The various fictional worlds, characters, and elements that are written about in this fanfiction belong to their respective creators, who I'm lazy to list. Constructive criticism is welcome and flames will be ignored!

This story is going to begin with the Highschool DxD universe while the protagonist is basically a rip-off of Rimuru Tempest from That Time I Got Reincarnated as Slime. Well, a perverted version of the cute cyan blob of gelatinous substance with moss green color and ability to erode clothing. If you ever watched OVA of season one anime adaptation of Highschool DxD, you will understand what I mean later.

Now, let me unashamedly tell you that the protagonist of this story is a self-insertion. Yeah, it seems that I've not graduated from my delusional phase, or as weeaboo and Japs call it—Chunibyou. I hope you can tolerate my selfishness and follow this story in the end. Although the main character is a self-insert, I'm not shameless enough to name it with my real name.

Oh, the last things before I close this. This chapter will be similar to That Time I Got Reincarnated as Slime Volume 1 because — frankly — I copied it and edited the content to suit my story. Please, keep your complaint to yourself. Better that way.

《Prologue》

It was just your typical kind of life. I graduated from high school, enrolled at a third-rate university, and had a part-time job as a cashier at a branch of minimart franchise to support my weeabooish hobby. I was the second son in my family and had two siblings—an elder sister and a little sister. My parents owned a family restaurant to support my family. My elder sister was working in a big company I didn't see the reason to remember the name of. Simultaneously, I lived in a small, humble apartment.

Since the money to pay for my tuition, apartment rent, and daily food came from my parent's and my big sister's incomes, I only needed extra money for my weeabooish hobby. Hence I went out for a part-time job.

My age was 19. I didn't have a girlfriend. I wasn't exactly short or frumpy or hideous or anything. I was unremarkable. Just the easy to forget dude you might pass in the street and forget easily thereafter. When it came to the opposite sex, apparently I had nothing to offer. Therefore, the fact that I hadn't lost my virginity yet was expected.

This night, I was on my way back to my apartment from my work. Since I had morning classes almost every day in a week, I'd been given the night shift so my work wouldn't disturb my study. Man, my boss seriously was an understanding person. I was glad because of that. The shift started at 6 PM and ended at 12 AM. Hence, I usually came back late. However, I didn't know it was the night when my life would change drastically. For better or worse, I don't know.

To get to my workplace from my apartment, I needed ten minutes in a leisure walk. I would walk on foot back and forth from my apartment to my workplace. It spared my tight budget for using the public transport. Although it was around midnight, the street wasn't empty. Cars passed on the road. Some pedestrians walked on the side road, minding their own business. It was the perfect picture of normalcy, bordering apathy. Then again, that was just sort of life in a big city.

"Aaaahhh!"

Screams.

Chaos.

What is—What's going on?!

"Move! I'll kill you!"

I turned around to understand what happened, only to find a man sprinting toward me, shouting that threat loudly, a handbag in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other. I could hear shrieking. I wondered if I was entangled into a crime scene—a theft to be precise. He was coming my way—with a knife.

A knife? Wait! I am on his way!

Before I could properly process everything, the armed thief tackled me. I felt a burning pain run across my front. Because of him, I collapsed to the ground on my back. I couldn't tell what had happened. My mind couldn't follow up with everything yet. I wanted to move, but I couldn't.

"Get the hell outta my way!" The man shouted as he ran off. I was dumbfounded and blankly watched him go. The suddenness of it all had reduced me to a stupor. Then I felt my stomach burning. So hot — beyond anything I'd describe as pain.

What's up with that? It's too hot… Gimme a break…

《Confirmed. Resist Heat… Successfully acquired.》

Did I — Did I just get stabbed? So I'm gonna die from a stabbing? Holy crap…

《Confirmed. Resist Piercing Weapon… Successfully acquired. Following up with Resist Melee Attack… Successfully acquired.》

"H-hey, boy, you're bleeding! The blood — my God — Ambulance! Someone, call ambulance! Quick!"

Someone was screaming, but the voice became far. The next moment, it became unclear, buzzing sound, irritating my hazy mind. Was that from one of the concerned pedestrians around me? Man, I couldn't move. It was hot — so hot.

I grabbed where the burning coming from and felt wet sensation. When I moved my hand to get a clear image, I found my hand was stained by dark-colored liquid. Blood? I'm bleeding? Well, duh. I'm only human. If you stab me, I'll probably bleed all over, yes. Damn, this was starting to hurt, though…

《Confirmed. Cancel Pain… Successfully acquired.》

All this pain and panic was starting to screw around with my consciousness. I swore I heard a voice in my head, but I thought it was only my hallucinations.

I am going to die, am I not?Where am I going to go? The afterlife—does the afterlife even exist? Or is it reincarnation? Am I going to be reincarnated? I wish I'm going to get reincarnated like those Isekai self-insert stories in fan fiction — maybe — a world with so much fan service? Highschool DxD, perhaps?

《Confirmed. Searching for the destination target... Destination target is found… Successfully set.》

What the hell am I thinking? But, if I'm truly reincarnated to a different world, I hope I get overpowered ability? Perhaps, an ability to assimilate or steal other's ability... Like Goblin Rou's Gluttony, or even better Rimuru's Gluttonous King Beelzebub?

《Confirmed. Unique skill Gluttony... Successfully acquired. Following up with evolving Gluttony to ultimate skill Gluttonous King Beelzebub...cannot execute. Spiritual quality is inadequate.》

...but, that kind of ability still needs the effort to grow strong, right? Maybe, I can get the Instant-kill skill? However, that sounds too greedy—Pfft—well, I'm just rambling in my head. Too much light novel, manga, and anime… Still, getting Instant-kill skill sounds awesome... Ah... I'm rambling like a madman. I suppose dying makes me chatty.

《Confirmed. Unique skill Instant-Death... Successfully acquired.》

"H-hey—kid—hang on—where the fuck is the ambulance!?"

Someone tried to hold me up. I tried to see who it was, but my vision was too fogged up to manage it.

Ugh... Who the heck was that? Someone, help me to shut that fellow up! Someone's dying here!

