With the Doppelganger Slime in his grasp and having returned to his room safely without being detected, Ackster finally felt as if he was going to survive. Ever since he had transmigrated and realized the situation he was in, an overwhelming shadow of death had hung over him and put near-crippling pressure on him. But now, Ackster could see a ray of light pierce through that shadow.
But Ackster didn’t feel safe yet. And with good reason. Finding and capturing a Doppelganger Slime was only the bare minimum of what would lead to the successful execution of the plan that would save his life and help him jump the first hurdle of his life after transmigration. It was by no means a guarantee that he would survive for two more days.
But in order to increase his chances of survival as much as possible, Ackster was going to spend a couple of sleepless nights preparing. But first, he had to get off the floor. After only one night, it had already become a habit of Ackster’s to sit down and lean against the wall below the window after returning from the forest.
Ackster opened the bag and emptied out most of its contents on the desk. The thing he found right before he left the clearing was left in the bag. But the Sun-kissed grass and the still-dormant Doppelganger Slime left the bag.
Ackster separated the slime from the grass. After looking at the pile of herbs, Ackster decided he might as well start eating them. Since the poison goblin’s body had been poisonous enough to kill a beast, Ackster worried that there might be some trace amounts remaining in his body. Though, he wasn’t sure that a few basic healing herbs would do anything against that.
But that wasn’t the only reason he chose to eat the Sun-kissed grass. It was more of a guess, but based on Ackster’s understanding of how innate skills worked in the world of the story he had transmigrated into, there were different ways to strengthen those skills. And since his skill, Strong Body, improved his regeneration and healing factor, Ackster found it reasonable to assume that healing-type materials, like Sun-kissed grass, could help strengthen that property of his skill.
Basic Sun-kissed grass probably wouldn’t do much, but it was better than nothing, especially when he didn’t have anything else to do as he waited for the Doppelganger Slime to wake up.
Although Ackster’s most urgent priority was to survive the day after tomorrow, that was only the first in a long line of hurdles he would have to overcome if he wanted to live a long life. And improving and strengthening the foundation of his strength, the Strong Body skill, would be essential in ensuring Ackster had the power to overcome those hurdles.
Even if it would be as useful as spitting on a rock, Ackster still had to take every moment and opportunity to train and grow stronger. And at the moment, eating tangy and slightly warm Sun-kissed grass was everything he could do.
Unfortunately, there weren’t many herbs left intact in the glade after his feverish rampage last night, so Ackster was quickly left entertaining himself by licking a stalk while waiting.
Ackster was tired, but it was more mental fatigue than physical exhaustion since he had kept his senses constantly sharpened and been on high alert during his expedition into the forest. But since he had to wait for the slime to leave dormancy, he couldn’t sleep yet. Even when the slime woke up again, Ackster couldn’t afford to sleep. Every moment was precious. Not to mention that he didn’t want to leave the slime unsupervised inside his house while he was asleep.
But he needed to be in a decent condition, so while sucking on the stalk like a toothpick, a soft one, Ackster closed his eyes and let his mind rest as he waited for the Doppelganger Slime to stir.
He didn’t get as much rest as he wanted, but he didn’t care. The sooner the slime woke up, the better.
Ackster sensed the slime begin to move without even looking. He didn’t know how, but he just attributed it to his skill and opened his eyes to look at the murky, colorless, shapeless sack of gelatinous water-like something.
He hadn’t gotten too good of a look at it back in the forest since only the moons and the stars lit up the night. But inside his room, Ackster saw clearly how weird the slime was. It was an unthinkable existence for someone from Earth.
Or maybe not. The slime could almost pass for a single-cell organism living on only its instincts, at least the slime on the desk in front of him could. Just a lot bigger. It was also a fact that slimes as monsters were part of many fantasy stories and games.
However, reading or seeing not-necessarily realistic recreations of slimes was different from having one of them in front of himself, even more so when it came to touching it. The one thing Ackster felt he could compare it to was when he had found a jellyfish washed up on the beach.
The slime’s body wasn’t as wet as the jellyfish’s had been, and it was also a lot springier. Ackster couldn’t remember anything that was quite like it on Earth. Even a jellyfish was only a vague comparison.
Ackster watched the Doppelganger Slime as it slowly began wriggling as if someone was blowing on it from up close. He couldn’t help but be excited to see what he had only imagined as he read the book happen in front of his eyes.
The slime had been completely limp and unmoving after Ackster beat the shit out of it when it looked like a goblin. But it was gradually starting to move and shift a little. Its movements intensified slightly until it stilled again. But Ackster could somehow sense that it hadn’t returned to dormancy.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
As brainless as the slime was, it was somehow observing him. But Ackster didn’t feel any fear or caution. He just waited until it finished. Ackster didn’t even have to guess when the slime was done with its observation. The feeling of being watched disappeared, and the slime wriggled and stretched like an angry child was playing and throwing a tantrum with it.
