Throughout his long life, Yang Yu has mastered countless RPGs and developed a comprehensive strategy guide, which he diligently notes down in a little notebook.
The most crucial rule is:
“If you encounter a monster far stronger than you, and you’re unprepared, you must abandon the fight immediately. Run away, preserve your strength, and never charge in recklessly, or you’ll meet a terrible end.”
As he watched a seemingly harmless yet dangerous slime slowly wriggling, Yang Yu followed his theory to the letter. The best strategy is to run, and he sprinted away without hesitation.
His stats were not even a fraction of the slime’s. It was too formidable to challenge.
“Could it be that someone overpowered has been transformed into a slime and I’ve encountered them?” he wondered. “Only someone equally overpowered could defeat such a slime.”
“Sorry, but I’m just a weak and helpless villager. I don’t have any one-hit-kill skills. Facing this slime… you’re asking too much of me.”
Even when facing death, one should follow strategy and procedure. Rash decisions should be avoided.
Not everyone can be a hero who shouts “Stella!” and transforms into a meteor to sacrifice themselves for experience points.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Yang Yu forced a twisted smile.
“Still in the beginner stage, the players aren’t even familiar with the basic controls, haven’t learned any skills, and can only use basic attacks. But they’re confronted with an insurmountable challenge. This kind of game… won’t sell.”
“It’s truly a divine creation, achieving what ordinary people cannot.”
It fills one with passion and admiration.
Defeat is not an option. On the contrary, defeating seemingly invincible opponents through one’s efforts brings immense satisfaction, Yang Yu thought excitedly.
A good game never has unbeatable opponents.
The game, created with such love, wouldn’t start off heading towards failure.
The slime must have a reason for being there, and there must be a strategy to defeat it.
Commonly, leveling up is a way to overcome challenges. However, there’s currently no way to level up. Even if there were, Yang Yu doubted it would be enough to defeat the slime; it would just lead to another painful defeat scene.
With leveling up out of the question, gathering information was the only option.
Back in the novice village, despite his exhaustion, Yang Yu tirelessly went door-to-door asking for information about the slime, even conducting a thorough search for hidden items or recruitable NPCs.
In most RPGs, childhood friends often become the protagonist’s initial teammates, either as healers or mages, complementing the main character.
But here, Yang Yu didn’t even see any peers, let alone a childhood friend, so no specific storyline related to childhood friends existed.
“Hmm… I guess I’m just a villager. Storylines involving childhood friends are for those with protagonist halos, not for someone like me. Given my civilian start, I shouldn’t expect any protagonist-level plotlines.”
Facing reality, Yang Yu continued his search for slime-related intel.
Finally, apart from some unreliable legends, two useful pieces of information emerged:
1. Slimes never attack first. They only retaliate after being hit. The first attack is slow enough for even a child to dodge, serving as a warning.
2. If you encounter a strong slime, try throwing a four-leaf clover. The slimes eat them, allowing you to escape during the distraction.
What reaction would a four-leaf clover provoke in a slime? Is it merely food, or does it act like catnip, inducing hallucinations? For strategy’s sake, this needed investigation.
Nearby forests had three-leaf clovers, which were easy to gather. Four-leaf clovers, rare mutations symbolizing luck, were less reliable.
Luck isn’t needed for game strategies. To get what you want, it’s better to own the entire pool. In a large field of three-leaf clovers, a few four-leaf clovers were bound to appear.
After spending a morning scouring the fields around the novice village, Yang Yu collected a few four-leaf clovers. Without delay, he set off along a path to find solitary slimes. He soon spotted a light blue slime lazily rolling on the grass beside the path.
Opening the status panel:
[Slime Level: LV5 HP: 192/192 MP: 61/61]
[Attributes: Strength 38, Defense 146, Intelligence 36, Special Defense 176, Agility 18, Stamina 20]
[Resistance: Physical 50%]
This slime was nearly identical to the one he encountered in the morning, exuding a boss-like aura with its formidable stats resembling an insurmountable mountain.
This game offers a high degree of freedom, which means there are numerous strategies to tackle challenges, and finding the most reliable path is crucial for a successful run.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Yu chewed on a bitter herb to optimize his state, then swung his sword, intentionally missing the slime and hitting the ground beside it.
Several weeds were cut down, but the slime remained motionless, seemingly unfazed by the glimmer of the passing sword.
“If I don’t move, the enemy doesn’t move; if I move, the enemy must move.”
Yang Yu lifted his sword and, using all his strength, struck the slime’s gelatinous body.
The slippery, bouncy feel of the slime was like hitting a round, rubbery ball with a stick. Yang Yu had to use all his strength to keep the sword from slipping out of his hand.
Red numbers indicating damage slowly floated up where the sword met the slime.
[HP-1.]
“Well, at least it’s not zero,” he muttered.
The damage was as expected, and Yang Yu quickly jumped back, watching the slime’s every move.
The slime stretched out like a giant piece of toffee, swaying left and right, signaling an attack. It then slowly bounced off the ground like a hopping ball.
Its charging speed was so slow it seemed more like play than an attack, making it easy for Yang Yu to dodge with a simple turn.
For safety, Yang Yu refrained from further attacks and threw a four-leaf clover instead.
The slime’s attention was immediately captured by the clover. Tempted by the sweet scent, it jumped up and enveloped the clover in its jelly-like body. In no time, the clover vanished without a trace.
A message appeared on the panel: [Slime’s status has become friendly.]
But mere friendliness wasn’t enough; only by defeating the slime could Yang Yu complete the task.
With unwavering determination, Yang Yu picked up his weapon and struck the slime once more.