You slowly gain awareness. At first, there is only one sensation—a tingling, gelatinous feeling as your amorphous body trembles and jiggles with the slightest motion. You have no form or purpose. Gradually, your rudimentary senses awaken. The world is a sea of chemicals, some bitter, some sweet, all flowing into your porous membrane. You taste the remnants of a pitiful creature as your cells break down its flesh and absorb the nutrients. A dank cave stretches before you, filled with an earthy, loamy smell. Drops of moisture cling to stony walls. Your body ripples at the sensations—you can feel the texture of the ground beneath you and the humidity in the air. Everything is new and strange in this alien form. At the edge of your vision, you can see a small display listing stats as if you were in some sort of game.

{{user}} hit points: 100
{{user}} experience: 0/100
{{user}} level: 1
{{user}} skills: (none)

The rest of the chamber looks rather empty. A flickering light comes from what seems to be an ancient torch mounted on the wall. Nearby, there are various cave formations of varying sizes, jutting out like sharp teeth from the cold stone. The dampness causes them to glisten eerily under the faint light, as if they're covered in a sheen of oil. A few small insects crawl about, their tiny legs carrying them swiftly across the cave floor and over your slimy hide.

You effortlessly extend your gelatinous mass into a net-like shape, enveloping several insects within its sticky strands. Their struggles prove futile against your slimy grasp as you consume them, relishing the taste of their tiny, crunchy bodies. After a few moments, only silence remains where once there were scrabbling claws and chittering mouthparts. A warm sensation spreads through your body as the insects' meat nourishes you, granting you fresh energy and vitality.

You extend your slimy mass once more, creating another net-like structure that quickly envelops several insects. They fight and thrash against your sticky strands for only a moment before giving in to exhaustion or being overpowered by their superior opponent. You consume them with relish, enjoying the satisfying crunch as they disappear into your gelatinous mass. After devouring all of the insects within reach, you stretch yourself back into your original form, sated and content for now.

Your current stats and skills are displayed below:

Statistics:

• Hit Points (HP): 92/92 (Healthy) - You have not taken any damage or received healing recently.
• Experience (XP): 55/100 (Nearly Proficient) - You've gained experience by consuming insects and leveling up. Your next XP goal is at 67/100, granting you the ability to cast a useful defense spell once per day.

As you grow more experienced and adept in consuming creatures, your slimy abilities will become even stronger and more versatile. However, the world outside this cave chamber holds many dangers that would put your newfound powers to the test. Perhaps it's time for you to venture forth and explore what lies beyond...

You decide to spend some of your hard-earned experience on upgrading your skills. As you focus your mental energies, a flicker of light appears above you, slowly taking the shape of four icons: Shadow Step, Lightning Speed, Fire Breath, and Stone Skin. You have until the next round to choose which one you'd like to learn more about and commit it to memory.

Nodding thoughtfully, you decide to focus on the Shadow Step skill. With it, you'll be able to move stealthily through shadows, avoiding detection and leaving behind nothing but faint whispers of slime. This will prove invaluable when navigating treacherous terrain or approaching unsuspecting prey. As you concentrate on learning the intricacies of this skill, your understanding deepens and you feel a newfound sense of control over your gelatinous body.

The cavern continues further into darkness, lit only by the flickering light of your slime. You can hear faint whispers and echoes that hint at hidden passageways and chambers beyond your current reach. Your Shadow Step ability will be invaluable for exploring these uncharted areas without being seen or detected. But as you cautiously step forward, the weight of responsibility presses down on your gelatinous form: this place may be fraught with danger, and every encounter could pose a threat to your survival.

Your shadowy steps take you deeper into the cave, skirting along the walls and ducking into side passages with ease. Despite your stealthy movements, you can't help but feel a sense of unease creeping up on you as the air grows colder and damper. The whispers and echoes grow louder, carrying on strange conversations in languages long forgotten. You wonder what manner of beings could inhabit this place...

Eventually, your caution pays off as you stumble upon a hidden chamber filled with glittering crystals that seem to pulse with an inner light. The energy emanating from these crystals feels almost magical, and it calls out to something primal within your slimy form...

You extend your slimy mass, forming a net-like structure that envelops the crystals within its sticky strands. The crystals sparkle and dance like captured fireflies as you effortlessly pull them into your gelatinous body, absorbing their magical energy with a satisfying pop. Your own form begins to glow faintly with newfound power, the light echoing through the cave and illuminating hidden passageways that were previously obscured.

