Novels2Search
It Started with Slime
Chapter 44 – Road to Density

Chapter 44 – Road to Density

Natural Plant Healing has increased to Level 18!

You have just received +4.7 Luck!

Land Dwelling has increased to Level 16!

Land Dwelling has increased to Level 18!

Consume has increased to Level 21!

Consume has increased to Level 22!

The Talents were already showing their worth by pushing stagnant skills up fast. It was a wonder to Resh and something that it was sure it needed to keep working on. Resh Identified Consolidate to see if it was the right time to go for it.

Slime Species Skill Strong Consolidate Lv. 17 Exp. 9058 / 9146

Consolidating will result in a net gain of stats, a negligible chance of some minuscule stat loss.

…and that is good enough for me! After a quick and silent celebration, Resh checked the prompt for Consolidate.

You are planning to use Consolidate! This is irreversible and will take 7hrs and 24min at your current Weight of 1,330.30g and Volume of 492.70cm3 after the process is concluded you will have a Weight of 226.15g and Volume of 77.98cm3 your new Density will be 2.9g/cm3, while Consolidate is happening you will be unable to perform any further actions, you will not be able to use any passive skills related to movement or growth, only those related directly to your safety, at this time those are Strong Camouflage and Strong Odour Alteration. Do you wish to go ahead with Consolidate? Yes / No?

Yes! Resh thought, and the process began…

A few hours later still underground and considerably smaller, some parts of Resh’s current space had collapsed on top of it as space had been created from its shrinking body. Resh had made some interesting gains once again.

You have Consolidated to 226.15g and 77.98cm3 your Density has increased to 2.9g/cm3!

Consolidate has increased to Level 18!

You have gained and lost the following stats due to size and weight reduction! +5 Speed, +6 Reaction, +4 Resistance, +3 Intellect, +2 Acuity, +3 Focus, +2 Dexterity!

Resh continued to think about its gains and the memories that plagued its mind when blanked. But could not help feeling there had to be a faster or better way still. Unfortunately, it had tried to analyse the Consolidation process but as before its senses had receded and so it was unable to understand how it worked on a deeper level so could not do what it had one for some of its other skills and abilities to make them more efficient. It was a shame as Resh thought there had to be ways to make it better. Maybe in the future, the Earth Slime would find a way to make it work.

Resh was straight back to grinding Consume again. It was going to be a long process with no end in sight. Resh sighed and got back to it. Consume, Consolidate then Consume and Consolidate again. It was taking too long and Resh needed to start Consolidating multiple times a day or it was going to take too long to get to where it needed to for Dense Slime. So at 226.15g Resh decided to Identify. It was time to check what losses it would incur for Consolidating early.

Slime Species Skill Strong Consolidate Lv. 18 Exp. 10388 / 10686

Consolidating will result in a net gain of stats, a high chance of some medium stat loss.

Small stat loss, that couldn’t be too much, right? Resh braced itself for the loss and decided to take the plunge.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

You are planning to use Consolidate! This is irreversible and will take 1hr and 15min at your current Weight of 226.15g and Volume of 77.98cm3 after the process is concluded you will have a Weight of 40.71g and Volume of 13.13cm3 your new Density will be 3.1g/cm3, while Consolidate is happening you will be unable to perform any further actions, you will not be able to use any passive skills related to movement or growth, only those related directly to your safety, at this time there are Strong Camouflage and Strong Odour Alteration. Do you wish to go ahead with Consolidate? Yes / No?

Yes… Resh was less enthusiastic this time with its affirmative.

Just over an hour later….

You have Consolidated to 40.71g and 13.13cm3 your Density has increased to 3.1g/cm3!

You have gained and lost the following stats due to size and weight reduction! +1 Speed, -1 Reaction, +1 Intellect, +1 Focus, +1 Dexterity, -1 Endurance, -1 Vitality, -1 Resistance!

Resh let out a breath at the results. It had gained four and lost four….The situation wasn’t as bad as it had thought. Nothing gained but a bit of Density and it had not lost any strength. That didn’t mean it would never happen but there was a chance. Should it try again? No. That would be too much and trying too much. Setting the lower limit at 250g Resh decided that if it Consolidated there its chances would be a little better. Also with higher levels, it would lose less weight from each Consolidate.

