A very small slime, you could call it a Micro Slime, slid across the floor; unseeing, unfeeling and oblivious to the world around it. It had just discovered its own existence and it was moving. It did not know its direction or destination but moving was as good as staying. Still, it had nothing else or nothing better to do. So why not?
With it being so small and so weak it was not able to move very fast. So, it continued to move slowly and ponderously.
You are now Micro Slime Level 1. Congratulations!
You have gained the Species Skill Absorb Level 1!
You have gained the Species Skill Digest Level 1!
Of course, the Micro Slime had no idea what it all meant, but it just continued on, exactly the way it was going. A fly buzzing around got stuck in the goop of the Micro Slime's body and stopped buzzing, sinking into it.
Would like to try to Absorb the Fly and gain access to its abilities? If you do not choose, you will by default absorb it.
Again, having no idea what was happening, the slime, of course, continued to move without caring about what was happening. A cascade of notifications filled its "mind."
You have absorbed 1 Fly!
You have gained the Species Skill Assimilate Level 1
Assimilate Failed!
You have gained the physical stat Health; your current Health is 14HP. Your HP Regen is 7HP per day.
You have gained the physical stat Stamina; your current Stamina is 6SP. Your SP Regen is 2SP per day.
You have gained the Physical Stat Strength. Your Strength is currently 1.
You have gained the Physical Stat Vitality. Your Vitality is currently 1.
You have gained the Physical Stat Endurance. Your Endurance is currently 1.
You have gained the Physical Stat Resistance. Your Resistance is currently 1.
You have gained the Ranged Stat Speed. Your Speed is currently 1.
By Digesting the Fly your Weight has increased to 4.012g. Your Volume has increased 2.006cm3 and your Density is 2.00g/cm3.
You have Digested 1 Fly! You have gained 0.1 Exp for killing 1 Fly. You require 0.9 Exp to Level Up.
Of course, this was all complete nonsense. What it did like was what had been added to it. It felt right, like it was supposed to happen and it wanted more.
Continuing to move, it encountered a hard, jagged surface which seemed to cause it some pain! It had got cut on the remains of the wall of the Alchemist's Lab as it made its way outside, landing on the well-manicured grass and soil outside among the debris.
You have received 1HP of damage!
As a slime it could not be cut, but it could receive minimal damage. With only 14HP, though, it could hardly afford to lose even one! It continued to cautiously move, it had not liked that feeling one bit!
Would you like to absorb Grass? If you do not choose you will automatically absorb Grass!
You have Absorbed 1g of Grass, 5 Blades!
Assimilation has failed!
Assimilation has failed!
Assimilation has failed!
You have Assimilated 1 Blade of Grass and gained the ability Photosynthesis Level 1. You can now convert sunlight and moonlight into mass at a rate of 0.1g per hour per level. This is a Passive Skill that will continue to work unless toggled off.
Assimilate has increased to Level 2!
You have Digested 1 Blade of Grass! Your Weight has increased to 4.225g; your Volume has increased to 2.113cm3! You are unable to Digest more at this time!
Hmm, that was great! The slime digested and began to Photosynthesise to gain even more mass, almost doubling in size and dimensions. But it had preferred the other thing. It had not only given it weight and volume but also something else, something that was helping it to grow!
It continued to slowly move forward, trying to feel around it, it did not really understand or feel anything outside of its own body. It did feel if something fell onto it, or if it moved over something.
Again, it continued to move aimlessly but still very much forward, and as it went, it continued to identify and feel things that touched its body: the ground and soil and more grass. Over the course of the next hour it continued to move at a literal snail's pace. It took a while for awareness to kick in, but it finally did.
You have gained the Ranged Stat Perception; your Perception is currently 1.
It could now feel what was around it and had a small understanding of where it needed to turn and go to continue to absorb and inspect new things it had not felt before. It started to move more purposefully toward a piece of rock within a few centimetres of where it was. In the meantime it was able to absorb some more…
You have Absorbed 1g of Soil!
Assimilation failed!
You have Digested 1g of Soil! Your Weight has increased to 5.225g; your Volume has increased to 2.613cm3! You are unable to Digest more at this time!
An hour and another meter and a half of movement later….
You have Absorbed 1g of Grass!
You have Digested 1g of Grass! Your Weight has increased to 6.225g; your Volume has increased to 3.113cm3! You are unable to Digest more at this time!
Over the course of the next few hours, the Micro Slime continued to move and continued to absorb more and more matter. It was a slow and arduous process, but it was enjoyable for the Micro Slime. It wanted a taste of those Flies again, but had no such luck. Still by the time 6 hours had passed it had Absorbed and Digested another 6g of Soil and Grass, Assimilate had continued to fail for the Soil but it had grown by another 3cm3 so it was feeling good and enjoying its continued growth.
Absorb has increased to Level 2!
Digest has increased to Level 2!
Then, it encountered something different.
You have Absorbed 2g of Manure!
Assimilate has failed!
You have Digested 2g of Manure! Your Weight has increased to 14.225g; your Volume has increased to 7.113cm3! You are unable to Digest more at this time!
Photosynthesis has increased to Level 2! Your Weight has increased to 15.225g; your Volume has increased to 7.613cm3! You are unable to Digest more at this time!
The dung heap had been left by a passing animal. It must have been large. Since it was warm and the Micro Slime could sense it. It also sensed that there might be more of those Flies around. It decided to stay to see if it could get any more of that growth thing that it had liked. Over the course of the few hours, it continued to Absorb and Digest the Manure. Both abilities levelled several times. In addition Photosynthesis continued to work as well, it slowly grew.
You have Absorbed 2g of Manure!
….
Absorb has increased to Level 3!
You have Digested 2g of Manure! Your Weight has increased to 17.225g; your Volume has increased to 8.613cm3! You are unable to Digest more at this time!
….
Digest has increased to Level 3!
You have Photosynthesised for 1 hour! You have gained 0.2g of mass!
…..
Photosynthesis has increased to Level 3!
Through Digest and Photosynthesis, you have gained 42.9g of Weight; your Weight has increased to 58.125g, your Volume has grown to 29.063cm3!
Assimilation failed!
…..
You have Assimilated 1g of Manure and gained the ability Odour Alteration Level 1. You can now change your Odour at will! By default you will exude any new Odour you acquire immediately, you can store up to 1 smell in your repository currently! You are currently exuding Manure Odour!