"The cost of the skill also increases by leveling up… but I guess that is only natural given that the skill became stronger. There is no mention of the range or speed of the projectile, so those can't increase, huh."
The power of the skill was determined by the amount of magic Kane had and by the level of the skill. It was straightforward, and that was good. That way, Kane would be able to calculate how many of those attacks would be enough to knock down and, eventually, kill his enemies.
"I used Water Ball ten times… so I guess the skill obtains ten points of experience whenever I hit something alive... no, the amount probably varies since I hit that guy yesterday as well. Now that I think about it... I didn't check if I maintained the experience I earned... I can't let that happen again."
Although there was no fallen fruit nearby to use and fool the tall girl, Kane managed to knock down one and also leave that one near the girl. After finishing his job, Kane headed to another bush, but for a moment, he stopped. He was pretty sure that he could level up his Water Ball by hitting the unconscious girl. As long as he doesn't hit her head, she wouldn't die… but it would be weird if she woke up drenched. So, he gave up on the idea.
"Maybe on a rainy day, I will do that…"
Eventually, night came, and the kids left the area. Kane only needed to knock down two more foes to level up himself, but it looked like he would have to wait for the next day. Regardless, that time alone gave him a chance to think about several things; one of them was the fact that if he died and reincarnated as a slime again, Water Ball would return to level one.
Considering the fact that monsters were dying like insects, there was no way that the system would allow him to maintain that progress after death. The fact that he died in a cave and returned to the orchard was also another sign that he was right about that.
"Whatever happens, I can't die before obtaining at least fifty reincarnation points… I got lucky and I showed up two times inside the orchard, but I don't think I will have that same luck for the third time. Spawning outside this place equals death, and if that happens,… that death will be absolute."
Just like before, Kane didn't hear anything aside from the wind. Although it would be dangerous, it would be easier to fight a single monster than dozens of teenagers... as long as that monster isn't something terrifying.
Regardless, Kane started to move around the orchard as fast as he could to eat and also to store some fruits in several bushes. He didn't know for how long he would be able to use those fruits, but it was better to create a small stock in case something happened. Also, he only took one fruit per tree, and Kane couldn't take all the fruits of a single tree because that would reveal his presence. Even if someone concluded that a thief and not a slime stored the fruits, someone would probably be sent to watch the orchard, and he doubted that someone would work alone.
"Considering that I won't keep the progress of the skills, maybe it isn't a good idea to learn many of them unless I also use reincarnation points to buy some retries… Dying for real will reset my progress, but dying with a retry won't… Hopefully."
Kane also started to wonder if he would lose more reincarnation points if he died at the hand of the humans of that world. Not dying was the best option, but considering the system itself, it looks like it would be pretty incredible if he stayed alive for a month or two. In case he loses more, it would be a good idea to store more reincarnation points. No matter what happens, he couldn't let himself reincarnate as a slime a third time.
"If that happens… I won't go down so easily. However, I won't have the leisure to fight without trying to take the lives of the enemies. If I fail now, then on the third time, things will really get messy."
Considering such a possibility, Kane started to think that it would be a good idea to store food and stay hidden for several days. Living a coward's life was better than living the life of a murderer… again, Kane couldn't help but also wonder for how long he would be able to keep that mentality.
In any case, Kane decided to prepare for both situations. He would need food in any situation, after all. After working for a few hours, Kane decided to rest. Considering the number of notifications he received, he concluded that it was midnight. Although he died, he was still mentally tired thanks to his previous life, and he would need to have an early start and a fresh mind for the next day in order to avoid the worst-case scenario.
Kane was someone who usually slept like a rock when he was a human. Despite that, he woke up when the sun started to rise. As expected, the situation was forcing him to change in many ways, but it couldn't be helped.
Much to his surprise, the kids also returned much sooner than Kane had expected. Considering that they didn't stop to rest even for a few minutes, it was quite surprising that they could wield even wood weapons for so many hours straight without even stopping to eat.
Regardless, Kane soon understood that day would be difficult. Two of the kids headed toward the orchard instead of one. Maybe that was a precaution since they didn't know if a slime could spawn in the middle of the night or if some escaped without them noticing the previous day. Either way, Kane was forced to ignore them… even though it was the perfect chance for him to level up, he couldn't risk it at that moment.
However, three hours later, Kane confirmed that he didn't have any option in that matter… because two kids came to secure the orchard again. It was insane to think that, but it looked like the world and system itself were telling Kane to kill those annoying kids. Although he was a bit scared for considering the possibility, Kane could only endure for so long seeing slimes dying left and right for no reason whatsoever.