《Confirmed. Searching Assistance-based skill... Target is found… Unique skill Sage... Successfully acquired. Following up with evolving unique skill Sage… Unique skill Great Sage… Successful.》

There was buzzing noise in my head. Like I care! My mind was elsewhere. Now the burning feeling on my back was starting to fizzle out. Instead, an intense, frigid cold was attacking me from head to toe.

That—That's probably bad… People die once they bleed too much, don't they?

《Confirmed. Constructing a blood-free body… Successful.》

Hey, what're you talking about? I can't hear you too well… I tried to speak—and failed. I think this might really be it…like, the pain and the heat were pretty well gone by now. It was just cold as hell. I felt as if I was going to freeze in place. Who knew dying could keep you so damn busy?

《Confirmed. Resist Cold… Successfully acquired. Combined with the previously acquired Resist Heat, the skill has progressed to Resist Temperature.》

Just then, what remained of my increasingly oxygen-deprived brain cells chanced upon a flash of brilliance.

Oh—craaaaap— Ye*press and J-No*el is going to publish my favorite novels in bulk! If only I'm not dying! I don't wanna die...

《Confirmed. Nullify Death... Cannot execute… More information required. Substituting withNullify Instant-Death… Successfully acquired.》

Despite my desperate wish to live, in the end, I'd do nothing but wait for my death to come. There was only buzzing voice rang in my head as my companion. I couldn't even hear the voice of pedestrians around me anymore. Before I could continue down that train of thought, however, I fell asleep.

Such a shame, I wished to see the ending of those awesome LN, anime, and manga I loved ... so ... mu—

That was the last thought I had on the mortal plane. And, I missed the last announcement made by the unclear, buzzing sound in my head.

《Confirmed. Unique skill Omniscient… Successfully acquired.》

《①》

It was dark—too dark to see anything. Where was I? What even happened, for that matter? I was going back from my workplace or something, and then…

That was enough to jump-start my mind again.

My name was Rivaz Netherlands—just a normal nineteen-year-old student at a third-rate university. And when I went back late from my workplace, a random maniac stabbed me. Good… I remembered all of that—which meant I must be fine. No need for panic. That wasn't like me anyway. I was known for having a cool head. The last time I panicked, it was when I lost in an online bidding for a second hand Yuuki Asuna in swimsuit figurine. Damn! Remembering that tragedy still pissed me. But it can be helped. Asuna figure from that time looked so cute! Furthermore, it was in swimsuit! Ahem… Now, where was I?

I tried looking at my surroundings. Then I noticed—I couldn't open my eyes. Odd, I thought as I tried to rub them and my arms didn't respond. But it was pale in comparison of my next finding. Where's my head, anyway?

This was getting confusing—Like, whoa—Wait a sec! I needed some time to deal with this. In the past, whenever I started freaking out, I found it helpful to sit still and start counting from one until I calmed down. Let's try that.

One, two, three—Ahhh! I can't calm myself down—goddamnit!

Shit. Now wasn't the time for this. I couldn't let myself think about this stupid crap. This was bad, wasn't it? Like, what's going on, here?! Was I…like, past the point of no return, unless I did something?

Panicking, I checked to see whether I was hurt anywhere. I didn't seem to be. Physically, I felt terrific. No cold, no heat—perfectly comfortable. That, at least, came as a relief. Now, for my hands and legs… Huh? No response from any of my limbs. What's up with that? Getting stabbed in the stomach wouldn't force the doctors to amputate all my extremities, would it? I'd kind of like those back.

Then there was the whole "can't open my eyes" thing. I was in a world of darkness, where I couldn't see a thing. An anxiety like none I'd ever felt before began welling up in my mind.

Am I… in a coma or something? I thought. I was conscious, certainly, but had I gotten detached from my central nervous system, maybe? Oh, man, anything but that! I mean, think about it. When you throw a guy into a dark, enclosed space, it takes practically no time at all for him to go insane. And that was exactly where I was—and I couldn't even die in peace any longer, it looked like. If insanity was all that waited for me here, that was enough to take the wind out of anybody's sails.

Just then, I felt something brush against my body.

Hmm? What's that?

I focused all of my senses on this unknown sensation. It felt like grass against what might have been the side of my stomach. Concentrating on the sensations, I slowly began feeling out what was around me. I could feel the pointy edges of some nearby leaves prick against my body.

It made me a little happy, really. I was in total darkness a moment ago, but now I had my sense of touch back, at least. It made me so overjoyed that I made a beeline for the grass, and—

*Creep!*

I could feel my body sliding flat against the ground. I… I moved?!

This, at least, was clear evidence that I was not on any kind of hospital bed. The feeling beneath my stomach (?) took the form of hard, jagged rock. It still didn't make much sense to me, but I appeared to be outdoors. So I headed toward the grass, keeping my senses keen against what I touched, although I still wasn't quite clear on where my head was. There was nothing to smell; I wasn't sure whether I had that sense or not.

Really, I had no idea what I was shaped like. I felt… flowing — jellylike — kind of like a certain fantasy monster I was well familiar with. In fact, the idea had been running through my head for a while now.

No. Come on. That's just silly. Anything but that, please…

I decided to leave that anxiety-inducing prospect behind for the time being and instead try out the final, untested one of my five human senses. Not that I knew where my mouth was. So… now what?

Suddenly, a voice ran across my mind.

《Use unique skill Gluttony? Yes/No》

Huh? Wh-what? Unique skill Gluttony… Like the one Rou and Rimuru Tempest had?

And what was up with that voice? I thought I heard something weird when I was dying earlier. That wasn't just me imagining things? Was someone there? Something didn't seem quite right with it. It wasn't that I thought I had a visitor, so much as… well, as I just had words floating into my mind. It was cold, unfeeling words, like a computer-generated voice.

Then it finally hit me…

I was dying—no, I did die. That much was obvious. Then, this experience after death—the feeling of being alive—I couldn't help but wonder.

Did I get reincarnated? Don't tell me, I was really reincarnated.

My mind became blank. I was confused. When I checked out my memory again, trying to find if I really died or not, I realized that I had died.

Did I really get reincarnated? Did I reincarnate? Wait… this feeling—the feeling of my squishy body—and the name of that skill…

I tried to move my body around and finally realized that I slid on the ground. And I became fully aware of the gelatinous feeling of my body.

