Now that I'd obtained a human body, I couldn't keep going around in nothing but fur forever!
So I decided to have some clothes made right away.
The Slime body was convenient, but it had one drawback: equipment. Aside from special magical gear, I couldn't equip anything.
Well, it wasn't a huge problem since I couldn't feel temperature differences anyway, but defensively, it left me anxious. What I really wanted was equipment that could take at least a hit or two.
The dwarves had been busy lately, crafting all sorts of things from the materials the goblins brought back from hunting monsters.
For now, I'd have them prepare a set of children's clothes.
With that thought, I headed over to the dwarves.
The log cabin that had seemingly appeared overnight housed a clothing workshop. Garum, the eldest dwarf son, was in there giving instructions to the women and overseeing production.
"Hey! Garum! I need you to make me some clothes!"
"Huh? Boss, what are you talking about? How are you going to wear them? You can't equip stuff, right?"
"Heh heh heh. Ahahaha, AHAHAHA! Don't underestimate me!
Don't think I'm gonna be walking around unclothed forever! AHAHAHA!!!"
"W-What?! Boss, your body is getting bigger and bigger— no, it's not. You're a... child?"
"Tch. You're not very surprised, are you... Well, whatever. I can become an adult, but for now, could you make clothes that fit this form?"
"S-Sure. Then let me take your measurements! Hey,
I had one of the women working on production, Haruna, take my measurements.
Naturally, I was stark naked, but I didn't feel embarrassed. There was nothing to be ashamed of...
"Oh my! Lord Rimuru, you've become so adorable!"
She said that happily while taking my measurements.
Cute? I thought so too, but the goblins' sense of aesthetics found me cute as well?
I suppose that monsters had their own sense of aesthetics too — that was the more surprising revelation.
She said it would be ready by tomorrow, so I decided to do a quick skill check in the meantime.
I relocated. For properly testing skills, I needed somewhere with no people around.
I told
Then I made my way from the village center to the sealed cavern — the place where I'd first encountered Veldora.
That place had a vast underground space, was abnormally sturdy, and nobody ever came near it. Even the monsters in the cave were too afraid to approach.
Well then, let's get to testing.
The Unique Skill "Morpher" and the Extra Skill "Heat Manipulation," was it?
Then there were the Flame Giant's "Clone Body, Flame Transformation, and Barrier" that I'd acquired as well.
What to try first...
Since I'd already made a clone, I might as well check out the Flame Giant's abilities.
Flame Transformation — it didn't activate in Slime form.
There were abilities that couldn't be used for whatever reason, but what was the cause here?
The Barrier worked, though. I didn't understand it.
Wasn't the purpose of this skill to trap the heat of flames within a barrier and prevent thermal energy from escaping? So why could I use the barrier in Slime form but not Flame Transformation?
Wait a minute — could this barrier also serve as a defensive wall?
Hmm. Fundamentally, it trapped the opponent inside the barrier and had considerable structural strength. It might have useful applications for that purpose.
The range could be specified up to a hemisphere with a maximum diameter of 100 meters. It had no effect below ground level.
I could shrink it down to the minimum, just enough to cover my body. The effect remained the same — only the size changed.
What about its strength?
I created a clone and had it erect the barrier.
Then I fired a Water Blade at the barrier. CLANG!! It bounced right off.
Oh my... decent strength, then?
Next, I tested Poison Mist Breath and Paralytic Breath.
What I found was that they consumed a massive amount of Magicules.
The Magicules I'd given the clone withstood Paralytic Breath without damage or depletion, but Poison Mist Breath destroyed the barrier almost immediately.
In other words, the barrier could endure if supplemented with enough Magicules.
I loaded the clone with a large amount of Magicules and had it erect the barrier once more.
Then I transformed into the Black Wolf and used Black Lightning.
This Black Lightning — in Black Wolf form, it was possible to specify both range and power.
The two horns on its head apparently controlled power adjustment and range control.
In Slime form, I had no horns, which meant Magicules were drained all at once!
So I set the power to maximum, adjusted the range to a single individual, and fired!
The clone's barrier was set to individual size. A smaller barrier meant lower Magicule consumption.
The barrier went— FLASH! ... BOOOOOM!!!
Afterward, not even ash remained.
This is way too overpowered!
This meant I absolutely could not be careless with this barrier.
But wait — even with electricity resistance and heat attack nullification, it was reduced to ash?
I didn't quite understand.
This Black Lightning appeared to be a skill beyond Extra Skill level — possibly a truly special ability.
My heart was racing.
Thank goodness I hadn't tested it on myself! I genuinely felt grateful for that.
That said, Black Lightning could only be used in Black Wolf form, so its applications seemed rather limited...
Next, I mimicked the Flame Giant and tried Flame Transformation.
It transformed me into high-temperature gaseous form at around 2,000°C, but as I'd expected, using it outside the barrier caused too much energy loss, and I ran out of Magicules almost immediately.
This was another skill with tricky usability.
