Daily life in a Slime Dungeon

Taki was a lazy high schooler.

He played games all days, drank with his friends, smoked, and didn't study much. He wasted his days, which passed by quickly.

However, due to that waste of time, he was not able to get into the university he always dreamed of. Although he was inspired to enter it, he couldn't muster the strength and motivation to study. He hid the letter from his parents, and fell into a deep depression.

One night...

He sat on the walls of the terrace, looking down at the city.

The wind that blew in the darkness of the night were cold, and his skin was pale. He couldn't feel his face or his hands anymore, and the tears that came out of his eyes dropped into the street, as he looked down into the avenue under him.

'I have wasted my life...' he thought to himself, rubbing his eyes. 'If my parents know I didn't pass the test, they will kick me out.'

'But... I'm scared of dying.' he took another good look at the street below. The cars were nothing but little specks of light that moved about. Falling from this distance would certainly kill him. 'And... I'm hungry...'

'I guess I should have a last meal.' He climbed down the walls, and went down the building through the elevator. He decided he would go to Gustav's, have his favorite lasagna for the last time.

His mind filled with all the regrets he had for his past, but short, life, he couldn't bring himself to cry again, only to drown in his own sadness.

He saw the restaurant on the other side of the street, and crossed the street, finally feeling a bit glad for the first time this week.

And then, he looked to the side, as two glaring lights quickly flew towards him.

He was sent flying across the air, hitting a lamp, snapping his body in two, and landing on his head.

--- --- ---

He jolted awake, as if falling from a dream.

Taki quickly regained conscience, and stood up, his breath ragged. He took a look around him.

'A forest.' he muttered to himself, observing his surroundings.

It was indeed a forest, but it looked different than the ones he saw in his books or in pictures online. The leaves and grass were colored in pale shades of blue. The trees were tall, standing as tall as the skyscrapers of his city. There were bushes with weird shaped fruits spread on the ground, and sounds that he couldn't recognize resonated throughout the forest. Feeling his knees grow weak, he fell to the ground, in shock.

He rubbed his eyes. The forest was still there. He went to pinch his arm, and noticed that his skin was made of scales, colored a dark gray, almost black. He rubbed it, feeling the prickly sensation of the scales.

'This... this is not a dream... have I been hit by the infamous 'born in another world' truck?'

He listened intently for the sound of water, and noticed that his hearing was so improved, it was almost deafening.

He could hear the individual rustles of each leaf in the wind, the biting of the bugs on the ground, and the blood circulating throughout his body. His head quickly developed a headache, as he tried to focus his attention.

After hearing the faint sounds of water, Taki lifted himself from the ground.

He stopped and took a good look at his body. He was currently naked, and his skin was scaly and black. He had a tail, with a stinger on it's tip. He tried to discern how to control it, but didn't quite understand which muscle he should use. His hands were different, with sharp claws instead of nails, and a small, white symbol scarred on the palm of his scaled hands.

He checked his back searching for wings, but disappointingly, there were none.

He started to walk in the direction of the water sounds, and felt his body lighter than he was accustomed to. Reaching the small lake, he took a good lock at his new face, reflected on the clear water.

He saw two horns on his head, and two yellow eyes.

Taki sighed, and sat down near the small lake.

'I... if this is one of those books I have read, then...'

"Status panel." he growled, his new voice a deep tone.

Nothing happened.

Taki sighed.