The goblins gathered around him, shaking but hopeful.
The slime pulsed with calm light, trying to show he wasn't a threat.
One goblin stepped forward tiny, nervous, barely level 3.
"M Mighty Slime… you saved us. What… what is your name?"
He paused.
He didn't even know who he was anymore.
But a name rose within him, like instinct.
"Atria."
That would be his new name.
A name for his new life.
The goblins bowed.
"Great Atria! Please… name us too! We want to serve you!"
He blinked no, pulsed.
Name them?
Why would they want that?
Then a strange system voice echoed in his mind:
Naming Ability Unlocked
Naming consumes mana, but strengthens the named target permanently.
Atria thought for a moment
then stretched out his slime body toward the first goblin.
"What is your desire?"
"Give… give me strength to protect my family!"
Atria touched the goblin's forehead with a glowing tendril.
"I name you… Rugo."
A blast of wind erupted.
The goblin's body swelled with green light, muscles tightening, fangs sharpening.
Goblin has evolved: Rugo Hobgoblin Warrior
Stats greatly increased.
The other goblins gasped and immediately rushed forward.
"Me next!"
"Name me!"
"P Please, Atria-sama!"
Atria named them one by one:
"Lena." Evolved into a Hobgoblin Healer.
"Baru." Became a Goblin Blacksmith.
"Teka." Evolved into a Goblin Scout.
Each evolution blasted the village with light until the entire place looked reborn.
But the mana cost was heavy.
Atria felt his core dim.
His body wobbled.
His vision blurred
And he collapsed, sinking into the grass.
The goblins panicked.
"Atria sama!!"
"Is he… okay!?"
"Don't touch him! He's resting!"
Darkness wrapped around him as he fell asleep…
but then
Sleep Nullification Acquired
Sleep Requirement Removed
His eyes snapped open in shock.
A new power followed immediately:
Physical Attack Nullification Acquired
You can no longer be harmed by standard physical attacks.
His slime body hardened, glowing with a faint golden pattern.
When he woke fully, the goblins were sleeping all around him, guarding him like he was a divine relic.
He looked at himself and realized:
He had evolved again.
He was no longer just an Apex Slime.
He was something beyond it.
Something divine.
And this was only the beginning.