Clown: Wait, wait! Listen. This was just practiceāa temporary solution. The resolution was wrong so the quality is bad.
Pierrot: Thatās what they all say!
Clown: Okay, hereās the truthā¦ the drawing tablet brokeā¦ so until I fix it, just hang in there!
Pierrot: Promise?
Clown: Absolutely!!!
Pierrot: Very wellā¦
Clown: Oh and speaking of hanging, Iāve heard a politician say this: āI think they should bring back hanging and we should watch it live on TV and call it Noose at 10ā!
Pierrot: Iāll take you up on thatā¦
Clown: No, wait!!!
.
.
Empowerment Arc
Chapter 07 ā First Battle
A path leading out of from the underground lake.
It was a single tunnel.
With a *boyo boyo*, I ascend the path.
Moving around is actually more pleasant than youād expect.
Even places that light fails to reach are perfectly visible to [Magic Perception].
I would more around slowlyāchecking every stepāwhen I was blind; and, slimes arenāt that fast to begin with.
Now, I normally move at a walking pace, but can also run. Nor do I get tired.
But, since I donāt have any reason to hurry, I move at a moderate pace.
I swear this is not the result of a trauma from the first time I ran and fell into the lake!
A short while after, a giant gate had appeared before my eyes.
A human made structure inside the cave.
Nothing that strange about it. But, thatās because this development is common in RPGs.
Itās normal to have a door in front of the bossās room.
Soā¦ how should I get it open?
Should I cut it with the [Water Blade]?
When I though that,
Gigigiiiiiii!!!
With a creaking noise, the door is opening.
A little flustered, I hid by the edge of the path, and observed the situation.
ćIt finally opened, huh. Lock fell apart and the doors rustedā¦ć
ćHey, thatās only to be expected. Donāt they say that no one entered here in 300 years?ć
ćNot on record, at least. But more importantly, are we really going to be fine? We wonāt be attacked suddenly, right?ć
ćGahahaha! Donāt worry.Ā Ā He might have been unrivaled 300 years ago, but times have changed. I mean, aināt he just a big lizard! Iāve subjugated Basilisks by myself. Leave it to me!!!ć
ćAbout that, Iāve wondered for a while, but thatās a lie, isnāt it? Basilisks are ranked B+, right? Solo subjugation would be impossible for Cabal-san, wouldnāt it?ć
ćFool! I am a B rank myself! They are just big lizards; no trouble at all!ć
ćOkay, okay, I got it, so would you please not let your guard down? Well, if it comes down to it, Iāll just escape using āForced Withdrawalāā¦ć
ćGuys, I got the extent of your friendship, so could you please be quiet? Youāll blow my āCamouflage Skillāć
Somehow, a boisterous trio had entered.
I wonder whyā¦
Actuallyā¦ why do I understand their words?
ļ¼ļ¼Solution. In cases where intentions are vocalized, [Magic Perception] converts them to appropriate words and transmits them to the brain.ļ¼ļ¼
I see.
I canāt talk to them, but at least I can understand them.
Thank goodness. I had always been bad with English.
I think that if you live in Japan there should be no need to study foreign languages.
Those who plan to go abroad can struggle by themselves.
But that excuse wonāt work here. Iāll probably have to learn eventually.
Well, that matter can rest for now.
What should I do?
This dilemma is worse than the previous oneāhow to open the door.
I donāt know what they came to doā¦ but they seem like adventurers.
Did they come searching for treasures and stuff?
They are the first humans I meet in this world. sort of want to go and greet them.
Butā¦ if a mute monster slime (a.k.a I) were to go out thereā¦
Iād be killed without questions.
Letās wait for now.
Meeting humans will have to wait until I can talk.
For now, I observed this situation in hiding.
After the skinny man had done something, the appearance of the three has dimmer. But, I can still see them.
Did he call thisā¦ camouflage?
Probably a type of skill.
Is he just trying to peek? What an outrageous guyā¦ Does he even know why they came here?
Probably should get to know him later.
When the three had finally left, I started moving again.
Nothing to worry about.
Not like I wonāt meet people anymore.