The Doppelganger Slime wriggled and stretched as it grew and expanded. When it became about ten times its original size, which was close to Ackster’s height, the slime gradually started getting colorful as well. The colors mixed and swirled like oil. Before they even finished and the slime completed its transformation, Ackster could already see what colors the slime was dying itself with. It was, after all, the same colors as himself and the clothes he was wearing.
After it became clear that the slime was using the same color palette as Ackster, it only took a few moments before another Ackster appeared on the bench. It sat on the desk but had the same posture and stature as Ackster, who sat on the chair in front of it.
Ackster inspected the perfect copy of himself in a state of shock. He had read about Doppelgangers and Doppelganger Slimes and their superior ability to imitate what they see in the original story. But reading and imagining it as part of a fantasy tale and seeing it in person were two completely different things.
The only thing that helped Ackster calm down and reorganize his thoughts as quickly as he did was the fact that he was technically inhabiting a foreign body. The strange sense of dissonance between himself and his body made it easier for Ackster to accept the flawless duplication.
But that didn’t mean he could get caught up in his amazement at the Doppelganger Slime’s ability. Now, right after the slime had copied him was the moment it was the most susceptible to outside interference.
Ackster quickly closed his eyes as he recalled the words the original Ackster had spoken before the execution he suffered at The Hero’s hands.
Although he didn’t necessarily mind changing the flow of the story by changing things, Ackster would prefer to at least keep things in the beginning as close to the original story as possible. That would make it easier for him to predict and take advantage of what was going to happen next.
The only two advantages he had in this world were the information he had from reading the original story and the cheat-like skill, Strong Body. Until Strong Body was strong enough to make up for the loss of his first advantage, Ackster wanted to keep things as closely related to the original story as possible, at least on the surface and in the beginning.
And to make sure there were as few initial ripples in time as possible, he had to do what he could to make sure there weren’t any changes from the original story. Thankfully, due to the original Ackster’s minimal participation in the original story, Ackster didn’t have to do much.
But the least he could do was make sure the Doppelganger Slime taking his place in the duel tomorrow replicated the original Ackster’s actions and words as closely as he could make it.
Ackster opened his eyes and looked straight at his copy.
“You’re early, you shitty, bitchy, blond, overblown Hero. But I guess you’re used to coming first, so what’s it matter, right?”
“...”
“Why the fuck would I forfeit or flee when my opponent is a lunatic with overrated looks and a fancy sword?”
“...”
“Shut it, servant number three. No one wants to hear you apologizing to this arrogant sunflower. If anything, you should apologize to me for showing your ugly mug in my vicinity.”
“...”
“Get on stage already, you fucking snail. No matter how much your girlfriends coddle, hug, kiss, suck, and fuck you, they won’t be able to help you in this duel.”
“...”
“Do you honestly think I need a weapon to deal with a joke and a scam like you? You can grab that fake sword and shove it up your ass if you care about weapons so much. Oh wait, I forgot you already have a stick there. Though, I’m sure you can fit the sword up there as well. You are one big ass, after all. Besides, you’re probably used to having things shoved up your butt since no one would be satisfied if you were to do the shoving.”
“...”
“I’m ready whenever. It’s this bastard we’re waiting–”
“...”
Ackster wasn’t sure if he had remembered it all correctly. But it should be close enough that there aren’t any noticeable deviations in the original story. He could only be thankful that it was all he had to remember since those were also the original Ackster’s last words.
Since the original Ackster had claimed to have been ready whenever, The Hero didn’t stay still and just ended the original Ackster before he could even finish his sentence. An anticlimactic end befitting of an antagonist without any real purpose. Ackster’s death was just like his life, pointless.
After saying it all once, Ackster repeated it. But this time, he threw in suitable facial expressions. Simply copying what Ackster said wouldn’t be enough. The slime had to act perfectly as the original Ackster did in the original story.
So, after doing it all with facial expressions, Ackster stood up and began walking around the room with the same cocky strides that his body remembered the original Ackster having.
It would have been even better if he could have access to the training grounds where the duel would take place since it would help him perfect the slime’s movements and actions.
But Doppelganger Slimes wouldn’t be so fearsome from an espionage and infiltration perspective if they were that easily discovered.
The Doppelganger Slime watched and listened to Ackster as he walked around the room and repeated the phrases that the slime needed to learn. He kept the same order, and he tried to time the pauses between each line so that the slime wouldn’t accidentally speak or answer someone else before they had even finished talking.
Ackster couldn’t be sure, but he felt that the budding light of intelligence in the Doppelganger Slime’s eyes was a sign that his teachings were beginning to stick. But he didn’t let his thoughts show on his face in case the slime picked up on it and decided to copy that expression.
Ackster was so busy teaching the slime that he didn’t even notice the sun starting to rise, so he nearly jumped out of his skin when the kitchen staff knocked on his door with breakfast.