“Good morning, Newb.”

The first thing that the slime monster heard upon awakening was a familiar voice. It was feminine in nature, and seemed full of warmth and appreciation. Is this what a mother’s voice sounds like? Or maybe someone who cares about you? Whoever knew, it was certainly not this slime. This being was only trying to catch up with itself. It didn’t feel right, almost like it was something completely different… In fact, it had felt like this once before - on the day that it was born.

“How are you feeling?”

There it was again, that wonderful sound, echoing throughout this creature’s mind. What happened? Where was it? Who was it? It made an attempt to respond and managed, “Mmphuuurghle…” Or something similar to that. Its body felt sluggish, and this was something that it had never experienced before. Or had it? Why couldn’t it remember?! Did something ha-

--- Congratulations! You are now a Level 10 Slime. Might +3, Vigor +6, Intelligence +3.

--- Evolution complete. Congratulations, your species is now Slime, Æther. Due to your evolution, you have received the following:

- The Attribute, Bonus - Voice, has been created. Voice has improved to 1.

- Your attributes have been improved. Might, Finesse, and Agility +3. Vigor and Grit +5. Intelligence, Caliber, and Resolve +7. Awareness and Willpower +2. Allure +1. Luck and Voice +4. Soul +10.

--- Congratulations! The following Abilities have been obtained:

- Minor Regeneration

- Soul Vessel

--- Congratulations! The following Abilities have evolved:

- Slime Body has become Ætherial Slime Body.

- Increased Potential has become Unlimited Potential.

- Consume has become Voracity.

--- The Abilities Energy Sense and Energy Awareness have been combined into the new Ability - Æther Awakened.

--- Congratulations! You have acquired the Talent, Energy to Æther. Willpower +3, Caliber +1, Resolve +1.

--- Your body has become a Vessel for the Soul, Aylia.

And, just like that, all of the slime’s memories of what had happened to it on that fateful day came rushing back to it. It’s plans, hopes, dreams… and its first friend. A spirit that was now co-inhabiting its own body.

“Owww… That hurt.” Newb could remember it all with such clarity, it was like it was yesterday. Actually, that brought up a good point. “Aylia, how long have I been unconscious?”

“You have been out for about three days in total. Even though your evolution was only supposed to take less than half that time.” She sighed in exasperation, but the hint of happiness in her voice was still noticeable. “It is good to see you awake. I was worried it might have put too much strain on you. You’re probably a bit stiff after sitting in one place too long.. And you also might need to get used to your new and improved self.”

The slime was doing just that. While Aylia spoke, it had pulled up its Stats to review everything that had changed.

**

Name: Newb

Species: Slime, Æther

Age: 1 month

Power Level: 10 (0%)

Life: 215/215

Mana: 83/83

Physical:

- Might: 28

- Finesse: 18

- Agility: 14

- Vigor: 38

- Grit: 17

Mental:

- Intelligence: 23

- Awareness: 8

- Willpower: 12

- Caliber: 17

- Resolve: 18

Bonus:

- Allure: 10

- Voice: 5

- Luck: 20

- Soul: 17

Souls (1/1):

Aylia, Spirit of Light

Abilities:

Ætherial Slime Body

Unlimited Potential

Æther Awakened

Voracity

Minor Regeneration

Soul Vessel

Skills:

Body Manipulation - Amatuer (21%)

- Evader

Energy Absorption - Untrained (43%)

- Healer

Energy Expulsion - Untrained (13%)

- Brawler

Heat Resistance - Inept (90%)

Inventory (1/5) - Inept (50%)

Iron Will - Inept (70%)

Mighty Blow - Amatuer (11%)

- One Punch

Stealth - Amatuer (37%)

- Hidden One

Stealth Attack - Amatuer (17%)

- Faint Attack

Toughness - Amatuer (10%)

- Physically Tough (20% damage ignored)

Talents:

Lucky

Gutsy

Collateral Damage

Soloist

Energy to Æther

Spells:

Inner:

- Minor Rejuvenation

Outer:

- Shockwave

Spoils:

Slayer - Slaavich

**

Ætherial Slime Body

“So, is it still slime, or is it ‘ectoplasm’?”

