"...Wait."
He turned back to Owen, who was following behind lazily.
"What if I don’t just absorb the remaining life energy like mist, but... break the whole body down into pure mana dust? What if I can turn the corpse into sothing my core can eat completely?"
Owen bounced once, confused. "You an... turn the body into dust?"
"Not just dust. Mana dust," Axelius corrected, "If everything in a living being contains so kind of mana trace, then a dead body should still have so pieces left. What if I burn the rest into raw mana?"
"That’s... not how to do Life Convergence," Owen replied,
Axelius smirked. "Exactly. no one didn’t say I can’t try, did it?"
"No, but... you might explode or sothing."
Axelius shrugged. "I’ve done worse."
He placed his hand near the chest area, his palm hovering above the green skin. Then, closing his eyes, he focused—not inward, but outward. The air shifted. A low hum buzzed around his palm, a soft ripple of energy that moved through his fingers like heat.
Then, he added sothing new.
"Deconstruct. Break down. Filter to mana."
Suddenly, the corpse beneath his hand began to vibrate. The skin cracked, and small particles lifted into the air like ash floating in wind. It wasn’t fire. It was like the goblin’s body was turning into tiny glowing dust, slowly breaking apart, drawn toward Axelius’s hand like it was being eaten by light.
Owen’s eyes widened. "You’re actually doing it..."
Axelius kept his focus sharp. The energy being pulled into him felt different—thicker than mana from the air, heavier than what he took from living beings. This was raw and full of remnants, like the ghost of a life.
Then—ding.
[Life convergence evolved: "Life Reforge"]
You have initiated a unique fusion between Life Convergence and Mana Conversion.The dead can now be transford into pure mana by your will. Efficiency increases with experience.
He stood up and grinned. "That’s one way to clean up a body." Owen ignored Axelius and tried eating so grass to ease his boredoom.
anwhile, Axelius sat cross-legged beneath the tree, arms resting on his knees as he closed his eyes and tried to feel everything. The soft breeze brushing past his skin. The dull ache in his legs. The quiet thrum of his core—it was steady now, not wild like before, but still far from the kind of storm needed to reach the next level.
[Progress to Four-Star: 3.4%.]
He opened one eye with an annoyed sigh and leaned his back against the tree trunk, resting his head and staring up through the leaves.
"...Tsk. Still too far."
He let his shoulders slump before turning his gaze to Owen, Axelius narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue, "Why don’t you do sothing or practice your new skills, huh? Who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to witness how a sli fight."
Owen, who was bouncing lazily, stopped in place. He jiggled, as if he had just been insulted—which, of course, he had. "Mark my words, Axel I will catch up to you and kick your butt!"
Axelius chuckled softly but didn’t answer. Instead, he closed his eyes again and whispered, "I’m going to ditate. Try not to explode while testing your skills."
"Yeah, yeah," Owen muttered. "Go pretend to be a rock or whatever"
Left to his own thoughts, Owen turned to his status, his blue body pulsing slightly as he accessed his new skills. Three glowed faintly in his view: Mimicry, Shapeshifting, and Inventory.
"Tsk... So now I’ve beco a living backpack?" he muttered bitterly, scanning through Inventory.
He moved on to Shapeshifting. The description popped up with glowing letters:
Shapeshifting (Lv. 1)The user may temporarily alter their shape. However, form remains translucent and gelatinous. Advanced forms require leveling up the ability and mana capacity.
Owen blinked—well, in a way only a sli could—and jiggled slightly.
"So basically... I can change shape, but I still look like jelly."
He paused. Then, a small sparkle lit inside his gooey body.
"Wait... Wait just a second..."
He suddenly wobbled in excitent, shaking side to side, almost vibrating. His little voice rose with joy, "Rimuru had this skill! The exact sa one! This is literally what Rimuru used at the start! I’m finally walking—or slithering—in my idol’s path!"
Without wasting another second, he concentrated, and his body started to change.
First, it beca slightly taller. Then wider. Then the top of his body stretched upward until two blobs ford—arms, maybe? Then a lumpy head. It wasn’t perfect. In fact, it looked like a lted snowman made of blue jelly.
But to Owen?
It was glorious.
"Behold!" he cried. "The future sli lord is here! ...Though I still look like a dropped pudding."
From the side, Axelius opened one eye and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"Shapeshifting practice! I’ll beco the next Sli lord HAHAHA!"
"You look like a failed art project." Owendidn’t care,
Axelius sighed and let his eyes close again. "You’re lucky I need peace for this ditation, or I’d sit on you again."
"Abuse! That’s partner abuse!"
"Servant," Axelius corrected with a grin.
"Wait... there’s one more," he whispered, a trembling excitent bubbling through his jelly-like body. "The last skill..."
He quickly opened his nu again and focused on the one he hadn’t checked yet—Mimicry.
His little blue body sparkled faintly as the details loaded before him.
Mimicry (Lv. 1)
Description:The user is able to copy the form and traits of a living or dead being they have absorbed. Upon successful mimicry, the user can transform into that creature for a limited ti, retaining its physical features and basic racial instincts.
For a few seconds, Owen just stared at the words. His round form started to jiggle uncontrollably.
"This is it... This is really it!" he shouted, voice filled with both disbelief and joy. "It’s exactly like Rimuru’s!"
He spun in place, little arms flapping as if he were about to fly off.
"I have the sa skill! Mimicry! Just like the manga! Just like my idol!"
He suddenly stopped and stared at the sky with sparkles in his watery eyes.
"So that God..." he raised his arms dramatically, "—granted my inner dream!! Not strength, not fa, but to beco a sli protagonist!"
He started bouncing again, shouting happily, "Now I just need a city of monsters, a few dragons, and maybe a giant wolf to ride! Yes! Yes! It’s coming together!"
From behind, Axelius cracked one eye open, clearly disturbed from his ditation again.
"...You’re loud," the boy muttered.
"Let have this mont!" Owen replied with a wiggle. "This is fate! Destiny! Prophecy fulfilled!"
Axelius slowly sat up, rubbing his temple. "Fate’s cruel if it gave a noisy sli backpack who’s obsessed with comics."
"You’re just jealous!" Owen huffed. "Soon, I’ll be strong enough to transform into a legendary creature! Maybe I’ll even mimic soone stronger than you!"
Axelius blinked. "You’ll turn into a brat?"
"A brat who saves you every ti you fall flat on your noble face!"
They stared at each other for a mont. Then, both turned their heads away at the sa ti with matching scoffs.
"Hmph."
"Hmph."
Still, even with the teasing and insults, a small smile played at the corner of Axelius’s lips. And Owen, while dreaming of sli greatness.
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