Don't tell me I got reincarnated as a Slime?!

I shouted in my mind. However, I didn't feel panic. Maybe, it was because of my body constitution that constituted of jellylike substance. I mean human body chemical reaction is the source of the feeling. At the time around my life — my previous life, or whatever — all emotion can be broken down into chain of chemical reactions. For the example… fear.

Fear is the expectation or the anticipation of possible harm…. We know that the body is highly sensitive to the possibility of a threat. It's natural because it's how self-preservation works. So, there are multiple pathways that bring that fear information into the brain.

Imagine the following scenario: you're watching TV late at night, alone, in the dark, when you hear a crash from the porch. An intruder? A spook? Tentacled alien—alright, let's forget the last part. It was a joke. So, when this scenario happens, the nerves in your ears that transduce that sound are the first part of the nervous system. That signal is relayed to the thalamus—a telephone switching station in your brain, so to speak—and then directly to the amygdala, which releases neurotransmitters throughout the body—notably glutamate, essentially the chemical behind the fear.

The actions of glutamate in the amygdala in response to the fearful thing you've heard set off this cascade of other responses. A reciprocal response comes from an area of the brain called the "periaqueductal gray," a region deep within the ancient brain that controls two classic responses to fear: jumping and freezing. Sound familiar? The hypothalamus controls the fight or flight response — increased heart rate and so on.

A signal sent to the adrenal glands in your torso causes them to send out cortisol and adrenaline. The fear response also releases of glucose into the bloodstream—a power up to get you running for your life, or exaggerated reaction. Depending on the level of risk, the body regulates the response from these various systems to control whether we fight, freeze, or flee like scared little kids we all are.

Well, it was just an example. Fear and the chemical reaction within body related to it, that's it. Of course, fear has a close relation to panic for a human. But, I digress.

So, there was a huge—and I mean it—chance that I got reincarnated as Slime, just like the protagonist in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. So where was I? Was I in Great Forest Jura? Maybe, I was in the cave where Veldora the Storm Dragon was sealed by "True Hero" Chloe. Would I meet Rimuru? Many questions popped out in my mind. However, I pushed those questions aside and answered the question from the mechanical voice in my mind.

I guess that's yes.

Once I answered the voice's question, I suddenly realized that the area where the plants met my body was starting to melt. I thought it was I was melting at first, but apparently, it was only the grass. And with that, I could now tell that the components of the plant life beneath me were being taken into my body. So that was how it worked? Instead of having a mouth to eat with, I just ingested plant matter with my whole body? It sure didn't taste like anything.

《Analysis complete.》

《Underworld Weed: A normal weed containing ambient demonic energy and magic. Only thrives in areas blessed with high local demonic energy and magic densities. It can be used as food/nourishment for magical being. It can poison living being without demonic energy and/or magic resistance.》

Oh! Cool! I couldn't help but become amazed by the voice's explanation. It was just like Rimuru's skill. By the way, are you Great Sage skill?

《Received. This is the effect of the unique skill Great Sage. The skill has taken effect, making it more immediately available.》

By the way, where am I?

《Received. The location is in the Familiar Forest in Underworld.》

When I heard the answer, I became anxious. Eh? What did you mean by Underworld? Am I in the spirit world where Demons reside—as in Diablo's hometown?

《Received. Following the requested destination, you've been transmigrated as a Cloth-Eating Slime in Familiar Forest in Underworld in another dimension where the series known as Highschool DxD is happening.》

…What!? What did you mean by that? And a cloth-eating slime… did I become a slime suited for hentai franchise? Wait a moment! About my whereabouts, did you say Familiar Forest in Underworld in Highschool DxD world? Don't tell me I got reincarnated in Highschool DxD world for real? And as the slime that Hyoudou Issei wanted to make into as his familiar—the one that got electrocuted to death by Akeno Himejima? Questions jumbled in my mind as I digested Sage's explanation.

I recalled that I made a wish to be reborn in another world filled with so much fan service—Highschool DxD world. I also recalled that OVA episode when Occult Research Club went to the Familiar Forest to get Issei's and Asia's familiars. Well, only Asia got a familiar—a lightning element sprite dragon named Rassei, after Rai—Japanese for lightning—and Issei. But, I digress.

《Yes.》

Sage replied curtly.

So I really got reincarnated as a Slime in Highschool DxD universe. Not as a normal Slime but as a Cloth-Eating Slime all women detested. Despite I felt a direct blow to my self-esteem, I still lamented my fate. So…is this it? Am I really a… You know… With the kind of tactile feedback, I'm getting at the moment…

I trained my senses back inside my body. It responded with a rhythmic motion.

*Boing!*

*Sproing!*

Slowly, inside the total darkness, I took the time to ascertain the exact boundaries of my form.

…Heavens! I used to be such a "handsome, attractive man," and now I'm so…fluid! So aerodynamic!

…Yeah, right! You think I'd accept this just like that?! As far as I could feel, there was no longer any doubting it. I could picture it in my mind. I mean…what else could it be? Not like I had a prejudice against it. Hell, it was kinda cute—as if! Maybe, if I got reincarnated as a normal Slime, I'd call myself adorable. But, I got reincarnated as a monster that women hated the most—a cloth-eating slime—for fuck sake!

I would just have to accept it, though. Accept the fact that my "soul," or whatever you want to call it, had been reborn inside a perverted monster from another world. The odds of such a thing seemed astronomically low to me, but…

Just like, Rimuru, I'd been reborn. As a slime, that's.

《②》

After getting grip the reality, I calmed down. The first thing I asked Sage was about my skills.

Skill is important. It's my only weapon to survive this place. Familiar Forest is the home of supernatural beasts from harmless to outrageously dangerous. I mean, there's a hydra that's at ultimate devil rank power wise. And, I was nothing but a puny, cloth-melting slime. It was way out of my league. Therefore, I need to understand my ability.

As Sun Tzu had written in his Art of War: "Know thy self and thine enemy. Thou shan't lose thousands of battle" or something like that.

Can you list all the skills I possess?

