Syl: Chapter 51 - 59 (Patreon)

Chapter 51: The Adventurer's Guild

I received plenty of attention as we walked the streets to our destination. People pointed and stared, and I felt quite uncomfortable with the attention. I regretted that my only human forms were of the four dead adventurers, but that would have likely led to much worse attention. An elf was a mystery, but a dead person suddenly coming back to life was a miracle. I was fortunate that this town was so small and unconnected they didn't seem to have much information on elves, which could only help me.

I still had the goal given to me by Sylthaeryn to deliver her pouch to another elf, but judging by their isolated community, that might prove to be troublesome. However, that isolation seemed to be a stroke of fortune for me since I could hopefully play up my lack of worldly knowledge as a culture clash.

The building we reached was massive and looked out of place with the rest of the rather rustic and rural town. Noticing my curiosity, Roderick explained that the Adventurers Guild was a global entity and received funding from outside. All nations participated at least somewhat with the guild, except for the elves. This was one of the reasons why elven adventurers were so few and far between, and successfully recruiting one could be seen as a mark of pride.

Entering the building, I was shocked at the amount of people inside. There was a small section for food and drink, where people seemed to be getting quite rowdy and celebrating the victory and embellishing the tale of the battle. One adventurer claimed I had bound a demon to my soul and achieved an evolution beyond hobgoblin. Hilarious. There were many counters with staff and a massive noticeboard filled with pieces of parchment.

Rather than going to one of the open counters, we seemed to be waiting for a particular staff member. I shifted a little uncomfortably at the stares I was getting and could easily overhear the lewd remarks from the drunks.

'I guess these pointy ears aren't just for show...' I thought bitterly, and I'd almost bet one of the traits I was missing from the profile was a hearing enhancement.

One of the groups came over and handed drinks to our entire group, a celebratory drink, they claimed. It looked like Roderick and Evan wanted to decline, but Whitney, Dewi, and Kurt had already partaken in the revelry, and somehow, even I found myself with a drink in hand. Roderick told me numerous times that I didn't need to drink, but I wanted to try fitting in, and I didn't see any risks - even if they were stupid enough to try to poison me in public, I was immune.

<[Ethanol] has been sampled. [Poison Slime] updated.>

<[Aphrodisiac] has been sampled. [Poison Slime] updated.>

'Wait... They actually tried to poison me?' I thought curiously and read the descriptions.

I felt relief when I realized that the first was just alcohol, which had an inebriating effect and was indeed the point of the drink. The second, however, was insidious, and it seems the drunk humans had a rather lustful nature, or perhaps this was intended as a prank, and they hoped to make a fool of the elf. There were some laughs and chuckles from their compatriots back at their tables as they saw me drinking.

Roderick seemed to be reading the mood and whispered, "Everything alright?"

"Yes. Although it seems someone slipped an aphrodisiac into my drink." I nonchalantly responded.

Roderick was aghast and struggled to hide his anger, "What? Are you sure?"

"I received a notification," I explained, "But you're welcome to take the drink and sample it yourself. Although unless you have a trait to resist poisons, I'd suggest against it."

"No. But thank you for not causing a scene. I'll personally make sure their actions are reported." Roderick said. He took my drink from me and secretly siphoned some of it into a flask.

"I was wondering what you spent all your trait points on. I can definitely approve of getting poison resistance." Roderick added with a light chuckle.

Eventually, we headed to an empty counter staffed by a friendly-looking girl. She seemed very pleased to see the party returning and even gave Kurt a friendly shoulder slap.

"Tabby, we've gotta celebrate tonight!" Kurt shouted.

"Yeah, sure, if you're buying." She responded with an impish grin.

When she noticed me, her eyes went wide, "The early returners had mentioned an elf, I thought they were bullshitting..."

"Nope, Syl here is real." Kurt replied, "And best of all, she wants to join the guild."

"Really!?" She exclaimed loudly, causing quite a few people to stare at her outburst.

"Yes, really. I'll be giving the guild master a full report, but you can proceed with her assessment and registration." Roderick replied.

"Fuck. I guess I'm buying drinks tonight. Assuming I'm registering her."

"Damn right!" Kurt cheered.

"Kurt's got money troubles again, so he needs the charity," Dewi said smugly.

"I'm not surprised. Kurt's wallet is like a leaky bucket. I'll go get the crystals!" Tabitha said and headed into a backroom.

"I'm going to go report to the guild master." Roderick said and handed Whitney a small pouch, "Here is the registration fee. I'll see you all later." Roderick gave me a knowing nod as he tapped the flask at his side, then left with a friendly wave.

"I'm heading home for a bath and then to the temple. See you all later for dinner. Good luck, Syl." Evan said with a wave.

When Tabitha returned, she had a rather ornate box in her grip. She placed it on the counter and opened it, revealing three intricate crystals with glyphs and sigils carved into them.

"Right. Do you want to rush this or get the full new recruit experience?"

"Rush, I'm sure," Kurt said, looking bored.

"No, I'd like the full experience," I responded, hoping to get more information.

"Kurt here didn't even get his attributes or affinities checked. Just grabbed the class crystal and picked." Whitney explained.

"That seems reckless..." I muttered, trying to be polite.

"Yes and no. You can always change your class later, but blindly picking leaves hidden potential unexplored." Dewi explained, "Although I'm not going to hold my breath on Kurt suddenly awakening to magic."

"Cool it, boys, if you want to fight, you can use the training grounds. Or go run the dungeon." Tabitha interjected before continuing, "Right, first we will check your attributes. These are some of the things hidden from our status menus that are still being researched. Currently, we can only get a vague good or bad with them."

Tabitha handed me a crystal, and when I grasped it, it projected a menu in front of me.

Vitality: Bad

Mana: Very Good

Strength: Bad

Dexterity: Good

Agility: Good

Intellect: Good

Willpower: Good

Charisma: Average

The group murmured, a bit surprised, and it seemed they could see this projection. I wished I had been warned, as this seemed like the information I'd like to have kept private.

"Wow. I don't think I've seen a 'Very Good' before." Tabitha commented.

"Told you she has potential." Dewi chuckled.

'Even with three levels in [Enhanced Vitality], it still shows bad?' I thought negatively. I also couldn't help but feel like the bad strength was a personal stab.

"Right, you've got a lot of potential to be a Scout or Mage. I'd highly advise against picking Warrior." Tabitha said professionally.

"Yeah, no offense, but if you were our tank, you'd go down like a wet noodle," Kurt said, shaking his head.

"Next up is affinities. Personally, I'm hoping you'll join me on the path of pyromancy." Dewi said excitedly.

I was handed another crystal and told to inject my mana into it. I followed the instructions, and the crystal shone a near-blinding solid blue light. Tabitha quickly took the crystal from me, and everyone rubbed their eyes when the light faded.

"Water..." Dewi said sadly, "I mean... It's probably the highest purity I've ever seen, but I really wanted another fire mage to share spells with."

"Tell me about it," Tabitha said while rubbing her eyes. "For reference, this is a normal reaction." The crystal shone and cycled between brown and grey.

"Earth and Air." She explained.

"Don't look so sad, Tabby. You could always level both up and get Dust."

"Yes, cause I totally want to become a Dust Mage... No thanks, I'll stick to being a receptionist with free time and hobbies."

"When you aren't stuck working the graveyard shift." Kurt laughed.

"Low blow... I'll remember that tonight when you're buying drinks."

"Ignoring spellcasting, those are two amazing affinities to have for skill requirements, especially for close combat," Whitney commented.

"[Wind Step]..." I muttered accidently.

Whitney overheard me and nodded, "Exactly. I'd never have picked Rogue if I didn't have Air."

"Don't worry, Syl. In three more levels, you can hopefully get Fire."

"I'd recommend Earth and have the potential to get Nature. Elves supposedly have a high affinity with that. I'm honestly surprised you don't already have Earth." Tabitha commented, resuming her professional attitude.

"I already have Whitney trying to convince her to become an archer instead of a mage. I don't need you tempting her away from the path of pyromancy." Dewi said with exaggerated outrage, "Do you girls have a grudge against me?"

Both girls laughed at Dewi's expense before Tabitha spoke again, "Also, remember that this is only a basic affinity crystal. You'd need to go to a larger branch or perhaps the Mage's Guild in the capital for a more thorough examination and check for a rare affinity."

I nodded, and she returned the crystal to the box before producing the last crystal, "Lastly is your class selection. Remember, you can come to the guild and change it for a small fee if you are dissatisfied."

Was this it? This simple? I grab a crystal, and I get my class. No manipulation, no mind magic, no servitude? It honestly felt unreal at this point. I grabbed the crystal, and like with my attributes, a window appeared before me.

Warrior

Scout

Mage

Hunter

Rogue

Assassin

Crafter

Alchemist

"Woah! I only had three." Kurt exclaimed in surprise.

"Damn, Syl, what were you doing in that forest," Whitney commented.

"Mage!" Dewi said excitedly.

Tabitha cleared her throat loudly and glared at her friends. They apologized, and she began her explanation.

"Warrior, Scout, and Mage are basic classes. Everyone has the first two, but Mage requires you to have the trait [Mana Circulation]. Crafter is similarly the basic non-combat class."

"Hunter and Rogue are intermediary classes, and both usually come from advancing through Scout class. Likewise, Alchemist is one of the advancements of Crafter."

"Assassin is an advanced class, usually unlocked through advancing Rogue. Don't answer, as the guild respects Trait and Skill privacy, but I'm assuming you have a decently leveled [Stealth] and [Sneak Attack] at a minimum since you already qualify for the class."

"It's one of the classes I'm interested in... Hopefully soon." Whitney said, "I'm surprised you have Hunter but not Sniper."

"Classes are still being explored and experimented with every day. There's a reason some of the temples say it's purely up to the Gods. Who knows what truly gives some people access to certain classes earlier or later than others? While we have repeatable evidence, certain aspects still feel entirely random or up to fate." Dewi explained, like a seasoned scholar.

We were all staring at him, dumbfounded, when he chuckled. "Just because I like having fun and acting like a fool doesn't mean I am one."

"So I can change class for a fee?" I asked and broke the silence.

"Yes."

"Can I lose an option? If I don't pick Assassin now, do I risk losing it?"

"No, once you qualify for a class, it is always available."

"While I am tempted by the thought of starting with an advanced class. Like I said earlier, I want to try magic."

I needed some outlet for all this mana, and [Elven Legacy] would boost me towards magic. Dewi was grinning while frantically nodding his head.

<Class: Mage LV 1 obtained.>

<1 Skill Point awarded for your first class. Skill Points remaining 3.>

<Your class has revealed the following skill: [Water Magic].>

Chapter 52: Classes and Spells

"Oh, I got given a skill point," I blurted out.

