Arin woke to the sound of rain.

  It was a gentle patter at first, barely noticeable against the leaves. But within minutes, it intensified into a steady downpour that turned the forest floor into a maze of puddles and streams.

  Water everywhere. Again.

  Arin pressed deeper into his hollow, watching the rain with a mixture of fascination and wariness. His increased mass meant he was more resilient to dilution than before, but the risk was still a real concern. One careless moment in standing water could cost him precious size and mass quickly..

  The rain continued through the morning and into the afternoon. Arin used the time to examine his status more carefully, trying to understand the changes that had come with reaching level six.

  Status.

  *****

  Arin Race: Slime (Evolved / Sapient)

  Level - 6

  Skill Points - 3

  Abilities:

  Absorption - Tier 2

  Fire Resistance - Tier 1

  Ice Resistance - Tier 1

  Lightning Resistance - Tier 1

  Physical Resistance - Tier 1

  Shadow Resistance - Tier 1

  Magical Resistance - Tier 1

  Acidic - Tier 1

  Slime Control - Tier 1

  Skill Absorption (2 / 2 Skills Absorbed)

  Skills: Charge - Tier 1 /// Darkvision - Tier 1

  *****

  Three skill points now. One from reaching level four, one from level five, and one from level six. But what were skill points for? Arin focused on the number, trying to understand.

  A new notification appeared.

  [ Skill Points can be used to: ]

  [ - Upgrade existing abilities to the next tier (Cost varies by ability) ]

  [ - Upgrade existing skills to the next tier (Cost: 2 points per tier) ]

  [ - Unlock new ability slots (Cost: 5 points) ]

  So that's how it works. I can make what I have stronger or save up for new abilities.

  Arin considered his options. Upgrading Charge or Darkvision would make them more effective, but would cost two points each. Upgrading one of his resistances or other abilities would cost less, but he wasn't sure which ones were most important.

  And five points for a new ability slot seemed impossibly expensive. That would require levels of growth he couldn't yet imagine.

  I'll save them for now. Wait until I understand what I need better.

  The decision made, Arin turned his attention back to the rain. It showed no signs of stopping, and his essence was slowly draining despite his inactivity.

  [ Current Essence: 108/120 ]

  Not critical yet, but if the rain continued much longer, he'd need to hunt despite the dangerous conditions.

  As if answering his thoughts, movement caught Arin's attention below. A creature was moving through the undergrowth, seemingly unbothered by the rain. It was larger than a rabbit but smaller than a boar, with a thick coat of fur that shed water like oil.

  [ Woodland Badger - Level 5 ]

  The badger was digging at the base of a nearby tree, its powerful claws tearing through wet soil in search of grubs or roots. It was focused entirely on its task, unaware of the predator watching from above.

  Arin studied the creature carefully. Level five meant it was only one level below him now, but badgers were known for being tough and aggressive. Levi had mentioned them once, describing them as "small bears with anger issues."

  But Arin was hungry, and the badger was alone.

  I can do this. I'm stronger now than I was against the wolf.

  Arin flowed down the tree trunk, moving slowly to avoid making noise. The rain helped mask any sound he made, the constant patter drowning out the soft sound of his mass against the bark.

  The badger continued digging, its rear end facing Arin as he approached along the forest floor. Water soaked into his body, causing minor dilution, but Arin compressed his mass tighter to minimize the effect.

  [ -2 Mass ]

  Ten feet away. Five feet.

  Arin launched himself forward using Charge, his compressed mass shooting across the distance in a heartbeat.

  [ -5 Essence ]

  He struck the badger's hindquarters with enough force to bowl the creature over. Before it could recover, Arin's mass flowed over its head, seeking to engulf and suffocate as he'd done with the boar and goblins.

  But the badger was faster than he'd expected.

  It twisted in his grip, its claws raking through his body with devastating effect. Unlike the goblin's desperate scratching, the badger's claws were designed for digging through hard earth. They tore through Arin's gelatinous mass like it was paper.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  [ -15 Mass ]

  Pain lanced through Arin's consciousness, and he nearly lost his grip entirely. The badger thrashed, its jaws snapping, trying to find something solid to bite.

  Hold on. Just hold on!

  Arin compressed even tighter, focusing all his acidic nature on the badger's eyes and nose. The creature's thrashing intensified as the burning set in, but it didn't stop fighting. If anything, the pain made it more aggressive.

  Another series of claw strikes tore through Arin's body.

  [ -12 Mass ]

  This isn't working. It's too strong, too resistant!

  Arin made a split-second decision. He released his hold on the badger's head and instead flowed around its body, targeting the legs. If he could immobilize it, prevent it from using those devastating claws, he might still win.

  The badger, suddenly able to breathe again, let out a hissing growl and tried to run. But Arin's mass had already wrapped around its front legs, binding them together. The creature fell face-first into the mud, unable to gain purchase.

  Now!

  Arin flowed back over the badger's head, this time from behind where the claws couldn't reach as easily. He poured into the creature's mouth and nose, blocking its airways completely.

  The badger bucked and rolled, trying to crush Arin against the ground or trees. Each impact hurt, but Arin's gelatinous nature meant he could absorb the blows without breaking. He just had to hold on long enough.

  The creature's struggles began to weaken. Its movements became sluggish, uncoordinated. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably less than two minutes, the badger went still.

  [ +22 Mass ]

  [ +18 Essence ]

  [ Skill Available for Absorption ]

  Arin reformed slowly, pulling his scattered mass back together. The fight had been brutal, much harder than he'd anticipated. His body felt wrong, as if sections of his mass were damaged in ways that would take time to heal.