《Received. The skills you possess are unique skill Gluttony, unique skill Great Sage, unique skill Instant-Death, and unique skill Omniscient. For Species skills (Slime), only species skill Regeneration is left. Species skills Dissolve and Absorb had been integrated into unique skill Gluttony. For Resistance skills, you have Resist Temperature, Resist Physical Attack, Nullify Pain, and Nullify Instant-Death.》

If I still had my human form, I would show my shock openly at the report. From the look of it, I almost got skills after Rimuru ascended into True Demon Lord. Almost is the keyword. I also got unique skillInstant-Death and unique skillOmniscient. They were something I never heard from the official work.

…Well, what do you think? This is real life, not an anime. Real life is more boarder and complex than a fictional world.

Can you explain all the skills I got?

《Received. The description of the skills is like this…

Unique skill:

① Gluttony

· Predation: To absorb the target into the body. However, if the target is conscious, the success rate greatly decreases. The affected targets include organic matter, inorganic matter, skills, and magic.

· Analysis: The absorbed target is studied and analyzed. Craftable items can then be produced. Should many items gather, a duplicate can be produced. In the case of successful skill or magic analysis, the same technique can be acquired.

· Stomach: The target can be stored. Items produced can also be stored. There is no storage time limit.

· Isolation: Materials harmful or unnecessary for analysis can also be stored.

· Mimicry: Replicate the target's appearance. The skills and abilities used by the target can also be used. However, this depends on the successful analysis and acquisition of relative information regarding the target.

· Decomposition: The ability to decompose the target. Also the ability to add decomposition status effect. There is a chance of acquiring ability after consuming only a part of a monster's corpse. However, this is random.

· Supply: Whether a subordinate or not, the user can grant an ability unto a monster with whom he has a relationship. Limited by the target's inherent magical energy.

· Food Chain: It's possible to acquire skills from one's subordinates. However, one must raise proficiency on one's own. Magic and Knowledge also cannot be transferred.

② Omniscient: the ability to gain knowledge from the metaphysical Archive of the World itself.

③ Great Sage:

· Thought Acceleration: Raises thought processing speed by a thousand times.

· Analysis and Judgment: The ability to analyze and make judgments regarding a target.

· Parallel Processing: The ability to detach thoughts and analysis of phenomenon.

· Chant annulment: When using magic, the chant is no longer necessary.

· All of Creation: The ability to comprehend any non-concealed phenomenon in this world. Depending on the information the user understand and the things the user know about, additional information can be inferred. In other words, the user needs to see it (the phenomenon) at least once.

④ Instant-Death: the ability to grant an instant death towards the living target. Limited by the target's resistance and inherent magic energy.

Species-specific skill:

① Regeneration: ability to regenerate missing body parts. Depending on the magic energy.

② Dissolve: integrated into unique skill Gluttony.

③ Absorb: integrated into unique skill Gluttony.

Resistance skills:

① Resist Temperature: the ability to resist heat and cold temperature.

② Resist Physical Attack: the ability to resist any Attack categorized as "Physical."

③ Nullify Pain: the ability that nullifies pain.

④ Nullify Instant-Death: the ability that nullifies the instant-death attack.》

Sage dutifully—and mechanically—explained the details of my skills.

If I had eyes at the moment, I'd blink in stupefaction because how much I had skills that had the potential to be a game breaker. Still, there were some abilities listed that'd work better if linked together, I think. Say, can you link up Great Sage and Omniscient?

《Received. Link up Great Sage skill and Omniscient skill? Yes/No》

I paused as I recalled something. The next moment, I inquired about something that bugging me since a moment ago. About naming... Can I name you to turn you into Manas?

Manas—If I recall correctly, it is a Spiritual Life Form of ultimate existence. They are born when an ultimate skill develops an ego and ultimately evolves into an independent sentient being. Manas is a very unique existence as it can be considered a combination of a spirit, a pseudo-soul, a skill, an ultimate skill, an individual character, and an ego; or none at all.

《Received. Ultimate skill needed to create Manas. 》

Any advice how I can get ultimate skills quickly?

《Solution. Sprouting Demon Lord's Seed and evolving unto True Demon Lord. Following the evolution, there's high probability of skill evolution.》

Gee… thanks, I thought full of sarcasm. I need to sacrifice at least ten thousand human souls, right? At that thought, I became depressed.

I realized that I didn't feel horrified or disgusted to myself when I contemplated about massacring ten thousands of human. Well, there was a part of me that was unwilling with such an idea, but the reaction wasn't as strong as I expected. Did my rebirth as monster fundamentally changed me, or something? Let's put aside this morbid topic for later.

I couldn't see around yet. If my memory is correct, it should be like this, I thought and dispersed the energy in my body and then used that energy to sense my surrounding. The idea came from many anime, manga, and light novel in my past life. I hope this would work. Being left in the dark, literally in this case, was suck!

《Confirmed. Extra skill Magic Sense… Successfully acquired. Use the extra skill Magic Sense?Yes/No》

Huh? It was that easy? Well, sure — yes, then… Man, talk about a pall I can rely on!

The moment I invoked Magic Sense, my brain was filled with new information. A massive amount, something my human brain never could've processed — the waves of light and sound pushing every single tiny particle around — and I processed it all, converting it into perceptible data.

The thing about human eyesight is that it doesn't give you even a 180-degree view of what's in front of you. Now, all of a sudden, I could "see" a full 360 degrees around myself. I wonder if this was how those Hyuugas in Naruto world felt when they used their fancy eyes. I couldn't help but wonder.

The shadows of the rocks around me, the views hundreds of meters away — the moment I turned my attention to it, I could figure out what it was. If I were still human, all this perception data probably would've fried my brain circuits. But now I was a slime. My cells could provide muscle just as easily as brain power.

So somehow or other, I withstood the torrent of information. Then—

《Synchronizing Magic Sense with Great Sage… Successful. All information will now be managed by Great Sage.]

Suddenly, my vision opened up. The brain-searing sensation from before was gone, and then I could see — so clearly that it was a wonder I wasn't able to do it before. Of course, I didn't "see" with my eyes. I don't have eyes because I'm a Slime after all — wait! Did I make a reference to Brook from One Piece? Forget it. Let's see where I am.

So far, I found I was in a creepy, dark forest. When I said creepy, I mean it. The forest gave a gloomy vibe, the trees were twisted, and it was quite dark. Yep! It was a gloomy forest like how it appeared in the anime adaptation. I couldn't see far because I'd exhaust my magic if I tried to increase my Magic Perception range. It was better than being blind, nevertheless.

