Slime Reincarnation

I decided to head toward the spring I had spotted earlier with my overhead view.

Of course, I traveled by hopping along in the teardrop shape I had just mastered!

...This is seriously exhausting. It feels exactly like doing rabbit hops the whole way.

Compared to the easy slithering of my melted puddle form, it’s like night and day, but this is training.

If I want to avoid getting hunted immediately, becoming as adorable as possible is a must.

After hopping for a while, I finally reached the edge of the spring and cautiously peeked in. I had to be careful — if I got careless and fell in, it would be a disaster.

The moment I saw my reflection in the slightly murky spring, I was shocked.

（My color is so gross!）

Even though I had somehow trained my melted body into a teardrop shape, I hadn’t been able to see myself clearly until now.

My whole body was mostly greenish, with patches of purple and reddish areas. In the center, there was a round, glowing red part.

（Wait... Is this the slime’s core!?）

Compared to the rest of my gooey body, the red core in the center stood out quite clearly.

（A slime whose weakness — the core — is clearly visible... This is seriously the worst design!）

On top of already being a weak mob character, I was openly showing off my vital weak point.

Heh... I can’t stop the tears!

If only it was a cool mono-eye like in that other series, it would’ve been so much better!

（If the core is red, maybe I can make my whole body red too? Like a Slime Boss version — that might make the core harder to see?）

I strained hard and imagined myself turning red. It felt like when you force yourself and your face turns red from the effort.

When I peeked into the spring again, my body did look somewhat redder overall. It was hard to tell clearly because the water was dirty.

But a red slime feels kind of aggressive...

Maybe I could try pushing the core deeper inside to hide it? Or camouflage it by turning the same color as my body, like green.

I circulated my energy again and imagined it, then looked back into the spring. Sure enough, the red core had disappeared.

（I’ll need to train so I can do this unconsciously all the time.）

I can’t just leave my weak point exposed like that. I have to hide the core somehow.

Well, I don’t even know for sure if it is the core... but it’s safer to assume it’s a high-risk weak point.

For now, I have two options: assimilate it by turning reddish, or hide it inside my body.

Red doesn’t have a great image, so I’ll try to conceal it inside.

My goal is a beautiful water-blue color that suits a bouncy, cute slime body. Yeah.

Even though I’m stuck in this hellish no-cheat, no-skill slime life, having goals is important for survival. I’ll become the beautiful Water-Blue King! Or something like that?

Later on, maybe I can make myself metallic and shiny, or even gold... Wait, gold is a bad idea. Adventurers would hunt me like crazy.

I kept circulating my energy while refining the color image in my mind.

（...Alright!）

My reflection in the spring had turned into a beautiful blue, just like the ones you see in games.

It didn’t look super clean because the spring water was murky, though.

Oh, and once I decided on a color, it stayed that way even without constantly circulating energy. Nice — that helps a lot.

I wonder if I can make it flash in multiple colors if I imagine it... Rainbow Slime? ...No, that would stand out too much. I’d definitely get hunted!

I just realized — I can view myself from an overhead perspective too, right? Let’s try that. Energy go round and round.

...Yeah, water-blue really stands out in the forest. It’s super noticeable.

Since I’m in the woods, green would probably be better, right?

I immediately imagined green and circulated my energy. I’ve gotten used to it, so the color changed right away.

（Oh～ This blends in nicely with the surrounding trees.）

When I looked at myself from above, my green body became really hard to spot at a glance.

Of course, if someone can sense energy itself, they’d still be able to find me even if the colors match, but it’s still a big improvement.

（Wait a minute. If I can change color with my imagination, then maybe...）

I slipped into the leaves of a tree with a rustle.

Then, while looking at my surroundings, I imagined matching them.

（Whoa! I’m just like a chameleon!）

My body color changed to perfectly blend in with the scenery.

Next, I moved to a large tree trunk and imagined matching its color.

At this point, it wasn’t just color changing — it was full assimilation. If I get good at this, I might be able to hide like a ninja by blending into walls when chased by adventurers. Ninja Slime! ...That actually sounds pretty fresh.

Just then, a deer emerged from deeper in the forest with a rustle. Since I was currently assimilated with the large tree trunk, I decided to test whether it would notice me. The deer walked right past me, snorting, and continued deeper into the woods without noticing.

（It didn’t notice me... This camouflage seems pretty effective. In a pinch, instant assimilation it is!）

Either way, I now knew I could change my color in various ways.

Alright, time to admire my beautifully colored brave appearance in the spring...

...It was my mistake for approaching carelessly. The edge of the bank crumbled, and I fell straight into the spring.

Huh...? Aren’t I in serious trouble now?