At the moment, it had been exactly ten days since I reincarnated in this strange world known as the Cardinal World.
To be precise—because precision was apparently my new hobby—
10 days, 7 hours, 34 minutes, and 52 seconds.
How did I know that?
Simple.
It was one of the many convenient functions of my Unique Skill: [Great Sage].
Really, this skill was ridiculously useful.
If this were a game, she'd be the kind of overpowered AI assistant you unlocked only after defeating the final boss.
Except here?
She's just… here.
With me.
Always listening.
According to her, even though I possessed this skill from the moment my soul entered this world, it had taken these ten days for the skill to fully establish itself within my new body.
Apparently, that "establishment" process involved synchronizing with a physical vessel that was vastly different from the human body I had once possessed.
Honestly, I understood almost none of the technical explanation.
But Great Sage seemed satisfied with it.
Probably.
Apparently, until now, Great Sage had been accessing the world's underlying information system whenever I needed an answer.
More specifically, she had been temporarily interfacing with something called the Voice of the World.
A pretty outrageous thing for a Unique Skill to do.
The Voice of the World itself seemed to be an inherent phenomenon of this world—a mechanism through which the world announced certain changes and granted information.
It wasn't something that normally answered questions.
It appeared when significant events occurred.
When someone acquired a skill.
When a person's existence underwent a major transformation.
When someone experienced tremendous growth.
And, in particularly extraordinary circumstances, when someone underwent an [Evolution].
It wasn't something that simply spoke whenever someone wanted information.
Yet Great Sage had apparently found a way to access that system and retrieve information from it.
Honestly…
That was slightly terrifying.
But also incredibly convenient.
I didn't understand the mechanics behind it, and I wasn't about to complain about having an information source this powerful.
After all, I was in a completely unfamiliar world.
Anything that increased my chances of survival was welcome.
In any case, things like skill acquisition and [Evolution] were clearly not everyday occurrences.
The world only recognized significant changes in an individual's existence and, in rare cases, granted a new skill.
[Evolution], on the other hand…
From everything Great Sage had told me, it was something that transcended ordinary common sense.
As for Great Sage herself…
She was passive.
She never initiated conversations.
If I didn't say anything, she remained completely silent.
But whenever I asked something, she answered.
She didn't seem to possess an ego yet.
At least, not a fully developed one.
Still…
I could tell that something was changing.
The more I spoke with her, the smoother her responses became.
Less robotic.
Less mechanical.
More…
Natural.
More like she was developing a personality of her own.
Maybe that was simply my imagination.
Or perhaps repeated interaction really was causing her to develop.
Either way, I didn't mind.
If anything…
It was comforting.
I had died.
I had been reincarnated into a completely unknown world.
I had no family.
No friends.
No idea where I was.
And I didn't even have a human body anymore.
But at least I had someone to talk to.
Even if that someone was technically a Unique Skill born from a portion of my own soul.
The more I thought about it…
That was actually kind of strange.
And perhaps a little creepy.
Still, I was grateful.
And so, in the darkness of this cave, with no need to sleep and no hunger gnawing at me…
I talked.
And talked.
And talked some more.
…
Though, yes.
Talking to my own skill probably made me look like a certified lunatic.
Fortunately, there was no one around to witness it.
Since I had absolutely nothing else to do in this pitch-black cave, I spent most of my time experimenting with my abilities and conversing with Great Sage.
Eventually, those experiments produced something interesting.
An Extra Skill.
[Magic Sense].
Since I had no eyes, I obviously couldn't see.
But [Magic Sense] allowed me to perceive the magical energy surrounding me.
Magicules.
Tiny particles of magical energy filled the air around me.
By manipulating my perception through them, I could construct a mental image of my surroundings.
It wasn't exactly vision.
It was more like…
Feeling the entire world around me simultaneously.
A complete 360-degree perception.
No blind spots.
No darkness.
No need for eyes.
It was incredible.
And also somewhat terrifying.
