Slime Evolution

Chapter 426 - Fame?

Lohan and Lisa slowly walked away from Thalendor’s central plaza, leaving behind the glowing crystal fountain and the elf children who kept up their game under the sunlight.

Through the mental link Lisa had reestablished, Lohan finally got to say a few parting words to the two little white haired princes. The children replied with wide smiles and frantic waves, while the knight Siria, further off, kept a respectful posture, watching the pair of monsters leave with reverence.

The path toward Yrneha’s great magic tower was well known to them, but the city’s atmosphere felt entirely different today.

The mana mist that normally floated gently between the suspended wooden walkways gave off an invigorating scent and freshness.

Connected through the luxurious immersion capsule Isabella had sent him, Lohan felt every fluctuation of energy with a frighteningly sharp clarity, as if his very soul were integrated into Elysium’s magical nature.

The capsule’s tactile and thermal simulation system operated at a qualitative level completely out of reach for users of ordinary equipment from the Lower Zone, translating the warmth of the light and the moisture of Mythlorien’s leaves directly into stable neural impulses that cleared his mind of any lingering physical fatigue.

Reaching the tower’s great white wood and translucent crystal gates, Lohan slid off Lisa’s back, landing gently on the warm wooden floor.

On previous visits, they’d always entered accompanied by Aeliana, the archmage’s direct apprentice, who simply skipped every bureaucratic reception step and guided them straight to the upper floors without explaining anything to anyone.

This time, however, being completely alone, they knew they’d need to follow formal protocol and check in at the reception so their presence could be officially announced to the tower’s mistress.

The absence of the young blonde elf made that process a bit slower, but it was an excellent chance to gauge the level of prestige their guild had already earned in the elven capital’s upper circles after their recent, loud feat at the gorge.

Entering the great hall on the ground floor, they came across a young elf apprentice in a sky blue robe, focused on organizing a huge pile of ancient scrolls on a wooden table that looked as if it had been magically shaped.

They’d never interacted with this girl before.

Lohan prepared to speak mentally in a polite, formal way to introduce himself, adjusting his bluish membrane to look as harmless and respectable as possible before that assistant of the magic tower.

However, before Lohan could form his first greeting, the young elf raised her eyes from the scrolls.

The instant her gaze landed on the little glowing blue Slime and the elegant two tailed white fox, a gleam of extreme curiosity and excitement lit up in the girl’s emerald pupils. She froze with a roll of paper in her hand, staring at the pair with a fervor far more intense than Lohan imagined could happen even under the most positive assumptions, which left Lohan subtly uncomfortable.

”I can’t believe it...” the young elf exclaimed, her voice coming out in a high pitched tone that broke the reverent silence of the reception hall. ”You two are Halon and Lisa, aren’t you?! The pair the other mages mentioned in these reports!”

Saying that, she pointed at the several scrolls scattered across the table.

Lohan and Lisa exchanged glances, surprised by the reception’s euphoric reaction. The girl dropped the scrolls carelessly onto the table and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the wood to get a closer look at them.

There were deep bags under her eyes, and her face showed a visibly tired expression from lack of sleep, but her excitement seemed to ignore any physical limit or mental exhaustion.

”I’ve known your identities for a while now.” the girl kept talking extremely fast, her pointed ears trembling with pure excitement. ”But after last night’s big operation, which shook up absolutely the entire structure of this tower... oh, my God! The archmage woke up every high ranking mage in the middle of the night to head out on an emergency mission at the northern rift, and we, the junior apprentices, were forced to stay on standby down here under maximum alert until dawn! It was complete madness! At this point, there isn’t a single living soul left in this tower who hasn’t seen or heard of the pair of a Special Slime and a Spirit Fox!”

She gave a light sniff at the air, leaning even further over the edge of the wooden counter, looking at them even more excitedly.

Even though Lohan didn’t sense any malice or hostility coming from the young elf, her fervent, admiring gaze was starting to feel a bit stifling for his typically reserved temperament.

Although he was curious about the guild’s reputation, a situation like this wasn’t what he’d imagined would happen... He’d rather keep a low profile and focus on practical matters than be treated like some kind of attraction like this.

”Excuse me, miss.” Lohan finally spoke through the mental link Lisa had made available between them, his voice coming out calm, polite, and very firm to cut through her excitement. ”We understand the buzz around recent events, but we have a scheduled audience with Lady Yrneha Ylasys. Could you kindly inform the archmage of our arrival? We have urgent matters to discuss with her.”

The young elf seemed to finally snap out of her trance of admiration hearing the Slime’s mental voice resonate so maturely and intelligently in her consciousness.

She blinked rapidly, her cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment upon realizing she’d broken a Mage’s professional etiquette in front of the magic tower’s distinguished visitors, but hearing that Slime’s voice in her mind with such clarity, showing such high intellect, made it even harder for her to tone down her own excitement.

”Ah, yes! I’m so sorry, please forgive me!” She stammered, straightening her posture hurriedly and trying to regain the composure of a respectable assistant. ”It’s my duty to announce your arrival immediately. I’ll send the message up to the upper office right away.”

The elf girl pulled out a blank sheet of parchment from a side drawer, grabbed a goose feather quill glowing with golden mana, and began filling out the details with quick, precise movements.

She folded the paper carefully, sealing the edges with a blue wax stamp, and placed the document into a small circular indentation carved into the center of her work desk.

With a quick, elegant flick of the small ash wood wand strapped to her wrist, a three dimensional neon purple magic circle formed silently directly beneath the parchment.

The spatial energy crackled softly in the air, and the folded document instantly vanished in a flash of subtle light, transported through the tower’s inner channels straight to the top.

After completing the runic transmission, the young elf apprentice folded her hands over the table and gave Lohan and Lisa a radiant, silent smile, without saying another explanatory word about what would happen next.

The two Players exchanged glances again, feeling a bit lost in the face of all that sudden silence, unsure what to do while waiting for a reply from the mistress.

Time seemed to pass very slowly in that vast, silent hall, with the soft sound of the mana clock on the crystal wall.

Lohan focused his entire internal perception on sensing the surroundings, delighting in the high concentration of Mana that place had compared to the outside world, until suddenly another glow appeared on the girl’s desk.