“Whew, I ate so much good food. Still tired, though.”

After enjoying the festival to the fullest, Claire returned to her room with the slime.

During the festival, not only the adventurers but the villagers as well had gathered around the slime. Having already experienced the elderly swarming it for massages, Claire quietly stepped aside, planning to retrieve it once the villagers’ and adventurers’ excitement died down.

But in their heightened excitement, they refused to let Claire go either.

“We’re alive because Snowflake Fist brought Bouncy here!”

“Throw her in the air! Snowflake Fist gets a victory toss too!”

“Uh, I’m fi—ah.”

“Come to think of it, what was Snowflake Fist’s name?”

“I heard it was Claire?”

“All right! Then three cheers for Claire!”

“Hip, hip, hooray for Claire!”

“Ugh.”

In the end, Claire was tossed into the air over and over along with the slime. Though she found it a little bothersome...

‘Thank goodness. This time, I protected them.’

The sight of the lively village they had defended from the orc horde put her heart at ease.

Of course, being tossed into the air and dragged from place to place was an unfamiliar experience, and she couldn’t help growing more and more exhausted.

‘That was more tiring than fighting.’

Eventually, after being dragged around endlessly, Claire snatched up the slime while people were busy petting it and announced,

“I’m tired! I’m going to bed!”

The revelers were disappointed, but they couldn’t force Claire or the slime to stay after the fierce battle they had fought that day.

Once she reached her room, Claire practically collapsed onto the bed and set the slime beside her.

“Bouncy, massage my shoulders a little.”

‘Massage!’

POP!

The slime extended its tentacles, placed them on both her shoulders, and began an intensive massage, vibrating vigorously.

“Uhhh, oh, oh, oh, aaah~ That feels... good~.”

As the massage eased her fatigue, Claire began to grow drowsy.

ZZZZ...

Still receiving her massage, she drifted off to dreamland.

‘Claire’s asleep!’

After confirming that she was asleep, the slime withdrew its tentacles.

At that very moment...

[Squishy Queen]▶My kin! At last, it is time to check! Hurry and see what slimes you can evolve into!

The Slime Queen, who had been waiting for this moment, urged the slime to check the descriptions.

And she wasn’t the only one who had been waiting.

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Yeah, read them carefully and pick the one that’s better at slamming.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Wouldn’t it be even better to evolve into something cuter, if possible?

[Free Spirit]▶Squishy, hurry and copy them into chat. I’ll take a good look too, yep.

Along with the stream’s regular viewers, Smartass was waiting for the slime’s explanations. He had finished sorting out his various affairs and could now concentrate on the stream.

▷Okay!

As though addressing the system, the slime wished to hear detailed explanations of its evolution options.

A translucent window appeared, visible only to the slime.

[Huge Slime: You will gain an even larger body. Your increased size and weight will allow you to easily crush smaller opponents, and you can grow even larger to absorb opponents bigger than yourself. You will acquire the skill: Amplification. Required coins: 1000 coins]

[Deadly Slime: Your body will become highly poisonous. Your poison cannot be easily neutralized, and if you scatter it, living creatures nearby will find it difficult to survive. You will acquire the skill: Deadly Poison Production. Required coins: 1250 coins]

[Multi-Tentacle Slime: You will be able to extend multiple tentacles from your body. You can restrain enemies with countless tentacles, transform your extended tentacles, and adjust their hardness to deliver powerful blows. You will acquire the skill: Tentacle Enhancement. Required coins: 1200 coins]

[Medical Slime: You will gain a body capable of neutralizing any poison. In addition, you can scatter a liquid that invigorates living creatures, making all living creatures nearby healthier. You will acquire the skill: Vitality Water Production. Required coins: 1250 coins]

[Gluttony Slime: You will gain a body capable of devouring anything. Even if the target is larger than you, you will be able to devour it whole. You will acquire the skill: Gluttony. Required coins: 1500 coins]

[Quake Slime: You will gain a body capable of producing powerful vibrations. By trembling with all your strength, you can shatter the ground and send powerful vibrations throughout the surrounding area. You will acquire the skill: Great Vibration. Required coins: 1150 coins.]

[Mighty Slime: You will be able to hold countless possibilities within you. While retaining your current form, you will be able to use skills you could not otherwise possess. You will acquire the skill: Vessel of All Abilities. Required coins: 3000 coins.]

‘So many!’

Even looking at them again, seven options felt like a lot.

Just as it had when the evolution notification window first appeared, the slime copied the descriptions it saw into chat, word for word.

▶Ugh, talk about flooding the chat.

▶Shut up. You’re getting in the way of reading.

▶Don’t wanna.

▶Don’t wanna.

▶Don’t wanna.

▶Don’t wanna.

▶[Anonymous 9866 has been kicked out.]

[Free Spirit]▶Handled it.

▶Lmaoooooo

▶Talk back and out you go lol

Once the briefly disruptive viewer had been kicked out, the viewers began calmly reading the descriptions the slime had posted.

While the other viewers started with the first description, the Slime Queen naturally read the very last one, for Mighty Slime.