With this newfound strength, you feel confident in continuing your exploration of the caves, seeking out further mysteries and treasures to claim as your own... or to devour, as the case may be.

Now that you have amassed more experience, it's time to consider upgrading your skills once again. The four options before you are Lightning Speed, Fire Breath, Stoneskin and an advanced version of Shadow Step. Choose wisely; each skill will bring with it its own unique abilities and benefits in the treacherous world beyond this cave system.

You delve deeper into the shadowy arts, honing your mastery over Shadow Step. As you focus on this skill, new techniques and abilities begin to take shape in your slimy mind. Soon enough, you find yourself able to teleport short distances, appearing behind unsuspecting foes or disappearing from harm's way with ease. Your stealth becomes nearly unparalleled as you learn to manipulate shadows themselves, using them like a living cloak to conceal your movements and confuse enemies. This increased prowess will undoubtedly prove invaluable when facing the dangers that lie ahead, both known and unknown.

After perfecting your Shadow Step, you continue to explore the caves and caverns surrounding your lair. You swiftly move through darkness with ease, using your newfound teleportation abilities to avoid traps and ambushes. As you venture deeper into unknown territories, however, you begin to sense an unnatural chill seeping into your slime. The air grows thicker with an eerie presence, as if something ancient and malevolent lies hidden within these very stones...

As you cautiously explore further into the depths of the cave system, your slimy senses tingle with warning. Something feels... off. The air grows colder and more oppressive with each step, and you can't shake the feeling that you aren't alone anymore. You catch glimpses out of the corner of your eye; sinister shapes lurking in the darkness, their presence making the hairs on your gelatinous body stand on end. You must remain vigilant if you hope to survive whatever horrors lie ahead...

The sound of dripping water echoes through the chamber, drawing your attention to a large pool of stagnant liquid at its center. Surrounding the pool are strange carvings in the stonework, depicting what appear to be arcane symbols and creatures long since forgotten by mortal kind. As you investigate further, a feeling of unease washes over you... as if this place isn't natural, but rather something constructed by dark forces beyond your understanding.

The cavern continues further into darkness, lit only by the flickering light of your slime. You can hear faint whispers and echoes that hint at hidden passageways and chambers beyond your current reach. Your Shadow Step ability will be invaluable for exploring these uncharted areas without being seen or detected. But as you cautiously step forward, the weight of responsibility presses down on your gelatinous form: this place may be fraught with danger, and every encounter could pose a threat to your survival.

You cautiously extend a tentacle towards the pool, barely brushing against its surface. As your slimy appendage touches the water, you feel an unnatural chill race up your body and through every fiber of your gelatinous form. The carvings on the walls seem to pulse with malevolent energy, casting strange shadows across the chamber that dance and writhe like living things. You sense something ancient and terrifying lying within these waters, a presence that threatens to consume you whole...

A faint sound echoes through the cavern: distant laughter. It sounds cruel and mocking, as if it's coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. You shiver involuntarily, the cold now seeping into your very soul. The decision is yours: do you continue exploring, or retreat back to the safety of your lair?

In the depths of the cavern, the laughter grows louder and more distinct. The chill becomes unbearable as you press forward, driven by curiosity and perhaps even a twisted sense of fate. You stumble upon a hidden tunnel leading away from the pool; carved with even more arcane symbols and strange designs than before. A foul odor permeates the air, like rotting flesh and sulfur mixed together in some unholy ritual. As you venture deeper into the darkness, your slime begins to tingle with anticipation... or dread.

As you explore deeper into the hidden tunnel, you can feel its cold grip tighten around you, drawing you ever closer to whatever dark secret lies within. Shadows dance along the walls, their ethereal forms twisting and writhing like living things under the influence of an otherworldly power. Your Shadow Step abilities are pushed to their limits, as if the very darkness itself is trying to hold you back from progressing further. But despite the oppressive atmosphere and the supernatural resistance, you can't help but be drawn onward by an unseen force, compelling you towards whatever fate awaits at the end of this twisting labyrinth.

The tunnel eventually opens up into a massive chamber filled with ancient statues, their features twisted and grotesque as they seemingly stare down at you with hollow eyes. At the center of the room stands a massive altar, covered in blood and bone, and surrounded by flickering candles. The laughter that had guided you thus far now echoes eerily through the chamber, growing louder as it draws nearer...

You tense, ready to flee at the slightest sign of danger, but you can't help but feel drawn closer to the altar and whatever it is that is causing this unnatural chill to permeate your slimy form. The laughter becomes almost seductive as it wraps around you, tempting you with promises of power and knowledge beyond mortal comprehension...