Chapter 38 – Dreams and Reality

As was always the case with any Evolution or Consolidation Resh found itself inside the dream. No, a memory. Resh had been subconsciously interchanging the words for a while now but for the first time, Resh knew that this was a glimpse into a moment in another's mind. It was a mind that felt more intimately its own than the affinity it had felt with any other being it had encountered.

Even though this was the only other mind Resh had connected to for some reason Resh felt intrinsically that there was a connection here. How else can I see through this creature's eyes? There is no other reasonable explanation…is there? And then if that is the case, the next question I need to ask is how is an Earth Slime that has been alive and awake for around two months suddenly finds that it is connected mentally to some Human (Male)? It is completely ridiculous!

Nothing about the box had changed. There was still pitch black. But Resh's ears had improved. It was now able to make out some faint sounds of scrapping above where this Human was lying. The sound of Earth being moved above, the skrit…skrit…skrit of metal scraping across wood and then the sound slowly fading as more soil fell on top of the box Resh was trapped in. The body the Earth Slime inhabited was too weak to scream, too weak to cry out for saving.

This human knew that nothing and no one was coming for it. Nothing was coming to save it. Tears silently leaked from the sides of withered and cracked skin. No one was coming…the sense of hopelessness that pervaded the mind of this creature was all-consuming. Resh found itself sinking into this despair. It was too much, gasping and desperate to get out Resh clawed at the top of the box with renewed vigour. The pathetic human's arms were like plant stems against the hard wooden surface and Resh heard a low rumble from outside. Instinctively the human knew it was laughter so Resh knew it too. The damn humans outside were laughing! And they continued to spread dirt and debris over the wooden case that this human lay in! Resh was about to lose its mind with the panic, anger and incredulity of the situation. What was happening? This was too much. It was too much to bear, Resh needed to get out of this humans body. Resh could hear panicked breathing, it was so close. The breathing was loud in Resh's ears.

Only a few moments later Resh realised that it was the one that was breathing so heavily, hyperventilating in its panic. It was being buried alive. Why was that sensation so fear-inspiring? Resh lived underground now. It was underground right now in its real body, so why was there so much fear associated with this situation? Resh could just consume the sides of the box and get out…couldn't it? Resh tried to calm down, breathing more slowly and deeply. Placing hands on the sides of the box Resh tried to Consume…it didn't work. Why had Resh thought that would work? Resh knew that no matter what it had tried, in these dreams or memories or whatever they were none of its skills worked. It knew that but it still wanted to try. With this last light of hope extinguished Resh and the human collapsed, the darkness of hope lost once more taking hold and robbing this body of all its remaining energy. Accepting death was the only way. The only thing left…

Resh jolted awake from this final acceptance of death and the vestiges of memory faded from its mind. These glimpses into another life were becoming more morbid each time Resh visited them. This is becoming a lot to handle. I thought I was going to lose my mind that last time.

Rather than coming out of Consolidation feeling rested it was becoming clear that Resh was more tired than before. But sleeping would just bring those nightmares again so what was a Slime to do? There was some obvious break in the connection that resh was not able to fully integrate with this human but Resh did not connect with any other humans in the same way as this one. Blowing out its lips in frustration Resh settled back to understand its gains in the last twelve hours.

You have Consolidated to 352.20g and 130.44cm3 your Density has increased to 2.7g/cm3!

Consolidate has increased to Level 17!

You have gained and lost the following stats due to size and weight reduction! +6 Speed, +6 Reaction, +4 Resistance, +3 Intellect, +2 Acuity, +3 Focus, +1 Dexterity, -1 Endurance!

Resh's mind cleared a little further, thoughts coming a little faster. Not that Resh noticed. It was busy fixating on the fact that it had lost one point of Endurance. Are you kidding me! After waiting 3 days I still lose a point of endurance? Unbelievable! It wouldn't be so bad if I knew what was going to happen before I Consolidated! How am I supposed to keep up this when I just don't know going into it. Three days of Consuming followed by half a day of Consolidating and I lose a point of Endurance!? This is unacceptable! But there was nothing Resh could do. No higher powers to appeal to, nothing that could be done with the unfairness of it all. Never mind the fact that it had gained 0.2g/cm3 or the 30+ stat points it had gained. Raging for the next thirty minutes inside the Grole den Resh managed to vent most of its frustration before settling back and accepting that the 30+ stat gains were still worth the time spent.

