In Zeyarira's spring, all life quietly awakens in the gentle warmth.
When the first rays of morning sun fell upon the Swamp Forest, a Moss Monster awoke from its slumber. It lay lazily on a tree root, beginning a new day.
Truth be told, it hadn't slept well last night.
The Swamp Forest was always restless at the start of spring. Even at night, the constant, suppressed roars of devils would startle it from its sleep.
The ever-present, unbearable hunger was also a great annoyance.
So it went back to focusing on the seemingly endless rotten wood before it, its only thought to fill its empty stomach.
It moved slowly, its mossy hide scraping against the damp surface of the tree root as its glands secreted acid to corrode the wood fibers.
It had no idea how many days and nights it had repeated this humble, arduous labor.
But as a bottom-dwelling resident of the Swamp Forest, this was one of its few means of survival.
What brought the Moss Monster some comfort, however, was that even in this cruel yet bountiful marshland, there were beings over which even it could feel superior.
—Slimes.
A weak devil that even a Moss Monster dared to hunt.
It seemed that in the Moss Monster's bloodline memory, they had a unique title—the "Shame of the Devils."
These greasy-green, translucent little things would lie quietly on the swamp and mossy tree roots each day, absorbing moisture and light to grow.
They had no hard shells, no sharp claws, and moved as slowly as congealed morning dew. They were almost completely harmless—so weak that a predator could eat them one by one like snacks.
They were also its favorite food.
Bar none.
The thought that it could easily hunt a Slime and feast on its sweet, viscous, and delicious liquid made even the lowly Moss Monster puff up its chest with pride. It even put a bit more effort into gnawing on the rotten wood.
Now, the sunlight brought a trace of warmth, and its attention drifted slightly. Suddenly, it sensed something entering its field of vision.
The faint photosensitive eyespot on the Moss Monster's forehead struggled in the dim light to capture a blurry, slowly wriggling green shadow ahead.
That familiar, tempting silhouette...
It was a Slime!
Prey had foolishly delivered itself to its doorstep!
An intense craving seized it in an instant. Its fleshy body tensed imperceptibly, and a large amount of acid reflexively welled up from deep within its mouthparts.
HISS!
The fantasy of a full meal made its simple central nervous system tremble with excitement.
Facing the weak Slime, it couldn't even be bothered to be on guard. It impatiently opened its menacing mouthparts, ready to spit acid.
SWISH!
A faint whistling sound cut through the air.
HISS—!
However, what shot out first wasn't the Moss Monster's acid, but a small wooden arrow fired from the Slime's direction, which pierced through its body.
Stunned, the Moss Monster's simple brain couldn't comprehend what that wooden arrow was before its photosensitive eyespot dimmed.
It was dead.
Killed by its own prey.
This was the most unexpected end it could have imagined.
SQUISH, SQUISH...
From the opposite side, a seemingly harmless, transparent gelatinous blob bounced over.
Chen Yu swallowed the Moss Monster's corpse and his homemade "Flying Sword" into his Gel body, then with a PLOP, sank into the swamp's mire to hide, leaving only a pair of eyes blinking in the darkness.
If his jelly-like brain remembered correctly, today should be his fifteenth day of existence in the Swamp Forest.
This unlucky Moss Monster had the honor of becoming the eighth Devil he had eaten.
'This bug, which looks like a land-based sea cucumber, is rich in collagen and protein. It's crispy, tastes like chicken, and has an even springier texture than sea cucumber. It's just a bit... muddy-tasting?'
In this culinary desert, it counted as a rare delicacy, enough to provide the Slime with a full day's worth of nutrients and a sense of satisfaction.
'Of course, if I could just improve the dining conditions here, maybe set up a cozy little tent in the Swamp Forest, get a steaming hot pot going... blanch the Moss Monster until it curls up, dip it in some sauce...'
As Chen Yu's mind drifted with these unrealistic fantasies, a warm feeling gradually bubbled up and enveloped him, making the Slime feel so comfortable it wanted to sleep.
Just as his consciousness began to grow hazy, a screen of light quietly appeared.
[Devouring and Digesting Level 1 triggered—Moss Monster characteristics recorded. Talent incubating (8/10)]
—
Race: Mucus Slime
Level: Black Iron Level 1 [EXP: 9/10]
Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Lv.2 [Spiritual Power: 16/20]
Status: Healthy [HP: 50/50]
Racial Talent: Devouring and Digesting Level 1
Other Talents: None (Obtained by devouring Devils)
Skill List: Kaiyuan Baojuan Lv.4, Artifact Manipulation Skill Lv.2
Reputation Title: None (An unknown Slime)
—
"..."
Chen Yu stared at the panel, unfazed by now.