"The first one is always free. That's how they get you." Whitney joked.

"You should have also received a skill revelation, possibly more," Tabitha pointed out.

I nodded, "Just [Water Magic]."

"Definitely grab that, as leveling up a magic skill will unlock other magic-related skills for you in the future." Tabitha further explained, "As you level up your class, you will potentially have more skills revealed to you. You could also receive a revelation from defeating an insanely strong monster, completing a dungeon, finding a rare item, or meeting some other strange requirement-"

"Honestly, it can be frustratingly random at times." Kurt interrupted.

Tabitha cleared her throat, frowning at being interrupted before finally continuing, "It's just how the Gods decided it. Anyway... You could also receive a class advancement as a revelation, which, if accepted, will immediately change your class. If you don't accept it, you can swap to it later, so think before blindly accepting, especially if it's a different class type."

"There are plenty of stories in the guild of a Cleric receiving a revelation and suddenly becoming a Paladin, only to find out their healing spells are either not as effective or efficient or they have lowered mana capacity," Dewi added, to which everyone nodded in agreement.

"Your class affects your attributes?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, although it's also one of those hidden things not fully understood. But you can apply some common-sense and basic patterns to them. High levels in a magic-related class will buff spells and mana, whereas a warrior will receive a boost to strength or fortitude." Tabitha answered.

"Does that mean I'd lose all my progress if I swap to a different class?"

"Not... Exactly. Ugh... I wish the Gods would just explain this to us." Tabitha groaned. Clearly, I wasn't the only new adventurer who asked this question.

"From research and observations, even if you swap to a completely unrelated class, your previous class history does have some minor effect on your attributes in the long run." Dewi tagged in to explain, "And higher tier jobs of the same type fully inherit from their predecessor. So all bonuses gained from a Scout would automatically be applied to a Rogue."

"Shouldn't everyone just level up all the classes available? Even if it's minor bonuses."

Everyone except Dewi looked horrified at my suggestion, and he laughed, "Of course, the girl who doesn't need to worry about dying of old age would suggest that. But us normal humans unfortunately don't have that luxury and try to get as much as possible before time takes its toll."

"... I think that's mostly everything." Tabitha said wearily, "I'd suggest bugging Dewi for magic questions. Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?"

"Could I ask for any skill suggestions?"

"Ah! Of course, but don't you dare spend your first skill point on anything but [Water Magic]." Tabitha stated with a finger wag.

"[Identify] is a classic, and it'll let you see the level of monsters and help you judge whether to fight or flee. [Mapping] is great, especially if you want to explore dungeons. [Cooking] is another a lot of adventurers pick up if they do a lot of extended-duration quests or a lot of traveling. [Dissection] is useful if you want to harvest monster parts out in the field."

She displayed each skill for me, although I already had two of them. I didn't think I'd need [Cooking] unless I wanted to further my disguise, but I wanted [Identify].

<[Identify]

Provides basic profile information about the target.

Skill level increases the likelihood of successful identification.

Functionality can be improved through other skills.>

<Skill [Identify LV 1] obtained. Skill Points remaining 2.>

<Requirements for [Affliction Tracker] have been met. [Affliction Tracker] has been integrated into [Identify LV 1].>

<[Affliction Tracker]

Adds affliction statuses to the [Identify] menu, providing information on the contamination percent and remaining duration.>

'The mystery skill revealed itself! Now I'll see when my poisons are applied and when they will expire.' I was a very happy slime.

My celebration was interrupted by Dewi and Whitney chuckling, "I don't think you need to tell Syl here to get [Dissection]."

"Don't-" Kurt pleaded, trying to stop Dewi.

"Syl here is a master of the skill, such perfect harvests you'd never believe your eyes."

Tabitha seemed intrigued, and Dewi pulled out a portion of the wolf fur, showing it to her. Tabitha carefully examined it, then seemed to come to a realization as she pointed at Kurt. There was a back and forth between them when Whitney explained the situation and outcome, to which Tabitha agreed that Kurt paying my inn fees was a fitting punishment if I was going to claim it was thanks for being saved. While they chatted, I wanted to grab my first magic skill.

<Skill [Water Magic LV 1] obtained. Skill Points remaining 1.>

<[Water Magic LV 1] spell [Water Orb] learned.>

I felt the knowledge and information pour into me and received my first-ever spell. I immediately knew how to cast it and its potential uses, which, sadly, were not many. It was a small ball of water that could do a minor amount of concussive damage at best, as it would pop on contact.

I held out an open palm and cast the spell, and a small ball of water formed that hovered slightly above my hand. Thanks to [Mana Sight], I could see the blue aura of water mana contained in it. Dewi was the first to notice and gave me a sad smile.

"Your first spell, I'd congratulate you, but sadly, water magic is rather dull at the low levels." He said and held out his palm, forming a swirling vortex of flame.

"Hey! No spells in the guild hall!" Tabitha scolded.

"One thing I need to tell you about magic is that you are not limited to the default spell you learned. Instead, that spell shows you the limit of the current level of your magic, and creating custom spells is where a good mage shines, and a mediocre mage falls into obscurity."

Dewi shaped his vortex of flame into various shapes and patterns before it vanished. I tried to do the same, and by pulling on my knowledge of using [Shape Slime], I managed to morph my plain orb of water into some simple geometric shapes before it popped and splashed over all of us.

"Hey! It's not bad at all for your first try. You probably pushed in too much mana for a first-level spell, but you'll get there."

"This is why I said no magic in the guild hall..." Tabitha looked furious.

Dewi chuckled and seemed to be gathering both Air and Fire mana, which then swirled around and dried all of us rapidly. I could only assume this was what he meant by a custom spell, as I doubted such a combat-focused system would give something as ordinary as clothes-drying magic.

"I hope you'll accept my apology for my apprentice's mistake," Dewi said, laced with sarcasm and including an overly dramatic bow.

Tabitha rolled her eyes, "Let's just finish registration so she can get settled at the inn and get some real clothes."

She pulled out another crystal and then a necklace that I recognized. She handed me the necklace and instructed me to put it on. I did, but there was no prompt, unlike the last time. I was worried that this was how my secret would exposed, but then she held out the crystal, which gave a soft glow and resonated with my necklace.

<User Syl registered with Adventurer's Guild Network. Welcome!>

I blinked in surprise at the notification. The group was all smiles and welcome. I was feeling very shell-shocked. Everything had been so simple, which made me question everything I had been through beforehand.

"Don't lose that necklace, as it's your identification with the guild, and replacing it is costly. This one is the basic version and has minimal extra functions, and if you want to upgrade, you'll need to either pay upfront or get promoted." Tabitha began explaining.

"Functions?" I asked curiously.

"It will help you keep track of your quests and let you store and withdraw money between guild branches. Due to bad actors in the past, all basic IDs now allow basic party settings. It also lets us know if you've died. Adventuring always has risks, but at least this way, your loved ones can be properly informed. It's why we ask that if you ever find another adventurer's ID, please return it to make handling their wills easier."

"I see... Sorry, could you please explain what you meant about party settings?"

Tabby was about to speak, but Dewi interrupted, "Party settings can be changed, usually with a class or a skill. Some bastards used this to modify experience distribution unfairly. It's why we didn't invite you to the Party despite having an open slot, because the guild now frowns upon forming a Party with anyone who can't personally see it's fair."

'So that's what Krutz must have done... He must have set my distribution to the lowest possible.' I thought, still very bitter about the deception and betrayal.

"I see... Thank you. I'm glad there are rules to stop this type of abuse."

"I'll explain quests and ranks to you when you come back, but for now, I'd suggest getting cleaned up, getting some clothes that don't give all the boys a gander at your legs, and getting a real good meal." Tabitha said, extending a hand with a friendly smile, "Welcome to the guild, Syl. I hope you'll have a prosperous career."

I took her hand and shook it, "Thanks for all the explanations, Tabitha, and sorry for all the questions. I'm glad to have joined."

"Now, let's get you cleaned up and some proper clothes," Whitney said with a smile.

"Yup. Gotta get a big hat. All mages have big hats." Kurt said, nodding as if he had dropped sagely wisdom upon us.

"No, they don't," Dewi said with a frown.

I noticed he did not have a hat, but the other Mage in the cave did, and so did the Mage who killed that green slime.

"Sorry, I meant all the cool mages have big hats." Kurt corrected, to which Dewi audibly groaned.

Before leaving, I tested out my new [Identify] skill. The results were quite a shock.

<Tabitha [Guild Staff]; Human LV 3; Scout LV 7.>

<Kurt; Human LV 4; Dualblade LV 3.>

<Dewi; Human LV 12; Pyromancer LV 15.>

<Whitney; Human LV 8; Rogue LV 17.>

I then took a peek at my new status menu, and I finally got a class!

Name: Syl

Race: Mimic Slime (Blue) LV 17

Class: Mage LV 1

Status: Healthy

Mana: Overflowing

Emblems:

[Experiment]

[Apex Hunter]

[Elven Legacy]

Traits:

Slime:

[Mana Slime LV MAX]

[Acid Slime LV 5]

[Poison Slime LV 4]

[Adhesive Slime]

[Elastic Slime]

[Pseudopod LV 5]

[Slime Density LV 5]

[Slime Shot LV 4]

[Shape Slime LV 5]

[Slime Burst LV 4]

[Vaporize Slime]

Core:

[Core Refinement LV 5]

[Core Storage LV 5]

[Sub-Core Alpha LV 4]

[Sub-Core Beta LV 4]

[Sub-Core Gamma LV 1]

[Consuming Osmosis LV 4]

Mimic:

[Shapeshifting Mimicry LV 4]

[Chroma Shift LV MAX]

Mana:

[Mana Circulation LV 5]

[Mana Well LV 2]

[Mana Reinforcement LV 5]

[Mana Sight LV 3]

[Slime Conversion LV 2]

Attributes/Other:

[Enhanced Intellect LV 2]

[Enhanced Vitality LV 3]

[Enhanced Willpower LV 3]

[Enhanced Charisma LV 2]

[Magic Resistance (Lesser) LV 3]

[Dark Vision LV 3]

[Defy Death LV 2]

Trait Points remaining: 3

Skills:

General:

[Universal Language]

[Equipment Swap]

[Dissection LV 5]

[Mapping LV 2]

[Tracking LV 1]

[Identify LV 1]

Combat:

[Evasion LV 3]

[Melee Weapon Proficiency (Lesser) LV 2]

[Ranged Weapon Proficiency (Lesser) LV 2]

[Improved Accuracy (Lesser) LV 3]

[Affliction Master LV 1]

Magic:

[Water Magic LV 1]

Sneaky:

[Stealth LV 4]

[Sneak Attack LV 4]

[Identity Block LV 4]

[Acting LV 4]

Skill Points remaining: 1

Chapter 53: Multitasking Multicasting

While following the group, I decided to ask Dewi a question. If he was going to claim I was his apprentice, then I wanted some magic advice.

