Chapter 3: Chapter 3: My First Encounter is a What?
(Minor Edits)
A virtual display appeared before my eyes after asking Saul to display my stats.
/-------------------------------------\
Status
Name: Sol Hunter
Race: Slime
Age: Ageless (Newborn)
Class: Reincarnator, Otherworlder, MOB
Lv. 1/10
Parameters:
STR: I[10]
END: A[999]
DEX: I[10]
AGI: I[10]
MAG: I[10]
Unique Skills: [Solomon's Pride: EX], [Devourer: EX]
Skills: [Absorption: C], [Dissolve: C], [Self-Regeneration: C], [Physical Resistance: C], [Magic Resistance: C]
Special Notes:
A fairly ordinary slime with some extraordinary circumstances. Extremely weak, advised to devour other creatures, and increase Parameters ASAP!
\-------------------------------------/
'Hey, Saul! What's with that endurance? A-rank 999? And does EX-rank mean what I think it does?'
『In response to host, an average adult in your world would have their stats all at the peak of a Lv. 1 I-rank with approximately 99 points in their parameter. As you have reincarnated as a slime, you never tire, don't require sustenance, and have inherently high self-regeneration capabilities. Hence your high endurance stat.』
『In regards to your other question, host, Yes, Ex is the pinnacle of every parameter rank and item grade. For parameters, one must accumulate 5000 points to reach the EX designation which is also the cap.』
'Damn, I reincarnated with two EX-rank uniques.'
『Correction, host. Both skills were only A-rank when you reincarnated into this world. By fusing with the system, they were both upgraded to EX-rank.』
'Hmm, that makes sense. At least I have a head start against any other otherworlders who unlocked a unique skill after transmigrating here.'
'Hey Saul, does [Solomon's Pride] and [Devourer] still have all the same benefits?'
『There have been some upgrades. Please check their descriptions.』
/-------------------------------------\
[Soloman's Pride]:
- Analyze/Assess: Scans target to investigate or assess it's basic stats. When combined with [Devourer]'s Predation, it allows the host to thoroughly investigate and research the target allowing for an in-depth understanding of magic and techniques.
- Parallel Processing: Allows host to multi-task and focus on multiple operations at the same time, such as analysis and combat.
- Instant Cast: Allows host instantly execute magic.
- Akashic Records: Gives the host an innate understanding of the creatures and techniques he scans.
- Hastened Thoughts: Allows host to process thoughts and preception 1000x faster than normal when activated.
[Devourer]:
- Devour: Absorbs the target into the user's body. It can be used on organic, non-organic, and non-physical objects. It can also be used on skills, Magic, and Arts.
- Bottomless Stomach: Stores predated targets. Objects stored in the stomach are unaffected by time.
- Mimicry: Reproduces the form and skills of absorbed targets that have been thoroughly analyzed.
- Isolation: Stores the harmful effects that are absorbed/predated and breaks them down into mana.
\-------------------------------------/
'Damn, I guess I'm going the OP protagonist route after all...Hmm?'
*Ploppp*...
All of a sudden, I felt the loss of contact with the ground as I tried to absorb the next bundle of magical weeds. The air started to quickly move around me as I realized I had suddenly become a raindrop falling from untold heights towards an uncertain death.
'Damn it. I forgot to have Saul scan the nearby environment while I was looking through my stats and skills! What am I going to do? I've already been falling for at least ten seconds! What's the terminal velocity of gelatinous ball anyways? Maybe if I spread myself out like a squirrel, I can slow down for a smoothe landing.'
I continued to fall as I experimented with manipulating my viscous figure. It was harder then I thought to spread myself out like a parachute, but according to Saul, I was still at least 1000 meters from impacting the ground. It made me question whether or not I had fallen off a peculiarly shaped mountain, but that was the least of my concerns at the moment.
After managing to slow down my descent, Saul calculated that I have roughly 2.5 minutes before reaching the ground. Apparently, I'm a bit fat compared to most slimes...
When I finally reached the ground, it wasn't ground at all. I crashed into all sorts of pointy objects that impaled and beat me as I fell and returned to my standard blobby form. If I didn't know better, I just got whacked and impaled by every single branch of the ugly tree and its extended family. God, this hurts. I'm missing that pain nullification ability that the original Satoru had.
As if to confirm my suspicions, a new alert popped up.
『[Physical Resistance: C] upgraded to [Physical Resistance: B]』
'Although I'm glad that my skill levels are increasing, is now really the best time for this, Saul?'
『That wasn't me, host. That was the world's voice.』
Ah, that's right. In my pain and frustration, I forgot about something like that. In this record, the only time a person hears this voice is typically when the world changes, a skill is acquired or upgraded, and when one is ready to level up or evolve. Saul was just using his admin privileges to hijack it and communicate with me.
'Saul, were you able to determine what it was that we fell off of?'
『After careful analysis, the host seems to have entered some sort of abyss or valley after falling off the cliff. Also, the levels of mana in the surroundings have increased significantly. Resources such as the Hipkute Plant and mana enriched water are more likely to be found here. Scans have also detected trace amounts of mana enriched ores nearby. Would you like to activate passive scanning in the surrounding 3 meters? The cost is negligible compared to your regeneration of mana.』
'Can the passive scanning also warn me of any potential nearby danger and sudden pitfalls?' I asked, somewhat irritably.'
