Aria remained silent for a long moment while the slime reveled in its newfound awareness and abilities.
The slime understood instinctively now that it could reshape its body at will, absorb mana freely, and manipulate it however it pleased.
And unlike humans or elves whose mana followed rules and restrictions, the slime could wield it with a monster's natural freedom.
Yet at the same time, it now possessed intelligence equal to those sentient beings.
That alone made it an extraordinary being. And this was only Stage 1 of its evolution.
The slime knew it had far more potential waiting ahead, and the realization filled it with overwhelming excitement.
It bounced energetically, making wet, cheerful splats against the crystal floor. Its joy sharply contrasts with the distant rumbling of battle echoing through the dungeon walls as the background.
Aria could only watch speechlessly. This creature was supposed to be her target, a monster she had to capture if she wanted a better life.
But now… it showed happiness and awareness. It had thoughts and emotion.
This monster now had a mind, and could she say… a soul, just like her?
Could she still treat it as merely a monster?
The conflict twisted inside her, but in the end, Aria forced herself to choose her own survival.
She shook her head hard, pushing away the useless thoughts trying to soften her resolve.
A moment later, the slime abruptly froze.
Its instincts screamed. Something incredibly dangerous was approaching. Its joy vanished, replaced by a sharp alarm.
Aria heard a deep, vibrating rumble echoing through the mana-ore pillars that made the more dust trickled down.
"What is that?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
The slime understood her words now but it still didn't know how to form its own words. So instead, it acted.
It hurried toward one of the thick mana pillars, leapt onto it, and began consuming it at incredible speed.
Aria stared in confusion. "W-why are you starting to eat that now?" she asked.
But based on her short experience so far, she knew better than to interfere.
The slime always acted with purpose, even if she didn't understand it.
The approaching rumble grew louder, which meant it was getting closer.
The slime finished devouring a large section of the pillar, revealing a hidden hole behind it.
Aria's eyes widened. She rushed toward the opening.
"Are we supposed to go in here?" she asked.
The slime bounced up and down. This time, the familiar movement already looked like a confirmation, a head nodding.
Aria swallowed her fear, nodded once, and climbed into the narrow passage.
At that exact moment, the wall on the far side of the chamber collapsed with a thunderous crash.
From the cloud of debris emerged a massive lizard-like beast with dark blue scales, jagged spines along its back, and a long, snapping snout.
Arcs of lightning danced wildly across its spine.
The lizard fixed its gaze on the slime. Its mouth stretched into a wide grin, revealing rows of long and sharp teeth.
("Heh. I didn't expect to find a slime here.") it said in the Dungeon tongue.
To Aria who was frozen at the edge of the hole, the creature's voice sounded like a coarse, vibrating growl with no meaning at all.
Her heart lurched. She had never imagined she would run into a monster this strong so soon!
The slime, still calmly settled on the stone floor, understood every word.
("What happened down there?") the slime asked, its voice coming out as a strange squelching hum—like wet cloth being wrung together—in Aria's ears.
("The goblin chief suddenly charged upward with his entire brood and caused chaos,") the lizard replied, irritation dripping from its tone. ("They invaded the Ursalisk's territory and started a huge fight. Everything fell apart after that, and now the other monsters have joined in too. This is nonsense! I have no idea what the hell happened.")
The slime starts putting two and two together quickly. It realized the likely cause of the goblin chief's rampage was… itself. Who was eating the chief's children inside their nest.
But the slime thought that there was nothing it could do about that now. It needed food. That was simply how this world worked.
The slime didn't say anything back and slid toward the hole where Aria waited. But its instincts screamed warning of sudden danger.
It jumped sharply to the side.
BUAGH!
The lizard's massive limb crashed down on the spot the slime had occupied only a heartbeat earlier.
Aria gasped.
This creature was ferocious and filled with bloodlust! This was very dangerous for her.
The lizard, having missed its ambush strike, twisted its body back around and glared at the slime, surprise flickering in its expression.
("How did you dodge that?") it asked. ("You're not a normal slime. Slimes are supposed to be weak and at the bottom of the food chain. You're supposed to be no better than moss. But you… you're different.")
Realizing the lizard intended to kill it, the slime shifted instantly into high alert.
There was no hesitation. Its newly sharpened instincts urged it to strike back first.
[Analyze]
[Analyze Result]
Name: Kodaz Thunder-Lizard
Tier: 3
Description: A large, lightning-infused reptilian beast known for its explosive speed, powerful limbs, and the electric currents running across its back. Highly aggressive.
Weakness: Insulating materials, eyes are not protected, lightning discharge has a short cooldown window.
After undergoing Evolution, the [Analyze] skill had also advanced dramatically. The slime could now clearly see the weaknesses of its enemies which was an enormous advantage.
However, even with that benefit, the slime understood it still couldn't defeat the lizard with its current strength.
The only smart option… was to run.
The Kodaz Thunder Lizard lunged forward with explosive speed.
The slime reacted instantly, leaping aside and firing a portion of its own body toward the lizard's eyes.
The beast shrieked as the slime struck its face, then it crashed violently into the opposite wall.
But even blinded, the lizard swung its claws in a wild arc, and caught the slime.
A chunk of the slime's body was torn away, scattering across the crystal floor.
The slime hit the ground hard and didn't move.
For the first time in its life, it felt pain—a sharp, terrible sensation unlike anything it had ever known.
—