B2 | Chapter 40 - Unexpected Gains & an Unexpected Visitor

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B2 | Chapter 40 - Unexpected Gains & an Unexpected Visitor

This was such a difficult choice. Both [Mana Convergence] and [Indifference] were good, and not to mention [Focus] wasn't bad either. Sure, [Inner Sanctum] was out of the equation, but Theodore still had trouble deciding which one to choose, so much so that he wanted to groan, only to realize he was still slime.

He mentally sighed instead, and with his brain teetering on the choice, he picked [Mana Convergence] in the end. The moment he did so, he felt regret, but he pushed that aside in favor of the new skill he'd just gotten. Because no way in hell was he going to ruin his mood! And not like the skill he chose was bad, he just felt like [Indifference] and [Focus] were also good picks and could be useful.

Congratulations! You have evolved skill: [Meditation]!

Congratulations! You have gained skill: [Mana Convergence]!

Then Theodore felt it, a tingling. Like static electricity, but warmer, gentler. The ambient mana around him started drifting his way. It wasn't rushing, or flooding in, or something like that. It was just... gravitating toward him, as if he'd become a magnet for the invisible energy that saturated everything.

Holy shit.

It wasn't a massive amount. Not some overwhelming torrent that would've knocked him senseless. But compared to his pathetic passive regeneration? Miles better didn't even begin to cover it. His old rate had been like trying to fill a bucket with an eyedropper. This? This was like having a steady trickle from a garden hose. Of course, that was only passive regeneration.

Regardless, Theodore would've grinned if he'd had a face. Would've punched the air if he'd had fists. Instead, he just in his slime form. Not being able to resist he transformed into a blob and wiggled excitedly. This was amazing! Absolutely incredible! He'd been worried about mana. And now he had this steady, constant influx just... happening. Without him doing anything.

But wait. If this was passive, what happened when he tried to actively pull mana in?

The moment the thought occurred to him, Theodore focused on the skill. Really focused. Reached out with whatever metaphysical muscles [Mana Convergence] had given him and—

It was like opening floodgates. Like someone had yanked the plug out of a bathtub, except he was the drain. The mana didn't just drift toward him anymore—it rushed. Streamed. Poured in from every direction like he'd become some kind of vacuum cleaner.

No, not a vacuum cleaner. A goddamn black hole for mana.

The sensation was intoxicating. Power flooding into him.

[Mana Convergence] has leveled up! – Lvl 0 > Lvl 1!

Theodore wanted to laugh. Level 1 already? And he'd barely started experimenting!

***

[Mana Convergence] has leveled up! – Lvl 1 > Lvl 2!

[Mana Convergence] has leveled up! – Lvl 2 > Lvl 3!

[Mana Convergence] has leveled up! – Lvl 3 > Lvl 4!

[Mana Control] has leveled up! - Lvl 9 > Lvl 10!

[Mana Control] has leveled up! - Lvl 10 > Lvl 11!

When it came to playing with mana, Theodor didn't know anyone that came close to his level of madness. Once he set his mind to something he would make sure he accomplished it, and sure enough, it didn't take much time for him to level up [Mana Conversion] to level 4. He'd just poured out his mana in massive quantity, played around with it to train his [Mana Control], and then he'd actively sucked in the ambient mana like a sponge. Repeating the process for hours on end, and the result was pretty good.

He'd even leveled up [Mana Control]!

Theodore let the two mana constructs—duplicates of the cube-pyramid-spheres system thing—and finally turned back into his human form. Sure enough, he was naked.

Theodore stared down at himself. Naked as the day he was born. Man, this was annoying.

He'd been so caught up in everything that he'd forgotten about the whole... clothing situation whenever he transformed back into his human form.

Wait a minute.

He was part slime now. A goddamn shapeshifting blob of goo that could apparently take human form whenever he wanted. So why the hell was he standing around naked when he could just... make clothes?

The idea was sound, so the question was: could he? Could he actually manipulate his slime body to create clothing? It wasn't like he needed to breathe through his skin or anything. He was slime. All of him. Every inch. He actually no longer needed to breathe either.

Theodore shifted back into his blob form, feeling the familiar sensation of his human shape dissolving. Then he focused. Really focused. If he could make himself look human, feel human, taste like a human, hear like a human, even make his skin like a human, why not make himself look like a clothed human?

He started simple. Just tried to change the texture of his outer layer. Make it feel different. Rougher. More like... fabric?

Holy shit. It was working.

The surface of his slime rippled, then hardened slightly. It was not solid—he was still fundamentally goo—but different. It was… coarser? Like rough cotton against his... well, against whatever passed for nerve endings in a slime body.

