Syl [A Slime Evolution LitRPG]

”Okay… this is a big list, and yet I almost thought it might be bigger,” I said to Vee.

”I can’t see it, so you’re going to have to read it for me. I want to hear all about this!”

”Right… but I’m thinking of skipping over the ones I’ve already rejected in the past. Unless none of the new ones are any good.”

”Boo! That’s no fun. I want to hear all of them,” Vee whined.

”Okay… new ones first and then maybe I’ll read the old ones to you?”

”Sure. I’m curious to see what didn’t make your cut.”

I nodded and began reading the heading of the very first new one: Chimeric Cluster Slime (Prismatic).

”Wait, stop right there!” Vee exclaimed.

I frowned. ”Why?”

”That’s got to be your super species evolution, right? Let’s save that for last, because I’m willing to bet it’s going to be your pick and you’ll finally shed your blueness.”

”Fine… whatever,” I grumbled and moved on to the mutations.

”Wait, so you’d become a snow slime?” Vee inquired.

”Pretty much. It’s kind of like how elementals function, except I’d be sort of treating it like I do my slime.”

”Well, we are going to the beach next, so I’d say this one is an automatic rejection!” Vee declared. ”Hopefully the next one is a sand slime, that’d be thematically appropriate.”

”I don’t think that would be possible unless I max out my Derived Element (Dust).”

”Well, that’s a bummer. Anyway, let’s move on.”

I nodded and read out the next one.

”Ew,” Vee hissed in disgust.

”What’s wrong with this one? I’d get to control mud and water with this one, probably algae too?”

”I’m not sitting on the shoulder of a bog monster, rejected!”

I chuckled and shook my head, moving on to the next one.

”Okay, this one sounds really cool,” Vee chirped.

”I honestly didn’t expect this type of mutation from silver slime. Although I don’t know how good being magnetic would be?”

”It’s a real supervillain power, I think it has a lot of potential. This is definitely the winner so far, in my opinion. Think of all the cool things you could do with magnets?”

”Such as?”

”Umm… shoot swords, steal coins, crush someone wearing armor… stuff like that.”

”I can do most of that already. I could shoot a sword that stabs into my enemy and then explodes!”

”You and your damned explosions… okay, okay, we’ll file this one under maybe.”

”I thought you wanted me to pick a species’ evolution?”

”Shit, you’re right…” Vee muttered. ”I let the allure of magnetism lure me in. Next!”

”Nope, rejected!” I cried out before Vee could say anything.

”What? I sorta liked this one,” Vee replied. ”And you could probably make a fortune.”

”I can make a fortune in other ways, and that’s precisely why I don’t want to take it.”

”Is this your whole trauma of being harvested by the kid with the bucket?”

”...maybe,” I admitted.

”You gotta get over that. Maybe take revenge on him or something?”

I scowled. ”I’m not attacking a kid for harvesting my slime.”

Vee did her best spider shrug. ”Then forgive him already. Anyway, I think the crystal powers are kinda cool, especially the splintered shards kind.”

”Noted… but I still don’t like it. I’d rather pick the magnet one so far, personally.”

”Magnets are pretty damn cool, so that’s a given. Anyway, moving on!”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

”Stop!” Vee cried out again. ”Why are you skipping to the best one again?”

”Uhh… I wasn’t,” I replied honestly. ”It looks like I’ve got the same evolution listed twice, once under Species and the other under Mutations.”

”That’s weird. I wonder why?”

”Maybe Gramps is trying to send me a hint on what to pick.”

”Well, that’s no fun. I almost want you to not pick that just to prove him wrong.”

”I think I’d get another slap, the spider quest if I did that.”

Vee shuddered. ”I rescind my previous remark… although I will still say I think he’s being a spoilsport.”

”I’ll tell him when I see him. Anyway, let’s move on…”

”Holy shit, blood slime sounds cool in that edgy sorta way,” Vee commented.

”How did I even qualify for this? I beat a troll blood mage before, but that doesn’t seem like it would be enough.”

”Maybe it’s from all the blood drinking you’ve done?” Vee suggested.

”I don’t drink it.”

”Well then, from all the blood eating you do,” Vee corrected snarkily. ”You don’t exactly leave behind any remains when you do your monster consuming, so maybe you met some threshold of blood consumed?”

