Slime Evolution

Chapter 83: 83 - Kroak Village

”Thank you, great saviors. If it weren’t for you, our little Kroak Village would have been wiped out.” The old frog said as he approached, after much reflection.

He was still afraid of this abnormal Slime and this strange white Fox, but considering that they had just saved their village, the old frog sighed and approached them cautiously.

Suddenly, a male voice appeared in his mind. ”Don’t worry, we were just passing by and heard your cry for help. With nothing to lose and no sympathy for Kobolds, we saw no problem in helping.”

Hearing that voice in his own mind, the old toad was shocked, looking around in fear as he waved his staff and forcibly canceled the mental link.

Lohan and Lisa looked at it in amazement, but soon understood.

”It seems that this old toad is not as defenseless as he seemed.” They thought as they looked at each other and analyzed it.

Waving his small hand at his side, Lohan tried to indicate that he was the one who had spoken.

The frog looked at them a little confused, but felt the mental link trying to form again, this time a little more subtle.

”Is this mental connection caused by you?” the frog asked.

The white fox nodded, and the frog finally allowed it to connect, but he still acted cautiously.

”I’m sorry for contacting you so suddenly,” Lohan’s voice echoed again, now with a softer cadence so as not to alarm the elder. ”We don’t have vocal cords for speech yet, so this is the only way we can talk.”

The old frog, whose wrinkles seemed to deepen as he processed the situation, forced a shaky smile that exposed his forked tongue. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a webbed hand and bowed deeply, leaning on his worn staff.

”Oh, forgive my reaction, Great Lords Blue and White. We, the inhabitants of Kroak Village, are simple connoisseurs of mud and moss, unaccustomed to such refined mental magic,” the elder said in a voice that sounded like the bubbling of a swamp. ”I am Gribbit, the humble guardian of this village. You have saved us from a cruel fate... the Kobolds show no mercy when they decide to clear an area for their rituals. Although we are poor, as long as something interests you, you may take everything from our little village.”

Lisa watched the elder with half-closed eyes. She sensed something strange and familiar about this old toad, but since he acted so submissive and grateful, she attributed it to perhaps the shock of the attack.

”We seek no reward, Gribbit,” Lisa finally intervened telepathically. ”We are searching for the Swamp Slugs.

We’ve heard they inhabit this region, but they are masters at hiding under the mud and dense vegetation.”

Upon hearing the name of the slugs, Gribbit’s yellow eyes flashed with a spark of interest that quickly changed to an expression of concern.

”The Swamp Slugs? Oh, you must be very careful with those dangerous creatures! Although they have no means of direct attack, they are treacherous, and their venom can paralyze even a high-level bear in seconds,” Gribbit exclaimed, gesturing dramatically with his staff. ”But you are in luck! My village has lived in symbiosis with the secrets of this swamp for generations. We know exactly where these little pests hide to spawn.”

He stepped forward, limping slightly in a frail appearance. ”As a token of our eternal gratitude for driving away those scaly brutes, I myself... and my best scouts... offer to guide you. Without our help, you would spend weeks rummaging through the wrong mud.”

Lohan was excited. If Gribbit could lead them directly to the slugs, wasted time would be drastically reduced, allowing them to return to Thalendor as quickly as possible to get more money, biomass, and possibly new evolutions that he could obtain more efficiently.

”That would be a great help, Gribbit. We accept your offer.” Lohan replied, forming a small blue hand to make a gesture of thanks.

”Excellent! Excellent!” Gribbit smiled. ”Please rest in our central square while I prepare the tracking reagents. Kroak Village is at the complete disposal of our saviors.”

As the elder hopped away with surprising agility, Lohan and Lisa kept their distance while Lohan finished digesting the Kobolds.

Even though six Kobold bodies might have seemed like a big deal to Lohan a few days ago, for the current him with his high digestion speed, the bodies were completely digested in no time.

Unfortunately, he had already digested so many Kobolds that even digesting six more now, he only gained one level for an evolution he already had.

[Body Density Lv 8 → Lv 9]

This was a good evolution, increasing his biomass storage capacity, as well as being quite useful in combat for transferring weight and steadying himself in place.

The one who would not like this new news would be Lisa, who would have to carry him, who now weighed a little more than before.

With that in mind, Lohan decided to spend some Biomass to gradually improve his speed, so that in the near future he could be more independent.

[Viscous Flow Lv 16 → Lv 18] - 40.39 Biomass - 0.98 m/s → 1.18 m/s

Lohan spent a total of 61.71 Biomass to purchase these two evolutions, which might seem like a large investment, but it still didn’t represent even what he earned in an hour of uninterrupted digestion.

Feeling the new flexibility of his body, he was excited.

’Finally, my speed will increase by more than 0.1 per level!

Much better than the fraction of that this evolution increased per level in the early stages, hehe.’ He thought excitedly.

Meanwhile, Lisa carefully observed the environment and the village, trying to understand the structure of these little frogs to see if they would be suitable for joining their guild.

They seemed like very close-knit and helpful creatures, quickly gathering to help the wounded while another group met with Elder Gribbit to prepare supplies for their search.