Chapter 216 Collapse

I had thought the demon labyrinth was a maze, but this one was really proving my ignorance, and the worst part was that it made no attempt to stop you from entering. There were no barriers or anything like that, which made it clear that the demon one was meant to be a prison and just happened to be a maze as well.

After endless twists and turns, and repeatedly running into junctions, I was being spread extremely thin. The range on my [Slime Puppetry] was better now than when I first got it, but I was finding myself needing to set up more [Sub-Cores] as relay points to keep the connection alive.

It wasn't all doom and gloom, though, as occasionally I'd reach a guaranteed dead end and could recall all of my slime allocated to that section of the labyrinth. I considered leaving a physical mark there, but I thought the labyrinth would either repair the damage or remove the item, so instead I modified my constantly developing [Map] to mark those pathways as complete.

Since I was getting a rather robust-looking map of this place, I also went against my earlier judgment and refused to use teleportation, sending some scouts into the hidden pathways. I was curious whether there was anything in them or if they led anywhere. Still, after a few repeats, I confirmed my earlier suspicion that these were traps specifically designed for cheaters like me.

If you didn't have my awesome [Map] combined with an army of minions, you would be basically going around in circles, as those pathways were constantly shifting to give the illusion of progress. It was truly dastardly, and I was relieved that I had been cautious about flaunting my ability to breach the dimensional barriers.

As for the monsters, I had yet to find my beloved gray slime, but I wasn't disheartened as everything that I'd seen so far made me feel like I was on the right track. Every monster here felt like a trap or ambush, with me running into a few more lesser mimics and another minotaur charging down a passageway. A batch of my slime minions even ended up getting into a tricky battle against one of Vee's distant cousins, as it was some type of trapdoor spider that was living underneath the brickwork. Unfortunately for that spider, it couldn't even hold a candle to my companion, and it was eventually defeated by the slime army.

The lack of big monster battles wasn't great for experience, but despite that, I still gained a level, and my personas must have been doing something, too, as I received another race level.

<Class: Riftmancer LV 27 -> 28>

<Skill Points: 22 -> 23>

<Race: Chimeric Cluster Slime (Prismatic) LV 25 -> 26>

<Trait Points: 16 -> 17>

<Skills:

[Perception LV 5 -> 6]

[Split Personality LV 7 -> 8]

[Rogue Expertise LV 4 -> 5]>

It was minor progress, not exactly where I was hoping it would be. [Perception] and [Rogue Expertise] went up just by the sheer volume of traps I was encountering, even though I wasn't disarming them the intended way. Personally, I had been using [Folded Geometry] for arbitrary things in hopes of pushing it to the next level so I could finally deconstruct it.

[Personal Rift] was in a similar situation, and with Riftmancer inching closer to a big milestone at thirty, I was rather determined that that would be when I should be able to achieve [Dimensional Praxis]. I wondered what type of skill I would get at that level, as it would be comparable to [Chaos Elements] if not better. My only hope was that the skill wouldn't be related to compressed space, or it would make my previous efforts feel wasted. However, I thought this was a very slim possibility, as it was more likely to be another upgrade to [Personal Rift].

Then I just need to take apart the new skill, and every other skill, and hope I have enough to piece it all together. Then I'll need to repurchase [Personal Rift], and hopefully I can power-level it using my previous knowledge and maybe some advancements from [Dimensional Praxis]... I could even try blowing it up repeatedly, since I previously gained a level from that.

I felt like I had several options to pursue that, and if I ever managed to make a breakthrough in compressed space, I could apply it within my rift, which should be worth a skill level or two at the bare minimum. The same went for [Spatial Severing], as I could probably try attacking my rift or its apertures with this skill to build up its resistance.

My wandering thoughts were brought to a crashing halt as I felt a sudden pain, and then an alarming message.

<Sub-Core Nu has been destroyed.>

No, Nu! What happened!?

I couldn't believe it, and I quickly checked where it was last seen. It was in a long passageway that seemed to have no traps or monsters, so everything should have been fine. I used my [Coordicore] to get the coordinates and instantly teleported near the scene, only to see that the entire ceiling had collapsed, claiming Nu's core.

I never thought of using dungeon bricks as a weapon… But even so, even collapsing it shouldn't have been enough to breach my slime, let alone destroy a [Sub-Core]. Something smells fishy here.

I expanded my senses throughout the tunnel, and that was when I spotted the anomaly. Something was moving among the rubble, eating away at the slime that had been left behind by the loss of Nu. Even with [Slime Puppetry], this weakness still existed, with the caveat being that it needed to be severed outside the range of the trait. Once severed and out of reach, the slime became "ownerless," and even if I or another [Sub-Core] reentered, it wouldn't change that.

The author's publication site carries this chapter, but the text here was copied without consent; the source supports the writer.

However, I wasn't mad, despite the tragic temporary loss of a [Sub-Core]. No, I was actually ecstatic, as the creature crawling through the rubble and happily eating away was what I had been looking for—a slime!

That explains how Nu was crushed: the damn gray slime not only brought down the entire passageway but also significantly increased the weight! What a devious way to destroy poor Nu!

I teleported directly above the creature, not wanting it to escape my grasp. In response, the creature leaped up a surprising distance, and when it reached the apex above my head, it abruptly came crashing down. It was clear the creature had no idea what I was and was attempting to crush me, which I allowed as it was actually just delivering its tasty self to my hungry stomach.

