With the Doppelganger Slime in his grasp and having returned to his room safely without being detected, Ackster finally felt as if he was going to survive. Ever since he had transmigrated and realized the situation he was in, an overwhelming shadow of death had hung over him and put near-crippling pressure on him. But now, Ackster could see a ray of light pierce through that shadow.
But Ackster didn't feel safe yet. And with good reason. Finding and capturing a Doppelganger Slime was only the bare minimum of what would lead to the successful execution of the plan that would save his life and help him jump the first hurdle of his life after transmigration. It was by no means a guarantee that he would survive for two more days.
But in order to increase his chances of survival as much as possible, Ackster was going to spend a couple of sleepless nights preparing. But first, he had to get off the floor. After only one night, it had already become a habit of Ackster's to sit down and lean against the wall below the window after returning from the forest.
Ackster opened the bag and emptied out most of its contents on the desk. The thing he found right before he left the clearing was left in the bag. But the Sun-kissed grass and the still-dormant Doppelganger Slime left the bag.
Ackster separated the slime from the grass. After looking at the pile of herbs, Ackster decided he might as well start eating them. Since the poison goblin's body had been poisonous enough to kill a beast, Ackster worried that there might be some trace amounts remaining in his body. Though, he wasn't sure that a few basic healing herbs would do anything against that.
But that wasn't the only reason he chose to eat the Sun-kissed grass. It was more of a guess, but based on Ackster's understanding of how innate skills worked in the world of the story he had transmigrated into, there were different ways to strengthen those skills. And since his skill, Strong Body, improved his regeneration and healing factor, Ackster found it reasonable to assume that healing-type materials, like Sun-kissed grass, could help strengthen that property of his skill.
Basic Sun-kissed grass probably wouldn't do much, but it was better than nothing, especially when he didn't have anything else to do as he waited for the Doppelganger Slime to wake up.
Although Ackster's most urgent priority was to survive the day after tomorrow, that was only the first in a long line of hurdles he would have to overcome if he wanted to live a long life. And improving and strengthening the foundation of his strength, the Strong Body skill, would be essential in ensuring Ackster had the power to overcome those hurdles.
Even if it would be as useful as spitting on a rock, Ackster still had to take every moment and opportunity to train and grow stronger. And at the moment, eating tangy and slightly warm Sun-kissed grass was everything he could do.
Unfortunately, there weren't many herbs left intact in the glade after his feverish rampage last night, so Ackster was quickly left entertaining himself by licking a stalk while waiting.
Ackster was tired, but it was more mental fatigue than physical exhaustion since he had kept his senses constantly sharpened and been on high alert during his expedition into the forest. But since he had to wait for the slime to leave dormancy, he couldn't sleep yet. Even when the slime woke up again, Ackster couldn't afford to sleep. Every moment was precious. Not to mention that he didn't want to leave the slime unsupervised inside his house while he was asleep.
But he needed to be in a decent condition, so while sucking on the stalk like a toothpick, a soft one, Ackster closed his eyes and let his mind rest as he waited for the Doppelganger Slime to stir.
He didn't get as much rest as he wanted, but he didn't care. The sooner the slime woke up, the better.
Ackster sensed the slime begin to move without even looking. He didn't know how, but he just attributed it to his skill and opened his eyes to look at the murky, colorless, shapeless sack of gelatinous water-like something.
He hadn't gotten too good of a look at it back in the forest since only the moons and the stars lit up the night. But inside his room, Ackster saw clearly how weird the slime was. It was an unthinkable existence for someone from Earth.
Or maybe not. The slime could almost pass for a single-cell organism living on only its instincts, at least the slime on the desk in front of him could. Just a lot bigger. It was also a fact that slimes as monsters were part of many fantasy stories and games.
However, reading or seeing not-necessarily realistic recreations of slimes was different from having one of them in front of himself, even more so when it came to touching it. The one thing Ackster felt he could compare it to was when he had found a jellyfish washed up on the beach.
The slime's body wasn't as wet as the jellyfish's had been, and it was also a lot springier. Ackster couldn't remember anything that was quite like it on Earth. Even a jellyfish was only a vague comparison.
Ackster watched the Doppelganger Slime as it slowly began wriggling as if someone was blowing on it from up close. He couldn't help but be excited to see what he had only imagined as he read the book happen in front of his eyes.
The slime had been completely limp and unmoving after Ackster beat the shit out of it when it looked like a goblin. But it was gradually starting to move and shift a little. Its movements intensified slightly until it stilled again. But Ackster could somehow sense that it hadn't returned to dormancy.
As brainless as the slime was, it was somehow observing him. But Ackster didn't feel any fear or caution. He just waited until it finished. Ackster didn't even have to guess when the slime was done with its observation. The feeling of being watched disappeared, and the slime wriggled and stretched like an angry child was playing and throwing a tantrum with it.