Blink. Blink.
I didn't have eyeballs, but my vision was crystal clear. Looking out from the vantage point of my Halo, I appeared to be trapped inside a massive flask. The room around me was a laboratory.
Judging by the size of the chairs, unless this was a workshop for dwarves, the flask I was in was about the size of a drum barrel.
It felt more steampunk than sci-fi. Parchment memos were pinned to the walls, and the shelves were lined with monster parts like horns and feathers—likely alchemical ingredients. This was definitely an Alchemist's Workshop.
I could see the empty room through the glass. It seemed no one was around for the moment.
Perfect. This was the ideal time for an escape. The game was clearly telling me to slip away while the coast was clear.
Penpen’s start had been a Sneaking Mission, but mine felt more like an escape room.
I’d definitely made the right call making my slime body transparent.
...Wait.
The Halo was a lot more conspicuous than I’d expected. I wondered if I could turn it off. I probably needed to learn a skill like Transparency to hide it. For now, I’d just have to do my best to stay out of sight.
By the way, I’d decided to name this little slime Miti.
It was a play on the word for "Undecided," a reflection of the fact that my future was still up in the air.
Should I aim to be the strongest? Or a jack-of-all-trades? Or maybe focus on a Crafting Specialization? Either way, I was definitely going to use Predation on those materials on the shelves later. I was going to get strong, for sure!
Anyway, time to get out of this flask.
...Yeah, it was a tight fit. I couldn't even squeeze out a single tentacle. The lid was screwed on tight, too.
Wait. I could feel part of my body melting. Up near the top... close to the lid. It felt all squishy and unstable.
Right, the Collapse Factor. If I let my body break down, would that create some extra space?
"Actually, hold on..."
I had a better idea. I tried it immediately.
Pyun.
I used my Split skill to separate the part of me that had absorbed the Collapse Factor. So far, so good.
I waited a few moments, and the split-off portion rapidly broke down and liquefied.
Close call. If I’d stayed whole, I would’ve ended up the same way.
Now for the clever part: I pulled the liquefied portion of my body into my Inventory.
Success! Half my volume—now labeled as 'Slime Solution'—vanished into my storage.
With that, I finally had some breathing room inside the flask.
Now I could move! Man, that was a relief. For a second there, I thought I was soft-locked.
I hadn't expected the game to throw system-based puzzles at me this early. I didn't mind the gimmick, though.
Now, I just had to shift my weight... Thump. Thump. Thump!
I started rocking the flask.
I was inside a flask big enough to hold a human, and even though I was half my original size, I still weighed a lot.
I shifted back and forth.
Ever seen a washing machine with an unbalanced load? It rattles and shakes like it’s about to explode.
That was exactly what happened here.
Rattle. Thud. Roll. CRAAAASH!!
The flask tipped over, slid off its stand, and shattered against the floor.
Hell yeah! Escape successful!
But the moment I hit the floor, a deafening alarm started blaring. RIIIIIIIIING!!!!
"Crap, that’s definitely for me. I need to hide... and set up a distraction!"
Ptooey.
I spat the Slime Solution from my Inventory onto the shards of the broken flask.
Then I scrambled. I hauled myself up the side of a bookshelf and clung to the ceiling.
Ugh, the dust was making my tentacles slip. Someone needs to clean this place! Ptooey! I spat out a clump of dust I'd accidentally sucked up.
Just as I managed to tuck myself away and catch my breath, the lab door swung open with a clatter. A bald middle-aged guy in a white lab coat stormed in.
"What?! What happened?! Good grief, did you actually have the gall to struggle, you lowly slime?"
He picked up a shard of glass, looked at the messy Slime Solution, and sighed in exasperation. He deactivated the alarm and slumped into a chair, looking incredibly smug and self-important. I guess as the master of the laboratory, he felt he had the right to be.
"Hey! Someone get in here! Clean this mess up!"
He shouted while clapping his hands. A servant appeared almost instantly and began sweeping up the glass.
While they worked, the man looked over some papers and grumbled to himself. He kept scowling at the broken glass, clearly annoyed that the flask was beyond repair. It looked sturdy, so it must have been pricey.
Since it was completely smashed, it looked like his only option was to melt it down for scrap. He sighed and told the servant to keep the fragments separate.
"...The basic data is gathered. Next, it’s finally time for humans... Should I start with an orphan? No, the materials are too expensive to waste..."
Wait, what? Was Miti not considered human?
Maybe he didn't count beastmen as people? Or was I some kind of humanoid monster?
Whatever. It didn't matter. More importantly, I really wanted to snack on those materials on the shelves...
I wondered what Miti's combat stats were like.
I was only Level 1, so I was probably weak as hell, but I figured I could hold my own if I used my slime traits correctly.
For now, I stayed put. I just needed this bald guy to leave.
As I sat there getting irritated, a window popped up in front of me.
Mission! Without being spotted by the landlord, consume everything in the room!
Ho. So I was allowed to eat everything?
...Fine by me. But first, this bald landlord needs to get lost!