Currently, it has been 90 days since I was born as a slime.
To be precise, it has been 90 days, 7 hours, 34 minutes, and 52 seconds.
Why can I assert this so accurately? Itās because of the adjustment effect of the Unique Skill "Great Sage."
Oh, this skill is really convenient. When in trouble, "Great Sage!" It answers anything.
According to "Great Sage," it seems that it took exactly 90 days for the skill to settle in. "Settling in" means that I have settled into this world.
I thought it meant that I had settled in, but it turns out that my skills are not just settled; they are etched into my soul.
However, it explained that it accessed and stole the "language of the world," which is otherwise impossible to understand.
Itās really hard to grasp the meaning.
Usually, itās not a convenient skill that makes words resonate in your mind when you have a question.
It seems that the "language of the world" resonates when the world undergoes a change, and when skills are acquired or "evolve."
To answer my questions, it seems that this language was utilized.
In the original world, it was unfamiliar, but here, it seems to be a common occurrence.
Most importantly, it seems that skills being acquired or "evolving" is not a common occurrence. It seems that "skills" can be acquired by chance when the world recognizes some form of growth. "Evolution" is something that ordinary humans can never achieve.
Itās an ambiguous feeling, but I have to accept it as such.
"Great Sage" answered my questions, but it is fundamentally passive and has no self-awareness.
It wonāt speak to me unless I speak to it, which is a bit disappointing.
However, itās a good thing that even one-sided communication is possible.
Talking to my own skill would make me seem like a strange fantasist in the old world...
For that reason, I asked a lot of questions in the pitch-black darkness where I had nothing else to do.
As a result, it was confirmed that I had indeed become a slime (gelatinous creature = unspecified organism).
It was also clarified why I donāt need to eat or sleep.
In this world, slimes donāt need to eat as long as they can absorb mana. In areas with low mana concentration, they absorb monsters or small animals to replenish their mana.
Therefore, in this world, it seems that slimes in areas with low mana concentration are rare and strong. Usually, the stronger the monster, the higher the mana concentration.
In this case, the mana concentration is so high that thereās no need to eat.
Regarding sleep,
"The answer: A slimeās body is a collection of identical cells. Each cell acts as a brain cell, nerve, and muscle.
Therefore, since the cells that perform thinking take turns resting, sleep is unnecessary."
That was the answer.
Where are my memories stored?
Perhaps itās like a RAID configuration in a PCās HDD?
When I thought about it, it replied, "Mostly correct."
"Great Sage" is surprisingly good at agreeing.
So, the skill effect of "Great Sage" that I was curious about...
"The answer: The effects of the Unique Skill 'Great Sage'...
Thought Acceleration: Improves perception speed to 1000 times normal.
Analysis and Inspection: Analyzes and inspects the target.
Parallel Processing: Separates the phenomenon to be analyzed from thought and processes it.
Incantation Cancellation: No incantation is required when casting magic.
Comprehensive Knowledge: Encompasses all unhidden phenomena in this world.
These are the main abilities."
Comprehensive Knowledge? Does this mean I can obtain all knowledge without effort!?
But in reality, it only reveals information about what I have encountered and what I am doing.
In other words, I need to see something once, but then I can analyze it.
However, Incantation Cancellation. Does this mean I can use magic without incantations once I learn it? More importantly, is magic even real!!!
The answer is YES.
Knowing this, I couldnāt help but want to learn magic.
Even though I knew it was impossible, I asked "Great Sage" if I could use it, but of course, it was impossible.
But then I had an idea.
Is it possible to link the analysis of "Devourer" with the parallel processing of "Great Sage"?
"The answer: It is possible to link the analysis of 'Devourer' with the parallel processing of 'Great Sage.' Do you want to link them? YES/NO"
Of course, YES!
Even so, thereās nothing to analyze... Wait?
The grass I stored in my stomach, which I ate out of boredom. What is that? Well, I have nothing else to do, so I might as well analyze it.
So, I quickly executed it.
?
?
?
"The analysis is complete...
Hippocretia: Raw material for medicine. It only grows in places with high mana concentration.
Mixing the juice of the grass with mana creates a healing potion.
Crushing the leaves and mixing them with mana creates a salve to stop bleeding."
Wow!
The weeds I piled up out of boredom...
What a stroke of luck.
I quickly started making healing potions and salves. Although they are created inside my body, I donāt really feel it.
The analysis took less than a second, and the creation took less than three seconds, producing one item. I can make 100 in five minutes.
I donāt have anything to compare it to, but it said the quality was "high."
Itās a satisfying result.
More importantly, both the analysis and creation are incredibly fast.
When I asked, it said it usually takes more time.
Linking parallel processing was the right choice.
As an experiment, I tried creating one without linking. It took 50 minutes.
It was shortened to an incredible degree.
It seems I acquired a skill that is highly compatible, even though I was unaware.
Among the weeds, most of the grass here was Hippocretia.
Just in case, I started devouring all the grass in the area.
At the same time, I diligently created healing potions in my stomach.
Still, I was in complete darkness. There was nothing else to do.
At that moment, I was completely relaxed.
Having a counterpart (?) that answered my questions, even if it was passive, made me feel more at ease.
One of the reasons was that during these 90 days, I hadnāt encountered any other creatures or faced any life-threatening situations.
Regardless, I was complacent.
Splash! (Note: You canāt hear this sound. Enjoy the objective image!)
