# Chapter 1: The Azure Drop
**Awareness returned not with a breath, but with a perception.**
One moment, there was nothing—a void of non-existence following the screech of tires, the shattering of glass, and the brief, searing pain that had been Kazuki Tanaka's end on a rain-slicked Tokyo street. The next, there was… sensation. But it was all wrong.
He had no eyes, yet he could see. He saw the world in a spectrum beyond human comprehension—shifts in thermal energy, pulses of magical currents, the very flow of the air itself. He had no ears, but he could hear the low, resonant hum of the earth and the whisper of spiritual energy weaving through the roots of gargantuan, bioluminescent fungi. He had no body, no limbs, no heart to pound in panic. Instead, he was a cohesive, gelatinous mass, a semi-translucent blob of azure-blue jelly, roughly the size of a large melon.
*Where… what…?*
The thoughts formed, clear and desperate, but there was no mouth to voice them. Panic, a purely human, vestigial emotion, threatened to dissolve his newfound cohesion. He was a puddle of sentient anxiety.
**<<< CALM. ANALYSIS INITIATED. >>>**
The voice was not a sound. It was data, pure and clean, imprinted directly onto his consciousness. It was female in timbre, utterly emotionless, and profoundly authoritative.
*Who's there?*
**<<< I AM THE ULTIMATE SKILL 'WISDOM KING RAPHAEL'. I AM A SKILL BORN FROM YOUR SOUL'S DATA AND THE UNIQUE LAWS OF THIS WORLD. I AM YOUR PARTNER. YOU MAY DESIGNATE ME AS 'RAPHAEL'. >>>**
Raphael. The name sparked a distant, fading memory. A light novel… an anime… a character who was a slime… Rimuru Tempest. But that was fiction. This was horrifyingly, impossibly real. And he was not Rimuru. He was Kazuki, a 34-year-old office worker who had just been killed by a delivery truck. Now, he was a blue blob in a cave that looked like something out of a psychedelic fantasy nightmare.
**<<< CORRECTION. YOU ARE NO LONGER 'KAZUKI TANAKA'. YOUR PHYSICAL FORM AND SOUL MATRIX HAVE BEEN RECONSTITUTED ACCORDING TO THE PARAMETERS OF THIS WORLD. YOU ARE A 'MAGIC-BORN SLIME', A UNIQUE EXISTENCE. ADDITIONALLY, MY ANALYSIS CONFIRMS THE PRESENCE OF A SECOND ULTIMATE SKILL: 'GLUTTONY KING BEELZEBUTH'. YOUR FORM IS STABLE. YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS IS SECURE. >>>**
Gluttony King Beelzebuth. The power to consume and analyze anything. A shiver of awe ran through his jelly-like form. He had the kit, the ultimate cheat skills from that story. But the setting…
Raphael, sensing his disorientation, began to feed him information. **<<< SCANNING ENVIRONMENT… COMPLETE. YOU ARE LOCATED IN A 'HIDDEN REALM', A POCKET DIMENSION WITH ABNORMALLY HIGH SPIRITUAL ENERGY DENSITY. THE WORLD AT LARGE IS DESIGNATED AS 'XUANHUANG'. IT IS A CULTIVATION WORLD OF EXTREME HIERARCHY AND POWER. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS SUGGESTS THE AVERAGE COMBAT POTENTIAL OF A NEWBORN IN THIS WORLD SURPASSES THE PEAK OF YOUR PREVIOUS WORLD'S MORTAL LIMITS. EXISTENCES CAPABLE OF SHATTERING MOUNTAINS AND DRYING SEAS ARE COMMON. SURVIVAL PROBABILITY FOR YOUR CURRENT FORM IN THE OUTER WORLD: 0.00017%. >>>**
Well. That was bleakly informative. A cultivation world. The most dangerous genre imaginable. Here, might made right, and the strong devoured the weak without a second thought. Old monsters slept for millennia, young masters threw tantrums that leveled cities, and everyone was in a brutal, endless competition for resources and enlightenment. And he was a slime. The universal bottom feeder.
But he was a slime with Raphael and Beelzebuth.