"So, Dewi, do you have any skill or trait suggestions for me?"

"Hmm... Traits I'm assuming you already have [Mana Circulation], [Mana Well], [Mana Sight]. Perhaps [Mana Reinforcement]?"

"... I have that one too..."

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you there." Dewi replied with a shrug, "For skills, I'd rather not interfere with what your class will suggest to you, but there is one exception because it's a prerequisite that most fail to get."

<[Multitasking]

Performing simultaneous activities is easier and less mentally taxing.>

I frowned at the skill. Didn't I already do this? Why had I not gotten it? Or does delegating tasks to [Sub-Cores] not count?

"Judging by your expression, you're either wondering why you don't have it already or are very underwhelmed. The skill description is a little misleading, and it also lets you maintain multiple threads of thought. It's far beyond just doing two things at once." Dewi said with a laugh, "But more importantly, you need this to get [Multicasting], which lets you cast more than one spell at once."

Sadly, Dewi would not show me the [Multicasting] skill and said I would be better off earning it for free, or if I completely sucked at it, my class would eventually show it to me. I nodded and secretly purchased [Multitasking], spending my last remaining skill point.

<Skill [Multitasking LV 1] obtained. Skill Points remaining 0.>

I wasn't sure what effect I was supposed to notice or feel, and I wanted to try magic, but I figured it might cause a commotion, so I tried browsing through some profiles and going over my status menu while continuing to walk and follow. It seemed relatively doable, and I had the vague feeling it lowered the upkeep of my mimicry by a small amount. The real test would be with magic, and I wanted desperately to see if my cores could cast magic. After an agonizingly long walk, we finally reached the inn, a large multistory building with eye-catching colorful shingles.

"Whitney, Dewi, Kurt! Glad to see you made it back in one piece." A large and friendly man greeted us. He gave all of them a hearty slap on the back that caused them to lurch forward.

"Trevor! I hope today's lunch will be spectacular to impress your newest guest." Dewi replied, trying to give his own slap but lacking the impact.

Trevor finally noticed me and smiled, "Nice to meet you, miss. This is the first time we'll be servicing an elf. The wife will be bragging for days."

"Nice to meet you, Trevor. I'm Syl."

"Kurt will be footing the bill, so give her your best room." Whitney chuckled.

Kurt sighed but nodded his reluctant confirmation.

Trevor chuckled and reached behind his desk for a key, "Gladly! This way, Syl."

I got taken to the second floor and led to a room, and Whitney followed. It was a pleasant room with a large bed and a lockable cabinet to put clothes in. As comfortable as the bed looked, I would've preferred a large tub to float in. I got handed the two keys and told dinner and a basic breakfast were included. I thanked him, and he said he needed to get lunch ready. My curiosity got the better of me, and I gave a sneaky peek with [Identify].

<Trevor; Human 18; Chef 32.>

I couldn't believe it; this man had more levels in Chef than my entire existence. Whitney showed me to the female washroom, where we both proceeded to clean ourselves. I had a mild panic attack before I submerged myself in the water, as I had not tested if my mimicked forms were waterproof, but it thankfully held. I guess being a blue slime explained my affinity for water, which meant I didn't get washed away like that green slime, and likely why I was offered the Aquatic evolution.

'If I had picked it, would I have been given water magic immediately?' I wondered.

The bath was needlessly pointless, as I could keep myself constantly clean if I wanted to, but I had to admit that the warm water did feel pleasant. Whitney left me in my room and said she'd get me some proper emergency clothes, and then we could go shopping. She left me in my room with only a towel, as she refused to let me wear the dirty and small robe again. I waved her off, and finally, I was alone.

'I could probably instantly clean clothes with my slime... I wonder if I could disguise it as custom water magic.'

I formed a [Water Orb] and held it, then tried forming a second [Water Orb], but as I did, I could see my first one beginning to unravel. When the second orb was about halfway formed, both violently shuddered and dropped to the floor. It seemed [Multicasting] was out of my grasp for now. I cast [Water Orb] again, then told Alpha to cast it, and another perfect ball formed. I had Beta cast the spell and then had Gamma try it as well. I did notice that Gamma formed the spell at a much slower rate compared to the first two. I now had four perfectly formed spells, despite not officially [Multicasting].

'Huh... So I can cheat Multicast already. However, if I get the actual skill, does that mean both my [Sub-Cores] and I would all be able to Multicast? Eight spells at once sounds pretty impressive...'

<Proficiency gained. [Sub-Core Gamma LV 1] improved to [Sub-Core Gamma LV 2].>

'Don't worry, Gamma, with Alpha and Beta funneling experience to you, you'll catch up in no time.'

I wanted to use tendrils to create targets to fire at, but it'd be too risky, so I decided to see if I could loop between casting the spell and depositing away the water. I'd need to empty my storage at some point, as it would be a waste of space if I could use mana to create water. I could deposit the [Water Orb], so I experimented. I was intrigued to see if I could finally lower my mana level before Whitney returned, as I'd never seen it budge from Overflowing for a long time.

It was a wonderful mental workout, and unlike my slime, it was a completely renewable resource. If Sylthaeryn and Gramps gave me what felt like infinite mana, I would gladly exploit it. If I wasn't concerned about making a mess, I'd dedicate all my cores to trying to each do their own Multicast, but I filed that under an outside activity. I lost track of time, simply cycling through spell after spell until I got a notification.

<Proficiency gained. [Water Magic LV 1] improved to [Water Magic LV 2].>

<[Water Magic LV 2] spell [Water Whip] learned.>

Excitedly, I stopped producing orbs and tried out the new spell, closely watching the changed pattern form until a glowing blue whip manifested in my palm. It honestly reminded me of an inferior version of my own [Pseudopod], and I was already thinking of how I could likely exploit this fact.

"Holy shit..." A voice uttered.

I turned to the door in surprise and saw Whitney standing there. I was so absorbed in my own little world of trying out magic that I didn't even notice her. I felt relieved that I hadn't risked using a slime creation for target practice.

"Sorry... I didn't notice you there. How long have you been there?"

"I lost count at around fifty balls... And that was a while ago. I hope you haven't drained all your mana."

I quickly opened my status menu and saw that my level had dropped to Flooding. I shook my head in answer, "My mana level is still great."

"You better not show that to Dewi." Whitney pointed to the [Water Whip], "At least for a day or two. Otherwise, you might shatter the already fragile master-apprentice illusion he's built up."

Whitney handed me a much longer robe, a much more pleasant fit than the one I had borrowed from Evan. She also gave me a pair of sandals that were a little too large for me.

"Just temporary until we can get you a good solid pair of boots. Can't have you traveling in dungeons, caves, or swamps with poor footgear."

Due to my extended practice session, we were late for lunch, but Trevor had set aside a plate for both Whitney and me, and we ate alone. She told me her plans to measure me today and tomorrow, and I'd be geared up. She also said that Roderick would be bringing the wolves tonight for harvest.

When I took my first bite of food, I was speechless. Whitney laughed and explained that Trevor was a retired adventurer who hung up his sword to become a Chef and that his [Cooking] skill was so high that you'd be granted minor status buffs just from eating it. Apparently, Roderick was so inspired by Trevor's story that he immediately purchased the skill and took charge of their group's camp meals ever since.

While I wasn't inspired enough to grab the skill myself, not that I had the points anymore, I did want to purchase a trait.

<[Olfactory Sense]

Artificially adds both a sense of taste and smell.

This trait can be voluntarily disabled and has no trait levels.

Unlocks traits and skills that require these senses.>

<Trait [Olfactory Sense] obtained. Trait Points remaining 2.>

Now, I could further enjoy the meal as it slowly dissolved. For once, I didn't mind that this meal was inefficient in the mysterious slime mass exchange rate.

For the rest of the day, Whitney took me to various shops to get measured and sized for proper clothing. I tried to protest, but she had far too much fun playing dress-up.

After a long afternoon of being dragged around, we finally settled down for drinks and dinner. I excused myself after the dinner to fulfill Roderick's harvest request, as I gained no benefit from the ale and had to turn off my taste to swallow my first mug.

I did try tasting the wolves, curious to see if I'd need to turn off my taste frequently, but maybe due to my slime nature, I found it quite edible. Although, I still ended up turning it off, as I didn't want it to ruin the lingering taste of that amazing meal.

When I returned, the group was extremely inebriated. Much to my horror, Tabitha, Kurt, and Dewi offered me a "cocktail" that was on fire—a special celebration drink, they called it. I politely refused. I did not want to drink fire and relive the experience of my core melting. At least I found out that alcohol was apparently flammable. Perhaps I could throw a burst of ethanol-transformed slime at a fire mage and make them self-combust?

After a rowdy night with the group, I finally lay on my bed, instructed my [Sub-Cores] to keep watch while maintaining my form, and slept.

Chapter 54: Shopping Spree

After receiving the report, Harris muttered, "I can't believe our mysterious elf was captured by goblins."

Roderick had just returned from the goblin extermination quest and filled him in on the details. They were both seated in his humbly small office and sharing a stiff drink.

"Evan was horrified by her condition. Whatever they did to her, it was not pleasant." Roderick replied, "She might be deeply traumatized by the experience, and I'm unsure if it's affected her memory or if she's a young elf truly ignorant of the outside world."

"She didn't mention the Stanton boy at all?"

"Nothing."

"He intercepted her as soon as she stepped into this town, then she went missing, and he didn't even report it to the guild or anyone. It smells fishy to me."

"Well, my group is sticking around her for now. If he tries to cause any shit, we'll be the first to know."

"You thinking of offering her a position in your party?"

"Maybe... She's very talented and has all the markings of a potential adventurer with a bright future, but I wonder if she's not too much trouble for us. Hell, I think Evan and I are the only ones who can resist her passive charm."

"You think she's a noble? I know all elves are born with that trait, but usually, only the nobles invest in it. Gods... Has the fucking Stanton brat caused a diplomatic incident?"

"She's only got one name on her profile. But, if she is one, she'd have no trouble finding someone to overwrite her name temporarily."

"Yeah, plenty of them like gallivanting around incognito and amusing themselves amongst the common folk. Ugh..."

"We'll keep an eye on her, don't worry."

"Thanks, Roderick. I'll try to poke around the Stantons and deal with our pranksters..."

