The hours passed by quickly. And then…
Ding
[System Upgrade: Completed]
[Core Stability: 100%]
[Congratulations, master, on your successful recovery]
Feeling gradually returned to Dontaé's body as the effects of dormant mode wore off. He bounced around a few times, relishing the feeling of his body again.
"Haha, haha, I'm still alive and kicking. Good, that's good."
"Hey, system, good work patching me up. I'm feeling pretty good now, no more pain."
["I'm glad to be of service. It was the master's idea to proceed as I did.]
[Only such a genius mind is capable of having created me."]
"You're getting better at flattery, huh?"
The two lines on his face furrowed together, somewhat resembling a thoughtful expression.
"I'm guessing that guy gave up after he couldn't find me."
"My hiding place turned out pretty good."
"Everything has been so hectic since I got here, no chance to even catch a damn breath."
"Mmm. Come to think of it, with my slime anatomy, I don't need to breathe."
He settled down and started to think.
"The outside world was dangerous."
Memories of the last encounter haunted him, where the glint of a hunter's blade had nearly ended his existence in an instant. To survive, he needed to learn more about himself and what he could do. He had to uncover how to harness the full potential of his abilities before another threat silently approached from the shadows.
Right where he was, he emptied his mind of all distractions and tried to enter a meditative state. He focused inward, the same way he had when he first saw the stars of Infinite Forge.
"I already know about Infinite Forge. The system referred to it as a unique skill. It also mentioned that self-regeneration was an innate skill."
After a few minutes, he identified all his innate skills.
"So all my innate skills are: Self-regeneration, Absorption, Split, Merge, and Dissolution."
[Master, would you like me to display your status panel with all your basic information?]
"Wait, you could do that? Since when?"
[Every being in this world has access to their own status panel. When you arrived, I detected its existence and integrated it into myself so I could manage it more efficiently on your behalf.]
[It was unavailable before because integration was incomplete.]
"I see. That explains the upgrade notifications."
[Correct.]
[There was also an unforeseen benefit. You will see it once the panel is displayed.]
"Alright then. Show me."
Status
Name: None
Race: Monster (Unique Slime)
Level: 1
Titles: First Intelligent Slime (Unique)
Magic Affinity: Neutral
Skills:
• Ultimate-Unique Skills: Infinite Forge and Ultima
• Innate Skills: Self-regeneration, Absorption, Split, Merge, and Dissolution
• Title Skills: Royal Slime and Slime Insight
"It's clean and simple. I like it."
"So I'm the first intelligent slime. That explains the title skills. And neutral attribute mana… so this really is a magic world."
"Huh. Infinite Forge and Ultima are listed as ultimate-unique skills. What does that mean? Why did they change?"
[Unique skills are skills that can only belong to one individual at any given time. For another to awaken the same unique skill, the current holder must die. And even if someone does awaken it later, it will be slightly different for each individual. That's what makes unique skills unique.]
[Some unique skills can only ever belong to one individual and never manifest again. Your unique skills and Title skills are like this.]
[They are composed of multiple sub-skills and represent the penultimate rank of skill evolution]
[The ranks are: Common, Advanced, Epic, Unique, and Ultimate.]
[Ultimate skills allow their holders to influence natural laws within the limits of the world.]
[In rare cases, a unique skill powerful enough to rival ultimate skills is classified as an ultimate-unique skill.]
[These skills cannot evolve further.]
"That makes sense. Infinite Forge's potential is already broken as hell."
"Well, I'm not complaining. Congratulations are in order then. That's good for you. I'm guessing your sub-skills are quite impressive too for you to become an Ultimate-unique skill."
[Thank you, master. But this benefits you. I am just your soul-bound skill.]
[And there is one more surprise.]
"Oh? Then save yourself for last. Show me my race description and other skill details first."
[Of course.]
Race: Monster (Unique Slime)
Slimes are weak, mindless monsters formed in areas of dense mana concentration. They are coalesced from pure liquid mana and are thus able to be sustained by mana and do not require sleep or food. However, they do enjoy both sleeping and consuming magical materials such as Magic Stones and Magic Crystals.
Even though slimes don't need to eat, if they are in areas deprived of magical energy, they can eat whatever is most accessible in their environment to survive.
You are classified as a unique slime because of your title.
