Its DEFENSE is too high! I can barely damage it with these stings!".
But this time, Hiro had an idea. Hiro swung his sword, deflecting the deadly explosive back towards the Big Bomb Goblin. As Relda continued to sting the goblin, doing mere scratch damage, she caused it to roar again. At that moment, during the roar, the bomb disappeared down the goblin's throat.
There was a moment of surprise, followed by a huge explosion that ripped through the goblin's body. The force of the blast sent it flying backwards, its body smoking and charred. Relda and Hiro looked at each other as they realized the goblin's weakness.
Relda transformed into a standard Bomb Goblin. "I'll throw the bombs this time!", she said, "You try to get it to roar again!".
Hiro swung his sword furiously at the large goblin, his face a picture of determination. Relda, in her Bomb Goblin form, waited patiently for the right moment. The large creature roared in anger, its eyes darting between the sword strikes and the small slime-goblin readying an explosive.
Suddenly, Relda pounced, throwing a bomb down the goblin's throat as it opened wide in another roar. There was a huge explosion, and the goblin was lifted off its feet, its body smoking and damaged. Hiro and Relda had found the creature's weakness, and they capitalized on it. Relda transformed back into her slime form and together they worked in unison.
Hiro's sword strikes drew the goblin's attention and anger, while Relda, ever vigilant, waited for the telltale sign of another roar. Sure enough, the goblin opened its mouth wide, and the Slime Queen tossed another bomb down its throat. There was a massive blast, and this time, the goblin didn't get up.
The forest fell silent once more as the large creature lay defeated at their feet. Hiro and Relda, covered in smoke and ash, shared a triumphant glance. They had survived the Forest of Hunger, and emerged victorious.
LEVEL UP! HIRO IS NOW LEVEL 3!
LEVEL UP! RELDA III IS NOW LEVEL 3!
They soon noticed, however, in the Big Goblin's dying breath, that it spat out a familiar bluish-green rock. Hiro and Relda got closer to it and realized what it was. "An Energy Crystal!", Hiro cried out with joy.
"Indeed.", Relda said, "But it looks to be just a normal Energy Crystal, not one of the Big Energy Crystals we were sent to get.".
Hiro picked it up anyway. "Still, I'm sure this is worth a lot of money on its own. I could sell this to help feed my family. Let's pick up any normal Energy Crystals we find along the way, for our own use."
Relda nodded in agreement.
After a long day of adventuring in the Forest of Hunger, Hiro and Relda set up their camp for the night. The two of them were tired from their battles, but knew that they had to keep watch over their camp, taking turns to rest. "I'll take the first watch," Hiro offered. "You've had a more eventful day than I have, Relda. You should get some shuteye first."
Relda, the Slime Queen, was grateful for Hiro's consideration. She didn't argue and soon settled down, her white slimy form pulsating softly as she drifted into a peaceful slumber. Hiro kept his eyes peeled, gazing into the dark forest, the orange glow of the sky barely illuminating the surroundings.
The quiet atmosphere was eerie, an ominous feeling lingering in the air. He listened intently, his sword drawn, ready for any signs of danger. The night was peaceful for now, but Hiro knew better than to let his guard down in this treacherous forest.
Unexpectedly, however, he saw Relda come up to him from behind, carrying something large and green. It looked to be the severed arm of the Big Bomb Goblin they had defeated earlier. "Here. I want you to eat this.", offered the Slime Queen.
"You want me to eat that monster's arm?", Hiro questioned, "But why?".
"I've had plenty of meals all day, but you, Hiro, also need to eat. I noticed you hadn't eaten at all, so I thought I'd offer you some of my snacks."
Hiro reluctantly accepted the arm. He looked at it questioningly. "But I'm an elf. I'm not like you Slimes.", Hiro said, "I don't gain EXP, or even HP, from eating monsters. And I definitely don't gain transformations like you Slimes do."
"That doesn't make your hunger any less important than mine.", assured Relda.
With that, Hiro took a bite of the goblin arm, while Relda returned to the camp to get a little sleep.
DIARY OF QUEEN RELDA III,
"We've departed into the Forest of Hunger to look for the first of the Big Energy Crystals we seek. However, we have yet to find it. We did, however, find a normal Energy Crystal during our travels. We will continue our search, and pick up any other normal Energy Crystals we find on our way to the Big Crystal."
"I leveled up twice today, going to Level 2 then Level 3. Hiro also leveled up twice. He is Level 3 as well. This will make things easier for us moving forward."
"I dread to think what other dangers this forest may contain. Where could the real Big Energy Crystal possibly be?"
QUEEN RELDA III'S MONSTER CODEX
FLESH BEE
"A large, omnivorous insect. It eats pollen and flesh. The horns on their head contain no poison, unlike the stingers on their backsides. Attacking one usually causes a whole swarm to rush to its defense. Being so small and fast, it usually requires the whip tongue of a Waddling Lizard to defeat."
BOMB GOBLIN
"Feral goblin tribesmen native to the forests. They can conjure bombs from within their bodies and toss them at their foes. They seem to be somewhat more intelligent than the normal creatures here, capable of constructing walls for defense. They have no qualms about cannibalism, and will eat their fallen allies."
BIG BOMB GOBLIN
"A larger variant of the Bomb Goblin, it appears to be the top of Bomb Goblin hierarchies. The bombs it spits are much bigger and deadlier. Its thick hide gives it high DEFENSE. Fortunately, it can be defeated by feeding it bombs, either its own or from a normal Bomb Goblin."
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