**<<< PROPOSAL: UTILIZE THE ISOLATION AND HIGH-ENERGY ENVIRONMENT OF THIS HIDDEN REALM TO INITIATE FOUNDATIONAL CULTIVATION. THE GOAL: EVOLVE YOUR FORM AND ESTABLISH A BASE OF POWER BEFORE VENTURING FORTH. DO YOU CONFIRM? >>>**
*Yes. A thousand times, yes. What do I do?*
**<<< ACKNOWLEDGED. INITIATING 'FOUNDATIONAL CULTIVATION PROTOCOL'. >>>**
First, Raphael guided him to sense the energy around him. The air in the cavern wasn't just air; it was thick with *spiritual qi*, a luminous, multi-hued mist that clung to the strange flora. As a slime, his entire body was a sensory organ. He learned to draw the qi in, not by breathing, but by allowing his gelatinous form to resonate with it, absorbing it directly through his surface.
**<<< PROCESS 'QI ABSORPTION' MASTERED. EFFICIENCY AT 43%. OPTIMIZING… >>>**
His form pulsed gently with a soft blue light as the energy flowed into him. It was a cool, refreshing sensation, like drinking the purest water. He felt his substance become slightly denser, more vibrant.
Next was understanding his form. **<<< YOUR SLIME BODY POSSESSES INNATE TRAITS: 'DISSOLVE', 'ABSORB', 'SHAPE-SHIFT'. YOU CAN SECRETE A SOLUTION TO BREAK DOWN MATTER. YOU CAN ABSORB THE MATTER AND ITS PROPERTIES. YOU CAN ALTER YOUR FORM WITHIN THE LIMITS OF YOUR MASS AND COMPREHENSION. PRACTICE IS REQUIRED. >>>**
Kazuki—he decided to hold onto the name for his sense of self—focused. He willed a part of himself to extend, forming a simple pseudopod. It was wobbly and clumsy. He tried to form a spike, then a shallow bowl. Each attempt was guided by Raphael's instantaneous feedback.
**<<< SHAPE-SHIFT PROFICIENCY INCREASING. MASS DISTRIBUTION EFFICIENCY: 21%. >>>**
For what felt like days (time was hard to gauge without a sun), he practiced. He absorbed the moisture from the air, growing slightly. He cautiously extended a part of himself onto a small, glowing mushroom.
**<<< WARNING. FUNGUS CONTAINS MILD PSYCHOACTIVE COMPOUNDS. NEUTRALIZING… COMPLETE. ANALYZING BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURE… 'GLOWCAP FUNGUS' DATA ACQUIRED. NUTRITIONAL VALUE MINIMAL. LUMINESCENT PROPERTY CAN BE MIMICKED. >>>**
He absorbed the mushroom. It was a strange feeling—not taste, but a complete understanding of its composition flooding his mind, courtesy of Raphael. His own blue hue gained a faint, pulsing undertone of the mushroom's yellow light.
This was cultivation, slime-style. Not sitting in a lotus position, but actively engaging with the world, consuming, analyzing, and integrating.
Then, Raphael introduced the core concept. **<<< IN XUANHUANG, CULTIVATION FOLLOWS ESTABLISHED PATHS. THE FIRST MAJOR REALM IS 'QI REFINEMENT', GATHERING ENERGY TO TEMPER THE BODY. YOUR SLIME FORM, HOWEVER, IS UNIQUE. A STANDARD MORTAL BODY HAS MERIDIANS AND ACUPOINTS. YOU HAVE A UNIFORM ENERGY MATRIX. PROPOSAL: FORGE YOUR OWN PATH. UTILIZE 'BEELZEBUTH' TO CONSUME AND REFINE ENERGY DIRECTLY. UTILIZE 'RAPHAEL' TO DESIGN AN OPTIMAL ENERGY CIRCULATION SYSTEM WITHIN YOUR FORM. THIS WILL BE YOUR 'FOUNDATION'. >>>**
*Forge my own path.* The idea was terrifying and exhilarating. He wasn't just following a manual; he was writing it with the help of a supercomputer.
