3 2nd Move | Exit

*Whoosh!*

I duck and cover as a massive black spider jumps at me.

*Psss!*

Before the spider's legs could touch the ground, the arachnid was cut in half by a jet of highly pressurized water coming from Rimuru.

Seeing the remains of that spider, I wondered half-mindedly just how much pressure the slime was able to generate inside his body to be able to create what's essentially a water cutter.

Placing my last charge of the day into [Mathematics] caused my mind to expand drastically to the point where I solve stuff like AP calculus as a high schooler would with grade school math.

As I neared the cooling corpse of the spider, I was able to see just how clean the cut was. The carapace around the edge of the severance showed no signs of damage. I touched the cooling corpse of the now-deceased spider, tracing my doll-like hands around the edge and studying it.

I probably would've got a paper cut if I still inhabited my old body.

"Jeez, your internal pressure is much stronger than any commercially available waterjet cutter," I spoke freely with a hint of disbelief. I was at least somewhat used to the uncanniness of the voice, "scary."

"Sorry..." Rimuru apologized meekly, as though he was in the wrong.

An interesting thing to note: my throat never once felt thirsty, and I never suffered any effects of dehydration like headaches or dry mouth. That reminds me, my brow furrowed as Rimuru ate up the spider, where are the sources of water anyways? You'd think with a cave this damp they'll be everywhere...

As I contemplated, my hands unconsciously came together, and I started rubbing against the tips of my fingers, my non-crumpled up fingers. Anyone who'd been to a pool would know that if you spent too long in the water, your fingers would get all pruney. The same thing occurs if you spent too long in a damp place, but my fingers remained as smooth as they've always been.

Right after Rimuru had eaten Veldora and my daily charges had reset, I placed an additional 3 charges into [Cave Exploration] to better guide me quicker out of this place. At the same time, an unforeseen side effect of my dumping too many charges into a specialty had given me an uncontrollable urge to create.

Rimuru tried to help me during that time but I was unresponsive to all outside stimuli, focused solely on... I looked down at the thing on my chest, linked around my neck via a chain. It's a very primitive flashlight, utilizing glowing rocks and a concave reflective material to create a focused beam of light.

On the plus side of dumping so many charges into [Cave Exploration], I seem to have an intuitive ability to determine roughly how deep we are solely based on temperature and the air. The room for error is about ~50 meters.

"But, is it really that strong?" Rimuru finished after he had consumed the spider.

During the walk, whenever we met up with a cave-dwelling animal, I would always stay back and let Rimuru deal with it. As of yet, there seemed to be no beasts that the slime could not handle.

Over the last 2 days, I placed another 2 charges into [Martial Arts] (which when combined with [Mathematics] allowed me to see the mathematically weakest spot within a structure), 1 on [Psychology], 2 on [Multitasking], and the last 1 on [First Aid].

I and Rimuru have also begun to start talking about our past life as we walked through these snaking tunnels.

Turns out? He's a salaryman from Japan, and I'm a corporate exec from Canada.

He's a bit peeved about how high my position is, which I can only chuckle at.

We also both died from a stab wound, only this time he saw who had killed him: a mere thug that was running around with a stupid knife! Ha! I can't judge too much since I didn't even get to see who my killer is.

And as it turned out, whenever he's staying quiet, he's communicating with this Unique Skill called [Great Sage] that acts as an assistant AI, aiding him in whatever he wishes.

I'm quite fascinated with such an ability. In my past life, my home was one of the smartest ones on the market, with me being able to control almost every aspect of the house from the comfort of my bed via simple voice commands to Echo.

With this apparent scientific skill of mine, I could probably create something similar to [Great Sage] once I've created a steady industrial base.

"That reminds me, how are you able to speak anyways?" I asked as we continued the walk.

I felt the 5 sparks within me ignite once more, like 5 torches being lit up on a dark desert night. It seems another day has passed and now I have another 5 charges to spend... another day after I reincarnated.

[Silenced Emotion: 50%]

I felt a flash of intense nostalgia before suddenly tapering off, as though someone had twisted the faucet of my emotion to the 'lesser' side.

