"Damnit, Gramps!" I yelled out as soon as I regained consciousness, and the black void was replaced by the white rift.
I glanced around and noticed I was still in my crude stone bathtub, although the door crack I had left open to the outside world had closed in on me. I was glad that I had taken the precaution of recording the coordinates beforehand, as this was a predictable outcome.
I wonder how long I've been out for… hopefully not longer than a week. But first, let's worry about the new me and reopening the door.
Although getting out was important, it wasn't my first priority; first, I needed to examine myself. The most obvious change was that my slime was no longer its glorious blue, but instead an ever-changing blur of iridescent colors, as if I'd fallen into a vat of paint or swallowed a rainbow.
I didn't hate it, although it did feel a little wrong. It was as if someone had rearranged the furniture in my house without my permission.
I shifted my vision to one of my [Sub-Cores] so that I could look at my own core and noticed that it had also changed—no longer was it the solid crimson-red, but instead it had rings corresponding to every type of slime core I'd eaten.
There was the honey-yellow from the acidic green slime, apple-green from the poisonous purple slime, burnt-orange from the blazing red slime, pale-turquoise from the frosty white slime, violet from the shocking yellow slime, the toxic-green from the explosive orange slime, iron-gray from the metallic silver slime, lapis-blue from the glowing violet slime, olive-green from the mulchy brown slime, and of course the crimson-red from the manarific blue slime.
And I guess when I eat my pink slime core, I'll get another band of color to my core?
I conducted a quick test and was able to revert my slime and core back to their iconic blue and red colors, respectively. Happy that I could still be the old me, I finally took a look at what my new evolution had granted me. Much to my surprise, my trait list had shrunk dramatically, and right at the top of the list was a brand new trait.
[Primordial Slime LV 17]
That's quite a name. I'm guessing this one swallowed up all my individual slime traits. Well… let's have a look, shall we?
<[Primordial Slime LV 17]
The pinnacle of slime, able to fully reproduce every other unique form of slime without issue and truly become them.
Slime traits activation can be toggled at will and will stay in their respective states permanently unless otherwise changed. Furthermore, the passive benefits bequeathed for each trait are perpetual, without any further input from the user.
Newly acquired slime cores are fully integrated and automatically, creating an even stronger amalgamation with the ultimate goal of combining every unique trait together.
Multiple trait activations no longer have diminishing returns; instead, new and unexpected interactions can occur as the slime types interact with one another.
Integrated Slime Traits: [Mana], [Acid], [Poison], [Blaze], [Cryo], [Voltaic], [Nitro], [Metal], [Luminous], [Mulch].>
It was pretty much everything I could've asked for, with some extra stuff thrown in that I never even knew I wanted. I had no idea that there were diminishing returns for activating too many slime traits at once, and I'd only ever tried to avoid combining opposites like [Blaze] and [Cryo].
Speaking of which, I could still open up the individual traits and still get their separate descriptions, but they were now my prime trait. No longer was I temporarily borrowing their power; it was entirely part of me and my natural slime composition.
While I was eager to try out the new trait and see what it could do, there was another startling discovery on my profile: [Morph Slime], [Pseudopod], [Slime Shot], and even [Vaporize Slime] were gone, and in their place was a singular trait.
[Slime Mastery LV 12]
I was surprised, but then, when I recalled the description of the Prismatic Slime, I vaguely remembered it had mentioned something about mastery over slime. It was an unexpected surprise as I'd only thought I'd get my slime type trait combination, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I'm missing ten points again! I've been robbed!
As if the system were expecting my response, a message suddenly appeared in my vision.
Also, look on the bright side, any future traits added to it won't cost you anything, not to mention you avoided paying the cost for [Primordial Slime] since your [Mana Slime] was already uncapped.
I look forward to seeing what you and your new toys will accomplish, especially when you make new additions to both traits.>
I stared at the "letter" as it began to fade away. I was still rather displeased, but I had to admit that I wouldn't want to lose out on any levels. That and I would have uncapped it anyway, since my slime traits deserved to be the best of the best.
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Mentally sighing, I took a look at my new trait.
<[Slime Mastery LV 12]
Your slime is your own, and you have gained unparalleled mastery over it, where the rapidly approaching limit soon will only be your imagination.
Capable of changing its shape, adhesion, size, density, and innumerable other properties; even its state of matter—solid, liquid, and gas—completely obeys your whims.
With a fraction of thought, you can freely control and manipulate your slime, with both extreme dexterity and terrifying strength. Who needs limbs or muscle when you've achieved slimy perfection?
Additional traits related to manipulating slime will automatically be absorbed into this trait at no cost, further enhancing your arsenal of capabilities.>
Huh!? That's quite a grandiose description… Color me impressed! So I can move and change my slime without any issue anymore? Considering it even ate my [Pseudopod] trait, I'm guessing I can just… make super tentacles now whenever I want or need them.
And I did just that, creating a dozen tendrils and lifting myself out of my tub. I was honestly astonished by how easily I could do it all by myself and without even cooperating with my [Sub-Cores] for a split second. I'd almost go as far as to say that the slime unconsciously obeyed me and sought to fulfill my commands before I'd even made them.
