The wind of Mythlorien whistled through Pip’s translucent wings, producing a sound like the chiming of crystal bells cutting through the forest air.
For the little fairy, that moment was the peak of his new existence. Pip looked down, watching the vast green expanse stretching out like an endless ocean, and felt a wave of deep gratitude toward Lohan and Lisa.
It hadn’t been that long since Pip was just a lazy fairy in Petal Village, someone who hated the repetitive work of polishing seeds and preferred to sleep under the shelter of giant mushrooms.
Back then, he was content to just be one of the many "invisible gardeners" who fled at the slightest sign of danger, unable to protect even his own sister or himself.
But now, Pip felt the comforting, cold weight of Lohan’s blue biomass wrapping around his legs and torso like a powerful warrior’s armor.
Pip loved what he did now.
He loved being the guardian of Astralis Requiem, loved the prospect of becoming a powerful creature who no longer had to fear the shadows of the forest.
He was no longer like the other fairies who spent centuries tending plants and died without ever having seen the world beyond the treetops.
Pip wanted to go to the stars, and with Halon’s clone fused to him, he felt like the stars were within reach.
Suddenly, a trace of Mana cut through Pip’s perception.
Through the sensory link established by Lohan’s clone, the little fairy detected a heat signature moving at a speed greater than anything he’d seen before.
A gray shape, wrapped in a swirl of compressed air, dove down from the highest clouds. It was a Gale Falcon, a predator that used wind magic to double its natural acceleration, making it practically a living projectile.
The bird spotted Pip, seeing in the little fairy an easy, energy rich snack.
Pip felt a chill in his stomach as the falcon began its dive, but Lohan’s clone reacted first.
The blue Slime armor around Pip changed color instantly. The sky blue gave way to an absolute, matte black, with hexagonal plates of obsidian exoskeleton sprouting from Pip’s surface, transforming his appearance from a cute little creature into an intimidating, shadowy warrior.
The falcon shrieked in surprise at the transformation, sensing a predator’s aura emanating from that small being, but instinct and the momentum of its dive kept the bird from pulling back.
Pip didn’t want to back down either. He felt Halon’s courage flowing into his core. With the small sword he carried, Pip adjusted his position in the air, ready to hunt the hunter.
’Stay focused, Pip. Use the environment to your advantage...’ Lohan thought, frustrated at not being close enough to the guild to communicate with Pip verbally.
The falcon fired off a burst of cutting wind while Pip, driven by the clone’s enhanced agility, pulled off an acrobatic maneuver, dodging the attack by mere millimeters.
Spinning through the air, Pip extended his left hand and channeled his plant control magic.
Normally, Pip could only make flowers sprout or control small, thin stems, but with the natural energy Lohan injected directly into his system, the power was multiplied tremendously.
Roots from the trees below shot up toward the sky, moving like living whips, startling both Pip and the falcon attacking him.
The falcon tried to use wind magic to break free, but Pip’s control over the vines was frighteningly precise under the Slime’s guidance.
The plants formed a containing net in the air, limiting the bird’s room to maneuver. When the falcon hesitated, Pip struck.
The little fairy became a dark blue blur. His sword, coated in a layer of acidic, corrosive gelatin, gleamed under the sunlight.
Pip unleashed a series of quick strikes, while Lohan used the Slime’s stickiness to pin down the falcon’s wings whenever they touched Pip’s body.
The bird tried to struggle, but every movement only tightened the biological knot closing in around it.
With one last coordinated effort, Pip drove his blade into the weak point beneath the bird’s neck, while Lohan hardened his mass to shatter the resistance of its Mana saturated feathers.
The falcon let out a final cry and its body dropped, fully engulfed by tentacles of biomass from Lohan’s clone before it even hit the ground.
After the kill, Lohan’s clone partially detached from Pip, spreading over the falcon’s carcass to begin digestion.
Surprisingly for Lohan, who was watching everything through the mental connection, a system notification lit up before his vision.
Even though the bird didn’t have a solid Mana Stone, its life essence was so rich in the wind element that the System processed a new trait.
[New Digested Matter - Wind Blade!]
[New Magic available!]
[Wind Blade]
[Control the wind element to form a thin blade of wind capable of cutting enemies.]
Lohan vibrated his membrane back at the tree headquarters, satisfied with the unexpected gain.
It was a wind magic very similar to the ice spike he used so often, a blade of compressed air capable of cutting through steel.
Unfortunately this wasn’t a real evolution, just like Ice Spike, this Wind Blade didn’t even have a level for him to evolve, only usable as a magic Skill that consumed Mana, but even so, it was a great addition to his repertoire.
But what really shocked him was Pip’s reaction.
The little fairy was panting, but a faint, refreshing pearly light began flowing through his body, similar to when Lohan killed monsters!
"Halon... Pip feels... different. The energy inside Pip... it’s bigger!" the fairy exclaimed, looking at his own hands in astonishment.
Lohan also noticed a familiar energy flowing toward his clone and Pip, but he was so accustomed to it that his mind had subconsciously tuned it out; however, Pip’s exclamation forced him to pay closer attention, and what he saw left him shocked!
Lohan analyzed the clone’s sensory data and, hardly believing what he was seeing, realized that Pip had just gained experience!