[Chapter 24] - Evolution
I well up in metaphorical tears at the sight of my options, swollen with pride. It was a hard road, but I made it, and I''ve been given some awesome sounding evolutions for my efforts. Eager to get stuck into it, I start from the top and work my way down.
[ - Evolution Options - ]
[Blue Slime]
+4 Physicality, +4 Fortitude. A Baby Slime lucky enough to survive to maturity, these basic creatures are numerous in the upper Atriums. Able to adapt to almost any environment given enough time, Slimes are capable of ignoring losses to their body mass in quantities that would surely kill almost any other living organism. Mass they are then able to reabsorb, so long as it has yet to be eaten by one of their many predators.
Alright, so I guess this is the ''natural'' next step up from a Baby Slime. It sounds pretty simple at first, but I''ll be able to reabsorb any matter I lose, so long as I can get to it before my opponents eat it...
Wait, that''s insane! My mass is my health pool, so if I can reabsorb any mass I lose, so long as it isn''t eaten or destroyed or anything, I essentially can''t die! If that possibility was a shock, my next realisation leaves me reeling.
I could split one of my selves off during a fight to go around reabsorbing any mass I lose, then rejoin with them later for what is essentially instant heals!
Holy crap. I''m only on the first option and my survivability just went through the roof! Hahaha, evolution is the G.O.A.T.!
Looking at the System side of things, I have no idea if plus four to a stat is good or not, but considering the general weakness of slimes and my current stats, I doubt it.
But I''m only just getting started! Moving onto the next one, I open up the Green Slime.
[Green Slime]
+4 Physicality, +4 Fortitude. A Baby Slime lucky enough to survive to maturity, these basic creatures are numerous in the upper Atriums. Able to adapt to survive in almost any environment given enough time, Slimes are capable of ignoring losses to their body mass in quantities that would surely kill almost any other living organism. Mass they are then able to reabsorb, so long as it has yet to be eaten by one of their many predators.
Oh, they''re pretty much the same. Comparing this option to the first one, the only difference in the descriptions is that Green Slimes adapt to survive any environment, rather than adapting to it. I don''t really understand the distinction, but it''s there so there must be one. Maybe it doesn''t matter right now, but guides my future growth, influencing my options later on? Moving on, it''s the same for the Red Slime, only one line in the description differing from the other colours.
[Red Slime]
+4 Physicality, +4 Fortitude. A Baby Slime lucky enough to survive to maturity, these basic creatures are numerous in the upper Atriums. Adapting to specialise in surviving almost any situation given enough time, Slimes are capable of ignoring losses to their body mass in quantities that would surely kill almost any other living organism. Mass they are then able to reabsorb, so long as it has yet to be eaten by one of their many predators.
Okay. If I''m right and this choice influences my future options, I can either go broad with Blue, survive with Green, or specialise with Red. The common theme I''m seeing is adapting to things, so I guess Slimes are just naturally adaptive in general. It tracks, what with our innate curiosity and desire to learn and all that.
But these are just the basic options from the sound of it. Time to move onto something a little fancier.
[Purple Slime]
+2 Physicality, +4 Fortitude, +5 Thought, +5 Intent. Observed infrequently, Purple Slimes boast greater intelligence than others of their kind, one of the few Slimes to be documented employing the use of rudimentary mana weaving.
You will be given a Pattern Structure through which to influence mana.
Oh, this one increases my mental stats. I do like the sound of being more intelligent, though I don''t really know what these stats do specifically, so I have no idea how that would manifest. I must have gotten this option thanks to practicing Mana Weaving so much. But what is this extra bit? It''s giving me something? I wonder what a ''Pattern Structure'' is...?
Focusing on the word and reading the expanded description, my eyes widen. A Pattern is something like an inert organ; a structure formed from whatever my body is made out of, but made specifically to conduct mana. The shape is permanent, but whenever I feed it mana, the Pattern automatically leads the mana through like a pre-made weave, meaning I can do magic without weaving it into shape first.
That''s so cool! I''d have a weave permanently embedded in my body, no effort needed! I wonder what it would be made out of? My body isn''t exactly solid, far from it, so how would it maintain its shape? Would I need to reform it if I get split up too much?
For that matter, thinking about it, couldn''t I just make one of these Patterns myself out of slime membrane? One of the first things I learned from Mana Weaving is that the shape and movement of the mana is what makes the magic happen. If something pre-made like a Pattern can influence the mana by just feeding it through, then going through the motions step by step isn''t necessarily an absolute requirement.
Of course, I could be entirely wrong; the System might give them out as a sort of cheat code for monsters that want to use magic without the Mana Weaving Skill. Something to think about.
For now, I''m not all that interested in picking Purple Slime. It''s cool, but I don''t wanna be a squishy spellcaster, all too literally in my case. This next one marks the start of my options that aren''t just various colours, so I''m interested to see what-
[Oozling]
+20 Physicality, +20 Fortitude. Often mistaken for one of its distant relatives, the Slime, Oozes are solitary creatures, and would likely view said relative as nothing more than yet another meal to satisfy their voracious hunger. Though smaller than their more mature variants, an Oozling nonetheless boasts their species'' impressive Physicality and nigh-immunity to physical damage. Approach with caution.
[Caution! This option will enact a species change! New Species: Ooze]
Oh, hell to the fuck no! Those stats are an absolutely ludicrous jump from the first three options, the bonuses alone more than double my current Physicality and Fortitude, but I can''t turn into an Ooze! I don''t wanna change my species, and what if their apparently ''voracious hunger'' makes me want to eat my new friends?! My instincts as a slime feels so natural, it''d be horrific on a cosmic scale if they changed to something this awful and started to affect the way I think.
Besides, the last thing I want to be is solitary. Spending time in the Fort and getting to know the slimes there has filled an aching hole I barely noticed in my old world. I''d much rather forgo the awesome might of the Ooze in return for the companionship and community of the Slime.
[Dense Blue Slime]
+10 Physicality, +10 Fortitude. Rarely, a Slime of advanced density will be spotted amidst a roving mess, yet even rarer still is the Dense Slime that bested all odds as a Baby to earn their current form. Among the most tenacious of Slimes native to the First Atrium, these monsters have evolved a unique survival strategy to counteract their species'' lack of durability and sense of self preservation; predators can''t finish you off if they''re too full to eat all of you.
Your Membrane will become Compressive, improving your physical traits as you accumulate more mass. You will also be given Regenerative Molecules, able to recover your prodigious mass with equally prodigious ease.
Praise be to our Lord Attenborough above, for you are the dope-est of dudes! Look at those stat bonuses! I''d have eighteen in my physical stats right off the bat and I haven''t even gotten to the good bits! ''Rare'', ''bested all odds'', ''tenacious''! These are some keywords I can get behind!
Then I have to re-read a sentence to make sure I''m not being pranked somehow. This slime''s whole deal is to be such a hefty meal they can''t be finished?! Talk about taking pride in your body! I try to look into the specifics of what having a Compressive membrane gives me, and what Regenerative Molecules do, but a handy little explanation fails to appear. I guess I''m allowed to get terms clarified, but I have to go off of vibes for any specific features.
Not that that''ll be hard. The two features sound pretty simple actually; the more mass I have, the stronger I''ll be, and I''ll get some kind of regeneration capability as an alternative to Suture. Actually, considering I''ll be a Dense Blue Slime, this option might also include the normal coloured Slime''s ability to reabsorb mass!
