“What? Yes, I suppose it is.” Aarav replied slowly. “You still haven’t answered my question, though. How did you learn my native tongue.”

“I can’t give you an answer to that. I honestly have no idea, I was examining something, and then I got zapped. Then excruciating pain like my brain was being cut up into pieces and stitched together again.”

“Well, what were you examining? That is obviously the source of the problem!” Aarav paused before realisation hit him, the only thing that could have caused someone to instantly learn English. That agar jelly that Haemish had been examining was not some random substance. Aarav just hadn’t recognised it because it looked so different from him. It all fit so perfectly together. “The sample you took from me, where is it?”

Haemish didn’t say anything. Aarav could dig his heels in if he insisted on being stubborn. “Haemish, where is the sample? What did you do?” Haemish continued to stay silent but inclined his head to the bench where Aarav had seen him working.

Aarav slowly and carefully made his way over to the counter where Haemish stood. He bent over and examined the agar substance in the dish there and noticed some dust specs in the material. “What’s the dust for? You added it?”

Haemish turned to face the dish as well and then gasped. “Yes, I did, but there was a lot more of it before. It is as if it has dissolved into the gel.”

“What? Haemish, are you serious right now?” Aarav asked, so this creature or sample of him, whatever it was, could Consume as well? Or maybe it was the old version of the Skills, Absorb and Digest? Although Aarav sometimes had a hard time remembering all the details of the beginning with his low stats, his awareness had generally been lacking across the board. As his stats improved, he recalled more from his early days, but he could not remember everything clearly. Not yet anyway. Perhaps time and growth would change that.

However, the implication of this discovery and if this bit of him started from scratch, perhaps it could be grown in the same way Aarav had been? What would it be like to have a miniature version of himself? Could he reabsorb this part of himself and reclaim what was his? Every time he had used Slime projectiles or been cut, bits of him had fallen off. But he had never tried to reclaim them, considering it was lost or absorbed by the soil or just forgotten. With the imminent threats in the forest, it always seemed like the wrong time to wade through the woods and try to take back those bits of himself.

In hindsight, this was something he should have tried. If he could Consume other materials, then his own Slime should work the same, right? What if he could gain traits from it with other materials? Surely they would be more compatible, considering it was Slime. Aarav’s thoughts ran wild as he thought of the potential and possibilities. He envisioned a world full of a layer of Slimes, all bowing down to him as their supreme ruler, humans coming together to worship their Slime Gods! Ahem, never mind that. I would settle for being able to walk.

“Aarav, what are you thinking?” Haemish cautiously asked. He had seen the glint in the Slime’s eyes. “Anything I should know about?” Aarav, instead of answering, reach out and touch the slime in the dish. “Hey! What are you doing?” Then Haemish sat back intrigued, watching as the bit of slime was absorbed into Aarav’s body and seamlessly integrated with the rest. Aarav noted that it was much faster than Consume could work. He had regained all of that weight loss, just over 4cm3, that Haemish had taken and some extra one top, thank you, Haemish!

Aarav then addressed Haemish. “I think you should take another sample. The research that you are doing, please include me in it as it will be useful for me to understand my own capabilities. Also, we should not speak in English anymore. People will become suspicious if we are both speaking a different language.” Aarav switched back to Darfan. “Thank you for trusting me a little with what you have been doing.”

Haemish frowned, “Something happened when I touched the slime in the dish. My brain appears to have re-written itself, so I lost my ability to speak Darfan when I gained English. It appears to be coming back but slowly.” Aarav noticed the hesitation and disjointed way he spoke, gradually getting smoother towards the end of the sentence. “I was also going to suggest returning to speaking, Darfan.”

“Okay, we will have to explore that, so will you take a sample? Actually, take three or four, we can try different things with each of them. It might be interesting to try out and see what they can do. I don’t remember my beginnings, but this could be a clue.” Aarav said in what was probably the most candid statement since meeting Haemish.

“Very well, partners then! I have to say, I did not see this conversation going this way.” Haemish said as he prepared four vials for extraction. Of course, he would go for the maximum number I suggested, ever the scientist.

Aarav couldn’t blame him either. This was the first time he would scientifically test himself and handle his body. What would extractions of himself be able to do? Would they develop personalities of their own? Aarav was eager to find out.

“Gently!” Aarav hissed as Haemish pushed the syringe into him. It was one of the ones with a huge nozzle. “That hurts, you know!”

“Oh, really? Sorry about that. “I didn’t realise that your constitution could feel pain in that sense.”

“Hmpf, you see how you like it when I peel off a section of your skin and innards. I reckon you would feel the pain then!” Aarav retorted, but even he knew it was not the same thing. The pain was less than it would be in Haemish’s situation, and he just had fewer nerves to trigger. He doesn’t need to know that, though.

In short order, Haemish had a tray set up with four dishes half full with slime. Aarav admired the man's clinical way, meticulously handling every detail, from cleaning the equipment to checking its condition. Ensuring there was no contamination to the samples except what they introduced. It really was like watching his science teacher in school. School had been a glorious year, the only one he had attended. But if he played his cards right, he might get another chance here.

“Okay, now that we have four, we should do different things to them. Can we add insects to each of them? Different types, perhaps some grass to one and maybe some bones to another? No, it won't fit in the dish, bone shavings?” Aarav looked back at Haemish, only half asking. “This is going to be fun.” The light of a mad scientist went on in his head. Perhaps his mind was not fully healed, but this was channelling the crazy into something productive that would help him in the end.

“Very well, it seems I was right in appointing you an apprenticeship. This will be fun!” Haemish began hunting in the storage containers. “Do you think it matters if it is dead or preserved? Or do we need live specimens?”

“I think dead is fine, but we might need more than one for anything to happen. Also, suppose there are chemicals used in the preservation. In that case, it might interfere with the experiment, but if it is just Mana, then it should be fine. Sorry, I know I am taking over.” Aarav had been on his own for a few months and gotten used to making his own decisions. Sometimes, he would bulldoze through when he knew what he wanted to do next. In his previous life, he had been the decision-maker for his duo. It was mostly the reason they got into sticky situations, but Ami hadn’t been keen on taking charge.

“It is a pleasure to see my apprentice work!” Wow, this guy is really taking the apprentice things seriously. “In any case, it is my duty as your mentor to guide you. If you have some good ideas, I will let you get on and execute them. After all, it isn’t as though we will run out of sample material any time soon, is it?” Haemish said, looking him over again. “Also, they are all Mana protected, so it is unlikely to interfere with the testing or chemicals.”

“Nope, I suppose you’re right. Let’s get those insects in there!” Aarav began to get in on the Mana-preserved Ants, Termites and Flies. Each dish, one of the insects, and one got grass pulled conveniently from Aarav’s bones where he had fallen and torn a little free. Just a few blades would do the trick. The three with insets got fifteen each; Aarav hoped it would be enough.