Ahh, what a pain.

I hated thinking so hard about my circumstances. Near-every time I developed a plan for how to proceed in the future, it was dashed against the rocks like a dinghy during a hurricane.

I'd just started to get familiar and confident going up against bugs and bats, yet now here I was—floating in my 'bathtub' with a stomach and headache. I didn't even have a head to ache! I wanted an aspirin. Could I still get stomach ulcers? I sure hope not.

Guess I gotta cut back on the cave rocks. Too much iron and calcium in my diet. ...

Ghh. The source of my woes was simple.

These Kobolds were freakin' dangerous. I needed to either force them to move, force myself to move, or neutralize the threat. All three of which weren't without glaring problems.

Forcing them to move would be a more psychological tactic. If they felt scared they might simply abandon ship, so to speak. I could play the Slime Boogeyman, whisking them away in the dead of night.

Without knowing their reasons and convictions for being down here I couldn't gauge how feasible this tactic was. If, for example, they needed something down here, they'd likely fight back. That said, next time I expected more security near their living quarters. Still, if I could kill a few of them without being discovered this might work.

Leaving this cave was the last resort. Period.

I needed to see if this damn place had either a Mana Spring Crystal or Dungeon Core. Signs were pointing to yes. Abandoning both of them meant I may not get another chance and would have to settle for a lesser option. I'd have to delve into that Evolution Menu again and get my brain scrambled, then pray the one I looked at was achievable. If it wasn't, then I'd have to rinse and repeat until ... my mind blew up or I settled for an Uncommon-level evolution.

If things went extremely bad, I might have to go this route. Then pray outside was more hospitable to a Slime, which I doubted. The thought terrified me on an emotional and rational level.

Finally, the problem with killing them all. I didn't know their numbers.

There could be hundreds of them in these caves. Doubtful, but not impossible. If there were only a handful or two like I'd hoped then I could whittle them down. Killing them all was simple on paper, but I really had no clue what the ramifications of lizard genocide would be. It was high risk and high reward. Devouring just a single Kobold was worth over a dozen spiders though. That one I ate was disturbingly delicious, which made me wonder if something was messing with my brain. They might still have new abilities too.

Speaking of which—

Tough Hide Lvl.1 - Passive / Active

Slightly increases hide's (skin, outer shell, etc.) defense against cutting and piercing-type attacks. Negligible effect against blunt force trauma. Magic power can actively be channeled through the body to temporarily increase the effect. Higher MP expenditure will result in higher defense with diminishing effectiveness.

Ehh. How much is 'slightly'? I can't complain since the explanation seems pretty thorough and the skill straightforward, but I really wish I had some damn numbers.

Guess I'll have to test it myself. I don't know how or when, but that's beside the point.

I'm seriously starting to wish I were a closet masochist. Maybe then I wouldn't mind the thought of stabbing myself or drenching my body in toxins to raise my skill levels. Makes me wonder if people with high levels of Pain Resistance are secretly into bondage or some shit.

Huh. That's a weird mental image. I wonder if you can actually do that here?

Thoughts for another day.

With any luck, I'd continue hunting and hope they moved. If they didn't move, I'd eat them until they moved or stopped posing a threat. Kinda like the centipedes. I was beginning to feel like I was just bullying them. They'd latch on, hoping for a squishy Slime meal, then just get munched on.

Though lately, it did seem they were starting to avoid me for some reason. Perhaps they were learning?

So much for an easy-going grind on bugs and bats. If I had another chance to Devour a Kobold I'd surely take it, but for now, I decided on Plan D.

Namely, "Dig" into my little Mana lake and see if I could find me a shiny rock! Hoho.

Well, it was a bit of a long shot but I could to an extent see magic power. It seemed a bit more concentrated near the bottom and back of the lake, so I decided to float on down and look for anything peculiar.

While I didn't notice anything that looked off, whenever I 'breathed' the water in and out it felt richer. The luminosity of blue had increased too, turning more white.

I was suctioned to the bottom of the lake, trying to decide where the best spot to dig would be. This general area seemed about right, but it was still roughly 3 feet in diameter. Excavating that much stone would be ... time-consuming.

