Anyway, I already knew I was in deep trouble.

I had no idea where I was. It was pitch black, and I couldn’t see anything.

The only thing I could tell from touch was that the ground beneath me felt like grass.

I had to figure out my surroundings quickly, or I’d be done for in no time...

While I was groaning and thinking "hmm, hmm," I suddenly felt some kind of energy swirling around inside my body.

Not the squishy wriggling of my slime body — actual energy circulating within me. It felt strangely restless.

Since I’m a slime, I probably don’t have eyes, a nose, or a mouth... Wait, no nose is pretty standard, but some slimes do have eyes and mouths in light novels.

Either way, I couldn’t do anything without understanding my current situation. Visualizing things was important, but I needed to explore my surroundings no matter what.

As I desperately strained and groaned, my vision suddenly opened up, and I began receiving information about everything around me in a full 360-degree view.

It looked like I was in the middle of a forest. I was surrounded by thick, overgrown trees. There was a small clearing with grass right around me.

（Wait, why can I see the entire 360° panorama around me? Or rather... it’s not exactly "seeing," it’s more like "understanding" the area...?）

Even though I found it weird, I was happy to finally understand my surroundings, so I excitedly looked around in every direction.

（This is one hell of a deep forest... Where the hell am I...?）

I suddenly felt anxious and started frantically looking around. Turns out seeing can also make you anxious.

Rustle rustle

（W-What was that!? Where...?）

I turned my body toward the direction of the sound and focused. I’m not sure if I even have eyes right now.

As I concentrated, the vague surrounding image became clearer, like actual vision.

I stared hard——

Focusing even more, I spotted a small animal that looked like a fox or a weasel peeking out from behind the weeds at the base of a tree. After a moment, it disappeared into the grass.

（Phew～ That scared me. I was terrified it was going to be a goblin or an orc...）

Wait a second. Since I’m a slime now, are humans actually more dangerous than monsters?

I’m such a weak mob character that I can’t even tell which one is scarier!

Also, judging from the 360° overhead view, that weasel or fox was really far away. Does that mean my vision is like 6.0 or something?

Hmmmmm! This time I tried concentrating to pick up sounds.

As I circulated the energy inside my body and focused, I started to hear the sounds around me.

It came in as an image, but unlike the overhead view, the audio felt exactly like when I had ears as a human. No discomfort at all.

I could hear the rustling of leaves in the wind and birds chirping in the distance.

Besides sight and hearing, I also had touch. I could feel the grass under my... belly? I guess.

But other senses were still unclear. For now, I decided to test different sensations.

I slowly slithered toward the base of a nearby tree.

Then I pressed myself flat against the trunk.

The texture of the bark slowly spread through me.

（Mmmmm～）

I imagined wrapping my arms around the trunk and clung to it. Of course I don’t actually have arms.

I could feel my body stretching and wrapping around both sides of the trunk.

It must look pretty bizarre from the outside — a slime hugging a tree. Yeah... very surreal.

Anyway, I was completely surrounded by trees.

No doubt about it. I was deep in the forest. There was no other way to describe it.

（That’s right! Earlier I managed to get a 360° overhead image. If I focus harder, maybe I can see even farther!）

I immediately imagined circulating the energy inside my body again and tried to expand my awareness.

（Ooooh!）

It felt like my viewpoint was rising high into the sky, and I could see the vast forest spreading out below.

（Whoa, so this is how slimes perceive their surroundings～）

Of course, since slimes didn’t exist in my original world, this is all just my personal impression.

（Oh! I see something that looks like a village over there! That’s bad... it’s not that far from here.）

I spotted what appeared to be a settlement. At least it was proof that people lived here. I wanted to communicate with them, but I had no idea how. In the worst case, they might kill me instantly.

（Oh, there’s a spring on the other side! It’s really close!）

Right near my location, between the trees, I found a pool of water that looked like a spring.

（Huh...? Why is everything suddenly spinning... Wait, what...?）

And then, my consciousness was swallowed by darkness...