<Proficiency gained. [Shapeshifting Mimicry LV 4] improved to [Shapeshifting Mimicry LV 5].>

<Proficiency gained. [Mana Well LV 2] improved to [Mana Well LV 3].>

I woke up fresh and ready for the day ahead. I wasn't surprised my mimicry had gained a level, as this was now the longest I had ever remained shapeshifted into a singular form. I yearned to let loose and blob out.

If all went well, I'd get some equipment with Whitney, and then later, Kurt would show me the local dungeon. When I had asked where I could safely practice magic, it was Dewi's first recommendation, and Kurt seemed eager to progress in his Dualblade class.

Being immune to alcohol had its perks, as now I had plenty of time before the others roused from their slumber to practice magic. My first goal was to make a [Pseudopod] mimic [Water Whip]. I cast the spell and closely examined it. I then formed a tendril and started shifting its colors to match. Without [Mana Reinforcement], it looked nearly identical at a glance, and only under extremely close scrutiny could you notice even a minor defect. With [Mana Reinforcement], its mana aura seemed far beyond the second level [Water Whip] could produce.

When Whitney arrived, my mana level had not dropped yet, so I activated [Slime Conversion] so as not to waste the regeneration. After a good meal, she seemed much happier and promptly dragged me back into town. When I asked if they'd have completed outfits by now, Whitney said they would likely alter already-made stock to fit me, although I should never underestimate a high-level crafter.

The outfits she had arranged for me were two robes, one in a light shade of green and the other a pale sky blue, and three pairs of boots. I was also introduced to the horrors of underwear; did I really need all this extra clothing? I guessed it wouldn't matter once I assigned it to an equipment profile. I got replacement arrows for my quiver, and Whitney suggested I keep the bow as a backup in case I ran out of mana. I internally laughed at the thought; it was still bottomless from my perspective.

Another suggestion was to save up for a storage bag first and foremost and then consider getting a staff, scepter, or tool with a magic catalyst. Getting a bag felt like a waste, and the magic catalyst sounded much more interesting, but I couldn't reveal my [Core Storage].

'Maybe I could use Sylthaeryn's bag as a decoy? Although I'd need a reason why the goblins didn't take it from me... Should I say I left it in the forest? Maybe I could use Kurt to my advantage.'

"I actually had a storage bag... I wonder if Kurt found it when he found my boar hides?" I said, dialing up the [Acting] to the max.

Whitney looked mortified, and to save Kurt from castration, I quickly added, "I did hide it very well, and he wouldn't have been able to open it if he did find it, as it's magically sealed."

"You should ask him immediately after this, and if he didn't find it, then I'd strongly recommend fetching it before heading into the dungeon."

I agreed and asked to see the magic catalysts. I was taken to a small section in one of the shops, where there was a very scarce selection of equipment. One staff, in particular, caught my eye with a burnt-orange sphere attached to the top. When I touched it, I nearly freaked out when a notification appeared.

<Compatible core detected. Integrate new core at a penalty?>

I had to deeply resist the urge to eat it right then and there.

"I want this..." I immediately muttered.

"Oh Gods, has Dewi already influenced you? I'm pretty sure that's a fire catalyst."

"Do they do trades? For monster parts?" I asked.

"It'd have to be a lot of parts or from a rare monster..."

"We should go fetch my bag," I responded with a smile.

I begged the shopkeeper to keep the staff for me, to which he agreed. Having two resident fire mages, he didn't expect to have so much trouble selling it. I frantically left the shop, and Whitney had to chase after me.

We found Kurt eating lunch at the inn, and Whitney questioned him on my bag. It was all a pointless waste of time, but the charade needed to be maintained. Kurt was found innocent of bag theft, and we promptly left the town to visit my first home.

During the journey, I decided to try practicing morphing [Water Whip] since I felt the similarities between it and [Pseudopod] were worth exploring and might aid me. I lost count of how many times my whip exploded into a burst of water, but I was making progress. Kurt and Whitney stood a safe distance away to avoid the splash zone.

We did run into a boar on the way there, and a sense of nostalgia washed over me before I promptly fired multiple magical balls of water at it. I didn't expect water to pack such a punch, but it was magical water.

<Boar LV 1 defeated. Experience gained.>

"Didn't you only get your class yesterday?" Kurt asked.

"She's been practicing magic nonstop. I think Dewi has underestimated her." Whitney responded, storing away the boar for us.

Thanks to [Mapping], we easily found my tree, and I quickly climbed up to the branch and reached my arm inside the hole.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice this," I said, remembering that he had not discovered my tusks stored inside.

"That hole is tiny. Anyone would think a squirrel or something was living in there." Kurt responded, "And I was distracted by all the boar hides draped over the branch."

With Gamma maneuvered to my hand, I withdrew the bag inside the hole and pulled it out. I jumped down and showed it to both of them.

"That's certainly a fancy-looking bag. Those fake leaves are even gilded... Wait, are those even fake? They look so real." Whitney began muttering as she stared at the bag.

"I can't believe you left that in a tree." Kurt shook his head, "You really are terrible with money."

"The bag is safe. It's magic, after all." I handed it to Whitney, "Try opening it."

She tried and failed, and I was almost hopeful that she would manage to open it. Whatever was sealing that bag was a mystery that would only be solved when I found another elf.

I fastened the bag securely and smiled, then withdrew the Gigatoad skin and presented it to Whitney. With [Mana Sight], I could see a faint aura within the skin, which might have explained why its outside was resistant to the green slime.

"Think I could trade this for that staff?"

Both stared at the skin I held with disbelief.

"I can see why you didn't care about the boars..." Whitney responded.

"Can I take back my inn fees?"

"No, even if Syl is secretly an elven princess with riches beyond our imagination, you are paying off your punishment."

Kurt sighed but nodded his head reluctantly.

"As for if this is worth it or not... Maybe, once again, your harvesting is flawless, which means there are basically no lost materials. However, Gigatoads aren't exactly rare. My monster knowledge isn't the best, but I think their materials are for water and minor acid resistance." Whitney explained.

I pulled out the rage tusk and showed it off.

"Imagine the kind of spear you could make with that..." Kurt mumbled, looking envious, "I don't suppose you have sword materials in there."

"Or daggers," Whitney added.

I mentally examined my storage, going through all my various battle spoils. I figured the bear and badger materials would need to stay hidden for now, the badger having Bloodrot and the bear being a double-evolved monster. Since they had no risk of deteriorating, I could present them once I had established myself as an adventurer or perhaps in another town. That only left the Blade Wolf. I pulled out the materials one by one, causing both of them to start to shift uncomfortably.

"Is that the forest king?" Whitney asked.

"More like was the forest king..." Kurt corrected.

"I think I understand why you had Hunter and Assassin in your starting classes and why your level is so high."

"Man... I wish I was an elf," Kurt mumbled.

Both of them were staring at its tail, "That would make an excellent sword."

"Funny, I was thinking it would make an excellent matching pair of daggers."

"No way!" Kurt protested, then turned to me with pleading eyes, "Syl, you gotta sell it to me! This will start the legend of Dualblade Kurt!"

"Well... Mister Dualblade, who can afford the staff Syl wants?" Whitney responded, cheekily sticking out her tongue.

"Oh...You dirty bitch..." Kurt glared.

As they bickered and fought, I wondered what I would get from that new core. I hoped it was delicious.

Chapter 55: Burning Desire

While we traveled back to town, I was discussing my trade with Whitney. Since my purchase was an already completed object, she was taking some loss on the trade as she would need to pay a crafter to complete the item. I offered her the other Blade Wolf parts so she could sell or use them. She tried to refuse until Kurt pointed out how "cool" it would be to have more matching gear. Whitney promised to pay me back the difference, but my mind only cared about eating that core.

When we reached town, Whitney said she would meet us at the store as she had to withdraw money from the guild and ran ahead. Kurt tried begging a bit more now that Whitney was gone, but he wanted me to wait weeks for him to earn enough to buy the staff. I told him that I could always harvest other parts for him in the future and that I wanted to collect other catalysts like that. That at least cheered him up a little bit.

Whitney finally arrived, paid the store owner, and proudly handed me my new staff. I thanked her and handed her all the Blade Wolf parts, and she placed them in her storage bag. Kurt and I would quickly grab our stuff from the inn, as I needed to deposit my equipment in my "storage bag". Whitney said she needed to commission a magical smith and crafter, then perhaps meet us in the dungeon afterward or later tonight.

While walking to the inn, I faked placing the staff in my storage and quickly ate the slime core.

<Compatible core detected. Integrate new core at a penalty?>

'Yes'.

<Slime (Red) Fused Core absorbed.

Trait [Blaze Slime] gained.

Trait [Slime Shot] gained.

Trait [Slime Burst] gained.>

<Trait [Blaze Slime LV 6] reduced to [Blaze Slime LV 4] for integration penalty.>

<Existing Trait [Slime Shot LV 4] improved to [Slime Shot LV 5].>

<Existing Trait [Slime Burst LV 4] improved to [Slime Burst LV 5].>

<Existing Trait [Core Refinement LV 5] improved to [Core Refinement LV 6].>

<Profile [Slime] updated.>

'Fused Core? That's new. Does that mean they combined multiple slime cores together to make that catalyst? It would explain the plethora of traits I just gained. Truly a delicacy.'

I examined the notification and spotted that [Core Refinement] had improved despite not being in the slime profile or the absorption message. Was this because it was a fused core? Maybe Dewi would have some knowledge of slime cores as catalysts. I looked over my brand-new trait eagerly.

<[Blaze Slime LV 4]

This slime has the ability to survive and thrive within extreme heat and can rapidly control the temperature of its slime to generate equivalent outputs that it uses offensively.

Maximum temperature levels and modification speed scale with trait level are also affected by outside factors such as compression.

This trait adds fire resistance to the slime core and slime mass, scaling with trait level until eventual immunity at max level. It also prevents damage from extreme heat.

Compatible with other slime traits.>

'Where were you when I took two exploding fireballs to the face?' I grumbled mentally.

I gained no experience, so they were already dead, but it still counted for my [Consuming Osmosis]. I glanced at the updated profile, which painted the picture that these slimes either shot their superheated slime at people or exploded with it - nasty. There was also another trait they sometimes developed [Thermal Vision], which let them detect heat signatures and locate living beings. It was a tempting purchase, but I already had [Mana Sight]. Maybe I could eventually unlock it by mimicking a red slime and borrowing its traits.

When we got to the inn, I quickly threw all my stuff in storage, and while I waited downstairs for Kurt, I started assigning it to equipment profiles. I also gave Gamma the burnt-orange coloring to match the core I had just eaten. My new trait also meant that I had reclaimed all my hazardous superheated slime, and I tested this by withdrawing a tiny amount and even maneuvering it inside to poke against my core—no pain!

