Chapter 3: Cave Slug.
Starlight trembled as he looked up at the harrowing, bulbous figure of the monster. Looking back at him were its blood red eyes. He was at a loss for words. This was the first time he was so close to a living and breathing monster. He was afraid; he didn't know what rank the monster was, or how strong it was. All he knew was that he had to fight… or run.
He chose the latter: run. Starlight swiftly turned around and ran, not caring about anything except how to escape. Who cares if he gets back to the government and they still don't give him his freedom? It won't matter if he's not alive. Who cares if his escorts don't like him? They won't have to deal with him if he's dead. So what if he's stuck in a cave? Eventually, he could find a way out, but not if he's dead.
However, what kind of monster would it be if it easily let its prey escape from it?
The slug shot a tentacle at Starlight, but he barely managed to dodge it. Although it was fast, Starlight felt shivers run down his spine. "Is it… playing with me?'
It whipped another one at him, equally as fast as the one before. But again, Starlight barely managed to dodge it.
In front of him was a massive chunk of stone. Starlight chose to hide behind it; he leaped over the top of it and landed on the opposite side. Putting his hand over his head and bracing for impact, he pressed his back against the rock.
But nothing came, for a moment, Starlight had thought that he had lost the creature. He was about to stand up when a massive tentacle rammed into the rock. The rock skidded across the ground, sending Starlight along with it.
When the rock finally stopped, Starlight kept rolling. With a few more bounces, he crashed against one of the cave's walls.
"Gahhh!" Starlight cried out. He had slammed directly into a stone wall. No matter how powerful the Artifact, it could not negate all the damage. Starlight felt his organs shake as a stream of blood fell from his nose.
Using the cloak, he wiped away the blood on his face and stood up. He was now a considerable distance from the slime, but not enough.
By slamming into a wall, it confirmed his suspicion that he was stuck in here. Maybe there would be a way out behind the slime. But he would probably have to kill it first.
Starlight glanced back at the sug. He held his ribs and gut, and his eyes were full of loathing and hatred.
'Damn it, it looks like I'm going to have to fight this thing.'
Starlight clenched his jaw, and his expression darkened at the thought of having to fight this thing. But he was ready; either he was going to make it out of this fight and live another day, or the monster was. There was no room for
Twenty meters away, Starlight could make out the creature's entire body and a few more tentacles.
Starlight limped closer to the monster. He was still in pain from the impact, but it was getting better. Well, his injuries weren't getting better, but he felt less pain. The thought of killing the creature, although scary, fueled his adrenaline.
As he moved closer, the slime also felt the change in his attitude. Starlight, anticipating the slug would attack again, jumped to his right, landing on the cold, hard rocks. Moments later, a tentacle shot out from where he had just been standing.
Following the failed attack, the slug slammed another tentacle down towards Starlight. He rolled away just in time and quickly got to his feet. Just as quickly as he got up, Starlight dashed to the right. Tentacles shot out from the beast one after another, attempting to hit him.
Just before a tentacle smashed into his ribs, again he rolled, narrowly dodging the attack. When Starlight got up, a cluster of blue, glowing slime was wiggling on his hand; he had rolled over the top of a slime pile. Creeped out, Starlight flung off the slime.
The creature shot another tentacle right at Starlight. He threw himself backwards, falling on his back. The tentacle landed right where he had flung off the slime.
After hitting the ground, it stopped and hovered above the spot where it had just attacked. A moment later, a barrage of slimy tentacles appeared right in front of his body. The slug flailed its tentacles all in his direction and around him, ensuring he had no place to run.
"Arghh," Starlight groaned.
Right before the tentacles hit him, he had managed to pull his cloak over his chest. The tentacle came crashing into it, craking the stone around Starlight, as he was pushed deeper into the ground.
Geralt had told him that his mother had to slay a Demon to get the materials for this cloak and assemble it herself. After making the cloak, she brought it to someone who could turn items into Artifacts. Since a Demon was a rank five monster, as long as the slime was weaker than a Wretch, it could decently protect him.
Starlight felt the force of the blow attack his chest, but the cloak had indeed saved his life. If Starlight were hit head-on by a tentacle, he would instantly die. But he still felt the lingering pain of the blow; it was like being punched in the chest — not that he had ever been punched before. Remnant slime from the tentacle stayed on the cloak, and it grew heavier.
The cave was no longer pitch black; rather, it was filled with dim blue light from the slime that the tentacles scattered everywhere. The room was about fifty meters wide and half as tall. He could now clearly see the monster in all of its might.
