Starting The Lord Simulation...

The slimes below continued to wobble, their adorable eyes fixed on Augustus as though awaiting his next move. One of them jiggled closer to his throne, bumping into the base with a soft "plop."

A faint chuckle escaped his lips, laced with irony. "So this is how it starts? The Supreme Plane, a world where Lords battle for dominance, and I get... slimes. Weak, adorable, squishy slimes."

He exhaled, shaking his head. "It seems the gods really do have a twisted sense of humor."

As if in response to his words, a translucent screen materialized before him, cutting through the dim light of the dilapidated room.

-Ding!

[Territory Assessment: FFF-rank Slime Village.]

[Subjects: 46 Blue Slimes.]

[Structures: Dilapidated Lord's Hall, Basic Slime Puddle, Slime Lake]

[Resources: 10 units of Goo (Slime-exclusive resource).]

Augustus's smirk froze as he read the details. His fingers tapped absently on the armrest of the throne, the sound echoing faintly in the otherwise silent room.

"This... This is worse than I imagined," he muttered, his voice dropping into a mixture of frustration and resignation.

The screen's cold, hard truth left no room for doubt: he was starting from rock bottom.

Slowly, he straightened in his seat, his crimson eye narrowing with a spark of determination while his sapphire eye remained calm and calculating.

Despite the overwhelming odds, he wasn't entirely without hope. The implanted knowledge reminded him of his rare dual SSS-rank talents, the Lord Simulator and Monthly Rules. Unlike his starting territory, those talents were anything but weak.

"Fine," he said, his voice steady and commanding as his grip on the throne's armrests tightened.

"An FFF-rank Slime Village, huh? Then so be it. If this is my starting point, I'll make it work. After all..." His lips curled into a smirk, his heterochromatic eyes gleaming with resolve.

"...a king isn't defined by his throne. He's defined by how far he can climb from nothing and how far he can lead his subjects into prosperity."

The slimes quivered at his declaration, their gelatinous forms wobbling as if responding to their Lord's determination.

Augustus leaned forward, raising his hand to summon the first tool in his arsenal: the Lord Simulator.

"Let's see what the future has in store."

After waving his hand and activating his SSS-rank Lord Simulator talent, Augustus watched as a golden-colored system screen appeared in front of him.

-Ding!

[The Lord Simulator can be activated daily to simulate the future up until your demise. However, it can also be activated beyond the free daily usage, but at the cost of consuming energy—whether mana, aura, or stamina—depending on what you choose to expend.]

-Ding!

[You currently have 1 free daily usage of the Lord Simulator. Do you want to start the Lord Simulation? Everything that occurs in the simulation reflects the future, where the 'you' in the simulation is your current self.]

[Please note that if you use the Lord Simulator again after the free daily usage, the simulated future may be altered, as the 'you' in the second simulation will possess knowledge of the events from the first simulation.]

[Additionally, any power-ups or external influences can also affect the simulated future. Therefore, use the Lord Simulator as a reference, but do not rely on it completely.]

-Ding!

[Do you want to use the Lord Simulator?]

[Yes] | [No]

After carefully reading the instructions and details regarding the Lord Simulator's usage, Augustus pressed the [Yes] button. He was curious to see what might happen in the future.

The Supreme Plane was vast yet perilous. There might already be Lords with neighboring territories, and any one of them could pose a threat to his survival.

Even the fact that the Lord Simulator wasn't absolute worked to his advantage. After all, if the simulation were absolute and it predicted his demise, it would mean his fate was sealed. In that case, he thought, it might be better to remain oblivious to his demise if there was no way to prevent it.

-Ding!

[Starting the Lord Simulation…]

-Ding!

[You awakened and discovered that you are the Lord of an FFF-rank Slime Village.]

[You counted the slimes in your village and found a total of 46 blue slimes under your command. Due to your authority as the lord, these 46 blue slimes could not disobey your will or commands.]

[You surveyed your territory and identified three main establishments: the Dilapidated Lord's Hall, the Basic Slime Puddle, and the Slime Lake.]

[The Dilapidated Lord's Hall served as your throne room and was connected to your personal quarters. The blue slimes higher up in the hierarchy resided in the hall with you.]

[On the other hand, the Basic Slime Puddle was nothing more than the accumulated slime goo left in the lord's hall, used by the slimes as a form of currency. This accumulation was due to the lack of a treasury to store it, leaving it to be collected in your hall instead.]

[The Slime Lake was a small body of water where most of your blue slime subjects lived. The majority rested there, while the older slimes preferred to stay in the Dilapidated Lord's Hall.]

[The blue slimes didn't require human food to survive. They absorbed mana from the surroundings or consumed minerals and nutrients in the soil. However, you quickly discovered that while the slimes didn't need human food, you did.]

[Because of this, you commanded twenty blue slimes to go out and scavenge for any edible human food, such as wild berries or small animals if possible. You instructed the remaining slimes to stay in the Slime Village to protect you.]

[You waited in the Slime Village for several hours, feeling your hunger grow. Fortunately, the slimes returned, though only 19 of the 20 came back.]

[Among the 19, fifteen slimes brought wild berries and fruits, two carried a hare each, and one presented a mana stone. One slime returned empty-handed, and one failed to return at all.]

[Concern for the missing slime nagged at you. Even if they were mere blue slimes, they were still your loyal subjects.]

[Your lord authority could not establish a mental connection with the missing slime, meaning they were either killed or had wandered into another lord's territory.]

[Despite your worry, you knew that eating had to come first. You commanded your slimes to gather wood and stones to build a campfire.]