Gloo slid his body along the ground, forming a line of dug-up earth. His body, only three feet tall and colorless, helped him blend into the surroundings. After hours of searching, he finally spotted a sign. Large patches of trees had been cleared around a large, metallic star, where a humanoid creature was working.
Sparks flew and disappeared every second as the humanoid hauled and dragged the inside of the star. Looking at this creature, Gloo recalled the time he met a gnome, a friendly creature that enjoyed what they called gambling, where they bet their hard-earned money and hunted just for entertainment and satisfaction. This practice had always seemed strange to him.
Before Gloo could observe the humanoid more closely, an unimaginable pressure began to bear down on him. It pinned him to the ground, flattening him almost like a pancake. The tall gnome he had been watching started to walk toward him, increasing his panic.
The pressure intensified, pushing his body harder into the ground. Then, the tall gnome spoke. "Oh, what do we have here? A monster or no? You seem to have intelligence," the tall gnome said.
"Can you release the pressure, benevolent one?" Gloo pleaded with all his might.
The tall gnome seemed shocked, which confused Gloo even more. "A talking slime!" the tall gnome exclaimed, before the pressure disappeared and the gnome started laughing.
Gloo, being cautious, looked into the gnome's eyes. But before he could fully see them, his body began to vibrate with fear, and his mind trembled. A terrible being was looking at him. As he looked back, Gloo began to sweat, and his gelatinous body inflated from fear.
"Oops! Sorry, little guy," was the last thing Gloo heard before collapsing.
...
James looked at the inflated slime, unable to believe it. A slime with intelligence, and it had even managed to speak back to him. Slime was supposed to be a low-level monster in games, but here, it seemed they were an intelligent species born from the ground, just like humans.
Echomorph, James started searching for information about this race in his memories.
A peaceful group of slime that lives underground and divides itself to reproduce. The small part became the children, while the large part of the echomorph's body became the parent and retain it memories, making them the largest but weakest race on the planet because of their short lifespan.
But their unique traits amazed him. The echomorph was the only race on the Aleator planet that had the most diverse professions.
"Slime usually refers to the level 1 farm mob in a villager's village," he thought. "This feels weird."
He looked at the slime's colorless body before returning to his work.
After a full day of cleaning and sorting all the usable tech in the ship, James finally managed to clean it up. Everything inside the ship was neatly arranged in the clearing he had made.
Right after, James checked on the slime again. It was finally moving. He had thought it had died from the shock, but now he saw its gelatinous body bouncing up and down.
"Are you finally up, little slime?" James asked, trying to confine the aura he had been releasing earlier.
The slime, half-awake, started trembling again after hearing James question it. It couldn't forget this tall gnome who had almost killed it with his aura alone.
"I am okay, divine one," the slime said.
James was a little confused. The slime had called him "divine one." He then recalled that almost all god worshiped were called "divine one."
"How did you manage to know I am a divine being?" James tried to tease the slime with a smile.
"I...I just..." Before the slime could continue, James interrupted.
"It's okay, you don't have to answer that. I was just joking."
But the slime, ever cautious, was still stiff. It couldn't process a Divine trying to joke. It thought it was being interrogated.
"How can a Divine joke about it?" it thought. "It was a lowly slime."
Looking at the still trembling slime, James found it funny how it tried to stop its wriggling body from trembling.
"Okay, enough jokes," James said. "Where are you from?"
"I lived in this forest, Divine one. I was just investigating the crashing meteor and trying to figure out what it was."
"So...you lived in this forest? Can you help me clean the surrounding area?"
Although the Echomorph community was composed of almost all weak slime, once in a while, a variant capable of fighting that could rise the situation of the echomorphs sometimes appeared. The planet has always been fair with all its inhabitants.
If echomorphs had slightly longer lifespans, they would have already taken over the world. After all, almost all slime is hardworking, and they are able to grow faster with enough sustenance.
Thinking about the echomorph's situation, James realized it would likely die if he left it there, as stronger beasts already surrounded the clearing.
"How about becoming one of my believers, little slime?" James said, slightly releasing his aura to intimidate the slime.
James had already made a plan a while ago to slowly gather Divinity. The easiest way to do this was to have many followers who would give it to him.
Without any hesitation, the slime replied. "I would be very grateful for that, Divine one. This lowly echomorph is willing to be your faithful worshipper."
Having a God to worship had been the dream of all generations of echomorphs. As one of the weakest races, they had always been neglected.
Echomorphs might have a large population, but their bodies could only store a small amount of faith, which was crucial for gathering Divinity. Their God could then use this Divinity by praying.
James pointed his finger at the slime. A light beam shot toward the slime, enveloping it. After a few seconds, the golden light slowly faded.
Before that happened, James had already configured his Divinity. As his predecessor was the God of Gambling and Entertainment, his Divinity also needed a connection to it, or it might leave his body.
As a starfarer, a man from the space exploration era, a scientist, and a game enthusiast, this Divinity had a strong connection to him.
James had an idea to spread his name by giving his followers some artificial intelligence that could help them gather more Divinity. With that thought in mind, he managed to create an RPG-like interface that would guide every follower. He called it "Player Status."
He created the AI using his experience from making games. Divinity was like electricity, while his body was like a computer. Using his divinity as the energy source, he reconstructed his Divinity to follow a certain guide. This would have been impossible if he hadn't been in a mortal body, as Gods used to have ethereal bodies that couldn't be touched or exist without Divinity.
After many modifications to his body, circuit-like veins shone all over before fading away.
The earth shook slightly, and the wind blew slowly. Thunder appeared in the sky, and the planet was enveloped in shining blue energy, signifying the new birth of a God.
James, oblivious to what was happening, opened his eyes.
"The God of Games," James said, thinking about the future with his new Divinity.
...
Gloo regained consciousness after James, his mind blurred from the new information he had received.
Player Name: Gloo
Profession: Hunter
Title: First Player, Master Hunter
Level: 9 (51.04%)
Status: Healthy, Confused
Affiliation: God of Games (main), Cavern Tribe
Ability: Player Status, Leveling, Hunt, Blend, Game Protection (locked)
Inventory: None
Mission: Build the First Beginner's Village.
Being the first player of the game, you are required to build the first village and temple as instructed by the "God of Games" for future endeavors.
Time Limit: None
Rewards: Game Protection, +5 Levels
Gloo looked at the status screen, confused but excited. As far as he knew, this was a revelation given by the God.
Although the concept of the revelation wasn't presented as in the books he had read, it still gave him hope that their village could now worship the gods.
With his newfound determination, Gloo closed the status window. Looking at James with a new light in his eyes, Gloo started bouncing toward his village to deliver the news after giving a silent goodbye to his new God and excited for his new mission.
...
*Boom
Splinters scattered as Gloo charged at the large boar that was eating peacefully, breaking a few bushes as the boar and slime collided.
The boar slammed into a nearby tree, shaking it. Blood started gushing out of its orifices before it choked on its own blood.
Gloo finally managed to take down the boar blocking his way toward the village. He had been stuck for three minutes, looking for the right timing.
As a hunter, Gloo always made sure all his prey was always caught and unable to fight back. Even though his body was smaller than the boar, his experience and strength managed to take it down easily with the right timing.
With the boar's last breath, two balls of light, large and small, appeared. Gloo then recalled his new knowledge this was EXP orb, needed by his God and also to make him stronger.