‘Mighty Slime. It can hold countless possibilities within it? I have never heard of this Vessel of All Abilities skill, either.’

No matter how many times she reread it, Mighty Slime was an evolved form even the Slime Queen had never heard of in her life.

Yet the instincts of the Slime Queen, a highest-ranking slime, were telling her that this evolution option was the best fit for the slime right now. Above all...

‘It is the option that will let it reach Slime King fastest.’

The Slime King.

Another highest-ranking slime, distinct from the Slime Queen.

She knew of its existence but had never met one herself. She was looking forward to the possibility that the slime currently streaming could become just such a being.

No, it didn’t matter if it became a Queen rather than a King. What she looked forward to was the very existence of another being equal in rank to herself.

In any case, sensing that Mighty Slime was the optimal choice for reaching the highest rank, the Slime Queen typed in chat.

[Squishy Queen]▶My kin! Mighty Slime! Mighty Slime looks best!

▶What, you already read them all?

[Noblesse Fire]

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Wouldn’t Deadly Slime be good too? It says the poison gets stronger!

▶Wouldn’t everything die if it sprayed poison around?

▶Sure would make hunting easier.

▶Oh, time to wipe out the hoomans?

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Oh, that would make Squishy sad, so that won’t do. We can’t have Squishy getting sad!

▶Look how fast she took that back lol.

▶So which one’s good?

The viewers began offering their opinions one after another.

▶Wouldn’t Gluttony be better for eating streams?

▶Lmao, Multi-Tentacle could probably give several massages at once.

[Noblesse Fire]▶How much bigger does “even larger” mean?

[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶Medical Slime. How intriguing.

▶What happens if it becomes a Quake Slime and gives massages?

▶Probably smashes the hoomans to pieces?

▶Oooh lol

As the viewers offered their opinions, Smartass asked the slime a question.

[Free Spirit]▶Squishy, which one do you want to become most?

Even before Smartass asked that question, the slime had been considering the options on its own.

Which was best?

What should it become?

Having gained all sorts of experiences since its first evolution, the slime imagined itself transformed according to each description and considered what its everyday life would be like in that form.

That immediately gave it two options to rule out: Huge Slime and Deadly Slime.

The moment it became a Huge Slime, its body would be too large, causing problems.

As for Deadly Slime, it was because of the advice Smartass had given it when it chose its first evolution. Having a body that was itself highly poisonous could make people avoid it.

That left Medical Slime, Multi-Tentacle Slime, Quake Slime, Gluttony Slime, and Mighty Slime.

Making medicine that improved people’s health sounded good. So did extending multiple tentacles to give several massages at once.

It couldn’t quite picture enormous vibrations, but that was a separate skill from Vibration, meaning it could control it itself.

Being able to eat large things easily sounded good too.

But it still didn’t really understand what holding countless possibilities meant.

‘Hmmmmmm~.’

The slime kept agonizing over what to choose.

That was when it noticed the Slime Queen’s messages, repeatedly calling for Mighty Slime.

[Squishy Queen]▶My kin! If you truly cannot decide, Mighty Slime is the best choice!

▷Why?

[Squishy Queen]▶Because you can do anything!

▷I can do anything?

[Squishy Queen]▶Yes! Was it not written in the description? While keeping your current form! It says you can acquire whatever skills you desire! Surely you can even acquire skills unavailable to you if you choose another option!

▶? Can’t you already buy skills with coins in the skill shop?

[Squishy Queen]▶I mean skills you cannot buy even in the skill shop!

▶What? Isn’t that broken as hell?

▶Is that why it costs the most coins?

The viewers understood what the Slime Queen meant.

There were skills that even the skill shop did not sell. For example, some skills could not be used because of physical limitations. A bone dragon, nothing but bones, being unable to use Fire Breath was one such case.

Likewise, evolving into a Quake Slime would not allow the slime to buy Deadly Poison Production in the skill shop, because anything other than a Deadly Slime could not withstand the deadly poison it produced.

If the Slime Queen’s understanding was correct, Mighty Slime was what made that impossibility possible.

‘Broken as hell! Good!’

Although it didn’t understand everything, constantly watching the chat had taught the slime the meanings of a few words the viewers used.

Chief among them was “broken as hell,” which meant “really good.”

Hearing that helped, but what appealed to the slime most was that it could retain its current form.

The slime was satisfied with how it looked now. It liked being able to bounce up onto people’s heads or perch on their shoulders.

And so...

▷I’ve decided!

[Squishy Queen]▶Yes, what have you chosen, my kin?

▷I want to be a Mighty Slime!

[Squishy Queen]▶Yes!!! An excellent choice!

[Free Spirit]▶Yep, seems pretty good.

▶But can it even evolve? How many coins does Squishy have right now?

▶Beating those orcs probably gave it enough?

‘I want to evolve!’

The system responded to the slime’s desire.

[Which form would you like to evolve into?]

‘Mighty Slime!’

[You have selected Mighty Slime.]

[3000 coins will be consumed.]

[Evolution will now begin.]

WHUMMM!

‘Wooooow...!’

The slime’s entire body was enveloped in light.