If that''s the case, it seems to me that this option would make me seriously hard to kill! Oh, Mr. Hyena, you''ve finally whittled me down to half my hit points? Whatever will I do- oh wait, I''ve gone for a little walk and got it all back, try again!
This is an absolute banger of an option, it''s definitely going on the shortlist. Though, that''s not to say I read the next with any less hunger.
[Slime Weaver]
+4 Fortitude, +6 Thought, +10 Intent. Manipulating mana with an ease comparable to manipulating their own currents, Slime Weavers are intuitive shapers of mana. These monsters can create strings of slime with a mana thread core, useful for both weaving mana and entangling predators.
You will be given a Pattern Structure through which to influence mana. Additionally, you will receive a Molecular Loom, with which to weave your Intent in its purest form.
Woohoo! More stats! Looks like this one focuses more on the mental stats and mana weaving. Those slime strings sound pretty cool, I''d be weaving physically as much as I am mana...-lly. Slime Weaver also gives me a Pattern like the Purple Slime, but overall, this is an obvious upgrade. I''ve only just started using magic, but apparently my innovations have been impressive enough to get me two specialist evolutions, which is nice. Thanks for making me feel seen Mr. Attenborough, I appreciate your support!
It''s obvious these slime strings are the focus of this evolution, so they must be pretty good at what they do. I haven''t been all that interested in squishy mage stuff, but the option to ''string up'' my opponents like some kind of steel-wire wielding ninja is a pretty cool mental image. Definitely going on the shortlist.
Now, I have an idea what the last one might entail from the name, so let''s see if I''m right.
[Many-Slime]
+4 Physicality, +10 Fortitude, +10 Thought. Anyslime is a good time for a Many-Slime. These creatures take their species'' inherent desire for company and community to the extreme. It is an impossibility to fight a Many-Slime one-on-one; your inherent ability to divide into numerous smaller Slimes makes you adept at both watching your own back and keeping your predators guessing.
Make your wounds work for you. Your form will be altered to include a Molecular Network, your molecules able to act on their own even when separated from your main body. Such an existence is extremely simple even for a Slime, lacking the spark of self.
Aaand I am! Sort of. This definitely showed up because of my... unique mental state, and it looks like a pretty solid advancement; I get a little stronger, a lot tougher, and smarter, but it lacks some of the pizzazz of the other options-
Until I get to the feature benefits.
My chopped off body parts will become slimes of their own?! There''s a bunch of examples all over the place in my old world of big slimes splitting into smaller slimes as you fight them. They can be real annoying to finish off, especially if they can recombine. It doesn''t say whether I get that particular benefit; reabsorbing mass could be limited to the coloured slimes, but I get the feeling it might just be a mature slime thing. Maybe. Hopefully.
I wonder how this would interact with my multiple consciousness''? I only have three, but would these mini-Lukes get their own consciousness? It says they lack the ''spark of self'', but maybe because my consciousness is already spread out it''ll throw me a bone. Even if it doesn''t, animating any mass I lose is a big advantage in a fight. In fact, that could turn pretty nasty if whatever I''m fighting actually swallows part of me.
I grimace. As effective as it is, eating monsters from the inside out makes me feel icky. I''ll still do it of course, I need to take whatever advantages I can get, but being surrounded on all sides by hot meat is even less appealing than it sounds.
Well, that''s all of them. Time to decide what route I wanna go.
Realistically, I can ignore the first five options. The coloured Slime evolutions have given me some useful information, and finding out about Pattern Structures was informative, but they''re rather basic. And despite the huge stat bonuses, I''m not touching Oozling with a ten foot pole. I''m rather beginning to enjoy being a slime, thank you very much, and I don''t want to lose my new friends just for a boost in power.
That leaves Dense Blue Slime, Slime Weaver or Many-Slime. Dense Slime seems the simplest, but simplicity can be potent, especially when it makes me so survivable. On the flip side, the other two are focused in on specific Skills; if these evolutions don''t have interesting synergies with Mana Weaving or Tandem Consciousness (maybe? still not sure exactly what Skill I''ve taught myself) respectively, I''ll turn into a hat and eat myself.
I would''ve moved on from Slime Weaver already if it didn''t explicitly tell me I can use my new strings for more than just weaving. Having some options to stop my opponents moving would be useful, but I have no idea how strong they''ll be; and unfortunately, given my general durability, I have to assume they can be broken pretty easily by most of the monsters I''m fighting unless the mana thread core makes them stronger.
Enlarge has been a big help, and access to healing is super useful, but I think I''ll pass on Slime Weaver. I want magic to supplement my strengths, not be the focus of it. I can always keep practicing my mana weaving, but I want an evolution that''ll set me up for the long term.
And of my last two choices, I think Dense Blue Slime is geared just a bit more towards what I want. Many-Slime is great, the stats and that Molecular Network would make it a lot safer to take on stronger monsters by giving me ready-made allies, but there''s just too much I don''t know about my split consciousness''. If I had a better idea of what the uses and drawbacks are I''d quite probably spend longer thinking about it, but for now having multiple bodies falls more within the category of as-yet-untapped potential, rather than something I want to build around for the long term just yet.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
I could be making a mistake, and once I''ve figured out the mystery Skill more I could look back at this choice kicking myself, but Dense Slime just has it all. I''ll immediately be better at everything I''ve already been doing, I get inbuilt healing, and so long as I get more mass I just keep getting stronger. Sometimes simple is best, and slimes make simple look good.
Pushing aside any lingering doubts, I confirm my choice.
[You have selected]
Dense Blue Slime
[Evolution in progress...]
I didn''t think it was possible, but apparently the nothing I''m floating in can get even more nothing-y than it already is. There''s a sensation like I''m sinking into deep water, and for the first time since being born as a slime, I slip into true unconsciousness.
There''s no way to tell how long I''ve been out, but my return to wakeful thought is sudden yet gentle, so I can happily tell myself it wasn¡¯t too long. Now, unlike the last not-place I found myself in while selecting my evolution, I can''t even look around my current location.
Instead, a page-like menu similar to an open manila folder fills my perception, mostly blank except for a little image of me on the left next to a series of numbers and the description for my evolution. Superimposed on the top of the folder is a text box that pulls my attention like a moth to a flame.
[Manual Evolution Menu enabled. Please make your selections and confirm to finalise the evolution process.]
Alright, I guess this is the meat and potatoes of the [Manual] process. I wonder why it locked me into selecting my evolutions before if this was the major change?
The moment that thought is thunk, another text box shows up; Sir Attenborough''s voice speaking to me as if in response to my confusion.
[The evolution process [Manual] grants access to more potent evolution options. Due to past actions and the nature of existences which qualify to access this process, countermeasures are put in place to prevent abuse.]
Oh. So basically, some folks figured out a method of gaming the evolution system at some point, decided to be dicks about it, and the System said "NO MORE!". I guess that''s fair enough, at least I know for next time. Thanks for the information Mr. Attenborough, sir, much appreciated.
I get no response, but I wasn''t really expecting one. He hasn''t spoken to me directly since I was born, why would he start now?