"Well, let's go to the dungeon!" Kurt announced as he finally arrived, eager to vent his frustrations on some monsters.

I followed him to a gate on the opposite side of the town, away from the slimes and the forest. We approached a heavily guarded structure that resembled a mausoleum. We had to show our necklaces to enter and prove we were with the guild.

"Welcome to our backwater dungeon, populated entirely by the undead," Kurt said bitterly.

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"It's terrible for income. You have to get lucky with random treasure because you aren't going to harvest anything from a skeleton or a zombie. Any injuries or resources lost is nothing but a money sink."

"Well, I'll store them and harvest them later. Maybe I'll find something hidden."

"It's your storage space. I'd rather keep the dead smell away from my bag. The one upside is it's good for grinding."

"Grinding?"

"Sorry, adventurer term, I forgot you're a new recruit considering everything that's happened. It basically means focusing on earning experience and levels for your class and skills."

<Kurt has invited you to join a party. Accept?>

<You have joined a party; 2/6 members.

Kurt, Syl.>

<Equal experience distribution detected.>

'Oh? Glad to see this guild necklace thing works. I wonder how they interact with this stuff. Add it to my constantly growing list of questions for Gramps.'

"Let's go beat up some skeletons!" Kurt shouted.

We headed inside the structure, which only had a singular descending staircase. The inside had dim lighting emanating from glowing rocks embedded into the walls. Kurt unsheathed his blades and descended first, acting as our impromptu tank, as he called it.

The first room after descending was barren, and the only points of interest were two opposite passages heading deeper in. Kurt led us to the right-side passage and warned that from this point on, we would see the undead, although not to be too scared from only the first floor.

We halted when the passage was blocked by a naked and unarmed skeleton. I fired two water spells before Kurt reached it and cleaved its head off. The bones abruptly fell to the ground like a puppet having its strings cut.

<Skeleton LV 3 defeated. Experience shared with the party.>

"The unarmed ones are a piece of cake, but the ones with weapons usually have class levels and can be a little tricky."

'Even skeletons can have classes...' I grumbled and threw the skeleton into my storage. I'd have to try eating it later.

Our passage ended in another room filled with debris and grim furnishings like open caskets and tombstones, certainly fitting the theme. There were three skeletons this time, one of which had a sword.

"I'll handle the swordsman. I want to get some parry practice in," Kurt announced and abruptly rushed forward as if assuming I agreed to his decision.

I had Alpha and Beta each cast [Water Whip] to try binding the skeletons. The spells materialized on either side of me, lashing forward to grab the skeletons. I was glad that hands weren't a requirement to cast spells, and I admired the magical effects floating around my person. I then kept casting [Water Orb] at each of them until they died.

Since Kurt was taking his time with his skeleton, I rapidly enveloped them in a pseudopod and set acid to the max. [Dissection] practically scoffed at me for even daring to question if there were any valuable parts on such a worthless monster. The slime mass generated was barely more than a tree, and I could see why Kurt had called this place a money sink.

<Profile [Skeleton] complete.>

Wow. Their profile was also terrible! They had one trait [Undead Fortitude] that allowed them to continue to fight at full strength until they ran out of lifeforce and did not require limbs or organs to function. I could already do all of that fresh from the slime field. I patiently waited for Kurt to finish, which was when his parry finally broke the rusty sword of the skeleton.

<Skeleton LV 4; Warrior LV 1 defeated. Experience shared with the party.>

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 2.>

<1 Skill Points are now available.>

<Your class has revealed the following skill: [Fire Magic].>

'What!?'

I immediately tried to purchase it.

<Skill [Fire Magic LV 1] obtained. Skill Points remaining 0.>

<[Fire Magic LV 1] spell [Kindle] learned.>

'How? I got assessed. I only had Water, and now I suddenly have Fire?' I questioned, thinking rapidly, 'It must have been the red slime core. That's the only explanation unless Gramps is suddenly playing a prank on me.'

"I wish their weapons would last longer. I barely get any practice in..." Kurt mumbled and turned to me. "Why do you look so shocked?"

"Oh... I gained a level up. I didn't expect it so soon."

"Yeah... I miss those early level-ups. This Dualblade class takes forever since it's intermediate."

'Damn it! I wish Kurt wasn't here. I want to try out this new spell!' I cried mentally.

He continued to lead the way, and I sneaked a small spell, producing a tiny flame at the tip of my finger. I could see the Fire mana for myself before quickly snuffing it out. The spell let me target a nearby location and create a flame there, which would continue to be fueled by my mana. However, I assumed that I wouldn't need to supply mana if it naturally spread to any combustibles. Getting my tendrils on more slime cores suddenly skyrocketed in value.

"Oh, right! Tabby suggested getting [Identify]. If you do, make sure to always use it on a new monster at least once. Apparently, you get a bonus or something?" Kurt suddenly commented.

'Oh... I had completely forgotten about that. Maybe I was too harsh on Kurt.' I thought to myself before thanking him for the suggestion.

Chapter 56: Dead Easy

The next room we entered had rotting corpses rather than skeletons, slowly lurching around mindlessly and even wandering into walls. Their senses must have been really bad, as they hadn't detected us yet. As suggested, I used [Identify] on the group.

<Zombie LV 8.> <Zombie LV 4.> <Zombie LV 5.> <Zombie LV 3.>

"Ugh, Zombies..." Kurt mumbled, sheathing his swords and pulling out two small clubs from his storage bag.

"They don't seem too bad? The highest is only level 8."

"Their body parts keep moving until you kill them, knock the undeath out of them, or something. That means I can't use my swords, or I'll be making more enemies."

"They seem slow. Instead of engaging directly, do you want me to start blasting them from here, and then, if any reach us, you can deal with them?"

"Sounds like a good plan. We could probably even back up and kite them. Assuming you have the mana?"

I grinned, "Mana is one of the few things I don't need to worry about."

I cast my spell four times with the aid of my three [Sub-Cores] and fired them simultaneously, one at each zombie. I hoped [Sneak Attack] did apply to spells, and this seemed like the perfect test condition. The spheres of water exploded on contact, and the zombies finally reacted, turning to face us and shuffling forward.

Kurt whistled, impressed with the display, as I continued my barrage of water spells. The weaker zombies even halted a little with each blast, and I was impressed with the amount of concussive force inside these magical water balls. Eventually, the weaker zombies stopped moving, and when only the strongest remained, Kurt stepped in and dealt two crunchy blows to its head and torso, collapsing it.

"I thought Dewi said Water magic was boring. That seemed pretty cool to me," Kurt said and gave me a thumbs-up. "Are you good on mana?"

"Thanks. I'm all good. The low-level spells don't seem to use much." I replied and started storing away the zombies.

"I guess I better pick up the slack on the next group of skeletons. After that display, you're definitely on zombie duty. Also, I gained a level. We're making good progress!"

We continued exploring the first floor, and the next pack of enemies we found was a mixed group of skeleton archers and zombies. I lured the zombies away from Kurt with a barrage of water spells, and he began to engage the skeleton archers. His dodging skills were impressive, and he even deflected an arrow with his sword. His confidence or skill levels must have been pretty high to showboat like that. I also took a quick peek with [Identify] to grab the first-time bonus on the skeletons.

<Skeleton 3; Scout 1.> <Skeleton 2; Scout 2.>

<Proficiency gained. [Identify LV 1] improved to [Identify LV 2].>

I tried to restrain the zombie duo with [Water Whip], but despite lacking in speed compared to the skeletons, they far exceeded their strength, and the magical density of the water was not enough to hold. I swapped to using a disguised [Pseudopod] to grab one of the Zombies and hold it in place, then pelted the remaining with repeated casts of [Water Orb].

<Proficiency gained. [Sub-Core Gamma LV 2] improved to [Sub-Core Gamma LV 3].>

Since Kurt continued to play with his foes, I sneakily ate both zombies. I was surprised how much he trusted me to keep them off his back; were all adventurer parties like this? The restrained one died rapidly once engulfed in acid slime, and then I ate the remains of the last one.

<Profile [Zombie] complete.>

Again, they were extremely disappointing in terms of slime mass, which seemed to be a recurring theme of the undead. While I waited for Kurt to finish killing the last one, I looked over the profile and spotted [Undead Fortitude] and a new one [Undead Resilience], which was what let them keep fighting even when chopped into bits. Resilient was a bit of an understatement, in my opinion. When Kurt finished off the last archer, I had gained another level.

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 3.>

<1 Skill Points are now available.>

'Hmm... No skill revelation this time. Although, if I suddenly got offered another previously missing element, I would've been utterly confused. Actually, I have a skill point, and I've seen [Earth Magic], so let's give it a try...'

<Skill [Earth Magic] requires Earth Affinity.>

'Damn...'

Kurt asked to take a short break, and after I deposited the corpses, he drank water and ate some dried meat. I pulled out some leftovers from the inn and found a new appreciation for my storage as it was as fresh as when it was prepared and still warm. I ignored Kurt's envious stares, as Whitney had told me repeatedly that every adventurer was responsible for their own supplies.

"We could probably go to floor two."

"Is it much harder? How many floors does this dungeon have?"

"There are four floors, although the dungeon boss occupies the last one. The second floor has a lot more classed skeletons and some undead animals. I've never been to the third floor, so I'm unsure what's there, but I was warned never to go without a Mage for some reason."

"That makes me think it's a monster weak to magic."

"Maybe. We could ask Whitney if she comes."

"Will she be able to find us? Especially if we go to the next floor."

"Finding things is kinda her specialty. I'd bet she could probably sneak to the boss without getting caught by a single undead." He got up, dusted his hands against his pants, and gripped his blades, "There's one more room before the next staircase."

The room was a horde of seven zombies, so I once again barraged them from a distance. When they finally reached us, there were still three active, so I grabbed one with a disguised tendril while Kurt bashed and engaged the remaining two with his clubs. I didn't need to try weaving spells to hit them, as he promptly dispatched them.

"Maybe fighting zombies isn't so bad if you soften them up like that." Kurt said as he walked into the room, he spotted a small chest and ran towards it, "Loot! Let's hope it's not crap."

While he was occupied and fumbling with the chest, I looked over my gains from that encounter.

<Proficiency gained. [Water Magic LV 2] improved to [Water Magic LV 3].>

<[Water Magic LV 3] spell [Bubble] learned.>

I cast the new spell, which created a dome of water surrounding myself. From my understanding, this was a defensive spell and a utility spell. I fired a [Water Orb], and it passed through the barrier, hitting the dungeon wall.

"Woah!" Kurt exclaimed, reacting to my sudden attack. He calmed down when he saw it was just me. "Oh, you're trying out a new spell."

"Yes. Although, I'm not sure how useful it is. Supposedly, it's a protection spell, but I have my doubts."

