NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3
As I noticed the temperature dropping, it was clear that night had fallen. With the darkness came a sharper sense of heat detection. It seemed like there were even more animals stirring about.
‘Nocturnal creatures…’
So it’s true what they say about many animals being nocturnal. Presence detection and heat detection both informed me that numerous creatures were on the move, including some large ones that had been napping during the day.
At least none of them were ones I could defeat right now. Activating stealth and focusing on presence detection, I quickly drifted away from them.
‘Phew.’
That was close.
If I had poked at my curiosity, I’d be pretty much done for. At this point, even munching on leaves didn’t quite satisfy my hunger anymore. The system had stopped notifying me over something as trivial as leaves.
It was clear; I needed to start hunting.
But before that, I decided to take a moment to reflect. What weapons do I have? The only thing that could qualify as a weapon was my tentacle. Aside from that, I could only rely on smothering with my body.
‘I guess this is what I should be doing…’
Using stealth to deceive and lure in my target for a decisive strike. That’s my golden strategy.
I had already taken down three rats with the same method, and predation had reached level 5, yet there was still no sign of leveling up.
It felt just like a game.
Should I call it a bottleneck? There are certain levels where the required experience oddly increases. It seems like level 10 is one of those. At this rate, three rats should have been enough to level up. Or maybe there are some other conditions?
For example, a boss. Like eating something larger.
But I don’t want to take that risk. Do I even need to remind myself of how perilous it was when I first took down a rat? Just remembering it makes my heart race. Isn’t there a better way?
[You have consumed a squirrel. Satiety increases.]
Even after catching a squirrel, my level didn’t rise. It’s clear that there’s some condition in play.
The only indication was the system talking only about satiety. Based on that, it seemed my experience must have already hit its max.
‘Conditions… I have a hunch.’
[Level 10 achievement condition: Consume an animal over 3kg.]
Surprisingly, this time it revealed the information quite nicely. Maybe it’s because my experience had maxed out?
Yet, the condition made me frown. 3kg means something much heavier than a rat or a squirrel.
‘Wild boar. Raccoon. Lynx…’
Animals that popped into my head. The challenge level is way too high. It’s simply impossible. I’d be torn apart in an instant, just like Jacques’s passive ability. Of course, there’s no resurrection happening.
I couldn’t think of any manageable prey. Wild cats… including others, they’re all out of reach.
‘Damn…’
Were wild animals really this strong? Without the urban infrastructure, I would have been eliminated in no time. Isn’t there a slightly larger rat around? The thought of a nutria crossed my mind, but a certain red-masked YouTuber’s video made me cancel those thoughts.
‘I’ve heard that they can take a finger off a person if things go awry.’
Besides, they live in rivers, not mountains, so I can’t even find them.
Nutria is off the table. I need something that can use its limbs but ideally shouldn’t be as strong as a wild boar while having blunter teeth…
Then, using heat detection and presence detection out of a sudden thought. Many animals were detected, but I couldn’t easily find what I wanted. A decent amount of time passed, yet nothing. Could they be absent? Just as I was about to give up, I finally stumbled upon a target.
‘…!’
It looked over 3kg at first glance. A droopy body. Slow, and without limbs or teeth.
It didn’t even seem to have any guard against me since it wasn’t wary even as I approached closely. Just to be sure, I used presence detection once more to scan its overall form, and nothing like it exists.
‘Is there any prey more manageable than slime in this world?’
Big, slow, and weak… Truly the perfect meal. The only problem was that it looked slightly larger than me. What if it isn’t slime?
That might be a bit dangerous. I used my tentacle to sweep the ground and picked up a suitable rock. My tentacle, now at level 3, had become somewhat useful. I tossed it, and the creature coiled around it, thinking it was food. But not a chance! No matter how much of a slime it was, it couldn’t dissolve a rock. Realizing it wasn’t right, it huffed and spat it out.
‘That’s it.’
This time, I sprinkled dirt instead of rock. Other creatures wouldn’t fall for that, but it was a slime. With only touch as a sensing ability and being a single-celled organism like me that couldn’t outsmart anyone, it seemed like it couldn’t detect unless it touched.
It swallowed and spat out the dirt repeatedly, but that had its limits. Eventually, the creature became lethargic as it mixed half-dirt with itself.
Without being careless, I finally started to rip into it from the outside.
‘Bon appétit.’
Some might point fingers at me for resorting to cannibalism. Asking how one can eat the same kind would be seen as barbaric. But who cares?
‘Oh wow~ look how chewy it is.’
Without a doubt, eating something weaker than me fits the natural order!
[You have consumed a slime. Satiety increases.]
[Achievement conditions for Lv.10 fulfilled.]
[Experience has reached max capacity. Lv.9 → Lv.10.]
