The first thing Leo was aware of was the voice.
It was soft, genderless, and seemed to come from inside his own mind.
[Consciousness recognized.]
He had no eyes to open, no lungs to breathe. There was only sensation—a cool, damp pressure, and the voice.
[Sensory integration in progress.]
A feeling of shape began to form. He was… a mound. A cohesive, gelatinous mass. He willed himself to look down, and a portion of his form bulged, giving him a view of a translucent, emerald-green body resting on a bed of black moss and rotting leaves. The air was thick and heavy, and the little light that filtered through the canopy was a sickly green.
[Identity: Slime. Confirmed.]
[Location: The Dark Forest. Threat Level: Maximum.]
"Dark Forest?" Leo thought. The name felt ominous, but the panic that should have followed was absent. His mind was a clean slate.
He experimented, pushing a part of himself forward. A pseudopod extended, wobbling unsteadily.
[Basic motor control requires practice.]
"Okay," he thought, and began the slow, patient work of learning how to ooze in the most dangerous place in the world.
He had managed to move a single body-length when a new sensation arrived. Not a sound, but a pressure. The very air grew heavier, and the forest fell into an unnatural silence.
From between the twisted, bone-white trees, it emerged. It was a bear, but to call it that was an insult to the terror it inspired. It was a Gloom Bruin, a monster whose fur was the color of dried blood and shadows, with eyes that glowed with a faint, malevolent purple light. Its claws were like shards of obsidian, and its mere presence made the plants around it wilt. A creature that could shatter stone and was feared by seasoned adventurers.
The Gloom Bruin's head swung towards him. Its glowing eyes narrowed. It saw the green slime not as food, but as a stain, an anomaly in its territory.
It didn't growl. It didn't charge. It simply took a single, ground-shaking step and swiped with a clawed paw. The attack was fast enough to tear a man in half.
[Alert: Catastrophic threat detected. Gloom Bruin. Evasion impossible.]
The obsidian claws passed through Leo.
Or rather, his form parted around them. There was no tear, no splash. It was like a liquid flowing around a stone in a stream, then instantly reforming behind it. Leo felt a disorienting wobble, but nothing more.
The Gloom Bruin froze. Its primitive mind could not process this. It swiped again, and again, and again. Each time, the slime simply ceased to be solid where the claws were, then became solid again. It was like trying to cut water with a sword.
Frustration turned to rage. The monster's maw opened, and a concentrated beam of purple, soul-chilling energy erupted—its Abyssal Roar, an attack that could wither a forest and disintegrate magic.
The beam hit Leo dead-on.
It didn't vaporize him. It was absorbed. The purple energy swirled into his green form, turning it a temporary, beautiful shade of violet before fading. Leo felt a warm, pleasant fullness, like drinking a warm meal. He felt more solid, more real.
[Host has absorbed [Abyssal Energy]. Vessel integrity increased.]
The Gloom Bruin stared, its glowing eyes wide with something that looked like primal fear. It had thrown its most powerful attack, and the slime had… eaten it.
In that moment of the monster's stunned hesitation, a new instinct surfaced in Leo. A simple, profound understanding. The thing in front of him was a threat. Threats had energy. He could take it.
He didn't attack. He simply pulled.
A visible wisp of purple light, the very life force of the Gloom Bruin, was drawn from the monster into the slime. The beast didn't roar; it let out a pathetic whimper as its immense strength and vitality were siphoned away. Its glowing eyes dimmed. Its powerful muscles weakened. It took a staggering step back, then collapsed onto its side, breathing in shallow, weak gasps. It wasn't dead, but it was neutered, reduced to a state weaker than a common squirrel.
Leo sat there, feeling more energized and aware than ever.
[Analysis: Passive absorption and energy negation confirmed. A fundamental property of the vessel.]
"What was that?" Leo thought, examining his now slightly larger and more vibrant green form.
[Data insufficient. Hypothesis: You were hungry.]
"Oh," Leo thought. That made sense. He looked at the pitiful, wheezing form of the once-terrifying Gloom Bruin, then at the vast, dark woods ahead.
He had survived his first encounter. He felt pretty good about it.
With a determined, wobbly lurch, the slime named Leo continued his aimless journey deeper into the Dark Forest, a friendly, forgetful, and utterly terrifying force of nature.