Your body is still made out of slime.

However, due to the infusion of Æther, your body and soul have become one.

Your Life and Soul stats have merged, and now improve differently from others.

Any physical damage you receive will be reduced by your Grit.

Any Mana or Energy based damage is now reduced by your Resolve.

**WARNING** If your life drops to zero, your soul will also perish!

Unlimited Potential

“I am capable of besting the Gods!”

The spark that is inside of you has grown into a raging fire.

This Ability will randomly boost your gains from EXP.

The amount that they are boosted is based upon your Luck Attribute.

You are also unaffected by Power Level restrictions.

Æther Awakened

“So this is where all Mana and Energy derive from…”

Your body has been infused with the Æther.

You are now capable of sensing the presence of Energy and Mana.

You are capable of learning any Energy or Mana derived ability, based on discovery and practice.

Voracity

“My hunger cannot be tamed!”

Your body is capable of consuming Energy with great gusto.

You can now consume Energy and Mana in addition to physical sustenance.

The amount of recovery you receive is based on the strength of what you consume.

Since you have discovered the Inventory Skill, you may also choose to store anything you consume within your Inventory instead.

Minor Regeneration

“I can recover from just about everything, given enough time.”

Your body’s natural healing factor has been improved.

You now recover at an increased rate.

Soul Vessel

“I can harbor the Souls of the Dead.”

Your body has been modified by a great power known as Æther.

You are now able to host Souls within yourself.

Since you are a slime, a single Soul will be placed within a separate orb made out of your own body, with any additional Souls each inhabiting their own sphere.

The current number of Souls you house is: 1 of 1.

Energy to Æther

“All the power I possess will now be more than Energy.”

Due to being infused with Æther, you are now able to channel a bit of that power into any Energy effect you produce.

Well now… That was something. The change in species was a little concerning for Newb, but it looked like it was supercharged with this Æther stuff. And since it had no idea what Æther was, it decided to ask the resident now living in its body. “What is Æther, Aylia?”

“It is the power of Souls. Every Soul is made of Æther, and it resides within the Heart of Dungeons as well. I…” She paused briefly, as if searching for how to best tell someone their puppy died, “may have substituted that power in lieu of my own, as I am unable to summon forth any of my own power in the state I am in.”

“Sweet!” The enthusiastic response from her host was something the spirit did not expect. “That stuff is potent, and boosted my Stats in almost every way! Can I get some more of it!” To the enterprising monster, this seemed like a safe way to improve itself without any conse-

“No! You cannot have any more Æther infused into you!” The fierceness in her voice gave the living jello pause. “If you receive too much Æther in your body, you will cease to have one, turning into Æther in response! I only used a very small amount. If you take in any more of it, you will die! Æther is not something to be trifled with!” She panted in the slime’s head while she calmed down.

Newb considered for a moment if Aylia actually needed to breathe, but shook the thought from its mind. No sense in worrying about unimportant things, after all. “I understand… I’ll avoid it as much as possible.” It truly did not wish to die...

After asking several questions to clarify its Abilities, Newb turned its attention outward. It was certain that if there had been any danger, the spirit would have notified it for her own safety as well. Only then did it realize that it was unable to see anything. It checked its Stats once more, and found that the ability that allowed it to see was missing.

“Aylia… How come I can’t see anymore?” The slime had gotten so used to the idea of sight that it had almost forgotten what it felt like to be limited in vision… Although now it was worse because it could not even read a little bit of the flows of energy around it like it could at Level 1.

“You were using the Ability, Magic Sense, to see before, is that correct?” After receiving confirmation that it was, Aylia continued, “Your Ability was merged into the Æther Awakened Ability. That means that the way you see has now changed. Try focusing on that ability, and see if it helps.”

