'I can see now!'
Deus no longer needed vibrations to feel his surroundings.
He understood the reason immediately as the information settled in his mind.
[Trait: Low-light Vision - Allows you to see in near-total darkness.]
Filled with curiosity, he scanned his surroundings with his newly developed sight, confirming he was in a dead-end corner of a dungeon maze.
In the distance, he spotted an entrance hole in one of the dungeon walls.
'…It must have come from there,' he thought subconsciously.
Based on the hole's size, he assumed the dungeon rat had emerged from it.
'I'll check it later.'
For now, he needed to review his gains.
First, he checked the new addition to his Library of Scanned Forms.
[Available Blueprints]
–Rock
–Small Rotten Crate
–Wooden Treasure Chest
–Gray-Slime (Natural Form)
–Dungeon Rat (new)
Deus was confused by the new blueprint. According to Mimic's description, he could only transform into inanimate objects.
Curious, he selected the Dungeon Rat blueprint.
[Confirm Transformation? (Y/N)]
He confirmed.
However—
[Error! Transformation failed! Mimic rank does not meet the requirements!]
[Recommendation: Raise Mimic rank first!]
Deus wasn't surprised. He had anticipated this result but felt like trying anyway.
Then he recalled the last notification he had received—a hint on how to unlock other functions of Absolute Assimilation.
[Unlock Condition: Learn the essence of the selected target.]
'Essence of a selected target…?' he wondered. 'Is it referring to the essence of the dungeon rat?'
It was the first thing that came to mind, since he had just slain one.
Yet, the hint was frustratingly vague.
'What does it mean, learn the essence? …Do I have to learn about a dungeon rat's life?'
He had no choice but to try. His «Absolute Assimilation» skill had already proved its worth, and unlocking further functions would greatly help him—not only for survival but for his future journey.
He had no intention of staying in his current condition forever. Since he'd been given another chance at life, he had to move forward, and perhaps even learn about his forgotten past.
So, he resolved to study the life of a dungeon rat.
Fortunately, he had gained a new trait. Observing them would be easier with sight.
And besides, he could fill his hunger at the same time.
He had just checked: eating one dungeon rat was nowhere near enough to fill his stomach. His hunger meter was still at Starving.
Without further hesitation, he hopped toward the hole he had seen.
Immediately, he noticed the change in his speed.
'My speed… it's back to normal?' he thought. 'But I still have the penalty…'
'Does that mean my speed has improved by 30%?' he wondered, realizing the penalty's effect was now neutralized.
He understood instantly—it was the result of another trait he had acquired.
[Trait: Rodent's Agility I - Slight improvement to reflex, speed, and balance.]
The slight improvement sent another wave of warm satisfaction through him.
'Let's go fill my stomach!' Anticipation surged within him.
For the first time in eternity, he had something to look forward to!
Soon, he reached the inconspicuous hole in the wall. It was just big enough for a single rodent to pass through easily.
Fortunately, even as a mimic, he was still a slime variant. In moments, he slipped inside without trouble.
The tunnel was long, dark, and tight, clearly leading somewhere. Luckily, he had his new trait to guide him.
After a while, he finally saw a light in the distance—he was nearing the exit.
Blop!
As soon as he emerged, he scanned his surroundings. He was inside a large room, so vast he couldn't see the opposite wall.
'I guess this is the limit of my sight,' Deus thought, just as he spotted a dungeon rat.
His instincts flared, but he restrained himself immediately—because it wasn't just one rat. There were many.
A cluster of dungeon rats was feasting on a mutilated, small green corpse—a goblin.
'Even though I've already killed one rat… there's no way I can take all of them alone.'
'And I need to carefully observe at least one to prove my theory.'
'Hmm… What should I do?'
After a moment, he came up with a plan.
He wouldn't attack the group. He would lure one away.
He retreated into the tunnel's mouth, hiding in the shadows. Then, he activated Mimic.
His body shifted, compacting as his texture hardened into rough, damp wood. Within seconds, he had become a Small Rotten Crate, nestled against the wall where the darkness was deepest.
But this time, he didn't create cheese. The goblin corpse was the main feast—he needed a different lure. Something a scavenger couldn't resist.
He focused, drawing a tiny amount of his own biomass. He shaped it not into food, but into a small, shiny object—a perfect, gleaming gold coin. It was a gamble, based on a flicker of instinct—the memory of the treasure chest form, the allure of something valuable.
Rats were hoarders, weren't they?
He placed the coin just inside the crate's opening, letting it glint in the dim light.
Then, he waited.
He didn't have to wait long. A rat, smaller than the others and pushed away from the prime feeding spots, scuttled along the wall. Its nose twitched, but its eyes—gleaming with a faint red light—locked onto the glimmer of gold.
Squeak?
It hesitated, sniffing the air, its instincts torn between the smell of blood and the sight of treasure.
Greed won.
It darted toward the crate, tiny claws scraping against the stone.
The rat paused at the opening, sniffing again, suspicion clear in its tense posture. This wasn't food, but the urge to take the shiny object was overwhelming. It squeezed inside.
That was his chance.
The opening sealed shut instantly, plunging the rat into darkness. The creature squealed in panic, scratching desperately against the wooden interior.
But Deus didn't bite. Not yet.
He held the form, perfectly still. He focused all his awareness on the creature trapped within him. He felt its frantic heartbeat—a tiny, terrified drum against his being.
He felt the raw, instinctual terror—the pure essence of a prey animal that knew it was trapped.
This was more than hunting. This was an observation. He was learning its fear, its desperation, its singular drive to escape and survive.
After a long moment, when the rat's struggles began to weaken from exhaustion, he acted.
It was quick. A single, powerful bite in the darkness.
The squeaks stopped.
The familiar warmth spread through him, but he focused past it, searching for something deeper within the energy.
[ You have killed a Dungeon Rat ]
[ Assimilation Possible. Initiate? Y/N ]
He confirmed.
[ Commencing Assimilation... ]
As the rat's essence merged with his, he didn't just absorb its biomass. He opened his mind, seeking the echo of its life.
The memory of dark, tight tunnels as safety. The constant, underlying hum of hunger.
The sharp, electric jolt of fear at every strange sound. The simple, overwhelming drive to find food, to hide, to hoard shiny things, to run.
It wasn't about strength. It wasn't about power. It was about motion. A perpetual, frantic, desperate motion, all driven by the need to survive just one more moment.
[ Assimilation Complete. ]
[ Trait Proficiency: Rodent's Agility has increased to 22%. ]
But no new trait appeared. Instead, a new understanding clicked into place—deep and fundamental.
The vague hint finally made sense.
The "essence" of a Dungeon Rat was not a single skill. It was a state of being. It was the embodiment of a creature defined by its environment—the ultimate survivor of the dark, a being of pure instinct, greed, and motion.
He focused on the Dungeon Rat blueprint again.
This time, it felt different. The lock was still there, but he could now feel the shape of the key.
He poured his will into the blueprint, channeling the memory of the squeaks, the terror, the desperate scrabbling, the endless drive to hoard and survive.
[ Comprehending "Dungeon Rat Essence"... ]
A new progress bar, different from the assimilation one, glowed in his mind.
[ ...10%... 50%... 99% ]
When it suddenly stopped as if something was blocking his progress. However, before he could even think about the situation, another notification appeared.
[Title "The Man Who Overcame Fate" has taken effect. Your comprehension ability has greatly increased!]
In the next moment, he felt that his mind had become clear than ever, as though every little information about his surroundings were registering through his mind.
The progress finally reached 100 percent!
[ Comprehension Successful! ]
[ Biological Form: Dungeon Rat - unlocked! ]