Iāll move while checking every step. As people have always said, āhaste makes wasteā.
Leaving these matters for later, I quickly went through the gate in case the three had returned.
.
A little while past the gates the path diverged and became rather complex.
I wonder which way leads to the surface?
Though even if I thought about it, thereās no way for me to know.
I chose a path and went down it.
*Chiro chirori!*
Our eyes met.
Just a bit above the groundā¦ in front of my eyes, there was a giant serpent.
Like the past worldās snakes, you could consider it cute. It was harder, covered in scales, and pitch black in color.
Like a frog in front of snake? Nope, I am a slime, not a frog.
Letās pretend Iām air. It would be best, though, if it doesnāt notice me.
Well, letās just try to slither away.
*Kishaā!!!*
I was threatened.
No good. I wonāt let you go! Or so it would probably say if I could hear it.
A fight, huhā¦!
I have a secret skill that I gained from a weekās long practice!
But even soā¦ youāve got to be resolved to die if you want to fight this beast.
To summarize, Iām pretty darn scared!
Donāt panic. If I think hard enough, I can imagine something far scarier.
Yes, Veldora. Letās compare it to that dragon.
Oh? Doesnāt seem that scary now.
Canāt I do this?
After calming myself, I began quietly observing the serpent.
The snake seems to have let its guard down, thinking I was so afraid I that I couldnāt move.
Probably planning on how it will cook me.
Yeah.
Well then, letās not hold back eitherā¦
*Bishun!*
Without hesitation I fired a āwater bladeā at the serpentās neck.
*Zuban!!! Hyuuuun, dosu. Gorogoroā¦ zun.*
It was but a moment.
I couldnāt believe my eyes.
Without even a hint of resistance the āwater bladeā beheaded the serpent.
I could only gulp; up until a second ago, there was an ominous sneak right there.
Thisā¦ is even more powerful than I had thought.
Had I been forced to use it on the adventures, it would end gory. Good thing my first enemy was a monster.
Oh and by the way, my stomach is currently occupied at 30%: Veldora 15%, Water 10%, Medicine and other crap 2%, metals and resources 3%.
āWater Bulletā uses less than a cup of water (and I can regulate the sizeāwith the intention of increasing it, of course).
Thus even if I fire thousands of these, I wonāt have to worry about the amount left.
This just might be better than magic.
If monsters come out, letās meet them with a āwater bladeā.
.
Now, about this snake.
If I eat and analyze it, would I steal its powers?
Well, letās try it.
The resultā¦
Inherent skill [Heat Detection]ā¦ the ability to see nearby heat sources. Furthermore, camouflage skills are nullified.
Inherent skill [Noxious Mist Breath]ā¦ the ability to release a powerful toxic (corrosive) breath. Released at 120 degrees for a distance of 7 meters.
(TL Note: 22 feet)
Along with these two skills, I could also mimic the snake.
The poisonās main effect seems to be corrosive damage (damage to both equipment and flesh). Would be pretty effective against normal adventurers, eh?
Though with this worldās magic, it just might be an easy win.
And so I spent some time analyzing the snakeās skills.
Best to increase my hand while I can.
Things Iāve confirmed:
1. Iāve gained the ability to transform into the snake.
2. I can use the acquired skills even without transforming. But, their strength decreases.
Those two things.
If I had to explain them,
1. ā¦ I can stock up on the bodies of monsters I ate and analyzed.
My body had repaired the section I previously damaged, but it kind of has the feel of stitchesā¦ made with cells.
2. ā¦ Inherent skills are skills specific to that monster race. Similar to my [Dissolve, Absorb, and Regenerate].
Regarding the skill, if I am not transformed into the appropriate monster, I cannot use it with 100% effectiveness.
However, there also skills like [Heat Detection], which I can make completely my own.
To summarize, itās like this.
I totally dig [Predator].
Itās another skill which is super useful.
3 days have passed since I fought the snake.
Iām still inside the cavern.
I donāt feel cold, but itās probably below freezing in here.
Sunlight doesnāt reach here at all.
And so, I kept worrying over one fear.
I know, I know.. thereās no way itās true.
But no matter what, I just couldnāt get it out of my head.
