150 Days!

"Alright! Another day of leveling up!"

Moss had slept soundly. Full of energy, she did a set of radio calisthenics in the cave, then fed Little Ball beside her.

Puyo!

"Good girl..."

Looking at the well-behaved Little Ball, Moss could not help but smile stupidly, as if healed by the sight.

But Moss quickly snapped out of it. She was getting ready to head out and hunt!

Moss glanced at the markings on the wall. Four vertical marks and one horizontal mark meant that five days had passed!

And by then, two such markings had already been drawn on the wall!

"Ten days... Today is the eleventh day!"

Moss muttered, reaching out to carve a new mark into the wall!

Day Eleven!

Today, she hunted two 10-centimeter Slimes in the pitch-black sewers!

Harvest: All talents slightly improved!

Slime research progress increased!

Day Twenty-Three!

Today, she explored the depths of the sewers 300 meters away!

She hunted three 12-centimeter Slimes, four Giant Centipedes, and five Poison Spiders!

Harvest: Talents: Speed Enhancement, Senses Enhancement, Stamina Enhancement → Level I; Claws II → III; Poison Resistance I → II; Omnivory III → Level IV

Talent: Strength Enhancement, Biting (developing)

Slime research progress increased!

Day Forty-Five!

Today, she moved house! Taking Little Ball with her, she left the cave where food was gradually becoming scarce and headed deeper into the sewers!

Along the way, she killed four 10-to-13-centimeter Slimes, one Hard-Shelled Lizard, and fifteen Poison Spiders!

Harvest: Talents: Speed Enhancement I, Senses Enhancement I → Level II; Strength Enhancement → Level I; Claws III → Level IV; Poison Resistance II → Level IV; Corrosion Resistance I → Level III; Minor Injury Recovery II → Level IV; Omnivory IV → Level V

Talents: Climbing, Swimming, Diving (developing)

Day Fifty!

The new home was settled. Today, she decided to rest for a day!

Harvest: Talents: Stamina Enhancement I, Strength Enhancement I → Level II; Claws IV → Level V; Omnivory V → Level VI

Talent: Burrowing (developing)

Days Sixty to Sixty-Five!

She explored the surrounding area for five days, covering a range of twenty kilometers!

Twenty kilometers away, she encountered a two-meter-tall giant lizard. She was no match for it in battle and retreated with serious injuries!

Harvest: Talents: Speed Enhancement II, Senses Enhancement II, Stamina Enhancement II, Strength Enhancement II → Level IV; Minor Injury Recovery IV → Level VI

Talents: Stealth, Sprinting, Hibernation (developing)

Day One Hundred!

"Research complete!"

Moss stood before a massive wall in her new home. Looking at the densely packed writing covering it, she nodded in satisfaction.

The Relationship Between Slime Body Structure and Mana Essence, and Speculations on Monsters and Mana Essence

"Slimes with such strange forms really are perfect for early-stage research."

Moss reached out and stroked the still-obedient Little Ball beside her, a satisfied smile curling across her face.

Little Ball had now grown to the 10-centimeter range, and Moss herself had also grown quite a bit.

Moss: Five centimeters → Eight centimeters! (Both fists raised over her head, smug expression.jpg)

"Ahem, I got off track..."

Moss coughed into her fist and turned her eyes back to the writing on the wall.

"A Slime is 90% liquid. Apart from its gelatinous outer skin, it has no solid organs inside its body!"

"In other words, a Slime's actual body is its outer skin. Its brain, absorption organs, motor nerves, and all other tissues are located in that outer layer."

"But the mucus inside a Slime is also an important component—perhaps the most important one."

"The mucus within a Slime is formed from Mana Essence and water. It functions as a digestive organ while also serving as vital material for forming the body's outer skin."

"It could be said that Mana Essence forms a Slime's strange shape. Simplified, its formula is: Mana Essence + Water + a weak soul."

"Following this line of reasoning, Mana Essence is the key to a monster's survival, perhaps even its existence!"

Mana Essence + Soul + X = Monster!

Moss wrote a new formula on the wall, the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifting.

"After overturning my previous conclusions and research several times, I've finally glimpsed the tip of this world's iceberg!"

Moss murmured to herself, her expression gradually becoming excited.

Because the prompt from her Golden Finger sounded in her mind again!

