The man sighed, then tapped his fingers on the table for a few seconds before speaking.
"I'll allow you a chance to explain. I'll form a mental bridge with you, so you better not try anything."
Lime nodded, and suddenly, he felt something invade his mind. Soon, he could hear the man's voice echo inside his head.
"You may just think your answers—that's enough for me to get them. First, how are you able to present as a human?"
Lying will get me killed. I don't know if he has a lie-detection skill or not, but I'm not testing it.
"I'm using two skills at once to mimic a random person I saw in your city... obviously made some changes to make myself distinct from him."
"You... can use those skills? And to this degree? What's your species?"
"Slime."
"Slime...? You aren't lying, but... there's more to it than just that. We'll get back to this later. What's the reason for coming to this city?"
"I was just curious. I wanted to see other people, how they lived, and maybe become one of them."
"That's it? You weren't going after the Matrix?"
"The Ma—what?"
"Never mind that. Last question—do you intend to harm anyone?"
"No, unless in self-defense."
"Good enough."
The man stood up and paced.
"A slime. A damn slime. What are you capable of? Magic? Physical abilities?"
"Uhm... mostly magic."
"That's completely unheard of. Most monsters can use magic to a certain extent, whether it's casting or augmentation, but not slimes... at least not at early levels. In fact, slimes aren't even supposed to be part of this region—they're swamp monsters. Let alone be on the second level."
"What name do you go by?"
"Lime."
"...Not very creative, are you?"
"I didn't name myself, okay?! Plus, it's cool!"
"Oh? And who named you?"
Lime panicked. Don't think about the experiment. Don't think about the lab.
"Hmmm… experiment?"
"Dang it!"
"If you know what's best for you, you'll talk."
Lime had an incredible mana reserve after absorbing so many cores and the liquid mana, but this transformation still cost a lot. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to reverting back.
"Fine... I don't remember much, but… the system says I'm part of a failed experiment that tried to combine the genetic code of many monsters... and a human. Most of the monsters were bug-type."
"Bugs? Why would they choose bugs? They're part of the weakest archetype."
"Beats me… Listen, this is cool and all, but—uh—I'm gonna transform back soon."
"Keep quiet. Where did you come from?"
"I was in a huge hole that looked like a dump—it had dead trees, rocks, hills of trash, and rotting monster corpses."
"And how in the name of the wizard's beard did you get out of there?"
"I... flew?"
"You can fly?"
"Yes?"
"That's an obvious lie—I don't even need my skills to know that."
"...I have a pet bee."
"WHAT?! A monster with a pet? That's just... unheard of. I'm gonna need a second."
The man slumped into his desk chair, rubbing his temples before finally sighing.
"Destransform. I want to see what you look like. And summon your pet."
Reluctantly, Lime did so, summoning Asil in the process.
"A blazing bee... not bad. You did well with it. As for you—you're very unassuming. And to be able to hold your magic that long, you must have a high mana capacity."
"Thank you? ...So, uh, when can I leave? I have... stuff to do."
"Drink this."
The man tossed a bottle filled with a thick, blue liquid at Lime.
"Please don't poison me! I promise I'll leave and never hurt anyone!"
"IT'S A MANA POTION, YOU DIMWIT!"
"O-Oh... okay."
Lime downed the bottle and instantly felt his core charging up at a fast rate—much faster than the normal recovery speed, though still slower than the lake.
"Thank you... but why did you give me this?"
"To test you. What elements do you control?"
"Fire, water, air, and earth."
"The four basic elements... That's decent. Still surprising since most monsters only choose one or two—it takes too long to level them up otherwise. Cast basic spells with all of them—I need to see your power and speed. Wait, we should do this in the testing chamber."
The man walked out, and Lime hesitated before following him. They entered a large room filled with people, training dummies, weapons, and various facilities.
"Everyone leave."
The man's voice boomed, and everyone flinched, scrambling out like a bomb was about to go off.
"Go on. Shoot at the dummy—each element, one by one."
Lime did as instructed, casting four elemental attacks.
"All elements are Rank 2... Fire and Air are stronger. Exceptional mana control and quick casting time... You're incredible!"
The man crouched to Lime's eye level, eyes gleaming with interest.
"Let me check your core! No... wait… Let me teach you! Become my apprentice. With my help, you'll become a formidable monster. I'll ensure you get the highest quality cores and teach you spells and mutations that would benefit you."
Before Lime could even respond, the man grabbed him and dashed back to his office. He muttered a spell, and a door appeared out of nowhere. Walking through it, Lime's jaw nearly dropped.
The room was massive—a gigantic library filled with petrified monsters, books, samples, cores… so many books.
"What… is this place?"
"Welcome to my emporium. I've amassed a vast collection over my life. I've always been fascinated by monsters—their ability to evolve, mutate, and unlock skills, unlike us humans, who have to learn them."
"Can monsters learn skills without buying them?"
"Not to my knowledge, so most likely, no."
Lime hesitated, then took a deep breath. He came too close to death too many times. If pretending to be human kept him safe, then so be it.
"Fine! But I have conditions."
"List them."
"You won't check my core without permission. You won't force me to do anything. You can't keep me captive—I like freedom. And trust me, I'd rather die trying than let you enslave me."
"...Those are acceptable. Though, if I can't check your core, I can't help much."
"I'll tell you what you need to know."
"Alright. How are your mutations going?"
"I only have the organs you can see, and they're maxed out at +10. The heart, eye, and my gland."
"Hmmm… I'm guessing the gland came after evolving? Why didn't you get more organs?"
"I was weak. I needed to get stronger. I almost died many times, even now."
"Alright, alright. You said you have the DNA of many monsters, correct? Which ones? I'll help you pick the best organs for your next evolution. We'll sacrifice power for greater potential."
"But... wouldn't that slow my leveling?"
"Yes, but evolutions and their rarity are determined by skills, stats, and mutations. If we focus on physical and mental enhancements while maximizing skill growth, you'll get a powerful evolution that compensates for any losses."
After listing his DNA sources, the man nodded.
"Come back in a week. For now, max out your level and level up your skills."
"Is there a way I can get a job? Maybe buy cores?"
"You can join the guild as an F-rank hunter, but we need to keep your identity hidden."
"Wouldn't my age be a problem?"
"The person you copied is young, but adventurers start at his age. It shouldn't be an issue."
"Thank you, Mr….?"
"Call me Rain."
"Thank you, Mr. Rain. I'll be back."
"Oh, and before you go—"
A wisp of energy wrapped around Lime.
"That's a sensor. So I always know where you are—we wouldn't want you escaping, right?"
Damn it!
"Of course not! Hahaha..."