Chapter Eighteen, True A-Rank.

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  "Are these?..."

  "[Slimes! Yes! Capture every single one. Eat a few I don't care, but we have a colony on our hands. A tribe... I wonder where exactly we are located...]" Ana rambled in his head.

  Jora peered down from the trees above, staring directly into a sort of, crater-basin. Inside, there were dozens, upon dozens of blob creatures. Round spherical sludges, that bounced around carefree.

  Some taunted one another, pushing each other around. Some sat to their own devices, rattling before they split into more versions of themselves.

  "[Now that I think about it... You definitely need to eat some of these creatures! They might meld well with your Intrinsic skills! Holy shit... Perhaps they may evolve!]" Jora tilted his head.

  "Which Intrinsic skill?" He questioned.

  "[Devour?! Gosh! Slimes are mindless low level creatures that just eat and eat! Their skill, Consume lets them steal the Attributes of creatures they eat! The only downside is that they are so pitifully weak, that they can't really eat anything of value and retain any power... They have a diluted version of your Intrinsic skill pretty much... Oh, and they're super malleable! If devouring them changes your physiology the same way you adapted to my spiderling's skills... Then you'll probably receive even more benefits!]" Ana clapped, Jora's eyebrows raised in surprise.

  Glancing down into the pit, a small smile emerged on his face, simultaneous with the bubbling hunger in his stomach.

  His eyes hovered over the tribe, before they set on one slime.

  The largest of them all, and the one that made his nose twitch the most.

  "[Yes. Smart choice...]" Ana narrated, making him roll his eyes.

  "Observe, [Analyze]."

  His brows raised once more.

  It's Attributes heavily outclassed his in this state. It had a shocking amount of Vitality, Capacity, and Defense... Surely, in any other situation he would be hesitant to take on this battle.

  But not now.

  From atop the tree, Jora's leg twitched, leaving behind only an imprint against the trunk. He appeared mid air, falling downwards towards his target.

  Right atop of it.

  He smiled crazily, his arms outspread.

  "[This fall could kill you, by the way...]" Ana butt in, but he tuned her out.

  He was sure he wouldn't die.

  Quicker than any of the brainless slimes could react-

  "[Punishment]."

  Smack!

  Jora bounced into the Greater Slime's body, making it recoil with damage.

  He bounced only a few feet in the air, countless little slimes locking onto him in that moment, high pitched screeches ringing out everywhere.

  "[Devour]." And then their leader slime was swallowed instantly, reeled into Jora's mouth, despite being over half the size of his body.

  You have slain [Greater Slime, Level 54]! Experience up!

  Jora licked his lips, tumbling down to the ground in a roll.

  "[Integrate]!"

  It was instant, and he could feel the deep power raging through his body.

  The calling...

  "[Wait... This-]"

  "Yes, and yes."

  Black.

  Jora swiveled his head around, finding himself in the familiar endless dark expanse.

  But someone else was here too.

  "OH YOU FUCKER!" Ana's voice rang throughout, many times louder than before.

  In front of him was a small blue orb, hovering, pacing back and forth violently.

  "We're in your soul space... That either means you're undergoing evolution, or creating another Soul skill." She rambled. "But knowing you. It's fucking both!" Her orb body, wobbled, bouncing up and down rather erratically.

  "This is bad. If they're searching, they'll definitely feel your evolution. C-rank into B-rank sends out a large wave..." She murmured. "What the hell can we even do?! If they're far, you'll be fucking obliterated! If they're close, it can't be weaseled around... Maybe? It all depends on what exactly is searching after you... If your form is still human, maybe you can bypass it all with lies and excuses... It's illegal to Analyze another without justifiable reason, and some are morally just enough to not Analyze you anyway..." She spit words that Jora could hardly follow.

  He was simply stuck on one thing.

  Another Soul skill...

  ...

  Just as quickly as he had blacked out, light burst back into his vision.

  "[Oh my fuck.]" Ana whispered in his ears.

  Jora paid her no mind.

  His arms outstretched above the bowing slimes, and he basked within the setting sun's light.

  And then, he exploded outwards.

  His body melted into a dark gas, before it leapt outwards, encompassing the entire basin. Then, he reeled himself back in.

  No slime was left behind, only he.

  His body slowly reformed, from dark gas, to viscous liquid, and then to a solidified human.

  "Hmm... 145 slimes to the Dungeon? Does that make you happy?" Jora smiled. Silence answered him back.

  And then.

  "[Repeat everything I say! To the dot! Inflection and all!]" Confusion emerged for just a moment, but he quickly understood.

  Pressure.

  Intense pressure.

  Like god was forcing him to kneel.

  And reluctantly he did.

  "Where are the slimes?" A voice emanated throughout the surroundings.

  His neck tensed, struggling to lift itself upwards towards the sound. And when it did, his eyes widened.

  Above the basin levitated a figure, a robed man with long scruffy black hair. A messy beard filling his face, and scarily purple eyes beading down onto him. Upon his face were two crossing scar marks, and a flat expression.

  "D-Dead. I stumbled here, drunkenly-..." Jora struggled to reply.

  The man tilted his head.

  "High C-rank." He said, "You eliminated the Greater Slime amidst it's evolution?... Alongside all of it's henchmen..." The man started to narrate.

  Jora stifled his brow furrow, clarity entering his mind.

  "It tried to kill me, I had to fight back." He fought with the words.

  "Slimes are to be herded for their fluids, not eliminated. They are protected by the Adventurer's Guild as a dying species." The man replied. "But you do not seem to be from around here... Things function differently here in the East, drunken men face repercussions for slaughtering wild monster life without a license." The man's eyes squinted.

  His robe fluttered in the wind, his body approaching as he effortlessly moved through space.

  "But the evolution you stopped seemed to be a great thing. There could have been many casualties if I was not here and it was left to grow." His head tilted. "Take these. Visit Tilmont when you can. It's just to the west." The man pointed, tossing black cloths down towards Jora.

  "It seems the slimes ate up all of your clothing..." He raised a brow, "Register in the militia, or become an Adventurer. I'd like to see you growing in strength... I feel some power deep within you... I wonder what Talents you have been gifted with." The man hovered just above Jora, his flat expression working wonders on the amount of intimidation he felt.

  "T-Thank you. Y-Yes sir." Jora stuttered.

  "...Thank you. For saving me the Quest issue."

  With nothing left to say, the man turned away, floating back up towards the surface.

  "Almost thought I found it..." He whispered, before vanishing.

  No movements, no sound.

  He just vanished.

  "[HOLY FUCKING SHIT YOU LUCKY BASTARD!]" Ana cried from within his mind, tears of joy filling his soul indirectly.

  "[THAT'S A REAL A-RANK! THAT'S SOMEONE WITH POTENTIAL TO GO BEYOND S-RANK EVEN! YOUR LUCK IS... AMAZING!]" He could hear her pumping his fists.

  But it didn't register much within his mind.

  He stayed kneeled on the ground, his hands holding him up.

  Haggardly breathing.

  His body felt weak. Weaker than weak.

  Even if he was at full power, he would've been forced to his knees all the same.

  He was nothing, standing before something like that.

  "[HIS TALENTS MUST BE PROFOUND! HIS CLASS AS WELL! AN A-RANK SHOULDN'T HAVE THAT MUCH POWER! TAKE THIS AS A REMINDER JORA!]" Ana yelled and yelled.

  "[YOU'RE STILL TERRIBLY WEAK!]"

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