Talent: Detection → Detection I

Talent: Monster Research: Slime, Special Attack Against "Slimes" (developing)

"That's wonderful, good girl..."

Moss smiled as she hugged Little Ball beside her and excitedly petted it, her face filled with delight.

After excitedly celebrating with Little Ball for a while, Moss was preparing to feed it as usual before going to sleep.

But surprises and accidents always arrived when least expected!

Moss had never expected that Little Ball, which she had only raised to ease her loneliness, would give her another surprise today!

The prompt sounded in her mind once again, and this time, it made Moss freeze.

Talent: Slime Husbandry, Slime Affinity (developing)

Pet: Slime (Little Ball) automatically recognized its master. Pet Space unlocked.

Little Ball suddenly vanished from before Moss's eyes!

She sensed that Little Ball had appeared within a strange space, like a tiny world of its own!

"Wait, the rules even have a pet function?!"

Moss stared blankly with wide eyes. Only after quite a while did she summon Little Ball back out of the space.

Puyo!

Little Ball bounced over to Moss and rubbed its round body against her.

Master!

A soft, squishy voice filled with curiosity sounded in Moss's mind.

"Good girl, settle down."

She patted Little Ball, which had pressed itself against her and was rubbing eagerly, then turned her gaze back to the wall.

After recognizing its master, Little Ball seemed able to understand Moss's intentions more easily.

The light on its body suddenly brightened, illuminating the wall for Moss.

Looking at the wall, Moss reached out and carved three lines of words onto it.

The Meaning of Physique Values and Their Relationship to Mana Essence

Deep Level Mana and Talent Utilization

Exploration of More Rule Functions

"These will be the goals going forward, along with leveling up..."

Moss lay atop Little Ball, talking about her future plans as her eyes gradually closed.

Day One Hundred Twenty-Five!

Today was another day of endless hunting. Her prey included seventeen 15-to-20-centimeter Slimes, twenty-three Poisonous Centipedes, and three Hard-Shelled Lizards!

At the same time, her use of magic power within her body became increasingly refined. Talent development in progress...

Harvest: Claws V → Level VII; Jump, Climbing, Swimming, Diving, Burrowing, Breath Holding, Biting, Stealth, Sprinting, Hibernation → Level III; Omnivory VI → Level VIII; Poison Resistance IV → Level V; Corrosion Resistance III → Level V; Minor Injury Recovery VI → Level VII

Talents: Mana Perception, Mana Enhancement, Mana Release (developing)

Day One Hundred Fifty!

Today was an important day!

"L-Level up!!!"

Moss stood before the corpse of a Slime. Feeling the power surging through her body, she threw back her head and shouted to the sky in excitement!

Name: ???

Job: Warrior

Level: Bronze Level 2

Physique: 2

Spirit: 2

Job Points: 1

Innate Talent: Golden Finger

Talents (Enhancement): Speed Enhancement IV, Senses Enhancement IV, Stamina Enhancement IV, Strength Enhancement IV, Mana Enhancement

Talents (Movement): Claws VII, Jump III, Climbing III, Swimming III, Diving III, Burrowing III, Breath Holding III, Biting III, Stealth III, Sprinting III, Mana Release

Talents (Resistance): Poison Resistance V, Corrosion Resistance V, Hunger Resistance I

Talents (Support): Omnivory VIII, Minor Injury Recovery VII, Hibernation III, Detection I, Mana Perception, Monster Research: Slime, Special Attack Against "Slimes," Slime Husbandry, Slime Affinity

"I finally leveled up!!!"

Five months!

Although leveling up had not been her main goal over the past few months, this single level had taken far too long!

Feeling her two attributes directly double, Moss felt that her combat power had increased severalfold!

Even compared to other Awakened Ones, she should not be inferior!

This was no joke!

Moss's base attributes might not have matched those of other human Awakened Ones, but she had a lot of talents!

The constant boosts from her five enhancement talents—speed, senses, stamina, strength, and mana—provided her with several times the amplification!

"Unfortunately, enhanced talents can't increase my base attributes. Otherwise, I probably would have unlocked the human status panel long ago."

Moss shook her head regretfully, but quickly pulled herself together.

"Forget it, no more talk about that! After spending so much time, I've finally completed the initial plan. I need to pick up the pace from here on out!"