Anyway, if the past is any indication I will only get faster at Consolidating, and the benefits will only grow with time. I need to stay focused. Resh resolved to find a way to understand then in a moment of brilliance that made the Earth Slime facepalm it realised that it had the answer already, Identify! Resh had no idea why the gesture felt natural as to be intuitive but it received a few health points of damage for its trouble.

Slime Species Skill Strong Consolidate Lv. 17 Exp. 9058 / 9146

Okay so not that useful but it does tell me that I am close to levelling Consolidate again. Also if I keep using Identify on all of my skills won't that improve Identify as well? Then I should be able to get the information I need eventually. Resh started Identifying all of its Skills, Spells and Talents. I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!

Exploration Skill Identify Lv. 9 Exp. 1416 / 1698

Exploration Skill Mental Map Lv. 1 Exp. 3 / 10

Exploration Skill Water Adjacent Lv. 24 Exp. 21046 / 23608

Exploration Skill Underground Living Lv. 18 Exp. 10630 / 10686

Exploration Skill Land Dwelling Lv. 15 Exp. 5483 / 6520

Slime Species Skill Assimilate Lv. 8 Exp. 920 / 1256

Slime Species Skill Consume Lv. 20 Exp. 12642 / 14260

Slime Species Skill Strong Odour Alteration Lv. 18 Exp. 10475 / 10686

Slime Species Skill Strong Camouflage Lv. 18 Exp. 10537 / 10686

Sense Skill Watery Sight Lv. 19 Exp. 12175 / 12388

Sense Skill Oral Devastation Lv. 14 Exp. 5304 / 5418

Sense Skill Ears of Echo Location Lv. 10 Exp. 2188 / 2230

Sense Skill Smell of Watery Soil Lv. 9 Exp. 1681 / 1698

Limb Skill Digging Legs Lv. 16 Exp. 7350 / 7760

Limb Skill Strong Insectoid Wings Lv. 13 Exp. 4156 / 4446

Limb Skill Double Wormtails Lv. 9 Exp. 1658 / 1698

Limb Skill Fins and Flippers Lv. 5 Exp. 258 / 390

Limb Skill Shell of the River Crab Lv. 5 Exp. 310 / 390

Melee Skill Slime Club Lv. 5 Exp. 309 / 390

Melee Skill Poisonous Jaws Lv. 10 Exp. 1802 / 2230

Melee Skill Dual Wormtail's Stab Lv. 4 Exp. 220 / 228

Melee Skill Tail Pole Smash Lv. 4 Exp. 220 / 228

Ranged Skill Slingshot Lv. 3 Exp. 64 / 116

Identify has increased to Level 10!

Congratulations on reaching Level 10! Your Identify has improved to Strong Identify! You will now be able to discern more information from things that you check. Gain 3x the experience each time you Identify something new.

Air Magic Spell Sonic Boom Lv. 9 Exp. 1413 / 1698;

Base Dmg: 24.84 HP; Cost: 27 MP / shot; Range: 27cm; Cool down: 60sec

Water Magic Spell Water Gun Lv. 14 Exp. 4506 / 5418

Base Dmg: 38.64 HP; Cost: 42 MP / shot; Range: 1.4m; Cooldown: 30sec

Status Effect Skill Pain Resistance Lv. 3 Exp. 100 / 116

-3% Effect of Pain on Concentration; -3% Chance for Flinching

Status Effect Skill Poison Resistance Lv. 1 Exp. 0 / 10

-1% Poison Damage when hit with Poison; -0.1% Chance of being poisoned

Stealth Skill Sneak Lv. 3 Exp. 65 / 116

+30% Damage bonus for the first 10sec of the fight if sneak is successful