With only 8 HP left it had taken a minute or two for all Adam's injuries to heal. He checked to see his stats as low as he had ever seen them. The magical and skill attacks had left him with barely any MP and a single SP. He was maintaining his stamina regen at zero to allow him to get to the main cavern where the Great Slimes had originated but with only 15 stamina and less than five minutes until midnight he knew he was pushing things to the limit. He had no idea when the creatures respawned after midnight but did not want to risk being anywhere near the Great Slimes when he collapsed.

With two minutes until midnight he had completed the exploration quest and found a tunnel that wound deeper into the mountain leading to Mine, Lower area. He turned immediately on receiving the notification and led the vermite back out of the cavern trying not to watch the timer too closely. He gave a breath of relief as they left the cavern; then midnight hit and his worst fear about the respawning occurred as the group of three slimes materialised in the tunnel around them.

Adam hit one with everything he could muster. His spear split to pierce the nearest slime in two places simultaneously and metal mana immediately pulled ore out of the wounds made. He watched as the slime was overwhelmed by the aggressive attack and managed to dodge the acid spilling from its wounds before turning. As he turned his stamina hit zero and he passed out.

They had continued to reach for the power once it had been discovered. Mainly because the pressure from the system to pick how to develop their strength had been building steadily since they had first gained awareness. Now it was a constant buzzing that allowed Person to think of nothing else. They had to build strength, but build on what? What were they good at? The core held the answer so they kept reaching to draw its power to examine.

Adam had resisted as he fought the Great Slimes; then had resisted as he explored deeper into the mine despite the dangers this held. Person could not understand how he was ignoring the power he had gained. How he was ignoring the screaming demanding that he build his strength. Then there had been a moment of blissful quiet. Person watched as Adam killed the slime in the tunnel and then as he passed out the noise from the system stopped.

It stopped, and then started once more as Person woke to find the vermite fighting the two remaining slimes and Adam unconscious on the floor. Person heeded the command to build their strength but this time things were different; there was no defence as they pulled the power towards them to explore. As they pulled Person felt the power grow inside them and with this came a realisation. Adam would not use this the right way; he would not become strong enough. It was Person the system was speaking to; not Adam. Adam had wasted the opportunity given, he had wasted resources at every step and only Person could rectify this.

Person had shared Adam's thoughts and memories. They had the same knowledge until now and it was Person who had the system guidance. Why share this with Adam and go back to the subservient life they had experienced until now? They could sense the system needing to progress. The need for another step before they could fully understand it.

Person greedily kept pulling all the power from the core along the thread leading to them. Here they found the small centre that represented them and poured in the power to build their own core. They drained the power from around Adam sucking along the link until they could take no more. The system helped show them how, how to hold the power and form their own core. The power surging towards them abruptly stopped despite a pool remaining within Adam. A barrier held them back from drawing more; a shell of protection around Adam's core that Person could not penetrate.

Pulling harder and harder did nothing to draw further power from Adam. Instead the thread that linked them became stretched and taut until suddenly with a pop, it broke. A burst of power, golden to their senses rushed around Person before condensing what remained into a new shiny centre that was theirs alone. Dangling from this new core was the remains of the cord; a thin thread no longer connected to Adam. With no way to take any further power, Person turned their attention to what they had already stolen.

Person: Person - Level 1 ?? Attribute Value Characteristic Value Health 40/40 Vitality 4 Health Regen 2/hour Recovery 4 Stamina 10/10 Vigor 1 Stamina Regen 1/hour Fortitude 1 Mana 4/4 Intellect 4 Mana Regen 0.8/hour Clarity 4 Skill Points (SP) 2/2 Perseverence 2 Skill Point Regen 0.1/hour Willpower 1 Unspent Exp 1002

Again the question surfaced in Person's mind. What are we good at? They examined the information once more trying to analyse the information.

- - - - "System reboot complete. Welcome to World M-142. Would you like assistance in analysis?"

Looking around, the vermite had completely ignored them so far, and continued to do so despite the voice that had just clearly spoken from Person's vicinity. Person recognised the pressure and intellect behind the voice, identifying it as the system. Well that and the fact it had introduced itself as well. Secure in the knowledge that the vermite did not seem able to hear the conversation Person turned their attention to the system.

"Yes." They said and felt like their personal space was being invaded for a moment before the system replied.

"Analysis complete. New lifeform detected. No previous skills obtained. Basic core with no alignment or affinities. Limited past experience on which to base strength/weakness analysis. Self-awareness and independence newly acquired. Unique traits identified: adaptability and phase shift. Please select from the following options for further guidance: Gods; Worlds; Progression Pathway; Developmental Advice. Alternatively please ask a question and I will endeavour to give the appropriate information."

Person still felt the influence of the system trying to pressure them into building strength. However, information was a type of power too. It would not take long to check through the options and they could always interrupt if needed to speed things along. "Gods." They said to start.

".... Apologies, I am experiencing an error. No God based privileges detected. I am unable to give you further information." Came the reply from the system.

Pointless thought Person; why offer the option if no information could be given. They moved on down the list. "Worlds."

"You are currently on world M-142. Dominant race is human. I have additional information about history; geography; climate and government if required. Anticipated duration until Merging is another 16 days. "

A bit more useful; the system could tell them more when needed. Only one part that didn't make sense right now. "What is Merging?" Asked Person.

"M-142 is a partial world created by the Gods. It has not generated the necessary mana and mass to be maintained and therefore will be merged with other similar worlds to become self-sustaining."

More details that didn't help in the current situation; it could be explained further later if needed. Person needed to know what they should be doing now. "Progression pathway." Said Person, moving on.

"...Anomaly detected, recalculating... Unfortunately you do not possess God Power or a direct link to the Gods. Recommended first step is therefore to obtain God Power."

"How?" Asked Person after absorbing this information.

"A moment please, analysing options." Replied the system. Person watched as the vermite were now moving Adam away up the tunnel. They took the torch with them leaving Person waiting in the darkness. "Analysis complete. Recommend building strength to leave initial area where additional options will become available. Alternative recommendation is to consume God Power from an original source and overwhelm it."

Adam thought Person; they would need to somehow crack open the core. That or just leave. They would need to build strength either way as they could not attack Adam further in this state.

"What is the initial area? How long until we can leave it?" Asked Person.

"This area is designed to allow me to guide and develop your strengths and adapt to this world. The initial area is bound by physical structures that require determination or guidance to cross. At the boundary of this area is a protective ward set in place by ...error... Apologies, it seems further explanation is restricted by the lack of God Power. Suffice to say, in leaving this area additional options will become available."

Person considered attacking Adam now to see what would happen but knew that this would be futile. They had gained independence and first needed to gain strength. "Developmental advice." They asked the last category.

"Advice based on current goals alongside previous analysis of strengths and traits. Recommend development of adaptive corporeal form by direct assault on creature cores using phase shift abilities. Core requirement is Willpower; secondary requirements Recovery and Vigor. Caution, developmental advice contains warnings."

"What warnings?" Asked Person.

"Warning: consumption of cores will have additional effects; effects unknown. Warning: Unique lifeform type; no standard development pathways exists. Warning: non-standard development advised; may cause undesired effects."

Not that useful; the second warning meant the third one would always come up too. No way Person could get rid of the second one either. After considering the options one last question remained for Person. "Do you have any alternative options?"

"... Development advice with highest probability of success has been given. No additional development pathways exist for current lifeform detected. Alternative option is to not follow advice." Came the blunt reply.

There was a period of deliberation. Person could not say how long it lasted but the outcome was all that really mattered.

"Ok, we will follow development advice."