The gray slime descended like a hurtling rock, or maybe a crashing meteor, and crumpled my "head," but as it descended through more and more of my body, the slimy truth was revealed, and my insides consumed the glorious meal delivered straight to me.

<Compatible core detected. Integrate new core?>

Obviously!

<Slime (Gray) Core absorbed. Trait [Mass Slime LV 6] gained. Trait [Adhesive Slime] gained. Trait [Slime Density LV 4] gained.>

<Trait [Mass Slime LV 6] has been automatically merged into [Primordial Slime LV 19]. >

<Proficiency gained. [Primordial Slime LV 19] improved to [Primordial Slime LV 20].>

<Traits [Slime Density LV 4] and [Adhesive Slime] have been automatically merged into [Slime Mastery LV 15].>

<Proficiency gained. [Slime Mastery LV 15] improved to [Slime Mastery LV 16].>

Seriously… it was called [Mass Slime]? Wow… I think that's the first slime name I've ever disliked. It's way too similar to slime mass, which has nothing to do with each other. Also, didn't Vee say something weird and convoluted about mass versus weight? Ugh… Whatever, it's called [Primordial Slime] now, so I don't have to worry about it.

[Primordial Slime] had finally reached level twenty, and to my relief it hadn't turned into [Primordial Slime LV MAX] like I had feared. I was genuinely worried that I'd need to uncap it again every ten additional levels, but it seemed my beloved trait points were safe for now.

I was delighted to get another level in [Slime Mastery], and seeing that the gray slime also had [Slime Density] made me particularly happy. It had been one of my favorite traits back in the day, and a reminder of how far I had come. It also explained why the gray slime was so small despite feasting on the remnant slime from Nu's squadron, as it had compressed itself into a small and deadly sphere.

And with [Slime Mastery] improved again, that's all my slime traits getting a boost. The extra range on [Slime Puppetry] will certainly help here. Anyway, let's finally look at what the system says my new trait can do.

<[Mass Slime]

This slime can freely control its weight, increasing or decreasing it as needed.

Trait level determines the maximum and minimum increases or decreases; however, the final result can never be zero or negative. There is theoretically no limit on increasing.

Compatible with other slime traits.>

If it controls weight, why is it called [Mass Slime]? Vee specifically told me that was wrong and not to confuse the two. Also, what's with the lackluster description? Is this a slime that somehow wasn't designed by Gramps? Well, that and the copper slime…

I sighed and decided to just ignore it. At the end of the day, who cares what it was called so long as it worked, and it was merged into my super slime trait anyway, so even more reason for me to disregard it. However, before I put it out of my mind, I had to make sure it worked, and thankfully the process came naturally to me.

I hyper-compressed my slime using my new levels in [Slime Mastery] to my advantage, quickly reaching the point where it would normally be too heavy to reasonably move around. Then, I activated the trait and began lowering my weight, finding it much easier to move around without affecting my environment despite the extreme density.

Well now I don't have to worry about breaking anything underneath me. I'd never live it down if I fell through a roof or broke a branch and Vee was nearby.

This was what I had originally wanted this ability for, as I had to limit my density or risk being unable to jump from tree to tree. It had been a delicate balance at the time, as too much uncompressed slime would have made me extremely noticeable, while being too dense had its own troubles. Of course [Core Storage] ended up solving most of those issues back then, but I'd always wanted to return to extremely compressed slime to see what I could do with it.

Didn't I also have the idea of using it to make heavyweight slime shots? Let's see…

I compressed a small marble of slime, ensuring it was as dense as possible, and then I began artificially increasing its weight. My twenty levels of [Primordial Slime] were no joke, and soon my own arm was struggling to hold up the insane marble I had made.

I suddenly found myself wishing I had [Enhanced Strength] again, and before it became too much, I fired it directly at the wall. Despite my growing concern about being unable to hold it, I had no such issue firing, and I might even have gone too far, giving it a bit of a [Nitro Slime] explosive boost. The marble crashed into the wall, cracking the bricks and forming an expansive web of shattered stone growing outward from the tiny hole.

"Damn, that was like a cannon. No, better than a cannon! I think I'm going to have some fun with this ability."

By now [Sub-Core Nu] was ready to be reformed thanks to all the time reductions afforded by my uncapped trait. I was happy to see that the increased time only seemed to apply when I intentionally detonated a core with [Nitro Slime], and not through an accidental death like this. As I reformed Nu at the cost of a significant chunk of slime mass, I was met with another surprise.

<Proficiency gained. [Core Collective LV 12] improved to [Core Collective LV 13].>

Oh! Goodness, is it my birthday or something? What did I do to deserve such luck today? Is my [Dungeon Master] application also going to be completed?

I frantically took out the CUBE and poked it.

<Application pending…>

Damn, I guess that's too much for one day. Still, not even this annoyance can ruin my day now. I finally have a spare network slot! My plan of having a rift slime can finally be put to the test!

I gave Nu a gentle pat and then tore open an aperture and threw it inside, along with plenty of slime mass to live in. Since Nu was the one who found the gray slime for me, and was the one who pushed my trait to the new level, I thought it was only fitting that Nu be the one to receive this glorious position.

Gray slime secured; now all that's really left is to beat this place and level up some skills along the way. With Nu manning the rift, I should be able to make short work of whatever else lurks in these hallways.