Chapter 311: A Clever Bug (1/2)

Helios nodded, opening a warp back to Svia. The calculating albony tilted his head, ”Should we burrow down?”

I rolled my shoulders, ”Let's.”

Taking a stroll back onto Svia, we walked into Reason's colony right where we left off. Once again, the colony's drones communicated our presence, the blue bodyguards returning. Reason arrived with them. The elegant and deadly razor queen spread two tendrils of slime out as if they were arms,

”What have you decided on?”

I raised a hand, ”We're going to burrow down and see about the insects. Afterward, we'll trace the bugs back to Plazia.”

Reason shivered, ”That will never work. He will evade you.”

I raised a hand, ”It didn't work for you, but it might for us. Let us try it out.”

”If you must, then do so. Be ready for war when you arrive at Svia's depths.”

”I am.” Turning towards the others, my armor grinned with its eerie glare, ”Are we all?”

Florence winced under his mask, ”Oh...most definitely.”

I pointed down, ”Is this a good place to dig down?”

Reason pointed a diamond-like claw at a tunnel leading down, ”My children lie below. Some places are underdeveloped. You may carve into Svia there.”

She slithered, her form elongating into a serpentine shape. Once faster, Reason pumped her body at the edges of this slithering motion. This created a jumping gait, one that involved sideways leaping. It was like a ninja in some anime, honestly. We didn't follow suit, each of us running to keep pace.

We passed a menagerie of tunnels and creatures. These sights displayed the slimes' tenacity. In one tunnel, lines of eggs formed into dark pods. These blots squirmed in their sacks before a pod burst outward from within. A caviar mash oozed out before bursting into a swarm of tiny, see-through bubbles. These translucent orbs infested an eldritch corpse before the slimes within began germinating.

Eh, it was disgusting yet fascinating. Another burrow stacked itself from top to bottom with pillars of yellow slimes. The green drones rolled up to these masses, regurgitating bits of ores, each different in color. These metals fused into the yellow pillars, which then bubbled within. Those gases flowed up towards lichens on the roof, the fungi growing fleshy plumes towards these vents.

Fragments from that process floated down these yellow stacks, shifting their coloration to a mellow bisque. These processed steels then funneled into dark piles like coal, which the drones carried off. The lichens above then dripped sweet nectar into various pools, each one reeking like rubbing alcohol and sugar.

The blue bruisers drank from those pits, and they explained why the Ahcorus wouldn't mind facing the Hybrids. Killing Elysium's foot soldiers would give the slimes an enormous supply of food to generate more troops. Those resources supplanted their dying with newly rendered forces.

At the same time, the bruisers themselves made for formidable enemies in their own right. Searching my memories, one of my minds sent over a status for my viewing pleasure while we reached the colony's depths.

Ahcorus Bruiser(lvl 4,902 | Guild: Reason's Brood | Home: Svia | Species: Ahcorus | Variant: Spiker) - The Ahcorus bruisers are a guardsmen variant of the slimes. They are composed of alcoholic substructures, creating an utterly different biology than most conventional, carbon-based life forms. This results in high levels of flammability and a fermentation-oriented life cycle.

They evolved this capacity through a symbiotic relationship with various bacteria within their gelatinous centers. Surrounding this cytoplasmic stratum, a thickened membrane protects the soft organelles within. These cell-like creatures move via hydraulic locomotion of this exterior membrane, which generates pressure they use to move.

This softened inner form gives the Ahcorus immense freedom in whatever shape they choose to take. Given the bruiser's penchants for battle, they often take on multi-limbed forms. This particular variant of the bruisers specializes in generating keratinous spikes coated in a specialized enamel. Once formed within, these spikes puncture the outer membrane, locking in on threats.

By shifting their form, they generate torrential forces to fire these spikes at enemies. This gives the spikers a long-ranged utility compared to their more mauling-oriented brethren. Be careful of their prowess, or else you'll end up skewered by them.

That would be the case for most, but not you. They fear you.

The status update contained so much info that it reminded me of a Wikipedia page, discharging enough detail to make me grimace. Any status update acted like that, and taking a glance at all those updates made my head spin, figuratively of course. Not having the time to read hundreds of pages, I only gazed at the written abstract instead of the complete documentation for that reason.

Despite my misgivings, the statuses were interesting, and they let me finish the trip to the colony's recesses. There, the enamel coating on the walls turned thick enough that movement proved difficult for my team. The slimes put a haphazard structure of pillars throughout any tunnel, like a spider's nest of threads. They didn't need a wide-open space, so they flowed through the small gaps they left behind.

Being over fifteen feet tall and quite solid, I couldn't do that.

So, having a great idea, I ran right through these enamel pillars, the dust smelling like a dentist's office when my teeth got drilled. Gross as they were, the posts offered reinforcement the colony needed. I generated stone in place of these shattered struts so the settlement wouldn't collapse. Not pleased with my casual destruction of her tunnel system, Reason stopped flowing through her tunnel network,

”This is deep enough. The damage you're doing far exceeds what's necessary for burrowing below. Here, you may choose to face Plazia as you wish.”

I gave her a thumbs-up, ”Thank you. You're good to go.”

Several of the cerulean bruisers flowed up behind us, weaving between my freshly crafted struts. Reason shivered, ”You wish to face Plazia's masses alone?”

Remembering the sheer fallout from my other battles, I grimaced, ”Absolutely. If it gets ugly, you're all going to die.”

Reason generated crystalline plates over her slimy body, making herself into the image of a flowing emerald coated in diamonds. She spread spiked limbs, ”I am strong. I will help you.”

I took a step forward and reached out. I tapped her crystal armor. As I did, I generated a telekinetic pulse that shattered the front plate. The rigid structure fell down like glass as she pulled away. Lifting my other hand, I constructed a steel pillar from the tunnel's flooring.

She leaped back, but I suspended her in a gravity well. The pillar stopped growing just shy of her exposed center. From that jagged shard, I expanded a dozen serrated spines of steel. Reason spoke through her telepathic pathway, ”What is this? Are you an assassin from Gluttony? Perhaps Greed?”

I frowned, ”Naw.” I flicked my wrist, the metal barb crumbling back down like aluminum foil. ”I'm an example of what could happen to you, and in only a few seconds.” I released her while lifting my fist up, ”And I'm not trying here.”

Reason jiggled in anger, ”Are you mocking me?”

I shook my head, sending over my confidence telepathically, ”No, I'm reminding you why you hired me for the job.”

Reason's spread-out body condensed into a more spherical blob. The razor queen calmed down, ”Must you have used these methods to explain that?”

I shook my head, ”I didn't want to waste time arguing. I have an eldritch to kill, and I'm on a schedule.”

Reason paused, a tense silence passing over us. She shivered, ”Is that so?”

I nodded, ”Yup.”

She jumped back and forth, ”Then, then this is a joyous day. You are what we wished for, a bringer of death. This is worthy of celebration. Face our ancient enemy on your terms, and we will discuss the first of your battles once you return.”

I waved a hand, ”We'll let you know how it turns out.”

Reason oozed away, funneling through her reinforced tunnels. Once they left, Helios muttered, ”Thank you for avoiding that overlong explanation for why she needed to leave. I didn't want to sit through it.”

Amara tensed, ”I as well.”

Florence frowned, ”I think you could've spoken your way out of that concisely, if you so chose. Actions do speak louder than words, but it's good to remember that not every situation calls for yelling.”

I crossed my arms, ”Hm, yeah, point taken.” I pointed at Helios, ”Do you mind creating a panel of void ice between us and the ground?”

Skepticism traced Helios's face, ”Why, exactly?”