Syl

Chapter 205: Training Experiments

Vee and I spent almost an entire week making periodic visits to the elemental dungeon. Surprisingly, the biggest hurdle was not the experience but her skill progression as she rocketed through the early levels of Mage, thanks to the plethora of monster experiences, even some of which I had siphoned off.

Unfortunately, Vee did not have [Prodigy], and trying to share it with her didn’t seem possible, as it appeared as a garbled message when she viewed it. Clearly, it was a leftover from my previous life that Gramps must have left behind, either intentionally or accidentally, and that was why I got access to it. Likewise, my Dimension affinity was subsequently locked.

Not that I can complain about that too much. At least I can unlock it with trait points, which I can’t say about other rare affinities. I somehow doubt there’s a slime core that would grant me that!

I tried to give Vee as much guidance as possible, which helped my [Companion Training] skills grow exponentially.

<Proficiency gained. [Companion Training LV 4] improved to [Companion Training LV 5].>

Even [Prodigy] couldn’t explain this rapid growth. I could only speculate it was due to the nature of my lessons being so advanced that I was getting some disproportionate experience bonuses due to perceived difficulty. After all, the system probably never expected an intelligent monster to be trained, and anyone who successfully taught a normal spider magic would deserve to be significantly rewarded.

I knew we also needed to nurture our [Companion Bond] to receive further boosts and features, so I started trying to confide more in her. The results were mixed, but it seemed an easy way to her heart was through her stomach.

<Bond Growth: Flamelet.>

This is higher than Kindling... Right? I couldn’t help but wonder.

During our magical training, I finally reached the next level of [Metal Slime]. Once that was met, I wasted no time eating both the silver slime cores I had been waiting for.

<Proficiency gained. [Metal Slime LV 4] improved to [Metal Slime LV 5].>

<Slime (Silver) Core absorbed. Trait [Metal Slime], [Shape Slime] gained.>

<Existing Trait [Metal Slime LV 5] improved to [Metal Slime LV 6].>

<Trait [Shape Slime LV 1] integrated into [Morph Slime LV 8].>

<Slime (Silver) Core absorbed. Trait [Metal Slime], [Shape Slime] gained.>

<Existing Trait [Metal Slime LV 6] improved to [Metal Slime LV 7].>

<Trait [Shape Slime LV 2] integrated into [Morph Slime LV 8].>

I was a little sad not to get to the next level of [Morph Slime], but at the end of the day, I really wanted the [Metal Slime] levels. I promptly started trying to see what new metals I had access to. A plethora of alloys and high-quality metals had suddenly become available; steel, electrum, lead-silver, and even orichalcum. The latter was extremely exciting because I found out that it was effectively the evolution of enchantable metals!

Move over gold and electrum; there’s a new boss in town!

Orichalcum was both highly Mana-conductive and yet far more durable than gold! This meant that creating an entire enchanted weapon was much more reasonable, and it was in extreme demand as you could use it in vast quantities without risking the structural integrity of your forged goods. This also explained why the Flinthearts were in such dire circumstances with their mine being taken over.

Adamantine and Mithril seemed still out of reach, although I was willing to bet that the next level would unlock at least one of them entirely. Obsidianite, despite being described as on par with Adamantine, was even further out of reach, making me wonder how the system was judging my usable materials.

Now having access to much higher quality metals, I had begun trying to experiment with [Rune Engraving] while my [Sub-Cores] assisted Vee.

The idea was simple: create a metal sword out of slime and then try enchanting it. Since the slime was all part of my extremely malleable body, I could engrave it directly from memory without needing a tool. It seemed far too easy, and I had expected it to fail, but surprisingly, it worked!

My first trial run of creating a silver sword with enhanced durability was a resounding success, so I moved on to recreate the childhood dream of all budding enchanters: the flaming sword!

Well, at least Greg said it was the dream of all enchanters. I could make one out of magic or add [Blaze Slime] to the mix.

During my time as Sylvester, I only got the basic enchantments, so I could only add a low-grade fire enchantment. But after almost no time at all, I suddenly held a steel blade with golden etchings along the flat of the blade and blazing with magical flames.

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"Okay! That is so damn cool!" Vee exclaimed with excitement, seeing the blade.

I flourished it a bit and grinned.

"Yeah, it looks great, but the reality, it’s kind of shit compared to everything else we can do," I pointed out.

Vee sighed. "I think you just destroyed the hopes and dreams of young boys everywhere."

"Well, not everyone can be a shapeshifting slime who’s collected seven other slime powers," I teased and quickly added. "Or a dimensional murder spider! Hell, even the axe one of my friends found in a dungeon was better than this. It had a blade that could cut ghosts!"

"True..." Vee admitted. "Also, wow, you’ve eaten seven other slimes?"

"I’ve eaten a lot more than seven. But if we count unique slime cores, then yes, I’ve added seven to my collection. I hope one day to collect them all!"

"And then take over the world?" Vee joked.

"Well, Trixie said I could probably do that if I took the Queen evolution," I joked back.

"Please don’t!" Vee pleaded. "I can’t imagine the world being overrun with slimes like you!"

