The late afternoon had long since faded away, and night had fallen upon the countryside. The light from the giant orb of light burning in the sky and the many smaller lights joining it lit up the area in such a beautiful manner… Or at least that is what Aylia claimed. She had told Newb that the large orb was the Moon and the smaller ones were the Stars. She seemed truly enamored about it all, claiming that it was a huge blessing to be able to even see the sky once more after such a long time.

The slime monster, on the other blob, could only think about why it got dark outside of the cave in the first place. Weren’t all these ‘lights’ supposed to keep it from being dark? It was brighter out here than it was in the cave, true, but there was this huge orange monster of an orb floating in a sea of blue high above it. Aylia had said that this one was the Sun, and a bunch of other things that made it sound like she was idolizing these orbs. Surely they weren’t that important, right?

It is not like they could house a Soul in them, anyway. They were too far away to be effective. This clearly meant that there were inferior spheres to the living one that was housing a Soul within it, aside from its own Soul on top of that! Aylia should not be so excited about a few orbs producing light anyway.

One thing that it could say about all this was that the Æther around it that allowed it to see was different during the time that the ‘Sun’ was out compared to now. During the day, the colorful light emanating from the various plants, rocks, and wind around it, made it feel elated somehow. The warmth that fell down upon the lightly forested grassland was in stark contrast to the cave, something it didn’t even know it enjoyed until this ‘Sun’ was shining down upon it.

As soon as it had set, however, the world around it shifted into much subtler shades. This could be compared to a child, in a way: when the child is awake, you can almost feel the energy coming off of them - boundless, infectious, and can uplift all those around them. When the child sleeps, the energy is gone, leaving in its wake a feeling of calm and relaxation.

If the slime had a need for sleep, then this would probably have been the time that it would seek out a suitable spot, and do just that. However, the monster felt neither the need to rest, nor had a desire to put itself into such a vulnerable position. It had its survival to think about, after all. It even felt concerned that it had lost consciousness in that cave before with no way to defend itself. So, Newb would do everything in its power from here on out to not sleep ever.

Aylia, on the other hand, did not seem to share its concerns or physiology. For the past hour or so, she had been extremely quiet. When it had attempted to reach out to her, there had been no response either, aside from some light snoring. At first, it thought that there might have been some sort of monster lurking nearby. After a few minutes of neither being attacked, nor spotting any dangers, it decided that there was only one culprit - the spirit dwelling within. Even an examination of itself revealed that the orb she was housed in was dimmer than it had been earlier that day.

And so, the sleepless jello continued hopping on its way through the trees and bushes while it did its best to not be bothered by the unsettling sounds emanating through its mind…

A lot of ground had been covered before Newb had run into anything that was not an unmoving object. This came in the form of something that reminded it of the giant rats it had killed back in the dungeon. Only, these had wings and attacked it with some sort of sonic based ability. To Advens, these would be known as Giant Bats. To this slime, however, it merely deemed them Flying Giant Rats.

---You have suffered 4 Life from a sonic strike.

And they were very annoying. There were five of them, and they were working in tandem to cause it harm. It had already lost 39 Life to these pests, and it had only its wounded pride to show for it. Its attacks were almost completely ineffective to these things. It couldn’t leap high enough to hit them with a slam. They didn’t fly in close enough for the slime to attack with Shockwave. What it did do was attempt to dodge out of the way of the blasts of sound, and cast Minor Rejuvenation once out of boredom rather than necessity.

But now was the time to change tactics. If it could get out of sight for a moment and maybe develop some sort of ranged counter attack, it might be enough. But how would it create an opportunity to hide from them if it could not fight back? Even after all this Aylia slept away, unaware of the minor scuffle happening with her home.

Wait… That just might work! The monster hyped itself up, waiting for the right moment to attempt something to give it enough space. One of the suckers made its dive into blasting range, and just as it was about to strike, the slime spat out a serrated blade from its storage.

The blade flew true thanks to the monster’s improved Finesse Attribute, striking the nuisance in the left wing and causing it to instead scream out in pain. Having lost maneuverability in one of its main sources of flight, the rat plummeted to the ground with a whomph, and a small puff of dust. The slime did not let this opportunity pass, striking the creature in the back while it wailed pathetically upon the ground, its Mighty Blow and Stealth Attack skills activating. There wasn’t a Critical Strike from it though, but it didn’t matter. The cries of pain ceased, and the beast lay still.

