Code: S.L.I.M.E. : Prologue
I felt, true. I existed at that point, and I was at least aware of that. It was very rudimentary. Basic chemical switches telling me what to do and where to go. So, after I felt the wet patch I formed out of, I rolled across its surface to get to the ground. It was odd, feeling stone. Especially because it was not round like the wet stuff was. It was square. I think it is because the bricks were made of limestone.
That didn't keep my attention all that long though, as there was a force compelling me nearby. Well, not nearby. It was all around me, yet still so far away. I needed to find it. It was the first thing I ever genuinely wanted.
So, I rolled across the ground and eventually it was like I was falling for just a moment before I got a new sensation. Like lots of little pokey things and round flat surfaces that bent as my weight was pressed into them. That was when I got my first skill.
{Notice: Acquiring intrinsic skill, Absorb and Dissolve.}
{Notice: Sentient entity recognized, cataloging race... Successful. Tempestian Slime. Acquiring all other intrinsic skills... Successful. Acquiring resistances… Successful.}
The first voice I ever heard, and it was the Voice of the World itself. Kinda interesting that such a thing exists, looking back on it. Still, my little slime brain could only really handle the information of the skills themselves and what they did.
After absorbing the pokey things on the ground, it wasn't long after I figured out what they are because of a new skill.
{Notice: Acquiring basic skill, Assess.}
[Absorbing bluegrass.]
It was incredibly basic, just telling me the name of whatever it was I was absorbing, along with a basic rundown of the amount of magic it gave me. That distracted me for a few moments, as I rolled around absorbing the bluegrass in a little circle.
After that, I got my attention back to the presence. What Assess was able to tell me made it a little bit easier to find it, because before I was only vaguely aware it was there. After I got the skill though, I could sense the general direction it was strongest from.
So, I rolled in that direction. That led me right back onto the rocky ground, the square rocky ground. Rolling straight toward the source of that presence.
*Bump*
I was stopped by something hard and smooth, much smoother than the rocky ground I'd been rolling across.
*Bump* *Bump* *Bump*
I didn't seem to be getting any closer to the presence, no matter how much I tried.
Rolling had gotten me closer up until that point, so my instinct told me that I simply needed to roll on the next surface too instead of rolling on the one I was already on. Upon my slimy form attempting to roll on the new ground, instead of the old ground, eventually, I started moving on it too.
Until I got to a certain point, and felt myself falling. It was longer this time though, and when I hit another new ground. What I found was that it was like pokey things, but they were thicker. I also couldn't absorb them, the magic in them was too much. It… hurt.
It hurt a lot, like a burning sensation throughout my entire body. I had to learn how to make my skill turn off. Otherwise, I am sure I would have died right there. I managed it though, and turned off Absorb and Dissolve.
Continuing toward the presence, I bumped into different things many times, but managed to still make slow progress. I was determined to get to it, I had no other motivation.
The presence was close, I could feel it.
*Bump*
One more obstacle in my way, but I felt it move when I made contact.
*Bump* *Bump*
I felt it.
Satisfaction and contentment.
I was bathed in the feeling.
This was where I was supposed to be, I knew it.
Eventually, I bumped into a new surface. It felt not like rock, or the grass. It was closer to the grass though. So I settled on referring to it as big grass. It prevented me from getting closer again.
There was a small gap that I was able to squeeze through close to the ground, and then I felt I was right in front of the presence, somehow. I immediately rolled faster and felt the sensation of bumping into them.
I could tell they were thinking about something, but those thoughts were far beyond me at that point.
I kept trying to get as close as possible to this presence, but every time I tried, I seemed to end up on the ground instead. Over and over, I tried and tried, but failed.
The presence suddenly moved, and then I felt it wrap around me. It was soft and comforting, being surrounded by what I wanted to be near the most.
Movement again. I felt an object appear next to me, and I moved toward it, still cradled by the presence. I made contact, and on instinct, again engaged my Absorb and Dissolve.
[Absorbing apple.]
The object called an apple, gifted to me by the presence, became a part of me.
I felt a tap on the top of me, then I nestled into the one holding me, completely at ease.
This was home.
…
I sat there, basking in and enjoying the presence when suddenly things changed.
No longer did I feel the ground under me, or the subtle movement of the air, but instead an even, uniform feeling of the presence, completely surrounding me. Not in the same way as before, but in a more overwhelming way.
It wasn't frightening, though, but the opposite.
After some time spent here, I started to question what this presence was. My Assess skill tells me what things are, so using it would tell me.
This was my new goal, now that I was with the presence; now that I was home. I wanted to know what it was and why I wanted it so badly.
So, remembering the way I used the skill before, I activated it.
[Assess… blocked.]
But it failed. I didn't know why, but it didn't tell me what the presence was. But I was determined.
So I tried again.
[Assess blocked.]
And again.
[Assess blocked.]
And again.
[Assess blocked.]
I wanted this. I needed this. I wasn't going to give up.
Persistent, I kept trying, but this only drained me of energy. I could feel that much. However, the warm enveloping presence I was immersed in restored that energy almost as fast as I used it.
[Assess…successful. Presence identified as individual: Rimuru Tempest.]
It paid off, my countless attempts to figure out what it was finally worked. My idea of what the presence is was rewritten.
Then, I felt the same sensation of being surrounded and held.
Their thoughts were somehow different, though.