Turning to me as he jumped on a rock, "Well, as it turns out, right before you picked up the remains of some crystals I ate-"

"That was you!?"

"Yeah, I ate some crystal on the way down. Moving on, I found this enormous bat hanging on the cavern walls, carefully, I managed to take the bat unaware, and slew it before it was able to react. It took [Predator] some time before the sonic skill can be properly analyzed. It was just as when I had been named that I got the sonic skill and asked [Great Sage] to help me form proper words through manipulation of sound waves," he explained before jumping off the rock and towards the entrance we had been heading for before the spider rudely interrupted us.

I didn't follow.

Even if Rimuru had seemed so casual about it, I felt a deep pit of uncertainty opens up inside me. Dangerous... very very dangerous, being able to seemingly take the superpowers of those that he ate? I should be careful in the future.

Running after the slime, my intuition tells me we should be nearing the surface-

I saw Rimuru peeking over the side of a turn in the cave tunnel, spying on a new light source that appeared out of nowhere.

Using the blueprints I received from [Stealth], I turned the flashlight on the chest inward and maintained maximum stealthiness as I leaned over the blue blob to see a trio of humans opening a rather large decorated metal gate. One blond with long hair and a sword on their back, one female mage with blond hair and brightly colored clothes, and lastly a tall guy with brown hair, who looked like the group's carrier.

[Martial Artist] whispering sweetly into my ears ways to disarm them and [Biology] suggested ways to make them stronger, faster, smarter— superior to their current body.

My gaze intensified as the temptation strengthened. When I see these people, I don't see humans, I saw fresh resources for me to use, to experiment with. It's like showing an oasis to a man dying of thirst in the middle of a desert, I haven't had any proper biomass to experiment with ever since I reincarnated, as Rimuru quickly ate the monsters he killed.

I could give the blond guy a sword hidden in his arms. With that hidden arm blade, he'll always be ready to fight.

I could give the girl pouches within the body, that way she can operate at the same level as before and have space to store spell books or materials, or even potions! If I add a few nozzles to her body, I could perhaps make it so that she could spray out harmful liquids.

I could give the carrier guy denser muscles, thus resulting in an overall improvement of strength and overall carrying capacity.

I felt a touch on my ankle, snapping me out of my daze.

looking down, I felt a dribble of saliva down my chin before quickly wiping it away. Rimuru eyed me with concern before turning around and—

*hiss!*

—Spew forth a cloud of gas that instantly knocked out the trio, causing me to become alarmed.

"What are you doing!?" I exclaimed, "why did you do that for? They didn't even spot us now they knew something would be up!"

Only for a protrusion to come out of the blue blob's body and point toward the girl, "I am not traveling with someone naked. I almost had a heart attack when I saw a naked person but calmed down when I realize nothing is there."

I bit my lips in frustration, knowing that he was right. "You're a slime, you don't even have hearts," I weakly countered, trying to recover some of my pride.

You know, it's a bit worrying when I didn't even bother covering myself even if I didn't have any obvious genitals— hell, I look legit like a doll made out of flesh and blood.

Veldora's words returned with full force as I placed the first charge of today into [Sewing].

With the two knives currently hooked around the chains of my flashlight, I proceeded to unclip the girl's white outer robes, and the blond guy's shirt under the armor. With the materials secured, I then unhooked the interlocked knife from the chain to cut apart the straps that bind the sleeping bags from the carrier man.

I began to prepare the fabrics using the interlocked knife, the crystal one doesn't cut fabrics well, what with the number of grooves on the flat sides and all.

The white robe is harder to cut than I expected, enchantments perhaps? Possibly, if 'mages' exist in this place, then it's quite likely that something akin to enchantment exists. God, I hate magic, it's a word used to describe an unknown phenomenon by people who don't know science.

I looked towards Rimuru, "give me some strands of spider silk, the nonstick variety." I reached out with my palms before turning to the prepared fabrics in front of me.

Feeling a string land on my hand, I took out the thinnest part of the interlocking knife to use as a temporary needle and began sewing.