The slime monster then leapt straight out to one side, angling for some underbrush. The other four ‘soon to be deceased’ pests seemed slightly taken aback by the abrupt counter attack and backed away for a moment. Now safely hidden, the upset jelly focused on its Energy manipulating skills, drawing it in to replenish its spent Mana. Once that was maxed, the slime focused its attention on forming a spell that would be detrimental to its current foes. Blast it for thinking that it could get up close and personal with all the enemies it would face back in the cave! Oh, how naive it had been!

Forming an effect in its mind, and keeping an idea of what it would want to accomplish with it, Newb began to channel Energy it had stored inside to a focused point on the outside. Feeling its Mana drain by a bit, the slime then pointed straight at one of its foes, and released the Energy at it.

--- Congratulations! You have learned a new Spell, Outer - Magic Missile.

Magic Missile

“While it may be basic, it can be very effective, given enough time.”

Your arcane energies hone in upon a target and strike it with efficiency, dealing minor force damage.

Because of your talent, Energy to Æther, your missiles deal minor Æther damage as well.

The number of missiles that you can produce is determined by your Mastery of the related Skill.

Current number of missiles produced: 3.

Mana Cost - 2.

Three small bullets left the monster, striking the bat in its center mass. The creature did not even cry out, falling to the ground, unmoving.

Well… That was effective. The slime thought as it began to cast the Spell again, targeting another winged terror. What followed was a one sided end to the skirmish, with Newb standing as the victor.

---Congratulations, you are the victor! You have gained the following:

- You have acquired a new Skill, Sonic Resistance. Because you already have another Resistance Skill, all Resistance Skills have been combined under the Skill, Resistance. Currently Resistant to: Heat and Sonic.

- You have acquired a new Skill, Dodge.

- Congratulations! The following Skills have improved:

- Dodge has improved to Untrained. Finesse +1, Agility +2.

- Inventory has improved to Untrained. Intelligence +3.

- Resistance has improved to Untrained. Vigor, Grit, and Resolve +1.

- The following has been boosted by Unlimited Potential:

- Might, Agility, and Willpower +2, Luck +4.

- Body Manipulation and Toughness have obtained additional SP.

Now that it was safe, it pulled up its Stats while it collected the blade it had tossed, and looked over its new upgrade options.

Dodge

“Can’t touch this!”

You have become more adept at avoiding Energy and Mana based attacks.

Your Dodge success is based on your Agility and the Mastery of this Skill.

You are currently Untrained in this Skill - 375 SP remain until you increase in Mastery.

-- You may now choose one of the following boosts:

- Improved Reaction: Increases one’s reaction speed to incoming threats.

- Shadow Dodge: Allows one to Dodge more effectively in low-light conditions.

--- Congratulations, you have acquired the Skill boost, Improved Reaction. Agility +1.

-- Inventory has the following boosts available:

- Item Draw: Allows one to draw in items that they are capable of storing.

- Store Anything: Allows one to store more than just items.

--- Congratulations, you have acquired the Skill boost, Store Anything. Your Inventory has upgraded to the Skill, Cache. Soul +1.

--- Notice: Because of your Ability, Voracity, anything you consume will be stored within your Cache until you use or expel them.

--- Notice: Because of your Ability, Analyze, anything stored within your Cache can be used in conjunction with this Ability to isolate their properties.

--- Congratulations, you have unlocked the special Talent, Dweomer, due to fulfilling the preset requirements. Intelligence +2, Willpower +3.

Cache

“I put whatever I want in there.”

You are now able to store just about anything: weapons, armor, money, magical knick-knacks, vehicles, leftovers, lunch boxes, people, pets - whatever you like.

Anything placed there can be recalled at a thought.

You are currently Untrained in this Skill - 425 SP remain until you increase in Mastery.

- Store Anything

Resistance

“The elements around me no longer cause me harm.”

Your body has become resistant to more than one type of Energy.

Each Mastery of this Skill will grant a slight boost to the current resistances that you have acquired.

You may acquire additional resistances through experience, each one improved by a Degree of Mastery.

You are currently Untrained in this Skill - 2 more Degrees required before you increase in Mastery.

Current Elements:

- Heat, Minor I

- Sonic, Minor II

-- You may now choose one of the following boosts:

- Adaptive: Allows one to obtain Resistance to an Element more easily.

- Conductive: Allows one to store the Element it resists.

