It Started with Slime - Part 1

Chapter 6 - Forced into Consolidating

Photosynthesis has increased to Level 8!

Camouflage has increased to Level 4! You have gained the Texture Tree Leaf!

Odour Alteration has increased to Level 4!

Through Photosynthesis and Digest you have gained 175.2g of mass, your Weight has increased to 335.02g and your Volume grown to 167.01cm3!

Unfortunately, sleep deprivation from earlier and its current semi-lucid state made it lose track of time. Instead of spending just one hour Absorbing and Digesting it ended up coming to about 24 hours later. Of course, it didn't mind going through all that as it had nowhere to be, but it had wanted to work on its flying first. Still there was no disadvantage to becoming larger as it would be able to consume more and more and become more intimidating. It was still not very large even compared to the creature that had nearly killed it.

Now that it had rested though, it was ready to give flying a go in its new form, but....it didn't work.

You are above the weight limit for Wings of the Fly! Get your weight below 200g or they will not work.

Annoying...

If it had known about this limitation it would been more attentive to what it was Digesting! Still it did not check—didn't know how to—so it could only blame itself. It actually did not understand a lot of the stuff it was going through: what was happening to it and what it could expect going forward. Resh needed a way to understand how to progress and what that progression would mean for it. The fact was that now it was backed into a corner. Either it didn't fly at all, in which case it could not take advantage of what it was now capable of, or it shed the weight and gained density which is what it had wanted to avoid....Sigh.

Shed...not fly....shed....not fly....

The reality was that it was not willing to give up flight, it was too exhilarating. So in the end there was no decision. Its hand was being forced...

You are planning to use Consolidate! This is irreversible and will take 5hrs and 35min at your current Weight of 335.02g and Volume of 167.51cm3 after the process is concluded you will have a Weight of 3.35g and Volume of 1.595cm3 your new Density will be 2.1g/cm3, while Consolidate is happening you will be unable to perform any further actions, you will not be able to use any passive skills related to movement or growth, only those related directly to your safety, at this time there are Camouflage and Odour Alteration. Do you wish to go ahead with Consolidate? Yes / No?

It had absolutely no choice and with Camouflage and Odour Alteration active it would not be disturbed so it went ahead. Yes.

The process of consolidation was...not exactly unpleasant...but it was unnerving. Its slime body basically sucked into itself and then seemed to just grow smaller and smaller. It was a very slow and gradual process. It just shrank....and shrank... and shrank....and shrank.

You have Consolidated to 3.35g and 1.595cm3 your Density has increased to 2.1g/cm3!

Consolidate has increased to Level 2!

...

Consolidate has increased to Level 5!

You have gained and lost the following stats due to size and weight reduction! +2 Speed, +2 Reaction, +1 Resistance, -1 Strength, -1 Vitality, -1 Endurance

You have gained the Mental Stat Acuity; your Acuity is currently 2.

Resh was definitely feeling very different as the process completed. It was only 1% of what it had been, smaller than when it first began. Well, at least the wings would work now. The wings had grown with Resh as it grew larger, but there must be an upper limit to them, certainly their upper limit was larger than that of the Fly itself. So, there must be some amount of adaptability possible. It would need to explore what it could do and how it could fly once it became bigger. Maybe if it continued to level up then it could do more? It didn't really know what levelling skills did specifically. It knew that they got stronger, but not how they got stronger. It also didn't fully understand what all its stats did. It needed to understand more about itself.

Wait....where had all these questions come from? It had not asked these questions to this detail before now> It seemed like a fog that had been clouding its mind until this point had now lifted just a little and given it more insight into what it needed to understand about itself. It was like it had happened when it completed its Consolidation. It felt much more self-aware. Maybe the new stat, Acuity, was responsible? It was the only thing it could think of.

No regrets! I may have lost a significant amount of my weight but being able to think! Oh wow, this is great!

There was a discernible difference between now and the thoughts it was able to form and express even just internally before. It might not be considered intelligent yet by any means but being able to think is a power all on its own! With that buoyant thought it continued with its original plan of learning to use its wings to the fullest.