Akuma ventured for hours on end, looking forward to introducing himself to the king of the tunnel vipers as the new sovereign of the dark forest. He knew he had to amass enough power by the time he arrived. He was certain that the Abyss Viper would test his strength and try to find out whether he was worthy.
After a day of slithering over bolders and moss patches, he was still not at the Night gem tunnels. Crossing over a deep canyon via an old tree trunk, he encountered what would be his first opponent since he was given a name. Infront of a dark, slightly taller mass of obsidian goo, was a pair-horned rabbit. The rabbit, not acknowledging the goddess' mark on him, charged at Akuma, it's blood red needy eyes emotionless last it's horns pierced through Akuma. Luckily for Akuma, he had expanded in time, avoiding the fatal strike to his core.
Akuma's obsidian nature meant that he could, as a natural defense mechanism, harden his gelatinous body temporarily. Doing so, he broke the rabbit's horns, using the momentum to toss it into the canyon. With the broken horns still in his gelatinous body, Akuma initiates a cellular decomposition and assimilation, another natural feature of a slime.
He had successfully assimilated the rabbit's horns and could now morph into an Obsidian Pair-horned Rabbit. His new form had black silky fur, sharp claws and fangs as well as long ears and a sharp nose that made hearing and scent tracking easy.
With his horns, he could now penetrate his does with deadly accuracy, as well as leap to higher ground with his large footed hind legs.
Valkyrie congratulated Akuma and suggested they continue the journey, since they still had roughly half a day's worth of travelling to do.
Akuma, using his rabbit form, scaled a near by cliff to the peak of a hill, were he basked in the light of the sun.
As his journey progressed, he failed to see the pair of blood red eyes that followed him in the shadows. The creature followed in silence, making sure Akuma could not hear or see it.
Now in the valley of Lost Treasures, deep within the dark forest, Akuma had been running in his rabbit form for hours. He was excited about the possibilities of his Shifting slime form, when he suddenly reverted back into a slime. He wondered why his form had deactivated without his consent.
" Lord Akuma, you seem to be out of magical energy. Might I suggest finding some matter to consume and regain stamina. In the mean time, you can rest and refresh yourself".
Akuma agreed with Valkyrie, but could not find any obsidian ore to consume. He decided to search in a nearby cave, hoping to find some obsidian ore. Once in the cave, he saw on its walls, luminescent rocks that did not ressemble the dark sheen of obsidian. These looked far more precious. Their radiant cyan colour gave light to the cave, reflecting of the shiny gelatinous curves of Akuma's body.
Valkyrie identified the rocks as Sapphire gems. She urged Akuma to attempt consuming some, as they held a high magic every density. Akuma complied and began to expand his body. He hardened his form, yanking out a wedged in gem in the cave walls to consume.
The assimilation was much slower than when he had defeated the Pair-horned Rabbit. After the crystal dissociated into his body, a faint icey-blue aura oozed of Akuma.
He was mystified by this and asked for Valkyrie's opinion. Valkyrie however was not surprised.
Per the Arcanum Magical Records:
Sapphire gemstone: contains atmospheric mana ( magical energy) condensed after purification through natural factors. Extremely powerful when combined with highly reactive metals and can boost an awakener's power through direct absorption.
She congratulates Akuma for successfully acquiring a mana circuit.
Akuma was confused, wanting to know the significance of a mana circulation. Valkyrie obliged to his request.
" Well Lord Akuma, the difference between a monster or mythic creature's magic and that of humans is the use of a mana circulation.
A human injects their physical body with unknown mana to act as a catalyst for their mana. This causes their mana mass to breakdown whether instantly or gradually to start a flow through their bodies.
This path of flow is called a mana circuit and the process, mana circulation.
A normal magic beast will naturally tap into the unchanneled mana in the mana mass to aid in self defense or hunting it's prey.
You Lord Akuma, are one of few creatures of the night to unlock a circulation".
Akuma was now curious. If he understood what Valkyrie had explained, this meant he had the potential to cast magic spells, comparable to that of humans. Valkyrie announced that Akuma had gained a skill from his Merit System for learning how to create his own mana circuit.
The skill; " Mana Control ", would allow Akuma to form shapes from purified mana and control these objects with relative ease. However, with his current mana levels, Valkyrie advised that he consume more gemstones to widen his mana threshold. Akuma obliged and began an all he could eat buffet of Sapphire gems.
This new feet caught the eye of the creature that was following Akuma, and it still chose to keep it's distance.
Akuma was still growing, his slime existence given purpose by the Goddess of Night, Lilah. It was certain that his story was far from over. Would he face new enemies, would there be goes that he couldn't conquer? All these and more were yet to come in the tale of the first, Shape Shifting Dark Slime!!!!