The Reward for Hardship (2)

The skill I obtained under the pretext of a reward was called Delicate Manipulation. Even aside from the grandiose prefix, one detail stood out immediately: the clear word Passive attached to the skill. Unlike active skills that consumed mana, passive skills had the advantage of lacking that drawback, making them quite convenient. Moreover, most passive skills enhanced the awakener’s innate abilities, so while they were difficult for ordinary hunters to obtain, once acquired they enabled explosive growth. I recalled hearing such things before.

With those thoughts in mind, I examined the newly gained skill once more. Judging by the name alone, it seemed to grant finer control over my body… yet I couldn’t quite feel that it was particularly outstanding. When I casually asked the one who had given me the skill, the response was a vehement protest.

“Eeeh?? Do you have any idea how amazing this skill is?! The really good ones always look plain on the outside, you know? Don’t make that face and just read the description first. ;;”

Ulthar looked visibly flustered by my lukewarm reaction, as if to say “This isn’t how it was supposed to go…” On one hand, the fact that the shady cat was this insistent made me wonder if it really was that good after all. In the end, I decided not to be too disappointed and instead approached it with modest expectations before slowly pressing the skill’s description button.

As expected, the first thing that greeted me was the cringeworthy explanations and playful wording. But I had already anticipated this. After all, it was a gift from that particular individual; the absence of such suspicious packaging would have been stranger. By now I had grown somewhat accustomed to it, so I skipped the flashy preamble and turned my gaze to the core abilities listed at the bottom.

The first entry at the top was Ultra-High-Speed Control. I didn’t need to think too deeply to understand what it meant. It likely referred to a dramatic increase in the speed at which I could reshape ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my body. Wanting to test the effect right away, I racked my brain and soon came up with an idea, which I immediately put into action.

Kururuk…!

I extended one hand forward, separated a portion of my body, and naturally activated the Transform skill. The slime that appeared on my small palm trembled once before rapidly assuming the shape I had imagined. Resting in my tiny hand was a grip that felt slightly large and a weighty sensation impossible to replicate with any other material. The black object that had fully materialized was none other than the pistol carried by the suspicious man ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had visited the tent earlier.

I didn’t know the exact model name since I had no interest in firearms, but the sleek black barrel told me this was unmistakably the real thing. On the surface it was simply an ordinary transformation process. Yet as I watched it happen, my eyes widened. What caught my attention was the time it took for the pistol to take complete form.

A pistol might look simple, but its interior contained countless components. This meant the transformation required far more intricate work than simply reshaping something like a longsword. Of course, the human body was also complex, but after absorbing multiple entities and repeating transformations countless times, I had grown quite familiar with the process. General knowledge about human anatomy had also helped speed things up.

In contrast, because I lacked basic knowledge about firearms, the first time I tried to manifest the pistol it had taken roughly ten seconds to complete. Considering that the pistol now resting in my hand had appeared in mere seconds, the speed had clearly increased. Even if the improvement wasn’t dramatically large, it was a significant advancement for practical combat use. After all, one of the things I had learned during the special training was that in a life-or-death melee, a single second could decide victory or defeat.

Furthermore, in situations where I needed to regenerate my body without revealing the slime’s characteristics, faster speed would make the task much easier. Next came Trait Fusion. Since I didn’t fully understand this one either, I asked Ulthar for an explanation, and the cat readily provided a detailed breakdown. What I learned was anything but ordinary.

In summary, it allowed me to overlay additional properties onto something I had already created through transformation and fuse them together. For example, I could now layer the magic-resistance trait from the old man’s shield onto the skin of my normal human form. Until now, using an absorbed item had required transforming into an exact replica of it—such as the ant’s sharp mandibles, the old man’s shield, or various polearms. But with this new power, I could selectively apply only the useful properties of those weapons.

This would inevitably broaden both the methods and scope of combat, naturally leading to an increase in overall combat strength. I couldn’t close my mouth at the ability that exceeded my imagination. I had already thought the first ability was quite good, but the second was even better. Every single one of them felt like a set tailored precisely to my current needs. They say receiving an unexpectedly large gift without warning can leave you flustered—that was exactly my state right now.

With an ambiguous expression that was neither quite happy nor displeased, I finally checked the last ability: Multi-Control Enhancement. This one I could somewhat guess. It was likely related to remotely controlling portions of my body that had been separated from the main form, just as I had used clones during the special training. If my ability in that area had improved, then once I raised my Residual stat high enough, I might be able to handle numerous clones simultaneously. Of course, with my current Residual value, even creating a single clone was already a struggle.

Practicality, versatility, efficiency. A truly all-purpose skill that boasted tremendous efficiency in every aspect. What was even more astonishing was that all these abilities were contained within a single passive skill. It would have been strange enough if they existed separately, yet these cheat-like powers were bundled together. I now understood why Ulthar had reacted so strongly at the beginning.

This insane skill, which compensated for most of the weaknesses in my existing abilities, would easily multiply my combat power several times over even at a conservative estimate.

“You… why are you suddenly acting like this? Are you planning to make me do something weird again after giving me this? Spit it out honestly while I’m still asking nicely.”

[No, why are you twisting my pure goodwill like that?! It’s just a small token of sincerity regarding the previous incident… and a reward for successfully completing the special training without any issues.]

“Then you should’ve given it to me from the start. With this, clearing that dungeon would’ve been much easier…”

[This skill also requires a certain level of familiarity with the body before it can be properly utilized. Without sufficient proficiency, it would be useless even if you had it. Honestly, I wasn’t planning to give it to you yet… but your growth was unexpectedly fast, so I figured there probably wouldn’t be any major problems.]

“……”

After hearing that, I had nothing more to say. I felt a faint sense of unease at the cat’s sudden goodwill, but judging by the reaction, there didn’t seem to be any hidden motives. To be honest, I was still a little anxious, but given how far the cat had gone to explain, it was probably fair to view this skill as a form of “reward” for all the hardship I had endured so far.

My already overpowered ability had suddenly been upgraded overnight. The playful description of this passive skill suddenly came to mind. It had claimed to be an essential skill for becoming a magical girl… a ridiculous argument, yet if it meant my existing powers were drawing closer to the mystical realm of magic, then it made a certain amount ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of sense. Aside from the slime aspect, the ability to create weapons out of thin air or instantly regenerate from fatal wounds was practically beyond magic. If I played it right, I could even pass it off under grandiose names like “Creation” or “Immortality.” After all, the two people who had brought me here seemed to suspect the latter.

Moreover, the passive skill I had just obtained was extremely useful for concealing that slime-like aspect. Perhaps it was only natural for most people to mistake my abilities for magic. A magical (slime) girl… The words carried an ominous and gloomy feeling just imagining them, but what could I do? That was who I was now. Unless that rotten cat suddenly changed its mind, I would have to keep playing that role from now on, whether I liked it or not. That was the contract I had made with it, and the fate that held my life hostage.

The more I thought about it, the more pitiful my situation seemed, and I let out a small sigh. While I was glad my abilities had improved, thinking about the future prevented me from feeling purely happy. Just as I was lying on the bed testing the new skill in various ways, my heightened senses picked up on something. The faint presence wasn’t coming from the door. Moreover, its presence was far too faint to belong to any staff member. It felt like a very minute presence, almost like a small creature, yet connected to me by an invisible thread.

When I made a subtle expression at the indescribable sensation, Ulthar, who had been perched on the bed, voiced its curiosity. I calmly explained what I was feeling, and after a moment of contemplation, the cat carefully spoke.

[Could it be that you’ve left a portion of your body somewhere else?]

“Huh?... But my Residual value hasn’t changed at all.”

[Think carefully. If the amount is extremely small, it might not even register on the stat.]

Following that advice, which seemed to read my thoughts, I fell into deep contemplation. Soon, I recalled one fact I had forgotten. There was only one thing that matched all the conditions: body part, extremely small amount. It was the blood sample the staff had taken from me a few days ago under the pretext of a physical examination. That was the only thing that satisfied every condition. I remembered feeling somewhat uneasy back then because even the blood was ultimately a transformed clump of slime. Since then, it had vanished from my control range before I could sever the connection, so I had naturally forgotten about it—yet now, suddenly, I could sense its location again.

There was no way the glass bottle containing my blood had suddenly grown legs and moved on its own, so there was only one possible cause: the Multi-Control Enhancement included in the passive skill I had just acquired. Ulthar seemed to agree, nodding its head.

[It appears that as that ability strengthened, your existing control range expanded as a result. It just so happened to reach the location where your blood was being stored.]

While I accepted the explanation, another question arose. What would happen if I left the control range without voluntarily severing the connection, like this time? The truth I heard from Ulthar was surprising.

[When you enter that state, the separated body part automatically enters a dormant phase. It becomes a perfect transformed state that doesn’t react to any external contact. If you successfully reconnect in that state, you can regain control. However, if a certain period passes, it will completely assimilate with that state and the connection will be permanently severed. For example, the body fragments ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that spilled out when you had a hole punched in your chest last time are all in an assimilated state now.]

“…Even if they come back into range, if I’ve already completely lost control?”

Ulthar immediately nodded at my question. Honestly, I had never even dreamed that such a mechanism was hidden within this body, and I couldn’t hide my surprise. Come to think of it, I had overlooked what had happened to the fragments and blood I hadn’t been able to recover at the time. I had simply assumed that since the fragments had left my control range and my Residual value was gradually recovering, everything was fine—but there had been this mechanism lurking all along. Of course, such a structure was efficient for preventing my true identity from being discovered. If the transformation had immediately undone itself the moment control was lost, I wouldn’t have been able to hide so easily.

As I mulled over this newly learned truth, I considered what to do about the suddenly reconnected portion of my body. Then I clapped my hands together. Come to think of it, I probably wouldn’t have many opportunities to visit a place like this. Since this might be my last time in this secret underground space, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a quick look around and see what kind of structure it had. My playful expression gradually shifted to one of curiosity as I focused my mind on that distant fragment. I rationalized to myself that this was just to test my enhanced ability.

As my consciousness gradually connected and I grasped the approximate location, my eyes widened at the familiar sensation. I had been to this place once before. The identity of the space filled with numerous rooms and scattered objects was none other than the personal office of the female leader of the research division.