There was a sense of urgency due to my new 'neighbors', so I didn't want to spend an entire week or two spelunking for treasure. I was about to give up when something strange happened. I slipped a little.

That isn't to say I'm not a tad clumsy at times, especially with this new body. No, this was different.

It was an underwater current. A light pulse of water not dissimilar to a weak jacuzzi stream. I hadn't expected that and it'd caused me to lose some footing and drift back. When I neared the same spot, I felt it again.

Prepared this time, I clung more tightly to the floor. A small amount of water was being pushed up from a tiny slit.

It was a eureka moment for me as I began chowing down on the vent in an attempt to widen it. Unfortunately, I ran into a problem. My toxins and attempts at Devouring the rock were much less effective underwater than on dry land. I felt like I'd gone from eating a cheeseburger normally to eating a cheeseburger while skydiving and someone tossing the ketchup packets at you midair.

Adhering to the bottom was already taking up concentration, so using both Corrosive Toxin and my Devour skill while being blasted in the face by water was unpleasant. After a long and frustrating period of time, I managed to widen the gap and the water's force had dissipated considerably.

I slowly slipped some of my mass inward and was about to shift my 'head' in when I realized that my 'arm' had touched something and gone a bit numb. That numbness was quickly spreading.

You have been afflicted with Mana Poisoning!

You have absorbed or been exposed to higher doses of Mana than your body is able to process.

Alarm. If I didn't act quickly, I'd have to sever that mass.

With all due haste, I pulled that portion of myself back and fled to the shore. The chunk of flesh merged back into my body and that numbness spread more evenly. It was now more akin to that prickly feeling when a limb is half asleep. Mildly painful, but mostly annoying.

There was a 'hot' current of some unknown force roiling around in my body. While I could expel it or simply wait for it to slowly dissipate, I wanted to test another theory out.

Wizards and whatnot in games could control the arcane, bending magic to their will, could they not? Was it possible to do that with this force? I tried my best to guide it in patterns. I mean, I was a freakin' ball of liquid now. Seemed like being made of malleable goop might help move stuff around inside you, yeah?

It was a strange feeling. I almost wished I'd tried this the first time I got Mana Poisoning. My expectations were proven too low when I discovered it really wasn't that hard to move the energy more or less as I pleased. I suppose not freaking out certainly helps maintain control of the situation.

After a scant few minutes, I'd felt a change. With great curiosity, I swirled the 'heat' around inside me. One moment I'd keep it on the surface of my skin, the next I'd twirl it around the very core of my being. It was slowly disappearing. Then it happened.

Skill unlocked! Attribute increase!

Mana Control Lvl.1 Acquired!

Intelligence - 8 → 9

Hmhmhm. Tell me your secrets, oh mighty green box.

Mana Control Lvl.1 - Passive

The ability to control the flow of Mana both within the body, and with practice, in the surrounding areas.

I mentally grinned to myself.

This stuff. Was freakin'. Awesome.

I'd felt like a small child who had gotten a new coloring book. Well, ... I guess nowadays they just gave kids a tablet and a drawing app. Regardless, I wanted to try that again.

I swam back down and repeated my earlier near-blunder, pulling more magic into my body before surfacing, content to float there while twirling the warmth inside me.

Ahhhh~ Bliss.

It was a bit obvious that I'd found something buried in the rock below. While I had an educated guess what it was, the problem of me being unable to enter there still existed. I had a hunch that if I kept repeating this process I'd eventually be able to tolerate the violent Mana further in.

I went to the entrance of my cave and dug some sediment up to act as a 'door' and blocked the entrance. Didn't need any pesky voyeurs or assassin bugs for what I was about to do.

I dove again. After my fifth trip didn't produce any results, I continued floating atop the lake. Perhaps I was being too gentle with myself?

This trip down, I increased the amount to roughly double previously. Rather than a light tingle, this time was like multiple needles being stabbed into me. Nothing happened.

I went down again, increasing the 'dosage' to three times the initial. When I examined my status, I noticed a difference.

