Outside, it was pitch black—utter darkness. Nothing could be seen, not even his own fingers.
Where are my hands?
Hearing the voice in his mind, Xia Qiu was startled. He asked inwardly, "Are you… the Great Sage?"
The Great Sage—one of the Cute King's magical abilities!
"Great Sage, please report your functions."
This was truly the Cute King's signature setup—familiar formula, familiar feeling. It was perfect.
"Great Sage, where am I right now?"
After hearing the response, only one thought remained in Xia Qiu's mind—
This situation is stable!
He had completely entered the world of that anime, replacing the protagonist.
As long as he followed the "plot," formed a bond with the Storm Dragon, exchanged names, left the cave, and recruited goblins, dwarves, and spirits along the way, he would become the rightful king of the Storm Kingdom.
The legend of the Slime Overlord would now be written by him!
But right now, the most important task was—eating grass.
Yes, eating grass.
This wasn't ordinary grass, but Horsetail Grass—a magical herb that only grows in areas rich with magic. It was the core ingredient for healing potions.
The higher the purity of the potion, the stronger its effect. In the original story, the Cute King could refine potions to 99% purity—capable of regenerating even severed limbs instantly.
Xia Qiu moved slightly. If he had eyes, they would probably have gone cross-eyed.
Squish…
Used to walking on two legs, he had never imagined he would move in such a… unique way.
It felt like crawling—slow, but oddly enjoyable.
In the anime, the Cute King's signature movement wasn't crawling, but bouncing.
Xia Qiu tried applying force to his body—and immediately noticed something different.
Ah! His body was incredibly soft and elastic!
This is amazing!
Whether out of boredom or pure enjoyment, Xia Qiu began playing around happily.
Bounce!
Jump! Jump! Jump!
"Haha, this is so fun!"
But joy quickly turned into pain—well, almost.
With a plop, Xia Qiu hit a sharp stone.
Like scooping jelly with a spoon, a hole suddenly appeared in his body.
He was so shocked he nearly "lost his kidneys"—again!
Perhaps because his kidney had been pierced before his transmigration, he had developed a psychological fear of sharp objects.
Yet… there was no pain at all.
This body was truly incredible.
Within seconds, the hole completely healed.
As expected of a slime body—this physique was amazing!
("Self-Regeneration" is a racial ability of slimes. Just as human wounds heal over time, a slime's body restores itself rapidly after injury.)
"Magic ore?"
Xia Qiu suddenly recalled a scene from the original story—where the Cute King used magic ore to replicate a magic sword.
Though the Cute King casually duplicated dozens of swords, in the dwarf kingdom, such ore was extremely precious—something people risked their lives fighting monsters to obtain.
It was a true treasure.
Without hesitation, Xia Qiu chose "Yes."
Instantly, the magic ore was decomposed, digested, and absorbed.
"Great Sage, report the abilities of Predator."
Another incredible ability—the Stomach function was like a dimensional storage space.
Even more powerful was the mimicry ability. After devouring a creature, the system would analyze it. If successful, Xia Qiu could gain and replicate its abilities.
In the original story, by devouring Shizue Izawa, the Cute King gained the ability to transform into a human.
And what if analysis failed?
Haha—did he forget the Great Sage?
"Great Sage" and "Predator" could work together, producing results far greater than simple addition.
Although the anime only showed a few scenes of devouring herbs and minerals, Xia Qiu had been eating for over half a month—and still wasn't finished.
By the way, this cave was enormous!
Eventually, he got tired of eating. If it weren't for the value of these resources, he would have stopped long ago.
What frustrated him the most was that, despite everything being about eating—he couldn't taste anything.
Losing his sense of taste felt like losing two-thirds of the world.
Out of boredom, Xia Qiu spent half a month devouring most of the lake water, successfully acquiring the skills Water Control and Magic Sense.
Especially Magic Sense, which completely changed how he perceived the world.
With a 360-degree perception not reliant on sight, it was astonishing.
"We've basically finished the herbs and minerals. It's time to meet that proud dragon."
In this world, monsters were divided into six ranks, with further subdivisions totaling eighteen levels.
Above them were Demon Lords—S-rank beings capable of destroying nations.
And above even that were catastrophe-level monsters—beings capable of destroying entire continents.
The Storm Dragon, Veldora, was one such existence.
Three hundred years ago, he destroyed a human kingdom and was sealed away by a hero in an infinite prison.
Even sealed, his power alone was enough to deter all monsters, becoming a guardian deity of the Jura Forest.
His strength was unimaginable.
Honestly, Xia Qiu felt a bit nervous meeting him.
After learning Magic Sense, he could feel the overwhelming pressure of the dragon's existence—it was awe-inspiring, terrifying, and humbling all at once.
The stronger a being was, the more clearly it could sense the Storm Dragon's terrifying power.
Xia Qiu cautiously approached.
But the moment he neared the barrier, a deep, arrogant voice echoed in his mind:
"So, this greedy little thing finally dares to approach me after devouring all the precious herbs and ores in just half a month?"
The voice was powerful and overwhelming.
Even prepared, Xia Qiu was startled.
But he couldn't help but laugh—this was exactly like the original story. Loud and intimidating… but not actually violent.
A classic tsundere.
"Sorry to bother you, I'll be leaving now!"
The dragon immediately panicked.
"W-wait! Take these herbs! It's not unusual to have a visitor… consider them a welcome gift! I will graciously grant you an audience! Wait—don't go! Would you… stay and talk with me? I haven't spoken to anyone in three hundred years!"
Seeing it in person was completely different from watching it in anime.
The massive dragon, like a towering skyscraper, humbly asking him to stay—it was overwhelming.
Loneliness… had almost taken physical form.
Xia Qiu smiled.
"Since you're asking so sincerely… I'll stay."
"Really?!"
The proud dragon nearly cried with joy.
"Thank you so much!"