Embracing Nature's Call [1]

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘌𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 "𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴." 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘶𝘴. 𝘌𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘭𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴. "𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱." 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘌𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭.

{Name: Azrael Silven

Level: 5

Ultimate(s): Grim Harvest (S+), Eternal Monarch (S-)

Skills: Dash (F), Danger Sense (F)], Keen Smell (D), Leadership(F)}

Azrael began to plan what to do with the skills he gained. Looking at the new skills, he realizes that they were completely useless to him. Closing his eyes, he begins to sense the skills within himself. Opening his left palm, he uses his right hand to gently pull out two incandescent threads. Holding the threads, he crushes them, turning them into small bright lights. The bright lights immediately rush back into his body going towards his first innate skill, [Grim Harvest].

Grim Harvest

Rank: S+

Level: 1 (0.9%)

Description: Killing an enemy shall grant you their skills and a portion of their proficiency. Thread-like strands will appear from the corpse. The number of skills corresponds with the number of threads. Only one thread can be consumed from a given corpse. If more are consumed the skill goes into cooldown for several hours depending on the number of threads consumed.

Pulling an orange thread out of his left palm, he also crushes it. Turning it into orange starlight that flows into his body and going towards the Dash skill. With his masterful usage of the skill, and the Leadership skill being used as nourishment, it leveled up to 5. The skill now uses less mana and can allow Azrael to move even faster.

Finishing up with everything, Azrael begins to rest. With the pace he's traveling, it may not take long for him to get to his first destination. Morning arrives, and Azrael begins to wake up, the fire he started has burnt out. Standing up and stretching he moves out of the burrow. Relaxed and refreshed, he strolled out of the burrow and trekked south.

The journey was uneventful, Azrael killed a few wild animals to Ascend and for sustenance. When he was tired, he and Ragnar stayed in caves or burrows to bunker down for the cold nights. As the days wore on, a sense of weariness settled upon Azrael, the monotony of ceaseless walking or riding Ragnar taking its toll. With each passing day, his longing for the freedom of flight grew stronger. Wanting to break free from the constraints of terrestrial travel. Finally, by the end of the week of the treacherous journey he begins to see something different from the usual winter forest.

"Rigid creature I command you to halt!" In a cute child-like voice, a slimy green blob with pieces of metal on its body said to Azrael.

Behind the slime was the first roadblock of the Devil's Trail; Slime Valley. Nestled within its vast expanse of approximately five hundred thousand square kilometers, Slime Valley stands as an ecosystem unto itself, boasting a remarkable array of distinctive flora and fauna. The valley is cradled within a geographical depression, causing rivers to cascade into majestic waterfalls as they converge upon its borders. The encircling mountains and hills, with their sheer inclines, render any attempts to ascend them futile. True to its name, the valley is predominantly governed by its abundant slime inhabitants, for their sheer numbers and remarkable cohesion compensate for their individual lack of strength. Making even Azrael a bit wary on how to proceed. Touching his chin, Azrael is amazed by what he's seeing. Though he's seen a lot in the grand universe there are still creatures that he's never interacted with before.

"Fascinating, it seems these creatures hold some intelligence even without a brain." Azrael thought before walking towards the green slime.

"What are you doing?! I said halt!" Even with such a commanding tone the child-like voice takes away any intimidation it might have.

Standing in front of the blob Azrael said, "Please make way, I need to get past this valley."

The once green slime turned a shade of yellow once it spotted the luparis next to Azrael, a testament to its inexperience. Stuttering, it said, "I must apologize but I cannot let you through. You should simply go around the valley." The slime bubbled up and down a bit more while staring at Ragnar.

"Well, that's no good. Going around would take months, if not years. Not to mention how dangerous it is. Is there any way I can pass through the valley?"

The slime hesitates while bubbling in place. Ultimately it made its decision and said, "My shift ends in a few hours anyways. Wait here with me until the next guard takes over. Then I can lead you to our king. Maybe his majesty will allow you passage."

Azrael raised a brow, "Why do we need to talk to your king for me to gain passage?"

"Well, you can enter from this side without a hitch, however the problem is the other side. Most of the army is stationed there due to border disputes and they're not going to allow a human to just waltz right through." The slime patiently explains.

"Fair enough, you said your shift ends in a few hours?"

"Yeah, so we only have to wait here for a bit." The slime said slowly. While waiting the slime strikes a conversation with Azrael. "Not many humans show up here. In fact, it's been years since the last one showed up. You're the first human I've ever seen. Is it true that you have bones underneath your skin? Or do you use magic to keep yourself rigid?"

Humored by the curious slime Azrael patiently answered its question, "No, I don't use magic to keep myself rigid. And humans do have bones in them. Now I have a question for you. How do you function without a brain?"

The bubbly slime pauses, then grows an appendage that bends and points right back to it. "See this? The small orb in the center of my body? That's what allows me to continue to exist."

And just like that both the green slime and Azrael slip into conversation to pass the time.

A few hours pass, and in the distance a blue slime is seen riding on a gelatin structured horse. Galloping, the slime soon nears Azrael and the green slime. While getting closer the blue slime yells, "Hey Sam! Your shift's over, let me take over!" Arriving next to the two, the blue slime hops off and lands next to Azrael.

Sizing Azrael then Ragnar up and down, he coolly said to Sam, "who's this Sam?"

"Oh, he's a human that wants to cross the valley."

"His name?"

"His name is… what's your name kind sir?"

Azrael looks at Sam, then at the blue slime, "My name is Azrael, it's a pleasure to meet you."

An awkward silence appeared for a minute until the blue slime spoke, "Yeah, whatever. You can go but don't try anything funny mister."

"Thanks, Ooey! Now sir Azrael, let's go see the king!" Bubbling up and down, Sam and Azrael stride past the squishy gatehouse.

Walking a few miles down the road Azrael and Sam arrive at a garrison. "Wait here. I need to grab a horse. We're both going to need a ride if we're going to the capital." Sam goes and grabs the nearest horse and leads Azrael to the main road.

"Even taking the main road, the journey is still going to take us about five hours. Be prepared sir Azrael, so the boredom doesn't kill you" Sam vibrated at that last remark. Azrael secretly rolled his eyes, "You don't have to say "sir" every time you address me. It's a bit annoying. Just say my name normally."

Sam pauses, "Okay… Azrael. Let's not stay here any longer; we should head off to the capital now." Azrael nods, and with Sam leading the way the two set off towards the capital city, Yahvet.

From swaying trees to the huge chocolate bears sleeping out in the open, Azrael's journey towards the capital was scenic and uneventful. Throughout their journey, they encountered numerous slime creatures. They came in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors, ranging from small and translucent to larger, more vibrant slimes. These curious creatures move in unison, oozing along the ground, and forming intricate patterns and shapes as they go about their daily activities. Still on the road, Azrael gazes at the occasional slime that comes by. "I never thought slimes could build a civilization. Not much is known about them in the great universe."

Sam, fiddling with the toy he brought for the journey, stopped for a bit before replying, "Uh, yeah, it's a miracle we became a kingdom at all. We were almost wiped out before our nation came to be."

Raising a brow, Azrael questioned, "Oh? What happened?"

Sucking the toy back into his body, Sam sat on the horse quietly for a bit, "Do you want the long story or the short one?"