"Deus… is that me?" he wondered, feeling strange about having an identity.
Then, like a distant echo, a memory surfaced—someone, somewhere, a blurry figure had given him this name a very long time ago.
Then, like a soft whisper brushing by, a warmth bloomed within him—an emotion he had long forgotten.
He had drifted for ages in emptiness so complete that even the concept of 'feeling' had been foreign.
But now, with a name, with an identity, something inside him finally clicked into place.
"I'm… Deus," he thought again, this time with certainty.
The simple act of claiming the name filled him with a quiet, almost fragile joy.
He didn't know who had given it to him or why, but it meant he was no longer nothing. He was someone. He existed.
The foreignness of emotion made him pause. It was strange how naturally he accepted the other information flowing through his mind—skills, knowledge, instinct—like he had always known them.
The Mimic and Pocket Dimension. Both skills settled into him as naturally as breathing—if he had lungs to breathe with.
"Perhaps it's my species' instinct?" he wondered.
Before he could explore that thought further, a sudden jolt of discomfort slammed into him like a wave.
A mechanical voice rang out inside his mind:
[ Warning! Your hunger level has fallen by one more level! ]
[ Satiety Status: Starving. You have received a penalty! ]
[ Movement Speed: -30% ]
[ Warning! Further hunger will result in critical penalties.]
The message echoed sharply.
Then the weakness hit him.
His gelatinous body sagged, suddenly heavy, like he was sinking into unseen mud. Even hopping felt impossible.
"Hunger… I guess this is one of disadvantages of having a physical form."
Oddly enough, he felt amused. After being a bodiless awareness in the void for so long, even negative sensations felt like proof of life.
At least this meant he was alive in some meaningful way.
And being alive meant he needed food.
"Alright," he muttered inside his mind, determined.
"I guess… I have to do something. Food first and verything else later."
But before hunting anything, he decided to test the skills he instinctively understood.
He began with Mimic.
A faint mental window appeared, displaying his Library of Scanned Forms.
[ Available Blueprints ]
– Rock
– Small Rotten Crate
– Wooden Treasure Chest
– Gray-Slime (Natural Form)
He selected [Rock]
[ Confirm Transformation? (Y/N)]
He confirmed.
His body shifted instantly—not like bones rearranging, but like imagination reshaping clay. One moment he was a blob of slime; the next, he was a moss-covered rock sitting quietly on the dungeon floor.
It felt oddly comfortable.
Then he switched to the treasure chest form, his body reshaping into a wooden container with bronze hinges. Again, it felt natural, almost instinctive.
He reverted back into a slime.
Next, he tested the Pocket Dimension. When he opened it, he sensed a small, dark space—only a cubic meter in size, yet it stirred a memory of the void he came from.
For a moment, he froze. He thought he was brought back to that suffocating prison. But he soon quickly realized that he had mistaken.
"…this is much more pleasant than the one I knew," he thought.
His experiments were cut short when a faint vibration trembled through the stone floor.
Deus was alerted. Something alive was moving nearby.
He focused, expanding his senses instinctively. The vibration sharpened, turning into a warm presence. When the creature stepped closer, Deus somehow detected a flicker of light within the darkness, like an outline forming in his awareness.
He recognized it instantly.
A Dungeon Rat.
A small creature, weak and common—but still alive and edible.
He didn't intend to react, but instinct took over. His slime body warped, and a mouth brimming with jagged teeth instantly formed on his surface.
The rat screeched and bolted.
"…"
Deus stared at the empty corridor. An awkward silence seemed to fill the air.
"Well… I suppose I need to learn to control my instincts," he thought.
"I can't let my food escape like that again."
Learning a lesson from that failure, he hopped away, deeper into the dungeon—not too far, only enough to avoid areas with larger presences.
He could sense stronger creatures lurking nearby, and even without experience, instinct told him he was nowhere near ready for them.
Finally, he sensed another familiar vibration: another lone dungeon rat.
This time, he prepared properly.
Suppressing his predatory urge with all his willpower, he activated Mimic again. He didn't turn into the treasure chest this time. Instead, he reshaped into a rotten wooden crate with a conspicuous hole on one side.
Inside, he sculpted part of his own biomass into what looked—and smelled—like a disgusting chunk of cheese.
It felt surprisingly natural, as if his body was born for deception.
Moments later, the rat reacted.
Squeak!
It raised its head and sniffed the air, tiny eyes glowing faintly in the gloom. Then it scurried closer, drawn by the irresistible scent.
Deus held perfectly still.
The rat hesitated at the hole, sniffing again.
Sniff…
'Almost… just a bit more…'
Then, greedily, it squeezed inside.
That was all the opening Deus needed.
His hole sealed shut instantly, trapping the rat in utter darkness. The creature squealed in panic, scratching desperately against the sealed wood—but its struggle was already over.
Deus's interior secreted an adhesive fluid that glued the rat in place. His hunger surged uncontrollably.
In the pitch-black space inside him, he formed a powerful jaw.
And he bit down.
Again.
And again.
The squeaks stopped.
His form rippled as he returned to his natural form.
The system chimed:
[ You have killed a Dungeon Rat ]
[ Ancestral Mana has slightly increased ]
Warm energy spread through him, making his entire being tingle pleasantly. But before he could enjoy it, another notification shattered the moment:
[ Target Detected: Dungeon Rat – Biomass (Rank 0) ]
[ Assimilation Possible. Initiate? Y/N ]
Deus had been curious about what his EX Rank skill could do.
Without hesitation, he confirmed.
[ Commencing Assimilation… ]
[ Scanning… ]
[ Maintain Contact… ]
[…4%…15%…45%… ]
His body expanded slightly as digestive fluids broke the rat down. His awareness hummed as something deep inside him absorbed the creature's essence.
[ Surface Scan Complete! ]
[ Blueprint Added: Dungeon Rat ]
[ Trait Acquired: Rodent's Agility I ]
[ Trait Acquired: Low-light Vision ]
Information flooded him in a warm rush.
Suddenly, his perception shifted. The dungeon around him emerged in muted greens and grays, clearer than before. Shadows became shapes. Vibrations became outlines.
He could see—barely, but enough.
'I can see now..!'
The feeling of excitement surged through him.
Then the last notification appeared:
[ First Assimilation Complete. You acquired the condition how to unlock AbsoluteAssimilation further functions.]
[Unlock Condition: Learn the essence of the selectedtarget.]
Deus' gelatinous body trembled, not from fear but from exhilaration.
For the first time since entering this new existence… he felt alive. He had hunted, he had eaten, and he had grown.
And somewhere in the back of his mind, the loneliness he felt in the void had faintly but surely began to fade.