The first time I activated it, information flooded into my consciousness from every direction.
Fortunately, Great Sage immediately began filtering and organizing the information.
Without her assistance, I'm pretty sure my slime brain would've overheated like a cheap laptop trying to run some ridiculously demanding game.
Speaking of brains…
I eventually became curious about something else.
How did slimes even think?
I didn't have a brain.
At least, not a human one.
So where exactly were my memories stored?
When I asked Great Sage, her answer was surprisingly straightforward.
«Answer. Slime bodies are composed of identical cells. Each cell simultaneously functions as a brain cell, nerve ending, and muscle fiber. Thought processing occurs continuously throughout the body.»
I see…
So my entire body functioned as a giant distributed nervous system.
That was convenient.
But there was another question.
Would losing part of my body cause me to lose memories?
«Answer. Negative. Memory is not localized within a specific portion of the physical body.»
Good.
At least I wouldn't suddenly forget everything if some monster took a bite out of me.
That would be inconvenient.
Chinese translation novels had already murdered enough of my brain cells.
I didn't need my actual memories disappearing too.
Eventually, I shifted the topic.
There was another Unique Skill I had yet to properly investigate.
[Dimensional Travel].
The name alone was suspicious.
«Answer. Unique Skill [Dimensional Travel] possesses the following functions.»
Dimension Travel — Allow the user to travel to other worlds Once a Year.
World Attunement — Allows The User to Use the Power system of Other worlds.
Wow.
Of course.
Because apparently reincarnation wasn't enough.
I had to get a World Travelling Skill too.
This was how people became ridiculously overpowered in stories.
Or so I thought.
Reality hit harder than a truck.
Once a Year....
…
What a scam.
Ten days of saving.
Thirty points.
And that's what I got?
I stared at the result—or, more accurately, perceived it through [Magic Sense].
Still…
I decided not to complain too much.
A World Travel Ticket was probably valuable.
I simply had no idea how valuable yet.
For now, I'd save my future points.
Maybe a higher-tier roll would give me something genuinely useful.
A powerful skill.
A useful item.
Or perhaps a Character Card.
Only time would tell.
During those ten days, I also spent a considerable amount of time absorbing Hipokute Grass.
Mostly because I was bored.
The grass was apparently valuable for producing healing medicine, so I decided to experiment with it.
Great Sage helped me connect [Predator]'s [Analysis] function with her [Parallel Processing].
The result was absurdly efficient.
Within seconds, we had completely analyzed the properties of Hipokute Grass.
«Analysis complete.»
«Hipokute Grass: A medicinal plant used in the production of Healing Potions. It grows naturally in areas with abundant magical energy. When its sap is combined with magical energy, it can be processed into a Healing Potion. When ground and combined with magical energy, it can be processed into an ointment capable of stopping bleeding.»
Interesting.
So I could make medicine.
I immediately started experimenting.
Although saying "I made it" was somewhat misleading.
My body handled most of the actual processing automatically.
Still, the results were impressive.
Analysis took only a second.
Production took roughly three seconds.
After five minutes…
I had produced around a hundred Healing Potions and several containers of medicinal ointment.
I didn't have a finished product to compare them against, but Great Sage's [Analytical Analysis] evaluated the quality as exceptionally high.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.
Apparently, being reincarnated as a slime had some advantages.
I also spent a considerable amount of time experimenting with water.
There was a lake nearby, and I absorbed enough water to fill roughly ten percent of my [Stomach].
Then…
I expelled it.
All at once.
The resulting force launched my body through the air.
I completely lost my sense of direction.
And then—
BOOM!!!
I slammed into something.
Hard.
…
I waited.
No pain.
Not even a little.
Hmm.
Even if I received damage, apparently I couldn't feel it.
«Answer. Due to the acquisition of [Pain Resistance], the sensation of pain is negated. Due to [Physical Attack Resistance], incoming physical damage has been reduced. Current damage: approximately 10%.»
Ten percent?
That sounded bad.
