Moments later, Ray arrived at the forest and one thing stood out.
The forest was quiet.
A little too quiet if one thought about it, but Ray moved carefully through the underbrush.
His right hand was currently resting on the worn hilt of his late father's sword and Ray tightened his grip on it.
The sword wasn't anything special. It even looked like it had been crafted using rusted iron because it had primarily been used as a tool for cutting dense vegetation in the back bush and scaring off wild animals.
However, it was the only makeshift weapon he had at the moment, at least, until he had enough funds to buy a proper weapon for himself.
Ray swiftly activated his <
However, there were no threats nearby, which was a good thing, because he still needed time to think before carrying out his next course of action.
Ray looked around and noticed a fallen log, then he sat on it before pulling up his status window to take a look at the details of his Absorption skill one more time.
<
Current maximum number of Active skill slots: 10 (increases with level). Current maximum number of Passive skill slots: unlimited.
Looking at the ten slots of active skills he could absorb, Ray couldn't help but smile because it was certainly more than he had expected to have.
Also, the number of slots would only continue to increase as the level of the absorption skill increased.
In other words, he just needed enemies that were strong enough to be worth absorbing.
And so, with that out of the way, Ray moved deeper into the forest as his boots made almost no sound against the ground.
Five years of experience had taught him how to move quietly within a forest as dangerous as this.
Though his body hadn't remembered it yet, his mind was more than enough to help him get accustomed to the harsh training he had undergone during his previous life.
Activating his <
It was not too small and it was moving slowly, so Ray crept forward and ducked behind a tree to get a better look at the monster.
It was a regular forest slime that left a trail of glistening mucus behind it as it streamed across the ground.
The forest slime was roughly around the size of a large dog and it had a green translucent color.
Its core was a small crystal located at the center of its body and glowing softly within it.
Though it was the weakest monster anyone could ever find in the forest, it was still at level 2 and that meant it was stronger than Ray who was still at level 1.
In his last life, Ray had struggled with these little monsters.
At the time, it had felt awkward for him to stand in front of a monster with a rusted sword in hand.
He had been unsure of making the first step and had been afraid of getting hurt as well.
It had taken him half an hour to kill his first slime and in the end, he had gotten covered in acidic goo.
But this time, things were different and Ray was determined to make it so.
He swiftly stepped out from behind the tree and walked towards the slime.
The slime sensed him immediately and its gelatinous body rippled and surged forward really fast for a slime of its size.
But Ray didn't panic. Instead, he watched it approach him before measuring the distance between them.
Three meters.
Two meters.
One meter.
Now, the slime was really close to him, and the slime lunged at him, but Ray sidestepped it.
The slime was unable to change directions mid-attack, however, Ray pivoted instantly and drove his sword into the slime's core.
The crystal shattered and the slime collapsed into a puddle of harmless goo.
Ray wiped his blade on the nearby grass and a notification popped up in front of him.
[Congratulations on your first monster defeat.]
[Defeated monster: Forest Slime (Level 2)].
[Experience gained: 5 XP.]
[No skills available for absorption (Target was too weak).]
Ray frowned upon reading the words displayed before him.
Yes, he had expected this, but it still stung to see that he hadn't obtained any skill from the dead slime.
Right before the slime had launched its attack, Ray had been slowly observing the monster to see what it was capable of doing.
If it had fired an acidic goo at him, then it would have meant that the slime was strong enough to have a skill that could be absorbed, but since it hadn't done so, it meant the slime wasn't strong enough to use such a skill.
But from what Ray could remember, only a few level 2 forest slimes with a high level of experience in combat were capable of shooting acidic goo from their bodies.
However, it was extremely hard to find such slimes.
Still, Ray had hoped that the forest slime would be experienced in combat, but since it wasn't, it meant that he had to find a stronger slime or a stronger prey.
Making up his mind about his next course of action, Ray had no choice but to close the window being displayed in front of him and continue going deeper into the forest.