Now, change the target of my Magic Sense to me, please.

《Affirmative.》

After I heard Sage's reply, the image of a semitransparent dark green blob of a gelatinous substance appeared in my mind. When I realized that I unconsciously leaked out my magic. It couldn't be compared to the absurd aura Rimuru had at the beginning of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. My aura was weak. So damn weak. What a letdown.

I pushed aside my disappointment and instructed Sage to help me contain my magic until nothing leaked out. Then, I continued my self-centered and narcissistic analysis about myself.

…So that's me, I thought. I found it was a bit difficult to swallow that I wasn't human any more — I'm a Slime now. Not the normal slime, but a perverted, cloths-dissolving slime… Who cares! I got this chance to be an overpowered Slime. I have some useful skills that'll help me out in my quest for power. If I wanted to become strong, although I'm a mere Slime, I need to beat stronger creature and predate on it, I thought strongly and hyped myself up.

With my next action settled, I told Sage about my decision. Let's hunt other monster and eat them. Since you have ability to check Archive of the World, can you list monster that can be useful for me? Then, tell me the closest monster that I could kill and eat without endangering my life.

《Received. Searching for closest target within parameters… Successful. The nearest magical creature which you can safely hunt is 30 meters away at 9 O'clock.》

I heard Sage's report, but I didn't move from my position quickly. I don't know where the correct cardinal direction. I mean that everything seems like front to me. It was an odd sensation, as matter of fact.

Can you bring me where it is? I asked shamelessly.

《Accept possession by Great Sage? Yes/No》

I readily chose "yes."

《③》

By my count, it had only been a week since I was reincarnated as a slime.

To be more precise, eight days, eleven hours, forty-four minutes, and thirty-five seconds. How was I so sure about this? Turned out that was one of the many side effects of evoking that Great Sage skill.

Holy slimes, was that thing helpful. Talk about your best friend in a pinch. Any question that popped to mind, it instantly provided the answer. More than that, the skill gained semblance of intellect and self-awareness. However, this newborn intelligence and self-awareness, fortunately, didn't hinder its jobs as my main support.

According to this Sage, it took six months for all my skills to fully fuse themselves with my soul. So there was 172 days left before my skills fixed in my soul. Normally, it would be unable to provide responses in the form of conversation. In order to answer my questions, however, it apparently revamped itself, diverting part of its "Source" powers to assist me. When it linked to my Omniscient skill, it gained further upgrade—an artificial intelligence and self-awareness after compiling many data from the Archive of the World. That's how it was explained to me, at least.

As it explained to me, this "Source" was the root of my power and the unexplainable system that reincarnated me to this fictional world. Basically, the "Source" copied the pre-existing system and it was tasked to support me. In this case, it copied the pre-existing system from another dimension where the fictional story That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime was the real deal and not a fiction.

So the concept of the multiverse itself was the real deal. Maybe, I could meet Rimuru Tempest himself someday and had fun together. If the characters and settings in Highschool DxD were real, there's huge chance that the characters and settings in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and other works were also real. But, I digress.

The mysterious creator of this "Source" chose me for some reason. This made me think: who or what is the unknown omnipotent being that chose me? Why they did it? Why me of all people? That kind of question popped out in my head. Unfortunately, Great Sage couldn't answer my question. The more I ponder about that, the more questions popped out. Precisely because of that, I decided to push aside my curiosity and focused on my current situation.

This, however, didn't mean I'd forgotten about it. A small part of me still holds up my guard. There is nothing more nefarious than unknown enemy plotting for my misfortune behind all the kindness they offered. Call me paranoid, but I didn't care. Better set my expectation low than having a huge expectation only to be betrayed later. Man, talk about depressing stuff.

At this point, I realized something important. It was the difference between Rimuru Tempest and I. Rimuru had "World Language" as the root of his power while I had this unknown "Source" as the root of my power. The lack of my or Sage's understanding of this source of power is the reason why we called it "Source."

Other than the root of our power, I'd found other difference between Rimuru and I.

…I started my second life as a slime with more unique skill than Rimuru. Hence, the time needed for my skill to fuse completely with my soul took longer. In the meantime, the state of my unique skill was in fluctuation. This gave me more advantage than not such as the bigger space of "Stomach" skill. At this point, my "Stomach" had space ten times larger than Rimuru's "stomach" after his Predation evolved unto Gluttony skill. Talk about loophole for abuse.

Besides that, I'd chosen a different element for my means of attacking. Whereas Rimuru had water-based attack as his means of attacking in the early series of his chronicle, I chose air-based attack. Why I chose air? You ask. Well, the answer is simple. That time, I was far away from any body of water. Thus, I chose air instead. They were everywhere! Besides, I couldn't keep copying him forever, right? One needs originality to stay as oneself after all. Beware of copyright infringement!

…So it'd been a week since I got reincarnated as a slime. In that long week, I'd let Great Sage took control my body to hunt more and more magical creatures for their useful abilities. In the meantime, I'd think about my grand plan for my future.

Speaking of my grand plan, I planned to be ultimate existence in par with the three ultimate existences of this universe, or higher. By three ultimate existences, I mean Ophis, Great Red, and 666 Trihexa.

To reach that level, I'd prepared some steps.

Now, I—rather than I, it's my skill Great Sage— was in the middle of the first step: summoning Ophis.

I was waiting for my hardworking and faithful skill to finish the magic circle to summon Ophis via the Dragon Gate. How did I know Ophis' Dragon Gate address? You ask. Well, there's an Omniscient skill with me. It's called Omniscient for a reason. Alas, its omniscience only confined within this dimension. So not much of true Omniscient, I think. Still helpful, though…

If I want, I can ask Sage and It would take a peek into the Archive of the World for me. I could even mess with Biblical God's System, but I never found the motivation to do it...yet. Omniscient-powered Great Sage is the reason behind me knowing Ophis' Dragon Gate address.

《Confirmed. The preparation for summoning the Infinity Dragon God is ready. Commence the summoning? Yes/No》

Holy slimes! Just when I was thinking where it'd finish the preparation, Sage reported the completion of the Dragon Gate. I took back the control of my body and then watched the complicated magic circle on the ground.

