'Besides civilizations like Aurora, which are connected to the Land of Origin through Awakeners, there are also native civilizations. This building seems to be a remnant of the past, now abandoned,' Michael observed.
After leaving the dark room where he first appeared, he found himself in a wide corridor that was dimly lit, saved only by holes in the distant ceiling.
If the roof weren't so far out of reach, he would've tried breaking out rather than wandering around as he was now.
Thanks to the ventilation provided by the holes in the ceiling, Michael's movents did not cause an echo.
As he moved further, Michael also identified the source of the foul odour filling the air.
'Slis.'
These magical creatures looked like harmless, solidified liquid, but they were far from it, secreting acid with a stench just as terrible. Slis moved by "crawling" and could "hop" to attack.
The foul sll he'd encountered ca from a sli trail left outside the room he'd started in.
Michael wasn't sure if the sa sli was nearby, but after a while of exploring this vast, seemingly empty building, he encountered one.
[Acid Sli Lv. 4]
[Rank: Common★★]
A harmless-looking sli that shoots acid.
'Devious enough,' he thought.
Slis happened to be one of the creatures Michael had read about in a forum post titled 'Common Monsters in the Land of Origin' while waiting for his delivery. Interestingly, the post's author was the sa person behind 'Tips for New Awakeners' —a Level 5 mber of the Supers Association.
Michael wasn't sure what being a Level 5 mber ant, but he thought it sounded impressive.
In 'Common Monsters in the Land of Origin,' creatures like slis and goblins were described with pictures attached, so even before using {Detect} on the Acid Sli, Michael already knew what it was. What he hadn't expected was for sothing like the Acid Sli to exist.
It looked vastly different from the cute, blue sli he'd seen in the post, but since the Awakener had ntioned there were many sli variants, he wasn't too surprised in the end.
'A two-star common-rank monster. Guess that says a lot about its freakish nature.'
Michael didn't know if it was the Acid Sli's slightly grotesque appearance, the terrible stench, or its ability to shoot acid that bothered him most.
In the Land of Origin, there were seven known ranks for monsters, from low to high: Common, Rare, Extraordinary, Epic, Legendary, Mythical, and Demigod. Each rank had three mini-grades called stars—like one-star Common, two-star Common, two-star Rare, and so on.
Both monsters and items followed this ranking system. For items, the stars indicated efficiency and quality, while for monsters, they represented potential. Every star in a monster's rank allowed up to seven levels, so a two-star common-rank Acid Sli, like the one in front of Michael, could potentially reach level 14.
'A rank 1, level 4 sli that shoots acid. Sure enough, this sli is too freakish. Whatever happened to being just cute, huh?'
Though Michael's thoughts seed scattered, he was actually weighing whether to confront the Acid Sli or retreat. Although the sli was over three levels above him, slis were considered so of the weakest monsters, making them relatively easy to kill if one prepared well.
Michael hadn't forgotten his main goal, shared by all Awakeners entering the Land of Origin—to get stronger, and the quickest way to do that was levelling up.
And as a necromancer, he'd eventually need undead summons, so he would have to kill sothing, or he'd be a "fake" necromancer at the end of the day.
Levelling up allowed for custom stat allocation, which ant Michael could technically build himself like a warrior, but ignoring his class's strengths would make him diocre. There was no reset button for Awakeners who carelessly wasted their potential.
'Too bad slis don't leave a body behind, or I could've finally used my class skills to revive sothing.'
Of course, he wasn't entirely serious; even if the sli did leave a body, he wouldn't be eager to contract such a slly creature unless he was desperate.
In a way, encountering a sli first wasn't bad news. Any other monster might have been a significant challenge, while slis, especially Acid Slis, were known for their slow movent. Still, he couldn't let his guard down—a leather armour alone wouldn't be enough to protect him from an acid shot.
After a mont's thought, Michael finally decided to see if he could turn this Acid Sli into experience points—or end up as its food.
'Let's do this!'
Suppressing the urge to take a deep breath to steady his nerves, he rushed out from his hiding spot and began firing at the football-sized green monster about 10 tres away.
Ptui!
Bang!
Ptui!
Bang!
Ptui!
Bang!
"…."
Three shots, and he missed every one.
The Acid Sli finally seed to notice him, "turning" to "look" at him, vibrating in a way that seed almost angry—or so Michael thought.
He hadn't expected his aim to be this poor, even at a distance of 10 tres. Sure, the sli's small size made it a tricky target, but why were his bullets missing entirely? Michael wanted to bla the recoil, but his enhanced Awakener body made that excuse weak.
'My aim is truly terrible,' he thought, frowning. He readied himself to shoot again, but before he could, the sli fired a jet of acid straight at him.
"Shit!" Michael dodged hurriedly, but a drop of acid managed to hit his unarmored arm.
"Ahhh!" He stifled a scream as a burning pain shot through him. In that mont, he realised he'd heavily underestimated the Acid Sli.
But there was no ti to dwell on the pain. The sli launched another acid shot, which Michael dodged successfully this ti—but his confidence was wavering.
Sweat dripped down his forehead as he struggled to ignore the searing pain in his arm, his left hand now useless as he aid with just his right. The second attack had finally angered him. Accuracy be damned—he started shooting wildly in the sli's direction.
Ptui!
Bang!
Ptui!
Bang!
Ptui!
Ptui!
Ptui!
Most shots missed, but his burst of frustration began to inflict so damage, even if only a little.
Soon, all thirty bullets in Michael's gun were exhausted.
As he fled from the acid sli, now slightly smaller but still hopping after him, he followed the marks he'd made with his dagger on several walls to avoid getting lost in the vast, abandoned building. He tried to reload, but the pain in his left arm made it difficult, causing him to drop several clips.
The worst part was that the sli's hopping speed was only slightly slower than his own, keeping him within its attack range. Though his leather armour protected his back and legs, he could still feel the heat closing in.
After several failed attempts, Michael finally managed to reload and resud a frantic shooting spree at the sli. This process repeated a few more tis until, with a lucky shot, he damaged the core inside the sli, finally killing it.
---
[You killed a Common★★ LV 4 Acid Sli]
[You've gained 45 Experience Points]
[You killed a monster three levels higher than your own, earning a 4x experience multiplier]
[You've gained 180 Experience Points]
[Level Up!]
[You have levelled up to Level 2!]
[You have learned the skill {Basic Shot}!]
---
"Ahhh!"
On his first day in the Land of Origin, Michael had almost been taken down by one of the weakest monsters—a sli.
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