Turning to look at my slimy little self, I''m drawn to an invisible feeling of weight filling the menu just below. Interacting with it, I discover that this is all of the evolutionary mass I''ve managed to stockpile inside my Heart.
What the heck, there''s so much of it! I thought I''d only be half full seeing as I didn''t get the chance to go hunting more Beds, but I''m only a few percent off of being full up! How the shit did that happen?!
When I killed that Bed of Flowers and converted the excess XP into mass, I was hopeful, but I assumed I''d only have a pittance left over. Wow. I''d only killed a single level two Corpse Flower beforehand, but apparently that disparity reward isn''t fucking around-
Wait, no!
My wailing unable to escape this nothing-place, I grieve in solitude. I''m evolving; my Tier will increase, meaning I won''t get the disparity increase from the Beds anymore! So long effortless levelling, my sweet!
Still, I can console myself with all this extra evo mass. I''m so close to full that I might as well be full, so I don''t really have all that much to complain about, so long as I focus on that.
Looking up and to the right, I take a closer look at the numbers next to my little caricature. Ah these are my stats-
Bloody hell! I have thirty three hit points now?! How did that happen?!
\
[Hit point value is determined by a combination of Physicality and Fortitude.
Note; Due to your species'' unique physiology which relates hit point value directly to quantity of mass, in addition to Physicality, points in Fortitude may also be weighted to increase your mass, modifying standard hit point determination methods.]
Oh, okay. So because slimes use their body as their HP pool I get more ways to give myself more mass? Neat! Thanks for the info, sir!
Now that I know how hit points are calculated, I take the opportunity to check out my Physicality and Fortitude, now buffed up to eighteen a piece. Looks like the bonuses from my evolution into a Dense Slime have already been added. Thought and Intent are the same as before, but that''s to be expected.
Both the stats'' titles and numbers stand out, calling out to be manipulated. Poking at the Physicality stat, some of my stockpiled mass is added to the digits, increasing them from eighteen to nineteen. Gaping, I flutter with excitement. I can improve my stats directly by pumping them up with evo mass? Forget being a single digit nobody, I can build myself into a numerical powerhouse!
Before I get carried away though, I need to figure out what these stats actually do first. Studying each of the titles, information blossoms before me.
Wow, this [Manual] process is pretty in-depth! Each of the stats govern multiple aspects of my self; when increasing their values, I can bump everything governed by the stat evenly, or choose specific aspects I want to improve.
For example, Physicality determines my size and strength. When increasing it, I can either make myself bigger and stronger, much bigger and a little stronger, or much stronger but only a little bigger. Fortitude normally covers my durability and endurance, which appears to be the energy Slam uses, but I''m also given the option to increase my mass, since I''m a slime. So, I can improve my structural strength, making me harder to hurt, or give myself more endurance and stamina, so I can move around and use Skills like Slam more. That last aspect of Fortitude also seem to improve my body''s resistance to harmful effects, probably things like poison or magic that makes me weaker.
As for Thought, there''s a bunch to unpack. I can increase how fast I can process information, which has the added benefit of improving the speed of my weaving; or I can make my brain stronger, increasing the ''brute force'' of my mind, whatever the heck that means. Making that aspect of Thought stronger also improves my ''hard'' mental resilience, which is apparently how well I can resist effects that try to overpower my mind.
A shiver runs through my non-existent body at that. No way do I wanna meet a monster that can attack my mind, mind control is a hard no in my book!
Intent seems almost entirely focused on mana and ''soft'' mental resilience, which differs from ''hard'' resilience in preventing effects that try to gently influence or redirect my mind without my knowledge... okay, that''s way creepier than plain old mind control, at least overpowering someone means they know it''s happening!
Investing makes it easier to influence mana- which is how I raise my ¡®soft¡¯ mental defences, good to know -and improves the speed at which mana regenerates.
I can add and remove mass from my stats as much as I want, so I play around a bit. I''m almost ready to get stuck into pumping all my mass into raising my stats, when I begrudgingly acknowledge that I still have more to look at. I''ve mostly been focused on the left side of the menu, but the right panel, despite being mostly blank, has some interesting features I should probably take a look at. Focusing on the upper section marked [Structures], an absolutely titanic list explodes across the right side of my perception, extending across, up, down, and out of sight.
...fuck me.
Well and truly overwhelmed by the galaxy of suddenly revealed options, I first try to get some more information on what these ''Structures'' are by taking a deeper look at the heading. Alright, so apparently they''re various forms of additional physiology I can buy with evolutionary mass and add to my body when evolving. Well, that''s simple enough. With that in mind, I start looking through the list.
After a few minutes of reading, I find myself both impressed and terrified. There''s so many options available than I could give myself the ability to do or be almost anything, so much so that I have no idea what choices I should make. I could give myself teeth and claws, despite being a slime, or Scent molecules that give me a sense of smell, or tentacles, or crab claws, or carapace, or, or, OR!
There''s just too much!
I think I''d have died of old age before reading through everything, even if I had the patience to try, but thankfully I can sort for Structures common to specific monsters, capabilities or themes. I also make sure I''m putting the cheaper stuff first, so I don''t fall in love with something I''ll never be able to afford.
I''m surprised to see I can even buy Pattern Structures as well. I''m confused at first as to why two of my evolution options would give me this choice when I can just buy it here, but taking the time to actually finish that thought process furnishes me with the realisation that the big selling point there is that they''re free. I wouldn''t need to spend anything on buying the Structure here so I could use that mass to get another Pattern, or something that covers a weakness, or just raise my stats more.
Holding firm to that perspective, I consider whether I even want to buy a Structure. I could just pump everything into raw stats, making me way stronger than I am now... but the big benefit of adding new body parts is that I can mutate it like any other part of me, improving it over time with Impurities. Even something as simple as my Mana Receptors have become incredibly useful after adapting them, so I can expect anything I see here to have a boatload of hidden potential.
...
Sigh. I''m gonna be here a while, aren''t I? Good thing I don''t have a body to tire out, at least for the moment.
Finally!
It''s taken more time than I''m proud to admit, but I''ve come up with a few ideas for some Structures I might want to take.
The first thing I did was look for the Molecular Network and Molecular Loom. If Patterns can be bought here, I should be able to find these two as well, right? I found them pretty quick, looking for specific things is much easier than doing a broad search, but the moment I did it was revealed that both are well out of my price range. I could spend pretty much the entirety of my mass on the Loom, but I''d have nothing left for my stats, and I''m straight up unable to stockpile enough for the Network. Considering I could buy a Pattern or two with some mass left over if I wanted to, the fact that I was getting those Structures for free just goes to show how potent those evolutions were.
Once again, I pat myself on the back for taking the gamble on catalysing a Mana Heart so early. If I get evolutions that awesome to start, imagine what I could see for my next evolution, or the one after that!
Despite narrowing my options to Structures that will benefit a creature like myself, there''s still a lot to go through. I can safely ignore any structures that provide healing, since that comes for free with my evolution, so I''ve been tossing up between diversifying my capabilities or getting something that will accentuate my strengths.
I considered buying wings, but they''re surprisingly expensive. Apparently, Structures that aren''t well suited to your physiology cost more, not to mention I''d probably have a hard time getting wings to work when my evolution into a Dense Slime is focused around big mass gains.
