[NunuNote: We’ve reached 200 Chapters! Who would have thought this would happen so fast, or that I’d make it this far? Hehe! Thanks for sticking with me this far; I’m really enjoying writing this novel, so don’t worry about it disappearing suddenly. I hope you’ll be here for the celebration posts marking 300, 400... 1,000 Chapters of Slime Evo!!]
Lohan, with his Hemolymphatic Tissue active, raising his conversion rate to 5.1k Bio/h, felt the elf’s resistance dissolve like a hot knife through butter.
The sensation was unlike anything he had ever digested. While the biomass of common monsters felt heavy and coarse, Gideon’s essence was imbued with high-purity Mana.
Lohan felt a refreshing and comforting current surge through his entire bluish mass. The refined nutrients flowed into his core, and the [Bio-Synthetic Mana Circulation] began filtering the byproducts of Gideon’s molecular breakdown, injecting pulses of pure mana directly into his reservoir.
At the center of his gelatin, the [Magic Core] began to vibrate at a violent resonance frequency. Lohan felt a vital explosion welling up within him, a deep heat that seemed to embrace his consciousness.
Just as had happened with Brynn, the internal structure of his core underwent a qualitative transmutation. The internal pathways through which magical energy flowed, which had previously acted as narrow channels, suddenly expanded and were coated with an intense neon-blue light, transforming into Mana highways.
[Notice: Extraction of High Elf Rare Base Evolution Complete!]
[Compatibility detected with the Magic Core... Initiating Transmutation!]
[Evolution: Magic Core → Superior Magic Core!]
With the evolution to the [Superior Magic Core], Lohan felt absolute clarity.
His perception of the ambient Mana became much sharper, allowing him to sense the energy around him even without focusing his senses.
His blue membrane glowed even more intensely, eliminating any trace of fragility.
Surprisingly, with this improvement to the Magic Core, Lohan even felt a little more affinity and control over the Holy Light leaking from his other Core.
Lohan vibrated with satisfaction, feeling dense and vibrant as the last trace of Gideon’s arrogance was converted into pure power.
Watching Gideon being digested alive by that Slime, the rest of his party members stared at the scene in horror.
Rick, the mage who had previously prided himself on his position as the group’s "ace," was the first to succumb to utter panic.
He tried to crawl backward, but the strands of Mana that Lohan had fired earlier not only held him fast but glowed with a bluish intensity as the [Bio-Synthetic Mana Circulation] worked overtime.
Lohan wasted no time and expelled three clones that launched themselves like projectiles at the survivors.
While Lohan’s main body finished refining Gideon’s essence, one of the clones completely enveloped Rick’s head.
Rick felt his own Mana being sucked out of his magical channels even before his flesh began to bubble beneath the acidic membrane. Unlike the "vital explosion" and emerald heat Gideon provided, Rick’s digestion felt cold and insipid, as if Lohan were consuming a dead battery.
[Alert: Active Predator Title. Extracting Uncommon Base Evolution... 100% chance of success!]
[Compatibility detected with the Artificial Magic Core Harmonizer... Synchronizing bodily data.]
[Evolution: Artificial Magic Core Harmonizer Lv 9 → Natural Magic Core Harmonizer Lv 1!]
[A natural organ that synchronizes control over the magic core’s Mana with the body’s motor needs is more efficient than an artificial one. This synchronization reduces the delay between thought and the execution of magic, increasing the efficiency and control of Mana usage at each level.]
Although this Player had only an Uncommon Base, compared to ordinary players, his advantage was relatively significant.
Even with the Skill seemingly dropping a level, Lohan felt a significant improvement in the response time between his thought and the execution of Mana, but nothing compared to the previous qualitative leap.
It was an incremental gain—useful, but serving only to confirm that the quality of the prey dictated the quality of the prize.
At the same time, the other two clones dealt with Silas and the remaining scout, both of whom had Common Bases.
They fought, screaming desperately for help in a forest that now echoed only the sound of accelerated decomposition.
For Lohan, digesting them was like "clearing the plate" after the main course. The biomass flowed into his reservoir, but there wasn’t the genetic complexity needed to trigger new transmutations in his core.
[Common Base Evolution Extraction complete.]
[Warning: Insufficient genetic potential for new skills. Converting 100% of Biomass into low-level upgrades.]
[Free Evolutions Applied:]
[Mass Expansion Lv 13 → Lv 18]
[Membrane Reinforcement Lv 29 → Lv 32]
Within minutes, where there had once been a group of arrogant corporate Players, only dark stains on the ground and equipment remained—things that Lohan’s [Digestive Filter] had isolated and "spit" to the side.
The Slime was now considerably larger, its blue membrane pulsing with a density that made it nearly opaque beneath the shadows of Mythlorien.
Lohan retracted his clones and returned to Lisa’s side, who was observing the scene with satisfaction. The trail of fire that Gideon’s group had started was slowly being extinguished by the forest’s natural moisture, but the smell of ozone and death still hung in the air.
"I’m done." Lohan transmitted through the mental link, very satisfied and excited, looking at two unconscious Bears lying nearby with a gleam in his eyes. "The mage gave me a little more control, but the others were just... fuel. Alice, choose which weapons you’re interested in; we’ll save the rest for future Guild members."
Alice nodded and brought the rest of the soldiers over to choose the equipment they preferred.
Much of these Players’ equipment wasn’t as good as what they already had, since Alice had spent a lot of money from the other world to buy the best that the Starting Villages could provide, and with yesterday’s investments, they’d bought even better gear!
Compared to these weaker, poorer Players, there wasn’t really much of use.
Finishing up with those Players, Lohan didn’t hesitate any longer and dashed at high speed toward the bodies of the bears lying on the ground, ready to finish off those monsters and absorb the remaining experience needed to finally Evolve!
The interlude of encountering those Players brought useful rewards, but the true great reward would come from the evolution.