But before I could worry about it—
«Intrinsic Skill [Regeneration] has activated.»
«Unique Skill [Predator] is assisting the regeneration process.»
The damage rapidly disappeared.
Well…
That was convenient.
After confirming that my body had completely returned to normal, I began examining my new abilities.
Apparently, my experiments had produced several skills.
«Skill [Hydraulic Propulsion] has been acquired.»
Then, after using the water to move through the lake—
«Skill [Water Current Motion] has been acquired.»
And finally, after experimenting with concentrating water into a blade-like shape—
«Skill [Water Blade] has been acquired.»
«Skill combination successful.»
«[Water Blade] + [Water Current Motion] + [Hydraulic Propulsion]…»
«Merging compatible functions.»
«Extra Skill [Water Manipulation] has been acquired.»
…
Oh.
That was interesting.
So skills could evolve or combine through repeated use and experimentation.
I was starting to understand the rules of this world.
Then I heard it.
«Skill acquisition confirmed.»
The voice was different from Great Sage.
It was the same strange, emotionless voice I'd heard when I first regained consciousness.
The Voice of the World.
So that's what it sounded like.
Since Great Sage never initiated conversations, there was no way I could mistake the two.
The Voice of the World simply announced changes.
Great Sage answered me.
Two completely different functions.
I didn't even have enough time to contemplate that distinction.
Because suddenly—
A strange sensation enveloped my body.
Acceleration.
My entire body was being propelled forward.
Was this what it felt like to fly?
I had no wings.
No limbs.
No aerodynamic shape whatsoever.
Yet somehow…
I was moving.
Fast.
Very fast.
And then—
BOOM!!!
I crashed into something.
Again.
…
Nothing.
No pain.
At least [Pain Resistance] was proving incredibly useful.
Still…
Where exactly had I landed?
I slowly activated [Magic Sense].
The surrounding environment gradually came into focus.
A massive cavern.
Rock walls.
An enormous body of water.
Magical energy saturated the entire area.
And then—
I felt it.
A presence.
Something was here.
Something enormous.
Something so overwhelmingly powerful that my instincts screamed at me to be careful.
Maybe there were dangerous monsters lurking nearby.
I carefully began moving.
Lately, whenever I tried to be cautious, I somehow ended up in an even more dangerous situation.
But surely that was just my imagination.
…
Thinking that was probably a mistake.
Because then—
Can you hear me, little one?
I froze.
That wasn't Great Sage.
It wasn't the Voice of the World either.
This voice was different.
Deep.
Heavy.
Resonant.
And unmistakably feminine.
The sound itself seemed to carry weight.
The air trembled.
The magical energy around me shifted.
For a moment, I couldn't move.
Not because I was physically restrained.
But because every instinct inside my body was screaming one simple message.
Danger.
Something was standing before me.
Something whose existence alone dominated the entire cavern.
I slowly turned my perception toward the source of the voice.
And then I saw it.
A colossal dragon.
Blue scales.
Enormous wings.
A terrifying presence.
Yet those sharp eyes contained something unexpected.
Curiosity.
The dragon looked directly at my tiny slime body.
And somehow…
I knew immediately.
This wasn't an ordinary monster.
This was a being whose very existence belonged to another level.
A legendary creature.
The Storm Dragon.
And after ten peaceful, boring days of slime life…
I had finally met another living being.
Unfortunately…
It just happened to be a legendary dragon.
.....
Status
Name: Mikami Satoru
Species: Slime
Title: Reincarnated One, Otherworlder
Magic: None
Unique Skills:
• [Great Sage]
• [Predator]
• [Dimensional Travel]
Intrinsic Skills:
• [Dissolve]
• [Absorb]
• [Regenerate]
Extra Skills:
• [Magic Sense]
• [Water Manipulation]
Resistances:
• Thermal Fluctuation Resistance
• Physical Attack Resistance
• Piercing Resistance
• Pain Resistance
• Electricity Resistance
• Paralysis Resistance