”I guess… Anyway, I like the powers and it sounds strong, but I don’t like the drawbacks.”

”Yeah, being weak to holy and light sounds like a pain,” Vee agreed.

”I mean, only being able to use blood to make slime mass. I mean, I just got my [Mulch Slime] ability.”

Vee sighed. ”I guess vampire slime is just not in the cards for us. Moving on…”

”Okay, this would be pretty hilarious,” Vee giggled.

”I’d be kinda worried about taking this one. What if it actually dumbs me down?”

”That’s why it’s kind of funny,” Vee continued to giggle.

”Aside from that risk… I don’t like the idea of planting my roots.”

”I have to agree. How could we go on our vacation if you’ve planted your mushroom butt in some cave or forest or who knows where?”

”It would probably be good for my dungeon project idea. Although then I guess it would be a fungal dungeon, rather than a slime dungeon.”

”Eww… who wants to explore a fungus-infested dungeon? Pass!”

”Okay, looks like Special Evolutions are next,” I informed Vee.

”Isn’t that just your Queen Slime? That’s usually where my Broodmother evolution is.”

”I’ve got others now…” I grumbled as I spotted what they were.

”Oh?” Vee replied, sounding very interested. ”That seems odd.”

”I think Mother is trying to tempt me again.”

”Well then, automatically reject them! Nothing that woman has suggested has ever been good, and she’s the reason I’m in this mess in the first place.”

”Should we at least read them?” I asked.

Vee sighed. ”Yeah… probably. Who knows, maybe she is actually being helpful for once in her life?”

”Well, I don’t know… she keeps wanting me to abandon being a slime and instead be a spirit.”

”Wait, you can do that?” Vee asked.

”I was technically a [Spirit Candidate] at one point. Although I thought it was removed after my last evolution…”

”I guess she’s still trying to pull the strings. Anyway, there’s no harm in just reading them, so let’s see?”

I nodded and read the first one.

”Well, shit, it sounds cool, but I don’t like the idea of you going around spreading disaster,” Vee said.

”I don’t like the idea of never evolving again. Also, last time I sort of found out that I’d lose my other affinities if I picked this option, or at least that’s what I assumed Unc implied.”

”After all the work you did to finally get [Dimension Magic]? Isn’t that just a big slap in the face?”

I nodded. ”Feels like it. Rejected, let’s move on…”

”So you’d upgrade from Mana Slime to Mana Spirit. It sounds cool, although I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near you if you created a deadzone—I like my Mana at a perfectly healthy level, thank you very much.”

”You weren’t too happy when I had cast [Mana Burn] on you.”

”Gods, don’t remind me… Anyway, next?”

We moved on to the last one.

”Shit… I like this one,” I admitted.

”You’re stealing my lines now,” Vee teased. ”But yeah, this sounds legitimately amazing. You’d probably be the master of [Dimension Magic], and only ever taking half damage sounds great for not dying, which I’m a big fan of, by the way.”

I chuckled. ”It’s tempting. Very tempting. But… I like being a slime, and there’s a chance I’d lose all my elemental magic and everything else. I like [Dimension Magic] and I’m looking forward to eventually unlocking Riftmancer.”

”Right… so just the grand finale left?” Vee asked.

I nodded. ”Just one left, unless you want me to read my previous rejections.”

”Maybe after this one?” Vee suggested. ”I kind of want to see what the fuss was about that Gramps felt the need to list it twice.”

”That’s certainly got me curious.”

”Not to mention, I’ve got a vested interest in you admitting I was right that species evolutions are amazing.”

”Sure, sure… okay, let’s see what we have here,” I said and pulled up the final entry for the new ones.

”Well shit…” Vee said. ”I think that’s an obvious winner?”

I had to agree, I’d never seen something that sounded so beautiful and so tempting before. Even the regret over the Rift Spirit had entirely vanished, and I wondered what having ”mastery” over my slime would feel like.

”I’d even argue it was likely bespoke for me.”

”It must be nice having such a friendly one. Mine gave me an amazing magic and no instruction manual on how to even use it, and then complained that I couldn’t magically figure it out on my own!”

I winced; it was hard to deny her arguments.

”So… Do you still want to hear the others?” I asked.

”Oh yeah, lay it on me. I want to see what led up to the Syl of today.”