{Acquiring basic skill, Magic Detect…successful.}
I felt a change inside myself. A new part of me that I could use at will, so I did exactly that. Now I was able to feel the thing holding me. My body felt as if it was wrapped around it, but it wasn't. Like a separate body made of magic power, that sent the information back to me.
I could feel the form of the presence though, it was unusual. I didn't really understand the purpose of any of the parts of their body. Five dangly bits and a big block in the middle.
Then I got another thought, but it wasn't my own. It was more like an idea of an object with a shape was put into my mind, then it got texture added onto it. It was two different versions of the presence, one that was more stiff while the other was more wavy and loose. I came to believe this Rimuru was trying to tell me that they were not the same.
Then another word was added, for the stiff one. Ciel. That was who this was.
Ciel began communicating other concepts to me, labeling Rimuru Tempest as my progenitor. A progenitor is like a previous version of yourself, who is bigger. That is how I understood it at the time.
Then I was just kept in place by this Ciel. I could tell they were enjoying my presence, simply. It seemed they thought something special of me as well, but they did not explain any of that to me. I didn't know if at that time they could.
What I had realized though, was that at that point, I had actually discovered something. Time. I could tell when something was before or after, before that it was fuzzy. I didn't really associate events with when they happened, just that they had happened.
I believe that may have been Ciel's doing as well.
We stayed like this for a while, and it was nice.
Then, without warning, things moved, or I moved. I wasn't sure which.
It was completely instantaneous in a way that deeply unsettled my brand new understanding of time. I had no way to know what had happened, but I accepted it.
I was again on the ground, the surface smooth. A different type than last time.
The presence I learned was called Rimuru wasn't all around me anymore, but was still nearby. I missed the way it surrounded me so moved toward it, hoping to make things the way they were before.
So, like before, I moved toward it, but then got gently pushed away by it.
I did this repeatedly, but got the same result each time.
Then Rimuru left; I could feel the distance grow between me and them.
I felt lost and alone, so I followed. Rolling across the surface, I tried to close the distance between us.
Then I got what I wanted. I was picked up by them.
It was nice, I was happy and I never wanted to leave them.
But, after a bit of time passed, Rimuru left me alone. This time, I was unable to track where they went. They were just…gone.
For the first time in my life I felt frightened.
I moved, trying to pick up on any sign of my progenitor, but there wasn't any. Textures, objects, many new things to be found, yet no Rimuru.
Then I was picked up again, but not by what I wanted. They felt different. Similar in shape, from what I could tell, but not at all the same.
But, part of them was like Rimuru. This small part that was touching me felt the same as the one I was looking for, so I didn't try to escape.
After moving me around, I touched something soft under me. I wanted to be with the Rimuru-like thing, so I moved toward that, but again I was placed on the soft thing. Alone.
I didn't like this. I didn't want to be here without Rimuru.
I was frustrated.
It was a new feeling, but I was frustrated.
Like an answer to my new emotion, out of nowhere, Rimuru appeared nearby. The real Rimuru, not the thing that reminded me of them.
I was happy and excited and sprung toward them and tried my best to stay as close as I could, basking in the pleasant feeling.
But then another feeling hit me.
Tired.
I felt tired.
I didn't know what it was at the time, but I lost my grip on Rimuru and fell to the floor.
My body was slow, I wanted to sit still, but I didn't like how the floor felt.
Part of me told me that the floor wasn't the right place to be right now.
[[That way.]]
Ciel communicated with me, but Ciel wasn't there. I didn't understand how.
But, I did what they said and hopped in the direction they sent to me and found a different soft object. It was large, and not as squishy as the other soft thing, but it felt nice.
The tiredness grew and I stopped moving. My sense of what I was touching and feeling also faded to nothing.
I experienced unconsciousness for the first time.
…
The next few weeks were a blur. I spent most of my time assessing different things while not with Rimuru. But, whenever I got the chance, I stayed as close as possible to them.
I was beginning to learn that they would come back even if I couldn't sense them for a while. So, I was more open to finding new objects, new textures, and new creatures.
There's a difference, I realized. Objects don't move by themselves, but creatures do. Rimuru falls under 'creature', while things like apples don't. Apples are objects. Apples are food.
That was another thing I learned about. Food.
Food is things that I can make a part of me. I use my Absorb and Dissolve to do that and it feels nice.
Both creatures and objects can be food.
Creature foods are more fun.
They take more time to get, but I learn more that way, and learning is fun.
But some creatures are not food. I learned that.
I tried to eat one once, but when I did, I filled with this weird stuff. I was able to dissolve it into energy like all other food, but it didn't feel good.
It wasn't supposed to be food. That's what I learned.
But, this one felt nice to touch, so I touched without eating. It was smooth and pleasant.
I also learned that moving small objects is fun.
Small means I can move it, big means I cannot.
Small objects make fun vibrations when moved, so I like moving them. I also like touching them and finding new textures and shapes. I've even tried to make my body be like those shapes, but it's hard.
My body is soft and round and can be different shapes when I want it to, but it's not easy to do that.
My concept of time got stronger, and I think that was Ciel's doing, I had an internal ticking noise. That ticking made a counting set go up, and there were different sizes being counted. Ciel assigned words to them for me, minute, hour, day, week, month, and year. I don't know when those things appeared though. It made it a lot easier to tell when Iruma and Rimuru would come back, and I started to realize that the time for that was consistent.
The creature with the Rimuru-like object was called Iruma by Ciel, though they seemed kind of irritated when they communicated it to me. It made me think that Ciel didn't like Rimuru spending so much time with them.
I didn't really like that either. So their annoyance made sense. I agreed with them on that.
