Resh was incredibly excited; it had a name! This was definitely something new. It didn’t know if this was a good thing or not, but it certainly was happy with this development. With its evolution into a Mini Aerial Slime and with a new name it felt like a completely different being and was excited to see what new things it could do. It felt that it could do more already without even having levelled up yet in this new form.

It was interested, also, to understand what that 4th option was that it had not had access to. Resh had not understood the requirement, Density 5g/cm3. What did that mean?

You have gained the Species Skill Consolidate Level 1! By shedding 99% of your Weight you can increase your Density by 0.1g/cm3. When consolidating no other active abilities can be used and once started the consolidation process must complete fully. Consolidation may also have an effect on your core stats as well. Reduction in Volume with increased density still applies, Consolidate will become more efficient as you level up.

To consolidate 159.82g of Weight and 79.91cm3 of Volume and 2g/cm3 into 1.60g and 0.76cm3 and 2.1g/cm3 it would take 2hr 40min. Would you like to consolidate now?

It quickly rejected the idea of doing it now; it would lose 99% of itself? That was practically all of it! It would end up smaller than when it started! It wasn’t very big to begin with. Perhaps, at some point in the future when it had grown too large and needed to shed some of the extra weight, it might consider it. Resh also realised, that getting to a Density of 5g/cm3 would require using that ability a lot! Would it have an effect on its core stats? What did that even mean? It was not very clear…

It would be better for Resh to take some time and think about it.

With its Health and Stamina fully restored, it needed to find something to kill so that it could start gaining experience again. Otherwise, it would never be able to evolve again, and it had some good options still to choose from, assuming it was offered the same choices.

Find out later! It thought. Nothing for it but to keep going!

It was still limited by its low Wings of the Fly skill, which was only Level 7, so it could only fly for 7m each hour, it would need to increase that significantly if it was going to use its wings as a proper method of transportation. In the meantime it still had its legs, which did not have a distance limit, and at Level 7 would improve its movement speed by 7% as opposed to just sliding on the ground.

First on its list of priorities was to increase its flying capability. Its choice of Aerial evolution had been based on its love of flight, and so it should take advantage of that. Before it could launch itself into the air though, it felt a dull ache, something it had not felt before but had been gradually getting worse over the last few days. Instinctively it knew this was hunger. So, it needed to eat, or at least Absorb and Digest some material to satisfy the hunger.

It began by absorbing some leaves in the canopy of the tree it rested in. While it did this it allowed its consciousness to fade away a little so that it could rest while absorbing and digesting.

You have Absorbed 6g of Leaves and Branches!

….

You have Absorbed 7g of Leaves and Branches!

You have Digested 6g of Leaves and Branches!

….

You have Digested 7g of Leaves and Branches!

Absorb has increased to Level 7!

Digest has increased to Level 7!

Photosynthesis has increased to Level 8!

Camouflage has increased to Level 4! You have gained the Texture Tree Leaf!

Odour Alteration has increased to Level 4!

Through Photosynthesis and Digest you have gained 175.2g of mass, your Weight has increased to 335.02g and your Volume grown to 167.01cm3!

Unfortunately, sleep deprivation from earlier and its current semi-lucid state made it lose track of time. Instead of spending just one hour Absorbing and Digesting it ended up coming to about 24 hours later. Of course, it didn’t mind going through all that as it had nowhere to be, but it had wanted to work on its flying first. Still there was no disadvantage to becoming larger as it would be able to consume more and more and become more intimidating. It was still not very large even compared to the creature that had nearly killed it.

Now that it had rested though, it was ready to give flying a go in its new form, but….it didn’t work.

You are above the weight limit for Wings of the Fly! Get your weight below 200g or they will not work.

Annoying...

If it had known about this limitation it would been more attentive to what it was Digesting! Still it did not check—didn’t know how to—so it could only blame itself. It actually did not understand a lot of the stuff it was going through: what was happening to it and what it could expect going forward. Resh needed a way to understand how to progress and what that progression would mean for it. The fact was that now it was backed into a corner. Either it didn’t fly at all, in which case it could not take advantage of what it was now capable of, or it shed the weight and gained density which is what it had wanted to avoid….Sigh.

Shed…not fly….shed….not fly….

The reality was that it was not willing to give up flight, it was too exhilarating. So in the end there was no decision. Its hand was being forced…

You are planning to use Consolidate! This is irreversible and will take 5hrs and 35min at your current Weight of 335.02g and Volume of 167.51cm3 after the process is concluded you will have a Weight of 3.35g and Volume of 1.595cm3 your new Density will be 2.1g/cm3, while Consolidate is happening you will be unable to perform any further actions, you will not be able to use any passive skills related to movement or growth, only those related directly to your safety, at this time there are Camouflage and Odour Alteration. Do you wish to go ahead with Consolidate? Yes / No?

It had absolutely no choice and with Camouflage and Odour Alteration active it would not be disturbed so it went ahead. Yes.

The process of consolidation was…not exactly unpleasant…but it was unnerving. Its slime body basically sucked into itself and then seemed to just grow smaller and smaller. It was a very slow and gradual process. It just shrank….and shrank… and shrank….and shrank.

You have Consolidated to 3.35g and 1.595cm3 your Density has increased to 2.1g/cm3!

Consolidate has increased to Level 2!

…

Consolidate has increased to Level 5!

You have gained and lost the following stats due to size and weight reduction! +2 Speed, +2 Reaction, +1 Resistance, -1 Strength, -1 Vitality, -1 Endurance

You have gained the Mental Stat Acuity; your Acuity is currently 2.

Resh was definitely feeling very different as the process completed. It was only 1% of what it had been, smaller than when it first began. Well, at least the wings would work now. The wings had grown with Resh as it grew larger, but there must be an upper limit to them, certainly their upper limit was larger than that of the Fly itself. So, there must be some amount of adaptability possible. It would need to explore what it could do and how it could fly once it became bigger. Maybe if it continued to level up then it could do more? It didn’t really know what levelling skills did specifically. It knew that they got stronger, but not how they got stronger. It also didn’t fully understand what all its stats did. It needed to understand more about itself.

Wait….where had all these questions come from? It had not asked these questions to this detail before now> It seemed like a fog that had been clouding its mind until this point had now lifted just a little and given it more insight into what it needed to understand about itself. It was like it had happened when it completed its Consolidation. It felt much more self-aware. Maybe the new stat, Acuity, was responsible? It was the only thing it could think of.

No regrets! I may have lost a significant amount of my weight but being able to think! Oh wow, this is great!

There was a discernible difference between now and the thoughts it was able to form and express even just internally before. It might not be considered intelligent yet by any means but being able to think is a power all on its own! With that buoyant thought it continued with its original plan of learning to use its wings to the fullest.