It Started with Slime - Part 1

Chapter 72 - Phobias of Aarav

Aarav slumped in the jar, trying to think of a way out of this predicament. His body ached as he had pushed himself way past his limits once again. It was going to take him a long time to recover his health, stamina and mana, this time with the restrictions still over recover. This last week had proved that much. With over twenty days still left on his count down, this was turning into a significant handicap. Where is the training montage when you need it!

The first and obvious choice was to Consume the jar and drop out, but then what and how long would that take? He had no idea. The Density of the material might have given him a picture and the thickness of the glass-like substance. Only one way to find out, I'll worry about after when I get out of the jar.

As Aarav started with Consume on the jar, it did not crack or show any damage as the material was slowly absorbed into his system. It felt odd. This was the densest material he had ingested so far. It was also the first inorganic material that was being absorbed into his system. It was not an unpleasant feeling as such, but it did have a sort of heaviness to it, like the heaviness of eating a large and rich meal.

Aarav hadn't had many of those in his past life, but the few he had were treasured memories, the feeling of being full for the first time in what felt like forever. Those unending belches of satisfaction, his eyes closed in memory, would never forget that. A small sigh escaped his mouth. Again the people in front of him were talking about things that he could not hear or understand, but the way their lips moved seemed to show something. He had become something of a savant with lip-reading back in the day. His particular situations had called for it more often than he cared to admit to. It helped to know someone planned to bury you alive before it happened. You could try to work out potential escape routes beforehand, not that it had helped him. Nightmares full of his phobias and days full of running or chasing, it had been quite the high adrenaline life.

Aarav continued to Consume as he contemplated the situation. He could not focus all his ability on one single point, though, as the metabolic parts of his body would not bunch up together that densely. Therefore he was forced to either just use Consume in one location at a slow rate or just use Consume across the entire bottom of the jar. The digestive parts of his body could be distilled and concentrated on an area that size. The jar was about eight or ten centimetres in diameter and another six to eight centimetres tall. Cramped and completely airtight. Wait, does that mean the seal...? No, I don't see any soft material. It must be sealed with mana. Hold on, can I eat mana?

Aarav extended and reached to the seal of the container, trying to slip a thin tendril through the gap between the lid and main body. No luck, it was sealed tight, and whatever was sealing it, if it was mana or the volcanic stuff, nothing was happening for him there. It was also easier to be less conspicuous if he did this in the bottom of the jar, so rather than trying to keep working on the top, he just settled and tried to be as unassuming as possible. Not easy when you have four sets of eyes on you. It would go much better if he just relaxed and didn't make any sudden moves. They didn't know that he could, quite literally, eat his way out of the container, given enough time.

Unfortunately, the discussion in front of him didn't last long enough for him to get out of the container. But he was making some headway. Without being able to tell how thick the volcanic glass was or what its density was, it was hard to calculate how long it would take, but something was better than nothing. This was obviously the good stuff.

The next thing the group was breaking up and splitting off to each of their mounts. No, wait, I'm not done, just a little longer, and I can get out of this! His mental requests were denied, and the big man climbed on his gryphon and off they went. Aarav had been unceremoniously placed in one of the saddlebags before the man got on.

No view, stuck in the dark and enclosed prison was exactly the wrong place for him. Aarav could not help but think about another time he had been placed in a similarly confined place. The walls were all around him, total darkness and the sound of dirt being shovelled over his grave. This time the walls were made of glass so he could see outside. It wasn't as bad. He could manage. That was until said jar had been placed in the dark of the saddlebag. Suddenly, what had been a manageable situation became untenable. The darkness was quickly chased by the claustrophobia; he was underground again as a disgusting Earth Slime, buried under tonnes and tonnes of rock, soil and gravel.

He started to hyperventilate, this body did not even need air, but the situation was just too much for Aarav. Flashes of memories pervaded his mind. All he could think about was those times with enforcers of gangs, the beatings, the torture, money collectors and gambling houses. Interacting with the less than savoury folk of the underworld that had been his bread and butter, and he had hated it. Why did it keep coming back to haunt him, this visceral fear that completely overwhelmed him when he was in a dark and enclosed space when he was confined when he was too high up or in the water. There were too many fears embedded in his psyche, too many phobias of everything. It was too much to deal with everything at once.

Okay, come on, Aarav. One thing at a time, you just need to get this claustrophobia under control and then take the next step after that. Deal with this problem first. Deep breaths were doing nothing for him. He didn't have lungs or a heart to slow things down. The next best option was using Zen Meditation, it seemed to work for many people in the old world, and perhaps it would work here?

Taking another unnecessary deep breath, he breathed out and entered the Skills mind space. Zen Meditation was not a Skill designed to work in this way, but perhaps it could be in the future? He focused on how the Skill put him in a dream-like state, expanded his natural healing capability, pitiful though it was at the moment. It put him in a relaxed state of mind, like a runner limbering up before a run. This could be the key to relaxing his phobia addled mind. As he activated the Skill, the panic abated for a brief moment, and he could breathe a little easier.

Then with the inevitability of an avalanche, the phobia was back and, with a vengeance, crashing into his mind like a tsunami intent on taking no prisoners. Aarav's eyes bulged as he fought to remain in control. It was a losing battle. He was drowning and reaching for any lifeboat he could in his desperation.

Aarav had spoken to several people when he said that he feared the water. They had tried to understand, had seemed friendly enough. Still, in the end, no one without a phobia could ever possibly understand the irrational fear that one's phobias instilled. So while Zen Meditation had helped for a few moments, ultimately, it could not solve this deep-seated problem. A different part of his brain baulked at the failure. Come on! Calm down, for god sake, damn it! This isn't how a fresh start is supposed to go! I can't even stay focused on Consuming the damn jar! Annoyance, sheer terror and angry all warred with each other in the slime's mind. None seemed particularly likely to win, and it all was making the whole situation just continue to escalate. If he did not control this situation somehow, then eventually, something would have to give. He just hoped he didn't just explode, and they would find the remains of him in this jar just settling to the bottom.

"Amigo, what is happening, salut, comment ca va? tum kon ho? Habari, shi shi, Guten tag, arivadeci, sisesta, ingava." Aarav started babbling away in any and all languages that he knew, hoping that the physical sensation of forming words would result in being able to ignore a little of the enclosed space. At present, as it was, that seemed impossible, but like Zen Meditation, it helped a little. A cascade of notifications followed his outburst. Showing that he had learned more of those languages, well, that took his mind off his current predicament for but a single second.