I answered "yes," felt 90% of my magic energy being drained to fuel the magic circle, before the magic circle absorbed the ambient magic energy to fill the rest, and then I waited…

The magic circle on the ground "glowed" with black color. I found it incomprehensible how something glowed with "dark" color. Then, a wrinkled, frail old man with pure black hair and beard appeared in the middle of the circle. I didn't feel the pressure of strong being emitted by this old man, but this old man's weak appearance increased my vigilance. This was the Infinity Dragon God, Ophis. Currently, they took the appearance of a frail old man.

For your information, currently, it was still at the 15th century in the human world and year 9500ish after the fall of Heylel who renamed himself Lucifer. Surprisingly, the Civil War of Devil faction hadn't broken out yet. There was tension and rift could be felt within the higher ups, but it hadn't escalated into a full blown civil war yet. Both God and Lucifer died a few years ago. That was just small trivia about this world at the current time. But, I digress.

"I, am summoned. Why?"

The frail old man—Ophis—said. They didn't seem to care how I know about their Dragon Gate address.

When I looked at them with my magic perception, I saw their lifeless, dark grey eyes boring towards my puny form. Whoops! Better answer them before I lost this golden chance. Although Ophis was said to be a very patient being, it didn't mean they had unlimited patience after all. Just look at their fixation for kicking out Great Red from the Dimensional Gap.

"Ophis, I know that Great Red has stolen your home and you yearned for your "silence"." I began carefully. This seemingly frail old man had the power to end my existence on the spot. It was better being careful as if I was treading on the thin ice around them. Thanks to the bat-type familiar—funny enough, the same species as Rias Gremory's familiar—I got Soundwave Control skill to "speak". "I have an idea that will return back your home and "silence" from Great Red." I decided to go to the point against a blunt and direct being like Ophis.

Ophis still looked disinterested, but I knew I had taken their interest. Why I was confident? Firstly, it was because of the information provided by Omniscient Sage. Second—

"I, shall listen."

Ophis replied stoically. Their tone and expression remained blank, the perfect definition of apathy, but their lifeless grey eyes glinted fiercely. In fact, it was the first expression I caught from those void-like orbs that suck everything into them.

Carefully, I spoke. "Well, you see, I need you to do a few things for me for the success of my plan…"

"I, shall do that. So long I can reclaim my "silence" back, I, shall do anything for you."

Ophis cut my explanation.

I knew that Ophis was stated to be a pure and gullible being. It was because they didn't think anything but their "silence" as interesting. They were still selfish and greedy, but because their lack of interest in everything and anything but their "silence," they were pure and downright naïve. I was glad I did this before Ophis grew desperate and built their organization—Khaos Brigade.

…does this mean I basically fuck up the canon? Eh, who cares? I thought without a hint of shame and regret.

In the course of a long week, I became aware that power was important. In the world where selfish, asshole gods, devils, angels, and other supernatural species existed, might make right. It's the law of jungle the supernatural followed—survival to the fittest. The first week since I got reincarnated as a slime and the "eat or be eaten" lifestyle in Familiar Forest taught me that. Although I didn't experience it immediately, watching how I was ambushed by other magic animals in this forest while Sage controlled my body was enough to make me aware of this harsh truth.

"Alright… the first step towards the reclamation of your "silence." Please grant me a name!" I requested loudly.

…I met the awkward silence. Maybe, I was the only person who was self-conscious about it. I was sure that Ophis don't feel awkward at all.

Ophis nodded slowly and spoke unhesitatingly. "I, shall grant you the name "Khaos"."

Thus the name was carved into my soul. Not that it did too much to me. Or my abilities. But somewhere, deep inside my soul, something did change a bit. But still. Khaos, eh? I didn't know how I should feel for knowing the name was actually a name for organization Ophis would build in the future.

《④》

After getting the name "Khaos" from Ophis, I unhesitatingly asked them to change their form. I asked them to transform into a beautiful girl. They followed my request without a second thought. I guess Ophis was strongly motivated by the sweet promise reclaiming their "silence."

Actually, asking Ophis to change from wasn't listed in my to-do list, but it couldn't be helped. At heart, I was a young man and only proper young men wish for a beautiful girl as a companion. Since Ophis was a shapeshifter, let's take the advantage of that fact…

In the end, Ophis chose the teenage version of their Lolita form in Anime, Manga, and Light Novel of Highschool DxD. At a glance, they looked like a girl with height; 5ft/152cm, weight; 99lbs/49kg, and BWH measurement; 30-21-30 in/76-53-76 cm. (For convenience sake, I began identifying Ophis gender as "she/her.") She had a long overflowing pitch black hair that covered her buttocks and uneven front bangs. For her attire, I wasn't surprised when she chose the open front Gothic Lolita that she was known to wear in the official works. Well, at least, she was more filled than the flat-as-board loli in the first half of HSDxD series.

After I got my name from Ophis and asked her to transform as a bonus, I decided to proceed into the next step of my plan. "Now, can you bring me to Earth?"

Ophis nodded. "I, can," she exclaimed before she scooped me up and then carried me in her deceptively thin arms. My new position made me feel the certain softness of Dragon Goddess' boobs. There were the supreme boobs! What did you think? Her dress was open on the front. Take that Issei! I was enjoying the softness of Dragon Goddess' boobs before your grandfather was even born! Muahahahaha~

…I calmed down and then saw the world around me changed. If I still had my eyes as human, I would blink in bewilderment. Ophis had just teleported without any fancy magical circles or other fanfares. It was underwhelming, to be honest. Nevertheless, it did the job.

When I checked our position, I found that we were on top of a cliff. The strong wind against my blob of a body was refreshing, but I was here for committing an indirect genocide, not for enjoying the beauty of the Mother Nature. Maybe, I could do it later…

"Ophis, can you kill at least 10,000 humans for me… The more the better…. I need them as a sacrifice to evolve unto True Demon Lord."

Hesitatingly, I asked Ophis to do that. A part of me felt unpleasant feeling in my stomach for what would happen and felt discomfort from the guilt. I tried to push aside those feelings and reminded myself this was for my own good. Survival to the fittest! Might make right! Overpowered is justice! Hip, hip, hooray!

