After feeding Gurgle a dozen more fireballs, Gurgle suddenly stopped eating and closed its eyes. Its gelatinous body turned into a vortex, starting to rotate like a washing machine.
"What is Gurgle doing?" Kevin asked curiously.
"Digesting. After consuming a large amount of energy, Slime enters a digestion state."
"Gurgle is still very weak now. Those dozens of fireballs you gave it are already a huge supplement for it. It needs to digest for a while, but with Slime's digestion capabilities, it should be able to finish digesting in no time."
"After digestion, it will become stronger, and its digestion capabilities will further improve."
"I see... So if Gurgle were to eat a Saint-level magic spell all at once, would it burst?" Kevin asked.
"No, Slime is not like humans; their consumption limit is extremely high. It's not just one Saint-level magic spell, even a hundred Saint-level magic spells, given time, it could devour, but after devouring such a huge amount of energy, it would immediately enter a digestion state. Although it could continue to devour, its efficiency would not be high until digestion is complete."
"The more energy it devours, the longer the digestion time. If Gurgle were to devour a hundred Saint-level magic spells at once, it would probably take more than a decade to digest."
"To grow to the point where it can instantly digest Saint-level magic will also take time, so while Slime's appetite is almost unlimited, its digestion capabilities are still limited and need to be gradual."
"Moreover, when Slime is in a digestion state, it is very vulnerable. It is not immune to physical attacks at this time. A single punch could disperse it, and it would die. So the simplest way to kill a Slime is to feed it until it's full and then inflict enough physical damage while it's digesting."
"Of course, this simplicity is only for the early stages, where a dozen low-level magic spells can satisfy it and put it into a digestion state. But later on, to feed a Slime to satisfaction, perhaps even a hundred Saint-level magic spells would not be enough."
"I see..." Kevin nodded, then carefully held Gurgle in his arms: "Then it must be well protected."
Seeing this, Bella smiled slightly and remained silent.
Afterwards, Kevin returned to the cave and checked on Catherine before starting his meditation practice.
He practiced until evening.
With a flash of white light, Kevin opened his eyes, a radiance flowing in his pupils.
"Good, second tier!"
At the second tier, there are three slots for copying. Without hesitation, Kevin performed a [Copy and Analyze] on Catherine.
[Gold Blade Technique: A second-tier magic that condenses metal blades with limited lethality.]
[Wood Snake Technique: A second-tier magic that summons snake-like vines for whipping and entangling, with low power.]
[Water Cannon Technique: A second-tier magic that condenses water into a cannonball, with low power and short range.]
[Large Fireball: A second-tier magic that condenses into a large fireball, with low power and short range.]
[Rock Armor Technique: A second-tier magic that condenses a rock armor, with limited defense.]
[Paralysis Technique: A second-tier magic that releases electricity for paralysis, with limited effect.]
The copying duration for second-tier magic remains fifteen minutes, while the analysis time reaches thirty minutes.
So, Kevin copied and analyzed three spells every fifteen minutes, spending a considerable amount of time until he had analyzed all the second-tier magic that Catherine knew.
Afterward, he went outside to take care of his physiological needs and then, in the dark, made his way to the river. Using the phototropic nature of crabs and his light magic, he caught many stone crabs, two fish, and some small shrimp.
With the remaining mushrooms and wild vegetables from noon, he cooked a pot of river delicacy soup.
As usual, he fed Catherine the soup first before having his own hearty meal.
By evening, Gurgle had finished digesting and had grown to the size of half a basketball, resembling an enlarged QQ candy. Kevin couldn't help but love it more and more, holding onto Gurgle and not letting go as he entered the cultivation state again.
At his cultivation speed, he estimated that he would be promoted to the third tier in about a day. Then, by copying and analyzing some third-tier magic, he would be able to go out and fight monsters to level up!
Kevin was very much looking forward to it, entering meditation with beautiful expectations for the future.
Late at night.
Kevin was in a meditative state, oblivious to everything around him, and Gurgle also fell asleep in Kevin's arms.
Sleep was not necessary for Gurgle, but in Kevin's arms, Gurgle felt very comfortable and fell asleep instantly.
The pure white moonlight shone through the forest, illuminating the dark night.
The occasional chirping of insects, birds, and the roars of magical beasts added a layer of mystery to the forest.
Suddenly, the insect chirping in the forest disappeared, and the forest outside the cave seemed to have been muted, becoming eerily quiet.
Catherine suddenly opened her eyes.
Her right eye, with its fiery red pupil, flickered in the dark like fire, while the other eye was purple, with the sclera covered in pitch black, looking extremely eerie.
Her red and purple eyes flickered in the dark. She did not get up but turned her head to look at Kevin.
Her gaze gradually softened.
Although her body was in a coma, her consciousness was clear.
She was aware of everything happening around her.
Including Kevin saving her.
Including Kevin taking off her clothes.
Including Kevin saying she was heavy.
Including Kevin carrying her to the cave, feeding her soup, and talking to her.
She could feel everything.
At the time when Kevin carried her on his back and felt her getting heavier, it was not because her magic was being consumed, but because she did it on purpose.
She wanted to see if this guy could keep carrying her gradually heavier body to the cave, also as a punishment for him saying she was heavy.
In the end, he did it; he did not give up on her.
Afterward, he did not do anything out of line to her.
She saw all of this.
She did not wake up because she could not wake up at the time.
The demonic power within her was eroding her body, and she had to fight against it with all her might.
The demonic power was too rampant; she was suppressed several times and almost lost herself.
Once lost, her soul would be devoured, and her body would turn into a demonized creature that only kills on instinct, causing harm to the world.
"...So you must endure the erosion of mana and must not die, understand..."
Suddenly, Kevin's voice entered her ears, startling her gradually sinking consciousness and forcibly suppressing the erosion of the demonic power.
She almost failed.
If it were not for Kevin's words that woke her up, her soul would have already been extinguished.
"Thank you..." She mouthed to Kevin without making a sound, but her lips formed the words.
Then she closed her eyes again.
The demonic power had not been completely suppressed, and she had to continue the struggle.
A smile played at the corner of her mouth, a slight curve that gave her face a stunning beauty.
Marry me?
Let's talk about it if I survive!
Demonic power, submit!!!