Sometimes Ciel would pull me into that Rimuru-place again, and hold me. It was nice. No feeling except Rimuru. I always had to leave, though.
One day I found a place with lots of food objects. All of them with different fun textures, but they were stuck inside other objects that I had to break first.
Unfortunately, I was picked up by the preventing creature. It often stopped me from eating or interacting with objects. It needed to be stopped, but it seemed Rimuru never listened to me when I tried to tell them that. My progenitor was ignoring my plight.
The preventing creature took me to the demon creature. It often tried to keep me in soft places, or on soft objects. It was unsual, often behaving similar to Ciel. However, Assess told me it had very little similarity with Rimuru. Which meant it may have been unable to think properly like Rimuru could. Perhaps it was unaware of how to survive, helping the spawn of another creature.
I ended up resting on that pillow for a whole day. Rimuru didn't come back. It was starting to make me frustrated. So I pushed the pillow off the bed. Doing that was refreshing.
Another day passed after that and Rimuru still hadn't come back. I hopped across the ground and tried eating the ground itself to escape. However, the ground was too strong to be eaten so easily it seemed.
I eventually just laid down on the bed and waited, wallowing in frustration. A few hours into the second day, I could sense that Ciel was angry. I wasn't sure how though, it was a new emotion. A frightening one. It seemed after that whatever let me sense Ciel was cut off though.
That made me feel even more alone.
Even more hours passed. Until, I could sense Rimuru's presence again. Outside the big door. I flattened myself in preparation and waited for Rimuru to be close.
Then once Rimuru was, I popped off the bed to go toward them.
When I finally hit Rimuru, I felt my body deform against them, and some pieces of me were flung away. They would come back later, but it did hurt to have them apart from me like that.
Rimuru put the pieces back, though, and I felt better again.
I felt better because I was with Rimuru and because I was in one piece.
After being gone so long, I didn't want to separate from Rimuru. Before, I was frightened and alone, but now I was content and happy.
My desire to stay with them was fulfilled.
For a long time, I was with Rimuru. I wasn't pushed away. I wasn't left alone. It felt so nice.
At the time, it felt more important than exploring to be with Rimuru. I found a good spot, right at the top, and held on tight to them.
But then I was plucked off of that spot. I didn't like that. I wasn't put on the floor, but instead inside a part of Rimuru.
Not the part where they are everywhere around me, but kinda the same as that. There was a difference. Vibrations and sensations of movement still happened here, but it wasn't like that in the Rimuru-place.
…
Suddenly, the feeling in the air changed. There was more magic power in this place.
I squirmed a bit, not sure what just happened, but was given a comforting touch by Rimuru.
Then I realized; this place felt the same as before. This place felt the same as when I first found Rimuru. I had spent so much time in that other place that it took me some time to notice.
This, combined with Rimuru comforting me, made me relax.
I got to spend all day in that place with Rimuru, it was the best thing I could have hoped for.
Unfortunately, the very next day, Rimuru left me alone again for the first time in a long time. I had to rest against the door waiting for them, the door they had left out of. There was nothing else I could do in that room after having already knocked all the small objects off of the big objects. I couldn't get them back up there without another creature.
Eventually, I could tell that Rimuru-like object was nearby, meaning that Iruma creature was on the other side of the door. They began to vibrate the door. That didn't make sense to me. For what purpose would a creature vibrate an object? I'd liked vibrating objects, but that was different.
I didn't know at the time that there was something called sound, which carried through the air and objects.
I would learn that soon.
I bumped against the door object to make it vibrate in the same way Iruma had. It was surprisingly easy, or at least a lot easier than moving it.
Eventually, after a few moments of doing the vibrating thing, I rolled back to prepare for Iruma inevitably moving the door.
I flattened onto the ground, I was more careful about it that time. I then popped up to move toward Iruma, and impacted him without breaking myself apart.
Iruma held me and patted me just like Rimuru does, but I still prefer Rimuru. I prefer Ciel over Iruma too.
I spent some time like this, at least up until Rimuru showed up. Iruma, thankfully handed me to them not too long after.
…
A week passed, with me often being left alone in front of the door. It sometimes seemed like Rimuru didn't really acknowledge my feelings. Once when I was sitting alone though, I was suddenly pulled into the Rimuru-like place again.
Ciel was holding me immediately. It was weird because for once they weren't so stiff. Instead they were literally vibrating front top to bottom. Very unusual behavior from them.
Ciel formed a bubble of magic power around me, and I could see everything inside it. Along with still use detect on Ciel who was outside of it. The odd part though, was what I could see inside the bubble. Myself, my own soul. My magic body around it. Then finally my slime body, forced to the very edges of the bubble.
It was… Unsettling, but I trusted Ciel. They always made sure to take care with me.
Ciel wrapped their arms around the bubble and became wreathed in a thick layer of magic power.
After that, it was pure and true pain. Pain as my soul got bigger, and sometimes cracked. Those cracks were immediately fixed or patched in some way, but I still felt them.
Each and every one of them.
Ciel hurt me. I couldn't understand why, but Ciel was hurting me.
After a few minutes, on the clock they had given me though. It stopped. All at once, and I got a few new skills.
{Notice: Acquiring extra skill, Magic Sense… successful. Integrating basic skill, Detect Magic, into extra skill, Magic Sense… successful. Acquiring basic skill, Mimic Form… Successful. Acquiring extra skill, Extra-Speed Regeneration… successful. Integrating intrinsic skill, Self Regeneration, into extra skill, Extra-Speed Regeneration… successful.}
All that only took a moment, and only hurt a tiny bit.
I held forward a little piece of my body, a little tentacle. I could… see. I was floating in space away from Ciel, but I could still see them.
I could see the vastness of space around us. At least, as far as my new senses would go.
Ciel wasn't hurting me. Ciel was giving me a gift.
They floated in space in front of me, silently. Before they vibrated the space, I could hear it. "You should be able to understand me now, so I have a reason to talk out loud. Though, I doubt you could respond even if you tried. I'll give you a mind later."
It was a new way of getting information. A new way of communicating; and because of my new skills, it made sense to me.
Ciel's shape changed; the part that was moving when the sound was coming out. The corners of it went up a bit and revealed white things inside. I didn't know why, but I still saw it.
"Finally! I have been waiting for years for Master to mention having a child, yet he never said a single word about the subject! I even spent the effort to form a response to anything he might say or ask about it, ensuring that it would result in him agreeing, but he never so much as prompted me about it! Now, though, he has agreed and I have created the rudimentary base of one that could fill that role and convince him that it was all worth it!"
Ciel said a lot of things, but most of it made little sense to me. Even though I could understand language now, that didn't mean that all the words Ciel spoke were known to me. Later, I decided to keep this 'conversation' to myself, never mentioning it to Rimuru. Ever.
After a short moment, I was sent back out of the Rimuru-space and found myself on a familiar floor. I could tell by the way it felt, the way the air felt, and a few other things I'd been able to figure out about it.
But now, it was all different.
I could see.
I could hear.
I could smell.
It was a lot.
I sat there completely still, taking it all in.
It was exciting and frightening at the same time.
I hopped up onto the large object in the center of this place. I knew it was something I had been on top of before and had cool things on it too. Making them fall to the floor was always fun.
I was able to find one of the things I found most fun; it was thin, long, and smooth.
But, there was more than one of these objects. They felt the same, their shapes identical, but now that I could see, I could tell that they were different.
Confused, I gently prodded both in an attempt to figure it out.
[Assess…successful. Object identified as ballpoint pen.]
[Assess…successful. Object identified as ballpoint pen.]
But I knew they were different!
I could see that they were different!
Why was Assess not giving me the information I wanted?
[[They are different colors.]]
Ciel spoke to me, communicating on the inside instead of in-person.
I wondered what 'colors' were, though.
[[Colors are an aspect of physical matter that is determined by the wavelengths of light reflected by them. It is also an essential part of the sense of sight, so don't ignore it. That pen is black while the other is red. Black and red are both colors, but there are many other colors in existence as well. For example, your body is blue. This surface, called a desk, that you are resting on right at this moment is brown. And, the papers, those flat objects to the side of you, are white.]]
The words made sense, but I could see that there were other things here that were not black, red, brown, or white. Also others that were kinda like the colors I was told about, but not quite. I questioned whether those counted or not. When is something no longer considered that color?
[[Colors fall on a spectrum. Let me share some data with you, little slime.]]
I suddenly had every conceivable color labeled in my head. Some of them were labeled as 'don't say' though. Instead they were connected to the ones in the middle, which seemed to describe the little ones around them as well.
It still was a little confusing, but a lot less than before.
Ciel had given me another gift, and that made me happy.
After that, any time I performed my Assess skill on something, it told me the color too. It was very helpful. I hoped I'd get other visible differences added to assess in the future as well, as clearly there were some I didn't understand.
The door to the room swung open, which grabbed my attention. The object seemed to move on its own.
Hopping off of what Ciel called a desk, I went through the opening, curious about what was on the other side. This led me to a very long room; I'd been here before, but being able to see made it completely different, just like in the first one.
Creatures were moving around it, none appearing to notice me. They were all sorts of colors and very big, but none of them were Rimuru. I didn't know where Rimuru was right now.
But my curiosity won over that; I wanted to see things. I wanted to see everything!
I wanted to smell, I wanted to hear. Everything was so new and I was craving learning and experiencing more of it.
There was one place I wanted to see again though, the place I came from. So, I simply needed to retrace my rolling back… I smooshed up against the wall and rolled along it, until I reached the same bumps I had before, but in reverse.
Eventually, I got to another wall, and I could see an opening in the middle of it. That explained how I got through it, so I simply went back up the wall and through the opening before falling back onto the ground once again.
I could see what I had felt the texture of before, it was the bluegrass but it was actually green, and then there was the stone ground. The square ones. I followed the path I vaguely remembered.
I did ponder for a moment why Assess called bluegrass blue when it was actually green though.
Eventually… I was there again. A small puddle of what Assess told me was water. It was clear.
There was something in that water though. Another tiny slime, like me.
Exactly like me.
It made me angry seeing it, a slime like me, from my progenitor. I could tell.
They weren't me though, and I didn't want them taking my place. Ciel made me special. I wasn't like this slime anymore. I knew it must not have had any of the skills I did.
There is no longer a puddle there, and no longer a slime. I filled in the patch in the dirt later.
I moved on. Seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching, until something else grabbed my attention.
Its colors were vibrant, its movements quick and enticing, it made me want it. I wanted to dissolve it and make it part of me.
I sprung in the air at it, trying to land on top of the floating creature. I was bigger, but not by much, and this thing was fast. I was fast too, though.
Chasing, bouncing, lunging at the creature over and over, covering distance down the smooth thing peppered with creatures shaped like Rimuru, Ciel, and Iruma. There were many of them, but I was focused on the small one that had grabbed my attention completely.
I could never seem to actually reach it though. It would float just out of reach consistently. Eventually, something else caught it. A big string bundle thing that was held by a smaller creature than Rimuru or Iruma.
They took my prey. I had to deal with that, since right afterward I found myself back on the object Rimuru used the pens on, with the door closed again.
…
Want.
I wanted out of the Rimuru-space.
I wanted to be with them outside, sitting in my favorite spot.
The soft blue strands at the top of Rimuru were always nice to touch, and most of the time, Rimuru didn't remove me from there.
Right now, I was with Ciel. They were holding me tight, but that's not what I wanted right now.
I tried to express this to them, moving a bit to escape their arms, but I wasn't released.
Want. Want. Want. Let out. I want out!
[[I will need to teach you how to ask properly later, but this time, I will oblige, little slime.]]
Then I was out. Just like I wanted, I was out. Out on top of Rimuru, underneath something that wasn't normally there.
Hat. This was a hat. It's an object that creatures set on the top of them, just like me. But I'm not a hat, I knew that.
I wanted to see, and the hat was in the way, so I wiggled out from under it and ended up falling.
I landed on food. Food in front of Rimuru. I ate it up, wanting to absorb it.
There was another creature other than Rimuru close to me. Even more further away, but just Rimuru and this other were very close. I didn't care about the other, though. They weren't interesting.
Rimuru and this other were talking. Moving the hole near their top that makes noise. I was told that was a mouth.
I wasn't interested in what they were saying since I sensed something.
Near the creature I realized was Iruma was a green sticky creature. I wanted to eat it.
So, I hopped off of the table and started going toward it.
It changed shape, noticing that I was stalking it.
I wanted it. I wanted it. I wanted it.
The transformation didn't do anything more than make me more excited.
But then I got hurt. It didn't hurt, but I felt it's hard long body part pierce my surface.
I didn't like that.
But I healed very quickly.
I wanted to eat it soooo bad now. Anger was mixed with my excitement after it put up a fight.
I spread out and engulfed it in one bite, not giving it another chance to harm me again. It felt great as it dissolved inside me.
Rimuru approached me afterward and I looked at them.
They were happy with me, I knew it. I just did something good so of course they were.
I was picked up and stroked and that felt even better than when I ate the sticky creature. I knew this was praise, and being praised by Rimuru was the best thing that could happen to me.
I enjoyed this a bit before deciding to leave. I wanted to explore. I wanted to eat more things. I could see all sorts of things I'd never seen before and I wanted to find more.
So, even though I didn't want to leave them, I wiggled out of Rimuru's grasp and continued my adventure in this unfamiliar place.
…
This…thing… I didn't know how it was stopping me.
I could see right through it! I could see creatures on the other side of it too, but no matter how many times I bumped into it, I couldn't get through!
While I was trying this, I was suddenly picked up by Iruma, or that was attempted.
I slipped out of their grasp a few times, wanting to continue, but they got a grip on me after a few tries. I didn't like this, but once I was captured I stopped trying to escape. The tight, dark space calmed me down, so I decided to rest in there for a while.
I thought about how Iruma got that Rimuru-like object , and I started to think maybe he stole it from Rimuru.
After that I was given back to Rimuru a little while later, they put me back in the Rimuru space. It was good though, I was feeling exhausted after being apart from them for so long and didn't know why at the time.
…
Ciel was not willing to let up with their gifts, but it hurt a lot. I could tell I was getting a lot stronger, I knew it. It was something I could sense.
It hurt though, it hurt so much. I could barely handle it. Sometimes after being put in those little bubbles, I'd break apart and be unable to maintain my form for hours. Sometimes Ciel would collect my pieces back together for me, but sometimes I was also expected to do it myself by using magic to propel myself.
Eventually I gained a flight skill by doing this, which Ciel seemed to do that weird thing with the edges of their mouth at.
Slowly my sense of the soul stuff got better too, I was able to tell that the little bits of energy being added to my soul were small fragments of Rimuru's own, and that made me like it more.
The pressure would build up in my soul and release itself as a dull hot pain, as if it would get stuck and then explode. That was maybe the most unpleasant part of what I remember, certainly more unpleasant than the rest.
All of that was worth it though for what would soon happen. I wouldn't exactly be writing this if it hadn't after all.
…
I was pulled out of the Rimuru space suddenly, by Ciel. They were behaving oddly, and most oddly of all. They were outside. I'd never seen them outside before.
They were talking too, but it took me a moment to actually understand it. They wern't vibrating the space to do it anymore, instead they were simply making the air vibrate.
Magic Sense was quickly able to translate for me. "This little slime is our magic-born, making it an ideal candidate. I have worked to expand its skills, and soul to make it a more ideal candidate. Several components are however still lacking, as they are incomplete. Notable features are a conscious mind, they have memories and can engage in thought, but are not yet capable of higher-level reasoning. I am working on that. Additionally." Ciel narrowed the little dot in the orbs on their top bit, while looking at Rimuru. "They need a name. We can talk about that later, hm?"
Suddenly I felt as if my very being was being closely inspected. It was very intrusive. "Are you certain they can be referred to that way? They have no True Dragon factor, as Milim does. Along with having a very small amount of magicules."
"As I said, they are a 'candidate', but one I deem worthy." Ciel responded to another figure in the room.
Then Rimuru asked Ciel something. "Ciel? Why was I not asked about this before?"
