Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 8: Training

Episode 8: Training

“(Damn, it’s tough. My [Dissolution Liquid] can’t melt it.)”

After the Forest Turtle left, I thought about eating the remains of the Red Ogre. After all, I hadn’t had breakfast yet. But, as expected, the Red Ogre’s body was too tough for me to dissolve. It’s only natural; just because it’s dead doesn’t mean its |Toughness| has drastically decreased.

“(I should look for something else.)”

There’s no point in obsessing over something I can’t eat, so I decided to leave the Red Ogre before other beasts arrive. Though, after all that noise from the battle, it’s unlikely that any would dare approach. I considered lying in wait to hunt any approaching beasts, but the risk is too high in my current state, so I’ll save that for another time.

The thing is…

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   Life: 9/30

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My |Life| is in a pretty dangerous state. My body has also shrunk by about one or two sizes compared to usual.

“(Ugh, now that I’ve calmed down, the pain’s really starting to hit me…)”

I’ve been losing |Life| little by little from the aftermath of the battle. At the time, I was too excited to notice the pain. Now that I’ve calmed down, the stabbing pain all over my body is making itself known. Do slimes also produce adrenaline-like substances? I mean, I don’t even know if I have a brain. At the very least, it seems I don’t have skin, so touching the wounded areas to the ground or air doesn’t cause additional pain. Thanks to that, even with injuries that have made my body two sizes smaller, I can still move without any issues.

“(Besides, it’ll heal if I just leave it alone.)”

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Skill Details

[Self-Regeneration]

• •  Automatically recovers from injuries and damage over time.

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This is a [Skill] that every slime is born with. The recovery speed is slow, but within an hour, I’ll be fully healed. After leaving the battle site, eating a few berries along the way, and with my |Life| mostly recovered, I stopped in my tracks.

“(Alright, let’s do this!)”

I psyched myself up with a determined grunt. I had decided that I wanted to become like those giant beasts. To do that, I have to train. The quickest way to get stronger would be to level up, but… 

If I use the [Crushing] tactic, I can easily hunt Lesser Beasts. But that won’t work. It won’t be effective against higher-level beasts. I need to gain more proactive offensive abilities, or I’ll eventually hit a dead end. So, from now on, I’ll start training to acquire attack [Skills].

The Forest Turtle taught me what kind of attack [Skill] I should aim for.

“Sla…”

I focused, extending a part of my pale blue body. I tried to make it as thin and long as possible.

A slime’s body usually takes on a slightly flattened spherical shape, like a curling stone. If I don’t consciously shape it, it naturally returns to that form, which I guess you could say is my default state. But that doesn’t mean I can’t take on other shapes.

The further I deviate from the flattened sphere, the harder it gets. But with enough effort, some degree of transformation is possible. Whether it’s because I’ve leveled up or due to my evolution, the fact that it’s become easier to transform is definitely a plus.

“(Grrrr…!)”

With determination, I kept working on the transformation until I was satisfied with the shape. I created a long, thin whip, with a small bulge at the tip as a makeshift weight. Ideally, it would resemble the Forest Turtle’s vine, but making it that thick would leave me with no body mass left.

In that sense, the whip I made this time was slightly thinner than a water hose, allowing me to secure a decent length without using up too much body mass. Due to the necessity of maintaining at least half of my body mass in its spherical form, I couldn’t make it as long as I’d like, but it was still long enough to be called a whip.

“(Alright, let’s start!)”

I strained to keep my body from reverting to its spherical shape and swung the whip. I pulled it back as far as I could and then snapped it forward towards a nearby tree.

A weak, unsatisfying sound was the result. The whip only grazed the surface of the trunk, leaving not a scratch.

“(Hmm, the first attempt was a failure.)”

Unlike a regular slime, the body of a Jewel Slime like me lacks elasticity—it’s hard. I can change my shape freely, but external forces can barely alter it. That’s why if I can get enough speed, I should be able to scrape the bark off the tree. The failure this time was simply due to my lack of skill.

Since the Jewel Slime’s body can only move according to its will, simply swinging the base of the whip like a regular whip won’t make the rest of it move. It was necessary to smoothly coordinate the movement from the base to the middle and all the way to the tip. Well, I didn’t expect to get it right on the first try. From here on, it’s all about relentless practice!

For a while, I kept swinging the whip. Gradually, I started to get the hang of it, got used to maintaining the transformed state, and even learned some new [Skills]. As these changes took place, the sound of the whip began to change as well.

Thwap! Thwap! Thwap! Thwap!

As I swung the whip repeatedly, the satisfying sound of the bark cracking echoed in quick succession. The speed of the whip and the time between swings improved dramatically. Each strike sent splinters flying, showing just how powerful the whip had become.

“Slaaa!”

But I wasn’t satisfied with just that. My goal is to become the strongest! I need to train even more. With that in mind, I continued to immerse myself in whip training for a while. A creaking, unsettling noise began to echo, but I didn’t notice and kept practicing with the whip.

“(Uooooohhhh!)”

Let’s take a moment to assess the situation. I was relentlessly shaving away at the tree from one side. As a result, a large hollow had formed near the base. It’s not hard to imagine what would happen if I continued to carve into the hollow in this situation.

“(Gyaaaaaah!?)”

So engrossed in my whip training, I was slow to activate [Escape] and ended up getting hit on the head by the collapsing tree.

―――Non-Notification Information Recording Zone―――――――――――――

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>> Fuwa Katsu {Jewel Slime} has acquired the [Skill: Flexibility].

>> Acquired the [Skill: Whip].

>> Acquired the [Skill: Rapid Strikes].

>> Acquired the [Skill: Focus].

>> Acquired the [Skill: Compact Whip].

>> Acquired the [Skill: Consecutive Hits]. [Rapid Strikes] has been integrated.

>> Acquired the [Skill: Folly].

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