Slime Evolution

Chapter 406 - Interview

Dylan straightened the data sheets in front of him, keeping the serious posture of a corporate veteran, Alice sitting beside him, watched Dan and Sam with a sharp gaze, while the imposing white fox stayed comfortably lying in the wooden basin, with no intention of getting involved.

Dylan looked directly at the hooded warlock and at the spirit silhouette flickering beside him, clearing his throat lightly before beginning the questioning directly.

”We’re going to start by confirming your records,” Dylan declared, his voice coming out clear and well articulated in the silent hall. ”In game, you’re known as Dan and Sam. And in the real world, your names are also Dan and Sam. Is that correct?”

Dan nodded silently, keeping his skeletal hands resting on his black wooden staff. ”Yes, that’s correct, sir.”

”Excellent,” Dylan continued, tucking away a scroll with a quick movement of his fingers. ”The first phase of the investigation into your real world background has already been fully completed by my security team. We already know where you two came from, your financial situation, and the character you’ve shown in the Lower Zone. For Astralis Requiem, the real world matters for the physical safety of our members, but what really interests us now is your capability here inside Elysium. So, this interview will be focused purely on your in game performance.”

They were surprised to hear their real world identities had already been fully investigated, but considering this meant they’d already been approved based on those results, that information brought more relief than concern at this point.

Alice leaned forward, resting her elbows on the living wood table. ”Exactly, guys! We want to know who the warriors behind these epic bases are.”

Dylan nodded to Alice and fixed his eyes on the warlock. ”First question, Dan. How did you two hunt so efficiently in volcanic areas playing as just a duo? Even though we don’t have access to volcanoes, based on the information we’ve gathered, swamps and volcanoes are extremely dangerous places for players without a solid front line.”

Dan looked at his brother for a split second before answering, feeling Sam’s mental resonance calm him.

”We relied entirely on our biological and magical synergy. I used my spells to deteriorate the monsters’ natural armor and vitality, making them weaker and slower. While the monster tried to reach my weakened body, Sam used his epic spirit possession ability to invade the minds of smaller beasts, forcing them to attack their own allies or leaving them paralyzed under the suffering of the mental invasion.”

”It was a constant war of attrition. We didn’t deal massive bursts of instant damage, but no monster could withstand the physical wear we put on them, and the ones that could forced me to spend a bit more Mana casting some of the few more powerful spells I know.”

Dylan listened closely, recording it in his notes. ”A combat style focused on crowd control and passive weakening. Very smart for a duo of independent players. And tell me, have you two ever joined a guild in the past? Or at least tried joining some temporary hunting party near your spawn point or in the starter villages?”

That question cast a visible shadow over Dan’s face, and Sam’s ghostly mist flickered unsteadily in the room.

”We tried...” Dan admitted, his voice coming out loaded with a bitterness he tried his hardest to suppress in front of the leaders. ”We went to the meeting points of three big organizations, including a guild under the Hex Group and the Linxue Guild. But none of the attempts worked out... we were rejected at every single one before we could even show off our combat strength.”

”And why did these rejections happen?” Dylan asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer to that question.

”Because of how we look,” Sam replied directly into everyone’s mind, his spirit voice echoing softly and melancholically. ”The representative of the last guild we visited called us freaks out of a horror movie. He said my ghostly body and my brother’s decrepit face would scare off investors and ruin their guild’s clean, professional image.”

”Considering the popularity guilds are building up in the real world, even Epic Bases like ours weren’t attractive enough to secure a spot in guilds like that, since dozens of other members with Epic Bases were already signing up. They only wanted players with attractive appearances to use in real world marketing campaigns, completely ignoring that we had two epic rarity bases ready to fight.”

Alice rolled her eyes hearing that, knowing just how stupid a decision like that was, especially for anyone who understood this world’s true nature, and how important that was for the real world. ”And I can already picture the shallow fools of the Upper Zone doing something like that... they think Elysium is a fashion show like any other Upper Zone public event... those people’s stupidity is going to be their own ruin one day.”

”And how was that experience for you two?” Dylan asked, keeping his professional tone in check so as not to let personal judgment interfere with the questioning. ”Did you two get used to only playing as a duo because of that? And more importantly, if you two are accepted into Astralis Requiem, are you genuinely willing to follow strict orders in combat? Our organization prioritizes tactical discipline above all else, since we have the best strategist in all of Elysium leading our frontlines.”

Hearing Dylan’s proud declaration, Dan and Sam glanced subtly at the imposing white two tailed fox that continued lying so regally and coolly in the wooden basin.

They took in the creature’s elegance and the mystical shine her fur gave off under the light of the headquarters tree’s stained glass, and to the two brothers, who didn’t know the guild’s inner secrets, the fox increasingly seemed to represent the legendary Halon himself.

They imagined a player capable of clearing the first dungeon and pulling off the world’s first global PK truly had to be a formidable strategist, and that the way that fox carried herself grew closer and closer to the image they had of someone as incredible as Halon.

No one in the meeting hall noticed the confusion forming in the two rookies’ minds. Lisa simply kept her cold posture, ignoring the fact that the brothers stared at her with a reverent respect bordering on awe.