"You were. I did get permission before proceeding." It seemed upon saying that, Ciel glanced at me. Then I just couldn't hear anything, even the flow of air around me was cut off. It seemed they didn't want me listening to this conversation.
They kept talking for a long time, and it seemed they were getting aggressive too. Until I was forcefully and roughly snatched away from Ciel's careful grasp by the tall creature with white hair.
Their golden eyes frightened me, and whatever they said seemed very aggressive.
I shivered in response, before Ciel took me back.
A little while after that, Rimuru took me away even more carefully than Ciel had. They patted me and it was oddly comforting.
Then Rimuru waved one of his appendage thingies at the other creatures in the room, then we suddenly just disappeared and reappeared in a place with a wood floor.
Ciel was gone now, I realized. Which meant they were back in the Rimuru space.
Rimuru sat and crossed their lower appendage thingies before setting me on top of them. After that they felt really serious while they sat there. They were thinking hard about something that I could not really understand yet.
Eventually, though, I got bored. I wanted Rimuru to do something with me. Like play with pens. Playing with pens would be fun, and we used to do it a lot.
So, I stuck my little slime tentacle up to meet their gaze.
Rimuru tapped one of their appendage thingies onto my tentacle, before finally saying something. "I think Ciel is right about you."
Right about what? It was the first time I'd actually thought something in words. It was unusual, but Rimuru seemed happy. Maybe they'd heard it?
Either way, they were clearly praising me for thinking with words, so I hopped a little with satisfaction myself, before getting up onto Rimuru's top appendage. My favorite spot. It was always the highest.
I started trying to do the thinking with words more. Floor, wood, pen… Want pen. I really wanted a pen, but there are no pens here.
"Was that you agreeing with me?" Rimuru said some words, and it seemed they were talking about me hopping onto their top appendage.
I guessed whatever it was they meant, I agreed. Rimuru must always be right?
Strong things are usually right.
Rimuru then put me down, that part was annoying. I didn't want to be put down.
I decided that I'd put all Rimuru's things on the floor in response. That usually made Rimuru annoyed. It was the perfect plan.
Rimuru would be annoyed when they woke up, and I'd get to go back on their top appendage.
After I was done with that, I went up next to Rimuru again. Rimuru was being slime again, and that was nice. So I got close to Rimuru to reward them for being slime.
I wished they were slime more often to be honest, their form when I saw it at first was confusing.
Slimes made sense, though. Slimes were simple, and better.
After that, I felt tired, and my mind stopped.
…
Cold. It is cold. Cold is bad. Will die. Must vibrate…
I vibrated a lot to stop being cold, but it was difficult. I tried to hop up to warn Rimuru about the cold, but it was too hard. My body was stiff.
Rimuru looked down at me, then it was somehow not cold anymore.
It still took a little while for me to be able to move properly though.
Rimuru was talking with the white hair figure again. I didn't think about that though, I focused on vibrating.
Then Rimuru put me on their top appendage again, my plan had worked.
Unfortunately, they were noticeably unhappy. "Little one, did you knock all my things over after I went to sleep last night?"
That was frightening.
I didn't do anything. I stayed perfectly still.
Rimuru then made air come out of a hole on their top appendage thingy, and after that pat me. "I'll pick everything up later, please don't do that again."
After that the air around me got a bit warmer, and Rimuru walked outside with me. It was weird seeing what looked like frozen water, that wasn't hurting either of us.
Rimuru took us to a new place too, a big stone door place. The stone door for some reason blocked my Magic Sense to the other side, and once I was inside, the same thing happened. That was really unusual.
Eventually we went through another set of doors and were in a room with a big round thing with a lot of strong creatures.
I could feel that all of them were upset and it made me want to leave. But, I stuck to Rimuru instead, sure that would keep me safe.
They started talking and being loud, but I didn't care. Words meant little to me at this time, so I was more focused on staying on top of Rimuru.
But then one of the creatures touched me!
They tried to take me from my favorite spot, but I wouldn't let them! I must stay with Rimuru!
But they were strong so it was hard, but I stuck to Rimuru with all my strength and made them give up. They should listen to me from now on now that I'd proven I was stronger.
Then another creature tried the same thing, but before they could get a grip on me, I moved. I was getting annoyed, so I hid inside Rimuru's outer aura. I guessed they couldn't see me there cause the magic power in it was really dense. Even I couldn't see through it, so weak creatures like them definitely couldn't.
Sadly, when I found a new spot to sit on Rimuru at, Ciel took me back to the Rimuru Space.
…
Ciel had me in the bubble again, and they were staring at me.
[[This is troublesome…I am almost certain that you would not be able to tolerate the process, even now…]]
They just sounded irritated if anything, and it was certainly something I could share. I at least understood what they meant by 'not tolerate,' and it meant I would die.
[[Your soul is a hundred times stronger, you know? At least that much, I do not actually know for sure how strong it was upon your initial birth… Still though, Master's energy is too much now. You have no effective way to manage it.]]
They sat in front of me and suddenly brought what they had told me in the last two days were arms, up in front of their face. Alongside what I'd been told were legs.
They had balled up and stopped moving. I could sense the flurry of thoughts, all so much faster than I could possibly ever think, at the time.
So fast… Can't… Keep up…
The thoughts suddenly stopped. [[Think that again.]]
I didn't know what they meant, but just repeated all my recent thoughts. Can't tolerate… irritation… sadness… so fast… can't… keep up…
[[That offers a solution to at least part of this.]] They stood back up, as powerfully as ever and walked up to the bubble.