『There should be no issue to include those filters.』
'Then do it! Take my mana!'
『Passive scanning activated.』
『Exposed magic ore vein located a half meter to your right.』
Following the systems directions, it only took a few minutes to locate the magical ore. I quickly used predation to absorb the entire vein. After a few seconds, a virtual screen appeared in my mind showing the results of the analysis.
/-------------------------------------\
Analysis complete: 3 tons of raw mana enriched iron ore and 30kg of raw mana enriched silver were absorbed.
\-------------------------------------/
'Heh, I bet there are plenty of smiths and jewelers that would love to get their hands of this. The only problem now is, how do I get out of this pit?'
With no valuable input from Saul, I chose a random direction and started scooting my way towards a new adventure. It'd be great if I could find someone or something to follow, but according to the last large area scan when we landed. There was still no other lifeforms in the surrounding 100m.
...3 Days Later...
I was sitting on the surface of a mana enriched lake as I slowly drained the water to combine with some of the herbs I collected. After consuming dozens of ore veins and about half this lake, I've finally used up one percent of my stomach's storage capacity.
Not sure if I'm doing better than Rimuru or not, but it hasn't even been a week yet, and I've already recreated his jet propulsion, water ball, and water blade skills while at the same producing the healing tonics.
I must admit, I miss sleeping and eating much more than I thought I would. Hopefully, I'll meet someone soon.
...1 week later...
I've officially reached five percent encumbrance and probably raided this entire valley. That's just the cherry on top, though. Today, Saul and I have located a massive metal door. Not sure if this is the entrance or exit to something, but any sign of civilization was bound to be more interesting than what I've been doing till now.
I honestly have no idea how Rimuru went through 90 days of this before flubbing up and launching himself into the unknown.
First, I tried to use my new [Water Blade] skill, but it only lightly scratched the surface of the door. Naturally, with my experiment failing, I was left with only one choice. [Predation].
My body quickly expanded and surrounded the door as I absorbed and dissolved the sturdy obstacle into my [Bottomless Stomach]. I received 40kg of Refined Orichcalcum ingots, 20kg of refined Ebony ingots, and a 1kg refined Adamantium ingot. Based on Saul's suggestions, I've started condensing the refined ores into ingots for easy use in the future.
I can't remember what the door was sealing due to my isekai contract, but whoever built the door clearly didn't want someone getting in or out.
Of course, like any teen from a B-rated horror film, I immediately walked(rolled) past the former door into what I imagined was a dark, musty, and eerie underground cavern. The rather specific imagination, of course, came from Saul's narration of our surroundings based on the passive scan.
I roamed through the underground caverns seeking out a mysterious new companion to keep me company. I still don't know what to expect once I reach the end, but I have a feeling that there's something vital here. It also may have been the notification that Saul sent me that made me even more curious.
『New Quest!』
/-------------------------------------\
First Encounter(S-SSS):
Explore the Storm Caverns of Jura Forest and discover for yourself the poorly kept secret sealed away in the center of the forest. There is only one other creature in this area, but its big, scaly, and has the strength to send nations into despair with its power. Either help, Ignore, or destroy the being in the cave and escape unnoticed to earn your rewards.
Rewards: 1 x High Stakes Roulette Ball, 1 x Elixir of Life, 1 x Legendary Humanoid Corpse (male), 1,000 system points.
Failure Conditions: Death or being discovered by investigators.
Penalty: All parameters will be reset to your current level's minimum.
\-------------------------------------/
'It's a dragon, isn't it?' If I had a face right now, veins would be throbbing all across my blank expression. How in the system's name am I supposed to defeat, much less kill a dragon? No wonder the quest ranks between S-SSS in difficulty...
Still, I wobbled my way into the vast underground cavern. According to Saul, there was a large number of ores, crystals, and herbs, all with abundant mana signatures signifying some pretty rare specimens for me to collect as a bonus. As I made my way towards a large dome-like, mana structure in the center of the cave, I took my time to absorb anything I could get my slimy paws on.
I could feel a heavy gaze weighing down on me, probably trying to figure out what a slime was doing here.
(Hey, you. You there. Can you hear me?)
'Hmm? Is this the legendary telepathy? Hello there, neighbor. My name is Sol. Pleasure to meet you!' I thought, hoping whoever was on the other side would be able to hear me.
(Oho, what a lively and intelligent slime we have here. It's nice to see my first visitor in so many years is quite civilized. My name Veldora, Storm Dragon Veldora. Ha~Hahahaha~.) Veldora seemed to be surprisingly interested in me. I couldn't help but wonder how long he has been locked in here.
Saul already informed me that the dome-shaped magical construct was a seal locking in the monster living here. I sure hope he isn't some sort of evil dragon...
'Well, it's quite nice to meet you, Veldora. Since I can't talk, see, or hear anything, you're the first person I've communicated with since I was reborn here.'
(Indeed, slimes have neither eyes nor ears to see or hear, but you seem to be quite well learned. You mentioned being reborn here. What sort of monster were you in your past?)
'Umm, you may not believe this, but I was a human from another world that had no monsters like us. At least, not any that I was aware of. Just a bunch of humans and demi-humans.'
(Hmm, an otherworlder human, you say? That would certainly explain your abnormal intelligence and your... peculiar coloring.)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone