For the rest of the day, until the sun retreated beyond the horizon, the group hunted slimes. They ran into five more groups of slime and covered almost a kilometre worth of ground. After Xavier's display, the group didn't have anymore trouble with the slimes, but the deeper they went, the more slimes they encountered. The last group they ran into over twenty slimes, which caused a few people to become injured as the slimes surrounded the group. Xavier for his part climbed a tree when they were being surrounded, and the guards killed the slimes with their guns. In total, Xavier killed nine slimes, while also observing them, allowing him to learn a few things. For one the slimes couldn't climb trees and secondly, whenever they slid over grass they didn't melt it, unless their bodies were punctured by stones or bullets. He guessed that the slimes outsides were not acidic, only the blue liquid inside.
"Alright, let's head back." A guard said as the sun was about to set and the guards scrutinized the injured prisoners.
"Stop." A guard stopped one of the prisoners whose ankle was partially melted, and had to be helped by two others. The three of them stopped, and before they could ask anything, the injured woman was shot in the head. Seeing this, Xavier realized once again realized that to the guards, their lives were expandable.
"Let's go." They said, and the prisoners walked infront while the guards covered them from the back.
"Hey, you guys said that anyone who killed the first group of slimes will get more food right?" Xavier asked and one of the guards looked at him
"That's right." He replied
"Then you wouldn't mind if I picked some of those fruits would you. I mean, they are cheaper than the ones you usually serve in the prison right?" Xavier said, and the guard looked into his eyes before talking off the black bag off his back, and gesture for the other guards to do the same.
"Fill these." He said and Xavier wordlessly took the bags, climbed the trees and filled them with the red avocado shaped fruits.
"Here, this one is for you." The guard said, handing him one of the bags to Xavier, under the envious gazes of the other prisoners. He would have thought the guards were being generous, if he didn't know that this was just a carrot and stick method to make the other prisoners work harder. The rest of the journey back to the city, the Grey Sanctuary, was silent and once they passed through the gate, the guards led them to seperate rooms with iron bar door, creating a make shift prison cell. There were no bunk beds in the cell, only hard grey ground and inside Xavier's cell, there were two other prisoners. A woman with black hair like him and a tall man with silver hair and a slightly muscular frame which made him look intimidating.
When he walked in, they immediately noticed him, and even more so, noticed the black bag on his back. Feeling there gaze, Xavier ignored them and walked to an unoccupied section of the room and opened the bag, taking out a stone. He rubbed the stone against the ground, drawing a rectangle and circling the north face, and writing slime beside it. He then leaned against the wall and opened the Stigma Window, and started munching on the fruits. He heard a continuous ping sound in his head, until his HP was 20/20.
'So if I eat enough fruits, I can fill my HP. But what is it exactly? The warden said the window worked on thoughts, so maybe. Show me what my basic attributes mean.' Xavier thought in a commanding way, and to his surprise, it worked.
"Stigma Window(Attribute Info Deck)"
HP(Health Points): A numerical measure of your health. The amount if HP you have depends on your vitality attribute. Once your HP reaches zero, you will die.
Energy: A numerical measure of the mystical energy that currently resides in your body.
Class: You are not eligible to obtain this information.
Skills: You are not eligible to obtain this information.
STR(Strength): A numerical measure of your physical prowess and defence.
AGI(Agility): A numerical measure of your speed and ability to evade attacks.
VIT(Vitality): A numerical measure of your life force and ability to resist attacks that do not possess mystical properties. You VIT attribute affects the amount of HP you have and your rate of healing.
FORT: A numerical measure of your mental strength.
Points: A numerical currency that can be used in the Stigma Window to increase your attributes or exchange for items using the Orbs of Eldara.
"Hey, those are some nice looking fruits you got there. Mind sharing with a fellow convict?" The tall man said as he walked towards him with a smile, but Xavier knew he had anything but good intentions.
"Sure, I wouldn't mind, if you don't mind sharing what happened today? You too." Xavier said, looking at the woman sitting in the corner, and she looked at him in surprise before briskly walking over. Xavier threw one of the fruits towards the man and gestured for him to sit.
"So, where did you guys go today?" Xavier asked and the man looked at him weirdly before shrugging his shoulders, figuring that it was easier than fighting Xavier for the fruits.
"We went east, and we encountered these short, ugly green men with rusty knives and swords. They had green letters floating over their heads, Goblin F+. They aren't very strong or fast, but they are cunning. They were able to surround us and take out a few of us. Even the guards were forced to use their guns." The man said while eating the fruit. Hearing his account, Xavier nodded his head and circled the east face, before turning to the woman, and handed her the fruit.
"I didn't leave the city, but I helped the guards set up base." The woman said and Xavier immediately became intrigued.
"Oh, did you hear anything interesting?" He asked
"Well, I overheard one of the guards complaining about him never seeing his family again and him being trapped here." She said and Xavier's eyes widened
'Could we be trapped here? Then again, this place is better than the prison. The food is better anyway.' He thought and took out two more fruits, giving one to each of them, before closing the bag.
"Hey, is this all we get? We gave you some valuable intel just now!!" The man said outraged and stood up menacingly, but Xavier simply rolled his eyes.
"Look, if you want more, then you can beat me up and take it, but I wouldn't want to see your head get blown off by the guards." Xavier said with a smirk and the man looked at him skeptically
"The guards care about you. Don't make me laugh." He said condescendingly
"Then tell me, genius, why else would they give me this much fruits? Because they are nice." Xavier said with a condescending look and he became furious, but instead of attacking he went back to into the corner he originally was in. This made Xavier internally sigh, as his bluff worked.
"What's your name?" He asked, as the darkness covered him, making him invisible.
"Xavier, yours?" He replied
"Mickey." The man said
"And what about you?" He asked the woman sitting in the corner, and she jumped in surprise.
"I-it's Maria." She replied.