Huh?
Suddenly, my body felt heavy and unstable...
Could I have fallen into water?
During these 90 days, I hadnāt felt any water droplets on my body, so I assumed I was in a cave or indoors, which made me complacent.
It seems I slipped on something and fell. Since thereās no river in the cave, it must be an underground lake or something.
Until a moment ago, I was carefully moving step by step in the pitch-black darkness.
But after getting excited about the skill explanations and using the "Devourer" skill to eat the grass...
I didnāt check my footing.
I always do this!
I get excited and fail.
At work,
"Just leave it to me! I can handle it!"
Iāve seen hell a few times because of my foolish answers.
I remember the resentful looks of my juniors.
Initially, thereās no running fool in the pitch-black darkness!
I want to lecture myself.
If I survive, Iāll lecture myself. But even if I regret it, I wonāt repent!
More importantly, I have time.
I canāt splash or panic because I donāt have hands or feet...
Itās the end.
A short life, or rather, a short slime life.
I braced myself for the impending suffocation.
...
...
...
The suffocation didnāt come.
Why? Could I not have fallen into water?
In times of trouble, "Great Sage."
I immediately asked.
"The answer: A slimeās body moves using only mana. Oxygen is not necessary, so breathing is not required."
Now that I think about it, I hadnāt been breathing, though I hadnāt noticed.
Indeed? After 90 days, Iāve become a bit smarter.
However, it seems I have definitely fallen into water.
Itās not a life-threatening situation, but itās still a difficult one.
What should I do?
Am I floating or sinking? Itās hard to tell.
Without hands or feet, I canāt swim.
If I sink to the bottom, can I crawl back to the surface?
Or am I just drifting without floating or sinking?
It feels more like being in a rocking chair, a pleasant sensation from small movements...
This isnāt the flow of water. Itās more like a lake than a river. Thereās no sense of being carried away.
I donāt seem to be sinking to the bottom.
It might stay like this indefinitely.
This is a very dangerous situation.
What should I do?
Then,
My brain cells = slime body came up with a brilliant idea!
What if I devour a large amount of water and expel it like a water jet to move?
If I thought of it, I should execute it immediately. Thereās nothing else to do, after all.
However, I didnāt expect that this idea would lead to a fortunate encounter...
It was fortunate that I thought of it. At least, if I had gone in the wrong direction, there would have been no encounter.
But, as if guided by fate, I started moving in one direction.
First, I drank enough water to fill 10% of "Devourerās" stomach (though I didnāt realize it, the water level had visibly lowered).
Then, I expelled it all at once.
The sensation was incredible.
"Skill 'Hydro Jet' acquired."
A voice suddenly echoed in my head.
It was the first time I consciously heard it. This must be the "language of the world."
It couldnāt be "Great Sage" speaking, but it felt the same.
However, I had no time to analyze it!
With a roar, a sense of acceleration spread through my body, and I was propelled forward (in the direction I wanted to go) as if flying through the air.
Ironically, it might be a good thing that I canāt see.
The sensation of my body moving at incredible speed through the pitch-black darkness overwhelmed me.
To be precise, if I could see, it would have been terrifying, but even in the dark, it was intensely scary.
If youāve ever experienced a jet coaster in the pitch-black darkness of Disneyland, you might understand.
I once experienced it in a paradise ruled by mice, and the memory came back to me.
Most importantly, this time, thereās no guarantee of safety.
I want to hit myself for coming up with the water jet idea.
If I thought of it, I should have executed it immediately? What a fool! Safety checks are basic!
Huff... huff... huff...
Fear prevents me from thinking clearly.
How long will this acceleration continue... More importantly, how forcefully did I expel the water? Just as I thought that,
Bang! Boom!!! Roll, roll, crash!!!
And the impact... didnāt come.
Huh? I didnāt seem to take any damage... or maybe I did, but I didnāt feel any pain?
"The answer: You have acquired the resistance to pain. The damage was reduced by the physical attack resistance skill. Body damage rate: 10%.
The monster 'Slime' unique skill 'Self-Regeneration' has activated. Do you want to assist with the Unique Skill 'Devourer'? YES/NO"
Thereās no pain, but there is damage. I guess thatās good... Iām not sure if itās good or bad, but if I donāt feel pain, it might not be necessary.
So, assist with "Devourer"? Iām not sure, but "YES" for now.
At that moment, I felt a part of my body shrink slightly. After a while, it gradually returned to its original size.
It seems that a part of the damaged area was devoured and analyzed for repair.
What a convenient body... Next time, I might experiment to see how much I can shrink before becoming immobile. It seems that even if my body shrinks significantly, it doesnāt affect my activity... Still, it feels dangerous, so Iāll be careful.
Yeah, I guess Iāve become more cautious.
This time, I had a large amount of healing potions, but I didnāt need to use them.
Because, although a 10% body damage might seem severe, it was confirmed that it can be recovered in about 10 minutes.
Next time, if I take damage (hopefully not...), Iāll try using a healing potion.
So, where am I?
After confirming that my body had returned to its original state, I checked my surroundings.
I canāt say there are no dangerous monsters nearby.
It seems I emerged from the water, and it wouldnāt be strange for monsters that canāt cross water to live here.
I cautiously started moving.
Recently, every time I say Iām being cautious, I end up in a dangerous situation, but itās probably just a feeling.