Darkness pressed in from all sides.
Then Dontaé woke up abruptly. His body quivered painfully inside the small crevice. He barely slept at all before the pain became too much for him to bear.
His body was barely holding its shape. The recent escape had taken its toll, leaving him gravely injured. The damage from before was causing his cells to liquify and form a small pond under him.
He could feel that his life was not far from seeping away into the soil.
However, an intrinsic power was desperately trying to recondense his body.
He resisted the urge to move.
Experience taught him that panic in the wrong situations only hastened death.
"Ultima, update me."
[AI system Ultima is upgrading: 39%]
[Core Stability: 5% and falling]
[Status: Extremely Critical]
"Damn it, I'm getting worse. I can't die yet."
"Go again."
Analyzing current condition…
[Innate skill: Self-regeneration detected]
[Structural damage exceeds regenerative ability. Slime core will continue to fail.]
[Recommendation: Activate dormant state to speed up self-regeneration. Survival probability will increase to approximately 35%]
"No, that's way too low. I can't leave my survival to chance like that. There must be something else that I can do."
His awareness then drifted inward. Towards his cracked and almost shattered slime core.
Then he went even deeper.
Inside his very soul.
That was when he saw it and understood.
Infinite Forge was not just a single skill, but the overarching name for a system of interconnected sub-skills, each contributing unique functions to the whole. This intricate structure consisted of two primary sub-skills, each with distinct capabilities. The first of which Dontaé had already utilized and experienced.
Information surfaced naturally, as if he had always known it.
[1st Sub-Skill: Star Heart]
Represented by a gigantic blue star embedded in the center of his soul.
It burned with a ferocious intensity, constantly generating energy through a stable self-perpetuating reaction similar to nuclear fission.
Dontaé was shocked.
"I only managed to draw out a very small, negligible amount of energy from this Star Heart before, and look what it did to me."
Imaginary cold sweat ran down his face as he thought about what might have happened if he had used any more at that time.
Pain flared through his body, bringing his wandering mind back.
It did not take any effort for him to realize.
Star Heart generated enormous power—but that power rejected intent by its very nature. It was wild, raw, and incompatible with delicate manipulation.
Infinite generation did not equate to unlimited output.
His constitution as a slime was way too weak.
"This skill cannot be used freely. Forcing it would be no different than committing suicide," he thought grimly.
[2nd Sub-Skill: All of Creation]
Represented by a smaller purple star that was orbiting Star Heart. The information about this one was a bit more complex.
This one he had never activated.
But his mind was filled with endless ideas of its application.
This skill was just as ridiculous as the first.
All of Creation would allow the user to create anything from imagination, except for creating life.
The only prerequisite was that the user must first possess the materials needed to create what was desired, sufficient magical energy to fuel the creation process, and sufficient understanding of what they were attempting to create.
No understanding equaled no creation, and mistakes could end badly.
However, one restriction stood absolute.
All of Creation could not make use of the mana generated by Star Heart at all. Only his own mana.
The nature of Star Heart's energy was fundamentally incompatible with creation.
"Both skills are ridiculously broken, Unfortunately, they don't complement each other very well.
I also won't be able to bring out even one percent of their potential at the moment."
"Knowing what could be without being able to attain it is such a pain."
"I can't properly use Star Heart because my body is too weak, and I can't create anything with All of Creation because I don't have the materials or the mana to support it. Truly a vicious cycle. I don't know if I am lucky or unlucky for my soul to awaken these skills."
Finally, he could also see a third object orbiting the blue Star Heart. Unlike the other two, this one was not a star, and was much smaller than the purple All of Creation star.
This one looked like a golden crystal ball.
Naturally, he knew that this was not a part of the unique skill Infinite Forge. But the fact that it was in his soul space meant that it was a part of his soul. And that left only one other possibility.
It was his personal AI system that somehow got reincarnated with him and fused with his soul.
The golden crystal ball represented Ultima.
Inside his soul space resembled an endless dark void. There was nothing but complete darkness and empty space outside of the central area where the two stars and the golden ball resided.
*************************************************
After realizing this, he suddenly had a bold idea.
"Hey system, what if I used a minuscule amount of energy from Star Heart to stabilize my core and speed up my regeneration?"
[Based on the effect of the last usage, this method is extremely dangerous in your current condition.]
"That was only because last time I drew out too much energy by accident. This time you handle the output."
"Use the amount of energy I harnessed the first time as a reference."
"Just draw out a fraction so small that it barely registers. I refuse to believe that even that would still be too much."
[Calculating feasibility…]
[Star Heart energy rejects fine control. Direct regulation is impossible.]
[However, passive redirection at an extremely reduced output is achievable.]
[Conclusion reached.]
[Optimal solution: Redirect an output several hundred times weaker than the initial release and allow the slime core to absorb it naturally over time. This process will repeat continuously until structural integrity is restored.]
[Estimated time until completion: approximately 12 hours.]
[Dormant mode is required for survival.]
[Autopilot execution is recommended.]
"Do it," he said quietly.
Right at that moment, sounds reached him from outside. The unmistakable crunch of boots snapping twigs and the sinister scrape of metal against stone infiltrated the silence.
"…thought I saw one escape somewhere around here."
"Doesn't matter. Weak slimes don't last. Hurry up and look for it. We need to leave soon."
His body tensed up, alarm bells ringing in his mind.
"Shit. I thought I lost them."
[Core Stability: 3% and falling]
"Damn it all."
"I can't move right now. I'll die if they find me. And I'll die if I don't start the recovery now."
"I'll also be completely vulnerable during dormant mode."
He didn't think for long.
It was better to start recovering now and have a chance to survive than to wait for his core to collapse while hiding in fear.
"Oh dear rocks… I can only trust you to hide me well."
"Do it now, Ultima."
[Command received.]
Immediately, Dontaé felt his entire body slip out of his control. All his senses—his very consciousness—began to shut down.
In the last moment of clarity, he felt the footsteps drawing closer.
Too close for comfort.
Then, with an abrupt snap—
There was nothing.
In this state, he was no better than a stone.
Incapable of waking.
Utterly defenseless.