On their way through the second floor, they saw more carnage: dozens of worms torn to shreds and turned into "mincemeat."
Lohan wasted no time and left a clone behind just to collect the biomass from those organic remains as they passed, not wanting to waste the "free lunch" someone was preparing for him.
Upon reaching the entrance to Queen Beetle’s old chamber on the third floor, the scene they encountered was completely unexpected.
In the center of the incubation chamber, where the glow of golden amber was strongest, a Giant Earthworm, an Elite monster that Lohan estimated to be Level 11, was being kept at bay by two tiny figures that Lohan recognized instantly.
Pip and Elle, the little fairies they had saved from Queen Beetle, no longer resembled the helpless, whimpering creatures they had been before.
Pip was enveloped in an aura of biting wind, moving with savage aggression and using his butterfly wings, now hardened like glass blades, and a small, short but very sharp sword to deliver rapid strikes that left deep cuts on the giant creature.
Elle, for her part, acted as support, firing beams of light that blinded the worm every time it attempted a direct attack against her brother.
They were defending the corner of the room where, hidden beneath a pile of leaves and old shells, the [Astral Chest] glowed discreetly.
"You two... the Slime and the Fox! You’re finally back!" Elle shouted upon seeing the duo enter, tears of light nearly welling up again, but this time from relief. "We tried to drive everyone out, but this big guy won’t leave!"
Lohan vibrated the jelly, feeling a mix of pride at seeing that his previous "rescue mission" hadn’t been in vain, and anger at seeing an Elite worm trying to take over his throne room.
"Lisa, since you’ve already tested out your new evolution by fighting Level 11 monsters on your own, how about you leave this big guy to me?" he asked excitedly, detaching himself from the fox’s body and rolling at high speed toward the Worm.
Lisa just smiled and stayed put, also curious to see firsthand just how much Lohan had improved after evolving.
Suddenly, as he rolled, Lohan formed a small tail identical to Lisa’s behind him, and with the sound of a small explosion beneath his now much denser and more crystalline gelatin, he shot toward the Giant Earthworm like a small missile.
The Elite Earthworm, sensing the massive vibration, twisted its ringed body and lashed out violently with its tail covered in acidic mucus.
’Now... let’s see if my new resistance holds up,’ Lohan thought.
Black hexagonal plates instantly appeared on his ocean-blue membrane. When the Level 11 monster’s tail struck Lohan, the sound was like metal striking granite.
Thanks to the new [Spread Damage] trait, the impact that might previously have cracked the point of contact was distributed across all nearby scales, mitigating the force of the Elite’s blow.
Lohan didn’t even flinch; he activated [Gravitational Anchoring], making his internal weight suddenly comparable to that of a cannonball, embedding himself into the fossilized ground.
"What?! He stopped a direct hit from a Level 11 without even moving?" Pip shouted, freezing in midair while Elle stared in shock.
The last time they saw that duo, they were already powerful, powerful enough to kill the queen controlling Pip, but their strength wasn’t quite that great!
Lisa, watching from behind, smiled slightly, feeling a touch of nostalgia at seeing the Slime fighting alone again.
Lohan didn’t give the monster time to recover.
Using the Parallel Processing Core, he generated additional thought cores for the main body to coordinate the flow of Mana and monitor the worm’s vital points through Instinctive Perception.
Thanks to the Natural Magic Core Harmonizer, the delay between his thoughts and their execution was practically nonexistent!
In one fluid motion, Lohan unleashed [Vacuum Detonation Lv 4]. He struck the air with his limbs, creating a collapse in atmospheric pressure right in front of the slime’s mouth.
The monster was sucked forward, losing its balance, its massive body dragged toward the "suction center" created by the Slime.
While the monster was stunned, Lohan summoned five clones. Thanks to [Collective Synaptic Synchrony], the clones acted as a single entity, with no motor delays. They enveloped the worm’s body with [Selective Viscosity] at maximum adhesion, pinning it against the amber floor.
The clones’ gelatin began to boil, and the worm’s flesh began a process of accelerated decomposition in plain sight.
The monster let out a metallic screech of agony as Lohan, the main body, approached. He now possessed the [Abyssal Storage], feeling that his internal reservoir was an infinite void ready to be filled.
Finally, Lohan had an idea.
Confident in his magical control after evolving, Lohan channeled the energy of his new [Core of Holy Light].
A white-gold light began to shine from within his crystalline gelatin, exuding a purity that seemed to purify the mucus-saturated air of the room.
"Lisa, observe the new fuel." Lohan transmitted through the mental link.
He fired a beam of light forward like a laser beam shooting from his ’eyes,’ while launching himself forward propelled by a wave of Radial Shock that emanated from his base. The impact, combined with his increased density, pierced the monster’s shell as if it were paper.
[You have killed the Giant Earthworm (Elite) Level 11!][Experience Gained: +2,800 EXP]
Lohan retracted his clones and absorbed the worm’s biomass in seconds, feeling his 102,400-point experience reservoir begin to fill up again.
He reformed into his perfect spherical shape, now shining with a clarity that made him look like a jewel carved by the gods.
Lisa walked over to him, her two tails swaying slowly as she looked at him with a gleam in her eyes. "Looks like I wasn’t the only one who got a lot stronger on my own, huh..."
Lohan vibrated the gelatin, forming a soft, bluish hand, and gave her a "thumbs up," proud that he had also grown stronger.
But even with the strength Lohan had just displayed, neither of them mentioned whether they had "split up" during the fight.
Lohan could still create clones to use that power independently, while using his main body to ensure Lisa’s safety and further boost her power.
That way, their combined combat power became much greater than 1+1=2!
Looking at the Level 11 Mana Stone the worm had left behind, Lohan was excited to process that, but first, there was something they needed to deal with.
And that something was two little fairies flying in front of them with curiosity and a sparkle in their eyes.
As he looked at the two of them, Lohan could see that Pip had a determined expression, and the way he was looking at him was so intense it bordered on adoration.
Meanwhile, Elle, though far from matching Pip’s intensity, was also looking at them with a sparkle in her eyes, though she kept glancing away to check on her brother’s reaction constantly.
And seeing those reactions, his mind began to work.
[To see the Visual Representation of Pip and Elle again, you can visit Discord.gg/NunuXD]