Degenerate

Degenerate (変質者) or Shapeshifter (変質者) is a Unique Skill originally owned by Shizu. After consuming her, Rimuru inherited it from her. This Unique Skill was sacrificed so the Unique Skill Wise One could meet the requirements to evolve into the Ultimate Skill, Raphael.

Effects
Degenerate has two effects:


 * Synthesis (統合): Transform two differing targets into a single object. Can be used to chain the effects of several skills together, earning the user new skills with significantly less effort than would otherwise be required.
 * Separation (分離): Releases the properties inherent to the target and seperates them. Examples include but are not limited to; depriving a person of skill/s, with the exception of ones bound to their soul, and removing foreign objects-such as entities attempting possession or poisons-from the targets body.

Trivia

 * The kanji for Degenerate is usually a slang word used to describe Perverts or extreme Eccentrics which is where the pun comes from where Rimuru teases the spirit of Shizue inside him at a comedic panel of the manga at the end of Chapter 12. However, the meaning of "Degenerate" relating to this skill's abilities is a more literal interpretation of the meaning of the kanji: the word "henshitsu-sha" is formed of the kanji 変 (hen), meaning weird, and 者 (sha), meaning person, but 質 (shitsu) could mean nature (e.g. "the sadistic nature of the demon") or qualities (e.g. kindness is a fine quality in a human). From the former, the meaning of "pervert" is derived, however, using the latter this could be interpreted as something like "a person with strange qualities"; from this interpretation a meaning akin to "shapeshifter" is derived.