[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION…]
[ERROR: SIGNAL INTERFERENCE DETECTED]
[REBOOTING NARRATIVE STREAM…]
PROLOGUE: THE MOMENT BEFORE SILENCE
Rain fell like static across the city.
Cold. Mechanical. Indifferent.
Victor barely noticed it.
Headphones in. Eyes half-lidded.
Another long day dissolving into the blur of routine. Neon lights reflected in
puddles like fractured stars, shimmering beneath his feet as he crossed the
street—
—then the sound came.
A horn. Too loud. Too close.
Time fractured.
A flash of headlights.
A body that refused to move fast enough.
A single, unfinished thought—
"…so this is how it ends?"
Impact.
INTERLUDE: THE VOID THAT WATCHES
There was no pain.
Only… falling.
Victor drifted through a space that
was not space. A void that was not empty. It pulsed—slowly, like something
breathing beneath reality itself.
Then—
Something noticed him.
Not eyes. Not a gaze.
A pressure.
Ancient. Vast. Dead.
And yet—
Hungry.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE ATTEMPTING TO LOAD…]
[ERROR: FOREIGN DATA DETECTED]
[ERROR: ENTITY SIGNATURE — UNKNOWN]
[CLASSIFICATION: ⛧ ⛧ ⛧ [REDACTED] ⛧ ⛧ ⛧]
Something brushed against his soul.
No—through it.
It did not think. It did not speak.
It simply was.
And in that instant—
Victor changed.
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE FAILED]
[SOUL INTEGRITY: ALTERED]
[PROCEEDING WITH REINCARNATION…]
BIRTH OF THE LOWEST
Darkness gave way to sensation.
Wet. Cold. Heavy.
Victor… existed.
But something was wrong.
He tried to breathe—
He couldn't.
He tried to move—
His body rippled.
No limbs. No lungs. No bones.
Only… formless mass.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
Name: Victor
Race: Lesser Slime
Level: 1
HP: 12/12
MP: 4/4
Stats:
• Strength: 1
• Agility: 1
• Vitality: 2
• Intelligence: 3
• Magic: 2
Skills Acquired:
• Basic Absorption (Lv.1)
• Weak Acid Body (Lv.1)
• Passive: Eye of Raphael (Unique)
"Eye of Raphael, huh?" Victor rolled his metaphorical eyes at the cliche nature of the skill.
WARNING: UNIQUE SKILL DETECTED]
[ORIGIN: UNAUTHORIZED]
Victor's awareness sharpened.
Information flooded him—not in words, but in knowing.
The cave around him came into focus.
Jagged stone. Damp air. Faint vibrations.
Life.
[EYE OF RAPHAEL ACTIVATED]
Analysis:
• Environment: Low-tier monster cave
• Threat Level: Moderate
• Nearby Entities:
→ Small Vermin (x3)
→ Lesser Slime (x2)
→ Unknown Presence… [Signal Distorted]
Hunger struck.
Sudden. Violent. Instinctual.
Victor moved—no, flowed—toward the nearest presence.
A tiny cave rat.
It squealed too late.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: BASIC ABSORPTION]
The world narrowed.
Contact.
Dissolution.
Consumption.
[YOU HAVE DEVOURED: Cave Rat]
+EXP Gained
Trait Acquired (Minor): Enhanced Scent
HP Restored
Victor stilled.
Something inside him shifted.
A fragment of the rat lingered—not physically, but as data.
Assimilated.
And somewhere deep within—
Something else stirred.
THE FIRST HUNGER
Time lost meaning.
Victor hunted.
Small creatures. Weak slimes.
Each devoured.
Each added to him.
[LEVEL UP → 5]
[LEVEL UP → 8]
His body changed subtly.
Denser. Faster.
Smarter.
But also—
Less… stable.
[WARNING: ABSORPTION STRAIN DETECTED]
[MENTAL COHESION: 97% → 92%]
Fragments of instinct bled into him.
Fear. Hunger. Panic.
He pushed them down.
I am Victor.
He repeated it like a mantra.
THE EDGE OF EVOLUTION
The cave deepened.
Darkness thickened.
And then—
A predator.
[EYE OF RAPHAEL ACTIVATED]
Target: Fang Serpent (Juvenile)
Level: 12
Threat Level: HIGH
Victor froze.
It was stronger.
Faster.
Deadlier.
But hunger whispered—
Devour it.
The serpent struck.
Victor split.
Barely.
Acid burned its scales—but not enough.
Pain surged.
HP plummeted.
[HP: 3/18]
Desperation.
Instinct.
Something deeper—
pulled.
[SKILL…?]
[ERROR: UNREGISTERED FUNCTION]
Victor lunged.
Not at the body—
At the essence.
Contact.
[CRITICAL EVENT: FORCED ABSORPTION]
The serpent thrashed.
Victor clung.
Devouring beyond his limits.
[WARNING: SYSTEM LIMIT EXCEEDED]
[WARNING: IDENTITY COLLAPSE IMMINENT]
Then—
Silence.
[YOU HAVE DEVOURED: Fang Serpent]
[LEVEL UP → 10]
Something broke.
[EVOLUTION AVAILABLE]
Options:
• Greater Slime
• Acid Slime
• Swift Slime
Victor hesitated.
Then—
Another option flickered.
[ERROR: DISPLAY FAILURE]
[ATTEMPTING TO CORRECT…]
It appeared.
Briefly...
"Wait, this wasn't supposed to be the plot!!" Victor screamed internally at the sudden plot twist.