Ascending to immortality (feathered ascension).
Taoist scriptures described a realm where one shed the shackles of the flesh and ascended to the heavens.
Casting off the material shell.
Transcending the limits of existence to reach the realm of pure enlightenment.
The person I had once been would have dismissed it with a snort as fanciful games played by immortals.
But things were different now.
Perhaps it was not the sole privilege of enlightened Taoists.
Even if I now wore the lowly form of a Slime.
Perhaps one day, I too.
Could I transcend the limits of this soft body and once again reach that distant summit?
Standing before the threshold of a new realm, I found myself seized by a strange anticipation.
***
A mass of white light burst forth.
My entire field of vision flashed white.
The moment the explosive flash faded, I found myself inside a strange and mysterious mental realm.
A dark cosmos of unfathomable depth stretched beneath my feet.
Countless star fragments drifted through the air, tracing faint paths.
'Where in the world am I?'
I asked myself. Quieting my heartbeat, I took in the alien scenery.
It felt as though I had been left alone at the center of an endless universe.
But rather than fear, an inexplicable warmth enveloped my entire body.
I cautiously looked around.
Not far away.
An antique marble altar stood at the center where the starlight converged.
I kicked lightly off the ground and approached the altar.
FWOOSH.
Blue flames suddenly blazed atop the altar.
Three translucent cards rose within the fire and spun in circles.
'Oh, would you look at that?'
Different shapes and geometric ancient script were engraved on each card.
Astonishingly, I could naturally read the meaning of those abstruse characters.
Their meaning settled clearly in my mind, as though they were a mother tongue I had known since long ago.
Moreover, the energy radiating from the cards was extremely familiar.
I had faced countless monsters while climbing the Black Tower in the past.
The special powers they had unleashed at my allies with their eyes glowing red.
Their mana felt exactly the same as the mana radiating from the cards before me.
'Then this must be some kind of Skill selection.'
Should I take a closer look?
[Smash (Lv.1)]
[Slash (Lv.1)]
[Roll (Lv.1)]
They were all Level 1.
In other words, they were still at the level of an infant taking its first steps.
But now that I had fallen naked into an unknown world, they would become reliable weapons for breaking through the difficult road ahead.
'What should I do?'
I circled the altar and pondered the matter briefly.
The Slash Skill. I might need sharp sword energy someday, but I felt no particular need for it now.
The Roll Skill. I was already perfectly capable of bouncing around with a Slime's elasticity.
'That leaves only one.'
My gaze had already gone beyond the mental realm to the thick stone wall blocking the cavern.
I needed the destructive power to smash the obstructing pile of rock and advance.
That left no reason to hesitate.
I had decided.
Without hesitation, I extended my round body toward the first card.
FLASH—!
The moment I chose it, the card shattered into golden powder and scattered.
A brilliant mass of light surged relentlessly toward my core.
A small, sparkling constellation was engraved clearly at the center of my once-dark mental realm.
As I gazed at it in satisfaction, my vision gradually grew distant.
***
I opened my eyes. I was back on the cavern floor, surrounded by the smell of earth.
'Then why don't I give it a try?'
I had chosen 'Smash.'
Without hesitation, I headed toward the place I had been eyeing from within the mental realm.
The thick stone wall that had been completely blocking one side of the path for some time.
No amount of ramming with my body had so much as scratched it.
I positioned myself proudly before the brick-hard obstacle.
I focused mana in the core that served as my dantian.
Scorching heat and compressed energy surged and writhed violently within my round membrane.
Part of my squishy jelly body bulged forward.
It soon emitted blue light and transformed into the shape of a hammer.
'Go!'
BOOM—!
A dull scraping sound.
Unfortunately, the wall did not break in a single blow.
Only a fine, web-shaped crack appeared across its surface.
But activating the Skill did not consume much mana.
'With efficiency like this, I could use it dozens of times in a row.'
Besides, this place was filled with pure mana everywhere.
Still, I calmly retraced the flow through my core.
The timing of the release had been slightly off.
I had hardened only the outer shell without putting my inner center of gravity behind it.
'It looks like there's still room for improvement......?'
HAAAH—!
Merely taking a deep breath rapidly replenished my core.
This time, I intended to use my entire body's elasticity.
I hopped backward and opened some distance.
Flattening myself against the floor, I raised the tension in my jelly to its limit.
SQUEEEZE.
I gathered power to the breaking point like a compressed spring.
My target was the center of that web-shaped crack.
The pent-up recoil exploded, and I cut through the air like a bullet.
As I flew, I focused the mana in my core toward my front once more.
BULGE.
The transparent hammer grew much larger and harder than before.
BAM—! BOOM—! BADOOM—!
I struck it repeatedly with the blue hammer.
CRUMBLE.
At last, the thick stone wall collapsed helplessly.
'I did it!'
I leaped straight into the air and cheered.
The concave, star-shaped eyes on my round body shone brightly with joy.
This was fun. It felt much more thrilling and refreshing than I had expected.
Something glittering between the broken rocks caught my eye.
A large lump of Mana Stone gleaming with brilliant colors.
It was a Supreme-Grade Mana Stone that could only be mined on the upper floors of a Black Tower Dungeon.
'Something like this was hidden in there?'
I rolled over excitedly and gulped down the Mana Stone.
Yum, gulp.
A sweet soda flavor. The popping freshness filling my mouth struck my core.
Exhilarating.
Pure mana spread through every corner of my jelly as though flowing through blood vessels.