--- Congratulations, you have acquired the Skill boost, Conductive. Resolve +1.

--- Notice: Because of your Skill, Cache, you may choose to store the resisted Element in an empty slot as an essence.

Dweomer

“Finding out what makes something tick is what I live for!”

Your skill for breaking things down and identifying their qualities comes to you naturally.

You are able to acquire any Skills related to this with relative ease.

The combinations created from having additional Skill boosts were an unexpected, but welcome, boon. And from this particular power-up, the slime had learned a few things, along with some additional questions. Newb had learned that the more Abilities and Skills that it had, the better off it was for acquiring these additional perks that came from using them in tandem with each other. The other thing that the adventuring jello learned was that there were additional Talents to be found from those combinations, it seemed. It decided that these were probably random, and that it should not concern itself too much with these. What did concern it was the question that it had - what the heck were ‘essences’? Good thing that it had a resident index that it could check for answers, and it might have to be a little insistent if it wanted her help right then.

“HEY! AYLIA! I HAVE QUESTIONS FOR YOU!” It mentally shouted, clearly not concerned about what kind of long term effects this might have on their relationship…

Thirty minutes had passed, and a few more kilometers were added to their trek, but Aylia had been crying and complaining about the unnecessary measures that Newb had gone through for a question that could have waited until she woke up. The slime had been patient with her up until this point because it had not seen any other enemies that it would face yet. But one’s patience can only go so far.

“And I was just trying to recover from the strain of having your soul stripped from one location to another... “ she sniffled, “Just because you don’t need sleep doesn’t mean -”

“Are you finished?” Newb interrupted.

“... Y-yes. Sorry… I was just a little ruffled by a rude awakening. I am not a ‘morning person’, as the races call it.” She huffed once more, then, “So, what was it that needed my immediate attention?”

Even though her question was a little snarky, the slime did not seem to mind. “What are ‘essences'?”

“'Essences'?” Aylia was a little taken aback by the word. “They are semi-solid, condensed Energy that is generally used for enhancing weapons and armor, as well as creating other magical items. They can also be used to enhance one’s spells and are extremely rare… Why do you ask?”

Newb mulled over this for a few moments, then shared with her about how it had become able to create them, which included the information about its Cache.

“WHAT!?” she responded in alarm. “I mean… this kind of combination of Skills and Abilities aren’t unheard of… but you don’t usually find it outside of high-tiered dungeons and adventurers. My guess is that you had become able to acquire such talents from your unexpected evolution into a higher tiered variant of slime, but I can’t say for certain...” She trailed off in thought.

“If you had more information, could you figure that out?” It inquired, very interested in learning about itself.

“I might be able to figure it out if I, and by that I mean you, had access to a codex or library… Or, find someone else that would know what they are talking about, and I might be able to deduce a few things.” She seemed to be doubtful about either of those possibilities happening. Newb let the conversation be and focused on continuing onward, and hopefully not running into anything very dangerous out here…

Three more days had passed without too much hassle. It seemed that the Monsters out here didn’t measure up to the strength of this unassuming slime monster. And even then, there were hardly any Monsters that had attacked it. Except for a few giant spiders, another flock of giant bats, and a single eagle, the trip had been rather uneventful. Its spoils had been minimal, with only one new skill, and minor EXP and SP gains. It was, however, rather close on improving several things.

**

Name: Newb

Species: Slime, Æther

Age: 1 month

Power Level: 10 (97%)

Life: 219/219

Mana: 113/113

Physical F:

- Might: 30

- Finesse: 19

- Agility: 19

- Vigor: 39

- Grit: 18

Mental F:

- Intelligence: 28

- Awareness: 8

- Willpower: 17

- Caliber: 17

- Resolve: 20

Bonus:

- Allure: 10

- Voice: 5

- Luck: 24

- Soul: 17

Souls (1/1):

Aylia, Spirit of Light

Abilities:

Ætherial Slime Body

Unlimited Potential

Æther Awakened

Voracity

Minor Regeneration

Soul Vessel

Analyze

Skills:

Augment - Inept (90%)

Body Manipulation - Amatuer (38%)

- Evader

Cache (4/15) - Untrained (78%)

- Store Anything

Dodge - Untrained (97%)

- Improved Reaction

Energy Absorption - Untrained (98%)

- Healer

Energy Expulsion - Untrained (99%)

- Brawler

Iron Will - Inept (80%)

Mighty Blow - Amatuer (38%)

- One Punch

Resistance - Untrained (2/3)

- Conductive

Stealth - Amatuer (68%)

- Hidden One

Stealth Attack - Amatuer (32%)

- Faint Attack

Toughness - Amatuer (24%)

- Physically Tough (20% damage ignored)

Resistances:

Heat, Minor I

Sonic, Minor III

Talents:

Lucky

Gutsy

Collateral Damage

Soloist

Energy to Æther

Dweomer

Spells:

Inner:

- Minor Rejuvenation

Outer:

- Magic Missile

- Shockwave

Spoils:

Slayer - Slaavich

**

Augment

“Become greater than you are.”

