Anjou felt like someone who was trying to force out a fart. Even though she had gotten the ability to ooze the slug slime, she was not told how to activate or use it. Her first instinct was to try and squeeze it out, like her body was a tube of toothpaste or something, but that method hadn’t worked.
The next thing to try was to take the advice of so many fantasy or kung fu movies and try to feel the power and then release it. She crossed her legs and took a meditation pose. Thanks to the floor of slugs her posture was uneven and uncomfortable, but she had to get over it. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Anjou tried to imagine what it would be like to be a slug and excrete the ooze.
“This is stupid,” she complained, opening her eyes. Her voice echoed against the stone walls and traveled up. “How the hell am I supposed to figure out how to get out some skin snot.”
At the word snot, Anjou’s nose tingled and something began to leak out. She touched a finger to her nose and it came back stretching out a glob of slime with the same color and consistency as melted mozzarella cheese. The movement of the slime tickled her nose, causing her to sneeze and cover a part of the well wall in the stuff.
Current Water Level: 59/100 Points
Almost gagging at the sight, Anjou tried to detach her hand from the tendril that still connected it to the slime. It wouldn’t let go. She pulled back harder, but much like a rubber band, the slime pulled back initiating an impromptu tug-of-war, which she was losing. Eventually she gave up and let her hand get pulled and stuck to the wall.
“Fantastic. And I suppose if I think about the slime coming out of my other hand, ti will. As if on cue her left hand tingled and droplets formed out of her fur as if she was sweating out the stuff. “Well, that was easier than I thought.”
As soon as enough slime had formed on her hand, Anjou placed it on the wall and pulled back. It too got stuck like her other hand. Sighing, she tried to think about ways that she could get unstuck, but nothing came to mind. Instead she tried to think about anything she might’ve known about slugs, which only turned out to be two things. The first was that they were gross. The second was that they could stick to walls, which was the current thing she was emulating right now.
But then again, slugs also could climb walls and ceilings. Since they didn’t have feet, she figured maybe they slid or something. An idea formed. Anjou took her right hand, made sure it was flat against the wall of the well and slid it upwards. To her delight it moved. She tried it with her other hand, and it moved as well. She then looked down at her bare feet. The reddish fur was stained with her dried up blood. Her clothes were also stained red in addition to the hole where Takrin had stabbed her. If they ever met again she was definitely going to knock his ass into next year.
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“One problem at a time,” Anjou said to herself.
Lifting up her foot, she concentrated and let the slime cover the entire thing before sticking it to the wall.
Current Water Level: 57/100 Points
The next part would determine if she really would be able to get out of the well. Anjou pulled herself up and stuck her other foot to the wall and stopped. She waited to see if she would slide down, but thankfully she didn’t. Looking up, she judged that the well had to be at least a hundred feet tall.
Anjou took a deep breath. “Alright, this won’t be a big deal. It’s like climbing the rock wall at the gym. Only without a safety harness. And if you fall, you might not be able to get out.” She shook her head and then began to climb. “Why did it have to be slugs?”
It didn’t take long for her muscles to begin to ache as she slid each one in turn. The slime continued to hold fast, but in able to keep moving upwards she had to excrete a little more each time which ticked away her water level.
Current Water Level: 52/100 Points
She moved, breathing heavily. Inch by inch. Stone by stone. While it may have been cliche, she told herself not to look down. Then again, the way her body was hugging the wall, it would’ve been difficult to move her head in that direction.
Current Water Level: 48/100 Points
At about halfway, Anjou had to stop and take a breath. Well a few breaths. Her lungs burned and her arms felt like jello. She hadn’t felt like this since the time she had to face The Titan Lydia Armstrong. Those twelve rounds were hell, and it was only by a miracle that she had managed to land that knockout punch in the beginning of that last round. Lydia had a reach a mile long and she knew how to keep Anjou at a distance.
Current Water Level: 35/100 Points
Sweat now poured down Anjou’s face, making her water level fall down even faster. She tried to increase her speed, but her body refused to move any faster. As she moved up, the light at the top became brighter and she could begin to see clouds in the sky.
Current Water Level: 15/100 Points
Anjou was near the top. She was so close that her hands were actually gripping the side of the lip of the well. All she had to do was move a few more feet and she would be out, but her muscles didn’t want to work. Didn’t want to put in that last push. Her entire body was covered in sweat. For the next minute she hung there as her water level ticked down even faster.
Current Water Level: 0/100 Points.
No more slime came out of Anjou’s body and her feet lost the grip and slipped off the wall nearly making her lose her grip. Her vision began to fade as it did before when she had been stabbed. She refused to lose consciousness this close to the top. Gritting her teeth, she planted both of her feet against the wall and pushed herself up with whatever strength she had left. She got one foot over the top and then managed to roll herself the rest of the way and onto the ground. The victory was short lived as everything went dark once again.