Calming himself down, Hiro decided to quietly observe the copy of himself.
There, kneeling in front of him was the exact replica of his physical appearance, from the color of his skin, the clothes he was wearing, and to the tiniest detail of his face, all was mirrored perfectly. Probably, the only thing that differentiates it from himself is the smallest and most dim glow its body was producing; a glow that is enough to light a small area in the darkness.
Of course, like Hiro, anyone who would see such a sight would not be able to hide the shock that will be written on their faces.
[ He-hey... You're not going to attack me, aren't you? ] getting used to talking to it, Hiro had unconsciously blurted out his cautious words. He bet that it would not be able to understand him, but he wants to make sure that it wouldn't be a threat to him.
He doesn't know how it was suddenly able to copy himself, but no matter what its appearance is, it's still a slime: a classified monster who would attack humans with no hesitation - that was why the act of being cautious towards it is normal and life-saving. Nonetheless, just as it was earlier, it doesn't seem to be hostile at all. It's alive and thinking, but it's not even trying to move an inch to attack him. All it does is stare straight into his eyes, blinking as if it was a real person.
Looking at it, Hiro feels that it should be safe to get close to it. Monsters are supposed to attack anyone on sight, but this one doesn't.
( If it wanted to eat me, then it would've done it already... ) with that thought, he decided to get close to it.
His injuries are already healing and the pain he had earlier is already gone. Unlike earlier, moving his body is now an easy task for him, and like the way he was when he first came into this place, he had gained the energy to accomplish something again.
[ Don't attack me okay...? ] as if he was taming a wild beast, Hiro slowly move towards his doppelganger with a hand reaching to touch its glowing body.
And just as he expected, it did not retaliate nor move an inch as he touches its glowing, bluish skin. The only thing it does was move its eyes to stare at him with an empty expression.
[ Amazing... It's just like the real skin of a human... ] Hiro let out the words of amazement as he pokes the human skin of the slime.
It's not being hostile, so he decided to continue, but this time, he goes for its clothes. But unlike the texture of his skin or his very own clothes, the feeling of its clothes is very different, in fact, it felt as if he was touching the liquified form of the slime again. He thought it had copied him perfectly, but he guesses it did not. But then again...
'How was it able to do it?' - the question immediately echoed into his head as he continues to study this odd phenomenon.
Slimes should be able to absorb the traits of anything it eats, but he never heard of any slimes that are able to gain the traits of a human.
Did it eat a person before he met it? It doesn't seem so. But if that wasn't the case, then there's only one thing Hiro could think of that could've let this happen...
His own blood.
Like what happened when it absorbed the glowing stone, the slime gain his human traits immediately after it absorbs the blood that flooded his injuries.
With the knowledge he has obtained from his previous world, he could tell that it was able to duplicate his cells to make its own human appearance. It seemed impossible, but combined with the complicated traits of this world, it will probably be able to happen.
Did it also copy his organs? It has its probability, but even if it didn't, it will probably still be able to live on without it, as it was already a living being even before its transformation.
As for its clothes, it was still made of its slime body. Knowing it, Hiro couldn't be more amazed and bewildered. A slime that is able to duplicate anything it absorbs and copy anything by sight; it was like a different species of its own. And as if he was the first to discover it, the expression of contentment showed itself into his face.
[ Wait...! ] yelling, he pauses, realizing something as he continues to analyze the smile. An idea formed itself into his head and he panics, wanting to complete it as soon as possible. Surveying his clothes, he took a small knife hidden at the back of his blood-stained legs, only then to have it placed into the open fist of the humanoid slime.
[ Copy it. ]
He doesn't know if it understands him, but if it trusts its instinct, then it will most certainly consume it.
Hiro expected he will need to wait, but it did not even take a minute before the slime has understood his intentions and almost immediately absorbed the knife. And as if the humanoid slime has started to crumble and melt, it formed itself into an entirely different thing.
[ Unbelievable!!! ] into the darkness, he couldn't help but shout.
Looking at the glowing knife in front of him, the emotion of enjoyment and excitement swelled up inside him.
Just what are the other things this slime would be able to do? It has unlimited potential and Hiro just wouldn't accept it being wasted.
[ He-Hey! Wait! Transform back! ] seeing the glow of the knife that is the slime slowly being invisible, he asked it to transform back. He didn't expect that it would be able to understand him, but much to his surprised, it clearly did.
Just as he had told it to do, it transformed back into his mirror, but just as anticipated, the glow in it was still trying to escape. So Hiro decided to try again and ask it for another demand...
[ Slime-chan, I want you to transform again. ]
It was hard for him to call the slime in front of him which has the same appearance as him with the word 'chan', but he wanted to do his best to become sincere to it; he wanted it to understand his intentions.
There are a few intelligent monsters in this world, but slimes are not one of them, so he shouldn't expect that it would understand him. But after it was able to accomplish his first two commands, he's sure, this time, it would also follow.
That was why - when it transformed back into the bright, glowing slime it was earlier, Hiro was not as much as surprised by it anymore.