Something to synergise with mana weaving was next on the list, and I''m impressed by how many avenues I had to choose from. I could give myself a set of dexterous little tendrils that sell themselves as an efficient upgrade to standard limbs, but they don''t give me anything my currents and membrane don''t, so no dice there. Something that did catch my eye, however, was an organ that acts as storage for mana thread. This Threading Well allows me to feed freshly made thread directly into it, where the mana is preserved in that form until I pull it out, ready for immediate use. It doesn''t have much space, but it means I''d have a stockpile of thread ready to go in addition to a full reservoir, essentially increasing my maximum mana by a bit, so long as I keep it topped up.
Following on from the storage idea is another one; a Matter Well. Where the last Structure stored mana, this one stores mass. The way I understood it, the Matter Well is basically a dimensional pocket inside my body where I can store slime stuff that will automatically replace any mass I lose. Granted, I need to actually put the mass in there first, and it''s just a form of instant healing, but it doesn''t decrease my max health; it essentially just makes me smaller.
Honestly, the real reason I''m so interested in it is that access is restricted to ''entities with a mutable form''; which I assume means creatures like slimes and other things that don''t care about the structure of their body, just how much of it there is. That, and the matter stored inside is pressurised; since I''d likely be able to move it around like any other part of my body, I could release it all at once like an attack, or protect myself by pushing out a wall of slime.
In the end, though, a chance encounter while scrolling for fun through some slime specific Structures had me promise my Heart to one option, and one option only.
[Solidifying Enzyme]
[An enzyme within your body that remains passive until activated, affects a chemical reaction which solidifies exposed molecules. The structural integrity of the resultant solid slime matter scales off of your Toughness. You possess a limited quantity of Solidifying Enzyme, which your body naturally generates over time.]
It''s expensive, requiring a good half of my stockpiled evolutionary mass, but this will solve one of my biggest limitations as a slime; a profound lack of methods by which to cut or pierce things. Tools and weapons become hard to handle if I get too low on mass what with my decrease in size, but stabbing is a much faster way to kill monsters than eating them; and with my new understanding of how size and Fortitude effects my hit points, I''ll be investing in that stat a bunch, meaning the slime matter I solidify will only get stronger.
Since I can alter the shape of my body at will, this means I can make things like knives and shields myself; depending on how much Enzyme I get, I could even cover my membrane in spikes, turning myself into a terrifying morningstar of doom!
Satisfied that I''ve addressed a critical weakness in my combat ability, I look to my stats. I have around half a Heart''s worth of mass to spend, and spend it I shall.
First, Thought. I don''t use it for anything specifically but it probably has some effect on my split selves, and twenty four as a number is fine, but it could be comfier. I raise it up to an even twenty five for now, not weighting it in any direction. I probably won''t notice a change, but until I''m given a reason to improve it, I''m happy with how things stand.
Next, Intent. Mana weaving being easier would be great, and I''ve been excited to improve that most integral foundation of nearly all cooldown builds; regen. But realistically, I need to increase my available mana. My bodies can shape weaves individually, but I still draw from a single source, so making sure I have enough points to split between my bodies is what I need right now. Still, I''m not gonna invest too steeply. Weighting everything towards mana capacity I increase my mana to fifteen, leaving my Intent at twenty five, even with my Thought.
Now for the big expenses. Bumping my Physicality up from eighteen to twenty five, I consider weighting everything towards mass, but the fact that I can get bigger through increasing both my physical stats means it''s probably worth making myself stronger. I may not have muscles to flex, but who wouldn''t take the chance to get stronger without the need to work out!
Even weighting each point ever so slightly towards increasing my mass has a noticeable effect on my HP; I haven''t even touched my Fortitude yet and I''m sitting pretty at thirty seven! Moving onto said last stat, I uhm and ah over my options. I could take the average, or close to, again... but I can''t help but be curious of what a ''durable'' slime would look like.
As it always seems to, curiosity wins out. Weighting one or two points into endurance, I use up all of what''s left of my evolutionary mass with an even split between increasing my size and durability, capping out at twenty six Fortitude. Watching my hit points climb, my metaphorical eyes shine like a propeller-cap wearing kid watching the ice cream man pour a soft serve.
Forty five. Forty five! I''ve literally tripled my previous hit point max, and I didn''t even need to dump everything into getting bigger! Giddy, I need to ward myself off of scrapping my careful stat allocations and dumping everything into catapulting my HP to the moon. A big pool of health is nice, but I want to make sure I''m strong enough to actually fight my future foes, rather than just take their hits.
Just because the description for my evolution says Dense Slimes let themselves be eaten till they can crawl away doesn''t mean I need to do the same; I can have all their strengths, without relying on David¡¯s questionable interpretation of their tactics.
Double checking that I''m satisfied with everything, I crack a smile. Its been a long road, and I''ve nearly died more often than I''d like, but I made it. I''m evolving. I''ll be returning to the Fort a whole new slime.
First, though, I need to get out there and help {Mask} evolve as well. Heading to the top of the menu and confirming that I''m finished with my selections, I can''t deny that a good chunk of my eagerness to wake up is rooted in my desire to take my new body for a spin.
[Evolution process [Manual] complete]
[Finalising evolution...]
The first thing I notice upon waking up is that I''m still in the nothing. I¡¯m certain I¡¯m once again sporting my gelatinous bod, looking down inside myself and wobbling a bit confirms that, but the mana I¡¯m can usually sense filling every square inch of the Dungeon is absent. There are no vines or ferns, even the ever present grass and rock I can absolutely still feel beneath me aren¡¯t showing up to my Mana Receptors, rendering my perception a blank canvas of not much at all.
"What the hell..."
Casting my senses wider I see a tiny slime, a little over half my size, crawling toward me, frantic.
"Luke! LUKE!" {Mask} pulses, terror, curiosity and relief fighting for space on their membrane. "What happen? Luke still. Quiet. Me. Hiding us. Waiting..." Looking up at me through a trembling membrane, I''m not sure what''s brighter; their awe or their fear. "Luke. Get bigger. Much. Me. Excited. Then..."
"Then what, {Mask}?" I ask, almost afraid to find out. "What happened? Where did you hide us? Where are we?" Even the inside of a monster¡¯s stomach isn¡¯t dark like this. It feels¡ unnatural. All heebitty-jeebitty.
They shake their head. "Not moved. Dungeon Crystals. Dim but more. Then mana. Disappearing. Me. Never outside Fort. When happens," they shudder. "Dangerous."
"Wait, you''ve seen this before?" What is going on!? I thought night wasn''t a thing here; the Dim is more like a Dungeon-Crystal-only twilight period, not whatever this cloying blindness is. My inability to ¡®see¡¯ anything besides {Mask} and myself is violently unnerving; no mana in the ground beneath, no Foundations floating through the air. It''s just...
"Slimes call. ''Nothing''," {Mask} ripples, looking this way and with me in an effort to locate some speck of something with which to orient themselves. "Rare. Not often. Dungeon empty. No mana. How long. Not know."
...What?
"You''re telling me there isn¡¯t any mana anywhere in the Dungeon? And you don''t know how long it''ll last?" Spluttering, I try to peer further out into the cavern once visibly thick with life, but I¡¯m already at my limit, three selves focusing everything they¡¯ve got in three directions. I wish I could gulp right now. They''re right; I can''t sense a single strand of mana, no matter how hard I look.