For reference, Flame Transformation combined with the barrier was absolutely brutal.
A-Class or above, as expected.
The combination of Flame Transformation with the Flame Prison Formation barrier inflicted thermal and fire damage that seared the lungs of anyone inside — making survival within it impossible for any breathing creature.
I had no need for pulmonary breathing and possessed Heat Fluctuation Resistance EX, so it wasn't an issue for me, but for anyone else, this would be an absolute finishing move.
Our compatibility was simply excellent! I felt relieved.
I'd figure out practical applications later.
Now then, the Extra Skill "Heat Manipulation."
Unlike what
But I could ignite a flame at my fingertip, or produce fire from my palm. Those things were possible.
By concentrating heat at my fingertip and radiating it outward, I could use it as a kind of Heat Ray Cannon.
In fact, concentrating it actually increased its power.
The flame from my palm was normally around 200°C. When I focused it down to a fingertip, the temperature rose to about 1,600°C.
In this state, I could release Magicules the same way I fired a Water Blade.
At the moment of impact on a target 10 meters away, the temperature at that point exceeded 1,400°C. It seemed quite usable, so I named it "Flame Bullet."
It resembled some alien being's signature attack fired from their fingertip.
I could probably also concentrate fire in my palm and incinerate an opponent.
Grab their head and blast them with fire — that sort of dangerous move was within reach if I wanted it.
This skill could increase its temperature with practice, and I might even learn to use explosion-type attacks.
Unlike monster skills, this one required practice! That was probably the deal.
Now then, the last skill I'd acquired.
That was "Morpher."
I was not — I was a gentleman, thank you very much. Besides, it was an embarrassingly scandalous name.
It made me sound like someone who'd awakened to some dangerous hobby...
No, I hadn't awakened to anything!
In any case, let me verify its abilities.
But I had absolutely no idea what it could do.
This called for the Great Sage in my hour of need. Master! Please! Help me!!!
《Analysis. The effects of Unique Skill "Morpher" are as follows...
Fusion: Transmutes two different targets into a single entity.
Separation: Separates the differing properties inherent in a target into distinct entities.
(Note: If a separated target has no physical form, it may cease to exist.)
These are the two primary abilities. 》 I see.
So that was how Shizu's demonification worked — through this Unique Skill's effect.
To offer an honest assessment, this skill's synergy with my own abilities was remarkably good, wasn't it?
Though my Slime body had no function for sweating, I felt as though cold sweat was running down me.
This required understanding the target's abilities as a prerequisite, but was it possible to strip skills from an enemy?
《Analysis. Erasing or separating abilities engraved upon the soul is impossible. 》 So it wasn't omnipotent after all.
But I was certain it synergized well with my abilities.
For instance, could I fuse two Mimicry forms together?
Shizu had undergone demonification through having the Flame Giant's consciousness seize control of her, but in my case, I could demonify at will, couldn't I?
Demonification involved manifesting a fusion entity's abilities through the base form.
Maybe I could even transform freely between forms.
I focused my imagination.
Using Slime as the base, I fused in the Flame Giant.
A faint pinkish Demon Aura began to drift across my body's surface. That was all.
Visually, there wasn't much change, but my surface temperature had risen to around 200°C.
Flame Transformation, which I couldn't do before, was now easily achievable.
When I activated Flame Transformation, the Demon Aura shifted to blue flames. The surface temperature exceeded 1,400°C.
A body-check type attack would probably deal serious damage too.
Even if an enemy grabbed me, reaching this state might allow me to escape.
I then tried fusing each of the monsters I'd consumed.
The spider added white patterns to my body.
The centipede grew fangs. Disgusting.
The lizard added scales to parts of my body.
The bat sprouted demonic wings. Demon wings on a Slime body — surprisingly cool-looking.
The Black Wolf changed my body color to black and gave me two horns. A unicorn-like pair of horns.
Without eyes, I was a bit worried about the horn placement, though.
Next, the Black Serpent — golden markings appeared across my body.
In pure Slime form, I could utilize all of these abilities completely.
Visually it was... something...
But could I fuse multiple at once?
The answer was yes, but only with up to two monsters.
Fusing three monsters' abilities simultaneously was not possible. However, most of the monsters could already use their abilities without needing fusion.
The performance was lower, but if I could use the abilities themselves, there was no point in going through fusion.
The only abilities that required Mimicry to use were Flame Transformation and Black Lightning.
They weren't skills per se, but the bat's flight ability also required Mimicry. I couldn't just sprout wings alone.
In that case, the standard approach would be choosing two from the Flame Giant, Black Wolf, and Bat, and performing fusion transformation based on the situation.
Well, if a breath-type ability suited the situation, I could just swap accordingly.
Incidentally, if I first used Mimicry and then added abilities on top of that...
I could fuse the abilities of up to three monsters.
At that point, it was undeniably a Chimera. Seriously, thank you very much...
No, wait — the visual intimidation factor of this was insane.