Before I could finish balancing my mind, Ophis had teleported again. Now, we were up in the sky and above a massive civilization. From the architectural design, we were in China.

Ophis then moved her left hand and pointed it downward, leaving her other hand to support me in her one-armed hug. It pushed my jellylike body structure deeper into the valley between her breasts. Ah, what an enjoyable sensation... I think that I found my first favorite place after I got reincarnated as a slime.

Suddenly, my Magic Sense went haywire as it felt the massive surge of power, taking my mind from the blissful sensation of Ophis' warm, soft breasts. The next moment, Ophis shot massive plasma beam from her left palm. I didn't expect she would shoot a fucking gigantic laser of doom. My Great Sage skill informed me that Ophis shot an insane amount of void energy beam towards the civilization below us. Because the absurd speed of her void energy traveled, it affected the molecules in the air and created a gigantic plasma beam.

I felt cold dread when Sage reported to me that more than 125 million humans died in a flash, literally.

《Notification. The necessary human soul for the requirement of evolution, Seed's Sprouting, had been confirmed ... Recognized. The requirement had been met. From now, Evolution to Demon Lord will begin. The Harvest Festival commenced. The individual: Khaos will be forced into sleep-mode.》

I heard the notification from Sage. At the same time, indistinct humanoid form appeared in front of us. Ophis looked at it blankly. I had the feeling that the unknown being summoned by the Harvest Festival was scared stiff by Ophis' presence. As a spiritual being, it should be sensitive towards Ophis' true nature.

When I wanted to speak to the spirit, drowsiness assaulted my mind. It was unbearable. The next moment, I understood that I didn't have time to spare for it. I needed to focus on Ophis before I was forced into sleeping mode...

Speaking of which, this would be my first time for sleeping after I got reincarnated as a slime.

"Ophis, I'm going to evolve unto a True Demon Lord. I'm going to sleep for several days, maybe. Please, wait until I wa—"

However, I couldn't finish my words when my mind was forced into sleeping mode, leaving behind Ophis and the unattended "demons."

Speaking of the "demon," what kind of rank is it?

《Intermission: Ophis the Infinity Dragon God》

"Ophis, I'm going to evolve into a True Demon Lord. I'm going to sleep for several days, maybe. Please, wait until I wa—"

The Slime in Their embrace fell asleep before it could finish its words, leaving behind the creature it summoned and Them alone.

Ophis was a creature born from the void in time immemorial before the worlds that took a part of Their home was created before those noisy beings called gods were born. Since Their conception, Ophis stayed in Their home—Dimensional Gap—alone and basked in the void—silence.

In the beginning, Ophis was indistinct creature born from the void. They didn't have sex or species. They didn't even have shapes. They were just an entity born from the void. They enjoyed their silence—the nothingness—of Dimensional Gap.

No beings dared to enter their home because the void would absorb and sublimate them. Thus, Ophis enjoyed Their "silence" for very long time. Their relation with the concept of nothingness came from Their fondness for the "silence" in the Dimensional Gap. Without Their knowing, They became the embodiment of the nothingness and gained the sense of "self."

However, one day, Their beloved "silence" was disturbed. A winged red creature came from The Beyond. The creature was childish and noisy, doing trick when it flew in their home. Whenever the Red Creature succeeded or not succeeded in its trick, it would roar either in gleeful happiness or frustration. It annoyed Them because the noise was strong enough to shake Their home and destroy Their "silence."

For the first time since Their conception, They felt emotion called "annoyance."

They tried to tell the Red Creature to go away, to leave Their home and return Their "silence." But the Red Creature ignored Them.

For the first time since Their conception, They felt emotion called "anger."

They tried to force the Red Creature to no avail. In their endless fight, the concept of "Dragon" was attached to Their existence; They subconsciously wished to be as strong as Red Creature and unconsciously mimicked the Red Creature because it was the first creature They came to contact with.

Unbeknownst by Them, They solidified their existence and doomed Themselves to be Red's equal until the End of Time.

The Red Creature was surprisingly strong enough to fight evenly against Them. They wanted more power, infinite power, to force the Red Creature away from Their home. Thus, the concept of "Infinity" was embedded in Their existence.

Much to their increasing anger, the Red Creature matched their infinite power.

For the first time since their conception, They felt emotion called "hatred."

Their hatred made Them to wish for the Red Creature destruction. And unbeknownst by Them, Their wish manifested in the shape of Incarnation of Destruction. But the Incarnation of Destruction needed to be stronger than Red Creature, or otherwise it was useless. Thus, the Incarnation of Destruction was forced to hibernate while the primeval energy of the void nourished it to make the Incarnation of Destruction stronger than the Red Creature.

They kept trying to force out the Red Creature from Their home for a very long time. One day, They had an idea. Since They couldn't force the Red Creature by Themselves, maybe, They would find a way to drive out the Stupid Red from Their home with a help.

It was the first time since Their conception They left their home, entering the worlds that were created within Their home. And, it was also the reason why Their intimate connection with the Void was changed—severed—leaving behind a meagre connection. They couldn't utilize the limitless void energy to directly create phenomenon anymore. The best They could be tapping the limitless energy within Their home.

For many centuries, They tried to find the means to force away the Red Creature—or Stupid Red, as They christened it—to no avail. All creatures called Gods were weak. Their so-called power wouldn't even scratch Stupid Red's scale. Their so-called powerful weapons and their prided Authorities were considered as an annoyance at best for the Red Creature. The creatures called dragons that looked either like Their serpentine form or Stupid Red's winged reptilian form were weak too.

In another dimension, They would continue to seek a means to kick out Stupid Red from Their home. They would meet the cunning Son of the True Devil who would propose an organization to combat Stupid Red with Them as the leader. Because of Their naivety, They would be used by them and They would be careless until it was too late and what you know as canon came to light. But in this world, it didn't happen.

They were summoned into one of many worlds within their home. The one called Underworld. At first, They were curious about who could call Them. Since They became dragon, They never told others about the way to contact or summon Them.

The moment They became dragon, everything related to concept of "dragon" was fixed into Their existence. Dragon Gate was just one of them.

