Unable to tell how much time I had left in that form, I had to move fast. That alone was a problem, considering I had to move through the serpent's body. Worse still, its stomach tried to tear me apart.
Slimes are acidic, I recalled from one of the few books I had read in the past. The Beastariums hadn't been particularly detailed, but they generalized the acidity of slimes, with Mana Slimes and a few other unique slimes excluded.
I tried to increase the acidity of my liquid body, though I didn't even know if that was possible in the first place. Instead, I moved upward through the stomach, trying to escape before panic could set in.
The serpent stirred and thrashed about, but it appeared unable to do much against my desperate measures. I flailed–or tried to–but it amounted to little more than a weak wiggle. As I traveled upward, tiny portions of my liquid body stuck to the serpent's insides, which was odd. It felt as though a finger had been torn from my hand without losing the sense of touch.
My distorted senses remained active even as I continued to lose small parts of myself to the serpent's insides, but the sensation grew more confusing as those separated portions grew larger. They were eating the serpent from the inside out. I was eating the monster.
The weirdest part wasn't necessarily that I was devouring a monster, but that I was a monster myself while doing so. It was mind-boggling and should have scared me shitless, yet my emotions felt strangely dulled. As though becoming a monster had made me feel less. And that was probably for the best.
The rational part of my mind urged me onward, forcing me to continue traveling through the serpent's seemingly endless gullet until I reached its maw. It took considerable effort to move through a living serpent in a body I had never used before. The sensations were entirely new, and it didn't surprise me when I lost my grip and fell back into the serpent's stomach as it twisted and thrashed.
I tried to find a hold, but my wiggly body refused to give up its smooth, rounded shape. No matter how hard I tried, my liquid mass wouldn't compress into blades or spikes to pierce the serpent from within. Instead, I fell back into its stomach and lost some of my mass to the acid there. Fortunately, the loss was negligible. I still made a net gain as I climbed back up its gullet, reabsorbing the mass that had accumulated from the separated slime portions. They had grown considerably and helped restore me to full size.
At last, after what felt like hours, I reached the serpent's maw again. It thrashed violently, its movements erratic and panicked–understandable, given the living slime roaming its insides–but it still failed to kill me.
You should have crushed my core if you wanted me dead, I laughed inwardly as I spread through its maw, searching for a path to its brain, intending to occupy it and melt it down.
Instead, I was hurled around once more and nearly thrown from the monster's mouth. The serpent almost succeeded. Part of me wanted to let go, but another part clung tightly and spread deeper into its head.
I failed to reach its brain. Navigation was difficult in my new body, but I found another target instead: the serpent's windpipe. At least, I assumed that was what it was. Either way, the moment I reached its entrance, I forced my body to expand and balloon outward, turning myself into a perfect obstruction.
It strained my mind, or my core(?), to expand enough to seal both throat and windpipe, but it worked. As time crawled by, minutes stretching into what felt like hours, the serpent's thrashing grew even more frantic. It hissed, vibrations rippling through its body, but I endured. Somehow.
As crude as the tactic was, it worked. I survived, while the serpent's violent movements weakened into faint, desperate spasms. It stood no chance, a fact that became increasingly clear as my size adjusted to the amount of monster flesh I was consuming.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the serpent collapsed.
Arok Serpent has been defeated. Shift has been updated.
I would have clenched my fists in triumph if I'd had any. Maybe even done a little happy dance. Instead, I had to slither out of the carcass to return to the surface–through its windpipe. That proved troublesome, given that my core was larger than the windpipe was wide or tall.
I had no idea how long it took to reach the surface, but being back outside made me forget the struggle almost immediately. The grass felt fresh, the soil damp, though everything was still warped through the Blue Slime's distorted senses. Even so, it felt wonderful.
I had survived and absorbed some Essence from killing the Arok Serpent. Feeling stronger, I called upon the Status to confirm my suspicion.
Core: Tier-1 (0%)
Huh? I froze. That didn't make any sense.
First of all, I was certain Essence had entered my body. It might not have been enough to make a dramatic difference, but it should have added something to my Core, not reduced it.
The Core was at 1% after the Choosing.
Confused but refusing to panic, I used Shift again and returned to human form.
My body expanded as limbs burst from the blue liquid, and my senses snapped back into place. The transformation took time, and I experienced every part of it. The return of my vision, the second distortion as my senses realigned, and finally, the reappearance of my clothes. The same pristine outfit my parents had gifted me for the Choosing, hoping flawless attire would earn the gods' favor. Only now, it was no longer pristine.
After a week of wear, the clothes were dirty and smelled faintly of sweat and grime. Worse, there was a hole in the chest, exposing my… unscathed chest?
"How?" I blurted out, inspecting my torso and shoulder more closely. There should have been a gaping wound from the soldiers' attack. Instead, there was nothing.
Rather than weakness or pain, strength filled me.
Core: Tier-1 (2.3%)
I squinted as I noticed the subtle change in the Status. This made more sense. I felt stronger than before. Faster, tougher, too, but that still didn't explain why the Status had shown 0% earlier.
Curious, I shifted back into a Blue Slime, my focus never leaving the Status.
Core: Tier-1 (0%)
Next, my body transformed again. The Blue Slime stretched and reshaped itself into a long, sinuous form covered in muddy brown scales, complete with a dangerous set of fangs. My motor skills were useless in this body, and I ended up coiling awkwardly, nearly tying myself into a knot. Even so, the Status updated.
Core: Tier-1 (59%)
Damn, I hissed aloud just before my body expanded once more. There was no time to practice with the new form, as Shift ended abruptly and forced me back into my human body.