I chuckled. "That’s the best part! Would you even know they were slimes? Maybe they would all just be looking like humans living among us."

Vee gasped. "I hadn’t even considered that they would inherit that from you. That sounds like something out of a horror movie. You’d take over a city and slowly replace its population with slimy doppelgangers!"

I shrugged. "I actually have no idea. I hope they’ll inherit something from me. But for all I know, I’d just plop out a bunch of mindless blue slimes."

"Do you have no plans to change your base species?" Vee questioned. "Having changed species before, I must say the boost I got to my body was particularly consequential. Suddenly, I was far faster and stronger than before. It was a much bigger deal than my Mutation unless I count this last one, which seemed to combine both types."

I hummed while trying to digest Vee’s information. "I’m not sure... Maybe if I’m offered something extraordinarily unique? I’ve grown quite fond of being a blue slime, although I could always change my color back,"

"Which is totally unfair, by the way!" Vee quipped.

I stuck a cheeky tongue out before continuing. "But how would that even affect me? I don’t exactly have a body, per se. For some reason, I get the feeling I wouldn’t get as big of a boost by changing my species as you did."

"I mean... You don’t truly know that, right?" Vee asked. "Gut feeling is good and all, but I definitely noticed a significant upgrade for myself. Just saying..."

"Yeah, I agree..." I admitted. "If I get a really tempting offer, like for an extinct slime, then I probably will. The mutations have seemed far better for me, but who knows what my next evolution will offer me? Probably something really good if I look at what tier five offered you."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Yeah! Positive thoughts!" Vee cheered.

"I’m glad you’re so optimistic! We should try adding Dimensional Mana to a projectile spell construct again!" I said with a fiendish grin.

Vee’s horror and dismay bled through our telepathic bond.

"Oh no... Not again!" She cried.

That experimentation had been particularly unsuccessful for us. Well, for Vee, since I still didn’t have access to Dimensional Mana. Even with my own version of a magical training boot camp, Vee’s [Mana Manipulation] was still woefully inadequate.

I had tried begging and pleading with Mother to give me the discount so I could help Vee directly, but perhaps she couldn’t modify the quest anymore. Vee suggested she was just "being a bitch" and was likely being delighted by Vee’s mental suffering.

Vee received intense backlash whenever she tried to work with the Dimensional Mana and the spell fell apart. One time, it was so bad I even gave her a healing potion to help her recover; another time, it had almost emptied out her entire Mana pool!

Seriously... Who gives someone [Dimension Magic] to start with? Even though I can’t remember anything about my past life, I bet I had at least one basic magic to work with! It’s a pity I don’t remember anything, or I could have pulled some lessons from my past life. Assuming past me actually could cast some [Dimension Magic] spells.

While Vee struggled to get some type of result from the stubborn advanced magic, I continued trying to see what I could accomplish with enchanting [Metal Slime]. Spurred on by my memory of Ian’s amazing dungeon axe, I wanted to try replicating the effects of that and the spell-storing ring I had given Eliza.

I had thoroughly memorized the enchantment for both and even requested my [Sub-Cores] keep their own record of them. Whether it was useful or not without understanding was a mystery, without even considering if my [Rune Engraving] level was sufficient.

I began trying to create a replica of the axe to aid in reproducing the engraving. Then, I started working with shifting to place the enchantment on the axe.

The axe replica in my hands exploded into a burst of slimy goop, thoroughly coating my nearby vicinity. I blinked a few times in confusion and then remembered how dangerous a failed enchantment could be.

It’s a good thing that was only slime, or that could have been dangerous!

I heard Vee giggling, no doubt amused at seeing me fail so spectacularly.

I kept repeating my process carefully and methodically, trying my best to ensure I wasn’t screwing up the enchantment somewhere. After my third failure, I began to get annoyed.

Wait... Perhaps I need to use orichalcum instead? I’ve been using steel since it seemed the best for weapons at the current stage, but maybe the enchantment is too powerful, and it’s overloading it?

I tried again, this time using orichalcum, and got much further along before the weapon exploded, albeit in a considerably less violent fashion. I kept trying and eventually concluded that perhaps my [Rune Engraving] skill was not up to scratch.

Well, at least I know what I will add to my training regime. I hope Greg doesn’t find out that it’s still at the first level after all this time.

I moved on to the spell ring with the ghost-killing axe out of reach. I used my [Sub-Cores] to shape the blueprint in ordinary slime to examine it in better detail.

From what I could see, this enchantment had three main components: the circular enchantment, which housed the spell inside the crystal sphere on the ring; an enchantment around the ring that allowed the user to interface with the magical item; and a final enchantment that linked the individual spherical enchantments in each orb to the ring and provided vital protection to the user.

Ugh... I wish I had more practice with spherical enchantments. But... In theory, I don’t need to copy everything. I don’t need a wearable ring; I just need a sphere that can hold a spell and then release it violently. I don’t even need the safety features!

The idea I had in my head was a sphere of orichalcum slime, enchanted to store a spell and then primed to hold its form. Then I throw in a spell, probably a good [Chain Lightning] or something equally powerful, and toss the ball at something.

And then... Boom!

I chuckled to myself as I began experimenting...