Slime#47 glanced at the receptionist. She was beautiful—almost human—except for the two horns on her head, and her perfectly proportioned body.

"It's too luxurious…" he muttered, glancing around the room.

'It's quite big too… a special VIP one,' he mused, noticing there were no other demons besides them.

"Your name?" the receptionist asked in a delicate voice.

"Nameless…" Slime#47 sighed. 'They'll start again.'

"Nameless?"

----

After a few minutes…

The receptionist pulled a gray sparring uniform from thin air and handed it to the young slime.

It took quite a while to convince her he was truly nameless.

He even showed his status panel as proof.

When she inquired about the future, he simply said, "Knowing the future is bad."

Nobi nodded from the side, and only then did the receptionist let it go.

----

In the training basement room…

"You're looking good," Nobi said cheerfully, glancing at Slime#47.

The sparring suit had shrunk to match his size.

A multicolored slime wearing a gray suit created an extremely cute—adorable—scene.

"Let's start with the skill," Young Slime said.

Then he narrowed his eyes. "I don't have much time… only one month."

"Only one month?" Nobi yelled in shock, mouth hanging open. "One month for the Trial of Combat… are you kidding me?"

Slime#47 nodded. "Yes."

"It seems the first skill you need isn't body-shaping." Nobi narrowed her eyes. "It's the clone technique."

"Clone…" Young Slime whispered.

An image of a certain shinobi appeared in his mind—someone who created thousands of clones for training.

'Yes. This would increase my speed by a huge margin. Even mastery training could accelerate,' he thought, grinning.

He was ready to spend a few days on it.

Nobi nodded hurriedly and clapped her hands. "Yes, that's it. Let's decide what type of clone skill you want first."

"Types?" Young Slime tilted his body.

"Yes." Nobi nodded. "What kind of clone skill do you like?"

Before he could respond, she added, "Elemental clones—like Fire Clone, Water Clone—or a pure normal clone that gets stronger as you level it up."

Before she could finish, Slime#47 said, "I want a skill that lets me produce thousands of clones."

'I never expected a day would come when thousands of me would fight together,' he thought, eyes narrowing with joy.

"Thousands?" Nobi repeated, unsure she had heard correctly.

"Yes. Thousands," Slime#47 confirmed.

Nobi shook her head. "There isn't a skill that lets you create thousands of clones at the beginning."

"But you can level it up in the future and achieve your dream—thousands, or even more."

Young Slime nodded instantly, grinning. "Yes. That's it."

"The skill is called Phantom, and it's a pure mana skill, no element," Nobi said, then explained the process and the requirements.

After a few moments, Slime#47 gathered mana and said, "Phantom."

A light-blue magic rune flared on his palm as he channeled mana.

An image of Slime#47 formed—and then manifested into a real being beside him.

"Hello?" the clone said, grinning, waving at the main body.

"Whoa!" the main body exclaimed, staring at his copy.

'I can't control its actions… and I can't share its senses,' he realized.

[ Ding! You have acquired the skill Phantom (Common) Lv.1! ]

[—Skills—

—Phantom {Common} Lv.1—

—Proficiency: 1/100

—Create a clone of yourself.

—Your energy will be divided between the main body and the clone in an exact ratio.

—Can only form one clone {Level limit}.

—The clone disappears if it runs out of energy.

—The clone is an individual being with its own thoughts and memories—though it is you, sharing the same personality and feelings.

—After the clone disappears, its memories and experiences will be sent back to you. ]

"So that's how it is…" Young Slime understood as he read the panel.

"Only after it disappears will I receive the details. Fine." He steadied himself. "For now, just level up—and be safe."

He dispersed the clone and created it again. "Phantom."

Since it was only Lv.1, he had to disperse it every time to recreate it.

One clone wasn't enough for fast training. He needed to level it up further.

[ Ding! Phantom proficiency +1! ]

[ Ding! Phantom proficiency +1! ]

He kept training as Nobi watched over him.

Make a clone. Disperse it. Repeat.

After one day…

[ Ding! Skill Phantom leveled up to Lv.3! ]

"Good," Young Slime grinned, sensing a clear difference.

"The function is the same… except now I can make two more clones," he muttered.

Grr!… grr…!

His body growled, reminding him of biological needs.

Embarrassed, he rubbed his body with his tiny palms.

"Here. It'll speed up your training," Nobi said, pulling out a purple liquid.

"It's an elixir for sustenance," Young Slime uttered.

"Yes, it is." Nobi grinned and handed him the flask.

He gulped it down in one shot.

"Thank you very much," he said, wobbling in delight.

"That's fine," she replied.

Then she pulled out another potion and handed it over.

"Elixir of Hyper Thoughts," he muttered.

"Drinking it allows you to skip sleep," Nobi said cheerfully. "Meaning you can train more." She spread her arms wide.

'No time-wasting. The days are passing. I need to get the body-shaping skill faster,' Young Slime thought.

He sped up even more. He didn't want to die again—and if he failed the trial, he wouldn't get stronger.

He narrowed his eyes and focused back on leveling Phantom.

---

Three days later…

[ Ding! Phantom {Common} has leveled up to Lv.Max! ]

"I need to evolve it… But it isn't a plus skill," Young Slime muttered, feeling doubtful, since Nobi had stated that he could eventually form thousands of clones with that skill.

'Currently, I can form only five clones,' he thought.

He turned to Nobi—Whoosh! Whoosh!—as she practiced with her sword, then asked, "I reached Lv.Max. How do I evolve it?"

Nobi turned to him and replied, "Usually, plus skills evolve on their own."

She sheathed her sword and rested it against her hip.

"Normal skills have to break their limitations to evolve."

"Limitations?" Young Slime asked and mused. 'Lv.Max is the limit… but how do I break it?'

End of the chapter…

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