Status Menu Name : n/a , Deathwarded Race : Tiny Slime Level : 10 (MAX) HP : 45/45 (+2.8/hour) Stamina : 34/34 MP : 18/18 (+0.62/hour) Strength : 11 Vitality : 17 Intelligence : 9 Wisdom : 7 (+5) Dexterity : 12 Luck : 30 (+5) Status : Mana Poisoning (Mild - 27%)

Ugh. Even with Pain Resistance or whatever, this was seriously starting to feel bad. How was this only considered mild?

'I see you have a severed arm. So how bad is your pain?' 'Well Doc, I'd say about a 3.'

Yeah right. Tch.

I steeled myself, before diving down for more. By the time the pain had gotten near-unbearable, my Mana Poisoning had upgraded from Mild to Moderate. It read 48.

I curled up into a perfect sphere, trying to ignore the crackling energy and scorching heat filling my being. This process repeated for hours. Every time I dipped low enough to think properly I reminded myself that I should be sucking up more Mana.

50 was about my limit. Even that was only considered moderate.

I began to feel that these evolution conditions were a bit more difficult than I expected. I'd have to work and build up resistance to pain or whatever, else I'd never be able to maintain consciousness for an 'extreme' level of Mana.

No, it's fine. I still had some time. There was no point being too impatient. While I did have to bump my schedule up, there was no one to bail my ass out of the water if I passed out. Should I seize up while part of me was close enough to that vent, I'd likely be poisoned to death.

I formed a straw-like appendage and dipped it near enough the vent to slowly suck more Mana into the bulk of my body. There were two times the tip of my 'arm' lost cohesion and began to float away. I wasn't in the right state of mind to chase after a few small drops of slime. Too much pain, so it was simply reformed.

Time passed. I kept my Status Menu up in the back of my mind, focusing on the pain. It didn't seem so bad after a while.

Skill increased!

Pain Resistance Lvl.2 → Lvl.3

Ah. I wondered how Skills worked. The whole thing seemed so odd. I wonder, did the people of this world second-guess the nature of Skills? Funny to think I might be an anomaly here, asking all these 'silly questions'.

I was having trouble maintaining my 'arm' at such a long distance—it was too thin. I moved a bit closer as I ramped up the 'difficulty' to 60.

My Stamina had apparently taken a large hit. It had smoothly dropped down 18 points before I'd realized and something unexpected happened.

Mana Poisoning is approaching lethal levels.

Health regeneration can no longer sustain damage. Condition deteriorating.

Seems I'd been a bit too focused on my exposure level. To think I didn't even notice. I'm actually slowly dying? How quaint.

Status Menu Name : n/a , Deathwarded Race : Tiny Slime Level : 10 (MAX) HP : 44/45 (-1.2/hour) Stamina : 16/34 MP : 18/18 (+0.62/hour) Strength : 11 Vitality : 17 Intelligence : 9 Wisdom : 7 (+5) Dexterity : 12 Luck : 30 (+5) Status : Mana Poisoning (Severe - 61%)

That was enough for today. I quickly expelled some of the excess Mana to stop myself from losing health before incorporating the rest into my body. Unlike the pleasant and warm sensation from earlier, this was like a jagged knife going through my center. A very helpful knife, but still one that burned.

Skill increased! Attribute increase!

Mana Control Lvl.1 → Lvl.2

Intelligence - 9 → 10

My efforts had borne fruit. An immense feeling of satisfaction welled up with me, dwarfing the mental exhaustion and hunger that was gnawing at the edge of my mind. Two Intelligence might not be much compared to the sum of a level up, but this was hard earned.

For several minutes, I was content to simply float there and revel in my success. After the euphoria wore off, I scrounged around for the pieces of myself floating a short distance away. I then wiggled my way back toward dry land.

—It was time to eat.

My body felt heavy, but my mind exceedingly light. I found a centipede loitering almost directly outside my home entrance. Alas, now it was no longer a centipede.

Thank you for your contribution to the 'my continued survival' fund, my wiggly friend. Please hold on tightly to your receipt, as any tax write-offs are only redeemable in the afterlife.

Meh. I was starting to feel a little bad. These things weren't even a threat anymore. Perhaps the effect of these 'stat increases' is more apparent than I expected. I might be underestimating myself. It was getting to the point I was hoping to find a Huntsman or maybe even some kind of evolved centipede creature just to see how things went.

I just hoped it didn't have even more legs.

