Large blue frame floated amidst darkness.

  Not that he could do anything else. There was only the odd glowing screen and the darkness he was part of.

  Another blue screen popped up, this time with choice buttons.

  Well, the choice seemed simple. Better to have low language proficiency than not know that language at all. Now how do you press a button without an actual hand? Whatever he was, arms and legs were not parts of that.

  “Here you go.”

  A helpful, black and slimy tentacle slide up from behind and pressed “Yes” for him.

  “Um… Thank you?”

  Something really big, slimy and potentially possessing many, many tentacles hid inside darkness.

  “You’re welcome. And I am not hiding. I am the darkness. At least the slimy part you’re in. Funny feeling you know. I never had a souls down there.”

  Joe felt tentacles moving and rubbing in a disturbing manner against something that probably was his soul.

  “Oh, you got something nice…I think.”

  Joe focused back on the screen.

  “Shit.”

  Joe stared puzzled at the screen. Costume maker? For real? He had a sewing machine back home and from time to time made something with it. Like some perverted and unimaginably uncomfortable costumes for fuck toy to humiliate her, forcing her to wear them in public but to base a subclass on that?

  Spreading a very unpleasant buzz the screen change from it natural blue to deep black color.

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  “I am so sorry…”

  The tentacle rubbed him in an apologetic manner.

  “If I hadn’t…”

  Sudden silence exploded with cacophony of sounds of the living world. His lungs hewed once, twice then sucked in air, wheezing loudly. Water poured down from the sky, lashing his bare body with enormous droplets.

  Joe blinked time and time again, trying to regain focus. Something was very wrong with this whole situation, he couldn’t move. His hands and legs were tied, his whole body terribly beaten. At least that was what he thought judging by the pain and the taste of blood in his mouth.

  Enjoy my ass! He groaned, rolling over to his back.

  A black window with steadily shrinking red bar appeared in his field of view. At the same time, new wave of pain came from his feet. Green, wiggly orb held them engulfed up to his ankles while small bubbles of air appeared inside. As if his feet were being cooked… Acid!

  He trashed around but that only made the slime move up towards his knees. He screamed in pain. There was nothing he could do in this agony…

  “Heal!”

  He screamed, grabbing that last ray of hope. Instantly, a calming warmth spread through his body and the red bar refiled considerably. But that did not last long, the pain returned with much stronger wave and his health begun trickling down again. The slime reached the line of his bruised knees.

  *Ding!*

  *Ding!*

  *Ding!*

  *Ding!*

  *Ding!*

  As unimaginable as it was, Joe calmed instantly. The pain was still there yet it was now easier to control and the rate at which his HP dropped, slowed considerably.

  “Heal”

  He spoke again and as before the bar filled up.

  “Heal”

  The bar filled to three quarters while at the same time a blue bar shrunk to about half of its original. value. Was that his MP? As ludicrous it sounded he had no other explanation.

  “Heal”

  He spoke one more time bringing his health bar near the top. One heal recovered him around one tenth of his total health and used up about one sixth of his total mana. This meant he would be able to cast two more heals. But what then? He looked at the slime, happily swirling around his feet, digesting.

  *Ding!*

  Okay… That gave him a bit more time. Possibly a few more seconds. But what… There was something brown sizzling within the slime alongside his legs. The rope he was bound with, the slime was eating that as well! Another ray of hope appeared.

  Softened by rain the slime hardly could move, now, only if he would free his legs… That was the best plan he got. Waiting.

  “Heal”

  He topped off the bar again since it begun nearing the middle mark. With one final heal left, Joe sat staring blankly into the eyes of the slime.

  70%

  50%

  30%

  20%

  15%

  9%

  5%

  “Heal”

  Joe spoke trembling. At about the same time, the rope binding his legs came loose.

  Screaming with each push he made, He crawled out of the slime’s reach and collapsed.

  Standing above the unconscious body, DEATH poke his health bar. It swayed a bit but did not go below the final 1%.

  “WELL, NOT THIS TIME.”