{Mask} bobs, shuffling close. "Hold on," I ripple, a flutter of nervousness edging riiight up to the edge of an emotional precipice that descends to full on dread, something they said finally registering with me. "Why is this... Nothing... dangerous?"
"Slimes. During Nothing. Stay in Fort," they explain. "Slimes blind. Get lost..."
Ah, well that makes sense. But¡
"Predators. Not get lost. Slimes. Why. Not know."
¡
¡¡
I work hard to control my response I really do, but there¡¯s only so much indignation a simple slime can stifle. ¡°Nose crushing, fist-to-face hugging, brain stabbing, burnt piss tasting DONKEY BALLS!¡± Bubbling like an enraged hot tub, I can only applaud my self control for sequestering my outburst to the face of myself far opposite {Mask}. The little guy didn¡¯t need to see that. ¡°Okay. Okayokayokay.¡± Come now, calmly circulate your currents; calmly I said. ¡°This is fine, it¡¯s fine! We use mana to see, while other monsters can see stuff like light and use other senses that the Dungeon probably doesn¡¯t just randomly take away, but it¡¯s fine!¡±
{Mask} raises a little nubbin, a habit I¡¯ve seen them getting into more frequently the longer we¡¯ve been together. Maybe they picked it up from me? ¡°Luke. Angry. Okay?¡± they wobble, the very picture of an understanding co-worker seeing right through my sarcasm to the seething frustration beneath.
I wince on three separate slopes of my body. ¡°Y-yeah. Sorry {Mask}. Just¡ frustrated. I feel like every time I¡¯m getting somewhere, I end up on the back-¡± circulate Luke, circulate! ¡°-I end up discovering I¡¯m still at a huge disadvantage.¡±
{Mask} boops into the base of my now much larger body, sending a soft ripple through me. ¡°Me. Am small sad. For Luke. But try. Help feel better!¡±
They cap off their assertion with a determined wobble, and I¡¯m pretty sure my Mana Heart melts a little at the display. ¡°You¡¯re a great friend {Mask}. Thank you,¡± I pulse, trying to convey the depths of just how much that means to me.
Firming myself up, I stare out into the Nothing surrounding us, two starry lights lost amidst an expansive abyss stretching in all directions. ¡°Alright {Mask}, you know the drill by now.¡±
¡°Yes!¡± they pipe up in a glittering coruscation of pride. ¡°Time now. Not get dead!¡±
Update on Current Schedule
Heya readers!
It''s been a while! I apologise for the radio silence, and the lack of a new chapter. Real life requires some TLC at the moment, planning a wedding is taking up almost all of my time outside of work! To ensure I set realistic expectations, I''m going to be putting [One Molecule At A... Slime?] on hiatus for a brief period. It shouldn''t be any longer than a few weeks, I expect my schedule will be a little less hectic once we come into March.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
I''ve had ideas for my next few chapters percolating away recently, I just haven''t had the time to type them out; I think that, rather than leaving you all in the dark while I try to pump out a chap or two when I have free time, going on hiatus until RL settles down again will let me keep enjoying the writing process, which will obviously make the story better.
Thank you for reading! I read everyone''s comments, it''s awesome to see how you all engage with my work, and I''m keen to see more of that when I have the time to give you stuff to engage with. See you next month!
[Chapter 25] - Lights in the Dark
We are abandoned.
These great halls grow cold. Our people, frozen in fire.
We are abandoned.
-Last words of the Lord of the Midnight Cellar. Deciphered from the final entry of his Lordship¡¯s personal diary, penned the day the Evercask detonated.
First off, I ask {Mask} where they hid us.
¡°Not far,¡± they explain. ¡°Flowers. Next to. Under fern.¡±
¡°Alright, that¡¯s good,¡± I glow, currents whizzing through me at high speed. ¡°That means the holes left behind when we cleared out that monster¡¯s roots should still be there. We can hide in there.¡± It¡¯ll be cramped, but better than being up here where anything and everything can see us. I haven¡¯t seen any monsters walking around this mini-jungle since that scarab I followed, but this is no time to be taking chances, blind as we are.
Following {Mask}¡¯s lead back to the site of the Bed of Flower¡¯s demise, I marvel at my newly evolved form. Hot damn, I feel strong! My membrane feels like a layer of muscle gently constraining my liquid mass, my body moving with an unspoken strength. I¡¯m a little less squishy and only a third bigger than I was before, but they aren¡¯t big changes considering how much higher my hit points are. I¡¯d assumed I would triple in size after tripling my total HP, but it¡¯s pretty straightforward to intuit that becoming a Dense Slime means most of that mass gets focused and compressed inside me rather than translating to big flashy gains.
Focusing inwards, a ripple passes through me. Holy crap, that¡¯s a lot of mass! If I had a bucket to work with before, I have a small bathtub¡¯s worth now! Extruding a pseudopod of slime from inside me, I give myself a mouth-esque dent in my membrane just so I can gape at the club-ended tendril twice my length rearing up over my body. ¡°Ho-ho-hoooh boy!¡± Cackling, I swing the pseudopod around, the greater weight contained within my smaller-in-comparison main body sufficient to provide me the leverage I need to wave it around almost effortlessly.
¡°Woooow!¡±
One of my selves looking over at {Mask}, the others enamoured with my new toy, I gleam. ¡°Isn¡¯t this awesome! I may not look it, but I¡¯m way bigger now!¡±
The other one of me not actively playing with my pseudopod hears that and gets a brainwave.
I adopt a considering glow. ¡°Oooo, maybe? I don¡¯t see why not!¡± Retracing the cool as heck appendage, I focus my attention on my brand spanking new Compressive membrane. Then I relax, like I¡¯m rolling my shoulders to loosen a collection tight muscles.
A smooth, rolling swell of mass expands out from me like a planet sized wave circumnavigating the globe in two seconds flat. One moment I was only a third larger than I¡¯d been as a Baby, the next I¡¯m a gelatinous mass which- judging by {Mask}¡¯s height relative to me -must come close to the slime equivalent of shoulder height next to Big!
¡°I¡¯m a chonky boi!¡±
{Mask}¡¯s response is immediate and highly expressive. A storm of gobsmacked clouds sent scudding across their surface, the Baby Slime shoots around me, their far more advanced Motive Molecules forcing me to resort to keeping track of them with my mana radar rather than attempt to concentrate in every direction at once.
¡°AMAZING! Luke big. Like Big!¡±
¡°I¡¯m not quite there just yet, but by Attenborough it looks like that may just be on the cards!¡± Jiggling my generously proportioned jowls, I marvel at my prodigious mass. I need to make a conscious effort to relax my membrane for this, but the sheer quantity of mass I have on display, plus the knowledge that my neutral size is considerably smaller than this, really drives home how potent that Compressive Adaptation is. Paused on the edge of what feels like the prior edge of the Bed o¡¯ Flowers, I flex and shift around. Huh, I don¡¯t feel quite so¡ physical like this; I guess having all this junk wrapped up inside such a tight little trunk really bumps up how much force I can put out.
All slimelight falling still across my form, I retract back down, my membrane tightening and thickening around me. ¡°I¡¯m just like Ant-Man,¡± I shimmer. ¡°High density, low surface area. I¡¯m all love taps and bullets!¡± Spinning around on the spot, I see {Mask} looking on with a blank expression, completely and utterly lost.