'At first glance, this thing looks like some weird, stitched-together panel you'd only see after accidentally swallowing some colorful mushrooms from the swamp and getting high.'
But it wasn't a hallucination. The out-of-place [Cultivation] stat on it was very real.
It was a long story.
His transmigration experience was even more bizarre than most. Like a farce, his soul had been carelessly torn in two by some entity during the process.
SPLAT! One half landed in this fantasy world called Zeyarira.
The other half... uh...
Got stuck in a cultivation world called Void Profound Heaven.
「Three Elements Sect.」
The morning mist had not yet dispersed. The damp, cold air, carrying the fresh scent of mountain grass and trees, seeped into a perfectly ordinary thatched hut in the Outer Sect.
Chen Yu woke up in bed.
The shift in senses didn't bother him; it seemed he had long grown accustomed to living with two different bodies. In comparison, the faint burning sensation in his stomach was more concerning.
"Grrr..."
'So hungry.'
'Time to eat.'
His thoughts lingering on the delicious taste of the Moss Monster, Chen Yu nimbly got up, took rice from the jar, washed it, put it in a clay pot with water, and started a fire to cook it into a congee...
Then he took out a scroll and placed it on his lap to read.
The scroll's title, written vertically, was "Artifact Manipulation Skill Training Guide." Opening it revealed it was packed with text, enough to make one dizzy just by glancing at it for too long.
But whether due to habit or some other reason, he felt more and more invigorated the longer he read.
As his fingers moved along with the scroll's content, he inexplicably recalled the Moss Monster from just a moment ago, the one pierced by the Flying Sword driven by his Artifact Manipulation Skill.
'A pitiful death, but a truly delicious meal.'
The effective range of the Artifact Manipulation Skill was basically the distance of an outstretched arm with a little extra reach, and it only worked on things he had personally touched.
It was only good enough for bullying Moss Monsters; against more terrifying predators, it was useless.
As for its advantages, it was remarkably down-to-earth with a very low barrier to entry. He had managed to practice it to Lv. 2 in just half a month.
Only when the rice porridge was ready did Chen Yu pull his attention back from the scroll.
He placed the porridge on the table to cool slightly, then wolfed it all down, liquid and grains alike. Only then did the burning acidity in his stomach begin to subside.
Even Chen Yu himself found it miraculous—the Slime and this human body shared the exact same system panel.
A Slime that could cultivate and use the Artifact Manipulation Skill was strange enough, but this body actually possessed the Slime's devil talent as well.
This "Devouring and Digesting" talent was incredibly useful back in the Slime's world. Swallow a Devil, CRUNCH, analyze its talent's origin, and incubate a new talent.
In Void Profound Heaven, however, it didn't seem to work on the local Devils. It could only help his cultivation by extracting the essence from grains and meat.
Still, this had allowed him to faintly touch the threshold of the Qi Cultivation Third Layer in just half a month.
"The price, however..."
The price was that his stomach had become a bottomless pit, eating his money pouch completely empty.
If he didn't go out and find work soon, he'd have nothing to eat but air by tomorrow.
'Should I go out on an adventure to make a living, or continue hunting Moss Monsters?'
In his opinion, controlling two bodies at once was like playing a game. Even managing both adventuring and hunting simultaneously shouldn't be a problem.
However, the Slime's reactions would always be a bit slower than usual. When facing the treacherous Swamp Forest, a single moment of carelessness could get it eaten as a snack by a predator.
Besides, if he could meet the trigger condition for Devouring and Digesting Level 1, he might have a chance to incubate a new talent today.
'Of course, he absolutely wasn't just craving the Moss Monster's crispy, springy, sea-cucumber-like texture, or its succulent, juicy, steamed-chicken-like flavor...'
The more he thought about it, the more his mouth watered.
Chen Yu discreetly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
He made a hasty decision.
'Today, I'll continue dealing with Moss Monsters.'
Chen Yu patted his warm belly, found a comfortable position on the creaky wooden bed, and let his consciousness sink completely into the Slime's body.
Beneath the mire of the Swamp Forest, he blinked his round little eyes.
These little eyes had a nearly 360-degree field of view. He could see the murky mire slowly churning in front of him, and he could also see clearly into his own transparent Gel body.
Inside the Gel, the Moss Monster had been completely digested, leaving only the Flying Sword lying quietly within.
After confirming there was no movement above, he was about to gurgle his way out of the mire when an unexpected disturbance came from the mud pit below. A large Slime pushed through the mire and swallowed him whole.
As Chen Yu watched himself sink, enveloped in fluorescent Gel, he didn't struggle.
He just let out a stream of bubbles, as if sighing.