Evolution, Slip Slime!

The requirement for a beast to evolve into a higher tier was rather simple. Their bodies were extremely adaptable, so until higher levels, magical beasts didn't need to consciously adapt to their new reserves. They simply needed to gather enough mana until they broke through.

Alaric's gaze directed itself at the slime's form, 'Normally, when higher levels of mana are introduced to a magical beast's body, their form changes at least a little. This applied to all increases, not just evolution.'

The slime didn't seem to have changed at all. This could be due to an inability to evolve, or simply because slimes didn't have much ways in which they could change early on.

'I'm hoping for the latter...'

Still, the result of the first core-eating experiment had left Alaric extremely satisfied. With an increase mana pool, magical beast should become smarter, stronger, faster, and even have faster reaction times.

Of course, what Alaric was most excited for, was the increased intellect. He decided to immediately test the waters.

"You, jump." he commanded.

The difference was immediately noticeable. This slime hadn't succeeded in even a small hop, but it made an effort! Its body struggled to stretch upward, sometimes even twisting and changing position.

"You may stop."

This had basically confirmed it. Slimes would grow stronger upon eating other slimes. This required human intervention, as slimes couldn't penetrate other slimes' flesh themselves.

'Still, it's weird that this remains unknown... I came to this conclusion rather obviously.'

The next step was obvious, even if he had to feed this slime 20 different cores, he would get it to evolve. The benefits were unknown, but even if its speed wasn't desirable enough, the evolution of a slime would be enough of a strength boost in of itself.

Alaric began slaughtering slimes, after ordering others to look away. One could argue that this was cruel, after all, these were Alaric's soldiers.

Soon, 10 slime cores had been lined up beside Alaric.

'Seems this slime hasn't gained enough intellect yet. It actually followed my orders to look into the forest.'

It was good, for now. But later, Alaric wanted a smarter slime that could help manage the rest.

After commanding the slime he was cultivating to come closer, he had it eat. One core every 5 minutes. Alaric watched the entire process very closely.

After four cores had been consumed, the slime began to actually experience changes!

'Small, stubby appendages are protruding out of the bottom of its body... 8 in total. Is it becoming like the octopus in the stories?'

Five cores eaten. No changes.

Six cores eaten. The appendages grew longer.

Seven cores eaten. The slime became larger.

The changes were slowly piling up. This slime was becoming much stronger, although the process was time consuming. It had already been past noon, and the slime hadn't evolved.

'The fact that I figured this out so early... should be a blessing in disguise. Have to thank Mother when I am back.'

The eighth core. The slime... began glowing?

Time felt as if it stopped. Alaric had seen many rank-2 magical beasts in the past, but this aura blew that out of the water. The glowing white slime was expanding and shrinking at a rapid pace, its eight tentacle-like appendages swinging wildly.

'Kri!'

"What?!"

Alaric was stunned. The slime was obviously evolving... but to obtain speech?!

'Slimes shouldn't be able to speak! They definitely won't be able to support a vocal system in that body for theirs... telepathy?!'

The slime slowly began calming down. The 8-armed, glowing, white silhouette began shrinking and expanding as it became smaller and smaller.

'Kri!'

It was over. But what Alaric saw was even more astounding than the telepathy ability of this new slime. The slime that was originally the size of a large child, was now smaller than his hand.

'The eight appendages have definitely become full fledged tentacles, albeit small. His form is much less messy, almost smooth... but still falling apart as a slime does. Its eyeballs and core shrunk along with it...'

Alaric was a bit weirded out. This was the last thing he expected. It was too small to aid in the assistance of the other slimes' movements. It definitely wouldn't be powerful in battle, right?

Disappointed, Alaric still continued on with his plans. He would first test out this slimes intelligence and telepathy.

"Are you okay?" Alaric asked.

No response.

Again, Alaric asked, "Are you okay?"

This time, however, was different. Alaric powered his voice with his mana, activating his talent.

The slime's eyeballs began swirling around its body, and Alaric felt a voice in the deep recesses of his mind, 'Kri!'

'I don't know what it means, but I'll take that as a yes.' Alaric thought.

The slime's new ability seemed to be telepathy. It didn't matter much while it was still a tier-2 magical beast, but maybe in the future it'd be useful. This slime had also gained substantial intelligence, even understanding how to respond.

'It doesn't seem weighed down by excessive gunk, like a tier-1 slime. Maybe it can be of assistance.'

Alaric thought for a moment, before commanding the new tier-2 slime, "Bring a beast with a much stronger aura than you to this grove."

Immediately, the two human-like eyeballs began swirling around the tier-2 slime. Soon after, its eight tentacles slammed onto the ground beneath it, launching it towards a tree!

'Mobility skills like this exist?! I didn't even think it'd understand the command!'

Very soon, the slime that Alaric had cultivated to evolution disappeared from view. It seemed to leave cracks on whatever it slammed its tentacles on, causing destruction in its wake.

"If I could make even one more of those... wouldn't I have two powerful, handheld tier-2 magical beasts on me at all times?!" Alaric exclaimed.

After escaping from his stupor, Alaric got to work. At the speed that slime was traveling, there was no telling when a tier-3 magical beast would end up at his doorstep. This grove had to turn into the strongest of traps, as soon as possible.

'That slime is definitely too fast. I'll call it a slip slime.'