¡°Uhh, I¡¯d explain, but that¡¯s about ten layers of context deep at minimum, so for now, just know that I¡¯m super happy with my new evolution!¡± I assure them, flashing them the vibe behind a thumb¡¯s up; just without the thumb, of course.
¡°Okay. Happy,¡± they reply, wiggling about in reinforcement of their point.
¡°Thanks mate. Sorry for the distraction, let¡¯s get to safety.¡±
Moments later we find ourselves crammed down the narrow tube-like holes in the ground which once housed the Bed¡¯s root system. Just before we descended I split off a 1HP bubble from myself, slipping the tiny me inside {Mask}. It really shouldn¡¯t have, but I¡¯d been shocked to discover the bubble- as I¡¯ve begun to think of the temporary little bodies I split off for tasks such as this -is much smaller than the ones I was making before. Looks like they get all the benefits of my Mutations, which is something I already knew, duh, but I wasn¡¯t prepared for a single HP Luke with a Compressive Membrane to be the size of a gumball.
I consider sending another bubble out to scout the area, small as I¡¯d be, but my inability to see, coupled with the fact that I would barely be able to feel anything useful even if I relaxed to my full size leads me to scrap the idea. Instead, I have a better use for this time while {Mask} and I try to get our bearings and figure out the next steps.
¡°Alright {Mask}. I have no idea how long we¡¯re going to be here, but hopefully we can wait this out. Seeing as we¡¯ve got nothing better to do, let¡¯s look at our Skills and Mutations. What are your resources sitting at?¡±
They pulse their agreement, their attention already far away. ¡°Skill Point. One. Impurities. Four.¡±
The bubble of me inside their mass pulls up my status, my first look post-evolution. ¡°Hmm, not enough for an adaptation for anything. That¡¯s alright, look through your Skills. I know we were saving that point for something else, but have a look for anything that could help us find our way around; who knows, you could get lucky.¡±
Name: Luke
Species: Dense Blue Slime [Highly Concentrated Pure Mana Heart]
Level: 1
Hit Points - 1 , 44 [45]
Mana - 15
Physicality: 25
Fortitude: 26
Thought: 25
Intent: 25
Skills: Slam [Lv.1], Malleable [Lv.1], Bounce [Lv.4], Stealth II [Lv.1], Engulf [Lv.3], Initiate Mana Weaving [Lv.2]
Mutations: Mana Receptors +5 (Dispersed), Digestive Molecules +5 (Indifferent), Motive Molecules +2 , Membrane +2 (Compressive), Regenerative Molecules, Solidifying Enzyme
Skill Points: 1
Impurities: 12
MM-MMM! Those are some delicious numbers if I do say so myself! And those Impurities, woof! Looking at my Mutations, three plus four, five, six, seven¡ plus five¡ that¡¯s exactly twelve! I could take either my Motive Molecules or my Membrane all the way to the top if I wanted to!
As for my other selves in my main body, one is keeping a receptor on our surroundings, watching for so much as a flicker of mana. If this Nothing starts to let up, I wanna know about it.
The last is focused on said new body. I just got a bunch of upgrades, and I want to see what I¡¯m capable of now. With two new Mutations, what may as well count as another in my free Compressive Adaptation, considerably higher stats, more mana and nothing but time on my hands, I¡¯m ripe for some shenaniganry! I just wish I wasn¡¯t squished up inside a tube of soft packed earth, it makes waggling my nubbins victoriously a mite difficult.
The ability to split my efforts three ways, courtesy of my triplicate mental state, is quite the time saver but it also gives rise to an opportunity I had failed to take into consideration until now; cross-subject brainwaves.
¡°I wonder if System Writ would let me rewrite little bits of the System?¡± ¡®Skill & Mutation Me¡¯ wonders, tossing and turning the phrasing of the intriguing Skill through my currents. I¡¯ve used computers, obviously, but I wasn¡¯t an I.T. guy. Apart from sounding like a writing thing, I don¡¯t actually know what a ¡®writ¡¯ is in the context of systems and programs.
Writ Initiate - 1 SP: Grants the skill-holder basic System Writ permissions.
Maybe it could adjust wording? How specific the wording is seems super important for all my Skills and traits, maybe this would give me some wiggle-?
¡°Waaaait a second!¡± Practice attempts at making spikes on my membrane grinding to a halt, ¡®Body Test Me¡¯ rapidly opens up my status to stare at the description for the Compressive Adaptation.
Membrane +2 (Compressive): The membrane is the organ that maintains a Slime''s bodily integrity, a semi-solid constructed from slime matter.
Compressive - Scaling with your total mass, your membrane increases in density and toughness, this compression of your slime matter increasing your physical traits. Additionally, you are able to highly compress your membrane, pressurising the matter within to varied effect.
¡°I¡¯m a fool!¡± After seeing how dense I already am, I thought that last part was specifying what this Adaptation does passively. But the wording clearly states I¡¯m ¡®able to highly compress my membrane¡¯. ¡°That means I should be able to increase the pressure even more than I already am!¡± Equal parts ecstatic for figuring this out and chagrined for misunderstanding in the first place, I squeeze myself with my own membrane. I quickly shrink down to half the size of a Baby Slime while my membrane begins to feel tight, like the skin of a partially healed sunburn stretched over a joint
Doing so causes me to roll further down the hole I¡¯m occupying. I¡¯m delighted to discover that my tiny little body leaves a track in the dirt where I roll down the wall, and even more so when I hit the end and barely bounce; instead sinking into the sand like one of those soft weighted balls with handles I¡¯ve seen people using when working out at the beach. ¡°Holy Attenborough, I bet I could do some damage like this!¡±
¡°And that¡¯s not all,¡± ¡®Skill & Mutation Me¡¯ glimmers. Looking at one of the other Skills available for purchase, I swear I feel saliva dribbling down both my membranes.
Tension - 1 SP: The skill-holder can empower the tension held across their body. Effects vary dependent upon physiology.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
¡°¡.no way,¡± I breathe. ¡°I¡¯d forgotten about this! Highly Compressed slime, plus Tension, equals-!¡±
¡°One hell of a Slam,¡± my little bubble nods, the motion entirely imperceptible to anyone but myself due to my miniscule scale. ¡°We¡¯ve only got the one point for now, but that¡¯s definitely on the shortlist for when we get more. Until then, I¡¯ll try to figure out how to learn it mysel-¡±
Both my bodies stiffen, shrinking slightly, when the part of me that has been watching our surroundings diligently, and totally not getting distracted by the dope new stuff we can do, notices mana within our perception.
Moving mana.
¡°{Mask}, monster in the vicinity,¡± the bubble of me inside my small friend flashes, their currents surging in response to me snapping them out of their System-focused stupor. Well, that¡¯s something at least; I already knew monsters have mana so intrinsically woven into their bodies that I can see them as easily as anything else, but it¡¯s nice to know the Nothing hasn¡¯t taken that away. I could have figures that out from my ability to see {Mask} and myself, but we¡¯re slimes. We could just be cool like that.
¡°Monster? Close?¡± they ask, a tremor of fear bobbing me up and down like a toy boat on the ocean while my main body expands to normal size and slithers closer to the surface.