[Additional status unlocked.]
[Tentacle (F) Lv.3 has reached max proficiency. Tentacle (F) Lv.3 → Tentacle (F) Lv.4.]
[Predation (F) Lv.5 has reached max proficiency. Predation (F) Lv.5 → Predation (F) Lv.6.]
A long journey. Looking back, I can’t even tell how many days have passed, but I was a pitiful slime barely scraping by, almost killed by a rat and eating leaves or insects.
But from now on, it will be different.
Evolution.
In evolution theory, it’s not about becoming a superior B over A; it’s about the species adapting to its environment and surviving through natural selection.
A tiger isn’t superior to a cat, nor is a bird superior to a dinosaur. Yet, I dare say: Charles Darwin was wrong! The theory of natural selection is incorrect!
At least in fantasy, evolution means becoming a superior species!
[Available skill list obtained]
1. Tentacle (F)
…
41. Weak Vision (F)
Finally, I succeeded in obtaining weak vision. Suddenly the world became a bit clearer. I could barely make out shapes, but I could see ahead.
‘Finally…!’
A wave of emotion washed over me. At the same time, the [Evolution Possible List] was also revealed. As anticipated, the key was sight.
However, it wasn’t like I expected; it wasn’t a message window but something… incomprehensible… something I couldn’t discern or make sense of.
‘…?’
No matter how much I tried to touch it with my tentacle, it just passed through as if it didn’t exist. But as I recognized that, a message appeared in my head, just like [Available Skill List], neither auditory nor visual.
[Evolution Possible List]
1. Slime
2. Poison Slime
3. Amorphous Gel
Somehow, the [Evolution Possible List]… no, that something which couldn’t be described disappeared. What the heck was that? Either way, three messages popped up. I understood the first two, but what exactly does Amorphous Gel mean? Isn’t it just another kind of slime?
‘Now that I think about it…’
I wondered how to utilize the observation I obtained, but thinking about how to observe something coming to mind didn’t lead to anything, and just as I was about to give up—
[Slime: An ignorant, weak, and dull creature. Capable of dissolving what it touches.]
The message I desired popped up. As a seasoned newbie, now at Lv.2 proficiency, my observation skill shone. Truly a cheat skill. My instincts were spot on.
The problem is that I already knew that much. It seems I’ll need to increase my proficiency more for it to be truly useful.
‘Should I check the statuses that have been unlocked?’
[Racer Slime Lv.10] [EXP acquisition impossible]
No experience acquisition? It seems they’re urging me to stop thinking about staying a Racer Slime and to evolve quickly.
‘Right. I need to evolve. Let’s see…’
[Poison Slime: An ignorant, weak, and dull creature. Can dissolve what it touches with poison.]
If a slime is simply acidic, then a Poison Slime feels like a blend of poison + acid? Honestly, it’s just a simple addition of “poison” to the description, so it doesn’t sound that appealing. If I had to choose, I’d prefer Poison Slime more.
Lastly, I used observation on Amorphous Gel.
[Amorphous Gel: An ignorant, weak creature. Capable of dissolving what it touches.]
All three have similar descriptions. It seems that the rare-looking Poison Slime stands out compared to regular slimes. But the absence of the term “dull” in Amorphous Gel’s description nudged my interest that way.
‘Still, Poison or Amorphous Gel seems better than regular slime.’
In a moment of sudden inspiration, I was taken aback as my tentacle moved on its own.
Going!
[Commencing evolution to Amorphous Gel.]
‘No! I haven’t chosen yet!’
-My consciousness faded away.
***
“Oh dear, Euna had it rough, huh?”
“I keep saying! You never listen to my side!”
With a playful flick, the Sunbae smacked the Hubae, who was sticking out her tongue, while grumbling to the Team Leader.
“Team Leader, isn’t it about time we gave her some discipline? She’s gotten way too lax.”
“But she’s our team’s ‘only’ lone flower. Cut her some slack.”
“Lone flower? She’s not even on our team anymore.”
“That’s why you’ll stay a virgin forever!”
“Now that’s just cruel!”
While the Sunbae and Hubae were bickering, the Team Leader inquired again.
“Speaking of which, what about that? Didn’t you two go to Jiri Mountain yesterday? Did you find anything?”
“Nope. With how vast Jiri Mountain is, how could we possibly search everything?”
“That’s true. That’s why I sent Euna along.”
“Let’s just say, this one couldn’t find anything, but kept staring at slimes.”
“Slimes? Why’s that?”
Upon the Team Leader’s puzzled look, Euna shook her head, looking quite aggrieved.
“I swear, it was a rare breed slime! You wouldn’t know, Sunbae!”
“You seriously need proper training!”