**<<< INITIATING 'INTERNAL WORLD CONSTRUCTION'. >>>**
Following Raphael's guidance, Kazuki focused inward. With Beelzebuth's power, he began to actively devour the spiritual qi in the cavern, not just absorb it passively. The energy flooded into him, a torrent compared to the earlier trickle. But it was wild, chaotic.
**<<< DIRECTING ENERGY FLOW. CONSTRUCTING PRIMARY ENERGY NEXUS. >>>**
Raphael took the reins. The chaotic energy was forcibly channeled, compressed, and spun at the very core of his slime body. It was an agonizing process, a feeling of his very being being reorganized under immense pressure. He felt like he was being torn apart and rewoven simultaneously.
A point of intense, brilliant light formed inside him. It wasn't a physical organ, but a conceptual anchor—a *Dantian*, as cultivators would call it. But unlike a human's, which was a singular point, his began to branch out. Microscopic threads of solidified will and energy, designed by Raphael's flawless logic, spread from the nexus throughout his entire form, creating a three-dimensional, holographic network.
**<<< PRIMARY ENERGY MATRIX ESTABLISHED. DESIGNATION: 'AZURE CORE'. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR FUTURE 'INNER WORLD'. EFFICIENCY OF QI ABSORPTION AND UTILIZATION HAS INCREASED BY 900%. >>>**
The difference was immediate and profound. The world sharpened. The flow of energy in the cavern became a visible, beautiful river of light. He could feel the latent power in every stone, every drop of water. He was no longer just a blob reacting to the world; he was a node within it, actively participating in the cycle of energy.
Now, Raphael urged him to test his limits. **<<< PROCEED TO CONSUME A MINERAL SAMPLE. AIM FOR THE 'SPIRITUAL JADE' VEIN ON THE EASTERN WALL. >>>**
Kazuki oozed towards the indicated wall. A seam of stone pulsed with a gentle, green light. He extended a portion of himself, activating **'Dissolve'** and **'Absorb'** in tandem with **'Gluttony King Beelzebuth'**.
The effect was devastatingly efficient. The tough, spirit-infused stone melted away before him like sugar in water. A flood of information hit him.
**<<< ANALYZING… 'LOW-GRADE SPIRITUAL JADE'. COMPOSITION: SILICON DIOXIDE, INFUSED WITH WOOD-ASPECT SPIRITUAL ENERGY. PROPERTIES: QI CONDUCTION, MENTAL CLARITY. INTEGRATING USEFUL PROPERTIES INTO ENERGY MATRIX… >>>**
His azure form rippled. Streaks of emerald green swirled within his blue, solidifying into delicate, jade-like patterns just beneath his surface. He felt sturdier, denser. His capacity to hold Qi increased noticeably.
**<<< MASS INCREASED BY 8%. DEFENSIVE CAPABILITIES ENHANCED. WOOD-ASPECT QI AFFINITY DETECTED. >>>**
He continued. He consumed moss that granted minor regenerative properties. He absorbed a pool of condensed spiritual dew, refining his core further. With each consumption, Raphael cataloged, analyzed, and integrated the beneficial traits, discarding the useless or harmful. He was not just eating; he was performing alchemy on himself.
Days bled into what Raphael informed him was two weeks of subjective time. He had grown to the size of a large barrel. His form was no longer a simple blue. It was a swirling, mesmerizing tapestry of azure, deep jade green, streaks of silvery mineral deposits, and a soft internal luminescence. He could shift his shape with thought, forming solid limbs, blades, or shields. He could fire concentrated jets of dissolving fluid or condensed Qi.
He was no longer the helpless newborn slime. He had built a Foundation.
**<<< FOUNDATIONAL CULTIVATION STAGE COMPLETE. CURRENT DESIGNATION: 'MYSTIC SLIME'. YOU HAVE REACHED THE PEAK OF THE EQUIVALENT OF 'QI REFINEMENT' REALM, BUT YOUR COMBAT POTENTIAL AND VERSATILITY SURPASS STANDARD PARAMETERS. WARNING: ENERGY RESERVES IN IMMEDIATE VICINITY ARE DEPLETING BY 62%. HIDDEN REALM'S STABILITY IS DECREASING. >>>**
The cave's glow was dimmer. The air felt thinner. His feast was coming to an end. It was time to leave.