The hunt continued. Without making a sound, several more centipede found themselves becoming my nourishment. When I came upon a spider near the northernmost wall, two Slime Bullets signaled its end.

As I rounded the cave, I noticed something that caused me displeasure. The bats hadn't returned.

... And there was now a small, rusted sconce bolted to the wall. A dimly lit candle was embedded in it.

Fuck. There goes my good mood.

The blue hue faded from my vision as I crept along the wall. There didn't appear to be any Kobolds nearby, but they were encroaching further upon my territory. If they decided to make this cave a living space or whatever, I'd be in a bind. I'd briefly debated shooting the torch down or snuffing it out while it was unguarded. That might have the wrong effect and could increase attention in this area.

There was a small alcove near my previous hiding spot. If I were trying to drill a tunnel with the sole purpose of squeezing through, it would still be doable.

I mentally grunted at the thought of having to mine another tunnel. Especially considering this one would likely be 30 feet long. After a moment of reassuring myself that infrastructure was currently very important, I set out to work. It was dull and mundane, but also an oddly welcome form of practice at shaping my body and filtering inorganic matter through it.

The further I went in, the longer each trip back to dump the excess waste took. The narrow 'tunnel' was about an inch by three with an ever-so-slight incline. It was tight but I could shift through it. Devouring and dissolving nearly a cubic foot of rock had been tiring and taken me almost two hours. It was something like three times my size, after all.

Honestly, I felt disgusting. Having so much dirt and sediment floating inside my 'me' was unpleasant. Despite knowing I had expelled everything, the urge to take a bath remained. There was an unexpected boon, however.

Skill unlocked!

Stonemasonry Lvl.1 Acquired!

Using the term 'boon' very loosely.

Well, I've said before it's better to have than have not. Still, this was a bit ...

Stonemasonry Lvl.1 - Passive

An expert hand lends to better skill at handling, shaping and crafting stone.

If I survive this damn cave, perhaps I'll make myself a commemorative statue. Write a nice, fancy text at the bottom that reads: I fucking hate rocks. Lovely lakeside vacation home for sale.

My body scrunched up in displeasure. Soon after, I'd popped out on the other side of the wall. Thankfully all was still dark in this section of tunnel.

I readjusted the exit point to be level with the ground, then made an attempt to hide it from plain view. The previous incline was so I wouldn't dig into the ground endlessly, but it would serve no purpose to have my exit a foot above ground. Easier to be spotted too.

When I turned left I could see that candle still lit and giving off a small degree of illumination. I carved another hiding spot close to a rock outcrop, then made my way further backward in a direction I hadn't been yet.

What I saw struck me as odd. Rather than a gradual slope or anything remotely natural looking, there was a set of stairs. As I peered down them, I realized I couldn't see their bottom. They made me feel uneasy.

Ah, perhaps I do have a bit of instinct as a Slime then?

An amusing thought. There was no way in hell I was going down these babies right now. Rather, I made another hiding spot near a few thick stalagmites nearby and decided to 'nope' the fuck out of there.

The last two times I had that uneasy feeling I nearly died. It was little wonder something didn't promptly try eating me the moment I felt that way. Third time's the charm and all that, I guess?

Perhaps I could see if the Kobolds were using that staircase or not.

On that note, I decided to pay my neighbors greetings! Sadly I didn't have a fruitcake or flowers to gift. More seriously, this was an important test to measure their threat response and intelligence.

—My visit was immediately and rudely postponed.

When I went towards their base I discovered two Kobolds near the table and minecart at the entrance to their lodging. While this quickly forced me to turn back, I thought I'd go down the other path and scout the area.

That was also short-lived. Another sconce and candle were illuminating a much sturdier looking set of doors, along with a Kobold sitting against the wall. Presumably a guard. Looked kinda grumpy, and fuck me he had some sort of crude metal knife.

This was a bad intersection. I didn't want to get spotted so a swift retreat was in order.

As I lay floating atop the lake in my new home, I poured over all the information available to me. No matter how I spun my thoughts, they kept floating back to one depressing conclusion.

Even if it wasn't intentional, I was being boxed in. I'd underestimated them.

Damn it, this might be a little bad. ...

Map.