Then he tried color. Could he make it darker? Shift from that translucent blue-green to something more... clothing-appropriate?

The change was gradual at first. A deepening of hue. Then more dramatic. His surface shifted from pale translucent to deep brown, then black. Then back to brown. Then—because he was feeling experimental—a rich navy blue.

This was incredible.

Theodore reformed into his human shape, concentrating on maintaining the changes. The result was... well, it looked like he was wearing a simple tunic. Sort of. More like, he was made of tunic. If you squinted and didn't look too close, it could pass for clothing. The texture was right, the color was right, and it covered all the important bits.

But could he make it more detailed? More convincing?

He focused harder, imagining seams. Stitching. The way fabric hung and moved. Slowly, painstakingly, he began to sculpt his outer layer. Not just changing texture and color, but actually creating the illusion of separate garments. A shirt here, pants there. Even the suggestion of boots.

It was exhausting work. Like trying to paint a masterpiece while simultaneously being the canvas, the brush, and the paint. But gradually, piece by piece, he managed to create what looked like a decent set of simple clothing.

The pants were the trickiest part. Getting the legs to look right, to move naturally when he walked. But after several attempts—and a few embarrassing moments where one leg ended up significantly longer than the other—he managed something that looked almost convincing.

Theodore took a few experimental steps. The slime-clothes moved with him, maintaining their shape and texture. They even had a bit of weight to them now, though nothing like real fabric. He'd need more practice to create convincing fabric.

Congratulations! You have gained skill: [Slime Control]!

Theodore nearly jumped out of his newly-formed skin. A new skill? Just from figuring out how to make slime clothes?

Well, that made sense, actually. He'd been manipulating his slime body in ways he'd never tried before. Changing texture, color, opacity, even creating complex shapes and maintaining them while in motion. Of course the system w ould recognize that as worthy of a skill.

Looking down at himself, he had to admit the results were pretty impressive. Sure, it wasn't haute couture, but it was functional, decent, and most importantly, it covered everything that needed covering.

Theodore raised his arms, twisted his torso, even did a little jump. The slime-clothes held their shape perfectly, moving with him like they were actually sewn fabric. No weird stretching or distortion. No embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions. Though he did wonder what would happen if someone tried to grab his shirt.

Probably best not to find out until he could improve his skill some more. Or maybe he should be testing it and improving his "clothes" appropriately? Still, this was a game-changer. No more worrying about being naked every time he shifted forms. No more awkward moments of standing around bare-ass while trying to figure out where to find actual clothes.

He was his own goddamn wardrobe now.

Theodore couldn't help but laugh. Here he was, a former human turned slime monster, wearing clothes made entirely of his own body. It was absurd. Ridiculous. Completely insane.

And technically, he was still naked. Just... creatively naked.

God, his life had gotten weird.

But absolutely brilliant, nonetheless.

***

Days passed. Theodore worked on his refrigerator prototype. Basic concept, nothing fancy. Still had issues with temperature regulation but it was progress. Then the fervidite shipment from Westford finally showed up. About damn time. He immediately started organizing the materials, got everything sorted for the kiln upgrades. Combined the fervidite with his improved [Rune Inscription] skill and the brick production was finally looking solid. Good quality, consistent output. That part of the plan was falling into place.

But the soil contamination problem was still a complete mess. He'd been trying to use his life and death affinities to figure out some kind of solution for the farmland. More specifically, to discover some kinda skill. So far, nothing. Zero progress on the actual solution. But he'd made some progress toward potential skills. The contaminated soil just sat there, useless as ever, though. Which was very unfortunate.

Whatever. He had bricks now, bricks never disappointed him. He'd had a long chat with his bricks and given that they were coming in spades now, it  meant he could actually start the bathhouse project. Problem was, bricks were just the beginning. He needed pipes for water transport, proper drainage systems, showerheads, all that infrastructure nonsense. Way beyond his skill set.

It was possibly time to bring in professionals. He'd have to contact specialists, probably pay through the nose for their expertise. But the bathhouse was too important to half-ass. People needed proper sanitation, especially with everything else going on. Oh, and he'd leveled up his skills again:

[Slime Control] has leveled up! – Lvl 1 > Lvl 2!

[Rune Inscription] has leveled up! – Lvl 4 > Lvl 5!

[Arcane Awareness] has leveled up! – Lvl 10 > Lvl 11!

He'd been playing with his slime mass, and the refrigerator project required he constantly tinker with [Rune Inscription], then playing around with the weave of the refrigerator had resulted in level ups in [Arcane Awareness] as well.

All in all, he was neck-deep in planning all this shit when his sister finally arrived. And she wasn't alone, obviously.

She'd brought the barbarian princess with her.

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