As the blob lunged at him, David swung the stick in a wide arc. The wood cracked against the jelly-like body with a wet smack, sending the thing tumbling backwards like a rubber ball.
He stared at the stick in his hands, eyes wide. "Whoa… okay. That actually worked?"
A grin crept across his face. "Ohhh… ohhh this is gonna be good."
He charged forward, adrenaline spiking. He raised the stick high and slammed it down into the blob again. Squelch. The impact splashed blue slime across the grass.
"HOW DOES IT FEEL, HUH?!" David shouted, voice breaking. "HOW DOES IT FEEL, JANNY?! HUH? YOU LIKE IT?!"
He brought the stick down again, harder.
"YOU LIKE CHEATING ON ME EVEN AFTER I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING, YOU SELFISH B—!"
The stick came down again and again, his arms trembling. "AND SCREW YOU MOM AND DAD FOR MAKING ME THINK I WAS THE PROBLEM!" Another blow. "AND YOU TOO, BOSS!" The wood hit with a crack, splattering slime onto his face and chest.
When he finally stopped, the slime was a smoking puddle and his chest was heaving. David stood over it, sweat dripping from his brow, arms quivering from the effort. He stared at the stick, now slick with goo.
"I… I might've overdone it," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "Way too much."
He staggered back and dropped to a sitting position in the grass, still breathing hard. The wind cooled the sweat on his neck.
A familiar chime sounded. The hologram flickered back to life above the grass. "You have defeated a Slime. This entry will be added to your database," Bepo's voice announced in its cheerful tone.
David squinted up at it. "Gee, thanks, voice. Or whatever you are."
Above his head, a translucent bar slid upward and glowed: +15 EXP. His Level indicator blinked from 0 to 1.
Another hologram window appeared with a triumphant tone.
"Congratulations, Hawk Mather! You have leveled up. You may now allocate stat points and select a skill."
David blinked at the blue text. "Huh. That's… actually cool."
A panel opened showing his stats:
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Stamina: 1
Magic Affinity: 1
Stat Points: 2
He rubbed his chin. "Ohhh… what should I pick? Magic?" He glanced at his empty hands. "Well, I don't think I can cast spells. Maybe Hawk could've, but I've got no clue, no evidence, so… no no no."
He tapped the Strength icon once. The number ticked up to 2. His arms tingled like he'd just done a heavy workout. "Nice. Nice. Very nice," he murmured, grinning.
He pressed it again. Strength: 3. His grip on the stick felt solid now, like he could snap it in half without trying.
The skill menu bloomed open with three options:
Dash – Move in a burst of speed.
Running – Regain your ability to run.
Double Jump – Jump twice in mid-air.
David tilted his head. "Uhh… running, duh. I can't even jog right now."
He tapped the "Running" icon. A blue glow spread from his chest to his legs, warm and tingling, like someone had just poured electricity into his muscles. The hologram flickered out.
David stood alone in the field, the beaten slime puddled at his feet. He flexed his legs experimentally, then gripped his stick like a baton.
"Well," he muttered, smirking. "Let's test it."
He leaned forward and broke into a jog. His feet pounded the grass, smooth and easy, no syrup-like drag. He pushed harder, faster, the world blurring around him.
"I—" his voice cracked with disbelief, "I CAN RUN! BABY, I CAN RUUUUUUN!"
He whooped and kept sprinting across the meadow, tears streaming down his face, wind whipping against his skin. For the first time in years, he felt light. Alive.
After a while David finally broke out of the endless open field. Trees rose ahead of him like green pillars, their leaves whispering overhead. The air was cooler here, shaded and smelling faintly of pine and damp earth. Birdsong echoed in the distance, and somewhere water trickled over stones.
"Man…" he muttered, stepping onto the narrow dirt path that wound through the trees. "This place is unreal. How did I even get here? Where is everyone? It's like I'm the only human alive."
He scratched his chin, smirking. "But what if I'm the only male… and there were women? Mmmm. Women." His grin widened. "Had to… reproduce with me whether they liked it or—" He stopped, blinking. "Wait. That would mean—ah, never mind." He shook his head. "Focus, David. Focus."
The path twisted deeper into the forest. Shafts of sunlight stabbed down through the canopy. Then—movement. A figure ahead, leaning on a cane.
David's heart leapt. "An actual person!"
He jogged forward, waving his stick. "Hello, old timer!"
The old man turned. He was thin, with a long grey beard and a patched cloak. His cane was carved with symbols David didn't recognize. "Oh, hello there, youngling," the man said, voice mild but eyes sharp.
David grinned ear to ear. "Man, you have no idea how excited I am to see another human. I thought I was the only person here."
The old man smiled faintly. "Well, I'm glad I'm your first. You see, I was just heading to tow—"
"Okay, look." David cut him off, eyes fixed on the cane. "Let's cut the crap. Give me your cane."
The old man blinked. "Wh-what?"
David raised his slime-streaked stick like a bat. "Do I need to repeat myself? Give me the cane or else I'll beat you with mine."
He held the stick up so the blue goo dripped off the tip.
The old man's smile faded. "Oh… well. I guess I might as well give it to you…"
David smirked. "Seems you're not as dumb as I expected."
But as the old man extended the cane, his grip shifted. With surprising speed he pivoted and cracked the cane across David's nose.
Pain exploded. David's HP bar flashed above his head: 6 → 3.
Blood gushed down his lip. He clapped a hand over his nose and stumbled back. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
The old man straightened, his mild eyes now cold. "Nothing. I'm merely defending myself from the likes of you, thief." He raised the cane again, its carved symbols beginning to glow faintly. "Now, I might as well kill you before you try to rob someone else."
David backed up, clutching his stick, blood dripping onto the forest floor. "Wait, wait, old man—"
The old man took a step forward, the forest suddenly quiet around them, his cane humming with energy