A few days had passed since I defeated the werewolves.

"Be-Byu!"

"Slash-Slash!"

Today, like any other, I was battling magical beasts and working on leveling up. I dodged the tiger beast's fangs with my skill [Instantaneous Movement] and delivered a powerful slash as a counterattack while passing by it.

The tiger, slashed deeply from the shoulder, jumped back in a panic.

Predicting its move, I followed up with a [Slash]. Since I had already landed about ten light attacks on it, my [Consecutive Strikes] skill activated, and I succeeded in cracking the tiger's skull.

"(Oh, did I just level up?)"

Upon checking, I saw that I had reached level 47. I could feel that I was getting closer to my next evolution.

"(I'm getting used to the new skills.)"

The slower pace of leveling up was primarily due to the increased experience points required.

But it was also because I had been taking my time with each battle. My focus had been on honing my skills.

---

Skills:

[Instantaneous Movement], [Cross Counter], [Provocation → Challenge (NEW)],

[Focus → Concentration (NEW)], [Jump → Aerial Jump (NEW)]

---

[Instantaneous Movement] is an advanced dodging skill, and [Cross Counter] increases the power of an attack by leveraging the opponent's momentum. Both skills were unlocked during the werewolf battle.

While [Instantaneous Movement] is simple and easy to use, [Cross Counter] has been a challenge to master. Well, I’m still struggling with it.

Against weaker beasts, I can brute force my way through, but when facing more powerful creatures, I need to carefully observe their movements and anticipate their actions.

Some of my other skills have also evolved. When a skill evolves, it seems to gain additional effects.

For example, [Instantaneous Movement] now constantly enhances my dynamic vision, and [Concentration] has granted me resistance to mental status effects.

[Aerial Jump] is especially surprising, as it allows me to jump in mid-air.

Currently, I can only jump up to four times within a minute, but I expect that with practice, the number of jumps will increase.

"(Thanks for the meal.)"

Having devoured the tiger, I resumed my journey through the forest. After a short while, I climbed a tree using [Climb] and didn’t forget to activate [Stealth].

"(...)"

I held my breath atop the tree, stretching a part of my body to peer beyond the trees.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“…”

A group of three humans was walking through the forest. I stayed still, waiting for them to pass.

I had occasionally encountered humans even before meeting the old man.

However, I’ve noticed that more humans have been appearing around here lately. It’s likely that the old man leaked information about me being a good source of experience points.

"(...Okay, they’re gone.)"

I quietly descended from the tree. Apparently, [Climb] activates even when descending.

"(They’re not thinning out at all. Maybe I should move to a different area?)"

As I walked in a different direction from the adventurers, such thoughts crossed my mind.

Maybe the humans will disappear in a couple of weeks, but so far, there’s no sign of that happening.

I had planned to move into an area with denser mana after evolving once more, but it might be worth relocating before that.

The forest is vast. While humans are gathering here, other areas might be less populated.

"(Alright, decision made. Time to move.)"

Thanks to my [Sense of Direction], I knew where the human town was. I’ll head in the opposite direction, moving towards an area where the mana doesn’t thin out.

Swish, swish, swish...

I moved from tree to tree, from bush to bush, keeping out of sight.

In the forest, my body color already makes me stand out. Flattening myself won’t be enough. I have to be as cautious as possible.

"(Phew, I’ve covered a lot of distance.)"

After moving continuously in my altered form, I began to feel tired, so I took a break. I found a hollow just the right size for my body and hid inside.

As I was resting, suddenly a voice feel on my ears.

"...Could you be that slime from back then?"

"Sla?!"

I hadn’t let my guard down. I had been peeking out from the edge of the hollow to keep an eye on my surroundings.

Yet, the sudden voice startled me, and I jumped up. I exited the hollow and looked around, but I couldn’t find the source of the voice.

"I knew it! It’s you. Over here."

The speaker stepped out from behind a tree—a young girl with light blue hair, carrying a wooden basket and wearing leather armor.

She was the one who had given me medicinal herbs when I was injured by the crayfish.

"Oh, it’s you. Long time no see. I was really grateful back then."

"...Huh?"

Now it was the girl’s turn to be surprised. She seemed startled by the sudden voice in her head.

It’s understandable, as I couldn’t use [Mind Communication] the last time we met.

It’s the newly evolved skill, as I kept overhearing the words and language of human adventures.

I explained to the confused girl that I was using a skill to communicate with her.

She seemed to understand and nodded, saying,

"So, it wasn’t just my imagination back then…"

"By the way, can other magical beasts talk like you?"

"I’m not sure. At least, I haven’t met any beasts that can talk like I do. Oh, but slimes are an exception. They can communicate even without [Mind Communication]."

"Wow, slimes can talk?"

"Well, most slimes can only manage basic communication, so it’s a bit different from what you’d call 'talking.'"

I could somewhat “talk” with a rare slime named Slimey, but the conversations never made much sense since it was too muscle-headed.

"You seem to know a lot about humans. Did you used to live with them?"

"Something like that."

She seemed like a good person and was being friendly, so I found myself talking more freely, but I wasn’t about to start discussing my previous life.

I didn’t know if there were other reincarnators in this world, but if there were and they held a grudge against me, it would give them another reason to target me.

Being a good source of experience points was already enough fpr me to be hunted.

"By the way, aren’t you supposed to defeat me? Other humans have been targeting me."

"What? No way! I’m not strong enough to take down magical beasts... Besides, you’re not a bad beast if you don’t attack me, right?"

"That’s true, but... Why did you help me back then? You couldn’t have known whether I was good or bad."

"Well... I just couldn’t leave you like that. You were injured."

"That’s all it was? If it had been any other magical beast, they could have attacked you right after eating the herbs.”

“Don’t ever try to help a magical beast again... Didn’t I say that last time?"

"Hehe, yeah, you did. Or at least, that’s how it felt. I’ll keep that in mind."

As we were talking, the girl suddenly turned to face a completely different direction.

I feel like she had reacted this way before too.

"What’s wrong?"

"Someone’s being attacked... Sorry, Blue slime. I have to go. Be careful not to get hunted."

"Wait, hold on—"

Without waiting for my response, the girl dashed off somewhere.