Tensura: The Odyssey

Chapter 1 : Awakening and Skills

Drip... drip...

Where... where am I? What happened-

Suddenly, everything came rushing back. Tamura, Sawatari... the glint of a knife... and then pain... so much pain.

Ah, right... I got stabbed, didn't I? He tried to open his eyes, but it was too dark-no, that wasn't it. He couldn't feel his eyes.

Now that I think about it... He realized he couldn't hear anything, or feel his limbs either. Panic began to set in, fear clawing at him. Am I in some kind of vegetative state? Shit! I don't want to be stuck in a coma, trapped without any of my motor or sensory functions. Damn it! I need to see where the hell am I-

<<Received. Activating Unique Skill [Insight]>>

Without warning, a deluge of information slammed into his mind. Every detail of his surroundings was laid bare before him-the texture of the air, the composition of the rocks, the faintest tremors in the ground. It was as though he could perceive everything at once, every molecule, every vibration, all of it hitting him at once. It was too much.

Ahhh! Stop! It's too much-I can't handle this!

His mind reeled, on the brink of collapse. The barrage of stimuli was like a tidal wave, threatening to drown his consciousness. The sheer overload of information caused his newly adapting senses to spiral out of control.

<< Confirmed. Disabling Unique Skill [Insight]. >>

The overwhelming flood of information abruptly ceased. Silence returned, leaving him panting mentally, as if he had just narrowly escaped a crushing force.

What... what was that? he wondered, his mind racing. Did something just respond to me? But how...?

And that surge of information... He shuddered at the memory, the sheer volume of it threatening to make him dizzy all over again. It was like I knew everything about this place in an instant... but that's impossible, right?

He lay there, paralyzed by uncertainty and fear, trying to make sense of the voice in his head. Am I going crazy? he thought, desperately trying to rationalize.

What is actually going on ?

<< Received. Individual [Unnamed] has currently died and been reincarnated as a slime >>

Wait- what died ? Reincarnation ? As a slime ?

No wait- You don't say such things so casually! That is just rude.

His fear and panic now replaced by ashtonishment at the sheer absurdity of that statement. Who the hell are you ??!

<< Received. It is the effect of Unique Skill [Great Sage] acquired during the process of Reincarnation >>

Skills? Great Sage? The heck you talking about?

<< Answer. Skills are abilities granted by the 『Voice of the World』 based upon an individual's actions and desires under certain conditions. They can be classified into three different categories:

Basic Skills : Fundamental abilities that are accessible to most individuals. They can be easily acquired if certain conditions are met.

Extra Skills : Skills that are more rare and powerful than their basic counterpart. They are more specialised in their uses and applications.

Unique Skills : Skills that are 'Unique' to each individual and a crystallisation of their desires and beliefs. Hence, it is impossible for two same Unique Skills to exist at the same time. They can be extremely powerful and some even may have sub-abilities, making them very versatile, though the strength of each unique skill varies from user to user.