The light slowly faded, and the slime’s evolution came to an end.

'Amazing!'

This time, it could feel its body changing more clearly than during its first evolution. The sensation swept through the slime, far more intense than before, as though its very existence were ascending to a higher level.

But it wasn’t frightened. It knew this was part of evolving. Knowing that it was becoming even more impressive only filled it with greater anticipation.

Once the light had faded completely, the slime could feel that its body was brimming with far more energy, though its size hadn’t changed. It was stronger. Its body was even more elastic.

Only the slime itself could feel those changes, however.

▶What? It just glowed and that’s it?

▶Hasn’t changed at all, tho?

To the viewers, it could only look as though nothing had changed.

[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶This appears similar to its last evolution. It has evolved, but its outward appearance seems unchanged.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶It’s so cute as it is that I like this too~.

[Noblesse Fire]▶Aw, that’s pretty anticlimactic. Squishy! Did anything change or not?!

▷I’m stronger! I can move faster!

▶Lmaoooo

▶Well, obviously lol

▶But is that all?

▶What’s that Vessel of All Abilities skill?

'Vessel of All Abilities!'

Seeing the chat, the slime immediately checked Vessel of All Abilities.

[Vessel of All Abilities: Allows you to use every skill you learn of.]

The description was brief. First, the slime copied what it saw into the chat.

▷That’s what it says!

▶You can use every skill you learn of?

[Squishy Queen]▶Just as I predicted!

▶So is it broken as hell?

[Free Spirit]▶Squishy, has anything been added to your skill shop?

'The skill shop!'

The slime opened the skill shop at once.

Alongside its existing skills, the shop now listed the skills the slime had seen in its evolution options window. There was one difference, though.

[Amplification: 800 coins]

[Deadly Poison Production: 900 coins]

[Tentacle Enhancement: 850 coins]

[Vitality Water Production: 900 coins]

[Gluttony: 1200 coins]

[Great Vibration: 1100 coins]

The number of coins required was incomparably greater than before. In addition, there were skills the slime hadn’t even seen in its evolution window.

[Holy Healing: 20000 coins]

[Summon Golem: 15000 coins]

[Summon Dumbbell: 10000 coins]

[Lightning Thorn: 9000 coins]

[Mana Wall: 9500 coins]

[Telepathy: 30000 coins]

[Warp: 150000 coins]

'So many!'

The slime was astonished by the items farther down the list. Not only were there so many, but the number of coins they required was on an entirely different level.

▷There are so many!

▶What? Got loads of new skills?

▶Just how broken was that thing?

▶Damn it! Squishy! Even your evolved form is the strongest?!

▶You get a freaking awesome evolution for a measly 3000 coins~ Not fair!!!

[Noblesse Fire]▶I’ve been like this since birth without spending any coins, though?

▶Stooooop flexing your species!!!

[Slam First Ask Later]▶So what did you get?

▷These!

The slime posted the skill shop’s entire list in a long stream.

▶Aaaaargh! Description spaaaam!

▶Why are there so many?

▶Oh, the prices are about the same as my skill shop now?

▶What? It’s only evolved twice and it’s already like that?

▶Was Squishy already so strong it skipped some evolution stages?

[Squishy Queen]▶You are correct. Normally, the options offered this time would only appear after several more evolutions!

▶Wait, that was actually right?

The first skills it showed them didn’t draw particularly surprised reactions from the chat. But the moment the next list of skills appeared, the chat erupted.

▶?????

▶What the fuck is that?

▶Skills like that existed too?

▶Are those coin costs for real lmaoooo

▶What’s that last one lmaoooo

Skills whose prices exceeded 9000 coins even at the cheapest end. Even by the viewers’ standards, they were jaw-dropping. Because they were so expensive!

As if a whole string of skills they hadn’t even known existed, apart from Telepathy, weren’t enough, the prices were absurdly high too.

On average, skills available in the skill shop cost a few hundred coins. The most expensive skills in other monsters’ shops might cost thousands, but usually there were only one or two priced at around four or five thousand.

Consequently, monsters that had grown reasonably strong and acquired all the skills they needed had plenty of coins sitting unused. With nowhere in particular to spend them, they would wonder what to do with them, then amuse themselves by donating to monsters whose streams they enjoyed.

But no monster had ever had a whole string of skills costing at least 9000 coins appear the way they had for the slime.

[Squishy Queen]▶What are all those bizarre skills?! Wait, could those be...?! Smartass! Aren’t those the skills you used?!!!

She wasn’t sure about the other skills, but she could at least recognize Summon Golem as Smartass’s magic. After all, he frequently used it when sparring with the slime.

Meanwhile, Smartass, whom she had called out, was too shocked to even type properly.

'You can buy magic from the skill shop? And that one is...!'

It wasn’t only magic that had appeared in the slime’s skill shop. Holy Healing. Even the holy arts used by priests were listed there.

Bewildered as he was, Smartass quickly set his mind to work, searching for what the listed skills had in common. He reached one conclusion.

'They’ve all been performed in front of Squishy.'

He had used his spells during their sparring sessions. Amelia had demonstrated Holy Healing in front of the slime many times.