It did, in fact, look like an enormous slug; it was over three times the size of the Starlight and twice as wide. Its head and neck, although smaller, towered tall over its body.
Starlight's eyes lingered on his precious cloak, the bone white hide was covered in the blue slime of the slug. Reluctantly, he took it off and threw it aside.
Starlight had figured something out and was taking a risk by giving up his only protection.
Even though he was just guessing, he no longer had the energy or the patience to play with the slime. He was willing to place his life on this guess. Earlier, when the tentacle had stabbed into the pile of slime, instead of him, he had a lingering suspicion. The monster could actually be blind and use the slime as its vision.
By taking off his cloak, Starlight was essentially blind in the creature's eyes. The cloak had slime on it, not him.
He sprinted away from his fallen cloak. His target was to the left of the monster. Right behind him, three giant tentacles stabbed straight into the cloak. A slight smile crept onto his face, but quickly disappeared.
When the monster realized Starlight wasn't where he was supposed to be, and wasn't with his cloak, Starlight was already at the edge of the cave. He broke a sharp piece of rock off the wall. It looked like a stone dagger, but less sharp and more rough.
Starlight sneaked over towards the menacing creature. Enraged by the trick that Starlight had played, the slug was wildly swinging its tentacles around the room. He felt his hair on end as one of the zoomed passed by and crashed into the wall behind it, shattering the stone.
When Starlight was only a few meters away from it, the slug turned its long neck and head over ot his direction, its blood red eyes staring right at him. Starlight froze, not daring to move or make a sound.
Sweat ran down his forehead, dripping onto his shirt. His void-like eyes locked with the beasts. He struggled to hold in his breath as his legs started to give out on him.
'Does it actually see me? Why isn't it attacking? Is it really just a coincidence that it happened to look at me?'
Starlight thought of answers in his head, but immediately, as he thought that the creature had played him all along, the creature turned the other way, inspecting its other side. Starlight held on to the dagger tighter, making sure it was firm in his hands, as he continued to walk closer. But only a few steps later, the slug's head whipped around, staring straight at him. The surrounding tentacles stopped their movements and rushed towards the boy.
Although startled, he darted past the onslaught of tentacles. Starlight continued forward. When he reached the monster, his arms shot forward with the dagger and stabbed straight into its slimy body.
'Phew, it's finally over,' Starlight thought as he sighed heavily. After all, he had just slain a monster as a mundane human. Now his trial would be over, and he could finally leave this cave for good.
'Soon enough, the Hex will envelop me in the same mist that he had brought me into the Trial. Right...?'
A few moments passed, but still nothing.
Starlight felt his legs grow weak as he fell to the ground. His eyes frantically darted around the room, looking for any semblance of the fog, but nothing. His heart sank, his hands still gripping the makeshift knife he had lodged into the monster.
A slimy sensation pulled on his back, a tentacle. The tentacle stretched out and wrapped around his chest, then the dragged him off the ground and into the air, dislodging the knife from the slug's body as Starlight still grasped onto it.
He hung over the creature, too tired to fight back and resist. The slug's bright red eyes glowed indifferently as the tentacle lowered him into the back of the slug.
When he reached its body, slime consumed him whole, and his entire body shook at the unfamiliar feeling of warmth.
Starlight felt sleep calling him, as his eyes struggled to stay open.
'What went wrong?' he asked himself.
Just before Starlight passed out, he spotted a light, a spherical object, glowing dimly and crystal-like in appearance.
'A spirit core!'
He looked in disbelief. The spirit core was a monster's heart. Starlight had just stumbled upon a god-given opportunity, a second and final chance to kill it.
Starlight kicked frantically, searching for anything to push against. He swung the dagger wildly, slashing at the slime.
Then his foot struck something solid; what it was, he didn't care. The core floated just ahead, wrapped in layers of condensed slime. Gritting his teeth, Starlight lunged at the core. Using the last of his energy, he stabbed the spike straight into the slime and the core.
Crack!
The dagger passed through the slime and pierced the core.
SKREEEE!
The slug let out a monstrous shriek. Unfazed by this, Starlight pushed the stalagmite deeper into the core.
Finally, it shattered, and a faint burst of energy escaped the core. The slug gave out one last scream, then slumped to the ground lifeless.
However, Starlight didn't have any time to marvel at his accomplishment. He had to get out of this slime, or else he would suffocate.
He sliced through the side of the slug's body, grabbed the rough stone floor, and pulled himself free of the monster's carcass.
"Ha ha ha...I beat it, I killed a monster," he gasped, "I really did it."