I Became a Monster in a Novel

And here I am, teetering on the edge of monsterhood. The system spoke as if it wanted me to hear.

[Status is partially open.]

Partial opening… it just sounds like “if you’re angry, you know what to do?”

‘I know I’m a slime and at level 5, but shouldn’t it show me the experience too?’ I sighed at the ongoing silence.

‘System, do you have no conscience?’

I had no choice but to check the available skills.

[Available Skill List]

1. Tentacle (F)

…

14. Observation (F)

Wow, 14 skills now, but I didn’t hesitate.

[Skill Observation (F) Lv.1 acquired.]

In novels or games, skills like Observation or Insight are usually OP. Maybe I could use it to check my status. With a gleeful heart, I used the Observation skill.

‘?’

Surprisingly, nothing happened.

Wondering if something was wrong, I spammed Observation, but still, nothing happened.

Frustrated, I kept using it, but still nothing. I guess it was telling me to level up instead of messing around.

‘I’m becoming stronger through filthy means. Seriously.’

I bit into nothing. If I were born human, I wouldn’t have to suffer like this. Detecting a hot heat source from a distance, I used Stealth. I’m not sure how a slime tastes, but judging by the rat that charged at me, it can’t be that bad.

‘…Should I try eating one later?’

It would be a cannibalistic act, though.

I worried about the descriptor weak but it seems Stealth is doing its job. The heat I felt was gradually cooling, and soon I realized that whatever it was had completely moved away.

Given that the heat felt larger than the rat, it must have been something more dangerous. No need to take that risk. On the other hand, a smaller heat was moving towards me.

[Consumed Fire Ant. Satiety and experience increased.]

‘Is that the so-called killer ant?’ I have no idea. Anyway, it was food.

[Heat Detection (F) Lv.2 has reached its max proficiency. Heat Detection (F) Lv.2 → Heat Detection (F) Lv.3]

[Predation (F) Lv.3 has reached its max proficiency. Predation (F) Lv.3 → Predation (F) Lv.4]

The predation skill is growing smoothly too. After defeating and eating another field mouse, I finally reached level 6.

[Experience has reached its max. Lv.5 → Lv.6]

[Evolution possibilities are now available.]

Suddenly, evolution? I thought it usually happened at level 10, but unexpectedly here at level 6? Just hearing the word evolution makes my heart race.

With excitement, I awaited the next words from the system, but…

‘…What are you doing?’

It said it was open. So when will it happen?

No matter how long I waited, the system remained silent. Then I suddenly thought to keep using Observation.

[Observation (F) Lv.1 skill’s proficiency has maxed out. Observation (F) Lv.1 → Observation (F) Lv.2]

‘Ah… are you kidding me?’

Only then did I understand. There was a high probability that an information window gained through Observation lay before me, or the evolution route opened by the system was accessible. But why couldn’t I see them? Simple.

Because I’m a slime. I have no eyes… no vision…!

I was trying hard to suppress the frustration bubbling inside me.

Even though the proficiency of Observation rose steadily each time I used it, if I didn’t know, there was no point. I noticed the skill list was labeled [Available Skill List], not [Usable Skill List]. It only meant it could be acquired.

Clenching my… nothing. A slime had no chance of gaining vision.

Just in case, I extended my tentacle to touch my surroundings, but nothing happened. It seemed it wasn’t a matter of pressing some button… Sighing, I checked the available skills again.

[Available Skill List]

1. Tentacle (F)

…

19. Weak Sense of Smell (F)

‘Sense of Smell? Not vision, but sense of smell?’ At least that’s good news. If I can gain a sense of smell, there’s hope for vision in the future. Thinking that way made my motivation soar. I still had 1 skill point left but decided to save it. Even if I get a sense of smell, it won’t be of much use right now. It’s better to use it when needed later on.

Now that my level’s gone up, should I move a little?

Even though I was a Lesser Slime, at this pace, I could grow quickly. I detected a heat source hotter than a rat and used Stealth to approach. The size felt just a bit larger than a rat…

‘A squirrel?’

It seemed curious about my sluggish pace. Did it come looking for me, gently nudging me? I felt it completely climb on me as I waited patiently, pretending to be a cushion.

‘……!’

I slowly wrapped my tendrils around it without it noticing. The strength was light, but once layered, it makes a difference. At the same time, I lifted my body.

It looked like it got caught in a trap, entangled in a net. The startled squirrel struggled to escape, but it was futile, and soon enough, it fell quiet.

‘Got you pretty good.’

It was a close call, but still a smooth hunt. I felt my body slowly recovering with Weak Regeneration and sighed in relief.

[Consumed Squirrel. Experience and Satiety increased.]

‘Was that a Squirrel?’ I thought it was a random rodent…

But anyway, the squirrel became my daily bread, and through predation, I converted it into experience, reaching level 7. It gave way more experience than the field mouse.

‘It even switched the priority of experience and satiety.’ Originally, satiety came first but this time experience was mentioned first. It meant I gained quite a lot of experience. Brimming with anticipation, I opened the [Available Skill List] again, but this time it was only taste, not vision.

I briefly considered acquiring it but decided against it. I’m mainly eating leaves and bugs anyway, so what good would taste be…

‘If I gain vision… bugs might be harder to eat.’

Having opened Sense of Smell at level 7, I figured vision or hearing would likely become available at level 8. And since real life doesn’t go as planned, I bet hearing would appear first.

I felt a strange sense of unease about the structure that surely puts important senses at the back of the line.

I often think this, but it feels like the system is oddly pushing me to grow. Like it thinks I shouldn’t stop.

