From the side, a brown tentacle swung toward Lux. He immediately held his sword straight and struck forward. The sword landed a direct hit on the tentacle. Green blood sprayed onto the ground, a wound tearing into the tentacle. It twitched and moved.
Lux managed to stop the tentacle's strike. With a jerk, he leaned his own weight onto the sword. It slid further through the flesh of the tentacle, then cut clean through it. The severed piece fell into the mud, green blood spreading around it. Lux quickly jumped back to Fie. The tentacle no longer moved and collapsed onto the ground. The blunt remainder immediately turned gray.
Lux stood beside her, and the two of them watched the brutal fight. The monsters lashed their tentacles through the air, striking each other and tearing into their flesh. Both monsters looked exhausted and were bleeding everywhere. It was a matter of energy. How much strength did they have left?
Then a maw opened. The injured slime monster's tentacle shot toward the flesh of the other. With too little strength to resist, the tentacle pierced through the brown skin. The mouth opened slightly in pain. The other monster pulled itself forward. Now the two monsters stood beside each other.
Immediately, the monster that had impaled the other with its tentacle opened its mouth. White, sharp teeth were revealed. With a bite into the brown flesh, it tore the other monster apart. After two more bites, it stopped, and the other monster sank dead into the mud.
Lux looked at Fie. They nodded.
Suddenly, Lux received a system message from the chains. Black letters formed above him, glowing white.
[you have obtained essence of the slime monster 2/3]
Lux whispered,
"W-what? I got an essence? But I didn't kill it?"
He was pulled from his thoughts as Fie rushed forward. She really wanted to defeat a rank 5 monster. The brown slime monster had partially sunk but was still clearly visible. Green blood flowed over every part of its body. It looked weak and no longer moved.
Lux immediately ran after her. Dragged down by the heavy mud, he had to use a lot of strength just to run. When they reached the monster, the two stopped and looked at it.
The mouth opened slightly, and a disgusting tongue shot out. It twitched, trying to reach Lux and Fie. Then the vile tongue fell to the ground, and the monster did not move a single centimeter. The tentacles in the air slapped down into the brown mud. The brown monster turned gray, and all color drained from its skin.
Fie asked,
"Is it dead?"
Lux nodded.
"Yes, it succumbed to its wounds."
But Lux fell silent as he looked up and saw black letters forming. Did he now have three out of three essences? Could he now create a monster that would fight for him? Or would it kill him?
The letters above Lux trembled, glowing black. Lux briefly looked at Fie, who was simply standing there, staring at the monster. Then Lux looked up.
[you have obtained slime monster essence 3/3]
The letters shattered and immediately formed again.
[you can create: slime monster! (3/3 essence!) create?]
Lux thought. They didn't know what kinds of monsters and dangerous creatures still existed in this world, and after seeing that dragon, it was very possible that there were far more dangerous monsters than the slime monster. So having a fighter on his side would be very good. But the message that the monster could betray Lux made him hesitate. He would never be able to defeat a large slime monster.
Lux sighed, then looked at Fie, who was poking the dead monster.
"What is she doing?"
Then Fie looked at Lux and spoke with a bit of concern.
"We will need water soon. We should either start looking for water specifically or keep going to the castle. Maybe we can still endure it and not die of thirst?"
Lux thought. The situation was a bit complicated. They could look for water now, a spring or something, but if they didn't find any, they might die of thirst before reaching the castle. But if they went to the castle now, they could maybe find water there. Then a dangerous thought crossed Lux's mind.
"And what if there is no water in the castle?"
Fie shook her head.
"Th-that has to be!"
She was right. There had to be water there. So the decision was made. Lux looked at her with hope and said,
"If we keep going now, we will arrive in the morning!"
At that time, it was midday. The sun stood at its highest point and shone down onto the wide field. The large blue crystal also cast its blue light across the land.
They continued walking. They walked so far that their legs began to hurt. Of course, heavy armor made traveling harder, but it was useful in battle. Neither of them wore armor that was too heavy, so they moved forward at the same pace. Lux would like to see Fie fight one day. He couldn't quite judge her yet, but he thought he would get the chance.
After a while, they left the slime area. Both grinned and said,
"Damn slime!"
They were now only a few hours away from the castle. It could be seen in its full splendor. Built in black, the castle stood on slightly elevated ground. A large gate was visible at the front. Then suddenly, there it was. A cloud of smoke rose into the air. A sign that someone lived there, or maybe something. Who knew?
Lux nudged Fie.
"Look, there's smoke rising!"
Fie nodded.
"Then we have proof that someone lives there, right?"
She looked at Lux and stopped. Lux looked back at her, then at the castle.
"Hmm… or something."
They would soon find out anyway whether the castle was inhabited, so they fell silent.
Slowly, the light in the sky faded and turned into a purple red sky. The last rays of sunlight shone on the ground until they vanished completely after a few minutes. The stars began to sparkle in the sky, and the large moon once again cast its bright white light onto the castle. Fie and Lux could see less than before, which was only natural in the darkness.
"Maybe we should sleep here and arrive tomorrow morning," Fie said.
Lux thought. They could continue walking in the dark and be attacked at any moment, or stay here and be attacked at any moment. Lux stopped.
"No, we keep going!"
The glaring white moonlight shone down on the two of them. Since they decided not to sleep here and to keep going, they did exactly that. Fie and Lux continued walking. It would take about half an hour until they arrived, but… that was about to change!
Lux and Fie could hardly wait to reach the castle and to have truly made it through the long journey. But first, the two of them had to focus on something else. Lux walked beside Fie, who was half asleep. It felt like both of their bodies were already asleep.
"We're almost there, can you still hold on?" Lux asked in a weak and exhausted voice.
Fie looked pale in the moonlight. Maybe she would collapse any second. Fie spoke quietly and weakly,
"i-ich can't anymore! I'm thirsty, my legs hurt, and on top of that I can barely see!"
This night was especially dark, because the moonlight no longer shone on them but somehow looked as if it had been drained away. Lux had already noticed it earlier. Around the two of them, everything somehow looked darker.
"Fie...…"
Lux stopped speaking and looked frightened. Fie stopped as well, and so did Lux.
"Th-there! It's some kind of dog or wolf group!"
When Lux finished whispering, he pointed behind Fie. She widened her eyes and looked even more frightened than before. The fact that the two of them looked completely exhausted must have attracted the hunters. Of course, weakened prey was the easiest.
Lux slapped his face to stay awake. His legs trembled from energy loss. His lips were dry, and pain plagued his body. Lux tried to concentrate. First, he counted the dogs in the darkness. It was difficult because they were only faintly visible, but when they showed themselves again and again, you could count them all at once.
Lux raised his fingers.
"1 wait 2 it's 3!"
Three black dogs with yellow glowing eyes. The darkness around them was especially strong, as if it were being drawn toward the dogs. This had to be an ability of theirs. Lux realized it immediately.