Infinite Adaptation: Starting As A Level 1 Slime-Chapter 28: The Beast Forest

Lunaris looked at the skills he had gathered as he walked.

Hmm, most of these skills are just useless traits.

Still, they could have some use.

They arrived at the construction site where the rabbit beastmen were rapidly building houses. He noticed that their production had improved greatly compared to before.

Hmm... this could work.

Roselle approached him, her ears perking up.

"My Lord, you came. I was just about to go find you."

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

She gestured to a rabbit girl beside her, who stepped forward carrying a bucket. The girl bowed deeply, presenting it to him.

"This is what you asked for, my Lord," Roselle explained. "The crops they were planting before."

Lunaris picked up the crops and examined them. Carrots, radishes, and potatoes - at least, this world’s version of them.

He nodded. "Good."

He set the bucket down and turned to Roselle.

"Did you do what I asked?"

"I already have people tilling the land," she reported. "They’re planting whatever crops we have, though... we don’t have much."

"No matter. I’m going to figure something out."

He turned to Luna.

"Why don’t you join the others in planting? I want to have a talk with Roselle."

Luna nodded. "Okay!"

She bounded off toward the workers, leaving Lunaris alone with the princess.

Roselle tilted her head. "Was there something you wanted to talk about, my Lord?"

"That’s right."

He turned and started walking. "We can talk as we walk."

She fell into step beside him.

"What’s the situation like in the Beast Forest?" he asked.

Since I’m going to stay here, I need to understand the situation properly.

"Where we are located is the deepest part of the Beast Forest," Roselle began. "We’re surrounded by many dangerous and ferocious beasts."

"What kind of beasts?"

"The giant spider we hunted earlier is one example. There are many others of similar or greater strength lurking in the depths."

Lunaris considered this. "Are beasts considered abyss dwellers? At least they don’t seem similar to beastmen."

Roselle shook her head. "That’s not quite the case. In fact, no creature is strictly an abyss dweller. But that’s a whole other matter."

She continued, "The beasts here are actually similar to us. As they grow stronger, some lucky ones might awaken intelligence. And when they do, they could eventually learn how to transform and become beastmen."

He nodded slowly.

"Are there other intelligent tribes surrounding you? What’s the relationship between them?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"There are many," Roselle said. "But most of them... there’s no need to pay attention to. The main threats are the orc and goblin tribes in the east, and the elf tribe in the west."

"Are they hostile?"

"Not openly," she admitted. "However, both the goblin and orc tribes have shown interest in reclaiming this holy land closest to the Goddess."

She paused, her expression souring.

"As for the elves... I just don’t like them."

That’s not really an explanation...

He remembered her earlier words about them being traitors.

I suppose this makes sense...

"Are these other tribes similar in size to yours?" Lunaris asked.

Roselle shook her head firmly. "Far from it. While the scattered tribes are just like us - with only a few members - those three are on a completely different level. They have thousands of people."

"Thousands?"

He was surprised.

"Aren’t you in danger then? If the orc and goblin tribes are after this land..."

Roselle smiled.

"Well, not quite."

Her expression shifted into something unsettling.

"The only ones to watch out for are the Orc King, the Elf Saintess, and the Goblin Shaman. But there’s no way they’d be so dumb as to come after me."

An unhinged look crossed her face.

"Unless they seek mutual destruction."

Lunaris was shocked by her words.

Is she so confident she could handle them?

Also, isn’t she implying she can handle their thousands worth armies?

Well, it made sense now how she had maintained this area for so long with a dying tribe.

Suddenly, he realized something.

"Do you have a unique skill?"

Roselle’s smile widened.

"As expected of the Lord."

I knew it.

When he had used Appraisal on her before, and even Analytical Appraisal now, it was just like with others - he didn’t notice anything different. He had thought unique skills were quite rare since he hadn’t encountered any since waking up in this world.

But it seemed he had been mistaken.

Well, they were still rare. But the reason he couldn’t detect them was simply because he was a unique skill holder as well.

In short, his unique skill Mathematician wasn’t strong enough to analyze another skill on the same level.

That being said, it wasn’t exactly impossible. It just needed more time and processing power.

Since he had completely analyzed Luna, he knew for sure she didn’t have a unique skill. But this didn’t mean he could do the same with Roselle. At his current processing power, he would need to keep her in his storage for who knows how long to completely analyze her skill.

He could also try absorbing her but like...

Well, I suppose I could always chip away at it with Analytical Appraisal every time she’s within range.

"Though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised," Roselle said, knocking him out of his thoughts. "After all, you gave it to me."

He froze.

"Wait. What did you just say?"

"You gave me my unique skill, my Lord."

She placed a hand over her chest, her expression becoming reverent.

"My unique skill, Moon Saintess, allows me to borrow power from the Moon Goddess. I received this gift when I was young and about to die. That was when the moon saved me and granted me this power."

Her voice softened with devotion.

"That is why I have the most loyalty to the moon."

Lunaris observed her with a serious expression.

If the Eternal Moon is dead... then who is she getting the power from?

"My Lord?" Roselle asked, noticing his silence. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Ah, it’s nothing."

He quickly changed the subject.

"What about humans? Where do they live?"

Roselle tilted her head. "Is the Lord interested in those creatures?"

Creatures?

"A little."

Humans are generally quite smart. Depending on the development of humans in this world, I might find someone who has knowledge of my situation.

He paused.

But even if I did... then what?

"I don’t know much about humans," Roselle admitted. "We mostly stay in the forest and interact very little with outsiders. But humans live to the north of the Beast Forest. While it’s said that humans have some trade relations with the elves, they don’t come to these parts of the forest."

Lunaris stopped moving.

Roselle halted beside him.

"Then the ones observing us in secret," he said slowly, his gaze fixed on a seemingly empty stretch of trees, "must be quite far from home?"