Upon arriving at the Magic Tower, Lohan hesitated for a few more moments, but considering Yrneha’s power and her authority in Thalendor, he felt that even if he resisted, there was nothing he could do about it.
Perhaps even Aeliana, who seemed like a docile and vulnerable young woman, could do whatever she wanted with Lohan against his will with her Level 20 power.
But fortunately, the Elves showed him no ill will, so he decided to cooperate.
’I had already promised that I would come to Yrneha’s magical tower for studies when she first met me; going back on my word now would be a major breach of trust between us, and a possible loss of a powerful ally for the Guild.’ He thought.
Yrneha Ylasys’s tower was not a cold, gloomy stone structure as Lohan had imagined. Rising from one of the highest branches of an ancient tree in Thalendor, the tower was an organic fusion of polished white wood and translucent crystals that shone beautifully.
Upon entering, the first sensation that struck Lohan was the shock of the high magical density inside.
The air there was so saturated with pure Mana that it seemed almost liquid, a sweet and invigorating "flavor" he had already noticed as he approached the city, but which was multiplied many times over here.
Curious, Lohan tried to digest that Mana, or absorb it in some way, and he felt his body automatically process that atmosphere, not generating new Biomass, but converting the excess Mana into a sensation of comfort and stability that made it easier to control his gelatinous form.
Unlike the medieval tortures Lohan feared, Yrneha’s laboratory was impeccably clean and organized like a scientific lab.
Instead of knives and needles, he saw several crystal prisms floating around a central pedestal. Aeliana placed him gently on a soft velvet surface, looking at him with an encouraging smile.
"I’m going to start the mapping. Just keep your Mana flow steady," Yrneha instructed, twirling her wooden staff.
Lohan felt a warm light course through his membrane.
It wasn’t invasive; it felt more like an advanced thermal scanner. Above him, magical holograms began projecting the internal architecture of his body, with the Magic Core glowing intensely and the complex network of Optimized Mana Circuits he had recently developed.
For a moment, he found it interesting to see himself in that projection like that.
Yrneha narrowed her eyes, observing the projections. "Fascinating... your structure isn’t fixed. Your Mana pathways constantly reorganize themselves to always be in a perfect state. It’s an architecture of frightening efficiency for a creature of your level."
Satisfied with the initial data, the mage reached out, and a small spatial compartment opened in the air.
From it, she withdrew a deep purple gem that exuded an energetic pressure that made the surrounding air crackle.
"As promised: a Level 13 Monster Mana Stone," she said, placing the gem in front of Lohan. "I want to observe how your body reacts to the integration of an energy charge that, theoretically, should overwhelm a Level 9 being like you."
Lohan hesitated for a moment.
Having only recently digested the Level 11 Rabbit’s Mana Stone, he didn’t know just how much more powerful a Level 13 Mana Stone was... whether or not it could harm him to the point of making him lose his mind again.
On the other hand, looking at Yrneha, who was a powerful Archmage of Thalendor, perhaps he was in the safest possible place to conduct a test like this.
He extended his mass and enveloped the gem, bringing it to the center of his body. Instantly, the Elysium system reacted:
[High-Purity Organic Matter Detected]
[Level 13 Light Guardian Mana Stone]
[Initiating Qualitative Absorption...]
As the stone began to corrode, Lohan felt a torrent of raw energy flood his system.
Thanks to the Artificial Magic Core Harmonizer, he managed to stabilize the influx, preventing the energy from causing damage to his membrane.
When digesting Level 11 Mana Stones previously, Lohan had felt that the biomass of those stones was purer and denser, but he hadn’t realized just how great the difference was compared to those of Level 10 monsters or below.
But now, through this Level 13 Mana Stone, the difference was stark!
Lohan felt as if the biomass he was absorbing was entering his body like hot magma!
Suddenly, his mind went blank.
The moment Lohan’s membrane closed over the glowing golden gem, Yrneha’s laboratory was replaced by a vast expanse of blinding light.
Through [Memory Resonance], Lohan’s "self" was fragmented and fused with the consciousness of a being that knew no shadows.
For the first time, Lohan found himself within the memories of a creature intelligent enough to possess self-awareness!
’I am the Guardian of Light; my existence is not made of flesh, but of pure frequencies of solar energy and resplendent mana crystals that compose my core and my ethereal armor.
I dwell on the peaks where the clouds are but carpets for the sun, protecting the Altar of Dawn from any taint of darkness.
I feel the flow of Light Mana coursing through my internal channels, a sensation of eternal warmth that nourishes every fiber of my being. For me, time is measured in cycles of brilliance, and my duty is to be the beacon that halts the advance of the Creatures of the Void.’
Through this being’s final memories, Lohan witnessed the moment of its fall.
The "Space Infiltrator," whom Lohan recognized from the memories as Yrneha, suddenly emerged from the vastness of light through a distortion in the light itself.
She did not use brute force to subdue the creature, but a spatial geometric magic that warped the reality around it.
Through the memories, Lohan felt his own light radiation forced to contract, colliding against itself in an agonizing process of compression.
The creature’s vast consciousness, which once spanned miles of sky, was pressed into a gem mere centimeters in size.
The agony of having one’s entire being compressed into a Mana Stone was like having an entire sun crushed inside a grain of sand.
Inside Lohan’s body, the Guardian’s instincts began to manifest with overwhelming righteousness.
"Purge the impurity... Eradicate the creatures of the Void... Restore the balance of light..."
Lohan felt his own Slime body, which he had come to accept as his own, being identified by that memory as a "repugnant plague" that needed to be consumed by holy fire.
Lohan’s bluish gelatin began to emit a violent golden glow, and the internal temperature rose to levels that began to vaporize the slime itself and the chemical residues stored in his [Digestive Filter].
Lohan’s human mind struggled not to be "purified" by the Guardian’s will, which saw the Slime merely as a parasite that dared to devour the light.
Lohan’s [Natural Energy Core] reacted to the invasion, attempting to harmonize that aggressive radiation so it would not destroy his membrane from the inside out.
If he failed to isolate that memory and digest that light, he would cease to be Halon and become merely the inert receptacle of an ancient and merciless glory.
’Shit, now I get why the energy from that Mana Stone burned me like magma!’ Lohan thought, shocked and desperate.