¡°Not yet,¡± I assure them, receptor-ing the approaching form of what looks like some kind of large snake as it winds over and around obstacles I can¡¯t see with unerring ease, still a good twenty meters away. ¡°Damn, just our luck. It can definitely still see.¡± Doing away with my status and menus, my bubble takes over watch duties while the two Mes in my main body prepare for the worst. ¡°At least we¡¯re in the ground, well out of sight. I¡¯m not about to tempt fate, but we¡¯ve got a chance.¡±
The snake continues its winding, undirected course in our general direction. As it gets closer, the details begin to jump out at me. Fascinated despite the obvious danger this noodle represents, I stare at the uneven surface of the serpent¡¯s body, following the curling, ropey vines that seem to wind around its entire form. The whole thing looks like some kind of animated hunk of jungle vines sculpted into the shape of a snake, thick cords all spiralling around each other in a corkscrew until they terminate in a thick based, almost drill-like head¡
Actually, looking at it, the monster¡¯s overall shape is tickling a vague, hazy memory of something from my past life. A-are you an alien?! Where¡¯s your tiny gold spaceship, and your Victoria¡¯s Secret collection?! HELP, SOMEONE CALL THE M.I.B!
My tomfoolery successfully distracts me for a solid five seconds¡ right up until the verdant serpent gets within ten meters.
Currently hovering above ground level- maybe slithering up a rock or something? -the snake was mid course adjustment, half of its city bus length body about to turn to the right and leave us be, when its big, dangerous looking head snaps down to us like a laser pointer, freezing on the spot.
¡°Ahhhh crab crackers,¡± I groan.
¡°What wrong?¡± {Mask} queries, still trembling.
¡°It sees us, ¡° I deadpan as the snake glides down whatever it was on top of smooth as silk, eyes fixed blatantly on our position despite all intervening obstacles. You know, like solid earth, and the concept of fairplay! ¡°How can it bloody well-! Right, it¡¯s pitch black out there without the Dungeon Crystals. It must have some sense in addition to sight it uses to track with, possibly even a mana sense like us if it saw us so abruptly.¡± Though my receptors are a bit blurrier at the fringes, when new mana enters my range it¡¯s like it just stepped under a bustop with me from out of a heavy downpour.
Flashing for {Mask} to stay still, I try not to move despite my instincts yelling at me to get to a safer area. I don¡¯t want to give away that we know it¡¯s seen us, ¡®cos if I¡¯m being forced into a position where I don¡¯t have the element of surprise, I need to take any advantage I can manufacture.
Still, it¡¯s molecule shaking stuff watching a snake big enough to provide transport for the morning commute slither directly toward you, tongue flicking out to taste the air every- EURGH, GROSS! Get that cat-o¡¯-ninetails ass, tendril-y lookin¡¯ thing outta here!
Reminds me of the loose tendons trailing through my currents when I grabbed that scarab¡¯s torn off legs, blech.
Of course, Viney Mc- no wait, I¡¯ve used that one already¡ Vine-demort can¡¯t hear me so I¡¯m subjected to watching this unlandscaped jackass¡¯ tongue flick in and out of its mouth all the way up until it stops right at the edge of the hole I¡¯m snuggled in, the point of its- startlingly accurate, wow you really worked hard on that -drill shaped head aimed right at me. Slowly- and I mean that on a glacial scale -slowly the serpent raises its head, the tip just peeking over the edge of the hole, hovering an inch or two above ground.
Cutting off my escape, huh? That¡¯s what you think!
I sit, varying my currents to take the bite out of my urge to shift around. Come on big guy, what¡¯s the matter? Glasses wearing boy with a scar got your tongue? I was never really into the series but the quips just create themselves some times, you know how it-
¡°BWAH!¡±
¡°{Teacher}!¡±
Lit up by a startled flashbang of slimelight, my slimy oh-so-vital fluids turn to ice in my currents, the tip of the snake¡¯s head partially buried inside my body. ¡°Ohmygodohmygod, what the fuck!¡± The motion of the monster¡¯s head shifting inside me feels about as natural as you would assume, sending ripples throughout my slime matter that communicate nothing but ¡°nonononono-¡±
Then the point unfolds inside me every so slightly, barbed little vines questing through said currents, and I loose my shit.
Squeezing a ridged ring of membrane around whatever ungodly orifice this fucker just opened on the tip of its face, I trigger my Solidifying Enzymes. The chemical reaction is fast, the chosen portion of my mass fully hardened after barely a second has passed. Gripping it in my currents, I put everything I have into compressing myself around my ready made valve wheel and twist.
¡°HSSSSSHKKHKH!¡±
Preceding the vine snake¡¯s cry is a tearing sound like a rope being snapped, the first inch of the monster¡¯s head and whatever fucked up little tendrils it tried to dig into me torn off and immediately set upon by my Digestive Molecules. Yanking its head back, dirt cascading into my little hole in the ground as the soil caught behind it makes said efforts more difficult than they might otherwise be, I¡¯m given a half second of breathing room to appreciate what the fuck just happened.
It¡¯s so fast! Like, unreasonably fast! I didn¡¯t even see it move; its head was just hovering over the hole outside, then the next instant I¡¯d already been stabbed. Thank Attenborough I¡¯m so thicc now; it may have pierced my membrane but that absolutely slowed it down, after which my tightly packed internal mass was sufficient to stop its attack. Even now the monster is jerking its head side to side and up and down wild and snappy; it¡¯s almost unrealistic, the monster moving too fast for me to process.
Just as it looks like the snake is about to free itself, I realise what¡¯s about to happen. If this thing gets out and away from me, my chances of stopping it from attacking me again are practically zero. Worse, I need to get out of this hole or it¡¯ll just pummel me to death; I doubt it¡¯ll make the same mistake twice after I wrenched off its nose like that. Which means I¡¯ll need to be out in the open where it can attack me with impunity anyway. My only chance is to grab hold of it and never let-
Just as I¡¯m finishing that thought, the snake finally pulls free, releasing a downpour of loose dirt that rains down atop my trembling form. Before I even have a chance to curse, a thick, rope-like vine snaps out of the creature¡¯s bunched up mass, smaller barbed vines coiled around it latching on to me like the stingers of a jellyfish as it yanks me out of my hole-
-and directly into the path of its swinging tail.
¡°Sunnova!¡±
Sent flying for the boundary line, I¡¯m ever so thankful slimes can¡¯t feel pain; I think I¡¯d be in a pretty bad fucking position otherwise, seeing as the barbed vines that were still attached to me and pulled taut when my body was flung away just severed me down the middle. One half of me splats most of the way up the trunk of a small tree, the other rolling to a stop amongst what feels like a bushel of ferns. I lost a healthy chunk of slime matter to that attack; enough to kill me before my evolution, the internals of both halves open to the air for a second or two before I was able to reform my membranes, but I¡¯m still well over half my max in both cases.
¡°This sucks. How do I even fight this thing?!¡± Looking up at myself flashing seemingly in midair from down below- the tree I¡¯m latched on to entirely invisible to either of me -I crawl over to a nearby lump of discarded slime matter. Making contact, it melts into me like, well, slime melts into a slime. Watching my hit points closesly, I tick up a handful of digits.