Black Wolf or Black Serpent as the base seemed the most dangerous-looking.
The strength of the abilities didn't change regardless of the base, but the Black Wolf, with its superior mobility, was the optimal choice for the Chimera's base.
When things truly got dire, I would unveil this form.
A thought suddenly struck me: what about transforming into human form and then granting abilities?
The greatest benefit of human form was the ability to equip gear.
When mimicking a monster-beast-like form rather than a full monster, there was no compatible weaponry to equip.
Human form fusion could be considered a powerful skill in its own right.
I'll just note the visual changes.
Flame Giant — hair and eyes turned crimson.
Black Wolf — hair turned black. Two tufts stuck out like an ahoge. A wolf tail and dog ears!
Black Serpent — eyes turned golden, pupils became serpentine. Fingertips and toes were covered in hardened scales, and claws emerged.
Bat — demonic wings sprouted.
Those were the changes for abilities requiring Mimicry.
Going forward, if I obtained a powerful magic sword or similar weapon, combat in human form might become my primary mode.
The magic sword I'd been thinking about before — perhaps the time to consider crafting one was approaching.
After all, fusion applied to inorganic objects too.
What that meant was: I could apparently fuse weapons with elemental attributes or special abilities.
I'd need to actually test it to determine the details, though.
To defeat a Demon Lord, would it be best to have a holy-attribute sword?
Well, I'd head to a kingdom at some point and search for one.
Oh right — I'd almost forgotten to check my resistances.
First, when I acquired Extra Skill "Heat Manipulation," I also gained Heat Attack Nullification along with it.
That said, I'd probably melt and die if I charged directly into the sun.
How far could I endure? The only way to find out was to test it with my own abilities.
Up until now, I'd been afraid of self-inflicted damage and couldn't experiment freely, but today's experiments were on a whole different level!
Just as I'd tested Black Lightning earlier, it was time for the clones to shine.
I could experiment on exactly how much damage I could withstand, with no worries!
It made my heart ache a little, but I steeled myself.
I spawned a clone and took control. Naturally, in Slime form — if I made it a child, it would look weird.
This clone reflected my current state as a child, but creating it in Slime form was also possible.
Once I got used to it, I might even be able to duplicate equipment and create a clone already equipped.
The clone's limitations mainly stemmed from the Unique Skills.
First: Great Sage It could be used as long as clones were within a 1km radius simultaneously.
If they moved beyond that range, the consciousness link was severed and they would only carry out simple commands.
They shared vision, so commands could be updated in real time — sufficient for reconnaissance, at least.
Second: Predator They shared a stomach, and only the main body could store things.
Predation and storage were possible, but retrieval from a clone was not.
However, ability feedback did appear to occur.
Third: Morpher Only one monster could be fused at a time. Separation worked normally.
Upon closer inspection, there were limitations, but the overall performance was quite impressive.
I subjected the clones to various attacks.
The results showed that Water Blade had considerable power.
It could one-shot the Black Serpent. Two hits to kill the Black Wolf. Everything else went without saying.
Flame Bullet looked like a beam firing from my fingertip, but its power was tremendous.
However, since it had a piercing effect, it didn't cause instant death. You had to hit the head or a weak point.
It pierced through the Black Serpent's head but didn't kill it instantly. If I got careless, it could counterattack.
Despite having greater power than Water Blade, it was inferior in lethal efficiency.
Somehow, that made perfect sense to me.
The strongest was Black Lightning.
In my strongest form — Black Wolf plus Flame Giant — erecting the barrier and then activating Flame Transformation, the clones didn't die instantly.
They barely survived.
Flame Transformation might be better thought of as a defensive ability rather than an offensive one.
That said, in any form other than my strongest, I had no way to survive it.
Once a certain amount of damage was received in Mimicry form, it reverted to the base, so no damage transferred to the main body.
And yet, a single hit was lethal — overkill didn't even begin to describe it.
Well, I'd gathered plenty of data.
The rest could be verified through the Great Sage's mental simulations.
I reverted from my child form and headed out of the cave.
Along the way, I encountered a centipede, which took one look at me and fled.
Heh heh. It seemed I'd finally gained some presence.
Even though I looked like a child!
Status Name:
Magic: None Skills: Slime Inherent Skills "Dissolve, Absorb, Self-Regeneration"
Unique Skills "Great Sage," "Predator," "Morpher"
Extra Skills "Water Manipulation," "Heat Manipulation," "Magicule Detection"
Acquired Skills... Black Serpent "Heat Source Detection, Poison Mist Breath," Centipede "Paralytic Breath," Spider "Sticky Thread, Steel Thread," Bat "Ultrasonic Wave," Lizard "Body Armor"
Black Wolf "Super Sense of Smell, Thought Communication, Intimidation, Shadow Movement, Black Lightning"
Flame Giant "Clone Body, Flame Transformation, Barrier"
Resistances: Heat Fluctuation Resistance EX Physical Attack Resistance