Lohan felt the heat of his core rise until the wood of the pedestal beneath him started giving off a faint vapor.
The pain he was feeling was intense, but little by little, the pain began to fade, and in proportion to the heavy biomass consumption Lohan was going through, the pain also decreased as his body adapted and regulated to it.
Perhaps because Sacred Light was an Evolution of a much higher tier than Venom Production, not just in raw level, but in having a far superior and more powerful origin than the other evolution, in order for it to stabilize, Lohan’s body had a much easier time "mediating the conflict happening inside him," since one side held a huge advantage.
As soon as he managed to make the venom hold up against the Sacred Light inside him, the pain would ease and control would return to him.
With that, his body built a biological bridge that let both functions operate fully under his control.
Surprisingly, the interaction between these two evolutions inside him during the evolution process brought Lohan shocking results!
[Venom Production Lv 8 → Lv 11]
[New Trait obtained: Solar Toxin.]
[The venom produced now carries traces of sacred light, making it effective even against undead creatures or demons that would normally be immune to biological venoms.]
--
[Sacred Light Core Lv 4 → Lv 11]
[New Trait obtained: Active Purification.]
[The light aura now automatically purifies any external venom or curse attempting to penetrate the user’s membrane, acting as a magical and spiritual immune system.]
Not only were the new traits shocking, but the cost of nearly 1,000 Biomass to evolve Sacred Light brought incredible results for Lohan!
With this core’s evolution, not only had his control over Sacred Light surged, the amount of Sacred Light he produced had increased, the density of that energy had increased, everything was on a whole new level!
Lohan was even excited to see how this would react when interacting with Lisa’s body in combat, or when he injected it into Pip and Elle’s bodies, considering the permanent gains they could get from it!
’Ouch... that cost a fortune in biomass, but the results are far beyond anything I’d planned for.’ Lohan sighed inwardly, feeling his mass grow heavier and more resilient.
His body stopped glowing erratically and settled into a crystalline blue so clear it looked like a precious gem.
He didn’t stop there. He still had Vacuum Detonation Lv 4, Thermographic Perception Lv 9, and Hydrophobic Coating Lv 4. He poured the rest of his biomass budget into these crucial areas, raising all of them to Level 11.
[Vacuum Detonation Lv 4 → Lv 11]
[New Trait obtained: Prolonged Collapse.]
[The generated vacuum now keeps the suction point active for three seconds before detonating, pulling distant enemies toward the center of the impact with doubled gravitational force.]
[Thermographic Perception Lv 9 → Lv 11]
[New Trait obtained: Penetrating Vision]
[The user can now detect heat signatures even through thin walls or shallow ground, mapping the position of living beings even in fully enclosed environments.]
[Hydrophobic Coating Lv 4 → Lv 11]
[New Trait obtained: Ionic Navigation.]
[The Slime can now glide across the surface of water at high speed, reducing molecular friction and allowing aquatic movement as fluid as movement on land.]
Lohan leaned back against the pedestal, feeling like he’d just stepped out of a hot forge.
His body, while still keeping the appearance of a small blue sphere, now held an internal density far greater than an hour ago, along with several new adaptability abilities that had pushed his power and survivability to a whole new level!
Even the leftover biomass was invested into other evolutions that were already above level 11, but that he still found great use for.
Unlike the last time he’d gone through the evolution process, when he’d had to keep a large amount of biomass stored as a survival guarantee for everyone in the dungeon, now with no big immediate objective, he was finally able to spend it all on himself.
He tested out the new Optimized Mana Circuits and noticed the energy now flowed without any mental or physical friction whatsoever.
He formed a human hand to test the new Structural Stability and Morphological Memory, and this time, the hand came out with a startling sharpness, with details of nails and joints he’d never managed to replicate perfectly before.
With this level of bodily control, Lohan realized that as long as he wanted to, he could already form small limbs on his own body, and not have to rely only on the small round Slime shape!
’Haha, at this point if I run into an Elite Level 15 monster again... maybe I won’t even need Lisa’s help to deal with it!’ Lohan thought with an inward smile full of confidence.
He looked at his final status interface.
All of his basic evolutions were now above level 11, which meant he’d broken through every one of the Slime race’s initial bottlenecks.
The evolutionary "snowball" he’d started with the very first blade of grass he digested back in the Novice Village had now turned into an avalanche ready to devour Elysium’s firmament.
He realized that the integration of his low level abilities would begin supporting his body in digesting and adapting the magic and traits of elite monsters he absorbed from stronger prey.
’Alright... my foundation is solid now. Let’s see how fast these new recruits can run to keep up with me.’ Lohan murmured, feeling the connection with his clones scattered through the nearby forest.
He could feel every movement of the Players through the Collective Synaptic Sync. It was as if he were in three places at once, digesting monster remains and accumulating experience without even moving from his pedestal.
He was only a few thousand points away from reaching level 16, and with his evolutionary arsenal now complete and refined, Lohan was hungrier than ever for power and freedom.
He shut down the system interface and allowed himself a moment of rest, leaving the hard work to his clones with the Players.
The silence of the office was broken only by the pulsing sap of the Astralis tree, until suddenly, Lisa returned.