Slime Evolution

Chapter 389 - Infiltration

The sun of Mythlorien filtered through the leaves of the great headquarters tree as two winged shapes crossed Astralis’s defensive perimeter.

Pip and Elle were returning from another practical training session, both wrapped in Lohan’s Living Armor, which pulsed in a bluish, protective tone over the fairies’ small bodies, making the two little ones look like powerful knights.

Pip flew in frantic circles around Elle, his now serrated, gleaming butterfly wings vibrating with an infectious energy.

”Pip smashed the beasts! Pip felt the power of the stars running through Pip’s veins!” the little warrior exclaimed, thrilled with his new power, and with the chance to go out hunting like every other Astralis member, just as he’d always dreamed.

Beside him, Elle flew in a more restrained way. Even though Lohan’s gelatin armor had absorbed every impact, the tremble in the little fairy’s hands gave away the fright of the recent combat. Still, she kept her chin up and her wings steady, refusing to show weakness.

”Elle felt scared, but Elle didn’t back down. Elle doesn’t want to be dead weight to Elle’s brother or to the new family Elle loves so much... so Elle has to stay strong, come on Elle, you can do it.” she murmured, forcing a smile as she landed gently on the wooden pedestal.

Lohan, in his main crystalline blue slime form, slid out of the meeting room at the top of the tree, accompanied by Alice, Dylan, and Skye.

He vibrated his membrane with satisfaction seeing the siblings safe, sensing through the Collective Synaptic Sync that the fragments of his biomass had done their job well.

”Welcome back, little scouts.” Lohan said, his mental voice loaded with genuine pride. ”Pip, your aerial control keeps getting better and better. And Elle... I felt your dedication and I’m very proud of you. Even with the fear you feel during combat, even not liking blood or taking lives, you still stand firm and keep going for the sake of your brother and Astralis, that fills me with pride. I can sense you’re already around Level 6.”

Elle’s eyes went wide, her cheeks flushing with pure happiness under the guild’s praise.

”Halon said Elle is Level 6? Is Elle getting strong?” she asked, her voice rising an octave with excitement.

”Very strong, Elle.” Lohan confirmed. ”I know Pip’s Level 11 still feels far away, but with your dedication, it’ll just be a matter of time before you evolve too. Tonight, we’ll do another biomass injection session to speed up that process and refine your power.”

Elle gave a little jump of joy, feeling, for the first time, like a vital part of the guild, not just a flower picker.

When the siblings headed out to rest in the inner gardens, Lohan chose not to withdraw the clones wrapped around them, preferring to leave the fragments of his consciousness protecting the little fairies, who in turn would serve as the base’s guardians while the main group operated outside.

With the little ones gone, the mood in the hall immediately turned more serious. Lohan turned to the group leaders, recapping the next phase of the operation.

”Alright, everyone. It’s time to put the investigation plan against the Broken Suns into action.” Lohan declared, as his slime mass pulsed. ”As we discussed, I’ll distribute clones of mine to everyone involved in this mission. We’ll use both Lisa’s mental connection for those nearby, and the game chat to act as a real time intelligence network for those farther away.”

Lohan looked over the selected group. Besides Alice and Dylan’s elite veterans, he made a point of including Silver Lotus’s vanguard.

”Skye, Devon, and Jenny... you’re coming with us. I know that, qualitatively, your level is lower than that of Alice’s group members, but the potential and versatility you all bring will be extremely useful during an infiltration, or in the worst case, in a desperate confrontation if there’s an emergency.”

Skye nodded, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, while Devon adjusted his staff, both aware this was their chance to prove the Lower Zone’s worth within Astralis.

”The plan is simple, but risky.” Lohan continued. ”We’re going to infiltrate the perimeter of their headquarters in Thalendor. I’ll use my clones to slip through the cracks in the walls and ventilation systems, acting as invisible listening devices staying camouflaged. We need to hear and understand their plan with the city’s nobles before we can take any action. We have to make sure the Broken Suns really deserve to be attacked before we begin the feast of destruction that Archmage Yrneha and the two of us suspect they’re preparing.”

Alice punched her palm, her eyes gleaming with the adrenaline of the espionage they were about to carry out in person. Even though she had a team dedicated to espionage and investigation just like Dylan, she’d never personally gotten involved in something like this, considering her identity and how risky it would be, but since death in Elysium wasn’t real death, she was extremely excited to take part in this for the first time, to the point that her blood was practically boiling with excitement at this point.

Dylan just straightened his shirt collar to disguise the excitement he was also feeling, just like Alice, at getting to be part of something like this.

And considering they were finally going to face humans, his bloodlust would finally find an outlet, ready to finally prove his worth.

Ever since he joined the guild, he hadn’t faced any group of humans, which kept him from showing off just how useful his race and class were, and now would be the perfect moment!

It wasn’t just those two who were excited; every member participating in the mission felt the same way, eager to prove their worth and help the guild advance further, knowing that the better they performed now, the greater their chances of becoming leaders and captains once new members joined!

At that moment, Astralis was fully motivated to carry out the mission successfully.

”If they really are causing the problems we suspect...” Lohan said, feeling the hunger vibrate in his core. ”We’ll show them that nobody snuffs out the shine of the stars in our own backyard. Get ready... the infiltration starts now.”