Slime Evolution

Chapter 405 - Interview Setback

Lying comfortably there, with her two white tails swaying slowly and rhythmically over the edge, was a white fox with silky, pure fur. The creature’s golden gaze rested on the brothers with a coldness and authority that seemed to freeze the very atmosphere of the meeting hall.

Dan swallowed hard, feeling the density of the aura radiating from that fox.

At that point, his perception screamed that such a presence didn’t belong to a simple NPC monster or guild pet. That was, without a shadow of a doubt, a Player! And judging by the energetic intensity she gave off, her power was greatly superior to theirs.

Considering that Dan and Sam had Epic rarity bases, Elysium’s magical math left only one single, frightening viable possibility for that creature.

”That fox has a Legendary Base!” Dan transmitted to Sam, feeling cold sweat trickle down his neck under the intensity of the beast’s golden gaze. ”And if that’s the absolute leader of this place, then... that must be the legendary Halon! The player who cleared the world’s first open world dungeon!”

Sam shook in his spiritual form, the weight of that revelation greatly increasing the respect and nervousness they felt.

To them, it made complete sense that the legendary player dominating the global rankings would have an avatar of such an imposing and unique creature in Elysium.

Fortunately, despite all the authority and coldness dominating the meeting room, none of the interviewers showed the slightest trace of disgust or disdain when looking over Dan and Sam’s peculiar appearances.

Dylan kept the impeccable posture of an experienced recruiter, and Alice stopped fiddling with her gauntlets to look at them with a friendly, welcoming smile.

However, the absence of revulsion didn’t ease the brothers’ tension, on the contrary, the fear of being turned down over technical reasons at such a perfect guild made their nervousness nearly unbearable.

But before the interview could be formally started by Dylan, Dan and Sam noticed that the leaders began exchanging strange glances with one another.

Alice tilted her head slightly to the side, her dark eyes narrowing in an expression of doubt and confusion that broke her professional pose for a moment.

She stared toward Dan, then focused her gaze on the empty space right beside him, where Sam floated, before turning her head to look at Dylan with her brows furrowed.

The three interviewers, Dylan, Alice, and the white fox, exchanged a quick silent dialogue of glances, then turned their attention back to the boxer girl.

Suddenly, a small light blue gelatin Slime, which up until then had been completely nestled unnoticed between the white fox’s front paws in the crystal basin, made an agile, precise leap forward.

The little creature crossed the distance and landed softly right on top of Alice’s head, shaping its viscous body in a cute way.

Feeling the Slime’s cold, familiar touch, Alice let out a cheerful little laugh, her doubtful expression vanishing at once, replaced by a bright, welcoming smile.

He nodded positively toward Dylan and the fox, indicating that everything was perfectly fine now and that they could proceed with the recruitment meeting.

The two brothers watched that silent scene without understanding a single thing about what was happening in front of them.

They found the little Slime’s behavior and Alice’s sudden mood change extremely odd, but they didn’t dare say a single word or make any comment that might seem impolite in front of the guild’s leadership.

What Dan and Sam had no idea about, however, was what had triggered that silent behind the scenes interaction.

Alice hadn’t been able to see Sam.

Although she had a Rare Class with extremely high destructive power, her specialization was purely focused on physical combat and a boxer’s brute strength.

Her magical perception and spiritual sensitivity attributes were extremely low, which technically made her blind to the presence of beings that existed only on the ethereal plane.

Sure, if Sam had tried to carry out any attack, or gathered energy to do something, he still would have left traces Alice could easily pick up on, but where would Sam find the courage to do something like that in front of the leadership they wanted to impress.

So because of that, in Alice’s eyes, Dan appeared to be walking completely alone through the guild’s meeting room, which had caused the initial doubt and confusion on her face when she saw Dylan and the fox focus their attention on an empty spot beside the warlock.

Fortunately they were able to talk through the guild’s mental link, which helped Alice ask for help, and Lohan’s clone nestled with the fox acted immediately.

Upon jumping onto Alice’s head, the Slime used the biological link to connect directly to her nerve channels.

Sharing his core’s enhanced magical sensitivity in real time, Lohan extended his spiritual perception into Alice’s mind, allowing the girl to finally see Sam’s ghostly, bluish form floating beside his brother clearly and distinctly.

With her magical sight activated with the Slime’s help, Alice’s confidence was restored at once. She looked at Sam’s form with curiosity and admiration, marveling at the density of that rare spiritual race she could now behold without any barrier.

”Welcome to the headquarters of Astralis Requiem, Dan and Sam.” Dylan began, his voice coming out in a warm, natural tone that disarmed much of the tension weighing on the brothers’ shoulders. He closed the parchment with an elegant movement of his hand and laced his fingers together on the table.

”We read the detailed report you two sent during the online screening and were very impressed with your progress. Reaching level fifteen operating independently in a volcanic area is a feat few could accomplish in Elysium.”

Dan stepped forward, feeling his chest fill with real hope. He pulled back his hood, revealing his scarred warlock face under the hall’s bright light, and gave a polite bow toward the leadership table.

”We’re grateful for the opportunity to be here today, leaders.” Dan replied, his voice coming out firm and full of the respect he felt for the group. ”We traveled for weeks to reach Mythlorien because we believe Astralis Requiem is the only organization in this world that truly values the potential and willpower of those who want to grow, regardless of the appearances we carry in the game’s virtual shell.”

The white fox tilted her head slightly in the crystal basin, her ears attentive to the sound of Dan’s voice, while the small blue Slime on top of Alice’s head just kept sitting there like a silly little creature with no thought process at all.

The final test for the new talents’ entry into the elite guild was only just beginning, and the brothers were more than ready to prove that the light of their stars deserved to shine under Thalendor’s firmament.