Chapter 17—New Mastery
"I need to get strongenough to kill those brats and those soldiers… or at least find a way to escape," he muttered, already planning for the next loop.
[ Ding! Timeline 78521452224.3 has ended! ]
[ Begin Timeline 78521452224.4? ]
[ —Y— or —N— ]
A shimmering red panel flashed into his vision.
He tapped —Y—, exhaling slowly.
[ Ding! Beginning Timeline 78521452224.4! ]
[ Ding! Reincarnating Slime#47! ]
[ Ding! Trait— 'Eternal Mastery {Mythic}' activated! ]
[ Locking skills—Acid Fist {Lv.Max}; Evade {Lv.Max}; Human Tongue {Lv.1}, Demon Tongue {Lv.Max} ]
[ Locking 'Fist Mastery'— Tier 0: 25% of proficiency carried over! ]
He didn't get skills or anything in the earlier loops, but the third loop was different, so his Eternal Mastery trait had finally begun to display its real bite.
'Good… finally this trait is doing something,' he grinned, eager to get even stronger in the fourth loop.
-----
The moment he reincarnated, he opened his status without wasting a second.
[ Name: Slime#47 {Temporary}
Race: Slime ★
Class: N/A
Trait: Eternal Mastery, Viscous Body, Amorphous Being.
Titles: N/A
Level: 1
Strength: G-
Endurance: G
Will: G+
Wisdom: G-
Dexterity: G
Perception: G-
Agility: G+
Vitality: G+ ]
'Back to level one,' he muttered, then flicked open his skills panel.
[ —Skills—
—Demon Tongue {Legendary} Lv.Max—
—Human Tongue {Rare} Lv.1—
—Acid Fist {Common} Lv.Max—
—Evade {Common} Lv.Max— ]
'Same as last loop. Now… masteries.' He swiped the panel over.
[ —Masteries—
—Fist Mastery—
—Tier Zero
—Proficiency: 15/100 ]
'Twenty-five percent of sixty-one… yeah, system rounded down. Damn, lost forty-six points,' he winced, feeling the sting in his core.
"Hello, my child, I'm your mama," the cute blob cooed, rubbing her soft body against him affectionately.
'Magic, I must master magic skills in this loop,' the young slime swore internally as events began to unfold like before— him dragging Mama Slime toward the rough woman for jelly harvesting again.
-----
"You seem to have intellect, child," Elder Slime rumbled in his usual stern voice.
"By the way, Elder… have you ever heard of a trait or skill that lets someone travel back in time?" he asked casually.
He wanted to skipthe boring talk.
"Yes, there are a few of those," the old slime replied, glancing at the young slime suspiciously. "Don't tell me…"
"Yep. I'm from the future. Got a skill for it. Every time I die, I get rewoundback to birth," he explained bluntly.
They discussed briefly how he died and what he'd learned.
"So, that's how we died, huh?" Elder Slime's tone sank, sadness shaking his wobbling body.
He glanced at the sleeping slimes, pity in his eyes.
"Yes, but we've got a chance now. I even killedone of those kids before dying. Teach me magic," he said firmly.
"Very well. Let's start with magic and in our free time, languages," the old slime said, turning into a strict teacher.
-----
A few hours later...
"Focus; Move your mana," Elder Slime scolded as Slime#47 struggled to control mana from his core.
'Why can't I move it?' Young slime grumbled internally.
When he'd killed the kid in fury, mana flowed naturally through his body—but now it felt wild, uncooperative.
"Let's take a break," the old slime said, patting him gently. "You're being too rough with mana. You must be calmand gentle."
The elder understood what the young one was trying, but knew mana would never bow to force.
'Is mana bipolar or what? One moment it listens, next moment it's acting like I don't exist,' he complained inwardly.
-----
Ten moons rose to their peak, illuminating the world in crimson.
"I did it! Finally… mana's listeningto me!" Slime#47 cheered, his tiny fists glowing faint blue—the reflection of mana in them.
"Not bad. You managed to control your emotions and move mana. That is good," Elder Slime praised him.
"Next, fire magic!" The young slime's eyes brightened with excitement.
"Nope," the old slime rejected flatly.
"Why?" Slime#47 asked, disappointed.
"It's night. Everyone's asleep." Elder Slime pointed at the field filled with softly glowing slimes and snoring sounds. "Go to sleep."
With that, the old slime found his soft spot and fell asleep, snoring loudly—ZZZ!.
'He sure found a sweet spot.' The young slime was jealous of the elder's soft grass bed.
He then glanced at the wooden fence, curiosity gleaming. He wanted to test something.
Wob!—Wob!—He bounced closer to the fence, where other slimes were asleep beside it.
Wob!—He used the sleeping slime's body as a springboard, he leapt even higher—Whoop!—reaching higher than the fence itself.
"Acid Fist!" His tiny fist glowed grey—Bam!—he struck the transparent barrier shimmering around the fence, which appeared when he almost crossed the fence.
Whooo!
Ripplesspread across the barrier—but not even a crack appeared.
'Yeah… way too strong,' Slime#47 clicked his tongue.
He didn't try to escape; he knew he'd only get caught if other humans found him. He merely wanted to testif breaking free was even possible.
Unfortunately, the barrier covering the entire farm made the attempt futile.
'Why this much security? It's not like slime thieves exist… right?' he wondered uneasily.
Wob!—He flopped onto a random spot and fell asleep.
-----
Ten days later...
Under the early rays of the black sun.
"Fire,"the young slime muttered, activating a red rune. A circle appeared above his tiny palm; within it, a spark of flameflickered to life.
He had to get the fire rune to cast fire magic.
Ding!—A blue shimmering panel popped up before him.
'I did it!' He grinned widely at the sight.
[ Ding! You have acquired 'Fire Magic Rune' Mastery! ]
[ —Masteries—
—Fire Magic Rune—
—Tier Zero
—Proficiency: 1/100 ]
'Ah! hell… another mastery. These things are a pain to train,' he sighed.
It was already difficult enough improving Fist Mastery — now anotherone?
"Elder, is it really necessary to master these masteries? What are their benefits?" he asked curiously.
Old slime replied sternly, "They are very important. Unlike skills, they play a greater long-term role. For example: Acid Fist improves your fist power, yes—but only temporarily. Skills can become obsolete. A higher-tier skill will consume less aura for greater strength. However, masteries remain useful no matter your level or tier."
He smiled slightly. "There is an old saying—'It is better to master one mastery than ten skills.'"
"So damn powerful…" the young slime muttered, fire burning in his eyes.
He decided to master at least one mastery to test it himself. "But what exactly is tier?"
"Heh, that knowledge is uselessfor where you are now—but fine," Elder Slime smirked faintly.
'Out of reach for me but not for you?' Slime#47 thought, irritated.
He was certain the elder couldn't even take down a human kid.
"Hmm, tiers are simply power classifications. Tier Zero is Level 1–10, Tier One is 11–50, Tier Two is 51–100, and so on," Elder Slime explained lightly.
'So, just a powerscale. I've figured out complex power systems than this,' the young slime mused.
Thud!—Thud!—The sound of footsteps echoed across the field.
'My different actions in this loop didn't cause… any butterfly effects... right?' He wondered, feeling his core tighten.
End of the chapter. __________________________________________________________