With a fluid motion, Lohan rolled in front of them, used [Structural Stability] to project a small, soft, bluish hand, and gave a casual wave, a seemingly unassuming gesture, yet one that showed he was not intimidated by the aura of those people.
He tried his hardest not to be intimidated. If it weren’t for the weeks of monster hunting, and even the elimination of humans he had faced, his mindset might not have been able to hold up in front of these people.
"Hello, everyone. It’s a pleasure to meet the vanguard that will help consolidate our presence in Thalendor and beyond." Lohan’s voice resonated through the mental link.
Contrary to what the soldiers expected, his voice wasn’t high-pitched, shrill, or soft, as his appearance seemed to suggest, but it was a masculine voice, calm and with a serene tone.
Feeling their attention on him, Lohan made the small eyes on his face blink as naturally as he could, which was still a bit out of sync, creating a funny look, but he made a point of "looking" at each person for a few seconds.
"I know that, for many, seeing a Slime as small and seemingly fragile as me in a leadership position might seem strange." Lohan continued, pointing at himself and making his eyes grow even bigger and cuter, letting out a soft mental chuckle that broke the ice and drew a smile from Alice.
"But in Elysium, appearances are merely illusions," he said, suddenly narrowing his eyes, enveloping himself in the black exoskeleton, and channeling his own Mana and a tiny trace of Divine Light within him to exert pressure.
That little "show" took a heavy toll on his stamina, and he had to keep himself firmly in check to avoid showing weakness after using the Divine Light, but judging by the reaction he was seeing from them, it was worth it.
Samantha, the Rogue, narrowed her eyes, realizing just how dense that little Slime’s Mana was, totally different from the Slimes they hunted in Newbie Village!
Dee, the warrior, widened his eyes upon noticing how sturdy those black hexagonal plates on the Slime seemed to be.
"My name in this world is Halon." He declared, pausing as the name echoed in the mind of every soldier. "And as some of you may have already deduced, we are the founders of the first official organization in this open world: Astralis Requiem."
The silence that followed in the clearing was absolute, broken only by the distant buzz of other people’s conversations in the town or small Mana bees flying around.
Tunder, the mage, felt the Mana in his hands crackle violently in response to his shock, while Justin, the archer, stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the small Slime in front of him, contrasting it with the legendary image he held of Halon, the open world’s first PK. Even Samantha, usually more reserved, took an involuntary step back.
The revelation hit them like an explosion.
All of them, before being transported to the Open World, had witnessed the global announcement that shook the foundations of Elysium. The warning sirens announcing the Open World’s First PK by a player named "Halon" and the founding of Astralis Requiem shortly thereafter were the main topic of conversation in every Newbie Village.
They knew that major corporations like the Hogue Group and the other Vance heirs had spent billions trying to be the first, only to be humiliated by an unknown name.
Even though they knew they worked for someone from the Vance Group, they didn’t know either the real-world identity of their boss or the name of the Guild they would be joining. All of this was due to Alice’s concern for maintaining the operation’s confidentiality against potential spies.
"A... Astralis Requiem?" Samantha murmured softly outside the mental link, her voice trembling. "The guild that cleared the first dungeon... and the PK who killed the first player while we were still fighting on Level 9?!"
WyrmWood, the group’s druid who usually kept his cool in most situations, looked at Lisa and then at the shocked blue Slime, and then it finally hit him... they weren’t just working for a minor branch of the Vance Group.
Considering the achievements of these two in the Open World, it was obvious that the investment in this was extremely high.
And for them, this was incredible, since joining a guild like this would be far more prestigious and rewarding than being in small to medium-sized guilds that only picked up the scraps.
If just these two little creatures managed to achieve so much on their own, imagine what they could do with a group to back them up?!
"Exactly," Lohan replied with a hint of amusement. "I hope you’re ready to work, because if you intend to follow Astralis, your pace will have to be relentless."
Justin, the archer, looked at the little Slime with doubt in his eyes. Although he’d heard about this tiny creature’s legendary feats in the game’s advertisements, the contrast between the image of a brave warrior or a powerful assassin and this minuscule slime was too great, making it hard to accept.
Even more so because he had a Double Uncommon Base, that of a Half-Elf Race and a Veil Hunter Class, which he had luckily obtained during a hidden quest in the newbie village.
With a single Uncommon Base, he could already secure good positions in any mid-sized guild; with a Double Uncommon Base, he competed on equal footing with players who had Rare Bases.
So many "achievements" had made him feel a bit arrogant, not very comfortable taking orders from a Slime, a creature he had already killed hundreds of to level up.
"Even if he’s stronger, how strong can a Slime be?"
But after looking around and seeing that everyone else seemed to accept this quite well, he kept quiet and decided to wait and see.
With his 360-degree vision, Lohan noticed this small detail, but didn’t mind.
It was common for people, especially those with certain privileges, to have a bit of arrogance, but what he wouldn’t accept was if the person couldn’t control that feeling and let it affect the group.
-xXx-
(NunuNote: You guys have no idea how hard I had to control myself not to use the mental boom "--BOOOM" the moment Lohan reveals his identity to the group; in my head, that would be so cool... TT^TT)