Slime Evolution

Chapter 433 - First Impression

”Alright,” she said, straightening her posture and going back to her imposing, confident bearing as President. ”Let’s head down. I need to check on the new recruits’ situation in the entrance hall, and Dylan mentioned there’s a specific group waiting to meet you in person.”

”Meet me?” Lohan repeated, curious. ”I thought they already saw a clone of mine at the interview.”

”They did, but it’s not the same thing,” Lisa explained, starting to walk toward the main staircase. ”A clone doesn’t carry the same presence as your main body. You know that yourself.”

Lohan followed her down through the several floors of the headquarters tree, passing decorated hallways and rooms where a few guild members who were hanging around greeted them respectfully.

When they finally reached the wide entrance hall, on the ground floor of the tree, Lohan immediately noticed a small group gathered near the main door, clearly waiting for something, or someone.

There were about six or seven people, all wearing the standard ”basic” equipment Astralis Requiem handed out to newly approved members.

Considering the Guild kept 10% of the Players’ earnings, that money was mostly spent on equipment for the members, both as a show of how much the guild valued them and to genuinely make sure no one would die and lose something valuable.

That equipment was on average more expensive than what most Players who joined the guild could afford, being a big upgrade for some, a small upgrade for others, and only a few already had better equipment than that.

For Players like those, who already had better equipment, the Guild found another way to give welcome gifts, so everyone could enjoy advantages and privileges from joining the guild regardless.

Some Players chatted quietly among themselves, others just took in the surroundings with a mix of admiration and nervousness, clearly not yet used to being part of that organization they had only dreamed of before.

The instant the group noticed Lisa approaching, and especially the presence of that blue slime rolling beside her, the low chatter instantly turned into an almost reverent silence.

”Is that...” one of the guys started to whisper, his eyes wide as he stared at Lohan with an expression of pure astonishment.

”It’s him,” a girl beside him replied, her voice coming out in an almost reverent tone. ”It’s the real Halon.”

Lohan felt the group’s collective attention weigh on him like a focused beam of light, something that still caught him a bit off guard, even after so much time dealing with his growing fame within the guild.

Unlike the clone they had probably seen during the interview process a few days earlier, the presence of Lohan’s main body carried a completely different weight in the air around it. The magical density naturally radiating from his biomass, no longer held back out of laziness now that he was at the guild’s base, Mana refined by countless evolutions and battles, was palpable enough to make the more magically sensitive newcomers instinctively take half a step back, as if their bodies automatically recognized they were in the presence of something far above their level.

Having met so many other ”monsters” in the guild, considering only the Elite had joined in this batch, they thought they had already met the best they could find, but Halon was different.

None of them seemed to have the slightest doubt about whether that was really the original body or just another projection. The difference was simply too obvious to ignore.

”Good afternoon, everyone,” Lisa said, naturally taking on the role of host, her voice fully regaining the serene confidence of a leader, showing no trace of how she had been acting just moments ago on the upper floor. ”Officially welcome to Astralis Requiem. As you already know, I’m Lisa, the Guild President, and I believe most of you already know this companion here beside me.”

She gestured lightly toward Lohan, who vibrated his membrane, forming his two small artificial eyes to greet the group in a friendly way.

”Hey, everyone,” Lohan said, through the guild link that had already been automatically set up for the new members during the process. ”Welcome to the family. I hope you’re feeling comfortable here.”

For a second, no one in the group seemed to know exactly how to react, everyone exchanged nervous glances, until finally one of the guys, a thin boy with messy brown hair carrying a simple staff on his back, worked up enough courage to step forward.

”It’s... it’s a huge honor to meet you in person, Halon,” he said, his voice trembling slightly. ”Even though I haven’t seen you in combat yet, I’m really excited to have the chance to see that in action in the near future, back when you were already showing up in the world announcements, I was still only Level 7 in a starter village.”

”Ah, that,” Lohan replied, a bit embarrassed by the direct compliment. ”It was more luck and desperation than anything else, to be honest.”

”I’ve met plenty of lucky Players, and none of them have shown up in the world announcements so far.” A boy further back in the group remarked, eyeing him with narrowed eyes. ”My name’s Nate, and I came to this guild specifically because of the stories about you. I hope I get to train with you someday.”

”You’ll probably have plenty of opportunities for that,” Lisa cut in, a subtle tone of pride slipping into her voice. ”Astralis Requiem values shared growth between members. You’ll notice that quickly as the days go by.”

The group seemed to gradually relax as the conversation flowed, with the initial nervous questions giving way to a more genuine, less intimidated curiosity. Some asked about their classes, others about the guild’s training structure, and one particularly enthusiastic boy even tried asking technical details about how Lohan’s digestion worked, which earned a muffled laugh from Lisa herself.

”That’s confidential information,” Lohan joked, vibrating his gelatin good naturedly. ”Maybe I’ll tell you all after a few good months of proven loyalty.”

That kind of relaxed, approachable, not the least bit arrogant attitude was completely different from the image they had imagined of ”Halon,” the world’s first open world assassin.

With a title like that, everyone expected to deal with someone cold, arrogant, mysterious, but talking to Halon like that was an extremely pleasant surprise, making those new members feel far more close and included in the guild than they thought possible.

While watching that small group of newcomers, all of them with such a characteristic mix of nervousness and hope written across their faces, Lohan felt something warm spread through his biomass again, similar to what he had felt days earlier during the meeting with Yrneha.

’All of them came here hoping to find something bigger than themselves,’ he thought, watching the genuine expectation in the eyes of each of those young adventurers. ’It’s funny to think that, a few months ago, I was just a lost slime trying to survive my own first day in Elysium, with a giant debt to pay off in the real world, depending only on this world to survive, and now I’m the one they look at like that.’

That was a responsibility he didn’t take lightly, and watching those faces full of hope only reinforced, more and more, how much he wanted to keep growing, not just out of personal ambition, but to be able to protect and guide all those people who now depended, in some way, on his strength and on the guild he had helped build.

”Well,” Lisa said, gently wrapping up the conversation after a few minutes, ”I believe you’ve already received the basic orientation about the dorms and the guild’s structure. If you have any further questions, feel free to look for Dylan or any of the more experienced members. Enjoy the rest of the day settling in.”

The group thanked them profusely, some even giving small awkward bows in their direction before dispersing toward the hallways leading to the dorms, still chatting excitedly among themselves about the unexpected encounter.

As soon as the new members had moved far enough away, Lohan turned his mental attention back to Lisa, who was watching the scene with a satisfied expression.

”You know,” he remarked, ”sometimes I still find it strange being looked at like that... but at the same time I realize I don’t dislike it.”

”Glad you don’t dislike it, Halon, because it’s only going to get more intense from here on out.” Lisa replied, a small smile forming on her lips. ”But I understand the feeling. It’s strange seeing your own achievements reflected in other people’s eyes.”

”At least one thing hasn’t changed,” Lohan remarked, letting a playful tone come back into his voice.

”What?”

”You’re still the only person who can actually make me feel embarrassed,” he said, vibrating his gelatin mischievously.

Lisa’s face, which had finally returned to its normal color, instantly started heating up again.

”Halon.”

”Yes, Lisa?”

”Don’t even think about dragging this topic out any further.”