Slimes & Magic

3. I go on an Adventure

Jumping down from the top of Carl's head Alex lands next to a bunch of bags that the trio had put down at the edge of the forest. Looking around they seem like regular old bags holding some of the adventuring basics, ropes, tools, bedding and shelter, fire starters, nothing extra special. Seems that this trio really is just a regular adventuring team.May and the others crouch down to adjust the bags and put them back on their backs."*I think we should just keep going for the moment, seems a bit too early to take a lunch break.*" Says Elvan to the group," *might be able to find a monster or two to defeat if we are lucky*.""*try to keep up with us Alex, if its too much and you need a break feel free to jump on the back of my pack*", May says looking back at Alex as she starts to follow Elvan and Carl who have taken out a map to look at.

Jumping alongside May and the others for a while Alex is able to take in the scenery of the forest while they follow the path. Several different types of trees standing tall and green on either side of the path leading further into the forest. The leaves falling over the path leaving gaps for beams of light to reach the forest floor, bright colours of spring flowers in the trees and covering the ground.

[skill levelled up; Jump]. Looking at the levelled up skill Alex finds out it is able to now set a specific distance for the jump instead of arbitrarily jumping some length. Trying it out Alex tries to jump to 10 meters ahead of where they were currently standing, jumping over the two guys leading the group the jump only makes it to a length of 8 meters. "*Woah! Big jump there Alex*" shouts Carl in surprise. Wondering about the accuracy of the jumps Alex thinks about the destination rather than the distance for the next jumps. Jumping from the path to a rock on the side, then right up to a branch hanging over the path, all while being followed by the eyes of the trio. "*Did you level up your jump Alex?*" Calls out May from below, jumping twice on the branch Alex aims right for May's backpack as she continues to walk under them. Landing right on the top of May's pack Alex scoots towards her right shoulder, nudging in to the side of her neck playfully. With May reaching over her shoulder to pet Alex on the head the trio continues their trip with Alex resting on the back.

Maybe two hours after Alex levelled up their Jump Elvan stops the groups with a wave of his hand." *I'm seeing a trio of smaller monsters, my best guess is a group of the forest Boars, best get out our weapons.*" Alex jumps down from May's backpack as she takes out her bow, Elvan gestures them to follow as he leads them off the path a little bit in to the forest. Coming to a stop behind a row of trees that open up a small space in the forest they spot the three boars gathered around a berry bush growing in the middle of the opening in the forest. Drawing back her bow May looks at the other two, both nodding she shoots the first boar in the side making it squeal. Carl pulling his sword out rushes forwards to the shot boar while Elvan steps out from behind the trees and fires what looks like a spear of ice from his big gem staff. The ice spear hits the second boar as Carl slices down on to the first, who then quickly sidesteps to slice the second board down as well. Meanwhile May aims at the last one now charging towards her, the boar dodges the arrow and instead changes course to run straight at Alex. "*Watch out!*" May shouts as the boar gets closer. Instead of dodging the charge attack Alex makes the last second decision to jump in to the boar by headbutting it. Using blunt force Alex is able to knock down the boar and May quickly jumps in with her dagger to finish it off. "*You ok there Alex?* "May asks as she bends down to pick up the slime. The headbutt attack Alex performed seemed to only have done damage to the boar as Alex was able to absorb the shock in the same way they absorb the shock of landing after a jump. Jumping up to May's shoulder and rubbing against the side of her neck Alex tries to indicate that he is alright. "*Ok then.*" May confirms, "*You too alright as well?*" asking the other two, Carl replies "*Yep not a scratch, lets gather up these three boars.*" At this point Alex sees a small message pop up saying [Exp gained from kill. Slime is now at level 2.] Considering that Alex wasn't the one who dealt the killing blow, their best guess is that they got the killing exp because they knocked out the boar which lead to its death."*Lets set up camp here for tonight guys, we should process these boars before moving on.*" Elvan suggests, "*I'll set up a few small traps to catch a bit of dinner while I put up the protective magic. Could you three set up the sleeping arrangements and some sticks for a fire?*" Swinging down their backpacks Alex jumps down to the ground as May says "*Sure thing, hey Alex, could you maybe try to collect some sticks from around here while we put down the tarps.*" Happy to help out with making camp both Alex and Elvan head to the edge of the small clearing as the other two start to unfold a pair of big tarps. Looking at the ground for a couple sticks Alex goes up to one thinking about how they might carry it back. The easiest would be to put all the sticks in their slime body and pick them out back at the camp. Hopping on to the stick in front of them Alex lets the stick be partially absorbed by their slime body. Surprised to see a message appear [Store item in slime stomach or absorb in to nutrients?] , choosing the first activates the skill slime stomach sucking in the stick. Realising the potential of this skill Alex quickly hops around from stick to stick absorbing quite a few of them before returning back to the camp site. Hopping back in to the clearing May and Carl just finished with the tarps and laying out sleeping bags. Two bags were set on Carls tarp, and just one in front of May. She says "*You can stay and sleep next to me if you like Alex seeing as the tarp for the boys is occupied already. Did you manage to find any sticks?* "Hopping on the spot twice Alex uses the slime stomach skill and spits out the stick they had stored in to a neat pile in front of them. Happy with the result and being able to help with making camp Alex jumps happily up and down in front of May and in to her hands. "*Oh wow that is real useful being able to store things in your stomach*", she says. Crouching down to inspect the pile of sticks Carl proclaims "*Wow the sticks are completely clean too, no slime on them or anything! Very nice!*" Nodding with an impressed expression Carl starts piling the sticks appropriately to make a fire. With Alex in her hands May sits down on to the edge of her tarp and puts them in her lap. Alex happy with their praise huddles closer to May's stomach as she pets them on their top. Elvan returns to the camp showing a satisfied expression and says "*Alright then, traps are set, camp made too. Lets work on these boars before dinner.*"