‘No way…’

***

“No, seriously! This freaking mountain! It’s so hard! I’m dying here! Why!”

“From the way you talk, I can tell you still have a long way to go. Wanna hurry up?”

“Come on! Sunbae, go with me!”

“Hey now! It’s only been two hours since we started climbing. Do you even belong to our clan?”

“Damn it! What’s that got to do with this?!

“What do you mean? Now you’re really testing my patience!”

“I’m hungry! Let’s get moving!”

Under the Sunbae’s urging, the Hubae doggedly climbed the mountain. But soon again, the distance between them widened.

“Ugh! Two hours in, and I’ve made quite the distance, right? Is it still far?”

“When are you going to grow up?”

“I’m not even a hunter! You’re the hunter, Sunbae! I’m just an office worker now! Office. Worker!”

Thinking that was a valid point, I nodded, but soon I was glaring.

“Does being an office worker mean you don’t have to do fieldwork?”

“Who even does fieldwork in the mountains? You brought me here, Sunbae. Why not carry me?”

The Sunbae sighed deeply at the Hubae throwing a tantrum.

“I’m not the one who said the Team Leader wanted you along. So let’s go quickly, alright?”

I thought you’d naturally come up if you just waited a moment, but the Hubae showed no signs of climbing anytime soon. Reluctantly, the Sunbae stepped back down and gave the Hubae a light smack on the head. The Hubae protected its forehead in pain.

“What are you doing!”

“I’m the one who should be asking. You switched departments, and now you’re trying not to work?”

“That’s not it! Look over there!”

When I turned to follow the Hubae’s finger, I saw a slime wriggling.

“What’s that?”

“…That slime. Isn’t it strange?”

“Strange? It looks like it’s putting up a fight to take a break. Huh?”

“No, that’s not it! Look at the color?”

Taking a step closer as if to prove my point, the slime drooped. It seemed to change color too…

“……?”

“See? That’s fascinating, right?”

The Hubae stepped back, trying to show off, but now the slime lay there, doing nothing.

Startled, the Hubae approached and stepped back over and over, but the slime wasn’t moving. Soon, the Sunbae scoffed and ruffled the Hubae’s hair.

“If you’d gone up by now, your work would’ve been done already.”

The Hubae resisted until the very end, but eventually ended up dragged along by the back of the neck.

***

It was an intense heat, almost like it might set things ablaze.

It was so strong that I instinctively used Stealth. As it varied between distance and closeness, I decided to acquire Presence Detection just in case.

Whatever it is, it definitely knew I was here. I sat still, hoping it wouldn’t catch my scent, and it seemed to drift away. I didn’t know how it happened, but I got lucky.

‘…Did it let go?’

In that brief moment, my Stealth jumped from Lv.1 to Lv.4. It seemed like the Stealth didn’t work though… What the heck was that?

‘I need to get stronger quickly.’

I sighed. It had only been half a day since I caught that squirrel, and I reached Lv.8, but the skill I acquired is hearing, not vision. Just as expected, I’d need to reach Lv.9 to unlock vision.

‘Even if I get hearing…’

It was laughably weak compared to human hearing. It wasn’t of any real use.

‘……Oh.’

While I was lamenting, Heat Detection picked up something. It was smaller than a rat… seemed smaller, but was up quite high.

Were they insects on the tree? Using Weak Stealth, it showed interest in me.

‘It’s a stealth skill, but somehow it feels like bait?’

As expected of Stealth, my presence was erased. But how it perceived me, a myriad of insects approached, showing their curiosity.

Sure enough, one of them scuttled closer, climbing on me just like that squirrel earlier. As I wrapped my tentacles around it and pounced,

Bang—!

Something exploded. At the same time, whatever it was surged away from me. My body couldn’t withstand the explosion and shattered, reducing my body mass by almost half. I was shocked, but by then, it had already disappeared.

‘Bomb Beetle?’

Even if it was a bomb beetle, how could it splatter something the size of 50cm? That seemed impossible.

‘Then what was it?’

I had no idea.

Maybe it was some sort of monster. At least I remembered the thermal signatures and my sense of presence, so I could avoid it next time. If my level were a bit lower, I might have died. I painfully realized that size and strength don’t always correlate.

[Weak Regeneration (F) Lv.1 has reached its max proficiency. Weak Regeneration (F) Lv.1 → Weak Regeneration (F) Lv.2]

My weak regeneration leveled up, and after another half-day passed, I could level up again.

[Experience has reached its max. Lv.8 → Lv.9]

Thanks to that, I recovered and promptly opened [Available Skill List], but to my surprise, vision wasn’t unlocked.

[Available Skill List]

1. Tentacle (F)

…

28. Weak Sixth Sense (F)

Instead, a skill called Weak Sixth Sense had become available.

‘Sixth Sense…’

In English, that’s Six Sense.

Unlike the five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch—sixth sense relates to receiving information not from the body but through intuition or thought. It seems like something you’d find in a fantasy, an almost extrasensory kind of thing.

‘This is…’

Ambiguous. The sixth sense was an inherently undefined perception. Whether it existed was debatable, and calling it a sense didn’t feel clear-cut either.

‘But I’m going to acquire it!’

Think about it. Insight or intuition or an inner eye.

In fantasy settings, questionable and ambiguous skills tend to be highly rated. The sixth sense surely falls into that category.

‘If I don’t learn this, I’m missing out.’

Since it’s clear that at level 10, I’ll have unlocked Weak Vision, learning the Sixth Sense now means I’ll still have two skill points left for whatever’s unlocked at level 10.

‘I wonder when I can stop this nonsense of being weak.’

I sincerely hoped I wouldn’t fall into some kind of trap this time.