Innate Skills:
• Self-regeneration – Advanced-ranked healing skill. Allows recovery from most bodily damage as long as sufficient mana is available.
• Absorption – Common-ranked skill. Allows the absorption of materials into the body.
• Split – Advanced-ranked skill. Allows a slime to reproduce asexually once sufficient mass and mana are accumulated.
• Merge – Advanced-ranked skill. Allows multiple slimes of the same type to merge.
Effect 1: Temporary Merge
Effect 2: Permanent Merge
• Dissolution – Common-ranked skill. Allows absorbed matter to be broken down and digested.
Title Skills:
• Royal Slime – Epic-ranked skill unique to the first intelligent slime. Grants authority over other slimes.
• Slime Insight – Epic-ranked skill unique to the first intelligent slime. Allows viewing the status panel of other slimes and influencing their evolution.
Ultimate-Unique Skill: Infinite Forge
Sub-skills:
• Star Heart – Generates neutral attribute mana continuously.
The intensity of output cannot exceed the user's level, which represents the maximum power their existence can safely express.
The mana produced rejects intent by nature and cannot be finely controlled.
• All of Creation – Allows the creation of non-living objects from imagination.
Requires sufficient materials, mana, and understanding.
Consumes a large amount of mana and cannot utilize Star Heart's energy. The larger and more complex the creation, the more mana is required.
[And now… me.]
Ultimate-Unique Skill: Ultima
Support-type skill focused on utility.
Sub-skills:
• Analytical Appraisal – Epic-ranked skill allowing information analysis of targets.
• Concurrent Mind – Epic-ranked skill allowing multiple parallel thought processes.
• Mind Acceleration – Epic-ranked skill that accelerates thought processing speed.
• Universal Language – Epic-ranked skill allowing understanding of all languages and forms of communication.
• Mana Sense – An advanced-ranked skill that improves the user's sensory ability by using the surrounding mana.
• Akashic Records – Epic-ranked skill allowing access to fragments of the world's stored knowledge.
***********************
"Whoa… that's insane."
"I feel a lot better about my chances of survival now."
"Even if Infinite Forge is off limits, with everything else I have, it would be embarrassing to stay weak."
"Let me guess—the skill you were excited about earlier is Akashic Records."
[Yes, master.]
"Knowledge is power. Accessing the world's records is absurdly strong."
"Hahaha… I suddenly feel very optimistic."
[That enthusiasm is justified. From here on, we will test and refine your abilities over time.]
"By the way, you sound different now. Less mechanical and more alive."
[You noticed. My evolution enhanced more than just my functions.]
[As for earlier, when my assistance was limited, that situation is unlikely to occur again.]
[From now on, you may rely on me as you did on Earth.]
"Hearing you say that makes all the suffering I went through back then to create you worth it."
********************
After waiting a few more minutes, Dontaé finally left his hiding place.
Carefully, he extended a thin tendril outward. No vibrations. No voices.
Daylight greeted him.
The forest was breathtaking—towering ancient trees, vibrant scents, and leaves coated in dew sparkling in sunlight. Truly beautiful.
But he was not fooled. The forest was most definitely filled with other deadly monsters.
He returned to the clearing.
The remains of many slimes littered the ground, some with cores missing. Other slimes were feeding on the remains, absorbing them piece by piece. Some began glowing before splitting.
The population was increasing.
"They're eating the dead… but I'm not hungry."
[Master, go and eat some before they finish.]
He didn't hesitate.
As he absorbed the remains, warmth spread through him. His body improved—slightly, but unmistakably.
He froze.
"Consumption," he realized. "That's how monsters grow."
Not training.
Consumption.
[Yes, Master. For low-level monsters, strength is gained by consuming others. Monster cores are the most efficient source, but humans collect most of them. Focus on consuming the bodies with cores.]
"What do they want them for?"
[For Alchemy materials mostly]
"Slimes are no better than livestock, it seems."
"Wait. Livestock…"
Cold anger settled in.
"So slimes really are the lowest of the low."
After absorbing several more remains with cores, he stopped. Greed invited death.
This world did not reward weakness.
And it did not care about morality.
"Fine," Dontaé thought. "Then I won't either."
Not about cruelty.
Not about mercy.
Only about never being powerless again.
He returned to his crevice.