"His soul began to accept the mark!" Nobi yelled.

---

Soul dimension.

A few moments earlier…

'Since inscribing it at once is tough, let's do it the normal way—bit by bit,' Slime#47 mused, maintaining focus.

No one could inscribe a mark or paint an entire object directly; it was always done little by little.

He'd decided to do it the same way.

Taking a small amount of demonic force, he started to form the top section of the scroll—the rod.

Soul essence in the air fused with the rod, stabilizing the shape.

He started to fuse the rod with his soul from the edge.

The corner began to turn golden as it perfectly combined with his soul.

"It changed color due to soul essence," he muttered, glancing at the fully golden rod fused to his soul.

The black demonic force within the mark was completely erased by his soul essence, turning it pure gold.

He then proceeded to create the attached scroll, leaving a hole in the middle to shape it like a half-open demonic eye, and at the end, another rod was attached to the scroll.

[ Ding! Demonic Force Mastery proficiency +1 ]

He grinned as a notification flashed in his vision when he completed the mark.

"It's done," Young Slime muttered, finally relaxing.

After ten days, he'd finally done it.

'Only—' Just as he was about to plan his next steps…

His soul dimension suddenly began to shake.

"What's wrong?" he muttered as he glanced around.

The soul dimension, which had no sky, suddenly turned crimson. And the dried ground beneath cracked even more.

"It's growing…" he muttered, realizing the scroll was already larger than his palm—while he himself was barely an inch tall.

ZZZ!

ZZZ!

The scroll unfurled and grew larger as it covered the half-unsuppressed soul fully.

"No—" he yelled. "No one told me it absorbs soul essence."

His eyes widened as land and sky in his soul dimension disappeared and turned into a black void with only two half-fused souls.

The scroll, which had an average shape, turned into a perfect-quality and luxurious parchment scroll.

The half-closed eye in the center became majestic as it glowed with golden light.

A small box formed on the right side of the eye.

[ Ding! Ancient Combat Style has absorbed your soul essence! ]

[ Ding! Your Will has fallen to F+ ]

'This…' Slime#47 scowled bitterly as he glanced at the new notification.

"I just gained a temporary solution before…." he roared.

He clenched his fists. He really wanted to smash something.

He took a deep breath to calm down.

[ Ding! You have acquired the Ancient Combat Style {Grade One} Lv.1! ]

Another new notification flashed in his vision. He tapped on it to check plainly.

His smile faded with the Will-weakening notification. He only wanted to know whether it was worth it.

A new section of the status panel opened in his vision.

[ Ding! Opening Ancient Combat Style!

Grade One

Lv.1

Proficiency: 1/100

Growth: 0/100%

A form of combat.

A battle style created by the Ancient Warriors, and the first combat style ever to be invented.

It allows free combat movement with no restrictions.

Allows the storing of one's power.

Available slots: one. ]

"What? Only one slot?" he exclaimed with a scowl, as he read the description. "And what's this growth column?"

'Was all that training a waste?' he mused, glancing at his soul, which already felt lighter.

His soul was still a five-inch sphere, but he could sense its density falling.

"I think if I feel as light as wind or paper… I would be dead," he thought, turning silent.

The feeling of death creeping closer made him pause.

Pat!

He patted his face. "No time to waste…" he muttered, as he glanced at the empty void.

"This is too depressing," he muttered.

He snapped his finger, and a calm blue ocean formed beneath his feet.

A bright golden orb appeared, along with a bright blue sky.

Thud!

He landed on the ground as water rose to his knees.

"Now… this is good." A grin returned to his face as he took a deep breath, and a large citrus tree formed behind him.

The zesty and fresh fragrance from the tree relaxed his mood.

'I feel like taking rest… no time to waste…' he mused, recalling he had only six days left.

He could shape his soul dimension however he wanted—after all, he was its god.

---

He opened his eyes slowly and found Thomas and Nobi's faces right in front of his, as they glanced at him with piercing eyes.

"Cough, cough." Thomas pulled his face away instantly and coughed.

He was so fast that Young Slime wondered whether he had really been in front of him a moment ago.

"Hmm," Nobi hummed, backing away like the instructor, but she wasn't fast enough.

She then asked, "Is it… is it done?"

She wanted to change the topic to hide her embarrassment.

'Were they sizing me up and down?' Slime#47 mused, tilting his head.

Not caring about them, he asked, "What's this growth? And only one slot—this low?"

He had to know so that he wouldn't regret it.

Thomas nodded and hurriedly replied, trying to cover his flushed face, "Yes, that growth is a percentage meter which shows the capacity of the battle style in the middle of fights."

"I see," Young Slime nodded, understanding.

After all, he had to know how much more powerful he'd gotten in the middle of a fight—and how much more he could get.

An exceptional warrior can sense their own power and their opponent's power, but they couldn't sense how much stronger they could get from a combat style, because they would be too focused on their opponents.

Due to this, a meter was given by the combat style.

"As mentioned before, Ancient style is free one—hence no major power-up," Nobi said, while not daring to maintain eye contact with Young Slime.

"But you don't have to worry," Thomas cut in with a small grin. "After you level it up to Level Five, you'll get one more slot."

"Only one more?" Slime#47 exclaimed, his eyes twitching. "And I have to max it out to get that?"

He asked, "Why not one slot per one level up?"

He then wondered, 'Did I make the worst choice?' feeling his core sink.

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