It felt like having an icy waterfall poured over me in midsummer.
[Your proficiency with the Smash Skill has increased.]
[Your mana circuit has grown sturdier.]
A System window appeared with a pleasant alarm.
My body grew slightly larger, and its blue color became deeper and more lustrous.
Isn't this a complete bonanza?
Simply smashing walls and picking up stones to eat was no longer enough to satisfy me.
'Couldn't I refine the shape into something a little sharper?'
A round, blunt impact point like a hammer.
If I sharpened it into a pointed awl, its destructive power would double.
I began adjusting the mana in my core with tremendous precision.
I sharpened the end of my jelly. It was an advanced form of mana control that compressed the force keenly into a single point.
I transferred the sensation of honing sword energy in the past directly into this soft body.
SHIIING.
The tip of my transparent jelly rose to a point like a spearhead and took on a blue gleam.
I lightly launched myself toward a solid stone pillar.
STAB—!
It sank in without a sound.
Gone was the dull sensation of battering the rock apart.
Instead, I pierced deep into the stone as smoothly as cutting soft cheese.
'Success.'
It was the moment the striking Skill 'Smash' met my martial arts and evolved into a deadly piercing technique.
[You have partially unlocked the hidden potential of the Smash Skill.]
[The System pays tribute to your insight.]
An exhilarating alarm rang out.
I decided to find a stage where I could test this newly honed power while I was at it.
Scritch, scratch-scritch.
Just then, an eerie scraping sound came from the darkness.
It was an underground predator with a hard shell that emitted blue fluorescent light and sharp pincers.
A Crystal-Shelled Beetle.
'It seems that thing also feeds on Mana Stones.'
An unusually large red Mana Stone gleamed brilliantly in the center of its shell.
Whether it was a Slime's instinct or a Hunter's fighting spirit, I stared greedily at the creature.
It also noticed the intruder's presence.
Raising its pincers threateningly, it charged ferociously.
Fast.
But I was an S-Grade Hunter who had survived countless brushes with death. Such a simple trajectory was enough to make me yawn.
I launched the body I had pressed against the floor like a spring. Tracing a parabola, I easily evaded its charge.
I twisted in midair and landed gracefully on its back.
Atop the smooth crystal shell, I raised the viscosity of my underside to its limit and clung like a leech.
SCREEEE—!
It thrashed wildly, but to no avail.
I gathered mana in the core that served as my dantian.
My target was the weakest gap at the center of its shell, where the red Mana Stone protruded.
The awl-shaped jelly I had just honed plunged down like lightning.
Instead of relying on the acceleration of a fall, it was a compressed blow detonated at point-blank range.
Burst.
CRACK—! CRRRACK—!
A crisp rupturing sound. The proudly solid crystal shell shattered and flew in every direction.
The creature collapsed to the floor before it could even scream properly.
A clean blow.
I gulped down the red Mana Stone it dropped as loot.
A rich cherry flavor.
Sticky, dense mana unlike any of the stones I had eaten so far swept violently through my entire body.
[Your Soul Rank trembles faintly.]
Dizzying elation. Overwhelming pleasure. A blue arc tore violently through the darkness.
'Should I do that again?'
I was completely fired up.
I bounced excitedly through the darkness, smashing one thick stone wall after another as I advanced.
They began to look like boxes of cookies containing delicious treats.
Boing, I leaped. A heavy hammer mercilessly struck the rock.
BANG—!
Fragments flew and dust billowed with the thrilling rupture.
I found a yellow Mana Stone in the rubble.
This one had a tangy lemon flavor. I swallowed every last bit and made it nourishment for my core.
Boing, boing, boing.
I did not stop.
Whenever I encountered a blocked passage, I smashed through it, and whenever I encountered a narrow crevice, I squeezed myself through.
The sensation of forcing my way through suffocating obstacles was strangely addictive.
It was the exhilarating relief of puncturing a balloon just before it burst.
Rocks were not the only things blocking the way.
Thick, tough, thorny vines stretching from somewhere tangled across the passage like a spiderweb.
It was the sort of situation that might make me regret not choosing the Slash Skill.
But the instincts of the martial prodigy who had created the Lightning God Style always found an answer.
'If I can't cut them, I only have to crush them.'
I concentrated mana fiercely in my core.
I created vibrations.
Fine, rapid waves of mana rippled across the surface of my jelly.
GRRRRIND—!
The instant I touched the vines, the vibration spun like a gear, shredding their tough fibers.
Green sap sprayed everywhere as the passage opened wide.
'Heehee, yes, that's the stu-u-u-uff—!'
What a relief.
I continued demolishing the walls and advancing.
The cavern terrain gradually grew more complex. Stalactites rose to sharp points, and the ground became rugged.
But that was even better. The more obstacles there were, the more refined my striking practice became.
I shot into the air. I drew my body taut and added the acceleration of my fall as I slammed hard into the ground.
BOOOOM—!
The ground shook, and a volcanic-looking crater was gouged into the earth.
RUMBLE.
At that moment.
Had I gotten too carried away?
Beyond the last wall I had broken with a tremendous crash.
A scene bathed in faint light appeared, somehow different from the stone walls I had encountered so far.
And there.
Someone lying on a soft bed turned to look at me.
"Hmm, you are rather noisy, little one."
A low, elegant voice.
'Ah, I've really done it now.'
Even in a Slime's body, it somehow felt as though cold sweat were running down my spine.
She smiled quietly at me.