Hopping down the hall was a blob. The moonlight seemed to fainly lit its blueish hue. One would think the slime was talking to itself or to ghosts. Instead he was talking to something much more sinister and bureaucratic. The system.
"Come on it's about time you spill some beans." Jack demanded in a whisper.
For the past 10 minutes he had been pestering the system about who the Quiver's were, who was the one who cared for him, who is Lorena and so on.
[Would Host like me to ask my supervisor to answer?] the system's robotic reply had a hint of something, a faint trace of a sarcasm.
"Yes I would like to ask for a replacement system that isn't a bureaucratic asshole," Jack grumbled in his core.
[...]
The system stayed silent for a while after that remark.
[Unfortunately the supervisor is on a strike. They demand an increase in Handholding Points for overtime work.]
It had to be a joke. He rolled his eyes and gave up for now.
Reaching the red and gold door, the one with the birdcage rune, he didn't stop for dramatic effect but for a more practical reason: to listen. No footsteps, no voices.
Then he slid under the door again. The air was heavy with the scent of antiseptic, fear, and the metallic tang of blood.His slime body searched everywhere for Hybrid 25. That empty cage.
But it wasn't empty anymore.
Aria.
Her ghost-like form flickered in and out of existence inside the confines of her glass prison, the magical collar pulsing like a cruel heartbeat around her neck.
His gut tightened. Jack forced out all of his breath. Ingelton was cruel. Leaving Aria in there but what about the other hybrids? She wasn't alone, he saw the rest of them too. But he didn't care about them.
He tapped on the glass. She flinched and saw him, her ruby eyes wide.
"Bobo? You're alive?" she whispered, her voice echoing faintly through the thick glass. "How did you escape theinquisitors?"
[She is experiencing hallucinations due to prolonged exposure to anti-ghost wards.]
"I need to get her out."
When he entered with Ella, he was already searching for keys or switches that could open these cages but he found none. Then he remembered a door he'd seen all the way in the back of this collection room. But it was locked. Of course.
With a grimace, Jack tried to squeeze under the locked metal door, hoping his slime form was small enough. It wasn't.His core was too thick.
The keyhole.
Thats where he tried next. Jack was climbing up until he reached the golden keyhole. A small rune glowed in the middle of the keyhole. And then a small arrow made out of fire magic shot through the keyhole, aimed at him. It was too fast to dodge completely.
[HP: 20/50]
Jack winced. Just grazing him, it was enough. He slid down from the door.
"I need the key."
A flash of memory came to him. The arrogant posture of the slave lord, Ingelton. Golden keys were hanging on his belt. Of course, this arrogant pig kept the keys himself. Breaking the glass wasn't a good idea because he still needed to remove the collar.
Before he decided to go after Ingelton. He needed to double check his system. Maybe there was some kind of skill that could break or open things.
[HHP: 900]
[Evolution Shop.]
[Magical Weapon Slime - 800 HHP: A special type of Weapon Slime that is able to absorb weapons that are imbued with magic or runes.]
[Count Sanquilisme Slime - 2000 HHP: The next evolution of Sanquilisme Slime. All stats x2. All skills +1 level and gains access to uncommon Blood, Heal and Weapon Slime skills.]
[Inorganic Mimic Slime - 1000 HHP: Transforms your slime core and body into an inorganic object for a short period.]
These three were the ones he found most interesting. But he couldn't buy two of them unless he saved up. He also had the basic evolution to choose from but most of those were useless.
"What's the difference between magic weapons and the bloodforging skill I have?"
[Bloodforging is not a magic skill like fireball. It is a physical skill that is unable to cut through magically enhanced objects.]
Jack paused in thought. "Would I merge evolution again like Sanquilisme and my bloodforging would evolve?" he inquired, his tiny slime form wiggling as if scratching a non-existent chin.
[Weapon Slime and Magical Weapon Slime are incompatible. Host would lose one type to gain the other. Host would remain a Sanquilisme Slime but lose access to Rusty Nail.]
He nodded. A plan formed. By all definition magical weapons should be better. So it was a necessary upgrade. But he will only buy it if he finds a magical weapon because until then it's useless.
With one last glance at Aria, he left the room in search of magical weapons and Lord Ingelton.
Aria pressed her face against the cold glass, fallen tears on her ghostly cheeks as she saw Bobo leave her.
"No... come back," she whispered.
As much as it pained him, Jack knew rushing in was a recipe for becoming a smear of grey and blueberry residue. He slithered through the labyrinth halls of the manor, the plush carpets swallowing the sound of his passage. Once again he came across a statue.
"Still scary," he muttered.
His spine tingled because like last time this statue had the faintest traces of heat, but again he ignored it and decided to go past it. For safety measures he walked all the way to the other side of the hall, close to the wall. He even formed a small nail in precaution. As he passed, he felt a slight wind against his slime but dismissed it as a gust.
"Phew."
He exhaled, staring back at the statue. There was no reason to be scared of a random statue. Still he didn't trust this place. At every corner there could be Charles ready to snipe him down.
Jack turned around, ready to continue his quest. Then a black shoe made contact with his body and pinned him down to the floor.
Coughing up blue slime, he grunted.
[HP: 6/50]