I'm bouncing off this game - what am I missing?

[Vacuity]

So, I finally got around to trying AVWW out as it's been part of my "pile of shame" for a while now.  I've seen the controls.  I've managed to find and equip a few enchants, including a light one that allows me to see in dark places.  I (eventually) worked out that the green spot on the minimap was a crafting source that I could obtain by hitting with a spell.  Yes, that took a while to work out what on earth was going on.  I managed to work out how to use wood platforms to get places.  I swam through a pool of acid to get something called a Consciousness Shard.  And then I met a red slime.

Now the red slime is well telegraphed via numerous signposts as being dangerous, and that you can't take it on with a fire spell, but all I have is a fire spell.  I've explored everywhere else I can reach, including every door I seem to be able to reach and I still only have one fire spell.

I can't fight it, I can't go around it, I've been everywhere else, I have one lump of granite and while I admit I have no idea how to do crafting, I can only assume that it's not sufficient to make anything.

What am I supposed to do?  This game is a tad too obtuse.  Not difficult (or at least not yet), just difficult to understand.

[Endless Rain]

Hi Vacuity, you need to go through the grate in the first room in the house in order to get a ball lightning spell. This will allow you to kill the red slime.

[doubtful]

Ah, A Valley Without Wind...I've just begun replaying this again after a long hiatus.

To say that this game is obtuse and difficult to understand is an understatement, LOL.

I also think it's a masterpiece of eccentricity and nostalgia. I sometimes think I will never run into something quite as unique as AVWW ever again, hehe.

If you give it a chance, you'll find it's actually pretty entertaining, but it can definitely be hard to approach.

Some key things to remember are to: spend some time on the world map doing missions, and when those become mostly exhausted...go explore some buildings (abandoned town areas often have a LOT) for books and gifts to give NPCs, hidden rescue missions, and scout the surface areas in a given world map chunk for hidden missions as well!  Also don't forget to go check out some caves if you can find a cave entrance in a region; they're interesting as well, and have some unique materials.