It took me a month to get the 10,000 points needed for my evolution.
The explorers; adventurers, and, from time to time, bandits entered the dungeon. They were always ranked G to E, but I occasionally encountered a few D-rank adventurers, likely there to protect their group—probably their family's children or rich kids.
In addition to the points earned from the explorers' entries, most of my points came from their deaths, whether caused by traps or monsters.
"System, put my points into my evolution!"
[Ding! Your evolution is about to begin. Choose your evolution.]
[Available evolutions:
Medium Slime,
Water Slime,
Fire Slime,
Acid Slime,
Lightning Slime,
…]
There were a ton of choices, but my gaze was drawn to two particular evolutions:
Slime Boy
Slime Girl
Why?
It's one of the evolutions with the most possible evolutionary paths while still being somewhat restricted.
"System, I choose... Slime Girl!"
[Your evolution will now begin!]
A bright white light erupted around me. It took several minutes before it finally faded.
Once it was gone, my body hadn't changed all that much, except for my appearance, which had become much more feminine… Well, as feminine as a slime could be.
[Congratulations! You have evolved into Slime Girl!]
[Here is your new racial skill:]
[Mimic of Woman]: Allows you to take on the appearance of any female creature. The combat power of the mimicked form depends on your own strength.
Yeah, this is exactly what I expected. The Slime Boy skill is the same, but for male creatures.
The problem now is that I want to test it! But without a target, it won't work...
So, I decided to find the Rat Queen!
But before that, I had one last thing to finish with my evolution.
[Dungeon System Evolution: 3/3]
[The dungeon system will now evolve!]
[0%]
[1%]
[...]
[10%]
[11%]
[...]
[80%]
[...]
[90%]
[...]
[99%]
[100%]
It only took a few minutes to reach 100%.
[Please choose a system upgrade:]
Point cost -5%,
Read the thoughts of dungeon monsters,
Display friend or foe status on the system map,
Upgraded map,
Contextual assistance.
I thought about it carefully for a few minutes to be sure and chose… Display friend or foe status on the system map!
Yeah, the other options were interesting, but I'd rather know who is a friend or an enemy.
"I choose: Display friend or foe status on the system map!"
[Are you sure? Once selected, the other options may no longer be available.]
"I confirm!"
[Ding! Choice made! Evolution complete!]
[You can now see who is a friend or an enemy on the system map. Partially yellow markers represent those who can be either friends or enemies, as they have not yet decided. Partially green markers represent your friends. Partially red markers represent your enemies.]
I checked the map, and sure enough, the originally blue markers for monsters and gray markers for explorers now had different colors.
Partially green for slimes, red for rats, and yellow for explorers—for now.
Good. This system evolution will be very useful when I leave this place to create other dungeons and explore!
Once I confirmed the changes, I minimized the map in the corner of my vision and rushed to find the Rat Queen.
I used my Puddle skill to hide, transforming into a puddle of water, and left once the explorers were no longer looking.
Once I arrived at the rats' nest, I transformed by mimicking a female rat.
My body bubbled for half a second before shrinking and taking the form of the female rat in front of me, who, by the way, didn't even notice me.
I looked at myself, and the difference was practically invisible! The only thing I noticed was that I was slightly larger than the female rat.
Probably because I gained some size after evolving.
I decided to go see the Rat Queen to see if I could obtain her transformation.
Since I was now a rat, the map showed that all the rats had become my friends, with a green section added to their blue markers.
When I approached the Queen, she looked at me in surprise.
"Skeaque? (Is everything alright, my child?)"
"Skea. (Yes, everything is fine.)"
"Skeaqueee? (Then what are you doing here?)"
"Skeeee! (I'm evolving!)"
As I said that, my body shifted, transforming into the Rat Queen before her.
And maybe because she wasn't very smart, she actually believed I was evolving!
"Skeeeeeaaaquee!! (Magnificent!)"
"Skeaaque. (You must find a king to give birth. Choose wisely, my child.)"
"Skeea. (Yes, mother!)"
After saying my lie, I turned away as if going off to war, while the Queen watched me with an invisible handkerchief, wiping away a small tear, as if her daughter would never return.
"Skeaqueee! (May you return home one day, my child!)"
"Skeaque, Skeaque, Skeaque!"
The Queen turned away, crying her heart out, running as if she would never see me again…
"Skea... (Farewell, mother...)"
I ran straight through the group of rats, who looked at me with reverence. Some of the males even tried to flirt with me… in a rat-like way!
I even attacked some explorers using my Attack Reinforcement skill, strengthening my teeth or claws with groups of rats.
And I discovered a passive ability!
When I strengthen myself, my enhanced body becomes more resistant!
A good thing.
[You now have additional upgrades since the dungeon is officially ranked F.]
I had to stop my fun attacking explorers and return to safety.
Once I was secure, I checked my notifications.
[You can now modify the dungeon in depth, whether by adding floors or creating larger rooms than before, but it will be more expensive.]
[You can now add effects to the dungeon.]
I checked, and as expected, it was just like the game Dungeon Master.
The first upgrade is self-explanatory, but the second is harder to grasp with just the word "effect."
Basically, I could now add effects to the dungeon, such as shifting the walls of a section every hour or creating an endless hallway by fusing monsters with the dungeon.
In short, this allows me to add new features to the dungeon besides just monsters, traps, or treasure chests.
And I already know what upgrade I want to get, but it's expensive. If I wait and buy extra floors first, the cost will only increase.
As for what I plan to buy?
Hehehe~
You'll find out later!