“Oh come on, Woo Taek. What did Euna see?”
“You got it…”
Once Euna finished explaining, the Team Leader told her to back off, and she left, puffing up her cheeks, feeling skeptical.
“Let’s deal with this… Sorry, Team Leader. I should have trained her more…”
“It’s okay. How frustrating must it be for such a young one to be over there like that?”
“But there’s still a limit.”
“Yeah. That’s your concern. Take the other teammates with you and go search a few more times.”
“I don’t mean to question, Team Leader, but aren’t you worrying too much over just an anonymous tip?”
“I wish it were just some anonymous tip, but it seems to have been hinted at by Euna from the Plateau.”
“The Plateau? The ‘High Plateau’?”
“That’s right. It seems like it was relayed to us from the Plateau.”
“Why would the Plateau do that? They could handle it themselves…”
“Maybe because they’re short on manpower. The old folks probably found it bothersome and tossed it our way.”
“…Still, that’s not right.”
“In any case, it’s already happened, so let’s brace ourselves.”
“Understood.”
***
‘That was a good sleep.’
For the first time since becoming a slime, I fell asleep. Even if I had no fatigue, waking up rested and refreshed felt quite nice after a long time.
‘I feel like I evolved at the end…’
[Weak Sixth Sense (F) Lv.1 has reached max proficiency. Weak Sixth Sense (F) Lv.1 → Weak Sixth Sense (F) Lv.2.]
‘……?’
I frowned at the unexpected news.
Was the last choice I made impulsively something involving Sixth Sense? Feeling betrayed by the tool I trusted, the back of my neck stiffened.
Crap, this isn’t the fantasy I knew… it’s a life worse than a dog’s as a slime.
[Due to evolution, some skills have been enhanced and added.]
[You can now check your acquired skills.]
‘……!’
I instinctively checked my acquired skills at the system’s notification.
[Acquired Skills]
Predation (F) Lv.6, Tentacle (F) Lv.4, Heat Detection (F) Lv.4, Weak Regeneration (E) Lv.4, Weak Stealth (F) Lv.5, Observation (F) Lv.4, Presence Detection (F) Lv.2, Weak Hearing (F) Lv.3, Weak Sixth Sense (F) Lv.2, Weak Vision (F) Lv.2, Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.1
[Remaining Skill Points: 1]
A total of ten skills. When did I ever acquire this many? It didn’t seem like much, but seeing them all at once made me feel nostalgic.
Gradually, overall levels of the skills had increased, and even had some unfamiliar or rapidly growing skills clearly caught my eye.
First, Weak Regeneration (E) Lv.4. The skill I originally had was Weak Regeneration (F) Lv.2, and not only has it leveled up, but the rank has also gone up.
‘Evolution bonus? Or is it a basic skill this species originally possesses?’
Skills like Predation and Observation also showed noticeable growth. Above all, the presence of the skill Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.1 is one I didn’t even own.
The name itself speaks volumes about its effects. Given my lack of combat-related skills, a damage reduction capability is just what I needed.
Eating leaves made me feel like my body has become smaller compared to before evolution. Even more so, it felt sticky, as if I were living up to the name “gel.” Was it correct to say that my moisture had decreased?
[Amorphous Gel Lv.1] [EXP 0/342]
Just because I evolved doesn’t mean I should necessarily reset my level…
And 342, huh? I’m not sure how much that is. But after hunting one, I might have a better idea.
It seemed quite some time had passed since evolving, as my stomach grumbled. I set out to find something suitable to eat using both my sense detections. Despite my decreased size and increased agility, I felt scared as I approached… and it turned out to be a chicken.
‘…I’m not sure about that one.’
No matter how much I evolved, it’s a chicken. Only thinking about fried chicken doesn’t help. A squirrel barely weighs around 300g, while a chicken can easily surpass 1kg, and even if this one is a wild chicken, I’m now at a disadvantage due to my reduced surface area.
I tried to escape, but the problem was that it was quicker.
The wild chicken was making a ruckus while approaching. I belatedly activated stealth, but the effect seemed weak. It might not mean much to a target already aware of me.
No matter how hard I tried to run, the difference in speed was far too great. A wild chicken, flapping its wings and waddling around, seemed too much for me, a slime-like being to shake off. Soon, its beak was ready to jab at me.
‘What the! How sharp can that be?!’
It seems undeniable that the birds are indeed descendants of dinosaurs. The chicken’s beak looked astonishingly like the claws of a raptor I had only seen in movies. In no time, the wicked beak manage to peck at me.
‘……?’
It pecked. It actually pecked… but, surprisingly, it didn’t hurt as much as I thought…?
“Cluck?”
Both the chicken and I looked at each other in puzzlement.
This could unexpectedly be feasible!