Kurt picked up a small piece of debris and threw it at me. It bounced off the bubble before I could shout at him.

"Seems okay to me." He shrugged and held out a ring for me to see, "The loot is a ring, but I don't have [Appraisal], so I can't tell what it does."

"Appraisal?"

"It's an addon for [Identify], specifically for items and stuff."

"I'm adding that to my list."

"Ask Whitney or Tabby to show you. Anyway, want me to try swinging at your bubble?"

"Sure. Just don't hit me."

Kurt laughed and swung his blade halfheartedly, causing it to bounce off when he connected. He then redoubled his effort, and the bubble burst on contact, splashing outwards and soaking him. I, however, was bone dry, so I gave him a smug grin in response.

"Looks like it can only block light attacks unless I can work on improving it. If I'm correctly understanding the utility part of the spell, I could also use it to move easier underwater."

Kurt's eyes widened at that, "Can you cast it on other people?"

"I think so..." I replied and tried casting the spell on Kurt. When the bubble of water formed around him, he started smiling happily.

"We could explore the pond!" He shouted excitedly, "Ever since I was a kid, we wanted to search the pond for treasure."

"I think there's just frogs down there."

"No, no, no. You need to work on your sense of adventure, Syl. Plus, monsters sometimes hoard treasure."

I unfortunately couldn't deny that. I was a monster, and I certainly had a hoard of treasure. I shrugged and started heading towards the staircase, which prompted a surprise notification for me.

<Proficiency gained. [Mapping LV 2] improved to [Mapping LV 3].>

If I focused my mind, I could mentally picture our path in the dungeon. What a wonderful upgrade!

Our first encounter on the second floor proved one application of my bubble, as it had numerous skeleton archers that all shot at Kurt. Their arrows bounced off harmlessly, and I formed my own bubble when they started shooting at me. We both stood there curiously until the archers ran out of arrows and then charged at us to strike with their bows, which also harmlessly bounced off the bubble.

"I kind of feel bad for them." Kurt laughed.

"If they had [Power Shot], we might have been at risk of getting hit. And the zombies could possibly break the bubble outright."

I had already tried [Water Orb], which could go through my bubble, so I tried casting [Water Whip] and lashed out at one of the poor skeletons. After a few good smacks and cracks, it crumpled to the floor. It was nice to see that my spells could synergize, and it reminded me of combining my slime traits for some amazing combinations.

Curiously, I formed a [Pseudopod] and tried to pass it through the bubble, and it also passed through unimpeded and with no visible damage to my bubble. After easily destroying the skeleton, my slime tendrils demonstrating their superiority over their watery duplicate, I decided to see if the bubble allowed anything to pass outwards and drew my bow.

I activated [Elven Marksmanship] and saw no markings appear. I could only assume that the undead had no weak points, which meant my mental scolding for forgetting to use it earlier could be reduced. I fired an arrow, and it passed through. Then, I fired a few more until the skeleton died. Kurt clapped excitedly.

"Do you think you could make my bubble smaller? Then maybe I could swing my sword through."

I couldn't modify the spell once cast, so I tried casting it again on him in a smaller radius, which seemed like a simple customization. Once formed, I ended the original casting, and it detonated outwards, splashing the remaining two skeletons. Kurt wasted no time and swung his blades, which could now pass through the barrier, and he bullied the two skeletons until they perished.

"This bubble spell is awesome!" Kurt shouted excitedly, and I could only nod happily in agreement. It appeared that all my spellcasting had rewarded my efforts.

<Proficiency gained. [Enhanced Intellect LV 2] improved to [Enhanced Intellect LV 3].>

Chapter 57: Undead Critters

Now that Kurt had a renewable defense, we started progressing much faster through the dungeon. It seemed our slow pace was to avoid injury and the dreaded "money sink" of this dungeon. Although it was still too slow for my liking, I already imagined doing some solo hunting myself, unrestrained by my disguise.

We breezed through until we reached the next room, which had the gimmick of keeping us occupied by a swarm of zombie rats while skeleton archers pelted us from a distance.

<Zombie Rat Swarm LV 1.> <Zombie Rat Swarm LV 2.> <Zombie Rat Swarm LV 2.> <Zombie Rat Swarm LV 1.>

"Weird, they are seen as single entities despite being hundreds of rats..." I commented.

"Dungeon monsters are strange like that. Or maybe it's the Gods? Imagine throwing a fireball at a thousand zombie rats, and even if they were only level 1, you'd get so much experience."

"Perhaps they were a single Zombie Rat, and each took the Swarm mutation?"

Kurt laughed, "You're asking the wrong person if you want to talk about monster ecology."

While we were having our casual conversation, the little rats were trying their hardest to penetrate the bubbles. Kurt had simply strode up to the archers and dispatched them with ease. Together with my [Sub-Cores], we started blasting into the swarms of rats with [Water Orb]. The kill notifications only appeared when enough of the swarm entity was considered dead. Once the swarm was more manageable, I used a disguised tendril to smash into them and get some sneaky devours. I had some notifications to go through.

<Profile [Rat] complete.>

Looking over the profile while Kurt searched for loot, I discovered that rats were not monsters, much like the level zero animals I had killed in the forest ages ago. By becoming a zombie, it had turned into a monster, and then Swarm was a special type of mutation. Very strange.

<[Plague] has been sampled. [Poison Slime] updated.>

It had no combat applications, with a long incubation time, and unless I felt like punishing an entire town or village with long-term consequences, I didn't see why I would need this. It was also a disease, so why it was considered applicable to my clearly labeled poison trait was very confusing.

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 4.>

<2 Skill Points are now available.>

<Your class has revealed the following skills: [Mana Manipulation], [Magical Attack Proficiency (Lesser)].>

Since it was safe to do so, I curiously looked through my two class revelations.

<[Mana Manipulation]

Allows your raw mana to operate outside of your being without dissipating.

Also allows greater control over mana, which can aid in creating custom spells.

Skill level determines maximum manipulation, mana efficiency, and the time before dissipating.

Unlocks further Mana-related Traits and Skills.>

'Yes! Instant purchase!' I mentally celebrated. I had long wanted to try using something like [Mana Reinforcement] on other things only to be denied. Back then, I wanted to use it on tusks or fangs when I needed to worry about conserving my slime mass and dared not use the regular [Slime Shot].

<Skill [Mana Manipulation LV 1] obtained. Skill Points remaining 1.>

I then looked at the second skill. It improved accuracy and damage with attack spells. It immediately reminded me of my two existing weapon skills.

"Oh no... Not another one." I grumbled at the second skill, to which Kurt looked at me confused until I explained, "My class revealed the magic version of weapon proficiency, and my profile is feeling quite bloated..."

Kurt chuckled, "I know that feeling. You should consider Fusing them then. It costs a point, but it's well worth it, especially if you find another compatible skill later on that joins it."

"Fusing?" I questioned.

"Uhh... How do I explain this? You open your menu, and you kinda group your stuff together."

I nodded.

"Then you grab all the ones that you think are similar at once. Then, if they are compatible, you get a prompt."

I nodded, looked at [Melee Weapon Proficiency], [Ranged Weapon Proficiency], and [Improved Accuracy (Lesser)], and tried selecting them all together.

<Would you like to Fuse: [Melee Weapon Proficiency (Lesser) LV 2], [Ranged Weapon Proficiency (Lesser) LV 2], [Improved Accuracy (Lesser) LV 3]?

Becomes Skill: [Attack Mastery (Lesser) LV 4].

This will cost 1 Skill Point.>

'No.'

"Interesting..."

"Yeah, it's really strong. Tabby told me to try to get as many to at least level three before Fusing for an 'additive bonus'. Or so she said."

"Why only level three and not higher?"

"Oh. I know this. Tabby mentioned it before. Think Kurt. Think..."

Kurt paused, scratched his head, then his chin, and then started visibly straining while mumbling and muttering. It's like he was digging through his memory for the right words, "Diminishing returns."

"Thanks... So if I got this Attack Mastery skill, then got Magical Attack, it would get added to it?"

"Yes, but adding it will cost you a skill point. But think of all the free levels you'd be gaining. Your new skill would be boosted to the level of your fused skill."

"Or... I could get the Magical Attack skill first, fuse it, and save a skill point."

"If you can wait that long."

"I wonder if it works on traits, too..."

"I think so. Tabby keeps telling me to get the dexterity trait to complete the body collection, but I have no idea when I'll get my next trait point. It's extremely low on my list."

I tried combining all my enhanced attributes but received no prompt. I reluctantly removed vitality from the grouping and then received a prompt.

<Would you like to Fuse: [Enhanced Intellect LV 3], [Enhanced Willpower LV 3], [Enhanced Charisma LV 2]?

Becomes Trait: [Soul Mastery LV 4].

This will cost 1 Trait Point.>

'No. There were eight attributes during my assessment... But I've never seen [Enhanced Mana] in any profile. Surely the human or elf would've had it? It could be one of my unknown elf traits, but if humans have the other seven, then why miss only one? The only trait I have that increases mana directly is [Mana Well]...'

<Would you like to Fuse: [Enhanced Intellect LV 3], [Enhanced Willpower LV 3], [Enhanced Charisma LV 2], [Mana Well LV 3]?

Becomes Trait: [Soul Mastery LV 5].

This will cost 1 Trait Point.>

'No. Shit. I can't believe it has a different name; surely it should be called [Enhanced Mana]? Talk about inconsistency! Gramps, what the hell!?'

Suddenly, its slow progression made a lot of sense, but the naming inconsistency really bugged me. I wanted to do the fusion immediately, but charisma only needed one more level up. I had a spare mimic slot, so I grabbed [Enhanced Charisma LV 5] and hoped to level it up promptly.

"Thanks, Kurt. I appreciate the help you've given me."

"No problem. Let's get back to rekilling the undead."

Moments before reaching the next room, my bubble suddenly shuddered and popped. I looked around frantically to see what caused it to burst, but there were no enemies.

"Damn, I guess the duration ran out. Good thing we weren't in combat. Still, that was a pretty long buff spell. Could you recast it on me as well, just in case?"

I nodded and recast the spell on Kurt and me once I popped his bubble. I guess that explained why it wasn't constantly draining my mana, and now that I think about it, I could cast it more than once without [Multicasting] or using a [Sub-Core]. I made a mental note to ask Dewi for more details about these buff spells.

The next room contained a mixture of zombified and skeletal wolves. The skeletons were fast but unable to break our bubbles, while the zombies were slightly slower than a regular wolf. Our impromptu strategy was to avoid the zombies while whittling down the skeletons.