I paused, taking a mental breather as I didn't want to get my hopes up too much. I formed another tendril of slime and extended it away from my body, and then instantly separated it from my body. The slimy tentacle plummeted to the ground and splattered against the white void floor.
I tried to exert my mental control over it, feeling like I was going to crack my core under the strain, but there was no movement from the puddle of slime.
Damn it… I guess that's what I get for getting hopes up.
I obviously removed a [Sub-Core] and placed it in the puddle of slime, but the connection was still severed. Despite having what is called "mastery of slime," it appeared I was still limited to being in direct contact with it to achieve this mastery.
I was pretty bitter about it, but not enough to ruin my overall excitement over my new evolution. If I were capable of controlling my slime remotely, then it would be a trait I just needed to feed into [Slime Mastery].
I also double checked that I could still do [Slime Shot] by firing out a few bullets of slime, as I was a little worried since it wasn't explicitly mentioned in the new description.
Speaking of descriptions, there's one thing a bit odd about these two new ones…
I read over them again to confirm my suspicions, and bobbed in understanding.
There's no mention of what additional trait levels do. Is there a reason for that, or was there an oversight? Usually, there's mention of scaling and whatnot, but now there's nothing. I feel like Gramp's wouldn't make such a mistake, so perhaps it's intentional?
Sadly, my postulating got nowhere, and I'd just have to assume that raising the level was still a benefit. Although now that the two were uncapped, the levels would be slim pickings.
Although I can probably level up [Primordial Slime] just by eating cores… any cores at all, in fact.
It was a rather exciting idea, and I was suddenly very eager to get my pink core. Eating it would mean that I'd instantly get the effect of a level seventeen [Heal Slime], assuming that's what it was called.
Damn, I really need to get those missing cores by any means necessary. But I promised Vee and Unc a beach trip, so that will have to come first. Then we need to find a high-level dungeon, which is a labyrinth, if I recall correctly.
There was also the idea of me usurping a [Dungeon Master] as suggested by Mother, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to take that risk yet. Of course, if the spider dungeon had done anything to Vee while I was away, then there would be a reckoning—consequences be damned.
Thankfully, despite being a dimension apart, I can still sense Vee, so she's alive at least…
Which was what kept me from cracking open a door and breaking free at the very moment. I still wanted to get a bit more acquainted with my new slime.
I began conducting some initial, minor experiments, starting with a composition that incorporated fire, ice, and lightning without activating any of my dormant slime traits. The results were spectacular, as not only did I retain my boiling and freezing protections, but I was now truly immune to lightning.
I even intentionally activated [Thunder Step] without grounding myself, and the surge of energy didn't even make me flinch. This also meant that my capacity for [Voltaic Slime] was now at an absurd level, and I was morbidly curious what a maximum bolt of lightning would look like.
I also quickly discovered that my absurd Mana pool was untouched, although now I could choose for my slime to not be imbued with Mana, which seemed to have no effect on my reserves.
This, in theory, would be pretty useful if I needed to hide, as my [Mana Suppression] had its limits and I was always like a glowing beacon in the dark. Not to mention that if I fought something that could eat my slime, they would regenerate their own Mana—now I could deny them that benefit.
My next test was to create some [Metal Slime], and it was with great eagerness that I noticed I could produce every single metal in its full capacity. It went even a bit further than that, as I could create some "impossible" alloys that seemed to have no detriment.
Is this the benefit of uncapped [Metal Slime]? I'd be able to make impossible alloys? In theory, that means I should have additional benefits for all my previous slimes!
The gears of my mind were spinning at full effect as I was blown away by how many unforeseen upgrades I'd received.
Seven of my traits were uncapped for the price of an evolution, that's a saving of seventy trait points! Hell, it's ninety if I consider Luminous and Mulch, ninety-one if I consider the price of a trait fusion, one hundred and one if I consider my future [Heal Slime]! That's…
I paused and chuckled to myself. I needed to stop thinking of the points before it drives me crazy. Plus, I wasn't even sure if Luminous or Mulch had received an effect for now being granted levels by joining a superior trait.
I continued testing [Metal Slime] and confirmed that the gold slime I created actually stayed gold. Of course, unless I had some real gold to melt with it, it would remain in its blobby state, but now I could effectively double, if not triple, any and all metals.
Vee will undoubtedly be happy. I could basically print money for her.
I kept going through my slimes, although I was entirely sure of the benefits some of them had received. [Blaze Slime] appeared to just get even hotter, which made me feel like there must be another hidden effect I just hadn't realized yet. While [Poison Slime], the impact I nearly instantly figured out as I could add multiple poisons together without them diluting each other!
I felt like a kid in a candy shop as I just kept discovering more and more. This evolution was the best choice I'd ever made, and I was singing Gramps' name in praise. The rightful source is novel•fire.net
Then I arrived at [Nitro Slime] and gulped in anticipation. This was my favorite type of slime by far. If I excluded the spellcasting cheats I'd gained from [Mana Slime].
I formed a sphere and placed it on the floor, priming it before disconnecting it from my central slime. I was so shocked that I nearly blew it up on the spot—my time limits had gone from minutes to hours!
This…this is the best day ever!