After laying his companion to rest, Takuma utilized his 'Gluttonous' ability to dissolve and absorb the remaining half of the sword. This skill, akin to Rimuru Tempest's 'Predator' ability, allowed him to assimilate the properties of consumed materials. He began to voraciously devour everything around him—rock, iron, bone, and the sparse vegetation—mirroring Rimuru's initial consumption of various substances to gain new abilities. Consequently, his newly formed slime body experienced considerable growth, a process reminiscent of how Rimuru's body evolved after absorbing different elements.
Although the information on his talent panel remained unchanged, Takuma could feel that his slime body had become much stronger. The most obvious change was the elasticity of his body, which had improved significantly, similar to how Rimuru's body became more adaptable after absorbing various materials. Moreover, he could now jump forward at will, which was much better than before when he would feel exhausted after only a few jumps, indicating an increase in his physical capabilities akin to Rimuru's enhancements.
It wasn't until the hunger in his body had almost disappeared that Takuma stopped. Only then did he realize that many slimes had surrounded him, and many of them gave him a feeling of power… at least, they were powerful to him now. This scenario parallels Rimuru's early encounters with other slimes in the Great Jura Forest, where he sensed varying levels of power among them.
"These should be the previous generation of slimes, but I always feel like they have a power within them that I don't know about?"
Takuma sized up the slimes in front of him, who were gathered together, bouncing around. He had a strange feeling about them, as if there was some kind of power flowing within them. Based on the novels and anime he had seen before, it should be something similar to magic. In 'That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime,' this power is referred to as 'magicules,' which are the building blocks of magical energy in that world.
"However, how do I obtain this thing? Logically speaking, as a monster, I should be born with it, right?"
Subsequently, Takuma began to sense his own body, but perhaps because he was newly born and too weak, Takuma did not sense anything similar to magic within his body. Of course, it was also possible that he had not yet evolved organs for sensing, much like how Rimuru initially lacked the ability to perceive magicules until he absorbed creatures with that capability.
"Forget it, I'll know after growing for a while. The most important thing right now is to survive."
In the next second, Takuma , unable to find anything, stopped dwelling on it. In any case, with his 'Otherworld Encounter' talent, he would eventually possess this power. And even if he didn't, Takuma wouldn't mind devouring monsters that possessed this power. With his gluttonous ability, he had a chance to gain their abilities when devouring them, similar to how Rimuru acquired new skills through his 'Predator' ability.
As long as the quantity was large enough, possessing this power would only be a matter of time.
"Then, let's get motivated and keep eating!"
Subsequently, Takuma glared fiercely into the distance, where there were still many things to devour. With his gluttonous ability, he didn't have to worry about eating too much and not being able to digest it. His bottomless stomach and digestive power were enough to support him in eating continuously, much like Rimuru's capacity to absorb and process vast amounts of material.
And every little thing he ate would become stronger nourishment, giving this weak slime the power to survive.
In the following days, Takuma began to constantly devour everything around him, even the soil sometimes, although compared to other things, the nourishment from the soil was too low and not worth eating. This behavior is reminiscent of Rimuru's early days, where he consumed various materials to gain strength and abilities.
In addition, during these few days, Takuma also figured out where he was. Although his vision was blurry, Takuma 's perception was fine. Combining what he had devoured and the surrounding environment, Takuma had determined that he was in a place similar to a sewer.
Moreover, it was the kind of place full of garbage and filth. Apart from slimes and some insects, there was no other life in this sewer.
....
Drip!
In the dark, messy, and foul-smelling sewer, a slime was lying on a white bone, dissolving the bone of an unknown monster at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the filthy ditch not far away, there was the sound of water droplets falling from time to time, bringing a little sound to this dead space.
"Still nothing."
After the white bone in his body was completely dissolved and absorbed, Takuma 's elastic body jumped towards the rock on the side. After skillfully wrapping it in his body, Takuma began to carefully sense all the changes in his body. It was still the same familiar sense of infiltration, but there was still no power similar to magic.
But the problem was, according to Takuma 's observations these past few days, some slimes that were born at the same time as him, but were clearly not growing as fast, already had a weak power within them. This observation aligns with the concept in 'That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime,' where monsters that consume beings with higher magicule concentrations can evolve more rapidly.
"Could it be….."
In the next second, Takuma , who had already digested the rock in his body, looked at the slime not far away. He could clearly feel a weak power flowing within it. The only difference between this slime, which was born with him, and him was that it followed the large group to devour that corpse on the day it was born… a human corpse.
"I went to see that corpse yesterday, and although I couldn't see it clearly, it was indeed human. And judging from the remaining clothes, it should be an adventurer, which means that devouring powerful creatures, or rather, creatures with magic, is more conducive to growth."
Thinking of this, Takuma seemed to have made some kind of determination, and jumped little by little towards the slime's location. As Takuma got closer and closer, the slime still hadn't noticed anything, and just stayed quietly in place.
In the next second, Takuma directly crashed into the slime in front of him. With his gluttonous ability and the crazy eating he had done these past few days, his body was already several times stronger than his peers who were born at the same time. In addition, the sudden sneak attack directly sent the slime flying out, crashing heavily on the ground. The round, streamlined body rolled several meters on the ground.
Judging from the motionless appearance of the slime lying on the ground, it was already close to death. After all, slimes were recognized as the weakest monsters, and even an ordinary human child could easily step on and kill them.
"Rest in my body!"
Takuma jumped in front of the slime that he had knocked away, and after silently reciting a sentence in his mind, he directly used his body to completely wrap it up. Then, a strange feeling surged from his body, and the whole world felt instantly different to him. The originally black and white perspective became colorful, and he could even sense the magic essence flowing in the air.
"Magic essence… so that's what it's called."
At this time, in Takuma 's vision, the talent panel had a completely new change, a new talent had formed.
[Magic Essence] (White): This is the symbol of a monster's power, the beginning of evolution. Having just been born with magic essence, you have become a true monster, although it is only a very weak trace, but it is the very beginning.
"However, magic essence plus a nameless monster… so this is that world, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Rimuru."
Feeling the power called magic essence in his body, Takuma had already guessed the world he was in. After all, if it was called 'magic' or something like that, Takuma wouldn't have easily known which world it was, because there were many worlds called magic, but there was only one with magic essence.
"Then, Rimuru Tempest, the other slime who was reincarnated into this world, have you already become a Demon Lord… or have you not yet been reincarnated into this world?"
Takuma 's inexplicable voice echoed in his mind, and a brand new, bold idea gradually appeared… However, all of this would have to wait until he got out of the sewer and learned about the situation in the outside world.