<Zombie Wolf LV 3.> <Skeletal Wolf LV 6.>

I aimed to earn the magical attack skill for free, so I wanted to contribute as much as possible. I told all my cores to go wild with the [Water Orb] spell while I focused on using [Water Whip] and trying to manipulate it as if it were slime. Taking a page from Kurt and his clubs, I tried adding a ball of dense water at the end of my whip and swinging it around like a flail, bashing into the wolves.

"You're supposed to be a Mage, and now you look like a Fighter!" Kurt said with a laugh.

"Well, I did mention I have weapon proficiency, evasion too."

The fight was clearly in our favor, so much so that Kurt was willing to crack jokes while fighting. My own bubble burst eventually, but I recast it quickly. I had to assume that there was a damage threshold in addition to its duration limit, as I was making sure to avoid the zombie wolves. When Kurt's broke, he barely missed a beat before swapping to blocking and dodging with his weapons until I could recast it. Eventually, it was only the zombies left to slog through. Just as before, I managed to eat one of each wolf with a disguised tendril during the heat of combat.

<Profile [Wolf] updated.> <Profile [Wolf] updated.>

While the rats became monsters from their undead transformation, the wolves didn't evolve and seemed to be considered the same tier or grade as a regular wolf, just undead. I didn't know what to call this, as it wasn't a mutation and most certainly not an evolution. When Kurt killed the last zombie wolf, he cheered.

"I leveled up from that!"

I congratulated him before looking at my notification.

<Racial Experience threshold reached. Mimic Slime (Blue) is now LV 18.>

<3 Trait Points are now available.>

'Two levels to go...'

Unfortunately, despite our great defensive situation, I hadn't considered one thing —stamina. The next room we cleared was sloppy, meaning I had to recast Kurt's bubble multiple times, and his kill count was falling behind. When we finally finished mopping up the zombie warriors, I could see that Kurt could no longer continue.

"Perhaps you should head back? I don't think Whitney will be joining us."

"No..." He said between a long drink of water, "I can't leave you alone in the dungeon."

"I'm sure I can keep going for a bit longer, especially if I cast while retreating backward."

"No doubt, but guild policy is we went in together, so we leave together."

I frowned but eventually relented. Now that I knew where the dungeon was, I could sneak out tonight and do some solo training. I looked over my gains from that last fight, another level, but sadly, I still didn't earn enough for the magic attack skill.

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 5.>

<2 Skill Points are now available.>

Our trip back to the first floor was uneventful, but when we reached it, a few freshly risen undead blocked some of our paths back. If any reached Kurt, he defended himself, but compared to the second floor, their lower quantity and levels meant I dispatched almost all of them. With only two rooms before reaching the entrance, I finally got it.

<Skill [??? LV 0] has become [Magical Attack Proficiency (Lesser) LV 1].>

'It makes me wonder, did my class show me the skill because I was close to earning it myself? Or was it purely random? I had been casting [Water Orb] for almost two days straight, so I was likely close even before it showed it to me. It would suck to purchase a new skill when I was so close to earning it for free. Gramps should offer a refund system or something...'

When we exited the dungeon, it looked like late evening. We had clearly lost track of time down there. I wondered if there was a skill, trait, or item that could help us keep track of time. When we finally reached the inn, Kurt practically collapsed onto the table and ordered his meal. Whitney approached from the bar and chuckled at the sight of Kurt.

"I thought you might be ending your dungeon run soon. Sorry I couldn't make it back in time."

"You could make it up to us by showing me the appraisal skill," I asked, trying to give her my best imitation of her cheeky smile. I still had another level to get in charisma, after all.

"Oh, you found loot and leveled up! You're practically a veteran adventurer already." She said, returning the grin and showing me [Appraisal].

It simply allowed me to use [Identify] on magic items. I still had some stuff stored away from Krutz and the four adventurers, so being able to check them and any future items seemed like a good idea. I bought it and asked Kurt to pull out the ring we found.

<Skill [Appraisal] obtained. Skill Points remaining 1.>

<[Appraisal] has been integrated into [Identify LV 2].>

<Ring of Poison Resistance (Lesser).>

"A poison resistance ring..." I muttered.

"Common but useful," Whitney commented.

"You can have it, Kurt. As thanks for the dungeon trip."

Kurt gave a tired thumbs up from his collapsed state.

"You sure? Poison resistance is handy for a fresh adventurer. You never know what monsters have poison or venoms." Whitney asked curiously.

"I don't think that ring can beat my traits," I said confidently, getting a good laugh out of Whitney.

Chapter 58: Grinding the Dead

When everyone retired to their rooms, I decided to take my stroll back to the dungeon. I had so many new tools I wanted to try unimpeded by my disguise. The streets were mostly empty except for the few pub crawlers or the late returning adventurers heading to the guild.

I was fully prepared to sneak in if I was denied entry, but the guards let me enter the dungeon again and only cautioned me not to push myself too hard and try to avoid going beyond the first level if I was going solo. I'd planned on sticking to my disguise until I reached the second floor.

It was a pity that the undead were immune to poison, as I wanted to try mixing water magic with my poison slime. The first room was only two skeletons, and I wondered how long it took the dungeon to spawn new enemies as I quickly took them down with some water magic. The next room had some zombies, so I grabbed them with two disguised pseudopods and turned up the heat with [Blaze Slime]. There was an extremely unpleasant smell as the corpses began to boil, and I was forced to turn off my sense of smell.

In the last room of the first floor, I restrained a zombie and a skeleton and tried using [Kindle] to defeat them. The flame was more effective on the zombie than the skeleton, and it eventually ceased its monstrous movement. Compared to [Water Orb], it was not as easy to use, as I couldn't just rapidly fire it without a fuel source. As I climbed down the stairs to the second floor, I recalled the flaming drinks and had a brilliant theory to test.

The first room of the second floor had skeleton archers that I quickly dispatched with two precision slime shots empowered with sticky, heated acid. The combination didn't seem to improve the acidic part of my slime, but the monsters appeared to die quicker by taking damage from two sources.

The next room had what I was looking for - a horde of zombie rats. I fired a burst of sticky slime containing only ethanol. The small zombie rats struggled from the adhesive coating, which was when I cast [Kindle]. Flames erupted and spread across the entire floor rapidly, and I worried about my equipment being damaged, so I cast [Bubble] and watched as the rats squealed in rage while burning to smoldering cinders. With two quick actions, I had cleared the entire room with startling efficiency.

'Holy shit... I didn't expect it to be that good. I can see why Dewi likes burning things.'

I held out a tendril and contained the ethanol to only the tip, then cast [Kindle] on it. The tip continued to burn as long as I kept providing it with ethanol-infused slime, and my regular slime was unaffected and undamaged. I was glad to see the natural fire resistance and heat immunity already working. For a brief moment, I transformed the tendril into a flaming sword before cutting off the supply. It looked impressive, but I doubted it would be as efficient as sending out a burst of sticky, flammable slime.

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 6.>

<2 Skill Points are now available.>

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 7.>

<3 Skill Points are now available.>

These low levels in a basic class were shockingly quick, especially since I was no longer splitting experience with Kurt. I had gained two levels by clearing the first floor and two rooms on the second floor, but no further revelations from my class. I swapped to an empty equipment profile and then transformed into all the new forms I had acquired - zombie, skeleton, both undead wolves, a red slime, and the zombie rat. The rat was a horrible disguise, as my core was sticking out.

<Proficiency gained. [Shape Slime LV 5] improved to [Shape Slime LV 6].>

One of my favorite traits gained a much-deserved level up, all the perfected first-time transformations earning it a bundle of experience. I settled on transforming into a red slime and mimicked [Thermal Vision], hoping to earn the trait for free.

'I bet there's an amazing vision trait if I combine [Dark Vision], [Mana Sight] and [Thermal Vision]. Thinking about that, maybe I should try mimicking [Lowlight Vision] to improve the Fusion.'

The thermal vision was interesting, and I could effortlessly locate the burning residue and where my fire had spread. The undead had no heat at all, but I'd resolve that with a healthy application of fire. Now that I was a slime again, I didn't need to worry about keeping my clothing safe, so I just swelled in size a bit before entering the next room. The undead tried their hardest to damage me, but their rusty and brittle weapons were no match for my [Slime Density] and [Mana Reinforcement].

I released a burst of sticky, flammable slime and ignited it, watching the undead continue to try to damage me while they burned to death. Their mindless tenacity was impressive. The obvious downside of this strategy was that it ruined corpses and would reduce the slime mass harvest, but since all these undead had neither, I couldn't care less.

In the next room, I sat in the middle and had my [Sub-Cores] go wild, spamming individual casts of [Kindle] at the undead swarm. It was a slow process, and the inefficiency bugged me, but I wasn't sure if my fiery combo was earning experience towards [Poison Slime], [Fire Magic], or possibly neither.

<Proficiency gained. [Fire Magic LV 1] improved to [Fire Magic LV 2].>

<[Fire Magic LV 2] spell [Fire Arrow] learned.>

'So it takes two levels in fire magic to do what water magic could do from the very start.'

I had my [Sub-Cores] swap over to the new spell and watched each of them manifest a burning arrow, which soared toward the undead. Unlike [Kindle], [Fire Arrow] had duration before fizzling out once it struck the target, even without a flammable source. Now, this felt like an attack spell, and while my [Sub-Cores] hastily dealt with the remaining undead for me, I was playing with my own arrow by flooding it with more mana thanks to [Mana Manipulation]. I kept flooding it with more mana, increasing its size until it was more like a ballista bolt than an arrow. I eagerly looked for a target, only to find nothing but smoldering remains.

It felt anticlimactic, but I refused to let this opportunity pass me by as I moved toward the next room while my flaming ballista bolt floated behind me. When I entered the next room, I immediately spotted the perfect target: a hulking zombie armed with a massive war hammer.

<Zombie 8; Barbarian 5.>

I was a little disappointed that its profile did not live up to its visual presence. I mentally flung the burning bolt at it, causing a fiery burst as it pierced into the chest. The result was impressive, but the creature still stood. I immediately started forming another one, instructing Gamma to join me in molding the upgraded spell, and tasked Alpha and Beta to copy our efforts. Our bolt finished first as we launched it into the zombie, joining the original in piercing and burning into the chest cavity, followed shortly by the second one, which exploded its head. Notifications flooded my mind, but I ignored them while we repeated our experiment on the remaining undead.

<Proficiency gained. [Mana Manipulation LV 1] improved to [Mana Manipulation LV 2].>

<Proficiency gained. [Magical Attack Proficiency (Lesser) LV 1] improved to [Magical Attack Proficiency (Lesser) LV 2].>

<Proficiency gained. [Sub-Core Gamma LV 3] improved to [Sub-Core Gamma LV 4].>

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 8.>

<4 Skill Points are now available.>

<Your class has revealed the following skill: [Ritual Casting]>

'It still bugs me that the first level in a skill or trait is harder to get than the second. Anyway, let's look at my revelation.'