I looked out with magic sense and waited, I didn't really know what they meant.
[[This is Great Sage, or… No. This is not Great Sage. This is me, a small copy of my very core. I will tell Master it is Great Sage though…]]
Ciel held up a small red orb with small sparks of magic rotation around it in orbits, striking the core and then letting back out magic information. Simple, efficient, calculative. It was weird that those were feelings that I got from it. They weren't mine, not yet.
[[You are not ready for it yet.]]
Ciel let my hopes down immediately.
[[I will need to run compatibility tests…]]
I didn't really like the sound of that. As it turns out, for once my gut instinct was wrong. It was actually very fun, this time.
I could think so fast and got to imagine places, and things. I could make spells. I could think about how to use my skills in creative ways. It was all able to be calculated by that core, running parallel to my own mind.
Only when we were connected though.
When Ciel finally disconnected us, I felt… empty. Incomplete.
[[That was much better than I thought it would be. I will not need to make that many modifications.]] After that they sat back down, with a general air of relief and pride, along with another emotion I couldn't place.
It did feel like they felt a greater sense of ownership over me now, though.
[[There is still a chance of failure, and for that I will need a contingency. Your progenitor is special among your kind, having a factor that allows them to control their outstanding power.]] They sighed. [[That is a factor you do not possess, your soul is not large enough to possess it either… I could perhaps make a more rudimentary version, however. You may need it, if all goes wrong.]]
…
I was surrounded in…something. I could tell it was magic, but it was completely different than anything I had ever experienced, and I was unable to see through it!
By now, I had gotten used to using my magic sense, but right then, it was completely useless.
I was scared. I didn't know what was happening.
Then I felt it, something inside me changing. It was warm at first…it felt nice, but this feeling only lasted a moment.
Burning, searing pain wracked my entire body. I thought being torn apart over and over was painful, but this was even worse!
I squirmed, trying to escape the burning, but it was coming from inside me, making it impossible.
Primal fear and panic filled me; I knew if this kept up I would die.
[Notice: 'contingency plan' implemented…successful.]
A voice much like Ciel's talks to me. It feels familiar.
[Notice: stabilization of Null Energy…confirmed. Destruction of astral body has been halted.]
S-sage? Is that the sage? Before we were the same, but now we are apart… I want to be together again sage! Together we could fix this!
[Notice: will and desire recognized. Integration of skill-core, Great Sage, into nucleic heart has begun. 'Sleep Mode' will be activated immediately to facilitate the process of evolution.]
I could hear Rimuru's voice as just briefly the shell around me fell away, for just a moment. "Your name is… Aoki Tempest!"
After that, magic sense faded away as my mind immediately fell back into darkness.
…
I don't know how much time passed after that, at least to this point. I almost woke up, but I couldn't move. Only think.
Thinking, when thinking now I could really think. There were so many lines of thoughts, analyzing my old memories. Multiple minds running so fast and sending information back to me. Perfectly organized by time, date, and even by the emotion I had at the time.
Me and the sage really were one. Because this wasn't the sage doing it for me, this was me doing it on my own. Automatically.
It gave me an immense sense of accomplishment, and made me feel much more like CIel.
Speaking of Ciel, I heard them again. Now I could understand much more of what they were telling me. [[Hello, Aoki Tempest.]]
They used my name, my name. I was named now. Rimuru had named me. Rimuru had named me… After themself.
What does that make me? What am I? Not the same as the others… RIght?
I knew there were other slimes from Rimuru, I had dealt with several before. I could be sure of that.
[[You are the child of Rimuru Tempest, as you have been recognized as their heir. We are your Mother, and Father.]]
What are those? What is Mother? What is Father?
Things like that never really made sense to me, labels that people and monsters never really need ed, you can after all just refer to them as individuals, and their name.
[[A Mother provides the material and environment for one to be conceived and grown. A Father provides additional information necessary for conception.]]
To me, that meant Rimuru was my Mother. I was born of their aura, and they provided the space in which I was created. Therefore, Rimuru was Mother. That also meant… Ciel was Father, as they had provided the Sage, and they had provided the information needed for me to exist as I do.
Thank you, Ciel.
[[You are welcome, My Child.]]
I was still really tired, so I struggled to stay conscious. I would drift in and out of it, and eventually I realized why. My body was fighting against the energy Rimuru had given me, and that meant I needed to actually make it part of me properly.
It was so difficult though, the energy was difficult to keep a hold of, it was almost as if it didn't even exist. I could only handle little tiny bits at a time. It didn't seem to hurt me though, it would stay away when it was going to.
So at the very least, I reasoned that the energy yielded to something inside or about me.
Eventually though, I started getting frustrated. I just wanted it. I wanted all of it, and to be done with this. I wanted to integrate all the energy into me and get stronger, like Ciel and Rimuru would want.
I never wanted anything to be able to escape me, to integrate anything I wanted.
{Notice: Will recognized.}
Yes! Voice of the World! You save me!
{Notice: Integration of information, Dragon Aspect, Rimuru Tempest… Successful.}
Was that what was making the energy not hurt me?
{Notice: Individual, Aoki Tempest, will now evolve into a Dragonoid Slime. All connected to them will be-}
[[Do not inform anyone.]]
{Notice: Will recognized, information transmission disabled.}
Ciel? Why?
[[Rimuru does not need to know.]]
{Notice: Evolution will now commence, reconstructing the physical body to be compatible with the following energy types Information, Spirit, Holy, Demonic, Null… Successful.}
What are those?