The process takes no more than 5 minutes, [Sewing] giving me information to be hyper-effective and wastes no time nor silk in completing an entirely new set of clothes.

It's completely white. The color could use some work, but beggars can't be choosers.

Putting on the clothes, the texture of the fabric felt a bit rough, like one of those ugly Christmas sweaters. The shirt was rather long, reaching down to my thigh.

I saw Rimuru already at the door, protrusions signaling me to come and go.

Sighing, I took a peek at the still unconscious bodies and decided to leave them a small gift, that is the crystal knife. I don't rob people, so the crystal knife would serve as my payment for their fabrics.

Still, I'm peeved at the fact that [Sewing] doesn't give me the ability to make shoes.

As I walked outside, I saw the entrance was surrounded by an opening within a forest that I could not see the end of. Stepping out, I felt the spiky grass pricking my feet bringing back... certain nostalgic memories of my childhood.

I took a deep breath of actual dry air for the first time. Being down in that cave for half a week, I've only taken in damp and moist air.

I ran towards where Rimuru is heading, and proceed to place a charge into [Lumberjack].

Immediately, I knew the forest ahead of me is an untouched wilderness, like forests in the Canadian Rockies or an Amazon Rainforest equivalent. Based on how thick the tree trunks were, I'd wager this forest is extremely old as well.

Combining [Lumberjack] and [Mathematics] gave me an estimate of how much a single tree would net me, damn these trees would net me a good profit if these were in my old world!

_____________________________________________

One Week Later.

"..."

I looked at my reflection in the small lake. After leaving the cave, we decided to set up shop after walking until the night had set in.

My skin is a healthy pale, with a pair of ruby-red eyes, and somewhat short hair that can blend seamlessly in the snow.

My physical features are of a size that can be mistaken for either gender, primarily depending on the clothing I'm wearing. My eyes are neither too big nor too small, my lips are neither too big nor too small, and my teeth are all pure white without a single flaw.

Everything is too perfect.

With a lack of any facial flaws, it's unnerving.

It's too damn perfect to the point of being creepy. I fall deep into the uncanny valley.

Had Veldora not said anything I would've thought I am nothing more than a pretty doll someone made that somehow gained sapience.

Getting up, I pondered over what had happened the past week. I had set up a shelter using what trees and other materials I could find with multiple charges into both [Outdoor Survival], [Shelter Building], and [Interlocking Design]

I made a cabin using nothing more than some tools I made with 2 charges in [Primitive Tools].

I made a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom with a working shower, and a kitchen area. The walls of this cabin can stand against hurricane-force winds.

I made a luxury cabin with interlocking walls that could stand up against forces that some modern buildings made out of concrete would struggle against.

How the hell was I able to build this? With wood no less? Crickey just imagines what if I had this power in my old life?

The entire house, as stated previously, is made from interlocking pieces of wood, like one of those Japanese wooden box puzzles. Every piece has a place to go and is equally important, though I did include some redundancy at the request of Rimuru.

A funny thing concerning him, was when he tried to replicate what I did; he failed spectacularly.

He replicated every move I made down to the second, only for the house to collapse after a small breeze blew through the clearing we were in.

I laughed, an alien laugh that I just can't get used to.

He tried 3 more times before giving up.

One more interesting thing to note: I was finally able to become hungry by the sixth day out(of course I still could eat before then, but I mostly didn't). I think my body absorbed a massive amount of magicules during my stay at the cave, and now it's running out since I'm no longer in that place, the reserve is starting to run out.

This is further proven when I finally manage to get some close eyes, albeit only for a few hours.

Over the week, I asked Rimuru to see if he could bring back some animals alive when he went hunting. When he did bring back a rabbit, regret bloomed in his smooth slimy feature as I proceeded to upgrade the animal into a biological trashcan through the use of nothing more than a knife, some chemicals I distilled from organic ingredients, and a combination of [Waste Disposal], [Surgery], and [Biology].

The first generation Bio-Can was born, capable of digesting all forms of organic trash and most inorganic trash.