Even so, something still didn’t make sense. Healing wasn’t the only thing Amelia had performed in front of the slime. She had also used the offensive holy art, Holy Sword.

And another thing.

'Why is there a skill called Summon Dumbbell?'

Smartass had made those dumbbells by manipulating earth magic. There was no spell specifically dedicated to making dumbbells.

'What rules could possibly...?'

[Squishy Queen]▶Smartass!!! Will you explain what is going on?!!!

He wanted to think it over further, but decided to deal with the Slime Queen’s insistent messages first.

[Free Spirit]▶Dunno?

▶Lmaooooo

[Squishy Queen]▶Not knowing is no excuse! Explain it properly!

[Free Spirit]▶I’m seriously shocked too. Besides, those aren’t originally skills. They’re spells.

[Squishy Queen]▶That is irrelevant right now! Hurry up and explain what you know!

▶Already decided what answer you want, huh? lmaooo

▶Honestly, who cares about Smartass’s circumstances?

▶For real lol Hurry up and explain~ We wanna know~ Explain. Please.

'I’m just as curious myself...'

For now, Smartass posted his deductions in the chat.

[Free Spirit]▶I think those are probably things Squishy has personally seen.

[Free Spirit]▶For starters, most of those are things I used in front of Squishy.

[Free Spirit]▶Squishy, do you have any idea why those skills are there?

'Any idea?'

At Smartass’s question, the slime thought carefully. What did those incredibly expensive skills have in common? If there was anything...

▷Yes!

▶Wait, you actually do?

▶Whatwhatwhatwhat?

▷I wanted to use them!

▶?

▶??

▷They’re all things I wanted to use!

▷I was jealous!

▷Like Amelia! I wanted to heal people!

▷I wanted to summon golems like Smartass! I wanted to shoot sparkly things! Whoosh, whoosh!

▷I wanted to go all sorts of places!

'So that’s what it was.'

The slime’s messages gave Smartass a clue. He was able to formulate the most plausible hypothesis.

Vessel of All Abilities. This skill fulfilled the conditions necessary for the slime to use the skills it wanted.

By its nature, the skill shop never offered skills a monster couldn’t use, whether because of its physical characteristics or anything else. But thanks to Vessel of All Abilities, the slime could now learn Deadly Poison Production, a skill normally available only to a Deadly Slime.

What if Vessel of All Abilities possessed such absurd potential that it even let a slime learn abilities normally impossible for its species? That would explain why Smartass’s spells and Amelia’s Holy Healing appeared in the skill shop. It would even explain the outrageous coin requirements.

'It must be because these are skills it can only just manage to learn thanks to Vessel of All Abilities.'

From watching various streams and analyzing monsters’ complaints, Smartass had found that skills requiring large numbers of coins were either powerful or only barely usable by the monster in question.

He could also identify why those other skills cost so much more than Deadly Poison Production, even though all were abilities the slime ordinarily couldn’t obtain. Deadly Poison Production was still a skill a slime could potentially possess. The others, however, were skills used by entirely different beings. It made sense that the number of coins required to buy them would rise exponentially.

'And it seems a skill only appears in the shop if the slime wants it.'

He didn’t know the precise reason for that criterion. After all, the system was still a concept full of mysteries.

[Free Spirit]▶I’ve thought it over, and this is probably how it works.

Smartass laid out his reasoning in the chat in terms the other monsters could easily understand.

▶What? So if Squishy sees that old fart breathing fire and wants to do it too, something like Fire Breath shows up in the skill shop?

[Free Spirit]▶Probably, yeah.

▶Ooh lol

[Squishy Queen]▶Just what I would expect of my kin! Behold! This is my kin!

▶So what? It can’t even use those skills right now.

[Squishy Queen]▶Do not spoil the moment!!!

▶Lmaooooo

▶But what good are they in the shop if you can’t buy them?

▶True lmaoooo

▶Ahahaha I can’t buy the skills I want either~.

▶How much grinding will Squishy have to do to buy those skills? lol

▶Probably die of old age while saving up?

After reading Smartass’s explanation, noticeably fewer monsters jeered at the slime or envied it. After all, it was no longer all that enviable!

The viewers already knew how difficult gathering coins became once you grew strong enough. And the slime was on the Dersia continent! In a place where monsters were weaker on average than those on the Demon Continent, there was no way it could earn coins at a decent rate. That was especially true now that evolution had made it even stronger!

▶So Squishy has to work hard collecting coins now?

▶What? Is Squishy gonna do a reverse-scale reveal show now?

▶Since when do slimes have reverse scales?

▶Maybe they do?

▶Do they?

[Noblesse Fire]▶What do you mean, “Do they?”! Stop spouting nonsense!!!

▶Ahahaha the old fart’s serious about reverse scales, and now he’s pissed lmaooo

▶Fact is, Squishy’s gotta bust its ass earning coins now~.

Once they understood the situation, some viewers instead began posting messages that mocked the slime’s predicament.

'Hmm, should I take this opportunity to ban a few of them?'

Just as Smartass was wondering whether it was time to fulfill his role as moderator, Fresia—his newest source of worry—spoke to him.

“Ventus? Have you finished what you needed to do?”