Chapter 93—After-Effects of Torture.
Timeline 78521452224.176
"Child, I’m your mama," Mama Slime said, rubbing her body against Slime#47.
"How can you have... a cloak?" she asked, noticing the blue silk and golden fur collar, newly appeared on the young slime’s body.
’As expected... it followed me,’ Slime#47 thought with a scowl.
He focused on the sealed artifact and realized he could control its shape. He changed it into a small thread.
A blue thread formed above his eyes, on the upper section.
’So this is what my future selves had,’ he thought with a twitch. His eyes narrowed as he remembered his future selves warning him about Vael.
Wanting to glimpse his future selves’ power, he had gone too deep until he could. Under the sealed artifact’s temptation, he chose the strongest future—allowing Vael to take all of his Will.
’Even standing on that staircase might have cost Will,’ he calculated, understanding why his Will had been wiped out in one shot.
"Child, are you okay?" Mama Slime asked, concerned. Slime#47 was lost in thought. She tried pulling the newly formed thread, but it wouldn’t move—it stayed firm.
"I’m fine..." Young Slime replied, pulling himself out of her hug.
She took a long look at him. Sensing his intellect, she felt he was special and left him—Wob!—bouncing away.
"Status." He wasted no time checking his changes.
[ Status
Name: Slime#47 {Temporary}
Race: Slime ★
Class: N/A
Traits: Eternal Mastery, Viscous Body, Amorphous Being, Indomitable Soul
Titles: N/A
Level: 1
Strength: G‑
Endurance: G
Will: E
Wisdom: G‑
Dexterity: G
Perception: G‑
Agility: G+
Vitality: G+ ]
’Will came back stronger. Before, I had E‑ in timeline 175... now E,’ he muttered bitterly. He’d suffered a lot for that.
Glancing at the blue thread, he clenched his fist. ’I’ll never use this sealed artifact.’
"So this is how you return... with authority of time, back to the very start," Vael said curiously as he manifested near Young Slime.
He noticed Elder Slime bouncing closer—Wob!—but the old slime didn’t even glance at the small humanoid creature, only at him.
"Don’t worry too much... they can’t see me," Vael said, sitting in midair, one leg crossed over the other.
"Child, you seem... intelligent?" Elder Slime asked, staring deeply at him.
----
After the same explanations as the previous loop, he proceeded to train.
"Is that one of your traits?" Old Slime asked, glancing at the thread.
"Yeah..." Slime#47 wobbled his body and nodded.
’Since Vael’s soul is fused with me... does that mean I’m corrupted?’ he muttered, wondering. But he’d felt fine.
He focused on sensing himself. ’I can’t sense my soul like before.’ He had lost Saint King Haruka’s power.
He felt even more bitter when he couldn’t sense that extraordinary power anymore—a power that had given him a sense of safety, a trump card to flip fate. Now it was gone.
’I can only depend on myself,’ he sighed.
The small humanoid clicked his tongue, hearing the young slime, "Corrupt?... Hahaha. I’m not some ordinary sealed artifact..." Vael grinned, mocking other sealed artifacts. "I won’t waste time slowly corrupting you. Once I get a chance, I’ll go directly for your soul," he declared, eyes sharp.
’A normal sealed artifact grants skills, takes Will, and slowly corrupts the user as their Will drops...’ Slime#47 glared at the small menace and thought, ’But he wants to take all the Will at once and devour my soul in one go.’
Taking a deep breath, he planned for this new loop.
’Fifty days until that third young lord appears... today is January 25—my slime birthday,’ he calculated.
’Five days until the Baron’s men arrive to calculate tax on February 1st... it will take me more than one month to perform the eldritch ritual and level up with crystals...’ He concluded he could only follow the same route as the previous loop.
----
He performed the octopus guy’s ritual at night under Elder Slime’s supervision.
[ Ding! You leveled up to Lv.10! ]
He chose the Elementalist class.
Then he trained Fist Mastery under the crimson moon while Elder Slime slept.
"Acid Fist." He slammed his fist into the wooden fence.
"My fist feels a bit wrong..." he muttered. The memories of thousands of repeats were starting to affect him.
He focused on his fist, wobbled his entire body, concentrating his strength into that one point. But unlike before, he didn’t flood it with aura—he used only a thin ray of aura and punched the fence.
Bam!
No smoke appeared. However, a solid fist imprint formed on the wood with a corrosive, rotting Zzz! sound.
[ Ding! Fist Mastery proficiency +15! ]
"Fifteen... are you serious?" His eye almost popped out. He couldn’t believe it. His mouth hung open in disbelief.
----
After an entire night of training—
[ Ding! Fist Mastery Tiered Up to Tier Two! ]
[ —Masteries—
—Fist Mastery—
—Tier Two—
—Proficiency: 1/100—
—Effects: Increases fist power moderately.
—Reduces all Fist‑type skill costs by 7%. { Note: Includes True Magic } ]
’It even includes True Magic...’ He grinned. For the first time in a long while, he felt genuinely happy. ’At least that torture helped me.’
"Acid Fist."
He used the skill to test his new strength.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind exploded out. ’My strength... It’s almost equal to when I was level 50.’ He couldn’t believe his own power.
"No wonder... masteries are so important."
Vael was casually napping on the fence, chin resting on his right palm, watching Young Slime train.
’What should I do to make him use my skills...’ he wondered, eyes gleaming with cunning light.
----
After a few days—
[ Ding! You have leveled up to Lv.20! ]
[ —Masteries—
—Fire Magic Rune—
—Tier Two—
—Proficiency: 1/100—
—Increases fire‑type spells’ power moderately.
—Reduces the mana cost of fire spells by 7%. ]
"Fireball," he cast.
A basketball‑sized fire sphere manifested. He hurled it at the wooden fence.
Crack!
The barrier shattered instantly. The fireball, still carrying leftover power, shot into the sky and—Boom!—it exploded in mid‑air.
"Just... how many levels did you gain?" Elder Slime Wob! bounced over in disbelief.
"Level 20," Young Slime replied with a small grin.
"Your power is on par with a level 50... do you have some power‑boosting trait?" Old Slime asked, curiosity fully awakened.
"Fire Magic Rune Mastery, Tier 2," Slime#47 replied plainly.
"Tier 2... in just a few days..." Elder Slime’s mouth dropped open. "Just how did... Wait—does your mastery get carried over by your trait?" he asked, recovering quickly.
"Yes..." Young Slime nodded. ’As expected of Elder... he figured it out instantly.’
Wob!
Elder Slime bounced away like normal—but Slime#47 didn’t notice the wide grin on his face.
’A mythic or even higher trait... He keeps his masteries from previous life... no wonder he was chosen,’ Elder Slime thought, grinning.
"Three creatures... I’ll make sure to torture you," Young Slime vowed. Because of them, he had made the mistake of using Vael.
"I could use them..." Vael whispered, grinning as he planned something.
End of the Chapter...