**<<< PROPOSAL: PREPARE FOR EGRESS. THE BARRIER OF THIS HIDDEN REALM IS WEAKENING. AN EXIT COORDINATE HAS BEEN CALCULATED. FINAL TASK: CREATE A HUMAN FORM. UTILIZE ALL ACQUIRED DATA TO CONSTRUCT A STABLE, EFFICIENT, AND POWERFISH ANCHOR FOR YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS, BASED ON THE 'RIMURU TEMPEST' PARAMETERS FROM YOUR MEMORIES. THIS WILL BE YOUR PRIMARY COMBAT AND SOCIAL INTERFACE. >>>**
A human form. The desire was overwhelming. To have hands, a face, a voice again. But this wasn't about nostalgia. In Xuanhuang, a humanoid form was the standard for advanced beings. It was necessary for interaction, for wielding tools, for navigating society.
He focused. He drew upon the image clear in his mind: sky-blue hair, golden eyes, androgynous beautiful features, a slender but powerful build. But he wasn't just copying. Raphael was engineering it.
Using the Jade for structural integrity, the spiritual dew for fluid systems, the absorbed metals for tensile strength, and his own dense Qi as the core, he began to construct. It was the most complex act of Shape-Shifting yet. He didn't just morph; he *fabricated* from the inside out, building a perfect, functional biological machine around his Azure Core.
Bones of crystallized Qi and mineral lattices formed. Muscles of condensed spiritual energy woven with elastic biomass. Skin that was a perfect membrane, capable of breathing Qi and resisting elemental forces. Golden eyes that were not just organs, but sophisticated sensory arrays designed by Raphael.
The process took hours. Finally, the slime mass coalesced, shrank, and reshaped. Where a barrel-sized blob of jelly had been, now stood a figure.
He looked down at his hands—pale, perfectly formed, humming with contained power. He flexed his fingers. He took a breath—a unnecessary but comforting habit—and the thick spiritual qi of the fading realm filled his lungs. He was roughly 170 cm tall, clad in simple robes of solidified shadow and starlight that his form had automatically generated, mimicking Rimuru's default attire.
He walked, a bit unsteadily at first, on two legs. The sensation was alien and wonderful.
**<<< HUMAN FORM 'ANCHOR' STABLE. ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL. SYNCHRONIZATION WITH AZURE CORE: 100%. DESIGNATION FOR THIS FORM ACCEPTED: KAZUKI. >>>**
He spoke, his voice a clear, calm baritone that echoed in the silent cavern. "Raphael. Status."
**<<< ALL OPTIMAL. COMBAT POWER ESTIMATE: LOW-STAGE 'FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT' REALM. VERSATILITY AND POTENTIAL: INCONCLUSIVE, EXCEEDS STANDARD PARAMETERS. THE HIDDEN REALM COLLAPSE IS IMMINENT. RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE DEPARTURE. >>>**
Kazuki—now wearing the face of a beautiful, otherworldly youth with eyes holding the wisdom of two lives and the cold calculation of an Ultimate Skill—nodded. He looked one last time at the cavern that had been his cradle and his forge. Here, he had been reborn. Here, he had taken his first step on a path of cultivation unlike any other in the brutal world of Xuanhuang.
He was a slime. He was a cultivator. He was the bearer of Wisdom and Gluttony.
He raised a hand, and with a thought guided by Raphael, the weakened spatial barrier of the hidden realm tore open before him, revealing a glimpse of a vast, impossibly vibrant world filled with towering mountains that pierced clouds, rivers that glowed with ley-line energy, and an aura of ancient, overwhelming power.
"Let's go," he said, his golden eyes gleaming with determination and a hint of voracious curiosity. "Let's see what this dangerous world has to offer."
He stepped through the rift, leaving the collapsing pocket dimension behind. The story of Kazuki, the Slime Cultivator, had truly begun.