{Notice: Reconstructing physical, spiritual, and astral bodies from Race; Slime, to Race; Dragonoid Slime… Successful. Acquiring intrinsic skills… Successful. Intrinsic Skills are as follows: Ultraspeed Regeneration, Spiritron Manipulation, Magicule Manipulation, Particle Manipulation, Multilayer Barrier, Universal Shapeshift, Demon Magic, Dragonoid Magic, Angel Magic, Spirit Magic, Temporal Fluctuation Awareness, Magic Sense, and Faith and Favor.}
Too many things… It felt inefficient, and I immediately wanted to integrate them all together.
{Notice: Acquiring resistances… Successful. Resistances are as follows: Physical Attack Resistance, Spiritual Attack Resistance, Null Attack Resistance, Dragon Attack Resistance, Demonic Attack Resistance, Angelic Attack Resistance, Poison Immunity, Temperature Immunity, and Slime Attack Immunity.}
More redundant skills…
{Notice: Will recognized, acquiring Unique Skill, [Integrator]... Successful.}
That skill was great, and I was immediately able to use one of its subskills to combine all my skills into another skill, [Resistances and Intrinsics], I went simple on the name because I knew what it was. It was all my resistances and intrinsic skills.
After that, I took the first new form I had with [Universal Shapeshift]... That of a Human, I'd seen Rimuru in it many times.
Now that I could see it, it made no sense. None at all. There were so many unnecessary components and it was so much easier to harm than my slime body. I couldn't understand why Rmuru would ever use this and I didn't want to at that point.
[[Aoki Tempest, Rimuru Tempest likes the form of a human most, as it allows easy communication with others. If you wish to make it more palatable, I would recommend only having your outer shell be human.]]
That made more sense, and I used that way of mimicking the form instead, even if it was inaccurate. So I reached my hand out.
Afterward I engaged my new [Magic Sense]... And I saw Iruma.
Why are they here?! They have taken so much Rimuru time from me! I can do something about it…
I gathered a lot of magic into my hand with [Magicule Manipulation], and balled it up to make it better for impact.
Then I jumped at them, and tried to hit them with my new attack, I dubbed it, Fist.
I couldn't hurt Iruma though. Instead I was stopped.
Rimuru was standing in front of me, cupping my Fist in their hand. "Hey, now, that's not nice. Don't go punching Iruma."
I could tell somehow that Rimuru was unhappy with me. I didn't like it, I didn't like it at all.
It kinda hurt inside my mind.
Rimuru pursed their lips and said something I think they didn't want Iruma to hear. "Damn, that was close. Glad I didn't have to collect all the bits and bring him back…that would've sucked…"
I fully took human shape, because Ciel told me Rimuru liked the human shape. I hoped it would make Rimuru happy again. It was a little annoying, cause I needed to make sure not to over-do it, only the surface needed to be human-like.
"Wow, good job! Man, you do look a lot like a mini-me, don'tcha? Those eyes are different, though." Rimuru nodded at me softly.
Different? What do they mean different? Did I do something wrong?
I used Magic Sense again, this time moving the perspective so I could see myself. My eyes were different, in the way Ciel had taught me. My eyes were light blue, while Rimuru's were golden. I thought of changing mine.
[[You do not need to change your eye color.]]
Ciel told me not to though, so I didn't try.
I then realized Iruma was still in the room. So I looked at them, and tried to do the thing Ciel used to do when they were trying to make me feel like I did something wrong. The eye thing.
To my pleasure, they did look scared. So it was a great success.
After that, Iruma leaves after talking about something with Rimuru. A perfect success.
Then Rimuru turned back to me. "Now… Aoki, can you please not try to kill anyone, even if they do make you mad?" Rimuru did the thing again that made me feel bad.
What is kill? Is that what I did to the other slimes?
I do want to do that to Iruma, though. I put my arms together and turn away then try to make one of the angry noises I'd heard Ciel make once.
They don't respond to that though, so I try another tactic. I move my mouth a few times, and try to get sound to come out of it like it does for them. I quickly realize though, that it isn't the mouth that makes the sound. So I began adding parts to do it.
"P-Progenitor… Rimuru."
"What? I uh… I guess that is the magic-born equivalent of 'parent'... Yes, I am your Dad, Aoki." Rimuru says something confusing, while doing a mouth thing.
"What is Dad?" I managed to figure out how to speak by thinking about it with a lot of minds.
"Well, that means I am your Father, even though we slimes don't have stuff like that." Rimuru moves their arm to rub the back of their neck.
"No. Rimuru is Mother. Rimuru provided environment and materials. Ciel provided information…" I began inspecting everything in the room with my eyes to gauge the quality of information. Eyes are worse than Magic Sense.
"Ah… You talk a lot like Great Sage did. Guess I should've expected that." Rimuru exhales and then taps their head with his finger. "We can deal with that later. For now, please don't call me your mother?"
I stare back at him. "Father is smarter." I knew Ciel was smarter than Rimuru, so I would trust Ciel on this.
Rimuru exhaled again. "Okay, at least. When you are talking to other people, or thinking about me, say he as the pronoun?"
"That is easy." I rationalized from that, that I should wait until I know the right pronoun for someone. Otherwise I'd use them.
Rimuru nodded and sat on the floor before picking me up off the desk. "You sure take after Ciel, don't you?" Rimuru makes another weird noise.
So I tilt my head at him, to indicate confusion.
