Chapter 3: Enter Novus

A/N: So what's basically my plan for now is that this is basically a dude with Rimuru's Powers, but starting from square one in a Universe that's modified to my liking. One - he will hear the voice of the world, but other's can't. He's unique in this regard. Two - other people can gain skills, through hard work, comprehension cultivation/evolution to the next rank/stage. Meanwhile our MC can learn twice as fast, and grow exponentially stronger due to having Predator, Great Sage.

Note: There will be R18 content, you can skip those chapters in the future, they will not include any significant plot. I will mark them with an asterisk (*).

— Chapter Start —

[Confirmation complete. Aquisition complete. Skill: Predator and Great Sage acquired.]

Huh? Whutt?

Oh right... I died.

Welp. Can't be depressed just because I've moved past my old life right? Right. That god in charge did say my fam's all taken care of. So First things first, let's get accustomed to this world and gain a proper form ASAP.

*Great sage you there? I only heard a cold, stoic reply in my mind saying "Affirmative". "Good" I said. Generate a skill to see and sense my immediate surroundings, be it using any type of energy — light, that radioactive energy that god talked about, anything. Great sage replied "Command acknowledge. Commencing analysis. Radioactive energy scanned. Forming sight and spatial awareness sense via available energy in immediate environment. Increasing range to 100m around host. Operation success. Please check new skills.

Skills gained:

Great sage, Predator; Innate skills: Absorption, Regeneration, Acid, Fluidity, and Mimicry.

While that was going on, I was getting busy myself collecting and absorbing whatever I could in my slime inventory. I was located smack dab in the middle of the city, near an old apartment complex that lays in ruin.

Inventory:

Monster remains x6

Human corpse x2

Scrap metal x120 kg

Green herbs x20

Scrap wood x80 kg

Concrete x60 kg

Contaminated water x40 liters

Electronic components x110

Salt x30 kg

Martin: Great sage, analyze the remains and corpse for anything useful. Then, create a Male form for me from the analyzed human corpses and based on my memories. After that, please repair the scrap metal, wood, and concrete into usable forms - melt the scrap metal and make them into ingots, utilize the energy I am passively absorbing from the environment. Fine tune the rough and destroyed parts of the scrap wood, make what is unusable, back into what can be used once more. Segregate the intact electronics and take apart the wires and components from those that aren't working anymore. This will be useful when I make my base in the near future.

Also, process the herbs - I studied a little bit of science back in the day, so scan my memories and some lab equipment, include vials, flasks and beakers of varying sizes and sorts, bunsen burners, one burette, and some pipettes. Make a centrifuge as well to increase the concentration as well. Purify the contaminated water using known methods (Boiling, Distillation, Chlorination); you make scan my memories and make a water purifying station. I'll put that in the base later. Then process the herbs, the centrifuge can help make the herb extracts more concentrated. The solid parts get removed and sorted, reheated to make it more liquid, and then rinse and repeat so that nothing is wasted. Some knowledge regarding the water purifying part may be missing, so just put that on hold. We'll solve that problem later.

Lastly, analyze possible uses and skills that can be derived from R energy, via the use of the skill R energy manipulation. I have some ideas off the top of my head like basic matter manipulation, matter creation, basically making me like a knock-off avatar but better since I don't necessarily need to bend/make martial arts movements; although they do come with advantages, might consider mastering martial arts as well. Scan my memories for useful references like the skills of Jihan from the Gamer, cultivation novels, any utilization of magic from anime, novels, manga, manhua, and etc.

Great Sage: Commands acknowledged. Commencing.

After some time has passed, I have already swept and taken all the valuables (post-apocalypse wise) in the 2-storey apartment. Taking all that seems useful. I also gained some classic slime skills that early Rimuru had in the cave before meeting Veldora.

Skills obtained: Observe, Identify, Scan, Aqua Jet/Water Propulsion, Energy Perception, and Water blade. After experimenting some more, I managed to gain the skill condense energy, and energy release. After 30 minutes of practising the skills, I then gained Energy Manipulation, and Release energy, Energy Blast, Energy beam, Laser eyes.

A/N: I will use the following abbreviations from this point onwards, GS - Great Sage, Mavs - Martin Maverick. He doesn't change his name as there would be no point.

GS: Reporting. Generic Human Form available.

Mavs: Sweet. Turn into said form please.

GS: Command initiating. Mimicry success.

After a good hour of familiarizing myself with my newly acquired human form, which looks like a young 18 year old Grid/Greed/Shin Youngwoo from Overgeared.

*Insert photo here*

Suddenly, a sound of rifle rounds were heard. Someone had opened fire. After investigating for a while, and nimbly avoiding what seems to be a scattered populace of mutated humanoid monsters. I managed to come across a huge mansion. Well-hidden but still very noticeable from afar due to it's size.

I sneak into the mansion, carefully walking so as to prevent any noise. Opening the window from the backyard, I see a Man, all bloodied and limp. I then pay my respects and absorb the man.

After absorbing him, I gained the skill: Interdimensional Travel (Fixed).

Huh... It seems like the main protagonist from one of the novels this universe is based on, kicked the bucket earlier. I suddenly felt an itch on my left arm; then I saw it - a green marking of sorts. Then suddenly my body absorbed a sizeable amount of radiation energy from the environment.

*Insert photo here*

A/N: Going to call Radiation energy - R Energy from now on so as to make it faster to read and type.

Which means the culprit is still nearby. I found out his name: Jiang Chen, from his wallet. He still has some IDs on him. This will be useful should I decide to travel to his world for some supplies.

I search the ground floor slowly and quietly, looting whatever seems useful. I go upstairs, then I prepare myself as I slowly open each door. As I open the last door upstairs, I slowly bend my knees and crouch to prevent a direct hit to the head should anyone be on guard and anticipating an attack. I also prepare a laser beam from the tip of my fingers (like how Frieza does it). I then see an injured girl, tired and panting as she had just gone through a tough fight I can guess.

She looks like Lin Ling from the LN Pocket hunting dimension, I wonder if she has similar powers but only time. 

*Insert photo here*

I was resolved to man up and grow up more quickly, thankfully my experience in reading stories such as my own, where suddenly a modern person is thrown into an apocalyptic world, be if post-apocalyptic or not. Thus I decided to take her in as a servant/subordinate; despite being a slime, I still had emotions - I still longed for connections.

I had made up my mind and said to myself that I had to adapt a more rational mindset. It's a given necessity if I want to survive. Most of my actions I had to rationalize from here on out. But I would not lose my emotions.

This I swore.