You have discovered how to enhance your spells and equipment.

You can now use essence for a temporary boost on any weapon, armor, or spell that you use.

The type of essence will determine the effect.

The use of this skill will increase the cost of any Spells you cast by an additional 50%.

You are currently Inept at this Skill - 5 SP remain until you increase in Mastery.

It had gained this skill when that eagle attacked it on the second day. The creature was dive-bombing the slime too fast for the slime to counterattack. So, Newb had used a Magic Missile infused with the Sonic Element that it had received from the other group of bats the night before. What resulted was a bunch of bird bits raining down upon it. Not quite enough to boost it all the way, but close enough that it thought that the Skill would increase in Mastery the next time it attempted it. And Sonic Resistance had improved a Degree. Not a total loss, but it seemed that the local Monsters were not eager to face it. However, those encounters had left it itching for some kind of real fight.

And it was not to be disappointed. Newb had taken a rest for a bit early this morning next to a tree. It must have dozed off a little because the next thing that it knew, the slime was inside of a leather sack. The sack did not allow the slime the option of slipping away either. This is where it was currently, appearing to hang from something inside this ‘cage’ meant to restrict it. And it never seemed to stop moving, jostling from one side to the other in a very haphazard manner. There were some sounds outside the sack, but nothing discernible… at least not with its miserable Awareness Attribute.

“You know, this is all your fault…” the slime shot at its resident.

“‘My fault’!? How is any of this ‘my fault’? I can’t control anything you can do, nor can I alter any events around you! Well, not anymore, at least.” Aylia huffed in retort.

“It is your fault because you suggested that I take in the sunrise and the morning sun a little, saying ‘Oh, the sun feels so good in the morning. You should try it.’ Even though you can’t even feel anything…” the evasive jello answered, clearly unperturbed by the spirit’s lack of action.

“For your information, temperature is about the ONLY thing I can feel in this semi-solid orb. So, forgive me if I just wanted to enjoy something for a little. Maybe share that enjoyable moment with my host…” her forlorn tone gave the slime pause. Was she just trying to be nice? Or had she planned for it to get caught? With some much arguing they had been doing lately, usually because it wanted an answer or two to its questions, and it tended to ask them while she was ‘sleeping’, it could be hard to tell. One thing it did know for sure, with its boosted intelligence, was that it didn’t really know a whole lot about its renter. She could be diabolical, scheming at every turn, looking for a way to escape… Or…

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that the ‘enjoyable moment’ would have been that enjoyable,” the monster conceded. “And, I also realize that things haven’t been too great between us lately. However, that doesn’t mean that you should give me so much attitude when I don’t understand what this ‘need for rest’ is. I hardly know anything about you, so it was kind of hard to put together at the time. I did say we were friends, and I don’t want to treat a friend that way. But I also don’t want a friend to treat me the way that you have been.”

Aylia was silent for a time, seeming to digest what her host had suggested. “That… is a fair point. We don’t know each other that well. And you did go out on a limb for me to get me out of that Dungeon Heart.” She took a deep breath, and sighed, “I guess I haven’t been all that nice to you since you woke me up the other night… and the continued rude awakenings that followed. And we are in this together for the time being, for better or for worse.”

She went silent again, and Newb picked up, “We should try to be nicer to each other, and maybe learn a thing or two about the other. After all, we are not the same. You do things that I don’t understand just as I do things you don’t. And if we learn about the other, it might help to avoid this contentious outcome in the future.”

“Though, probably not all the time,” the spirit concluded. “I’m sorry. Can you forgive me, friend?”

The slime did, and they proceeded to hash out how they could work on the relationship they had. After all, no one really likes having someone nag in their ear all the time. It was sometime after that when the sack was tossed through the air, smacking into the ground with a thud. It looked like things were about to get interesting again…