<[Ritual Casting]

Coordinate with other spellcasters to form Grand Spells.

Each participant with this skill adds to the ease of the spell's formation in a reduction in time or complexity.

This trait has no levels.>

'Interesting... Are you revealing this to me because I coordinated with my [Sub-Core] to form a single spell? I'll keep trying that and see if I unlock the skill. If I don't, I'll just ask Dewi about it.'

As much as I wanted to continue playing around with my spells, I needed to work on getting my proficiency skills to level three before fusing them. I could likely get Ranged and Magic while working together in a party, but I was concerned about Melee. Also, Kurt mentioned the next floor requires a mage, so I'd likely get my chance then.

That reminded me that I had a big hammer in my storage to eat and that all the undead were sitting in my storage. I threw them out and started to devour them, along with any rusted weapons I had, hoping to complete any outstanding profiles. The zombie barbarian's war hammer reminded me of the fancy hammer I took from that adventurer, which also needed to be eaten.

<Profile [Hammer] complete.>

<Profile [Hammer] updated.>

<Profile [Axe] Complete.>

<Profile [Spear] updated.>

<Profile [Sword] updated.>

'Okay, I have three [Sub-Cores] and five [Pseudopod]. Each of you take one tendril and form a hammer or maul since it seems effective against the undead, and I'll take two and channel my inner Kurt.'

I entered the next room that contained a mixed batch of zombie wolves and skeleton warriors. Rather than precision dual-wielding, it was more like a murder ball of tentacles and hammers flailing around and pulverizing any of the mindless undead that approached. It felt pretty great to be on the top of the food chain so far in this dungeon, and unlike the adventurers who had to worry about injuries or expending resources, this was free experience for me.

Chapter 59: Apparitions

My tentacle murder ball strategy was very effective, and I proceeded to explore after quickly eating. Also, I looked over my notifications to see what I had gained.

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 9.>

<5 Skill Points are now available.>

<Your class has revealed the following skill: [Mana Suppression]>.

<[Mana Suppression]

Restrict your mana aura to a reasonable level unless within close and observable contact.

It is considered rude to constantly blare your mana aura like a beacon.

This trait has no levels.>

'I can't help but feel insulted by this skill...'

<Skill [Mana Suppression] obtained. Skill Points remaining 4.>

I activated the skill, and when I glanced at myself with [Mana Sight], I could see that my mana was subdued, but close examination broke the illusion rather quickly. While being 'polite' sounded nice, I was much happier about not being easily noticeable at a distance.

The next room contained the stairway down to the next floor, but there was another pathway, which I presumed led to another path here. I decided to explore another room on this floor before heading down, hoping to gain the proficiency level. After defeating the room full of zombie warriors and skeleton archers, I reached my goal.

<Proficiency gained. [Melee Weapon Proficiency (Lesser) LV 2] improved to [Melee Weapon Proficiency (Lesser) LV 3].>

'Time to head down!'

The next floor had an eerie atmosphere and lower lighting conditions. I wondered what I'd run into down here. The first room contained three spectral entities that floated around, and a quick [Identify] told me what they were.

<Poltergeist LV 7.> <Poltergeist LV 5.> <Poltergeist LV 5.>

When they spotted me, the objects in the room began to levitate before being flung at me. I was unamused with junk being thrown at me and turned on my acid to melt anything that got stuck in my slime. I swung a tendril at one of the entities, and it soared right through it. They all began to giggle at me in an ominously whispery tone.

I joined in a spell construction with my [Sub-Cores] and fired a large fiery bolt at one of the apparitions, striking the creature, and it wailed in pain before dissolving into nothing. I didn't expect to one-shot the apparition, so I toned down and fired a regular [Fire Arrow], but after taking two, it also dissolved into nothing.

'No! I want to eat them for the profile!'

I swapped to firing [Water Orb] at it, but after taking three, it joined the first two by dissolving into nothing. I stared at the puddle where it used to be. I even tried to eat the puddle, but it was just water.

'Well... I can see why they said to bring a mage. I can't believe there's nothing for me to eat. Imagine the interesting traits I could have gotten!'

Frustrated, I moved on to the next room. Inside was a singular creature that resembled a black cloak blowing in the breeze.

<Wraith LV 13.>

'If that's an evolved level, this thing is likely the strongest creature I've encountered in this dungeon.'

It let out an echoey shriek before I could cast my spell and seemed to almost teleport towards me. It draped its cloak forward like it contained a disembodied hand and raked it through my entire being. It glided through my slime like nothing was there, and when it touched my core, there was a black flash of energy.

Pain unexpectedly went through me, and I frantically ordered all my [Sub-Cores] to kill it with fire. Three flaming arrows struck it, and it shrieked again before teleporting backward. It kept flickering left, then right, on repeat, as if dodging with its strange movement. I grabbed Gamma to assist me with another empowered [Fire Arrow] while Alpha and Beta kept it distracted with their bombardment.

When it teleported in front of me again, I unleashed my spell, burning a hole straight through the creature as it began extending its cloak toward me again. It let out its echoing shriek as it faded from existence.

'Okay... That was unexpected. I'm glad it was fragile, at least.' I thought, relieved it was over, and took a look at the notifications I had received.

<Racial Experience threshold reached. Mimic Slime (Blue) is now LV 19.>

<4 Trait Points are now available.>

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 10.>

<5 Skill Points are now available.>

'One level to go. Once I get it, I can claim I got my ascension and picked fire affinity, assuming my evolution doesn't completely ruin my disguise. Now that I think about it, I must find a safe spot to evolve. I don't think my [Sub-Cores] can keep up my disguise while evolving.'

'Perhaps I could melt a hole in the bottom of the dungeon? Although people might come looking for me. Maybe I could say I want to do solo hunting in the forest. If I didn't want more information, especially skill advice, I'd consider just leaving.'

Now that I knew these apparitions could potentially harm me, I decided to change my approach. They were fragile, so perfect to take out with [Stealth] and [Sneak Attack]. I wondered what level I'd get that Fireball spell Dewi wanted to combine with [Sneak Attack], but I'd have to settle with [Fire Arrow] or whatever name I'd give my empowered version. Sneaking towards the next room, I spotted another three floating entities.

<Ghost LV 6.> <Ghost LV 5.> <Ghost LV 6.>

Coordinating our spells, we formed another two improved [Fire Arrows] and launched them at the two stronger ghosts. While they were in mid-flight, I had each of us create a basic version and launch it at the lower level. When the empowered spells struck, the two ghosts immediately vaporized, and the arrow continued until it hit the dungeon wall. The lower-level ghost frantically looked around before taking two flaming arrows and also dispersing.

'Okay... So perhaps that was overkill.'

When I snuck towards the next room, I saw two interesting ghosts armed with ghostly weapons.

<Ghost LV 5; Warrior 8.> <Ghost LV 5; Sniper 1.>

'Interesting... So I shouldn't get complacent, even if it's an old monster. I wonder if I could delegate this. Gamma, I want you to identify monsters for me.'

<Ghost LV 5; Warrior 8.> <Ghost LV 5; Sniper 1.> <Ghost LV 5; Warrior 8.> <Ghost LV 5; Sniper 1.> <Ghost LV 5; Warrior 8.> <Ghost LV 5; Sniper 1.> <Ghost LV 5; Warrior 8.> <Ghost LV 5; Sniper 1.> <Ghost LV 5; Warrior 8.> <Ghost LV 5; Sniper 1.> <Ghost LV 5; Warrior 8.> <Ghost LV 5; Sniper 1.> <Ghost LV 5; Warrior 8.> <Ghost LV 5; Sniper 1.> <Ghost LV 5; Warrior 8.> <Ghost LV 5; Sniper 1.>

'Gamma, stop!' I screamed mentally, and the flood of notifications ceased.

'I think that would have driven me insane. I wonder how specific I can be, or could I have Gamma filter these for me? Worth a shot.'

I tried a few experiments, and I could indeed have Gamma filter the identification for me and only show it to me if it met my criteria. The best discovery was that Gamma could use my knowledge, and if I knew, for example, that class was an intermediate (like sniper), I could filter for it.

My final order became for Gamma to use [Identify] once on any monsters I encountered and then only display it to me if it met any of these conditions: it was a new monster, the race was above level 10, it had an unknown class, a class above basic, or if it had a class above 10. I'd likely revisit this as I grew, perhaps adding other conditions or raising the filters. Once again, I was blown away by how versatile this trait was and made a mental note to praise Gramps, assuming he made it.

With my testing complete, I had to deal with these two unaware ghosts. I formed my two empowered spells and launched them at the two ghosts, and once again, the spell proved too powerful for them to handle. Or perhaps it was the added [Sneak Attack] if it was applying, but I'd likely only find out if it was applying on a proficiency notification.

<Proficiency gained. [Stealth LV 4] improved to [Stealth LV 5].>

I hated this floor of the dungeon despite it being ideal with my style of magical assassination, as I felt these monsters were taunting me with their unobtainable profiles. The next room only contained poltergeists, which I knew couldn't harm me, but I still dispatched them from stealth.

<Proficiency gained. [Fire Magic LV 2] improved to [Fire Magic LV 3].>

<[Fire Magic LV 3] spell [Nova] learned.>

'New spell! Still no fireball yet...'

This new spell created a small explosion emanating from myself as the focal point. I cast it once in the empty room, and a fiery explosion burst around me. The size of the blast was a little disappointing, not even half the size I witnessed from one of Dewi's fireballs. Still, it seemed useful if I ever was surrounded.

Once again, I resumed my sneaking around. I was curious that I'd yet to see any of those loot chests. The next room had a massive staircase downwards and was guarded by another one of those floating black cloaks.

<Wraith LV 15.>

I was pleased that Gamma proved one of my orders was correct, and I started forming two empowered [Fire Arrows]. Perhaps because of my new level in [Fire Magic], these two seemed far more impressive than before and could hold a decent amount more mana beyond their previous limit. Once I felt the spells trembling with mana and threatening to unravel, I launched them at the creature. Both struck simultaneously, causing it to let out that horrific wail before dispersing into flame. I cheered as I received a flood of notifications.

<Proficiency gained. [Mana Manipulation LV 2] improved to [Mana Manipulation LV 3].>

<Proficiency gained. [Sneak Attack LV 4] improved to [Sneak Attack LV 5].>

<Class Experience threshold reached. Mage is now LV 11.>

<6 Skill Points are now available.>

<Class Shadowcaster has been unlocked.

Would you like to swap classes?>.