diymy #644 - A slime that eats ether?
#644 - A slime that eats ether?
"Are you sure you haven't caught the wrong thing?" Hohn stood before the glass-embedded iron cage, pointing at the cat-sized creature inside, and asked Lener, "This is a slime?"
Lener nodded with certainty.
It wasn't that Hohn was being unreasonably suspicious, but the creature in the iron cage was simply too peculiar.
In the open space outside the Aether Spire of the Mechanical Palace, stood a glass iron cage half the height of a person.
Inside the iron cage lay a translucent creature, its body constantly rising and falling, occasionally puffing out a wisp of pale blue, glittering smoke from its ears.
This little thing had been shot several times by the factory guards with holy rifles, and was now in a heavily injured state, lying on the ground on its last breath.
Hohn suspected they had caught the wrong thing earlier because it didn't look like a slime at all, but rather a translucent, fluorescent, hairless rabbit.
The head of a rabbit, the body of a rat, the claws of a lizard, the "nose" of an elephant.
Its most prominent feature was its slender mouth, as long as its head. Hohn squatted down to observe closely, and could even see the circular mouthparts and two rows of fine teeth.
Interestingly, its skin was composed of a translucent slime membrane, allowing a clear view of the flowing liquid and crystallized slime core glowing with a pale blue light inside.
According to Hohn's rough estimate, this small creature was about 40 centimeters long with its slender tail, but its actual torso was only about 20 centimeters, just a bit smaller than his boots.
"We've never seen a slime like this before," Shirinman of the Baldhead Society knocked on the glass cover, his eyes full of desire. "Generally speaking, slimes don't have the ability to grow teeth, but this one actually has teeth... If you don't want it, can you give it to me?"
"No," Hohn refused outright, and asked Robert of the White Mountain Hermitage, "Have you performed divination on it?"
"We performed divination on its origins," Robert shook his head. "But its origins are clearly quite complex. Even with our best efforts, we couldn't get an accurate result. We only drew one Tarot card out of three—the Tower in the upright position."
Hohn subconsciously turned his head to look at the Aether Spire beside him: "...Does it refer to this tower?"
"Not necessarily. This isn't divination based on the position of the stars, but complex divination without clear boundaries. The Tower could refer to the Aether Spire, or it could refer to drastic changes or upheaval."
"Can you continue divining?"
"Difficult. If we continue, we might go mad or become a vegetable before we finish divining," Robert shook his head. "We of the White Mountain Hermitage are not like the Scribes Hermitage; we don't use astrology without restraint."
In astrological magic, the clearer and smaller the conditions, the clearer and more accurate the results. The more complex, the higher the energy level, and the further back in time, the greater the price and the more blurred the results.
Sometimes it's not just draining magical power, but even life itself.
So most of the time, astrologers use relatively low-mana, low-risk vague divination techniques, and based on the results, decide whether to take the next step to approach a more precise divination.
So, theoretically, one could use infinite vague divination to approach a clear result.
According to Hilof's mother's notes, they found this tower by constantly using vague divination to assist in calculating with astrological instruments.
Just as Hohn thought of Hilof, the gate of the Aether Spire slowly opened, and Janna pushed Hilof out of the tower.
"Hiss hiss hiss—"
As if sensing Janna's arrival, the strange creature suddenly stood up shakily, its black pupils staring fixedly at Janna, and let out a threatening, low, hoarse hiss.
Hohn raised his chin at Janna: "Walk around a couple of times and see what its reaction is."
Janna rolled her eyes, but did as she was told.
Walking around the glass cover once, the strange creature turned to face Janna, even bumping its head against the glass cover.
Janna's face showed a look of disgust: "I don't know why, but I always feel like this thing is so disgusting."
Hilof wheeled her chair to Hohn's side: "I've tested its bodily fluids. They also contain electricity-conducting demon-loving bacteria. Maybe it's like Lana, one of Janna's first-generation familiars."
"But Lana gives me a sense of closeness, like a little sister," Janna glared at the little thing in the glass cover. "I've hated this thing since the first time I saw it."
Shirinman, as a Baldhead Society master specializing in demons, knows demons better than demons themselves: "That's strange. Generally, demon familiars have a certain subservience to the witch. It's rare for them to actively attack the witch or other first-generation familiars.
How about you give it to me? I have alchemical 'comfort bread' and dragon fruit. I'll feed it and train it, and I guarantee it'll be properly trained."
"I can't give it to you." Among the many secret societies in the Mechanical Palace, Hilof hated the Baldhead Society members the most. "It has high research value."
Saying that, Hilof looked at Hohn: "It has a thin amount of aether in its body. Besides the Star-Forged Gear, this is the first time I've seen a creature with aether."
As if thinking of something, Hohn reminded Hilof: "When we found it, it was hiding in the rotating holy machine, as if it had a dependence on the aether on the Star-Forged Gear?"
"Not sure." Hilof shook her head. "But based on my microscopic observation and speculation, aether is not a condition for maintaining its life, but the power it uses for its spells. So it's not a strictly defined demon. Perhaps it's a new kind of creature?"
"Oh?" Shirinman instantly took a step forward.
Hilof suddenly turned her head, her ears and tail all bristling. Her previously calm face almost formed a fierce expression, and a rare "woo woo" growl came from her throat.
Shirinman had to honestly retreat five steps away from Hilof.
Looking at the "Lightning Slime" trapped in the iron cage and glass cover, Hohn fell into deep thought. This special slime couldn't have fallen from a coconut tree. Its appearance must have a origin and a reason.
Especially its ability to absorb and store aether makes it difficult to disassociate it from the Aether Spire.
Thinking about it carefully, this so-called "Lightning Wizard" has taken action three times. The first time was against the disguised demon hunter. Hohn suspects that the demon hunter discovered it while cleaning the sewers.
The second time was against Lana. Only this time was it an active attack, and the target was its "own kind."
The third time was the lightning explosion incident at the textile factory two days later. It was also triggered passively. Judging from the situation at the time, it should have been replenishing aether.
Although it is uncertain whether there are similar attacks in the wild, judging from these three times, its behavior pattern is passive towards ordinary people and active towards "its own kind."
It should have appeared after Hohn and the others arrived on the island; otherwise, with the methods of Hilof's mother and the demon hunters, they couldn't have failed to discover it.
It first appeared in the summer of 1445. In other words, it appeared in the half year from the winter of 1444 to the summer of 1445...
Could this thing have drunk water from the moon pool containing lightning, and that's why it turned into a Lightning Slime?
This doesn't explain where the lightning magic demon-loving bacteria in its body came from. A slime that drank moon spring containing lightning happened to come into contact with Janna's foot skin?
"First, maintain its life, give it food, but don't let it come into contact with aether. Let's study it first and see what it is." Unable to figure it out for a while, Hohn had to put it aside for the time being. "Let's study it first and see what it is."
Several holy riflemen worked together to lift the heavy glass-covered iron cage and walked towards a separate laboratory.
Originally, Hilof was about to follow in her wheelchair, but Hohn stopped her: "Hilof, wait a minute. I have something to ask you."
Hilof was stunned, then nodded: "That's good. I also have an idea to discuss with you."