As the mouse-like slimy creature kept attacking the door, trying to get inside, the crew inside the ship was in a panic.
Everyone was silent. It felt like a bad dream—nothing made sense, and no matter how hard they thought, they couldn't come up with a solution.
"I know everyone is confused and scared, but we can't just sit around doing nothing. We need to go outside, fix the ship, and leave this planet," Arik said, trying to lift everyone's morale.
"And how the hell are we supposed to leave when we don't even know where we are?" Ronald said, glaring at Arik.
"So, are we just supposed to wait here and die on this strange land?" Arik replied annoyed, his frustration showing.
"Arik, sit down. You're being stupid," Kane said, pulling on his arm.
"I'm trying to be optimistic!" Arik shouted, shrugging Kane off.
"Sit down; that's an order. Don't forget you work for me," Ronald shouted, punching the floor in anger.
Fwishhhhhh...
A burning sound caught everyone's attention. They all turned their heads toward the source. The gate of the ship was being melted by the slime creature. It kept spitting acidic slime, slowly weakening the metal of the door.
Everyone jumped to their feet. "What do we do?" they asked simultaneously, looking around at each other, hoping someone had an idea. Finally, Arik spoke up. "Search the food cabinet! If you find any salt, bring it to me!" he shouted, running towards the door.
"What the hell does he think he's going to do? If he's planning on fighting it head-on, Kane would be a better choice," Ronald grumbled, narrowing his eyes.
"We just have to trust him. Let's do what he says," Liana interrupted, sprinting toward the fallen medical cabinets.
Kane and Ronald exchanged glances, then joined in, rummaging through the mess to find any salt, as Arik instructed.
Meanwhile, Arik couldn't help but laugh to himself. [As a Japanese guy, it's a dream to see slimes outside of h-anime,] he thought, amused by the situation .
Finally getting serious, he quickly pressed a button, opening the ship's door to prevent further damage. The moment the slime saw the opening, it jumped at Arik, trying to close the distance.
The slime shot out lots of acid, each missing Arik but hitting the craft and burning the metal. [Damn, I need to be careful. I can't let it cause any more damage,] he thought, taking a deep breath and preparing himself for the maneuvering he was about to do. The room started to reek from the slime's acidic stench, and metal reacting with the acid.
Arik dashed toward the slime, hoping to scare it or push it outside. However, the slime quickly gathered all its spit, moving steadily as if it were preparing for an attack.
Suddenly, it launched a blade made of slime. Arik managed to dodge, but the blade sliced through the ship's wall like butter. [That was close!] Arik thought, glancing back at the damage caused by the attack.
"We found the salt you asked for!" Liana shouted, throwing a container of salt toward Arik.
He jumped and caught it, poured some into his hands, and dashed at the slime again. Its acids dripped onto the metal floor, creating a sizzling sound. The slime prepared for another attack, but this time, Arik threw salt at it. As soon as the salt touched its body, a hissing sound echoed through the ship.
The slime began to shake violently. [It's working,] Arik thought, a smirk forming on his face. He rushed forward, closing the gap,and pouring the rest of the salt directly onto the creature.
The slime began to shake violently. Arik stood there, feeling proud of himself . [This makes me feel like a fantasy hero,] he thought, laughing to himself.
But before he could celebrate further, the slime exploded. Arik managed to shield his face, but the remains of the slime's acidic body splattered onto him, burning his skin.
"Fuck!" Arik screamed in pain as his whole body felt the sting of the burns. The loud noise drew everyone over to check on him.
"You alright?" Kane asked, helping Arik to his feet.
"Just some light burns. I'll probably recover in three or four days," Arik said, scoffing from the pain.
"Lie down and rest. We'll clean up and fix the ship. If anything major happens, we'll let you know," Kane insisted, helping him lie behind some cabinets.
The crew got back to work, and exhaustion quickly overtook Arik, causing him to drift off to sleep despite the pain. His body wasn't accustomed to all this running and jumping.
A few hours later, Arik was awakened by a familiar sound. *Beep beep pweep.*
He opened his eyes and checked his watch. [Wait, what the hell? Aren't we on a different planet? How am I getting messages here?] Arik wondered, confused, as he scrolled through his watch, but he found nothing.
[Damn, I must be so tired that I'm hearing things,] he thought, trying to shake off the drowsiness.
Finally something above him caught his attention. "WTF!" he said, startled. A glowing blue screen floated right in front of him.
{System Interface Initiated}
Welcome, First Tamer of Archeon. You have bonded with the Slime Species. Status: Beast Tamer Primus.
Ability Unlocked: Universal Taming
Special Privilege: Evolution Path Unlocked*
> Continue
[What even is this?] Arik thought, rubbing his eyes and trying to interact with the screen.
"We heard you yell. Did something happen?" Liana asked, panting as she ran there as fast as she could.
"Can't you see THIS right here?" Arik said, pointing at the screen.
"What? I don't see anything," Liana said, scanning the area where he was pointing, clearly confused.
[Wait, she can't see this? Am I the only one who can? Am I the chosen one?]
[Maybe this is it. Maybe I'm truly special. Maybe I was born to save the fate of this universe or something,] Arik thought, a small smile creeping onto his face.
"Arik!" Liana's sharp voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She stepped closer, looking concerned. "Are you okay? You're spacing out. What do you see?"
"Oh, it's hard to explain. I'll tell you later, but don't worry I've got everything under control," Arik said, his voice filled with excitement.
"Okay… You can rest more. We're still working on the ship. I'll come tell you if we make any progress," Liana said sympathetically. [He's completely lost it. The stress is making him hallucinate,] she thought.
"Nah, I'm fine. I want to help too," Arik said, trying to get up, but Liana quickly pushed him back down.
"No, you need to rest. We've got everything under control. You don't have to worry," Liana insisted, making sure Arik stayed put.
[Well, if she's insisting this much, I guess I could rest. I really want to check out this thing and see if it's not just my imagination before telling everyone else,] Arik thought, getting comfortable on the bed.
[I'll just sleep a little more. Hopefully, this weird screen will still be here when I wake up, and this all wouldn't be just me hallucinating,] he thought as he closed his eyes. Despite his excitement, he eventually managed to fall asleep.
When he finally woke up, he quickly scanned the room, and there it was the screen was still hovering in front of him. [It's still here! Thank God it wasn't just a dream. Time to go out and see what this actually does. Maybe I can finally become the protagonist of my life,] Arik thought with newfound determination.