And so Resh started the cycle Consolidating once it got to 250g, it took Resh about ten hours each time to get to its target size and then a little over an hour to Consolidate. Then a little time to sleep in between, Resh was powering through.

A week and many Consolidations later Resh was feeling full, well-rested and extremely solid. The last one had made that clear. Resh had transitioned without realising, to something…less viscous, the last one had taken Resh over the 5g/cm3 threshold and that seemed to have made a tangible difference both in texture and solidity. Giving itself some time to get used to the feeling Resh looked at its other gains.

You have gained and lost the following stats due to size and weight reduction! -4 Strength, -6 Vitality, -7 Endurance, -8 Resistance, +10 Speed, +10 Dexterity, +9 Accuracy, +3 Perception, +6 Reaction, +7 Intellect, +12 Acuity, +7 Fortitude, +12 Command, -2 Focus!

Consolidate has increased to Level 19!

Consolidate has increased to Level 20!

Consume has increased to Level 23!

Watery Sight has increased to Level 20!

Watery Sight has increased to Level 22!

Oral Devastation has increased to Level 15!

Oral Devastation has increased to Level 18!

Ears of Echo Location has increased to Level 11!

Ears of Echo Location has increased to Level 15!

Smell of Watery Soil has increased to Level 10!

Congratulations on reaching Level 10! Your Smell of Watery Soil has improved to Strong Smell of Watery Soil! You are now able to tell different smells apart when mixed scents assault your nose!

Resh felt a burning in its nose. Something was happening! Resh sneezed to get rid of the burning itch. It was too much. Resh pawed at it but its appendages were not well suited to the action. A few minutes later, and an eternity, Resh raised its head and assessed what it smelt, knowing that something should be different now. It took a moment but once Resh had raised its head it felt more than smelt the difference. Sensations came at it from all sides. There weren’t many distinct smells in the soil around it but with this new sense of smell Resh was able to feel different flavours from different sides. Subtle but distinct, Resh was able to parse apart the different smells in a way that it had not been able to before. It was interesting that even though what was coming in through its nose was the same. Resh was able to receive that information in its mind and separate it. It was an incredible feeling and Resh knew that digging deeper would be the trick to unlocking this Talent. But now was not the time, there were more pressing concerns; Resh filed that information away for later.

Smell of Watery Soil has increased to Level 11!

Smell of Watery Soil has increased to Level 14!

Digging Legs has increased to Level 17!

Digging Legs has increased to Level 19!

Double Wormtails has increased to Level 10!

Congratulations on reaching Level 10! Your Double Wormtails has improved to Quad Worm Tails! You get a bonus +10 Command! Also, you now have four tails destined for the four cardinal elements, find and Assimilate four elemental worms to gain the full potential of this limb. This may also affect your Melee Skill Dual Wormtail’s Stab. Remaining Worm Species to Assimilate: Fire Worm and Flying Worm.

Well, that is interesting isn’t it, I’ve never got a monster-hunting mission before. This could be fun! Flying through the air and shooting down a Flying Worm, or Water Gunning down a Fire Worm! They can’t be that strong if the ones here are so weak, I am going to have to keep looking through as I haven’t seen anything like that here. If Resh had hands it would have been rubbing them in glee, there was nothing this Earth Slime liked more than an easy way to power.

Quad Worm Tails has increased to Level 11!

Quad Worm Tails has increased to Level 14!

Shell of the River Crab has increased to Level 6!

Shell of the River Crab has increased to Level 10!

Congratulations on reaching Level 10! Your Shell of the River Crab has improved to Strong Shell of the River Crab! This has resulted in a greater boost to your defensive capabilities. Each level will reduce the physical damage you take by 0.2% instead of 0.1%. In addition, your shell will now cover your top and underside meaning that there will be less chance of people hit. Other parts of your body are still exposed but over 90% is now covered by your carapace. Increased density will provide additional benefits to this appendage.

Shell of the River Crab has increased to Level 11!