--- 6 hours before Plantesa court starts.
The group was sleeping. Jeanne was in her own room, getting a well deserved rest on her comfortable bed of leaves; Aria was on the sofa. She preferred to be close to Jack. And he was still in his jar sleeping. Or he should have been sleeping. The jar was left on a table, next to a water pitcher, presumably for Jack in case he got thirsty.
A cruel joke because he couldn't reach it. So he decided to strategize.
[Evolution Shop]
[Current Handholding Points: 1100]
[Count Sanquilisme Slime - 2000 HHP: The next evolution of Sanquilisme Slime. All stats x2. All skills +1 level and gains access to uncommon Blood, Heal and Weapon Slime skills.]
[Inorganic Mimic Slime - 1000 HHP: Transforms your slime core and body into an inorganic object for a short period.]
These two were still his most interesting choices. The Count evolution would just power him up flat across the board. While Inorganic Mimic would be fun to play as and also might lead to his human form restoration. Yet he chose neither.
His current goal was not to gain power, it was to gain knowledge or anything else that might help him in the Plantesa court. He was rhythmically banging his head on the glass. Since he was a slime it didn't hurt him and the vibrations helped clear his thoughts. Jack's mind went back to Solana's scroll.
Slime Evolution Theory. If he had that, then buying evolutions would be a waste of HHP. So he opened the Ten Digit shop. This shop was different from the evolution shop. Here he could buy skills, titles or objects for a set amount of HHP.
[Ten Digit Shop]
[Common]
[1. Figurine Form (100 HHP): Transforms your core into a small, humanoid figure of pure slime.]
[2. Core Expansion (150 HHP): Increases all stats by 3. Increases your physical size.]
Jack frowned. The prices had gone up since he last saw these skills. He questioned the system about this fraudulent business practice that should be stopped.
[Level inflation and overall power of the host increase the price of items.]
That made no sense. Why would the system punish him for growing stronger? Shaking his head, he continued browsing the shop.
[3. Weaponry Proficiency (200 HHP): Grants basic knowledge in a weapon of your choice.]
Useless since I'm a slime without hands.
[4. Polymorphic Voice (50 HHP): Grants a wider vocal range.]
He chuckled, this one could be used to stop his squeeky voice that Aria found so cute. However 50 HHP was not nothing. He'll have to think about it.
[Rare]
[5. Slime Spike (800 HHP): Launch a highly damaging spike of slime that pierces magic.]
Now this was worthy of 800 HHP.
[6. Heal Mucus Level 2 (400 HHP). Grants a stronger heal and a faster application.]
Better heal? Might come in handy.
[7. Blood Shield (450 HHP): Create a temporary shield of solidified blood. Durability scales with HP and Strength.]
So basically it'd get one shotted by almost anything in this world because of his weak stats. He'll pass.
But just as he was about to close the shop. An idea hit him. Like a pirate finding a chest of gold, the idea lit up in Jack's slime-core-brain. One thing that was proven on Earth was, attractive guys always got the better deals, and he obviously thought he was handsome.
So he bought the skills. He decided to test it but the door opened and faint moonlight seeped in through the entrance. A bag was placed over his jar; he was being kidnapped.
A sour taste was in his mouth. They couldn't even bother to take him out of the jar, no they just tossed him in a sack like a piece of fruit. He felt every single bump and jolt as he was carried through the sleeping elven city.
"Hey you can't just abduct me, I have a court hearing and everything, I'm a respectable citizen," he squeaked, the words muffled by the cloth burlap.
The only response was a shushing sound and the carrier picked up their pace, the moonlight through the weave of the bag grew sparser as they moved into one of the tree-houses. He could smell the pungent, sweet aroma of herbs and burnt bark. That smell was familiar.
"Grandma?" he asked.
Finally the burlap was taken off of his jar and he could see the orange haired woman in front of him, her pale light green skin glowing.
"You have a terrific sense of smell my little specimen," she nodded to herself.
"Jack," he said back.
Solana tilted her head, "What?"
"Call me Jack. Not little specimen, not blue blob, and certainly not test subject."
He had standards after all.
She scoffed at that, and then to his surprise, she did open the jar. Jack plopped onto her oak workbench, next to a half-carved wooden totem that looked eerily like him. Well maybe it was just a ball, just a blob.
"Okay Jack," she said, with a weird amount of emphasis on his name, as if tasting a strange new fruit. "You want to see the scroll, yes?"
Jack's entire being quivered. This was it; the key to unlocking his true potential, the cheat sheet to a world where he was not perpetually one step away from being squished.
Solana didn't wait for an answer. With a giggle that sounded like wind chimes in a storm, she began reading it out loud.
"My hypothesis is that a slime who eats too much of a certain material gains affinity, not for that material, but for an aspect of it!"
"That is why fire slimes have fire affinities, why sand slimes live in deserts, and why," she leaned in close to Jack, her orange hair strands brushing up against him, "Weapon Slimes are incredibly rare and found near corpses of adventurers."
He tilted his head, "Aren't they born that way like any other creature?"
This world had evolution but still some species had certain in-born abilities.
"I thought so too but then I tested this theory on a regular slime I had captured, poor little fellow." She had a sad smile. "I fed him a lot of bark, a piece of living wood."
Jack nodded, that was reasonable.
"Then I fed him worms to see if he'd turn into a worm slime."
Jack shook his head.
"Then I fed him fire. That was a mistake."
"Why?"
"It died."
Her cheerful demeanor had no hints of regret, Jack was a bit scared of her. Maybe she was just crazy and not smart.
"Okay so your theory is confirmed?" Jack said.
She shook her head. "No. That's the issue. The living bark slime gained the ability to photosynthesize but it was not a wood or plant slime. It remained the same species yet with an added ability."
Then she clasped her hands.
"The problem was I couldn't understand the slime language. But you on the other hand can tell me exactly what you experience."
He thought for a bit, and answered, "That seems reasonable. No fire though."
Solana smiled and quickly grabbed something for Jack to eat. Jack's heart sank as she held up the spider from the cage.
"Please eat Ms. Snuffles, they are a delicasy."