Character Select: Round Two

I checked the "Second Character" option from the system menu.

More precisely, it said "Add New Character", so I could tell there would be a third and beyond too.

"By the way, SP can be shared between all characters. More precisely, you can transfer Gin-chan's leftover SP to Pen-chan — that kinda thing."

"Huh. So you could save SP on your second character and pour it all into your first one."

"Yep yep. Or the opposite — use the SP you earned on your first character to give your second a head start."

Either way, it meant more usable SP.

An SP-purchased Home could probably be shared regardless of which character buys it, so for my second character I should go with a crafter who has a Home…

… But since we have Penpen, I'm starting to feel like I don't really need to get one myself.

That said, that would make me dependent on Penpen, so if she retires — or even just loses her character — I'd be screwed.

"What kind of second character are you going for, Alto?"

"I'll decide after looking at the scenarios first… Whoa."

"What? What's wrong?"

"The scenarios are brutal as expected. Wait, aren't these even harsher than the first character ones?"

"Tria-chan being a sacrifice was pretty harsh, you know?"

Even harsher than that? Scary stuff.

"Looks like there are more non-human characters too. Beastfolk, vampires… oh, is this one a monster girl?"

"Let's see, I'll take a look too… Oho."

The second character scenario selection screen popped up with a little chime.

"Beast of Madness", "Broken Steed", "Defiled Shrine Maiden", "Rightful Criminal", "Extreme Faith"… Let me check out the first scenario for now.

 

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"Beast of Madness"

With no family to speak of, her only companion was a White Wolf — a tamed monster who had been with her since childhood.

When asked to lend her wolf — practically family to her — she refused, but she couldn't keep refusing forever and eventually gave in.

Just three days. She told herself she could endure just three days.

But after those three days passed, only bones came back. "The fur and meat sold for a decent price," they said.

… "Your share," they said, tossing her a single silver coin.

I'll get revenge, no matter what it takes—

 

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"Oof. Poor Tamer girl…"

"Alrighty, I'm going with this 'Defiled Shrine Maiden' one. See ya then～"

With that, Alto tapped a button on the menu and went still… Ah. Looks like she switched to auto-mode Alto-chan. You can tell because her expression goes completely blank.

And from my menu, "Defiled Shrine Maiden" vanished with "Selected by another player".

Ah, "Beast of Madness" too. Seems there are other players picking their second characters besides us. I was interested in the Tamer one, though.

Guess I'll check the Wiki later to see how things are going.

Two additional entries appeared: "Lab Animal" and "Under the Sunlight"… Hmm, I can somewhat guess the character's abilities from the scenario, but man, this is a tough choice.

"Penpen, was there something that made you pick Gin-chan?"

"I wanted to bring divine punishment on that scumbag guy. Plus Pen-chan is a crafter type, so I wanted a combat type too!"

I see. In that case, I do want to try getting a crafter type myself.

Let's see, this "Broken Steed" looks like some kind of race thing — a horse beastkin used as a racehorse.

"Rightful Criminal" is… yep, the criminal character type. The "I didn't do anything wrong, right?" kind of person.

This "Extreme Faith" seems like a follower of some crazy religion.

Alright, let me go with "Lab Animal". Looks like it's a Slime. Maybe I can do alchemy or something.

"I've decided. Alright, I'm heading to my second character."

"Take care～ Oh, by the way, second characters are probably locked to VR mode."

"Huh? Wait a sec, how does VR work as a Slime—"

[Transferring to your second character.]

And so, I found myself at the character creation screen.

Ah, so I'm controlling things from my Halo state for now. I see, I see. Anyway, about my second character. Here's the scenario.

 

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"Lab Animal"

Illegal experiments. Monster fusion. A Slime floating inside a flask.

Its former appearance and memories long since lost, it had become nothing more than a lab animal drifting in a giant flask.

Administered every kind of drug on the researcher's whim, injected with every kind of poison.

And at the end of its suffering, it was finally deemed useless.

Slated for disposal, a collapse agent was administered.

With its fading sense of self, the Slime wondered — what was it? At the very least, it wanted to know that.

 

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So yeah, it's a Slime girl.

Wait, was this originally a person? Or rather, maybe there's a person inside?

Despite having a round, jiggly body, there are options for arms, legs, and head in the character creation screen. The red, ball-shaped core is probably the brain.

… Hmm. But still. It is a Slime, right? I want to make a build that takes advantage of that.

So, for SP skills, first "Fission"… I'll use this to isolate the collapsing parts and nullify them.

Also, "Predation" seems really cheap to acquire, so I'll take that too. Skills that match your latent awakening talents are probably discounted.

I need "Poison Absorption" or I'll probably die instantly, so I'm taking that too. The scenario mentioned being injected with poison, after all. That's important.

Now, I want a Home too, but… I'm a bit short on SP.

I'll stick with just these skills for now and level up to get a Home later. I want alchemy too, but I can look for ways to learn that without using SP.

Now then, time to set the Slime girl's color.

A round, jiggly body like water yokan. The core is red — that can't be changed. Now, for the body color.

Classic blue. Hmm, pink looks good too. Green has that poisonous vibe. Yellow somehow looks strong. Skin-tone… would make it look like some blasphemous lump of flesh.

Oh, there's even a metal option. Gaming RGB colors… nah, having it flash constantly while playing would hurt my eyes.

After trying various options, I ended up going with transparent. Crystal clear like distilled water.

Seems more practical than having some random color. Transparent. Though my weakness is fully visible.

Hm? Movement test mode? What's that? They have something like this?

I don't think it was there for Tria-chan… I bet there were lots of requests from people who suddenly couldn't move because they had no legs or something.

But this is helpful. I really have no idea how controlling a Slime in VR works, so let me try it out. Worst case, I'd be stuck unable to move and just die.

And with that, the sensation of becoming a Slime in VR mode. Aah, my body feels all prickly. But not in a bad way. Like a low-frequency massage? That tingly sensation from weak electricity.

Maybe it's the effect of the poison and Poison Absorption? Nice, I was right to get that skill. It's pretty considerate of the game to let you know this stuff.

Now then… I can't speak since I don't have a mouth, but breathing seems unnecessary. Because I'm a Slime.

And it looks like I can extend my arms like tentacles. Hmm, I can stretch them with the same sensation as moving my hands. And they stretch quite a lot. This is kinda fun. It's like when you stretch out your arm, it really stretches — that strange sensation of being able to reach all the way to the wall.

I extended my arm, split the tip into five parts like fingers, and moved them like actual fingers.

I can do it. I can really do it! I can even play rock-paper-scissors!

This is, like, the kind of arm I'd want in real life. Super convenient. Apart from looking completely like a Slime.

Being transparent might make it hard to judge distance… Well, I'll get used to it.

Alright, let's start with this! Here we go!