The next time he went out, I asked that he bring me back a wolf, or anything larger than the rabbit. Since I don't have any advanced electronics to work with, I was forced to use organic components as substitutes.

Rimuru vehemently refused, much to my confusion.

Walking inside and into the kitchen, I saw that the rabbit-garbage disposal was gone.

"Hey, Rimuru do you know where the trashcan went?" I asked as I walked into the living room. The slime flinched before turning to me.

"I don't know, maybe a bear came into the house and ate it?" He suggested, at my suspicious look he continued, "Scientia, during my hunt I found this bear I've named 'Assassin Bear' due to how easily they can sneak up on you. They probably came in here and ate the... poor bunny."

I hummed in deep thought and placed a charge into [Home Defense], a myriad of different designs that looked like they belonged in a Home Alone M rating edition popped into my head.

I headed to the kitchen and opened the cabinet. Placing a few charges into [Food Preservation] allowed Rimuru to only go hunting every other day, as any excess food can be stored for future use.

I was greeted with the sight of wooden jars sealed airtight somehow without the use of any rubber.

Opening it, I looked inside and saw the meat is still as fresh as if it's was caught 5 minutes ago. Walking out of the house into a readied campfire pit with a metal pot hanging on top. I unceremoniously dumped the entire jar's worth of meat into the readied broth, bits of the light yellow soup splashing onto my skin. Instead of the burning pain, I felt only light tingles as if they were cold water droplets.

Admittedly, cooking oil was a problem until I started using leftover animal fats.

With [Cooking] at 3 charges, I can create super delicious food from seemingly bland ingredients. I become a chef that cooks through only precise measurements of spices and other chemicals. [Cooking] combined with [Chemistry] allowed me to synthesize flavors never tasted before from seemingly innocuous and common ingredients, spicing up all of our meals.

If this world is just like Medieval Europe, I could probably become a new Dutch East India Company with the unique spices I'll sell. Not to mention the potential for a monopoly.

As I stirred the pot, the thought of creating a new Dutch East India Company entranced the capitalist side of me. These pleasing thoughts were further exacerbated by the utterly delicious aroma coming from the pan in front of me.

That was until I heard rustling nearby.

My new ears allowed me to perfectly pinpoint exactly where the rustling came from.

Turning to the right side of me, I saw the bush at the edge of the beach vibrate. It's not a bear (I wasn't even sure bears existed in this new world until Rimuru confirmed it). The first rule of any survival was to ensure no leftover scraps are left in the open, as that would attract unwanted animals.

Slowly, tiny green men came out of the bush. They were very skinny and scrawny, and if a human had their physique, they wouldn't look out of place on one of those 'donate to save kids in Africa' posters I remember back in Grade School.

These tiny green men wielded rusted weapons and were covered with tattered clothing that had plenty of holes in them.

Grabbing a kitchen knife I made a few days ago from nearby and placing another charge into [Martial Artist], I got into a combat stance that can lead to both lethal and nonlethal takedowns.

Giving them a good look over, I noticed how they looked like goblins. Rimuru suggested how this could be a fantasy world similar to those of Tolkien. I tried to dismiss him, but I can't because that Storm Dragon looks a lot like a Smaug equivalent.

The tiny green men seemed to tense up, with one raising his shield and the others preparing for a fight. [Psychology] says they are feeling afraid. Good, I swear if these goblin look-alikes are anything like those belonging to that one traumatic anime my coworkers described years ago, I will put as many charges as possible into [Genetic Engineering] and make a super plague that would wipe them all out within a single month.

Even if they aren't I can for sure use the extra biomass to experiment with.

[Biology] and [Surgery] send a mental nod of approval.

"Woah Woah Woah!" Rimuru suddenly comes barging out from behind me, "What's going on?"

I shifted my head to the side, my eyes never leaving the goblins.

"I—" before I am suddenly interrupted as the goblins fell to their knees and begged.

"PLEASE HELP US!"

I felt my eyes twitch as the edge of my mouth curved down. Pathetic, how pathetic are they that they immediately beg to get help? In a cutthroat corporate setting, begging is considered a sign of weakness, the last resort, where you are trapped with no hope of escape. It is the ultimate form of resignation to your fate.