Newb did so, trying to activate the Ability as soon as it could. Its sight returned, but everything seemed a bit… different. Before, its sight had allowed it to see detail well enough by reading the flows of energy, even in the dark. But now, it was like that did not matter anymore. Before it had received Magic Sense, the monster had felt that it was blind, only able to ‘feel’ the presence of others in a limited manner. After Magic Sense had enriched the slime’s life, it felt that it had woken up from a dream and all the world had awoken with it. The texture and colors made it stop and admire all that was around it. However, it had seemed that there were always spots that were… ‘darker’ than the rest.

Æther Awakened had improved even further upon it. While it could still tell that there were different shades of color, it was like the details of the world received a life-force of their own that made everything vibrant. The dull gray stone was now showing a slight blue and white tinge, seeming to alternate between the two. The clear, water-like fluid that made up the Heart was a slight green as if it was filled with life. Even though its light was dulled, Newb’s sight did not suffer in the slightest.

The slime sat still for a long moment. This is almost like a dream… It thought, marvelling at the small room it sat in. It then felt curious if it could see itself with this new ‘sight’. Focusing on itself, it saw that it was now a clear-grey in color, almost like a shadow sitting upon the floor, with a blue-green sphere floating within that was clearly separate from the rest of it, being where Aylia was currently residing. It was also slightly smaller than before, being just shy of a quarter meter wide at its widest part. Now that it could see, it briefly reviewed the option of choosing a new Ability with Aylia. The spirit suggested that it should pick the Ability now, since it would not be able to gain any skills or have the chance of improving them without it. So it opened up its Stats once more and reviewed its options, which were almost entirely new.

--- You may now choose one new Ability from the following list:

- Increased Vitality

- Increased Soul

- Soul Link

- Ravager

- Overcharge

- Analyze

Increased Vitality

“I shall now make my body better.”

Being able to boost your own life force can make you stronger.

Your body increases in rating.

Increased Soul

“Harnessing the energy of the universe, my soul will ascend!”

Tapping into the mystical forces will boost your own soul.

Your soul increases in rating.

Soul Link

“Our bonds grant us power.”

Requirements: Soul Vessel; Soul 15

You can connect with the Souls you house within you.

Each Soul will obtain a Bond Level, or Bond, with you.

You may connect with each Soul a number of times equal to 1 + Bond.

This amount replenishes every day at sunrise.

When you connect with a Soul, you gain a portion of their power for a short time.

The amount of power gained and what is obtained will depend upon each Soul.

Ravager

“Your power will be mine.”

Requirements: Voracity

The power of what you eat can improve your own strength.

When used, you will obtain a boost in your Attributes and Specials for a temporary period.

The size of this boost is dependent upon the strength of what you eat.

**Notice: This cannot be applied to things you store in your inventory, as the energy and/or mana is consumed by the use of this Ability.

Overcharge

“Let us push the limits a little further.”

Requirements: Resolve 15; Must have pushed yourself beyond your normal energy capacity at least once

Your body is now capable of storing energy beyond what it is normally able to hold.

The amount you can store beyond your maximum is equivalent to your Resolve.

This energy must be used within one minute or your body will begin to deteriorate.

Analyze

“I will work hard to obtain your secrets!”

Requirements: Voracity; Inventory; Intelligence 20

Your understanding of the world around you has increased your potential to learn.

You may now analyze anything stored within your Inventory.

The amount of time that the analysis of certain items will take will be dependent upon the strength of the object.

Increased Vitality and Increased Soul were the same from before, and the other four required much contemplation. Lucky for Newb, it now had someone else to ask questions to. “Hey Aylia, can I ask you what you think of some of these new Abilities?” She consented, and what followed was a weighing in of the pros and cons of each Ability, and talking over how each one would factor into the slime’s overall strength. Newb discovered that the Vitality and Soul increase were actually good Abilities. The Vitality would improve one’s body rating, which meant that it would allow its physical Attributes to improve their effectiveness. The Soul rating improving would, in turn, allow the monster better use of all the mental Attributes.

“Rating is a graded representation of one’s capacity for any one thing. The lowest grade is ‘F’, which is where most of the Races fall into. Monsters have a chance of starting with a higher Rating, but I am unsure as to which they would be. The highest rating that any being can possess is “SS”, but I have not heard of anything being that powerful. Your current rating is ‘F’ for both your Body and Soul.” Aylia supplied when Newb asked about what a ‘rating’ meant.

