Nobi glanced down at Slime#47.
"Yes—limitations. Let me explain it in simple terms." She raised a hand. "Let's take a small cup and a large mug."
After a pause, she asked, "Which one can hold more water?"
"Of course, the mug," Young Slime replied instantly.
Nobi nodded. "Yes, the mug. Now think of water as power."
"The cup is an ordinary-type skill, or spell, while the mug is a plus-type." She continued calmly, "The amount of power they can hold is different."
She hypothesized, "Assume the cup's capacity represents an ordinary-type skill. Even if you pour power into it, it fills quickly but cannot grow beyond its limits."
Young Slime nodded. "Yes."
She clapped her hands. "Exactly—you're almost there."
She spread her hand wide to show "The mug can hold more water, more power—meaning it has higher potential. That is a plus skill. It has room to grow without changing its structure."
She continued, "But the cup—it's already at its limit."
"To break an ordinary skill's limitation, we must change the cup itself."
"The cup…" Young Slime tilted his body. "Isn't the cup the technique?"
Nobi smiled and nodded. "Yes. Changing the cup means tweaking and twisting the skill's usage and procedure."
She then proceeded to explain the mechanics and correct method to Slime#47.
"Multi Phantom," Young Slime cast under Nobi's eyes.
A light-blue magic rune flared on his tiny palm.
Boom!
Seven clones formed instantly around him.
They all glanced at the main body—and then at themselves.
"Hey!! You're Clone Five?"
"No, I'm the first to appear."
"Hm."
All of them turned to Young Slime.
"Orders… main body?"
[ Ding! The skill Phantom {Common} has shattered its limits and evolved into Multi Phantom (Uncommon) Lv.1! ]
A shimmering panel appeared in his vision.
He quickly scanned the notification and the skill section.
"It's the same… except I can form up to ten clones." He glanced at the clones.
"I only created seven." He frowned. "Looks like I failed to activate the skill properly."
He dismissed them all.
Their memories—glancing at each other and questioning themselves—returned to him, bringing a small smile.
"Not bad for the first time. Continue training," Nobi ordered.
She drew her sword and—Whoosh! Whoosh!—practiced her swordplay on the side.
Young Slime focused again. "Multi Phantom."
Boom!—seven clones formed.
"Looks like I need to pour more mana," he noted.
With small adjustments—up and down—he finally summoned ten clones.
[ Ding! Multi Phantom proficiency +1! ]
[ Ding! Multi Phantom proficiency +1! ]
'Wait a minute…' He paused as an idea struck him.
"Multi Phantom." He created ten clones.
"Use Multi Phantom," he ordered.
The clones nodded and cast together. "Multi Phantom."
Boom!
Mana drained. Light-blue runes flared.
But no clone manifested.
The next moment, their mana returned.
'It failed…' Slime#47 felt disappointed and dismissed all his clones.
'Wait… I can try it differently.'
"Multi Phantom…" he muttered, forming only two clones.
He commanded them, "Cast Multi Phantom."
Both clones nodded.
"Multi Phantom."
A light-blue rune flared on their palms.
Boom!—eight more clones manifested.
"I see." Slime#47 grinned. "So that's how it works."
"So it doesn't matter who casts Multi Phantom—the main body or a clone." He nodded. "At most, ten clones can be manifested."
"Main body plus ten clones," he concluded.
"Main body," all the clones turned toward him.
"How will you two engage in battle?" he ordered, pointing at two clones randomly.
The slime clones moved into position, and Young Slime bounced to get a better view.
Even Nobi stopped her sword training to watch.
Both slime clones stared at each other sharply. They knew each other's powers, combat skills, and style.
Bang!
"Acid Fist!"
Both clones collided fist-to-fist.
They separated and cast spells at the same time.
"Fireball!"
"Water Ball!"
A crimson rune flared before one slime, and a blue rune manifested before the other.
A fireball and a water ball—each the size of a basketball—formed and dashed toward each other.
Boom!
The spells collided and canceled out perfectly, without even smoke.
"Demonic Surge. Demonic Fist!"
Demonic force wrapped around both slime clones as they punched fist against fist again.
Bang!
As the clones fought, Slime#47 analyzed.
"They aren't useful in an all-out battle against a similar-strength opponent," he muttered.
The skill divided energy between the main body and clones in an exact ratio.
Meaning his strength was divided.
"However, this skill can be used to fight weaker opponents, fight in multiple places…" He grinned. "And it's very useful for training—which is what I want."
----
Time passed as he kept practicing.
[ Ding! Multi Phantom proficiency +1! ]
[ Ding! Multi Phantom proficiency +1! ]
[ Ding! Multi Phantom {Uncommon} has leveled up to Lv.3! ]
In one day, he leveled it up to Lv.3—despite Multi Phantom being far more powerful than the Common-rank Phantom.
Because he used himself and his clones together.
He formed three clones, and his clones formed two each—turning one action into multiple proficiency gains.
His training-boost idea was already showing results.
"It's a pity," he muttered, staring at the notifications.
"Even if I gain three Proficiency at once, it shows +1 three times instead of +3."
That was a feature he noticed long ago.
'I don't know if it's a system fault… or designed that way.'
After two more days—
[ Ding! Multi Phantom (Uncommon) has leveled up to Lv.Max! ]
Slime#47 nodded. "It should be enough for now."
He glanced at the thirty clones.
They spoke to each other, played around, and stayed fascinated by their clone bodies.
"I think it's time," Nobi said, staring at the small army of Slime#47s.
Boom!
The multicolored slime dismissed them all, then looked at the slime kid seriously, not wanting to miss any detail.
'I only have twenty-four days left… I must get body shaping quickly,' he reminded himself. 'I must pass the trial.'
"The body-shaping skill is a rare skill," Nobi explained. "And its name is Gel Morph."
She glanced at the slime sharply, "It's a skill only for the slime race… a racial skill."
"Racial skill?" He asked, curious for more information.
"Racial skills are those acquired by being born into that race or by evolving into that race." She explained.
He then recalled his own skills from the Lesser Elemental Slime race. Elemental slash, double elemental shield, and so on.
"Looks like you understood—"She was cut as young slime asked, "So, you are teaching a skill of certain slime evolution?"
End of the chapter…