¡°Well, I guess that answers the question of whether a Dense variant gets the normal benefits of a Blue Slime,¡± I bob, rather pleased. ¡°In which case¡¡±
My other body jumps down from the tree to land directly on top of me, my body two-thirds whole once more. I immediately split off 10 HP worth of my mass as a bubble, which flattens out and starts beelining for my lost slime matter while compressed down to be as small as I can possibly make myself.
Hit Points: 22/34 , 10/10 , 1/1
Of course, Big Green and Slithery is watching my field-medic self closely. A thick, viscous liquid- maybe sap of some kind? -seeps from within the relatively small tear in its schnoz. Now that I have some perspective and distance from it, I can see that it¡¯s probably twice the size of a tall human, so not quite the bus-sized monstrosity I assumed it to be at first. I watch closely, its lower body shifting like it¡¯s readying to pounce, but I¡¯ve got something to say about that.
¡°Oi!¡±
My larger body hopping out in front, I arm myself with a thick-headed pseudopod as big as I am, achieved by modifying my density until I¡¯m as big as a Baby again but with just over twice the mass. Waving the weaponised appendage around in a mocking rendition of the monster I¡¯m facing down, I give it little spikes, though the edges aren¡¯t as sharp as I¡¯d like, and ready my Enzymes. Maybe I should get {Mask} teach me how to Mould like they do?
¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡± I jiggle, swelling myself up on spot. ¡°Come at me if you think you¡¯re-¡±
THWWSH!
I have no chance of predicting, let alone dodging my opponent¡¯s sudden lunge. None at all. But that¡¯s not the goal right now. Instead, when Vine-demort rips across the space between us like green lightning, its drill-like head half unfurling like a flower to reveal row upon row of barbs covering the inner walls and descend upon my body, completely ignoring my far too slow pseudopod, I don¡¯t move.
When the weight of the snake¡¯s charge slams into my main body, I don¡¯t move.
When its barbs dig into my membrane, I don¡¯t move.
When numerous tiny vines sprout from inside its throat, wrapping around me in and effort to hold me inside its mouth, I don¡¯t move.
Only once I¡¯m certain that the monster has a strong grip on my completely solidified decoy body and arm, enough that disentangling us will take some targeted effort on its part, does my consciousness safely housed within the pseudopod dangling out the side of its mouth allow a grin to stretch my membrane, the rough edge of what is now my face glowing and ready to Slam.
¡°GOTCHA!¡± I roar, compressing myself tight and snapping down on the snake with a solid thwack!
The sound it lets out is somewhere between the high pitched rustle of plants rubbing against each other and the sharp hiss of a pissed off reptile. Jerking its head back and to the side in an effort to get away, unfortunately it takes me along for the ride, the part of my body inside its mouth-head only lightly damaged despite being well and truly secure.
¡°I¡¯m not stuck inside here with you, you¡¯re stuck outside there with me!¡± I cackle, the work my Solidifying Enzymes have done in creating a thick shell of solid mass surrounding a small, still gelatinous, core standing up the monster¡¯s aggressive attempts to chainsaw through me with only minor damage for now. Each yank of said tongue-vines dig furrows in the protective surface like a butter knife through cold candle wax, but that¡¯ll buy me more than enough time to get a few hits in. I have no idea how durable this solid mass is, and as vital as that information may be, right now is not the time to be running tests.
I had to use my entire stockpile of enzyme to pull this off, enough to solidify an entire third of my body, so I need to get in as much damage as I can while I have this thing where I want it. In the time I had to experiment before this nasty bugger showed up I determined it took just under a minute to fully replenish my stock, which is pretty good all things considered; but in a fight, especially against something this fast? I doubt I¡¯ll get the chance to use it again before something happens to swing the tide my way or the other.
¡°{Teacher},¡± {Mask} glimmers, their position unchanged through the entire course of the encounter so far apart from some unsteady currents that rolled my tiny bubble about when I was cut in half. ¡°Before attack. Predator still.¡±
¡°Wait, really?¡± I hadn¡¯t noticed that, despite all three of my perspectives being trained on the thing this whole time. ¡°Great work {Mask}, thanks!¡±
Aiming for the same spot on the side of the serpent¡¯s drill head, I Slam, and Slam again until its verdant flesh gives way beneath the dense club that is my face.
[Slam has reached Level 2]
Sagging a little as I feel a little chunk of my energy drain away, I pulse my resolve. Obviously my presence doesn¡¯t go unchallenged, the taut, violent vibrations I can feel running through the monster¡¯s corded body a silent cry heralding the return of batter number one; the tail.
But I¡¯m ready this time. My body on the ground- still gathering up all the fallen mass flung loose when I was split in half -has been watching this entire time and, coupled with {Mask}¡¯s callout, gives me the perspective needed to see the monster¡¯s lower body go stock still a bare half second-
-before its tail streaks into motion faster than my receptors can follow. However, that half second is all I needed.
Releasing my heightened compression, I plaster myself to the snake¡¯s head as a soft, domed puddle of slime. The incoming attack- a thick, braided club of plant fibres -slams into my ready made cushion like a pre-schooler jumping into a beanbag. I feel some impact squishing out my membrane, but my naturally dense mass and Malleable Skill absorb so much of the force that I don¡¯t even lose any hit points.
Collapsing on top of the monster¡¯s tail while it¡¯s still buried in my mass and compressing down around it in an effort to keep the thing contained just a little more, a thought occurs to me.
A thought which leads me to extrude an appendage from my field-medic and slap myself upside the dome. ¡°I¡¯m a fucking idiot!¡±
Hit Points: 20/28 , 16/16 , 1/1
Mana: 15
¡°Why the hell have I been mopping myself up off the floor when I just got a new Mutation for this?!¡± I bubble, breaking off my approach of one of the more far flung puddles of myself and instead turning back to the fight.
The snake, not expecting me to grab hold of what it thought would be a solid hit, is now trapped on itself for the moment, tail touching head in a very awkward and not entirely accurate depiction of an ouroboros.
Before it can really start to pull, however, I trigger my new Regenerative Molecules. Immediately, I experience a kind of buzzing sensation; not like I¡¯m vibrating or anything, but like the centre of my mass just became the hub for a small city centre. That ephemeral, decidedly busy vibe beginning to spread throughout my mass, I try to localise it to the pseudopod-turned-actually-me still outside the snake, rather than the mostly immovable lump left inside. As my health begins to slowly tick up, I¡¯m pleased to see that the snake¡¯s steadily rising efforts to extricate itself from my grip fail to do the job, my Compressive membrane increasing my Physicality as my mass grows.
It takes a handful of seconds for me to hit my current max for this body, and by then Vine-demort is rolling around all over the place, frantic in its attempts to get itself unstuck from its current predicament. So much so that it resorts to slamming its head, tail and myself into the ground. Unfortunately for the snake, I¡¯m taking less damage from this than it must be, and my Regenerative Molecules are still- oh wait, no, they¡¯re done.
Oh well. A brief pause in the monster¡¯s desperate flailing, either due to it taking a break from all the exertion or being unsure what its next move should be, is just icing on the cake.
Mostly because it gives my former field-medic self a clear shot of my body with the Enlarge weave into which I¡®ve packed all fifteen points of mana from my Highly Concentrated Pure Heart.
And although the flight of the glowing net made of spiralling, branching mana is seemingly silent, the massive deluge of slime matter that explodes out from my body and engulfs the snake a moment later when it hits and I simultaneously expand to my full size is another story entirely.