Thirty days had passed since I swallowed Veldora. What had I been up to? Well, think about it. If you were being attacked by a monster, what would you do?
I mean, I was a slime now. It would be hard for me to zip away from a slavering attacker, much less defend myself. So I'd been spending my time thinking about how to fight back.
Along the way, I'd also been consuming any particularly odd-looking herbs or glowing rocks I stumbled across. There was a fair amount. I was still in the region Veldora described as teeming with local magic, and nearly everything I found there was hipokute herbs. Which was about what I figured. More healing potions for me, I suppose.
I also found that most of the glowing stones and such around here were what was called "magic ore," which could supposedly be refined into a metal harder than iron or steel and highly compatible with magic. I was kinda hoping for something a little less common, but I didn't even know whether orichalcum or crimson ore existed here, even if they were famous back on Earth. I shouldn't be too greedy.
So as I was chowing down on all these yummy herbs and rock, an idea came to mind!
If I could spit out water fast enough to give me powers of flight, maybe I could slice right through foes, too, like a high-pressure water jet cutter?
No, no, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I was about to screw it up again, aren't you? You really shouldn't look down on people like that. I was good in a pinch, you know. They always wrote that in my report cards at school and stuff—"excellent work when he applies himself."
So yeah, I think it'd work.
Back I went to the underground lake from before. Just as I had imagined, the pool was pretty big. The air felt supremely tranquil to me. There were no creatures around—not even in the water, I assumed, what with all the magic soaked up inside it—which made it all the quieter. Pure, unadulterated nature! Truly a sight to see.
But back to business. I moved right into the "action" phase last time without testing a single thing, which was fairly ill-advised. That, and I ejected too much water at once, propelling myself far quicker than intended. No game plan whatsoever. This time, I'd keep it at water-pistol level, expelling just a bit at a time. Just taking a mouthful of water and—thpbbt—spitting it out.
Here I go.
Hmm. Not much water coming out. Too small of an exit hole? I expanded it a bit. Water shot out with a little more energy this time, dousing a nearby boulder I was targeting. A promising sign.
After a few more minutes spent adjusting my water levels, I decided to boost the pressure just a tad more before opening wide. Launch. Then again. Then again, gradually upping the output as I kept my water-gun practice going.
It was starting to take form, yes. But, okay, while a shot of water might sting a bit, I didn't think it'd deliver a particularly decisive attack.
So now what? I thought to myself as I took a dip into the lake to gather my thoughts. Whenever I was tired, that was my cue to hit the bath for a bit. I wasn't just splashing around for kicks, all right? Besides, it also gave me a chance to use Magic Sense and observe myself floating and sinking in the water. I reminded myself of a jellyfish, kind of.
Maybe I could vibrate my body's surface to create currents or something? I gave it a shot, running magical force across my "skin" to control the particles around me. The vibration ran across my entire body, so I tried to point it in a single direction—and that was all it took to get me moving.
Nice! I spent a little while whizzing around the water like that, enjoying the experience. A nice change of pace, to be sure, but I totally wasn't just messing around, all right? Let's keep that straight.
Skill "Current Movement" acquired.
I thought it was the Sage for a moment, but it turned out to be the World Language instead. That bit of playing around just earned me a new skill. Oh, but it wasn't playing around, okay? I was just relaxing a bit.
Thanks to that, though, I could now flit around in or on the water at a pretty decent clip. If need be, I could use Water Pressure Propulsion to speed things up, too. Considering I didn't need to breathe, fighting in the water might actually give me an advantage, for all I knew. Good for fleeing into, at least.
That and other matters like it were on my mind as I left the lake. Break time was over, and it had certainly borne fruit for me. As I was relaxing, I had come up with a few new concepts.
If I was going to keep pursuing the water-gun approach, I'd have to apply constant pressure to my jet output for an extended period of time. Instead, I decided to picture the cylinder of a car engine, applying pressure to my inside while releasing a comparatively small amount of water per go. Adjusting the pressure and the diameter of my output hole allowed me to adjust the force of expulsion, just like before.
And thankfully, just as I'd hoped, it worked. A small jet, ejected sharply out of my body, slapped itself against the boulder—and it actually broke the rock slightly where it hit.
Success…I think. Better keep practicing before I forget the knack. Adjust output diameter, adjust pressure…and try putting a bit of spin on the water as you eject it, too. There was a lot to think about as I kept rehearsing it.
But that was it! That was the mental picture I had to keep in mind. Slicing through with water. I had to make the jets as thin and flat as possible, applying just the right spin to them.
So I gave it a whirl. And it worked! The cylindrical shot of water fought through the air resistance fast enough to leave afterimages, just like a blade… then slashed its way right through the rock. With enough force to astound even me.
It was the pinnacle of my efforts, the best results of my week of practice.
Skill "Water Blade" acquired.
Skills "Water Pressure Propulsion," "Current Movement," and "Water Blade" acquired. Combining and upgrading to extra skill "Control Water."
Whoa! It really did work. Extra skills were supposed to offer a completely different level of force than regular ones. Now I had a way of defending myself. It was just about time to head off.
Well. Finally.
One hundred and twenty days had passed since I got reincarnated at the banks of this cavern lake. Was I nervous? Yes. I still couldn't talk, exactly. I had no vocal cords, and I'd been poking around my body for something I could use as a substitute, but no dice yet. Staying here until I had more success was one option, but unlike with the water blades, I really had nothing to go on. For now, it'd have to be Telepathy or nothing—and if my would-be conversational partner couldn't use that, then so be it. Not the greatest of situations, but there you go.
Either way, I couldn't goof around in here forever. I wanted to see the outside world, and if I could, I'd love to run into some fellow Japanese otherworlder castaways. Learning some magic could be fun, too!
It was time to get started. No time like the present, and all that.
Veldora wasn't giving me any particular responses or signs inside me. It almost felt as though I'd lost him, but I knew that wasn't the case. We had a promise, besides. Next time we meet, I better have some funny stories I can share with him.
With an internal sigh, I traveled down the lone path upward from the broad underground cavern I had grown used to, my mind on the wide world to come. Who knew what would be awaiting me? I hardly knew what to expect, but I knew I wanted it.