Yeahā¦ what ifā¦
I am lost?
No, no, thereās no way.
I meanā¦ right? Whoās heard of someone getting lost in the beginnerās cave?
Isnāt this supposed to be the easiest part?
Besides, even those three adventurers got this far without being lost.
I should be fine. Itās probably just a long path.
But, itās probably a good thing I was reborn as a slime.
Had I come here as a normal āWorld Travelerā, Iād definitely collapse from hunger by now.
Who would have thought that Iād be thankful for being a slime.
However, not knowing the way is troubling.
Isnāt there like a map of this place or something?
ļ¼ļ¼Solution. Should I display the current location? [YES]/[NO]?ļ¼ļ¼
Replay the current narration..?
Just couldnāt help making a pun.
But seriously, what the hell! Let me know sooner if I have such a useful ability!!!
Absolutely [YES]!
Curse you auto-mapping!
I also had a time when I thought that.
Back in old games, youād sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper, and record every step to get to the goal.
It was fun to plan every step.
However, many people began relying on game guides, and eventually mapping became a standard game feature.
No more pleasure of the huntā¦
Moreover, had you gotten used to that feature once, you can never go back again.
Well, itās also true that without this feature, youād be stuck in most recent games.
Anyways, letās put this useful skill to use.
I look at the map displayed in my head.
This has got to be some mistakeā¦ Iāve been walking in circles.
For me, who has compiled game guides before, to have been lost?! Impossible!
ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦
ā¦ā¦.
ā¦
Definitely possible.
According to the map, Iāve entered previously unexplored regions.
So, Iāve spent three days looking at the world no one has seen before.
Fufufu.
To have mislead meā¦ the dungeon is a worthy opponent!
Letās pointlessly praise the dungeon.
And donāt even begin to think that I have no sense of direction!
Is the entrance close by?
There is various moss and weed growing around here.
The light reaches from somewhere, bathing the grass in light and color.
So it must be day.
Iāve fought many battles to come this far.
A centipede monster (Evil centipede: rank B+)
Big, black spider (Black spider: rank B)
Vampire bat (Giant Bat: Rank C+)
Carapace Lizard (Ammosaurus: rank B-)
Those are the four species I encountered.
There was that one serpent, but I havenāt seen another.
They were all powerful foes.
Defeated with one āWater Bladeāā¦
Well, the bat evaded it a few times, and the shooting angle was bad for the centipede.
Canāt relax just yet.
For example, the centipede erased its presence and attacked from behind.
Luckily, that kind of attack wouldnāt work on someone with [Magic Perception] and [Heat Detection].
So I shot out a few water blades from my back.
The big spider was pretty dangerous.
In the first place, Iām no good with spiders.
Itās a psychological thing. Just a sight of one makes me want to cower.
But, maybe due to my heart become stronger through reincarnation, I somehow managed to fight without running away.
My bad, but Iām going full force! With that thought, I cut it up with five water blades.
It wasnāt an opponent I wanted to look at, after all.
And of course, I ate them all.
Itās survival of the fittest in this world. If you lose, you get eaten.
And well, I did hesitate to eat the centipede and the spider.
But I did do my best.
But, if a cockroach monster exists, Iāll absolutely run away without eating it.
Thereās these wonderful words in this world: he who fights and runs away will live to see another day.
Hereās the skills I got as a result,
Centipede monster [Paralysis Breath]
Big spider [Sticky Thread, Steel Thread]
Vampire Bat [Vampirism, Ultrasound Waves]
Carapace Lizard [Body Armor]
And so, having gotten my hands on new powers, I successfully left the cave.
For the first time since being reborn, I was bathed in the light of the sun.
Status
Name: Rimuru Tempest
Species: Slime
Read Latest Chapters at wuxiaworld.eu
Divine Protection: the Storm Crest
Titles: None
Magic: None
Skills: Unique Skill [Great Sage], Unique Skill [Predator], Slime-Specific Skills [Dissolve, Absorb, Regenerate], Extra Skill [Water Manipulation], Extra Skill [Magic Perception], Acquired SkillāSerpent [Heat Detection, Noxious Breath], etc.