So, that meant that Newb could make better use of all its Attributes either within the physical or mental categories. That may end up being something it would look into in the future, but for now, it felt pretty strong as it was.

For Soul Link, Aylia pointed out that even though she was a Soul that would “qualify” for the skill, she did not have any power to offer the monster. Her power was still inaccessible, and while that may change someday, that day was neither here nor now. The slime did like the sound of Ravager, but felt that this would require it to stick around after something died. Since it had no plans on being hit again, it would not normally need to heal from anything. The Mana and Energy it could eat would be useful in a pinch, but also not something it was planning on using very often.

Overcharge felt like it would be an accident waiting to happen. And no, it did not pass on it because it was worried about exploding. It wasn’t scarred at all from its close call before. Nope, and even thinking that was just silly. That left it with the only option remaining.

--- Congratulations! You have acquired the new Ability: Analyze.

With that decision finally made, it left the small chamber that it had been sitting in for three days, and went about escaping this dungeon…

Not having anything to kill on the way out was refreshing. But this also left the small jelly feeling a little uneasy. The Dungeon of the Newb had not recovered since it fell asleep.

“It likely will not recover until after the energy I borrowed from the Heart replenishes. The amount of time that could take is several months to several years.” Aylia explained as the slime squeezed through the spaces in the wreckage its first use of Energy had caused. Newb had complained slightly at the lack of enemies to target. Who knew such a small misunderstanding could cause such great damage? “I also feel I should mention that this feels weird… being squeezed through small spaces, I mean.”

The jello monster laughed to itself, thinking about how weird it was for it to be carrying an intelligent creature about in its body. This might take a while to get used to, but it was not an unfavorable circumstance. After all, Newb had grown much stronger than it had been, and even became a new variant of slime for its troubles. It was almost out when it heard muffled voices coming from the exit. The monster crept closer, finding a good gap to lodge itself into as it listened and waited, activating its Stealth Skill for the first time in what felt like ages.

“- even dig this out? I mean, come on! The size of several of the boulders make it difficult to even consider moving them out of the way,” one man complained.

An exasperated sigh sounded from a woman, “Geez, Emyd, it won’t be like you’ll be doing any of the work! It will likely fall to me and Farix to clear this out… Though, if it was up to me, I would say we should just let the Dungeon repair itself!”

“Enough squabbling, you two! Emyd, if the old man wanted us to clear out this rubble, then that is exactly what we would have done. But for now, we are just looking around,” another man, most likely this ‘Farix”, interjected between the others. “Nexis, Emyd. Let’s move. I want to see if there is another way to the Heart.”

The conversation ended and the group left the area, their footsteps fading into the distance. “I wonder who they were and what they wanted with the Heart?” Aylia contemplated aloud.

“Who cares. Let’s get out of here before they come back,” Newb responded, not wanting to stick around longer than necessary. It dislodged itself from the hole it was in and made its way outside of the wreckage. The space it exited into was what remained of the entry, maybe five meters deep. The slime was once again surprised at how much damage was caused from that one incident that it was most definitely not a part of.

Outside, the light from the day was beginning to fade. The soft breeze that blew past rustled the leaves of a few trees and bushes nearby. The path that led into the dungeon was clear of any Advens, and that group that was here before were nowhere to be seen. Newb hoped that they would be lucky enough to escape unnoticed by anyone.

The slime quietly approached the exit, cautiously keeping an ‘eye’ out for anything that may cause it harm. Seeing nothing, Newb quietly, with Stealth activated, crept outside of the cave for the first time in its life.

---You have now left the Dungeon of the Newb. Your connection to the Heart has been severed. You will no longer respawn after death.

Officially in the outside world, the monster pondered the implications of leaving the safety net of the Dungeon it was born in. This was it. If it died in the future, it was done for. It would not come back to life. It had no plans on dying anytime soon though, so the slime monster called Newb hopped off the path and into the surrounding foliage, at Aylia’s suggestion to avoid any Parties that may be about...