  [ Current Mass: 149% of base ]

  [ Current Essence: 119/120 ]

  The mass gain barely compensated for what he'd lost during the fight. And while his essence was nearly full again, Arin felt exhausted in a way that numbers couldn't describe.

  I underestimated it. I thought being one level higher would make it easier. But levels aren't everything.

  The skill notification still waited. Arin examined it, curious what a badger might offer.

  [ Skill Available: Burrowing - Tier 1 ]

  [ Accept skill? This will replace one of your current skills. ]

  [ Burrowing. The ability to dig through earth efficiently. ]

  Arin considered it carefully. Burrowing would give him access to a whole new dimension of the forest, let him hide underground, maybe even ambush prey from below. It was useful, definitely useful.

  But was it worth replacing Charge or Darkvision?

  Charge had already saved his life once, letting him escape the wolf. And Darkvision made night hunting effortless, removing a major disadvantage.

  In the end, Arin declined the skill.

  [ Skill Declined ]

  It was a good ability, but not good enough to replace what he already had. Maybe if he ever unlocked a third skill slot, he could come back for burrowing. But for now, his current skills were more immediately valuable.

  The rain was finally starting to ease, the downpour becoming a light drizzle. Arin climbed back into his hollow to rest and recover, his body still aching from the badger's claws.

  As he settled in, something occurred to him. The fight had been difficult, yes. But he'd won. Against a level five creature that was naturally armed and aggressive, he'd won through tactics and persistence.

  I'm learning and getting better at this.

  The thought brought a small measure of satisfaction. Arin was no longer the confused, newly sapient slime that had fled the Academy weeks ago. He was becoming something more. A hunter. A survivor. A creature that could hold its own in this dangerous forest.

  But he still had so much to learn.

  ***

  The rain stopped completely by evening, leaving the forest wet and glistening. Arin emerged from his hollow as the sun set, his darkvision activating as shadows deepened beneath the trees.

  He needed to hunt again. The badger had restored his essence, and his damaged mass still felt like it needed more material to repair itself. Even though he was a ball of slime in many ways, somehow that burrowing or claw attack had hurt. Small prey would be his target. Animals that wouldn't fight back as fiercely.

  Arin found a game trail and followed it, watching for signs of rabbits or squirrels. The wet ground made tracking easier; every creature that passed left clear prints in the mud.

  That's when he noticed the other tracks.

  They were large, clawed, and unmistakably canine. Wolf tracks, and fresh ones. Multiple wolves, moving as a pack through the forest.

  Arin froze, his core pulsing with alarm. The wolf he'd fought before had been level seven. If this were a full pack, with multiple wolves of similar strength...

  I need to avoid them. Can't risk another fight like that.

  Arin climbed the nearest tree and began moving through the canopy, away from the wolf tracks. But as he traveled, he began to notice more signs of the pack. Claw marks on trees. Scent markers. Scraped earth where they'd been digging.

  This is their territory. I'm in their territory.

  The realization sent a chill through Arin's consciousness. He'd wandered into the range of an active wolf pack, probably while fleeing from his encounter with the lone wolf days ago. And now he was surrounded by signs of their presence.

  A howl split the evening air, somewhere to the north. Another howl answered from the west. Then a third from the south.

  They're hunting. And they're close.

  Arin moved faster through the trees, no longer trying to be quiet, just trying to put distance between himself and the howls. His increased mass made him slower than before, less able to navigate the thinner branches, but he pushed forward anyway.

  Another howl, this one almost directly behind him.

  Arin looked back and saw movement in the undergrowth below. Gray shapes, multiple of them, moving with coordinated purpose through the forest.

  [ Gray Wolf - Level 7 ]

  [ Gray Wolf - Level 6 ]

  [ Gray Wolf - Level 8 ]

  Three wolves, all focused on his tree. And from the sounds of howling in the distance, more were coming.

  They found me. How did they find me?

  The answer came a moment later. Blood. The badger's blood was still on him, tiny traces that his gelatinous body had absorbed but not fully processed. The wolves had caught the scent and tracked it back to him.

  The level eight wolf, larger and more scarred than the others, sat at the base of the tree and looked up at Arin. Its yellow eyes held a gleam of intelligence that suggested it remembered their previous encounter, or at least recognized him as the creature that had injured one of the pack.

  The other two wolves spread out, circling the tree, cutting off any easy escape routes through the canopy.

  This is bad. This is very bad.

  Arin looked around desperately, trying to find a way out. The trees here weren't as densely packed as in other parts of the forest. The gaps between branches were wider, the distances harder to cross.

  But staying here meant being trapped until the wolves got bored or more of the pack arrived. And Arin had a feeling that this time, they wouldn't get bored.

  I need to move. Need to find a denser canopy where I can lose them.

  Arin extended a tendril toward the next tree, a pine about eight feet away. It was a risky jump, but staying put was more dangerous.

  The wolves watched as he began to flow across the gap. When he was halfway over, his mass split between two trees, the level eight wolf made a decision.

  It backed up several paces, then charged the tree Arin had started from. The wolf's massive body slammed into the trunk with enough force to shake the entire tree. The impact traveled up through the branches, and Arin felt his tendril connection weaken.

  No!

  He tried to pull himself across faster, but the damage was done. The tendril snapped, and suddenly Arin was falling, half his mass tumbling through the air toward the waiting wolves below.

  My editing... hasn't happened yet so THANK YOU to everyone who is leaving notes. I'll get back to them asap.

  I'm hoping to finish book 1 around mid Dec

  Sorry for mistakes and random stuff - Currently Juggling: (which explains the poor editing)

  This story

  Loopbreaker

  Ultimate Level 1

  Battle Through the Nine Realms

  and 2 co-writes!