When They saw Their summoner, They felt intrigued. Despite Their degraded connection with Their home, They could feel the blob of a gelatinous substance called slime was more than it appeared to be. They could feel the slime connection to The Beyond. The slime was just like Stupid Red. An Outsider.

It alone was enough to annoy Them. But They had an idea and wondered if the slime could help Them to drive Stupid Red away because it also came from The Beyond.

"I, am summoned. Why?"

They quickly asked for the slime's reason.

"Ophis, I know that Great Red has stolen your home and you yearned for your "silence"."

So the slime knew about their problem. They ignored how the slime was very careful when it spoke to Them. It also knew the name "Stupid Red" used to call Them—another reason for their growing ire. They had a whim "if this slime does another thing that reminds me of Stupid Red again, I'm going to sublimate its existence into void."

But the slime's next words took Their full attention.

"I have an idea that will return back your home and "silence" from Great Red."

"I, shall listen."

"Well, you see, I need you to do a few things for me for the success of my plan…"

"I, shall do that. So long I get my home and "silence" back, I, shall do anything for you."

And Ophis genuinely would do anything as long as They could get back Their "silence." In Their naïveté, They would do anything even the most humiliating thing so long They could regain Their "silence."

It was a stroke of luck the slime was unaware of that small fact. No one could imagine what would happen if the slime ever knows about that. Not like it would help countless worlds in the long run, though...

At that time, Ophis became aware it was the first time since Their conception They had a proper conversation with someone else. They never had any proper conversation with other. The first conversation they had with Stupid Red long time ago, and it was limited with Them saying: "Go away!" to Stupid Red and got unintelligible growls and roars as answers. In fact, Red's ever intelligible word to Them was "Ophis" and besides that, the rest was annoying noise. It was repeated until Red attacked Them first. In fact, Their first fight was in the name of self-defense.

The other talk They had was with the so-called gods and those lesser dragons. It was mostly about Them being asked, "Who are you? What do you want? Blah, blah, blah!" and They would answer the first question and ignored the second and so on because of Their lack of interest. In the end, those gods and dragons would attack Them first and They would attack back in the name of self-defense.

…It wasn't Their fault Their infamy as the Dragon God of Infinity and Nothingness spread wide and struck dread and despair in the heart of many gods and dragons. They weren't the one who pulled the first punch. They didn't even have any interest to Them.

"Alright… the first step towards the reclamation of your home and "Silence." Please grant me a name!" was the slime first of countless requests. They granted the name "Khaos" to the slime. After that, the slime asked Them to transform unto a young female. They followed the request without a second thought.

The slime next request was to go to one of the worlds called Earth. And it was the first time since its conception Ophis had a skinship without underlying animosity. They couldn't help but find it nice…like the nothingness in them was filled with a new, unknown existence.

After they arrived in the Earth, the newly named slime, Khaos, asked Them to kill at least 10,000 humans. Since more casualties were better, Ophis decided to destroy the most populated human civilization in the world. If They recalled correctly, the civilization was called Ming Empire or something.

After They destroyed the human civilization, Khaos went to sleep. Its body was undergoing a qualitative change. They could feel Khaos became stronger with each passing second. While waiting for Khaos to wake up, Ophis decided to sit down in the air and ignored the shapeless spirit Khaos summoned.

Later, a fool appeared. From the fool's presence, Ophis found out the fool was one of the so-called gods.

"You destroyed the humans under my patronage!" The fools roared—animosity and hatred directed to Them were palpable, but They didn't care. They cared nothing but their "silence," and maybe Khaos now. "How. Dare. You! Be gone, foul creature! Taste my divine wrath!"

The livid unknown god attacked Them. Just like how it happened for countless time already. They would attack back in self-defense, of course. The unknown god attack was slow. They could erase the unknown gods first before the attack landed.

The attack wouldn't harm Them, but They were unsure if Khaos would come out alive. Khaos had promised to help Them reclaim Their "silence." After so long, They had found someone—something in this case—that promised to help. There's no way They would let it be harmed.

Ophis decided to attack the unknown god first before the god's attack could kill Khaos. They raised Their left hand and pointed Their open palm to the nuisance. But They stopped before They launched a blast of void energy in the speed of light. The god's attack and Their attack would hit the spirit that was floating between the fool and Them.

At this moment, Ophis reminded of Their annoyance when Stupid Red took Their "silence."

This spirit was Khaos'. If They destroyed the entity or let it be destroyed, wouldn't Khaos become annoyed and angry at Them?

The prospect of Khaos annoyed and angry at Them gave birth to the unpleasant feeling. It was emotion called "anxiety." They didn't want Khaos to be annoyed or angry at Them. Thus, They used their power to force the entity to relocate behind Them before They launched Their attack to the fool.

At the same time, They unconsciously tightened their grip on the soft, squishy body of Khaos, being mindful not to squeeze Khaos to much. They didn't want Khaos to be harmed.

That day, another plasma beam filled with void energy that could sublimate even soul and divine essence into nothingness graced the Earth. The next moment, an unknown god faded away.

Death for gods was a trivial thing. But when they fade, they couldn't revive anymore. It's the true ending for the higher being such as gods.

Their display of absolute power and unquestionable destruction stopped other gods and supernatural beings that tried to get close. Those who felt the distinct energy of the void from Their attack realized who or what They are—the infamous Dragon God with infinite power that sent anything gaining their ire into nothingness.

However, the fact that They were hugging a blob of slime possessively in Their arms and being "attended" by an unknown spirit with significant power raised some curious brows. But no one dared to get close and find out.

Ophis continued to wait for Khaos, disregarding the unknown being from The Beyond.

And at the next day, Khaos woke up from its slumber.

《To Be Continued》

And… the first chapter comes to the end with this. My genuine wish as the writer of this story is you can enjoy it. Now, you must have many questions regarding this story. I don't know what you think so you better tell me with your review.

By the way, I decided to put this story in standalone Highschool DxD category because That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime had less story and enthusiast, it seems. I really want this story to have many readers, and since the first arc happened within DxD world, I put this story in Highschool DxD category. I hope you won't mind.

So, it's still at the first chapter and yet my main character has screwed the canon…centuries away before the beginning of HSDxD story. What will happen next? Let's find out in the next chapter.

Constructive criticism will be appreciated and flame will be ignored. Now… REVIEW!