You don't get what you want from begging, you get it from rolling up your sleeve and working on your goals, well perhaps some strings or a bribe here and there but hard work nonetheless.

I was about to reject them solely out of principle before Rimuru spoke up.

"Why should we help you?"

That little sh— how strong does he think he is? Ugh, politics have never been a strong suit of mine, even amongst corporate execs. They never gave me any projects involving politics because of just how bad I was at it.

One of the goblins in the middle of the pack rose from his kneeling position, "We smelled a delicious aroma coming from this place, and since we haven't eaten for so long we were desperate for food. You see with the recent loss of our Guardian Deity Veldora, the Direwolves have begun to invade our territory. With how weak we are we stand no chance, and thus, we were unable to hunt for food."

He then began to grovel, causing me much discomfort.

"They number us 3 to 1! They are stronger and faster than we could ever hope to be. But, as a powerful human with an intelligent monster as a pet, we can't help but beg you, O' Great One... HELP US!"

Rimuru seemed to be in deep thought as if reminiscing about the past.

However, something stood out to me, "First of all, Rimuru is not a pet. Second, can't you all just leave and move elsewhere?"

"But where would we go? all of our stuff is within the village, if we are forced to go we'll be dying a slow death as we struggle to find a proper place to build a new village."

I felt a sense of deja vu as I'm reminded of how I asked the same question when a coworker of mine brought up the topic of indigenous people in Canada.

Putting the last charge of the day into [Planning] I start to formulate a plan to have them leave me alone.

Truth is, I'm only a single person, I can't build weapons quick enough to arm enough men to win against a 3:1 ratio.

[Biology] and [Surgery] popped into my mind with ideas on how to instead improve enough goblins within 3 days to permit them to win easily, yet that would necessitate a disturbance in the balance of power within the Forest. If anyone found out how a mere goblin village was able to slaughter an entire hoard of dire wolves, they'll obviously investigate. And when they find oddities about the stronger goblins, they'll start to suspect something's up.

They'll likely either kill or enslave the stronger goblins as soldiers as well.

Eventually, this investigation could lead back to me, a Perfect Homunculus. If Veldora's word is anything to go by, they'll declare a Crusade just like the ones back in Medieval Europe.

At the same time, if they are wiped out, the dire wolves would likely turn their attention elsewhere... possibly to me.

Am I REALLY going to start my industrial base with goblins? Am I really going to rely on goblins to defend against the entire world? I turned my gaze at the goblins, Rimuru looking at me expectantly.

Gritting my teeth, I merely sighed, relenting as Rimuru spoke, "We will help you."

Biting my lips hard enough for them to flush an extra shade of red, I felt a sense of injustice. All the tension left my body as I accepted what was to come.

"Under one condition: tell me...

...What are your thoughts on Perfect Homunculus?"

_____________________________________________

AN: ah...isn't it fun to introduce the elements of a grimdark superhero world into that of a joyful fantasy?

I really have to speed everything up because for real, one month was what time had passed between the sealing of Veldora and Rimuru meeting the goblins.

Inspire Inventor can beat every problem within Worm with a week of preparation if the bearer min-maxed the hell out of it and if they have no morals.

Just read Von Neumann Steamroller or that one short story where Taylor had Inspired Inventor without any morals

As Sonic would say: Gotta go fast!

Current Charge:

(AN: if I make a mistake with the current system please point it out)

Total used/available: 55/60

Biology 3

Cave Exploration 4

Primitive Weapons 3

Vocal Recognition 1

Stealth 3

Martial Artist 3

Escape Artist 1

Philosophy 2

Multitasking 3

Mineral Examination 1

Outdoor Survival 4

Shelter Building 4

Interlocking Design 3

Lumberjack 1

Psychology 2

Sewing 2

Mathematics 2

First Aid 1

Surgery 3

Planning 1

Cooking 3

Home Defense 1

Waste Disposal 1

Chemistry 1

Distilling 1

Threat Analysis

Unspent Charge: 0

Wasted Charge: 0