As Kei was moving around in the cave, he heard a splashing sound. Something was getting closer. As it was getting near, Kei saw a being that was light blue, round, and was bouncing on the ground.

(Holy crap, it’s a slime!)

He did not expect that. Back on earth, there was no such monster. Although Kei previously lived during the late 21st century where complex robots were being made, slimes were only beings found in comics or MMORPGs. This made it clear to him that this was not his original world. In fact, Kei even went as far as to assume that this was either some form of fantasy or online game-based world.

(Oh shit! Run!)

Slimes are usually the weakest monsters of the food chain. This made it even more pitiful for Kei who was less than ten times its size and running for his life. Kei knew that if the slime got any closer, that he would meet his end. Making a desperate last ditch effort to survive, he made a decision based on his previous assumptions and yelled something.

*Author’s Note: Anything in brackets [] are considered speech said out loud and anything represented by the game is in this form of brackets {}*

[“Skill! Shit! Skills open! Skills activate!”]

Kei then heard a very peculiar voice. This voice was coming from within his mind.

{Skills activated.}

{As your only skill as of now is: “Greed”, “Greed” will be activated.}

{Your opponent is within range. “Greed” has successfully stolen the following skill: “Fire Resistance”.}

Kei was both shocked and in awe of what he had just heard. However, his new life was on the line.

(Damn it! What the hell! Fire resistance!? What do you expect me to do with that!?)

The slime was closing in on Kei. He had but a few seconds left.

(Wait! Did it say “stole a skill”? That must mean that I now have it and he doesn’t. But wait, why am I trusting a random voice in my head!?)

As Kei was trying to make his decision, the slime ended up right behind him. Right beside him, he noticed the torches on the side of the cave.

(Oh, what the hell!)

He quickly decided to move to the side, hoping that his fire resistance would work, and hopefully burn the slime who just now had his ability stolen from him.

(Please work!)

He jumped over the torch and passed through the fire unharmed. On the contrary, the slime bumped right into the torch, and was now on fire. However, as it was slowly melting away, and slowing down, it still managed to tail right behind Kei for a few seconds.

(Yes! It actually worked! That’s what you get for messing with a gamer.)

Immediately after, Kei heard the voice again.

{Slime defeated. Kei Daichi has received some EXP points.}

{As a result of defeating the opponent, passive skill “Greed” has now stolen: “Slime mimicry”.}

{Item dropped: Slime Nuclear Core. In order to understand this item Kei Daichi must obtain skill “Observe”.}

Kei was baffled. Not only does he have a skill called “Greed” but he also obtained two new skills: “Fire Resistance” and “Slime Mimicry”. Hoping that this world was similar to the games he played in his previous life, Kei yelled out:

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[Search skill: “Greed”, “Fire Resistance”, “Slime Mimicry”]

Surprisingly, the voice appeared again.

{Skill “Greed” has been found.}

{Greed (beginner): Upon obtaining this skill, one must be within 50 metres of the target to steal their skill. Skill can also be obtained by devouring the target. Skill must be active if the target is not being devoured or killed. Otherwise, skill does not need to be activated to function. Upon killing or devouring the target extra skill “Mimicry” will be obtained. All jobs can be stolen. However, for skills, one must have at least one skill of that tier to obtain other skills of the same tier if the individual is not devoured. If devouring, the individual must be within two tiers. Skills are as follows: beginner, intermediate, experienced, professional, legendary, and godly. Skills obtained cannot be lost, however, new skills can be made with a “Synergy” skill. If the skill has already been obtained, stealing it again will only slightly strengthen it.}

{Skill “Fire Resistance” has been found.}

{Fire resistance (beginner): Resistant to all types of fire.}

{Skill “Slime Mimicry” has been found. This skill is classified under “Mimicry”.}

{Mimicry (beginner): Upon activating this skill, the individual will mimic into the choice of being that they have obtained. The individual will never change forms, even if they have received fatal damage, unless they personally choose to deactivate this skill. If damage to the being is done, the individual can deactivate and reactivate this skill and look back to normal. However, damage to the individual is still maintained.}

I huge grin appeared on Kei’s face. However, as he was a rat, he could only demonstrate his happiness by relaxing his ears; a very bizarre way for rats to demonstrate their excitement.

(Hahaha! This is what I’m talking about. No one’s safe. With this skill, I’m basically a cheat character! But, that won’t stop me. I’m going to steal any and every skill from everyone. No mercy. I’ll take control of this world and whatever else might be out there for me.)

However, Kei was not naïve either. After hearing an overload of information, skills, and their uses, one problem that Kei noticed with “Greed” was that for tiers of skills that were greater than his own, he would not obtain the skill by just stealing it. He must devour the opponent. Also, if they are not within two tiers, then he can just keep them until he gets a skill with a tier below it. He also deduced that “Greed” probably had some mechanism to make it easier for him to devour things. Furthermore, he wondered if this would work with non-living beings as well, since “target” doesn’t necessarily mean living and the skill also stated “devoured” or “killed”. He tested this on a rock by activating the skill on the target and obtained “hard”. When activated, the skill would provide a weak invisible protective barrier around him. He believed that it would do for now.

Excited for what’s come, Kei was anxiously waiting to put “Greed” to use. He scurried on.