Chapter 1501 Slimy Snot Insect <TOC> Chapter 1503 Classification
Translator: SumTLMan
Sanders cast his gaze into the transparent observation chamber.
A turquoise creature, viscous like nasal snot, was undulating slowly. Scattered around the transparent box were droplets of Akeso essence blood, towards which the snot creature eagerly scurried.
However, halfway to its food, a thin layer of frost suddenly formed on the walls of the observation chamber.
The temperature within the chamber started to plummet rapidly.
The snot creature immediately halted its undulating movement. Its body gradually transformed; its once granular surface became smooth, and a peculiar energy wafted within, causing it to expand slowly until it finally assumed a spherical shape.
It looked like a turquoise marble.
“This is its adaptive state to the cold,” Angel explained, retracting the chill from his fingertips. The chamber’s temperature gradually rose. The snot creature didn’t immediately change back but waited until the frost haze within the chamber disappeared before returning to its blob-like form.
It then continued to move toward the essence blood. At this moment, a yellow and black hornet was introduced into the chamber.
As soon as the snot creature sensed the fluctuations from the wing’s movement in the air, it blossomed like a flower, assuming a sea urchin-like form. Each of its protruding spikes was elongated and sharp, and the ‘tips’ eerily glowed green, as if coated in venom.
“This is its defensive posture against predatory insects,” Angel added before removing the hornet from the chamber.
Subsequently, Angel conducted several more experiments, including subjecting it to heat, submersion, strong winds… physical impacts, and energy blasts.
Fundamentally, the snot creature displayed different forms under various conditions.
“Based on the current crisis, it significantly minimizes harm from external factors after changing its form. This seems like a self-defense mechanism,” Angel pondered. “This behavior aligns with the tendencies of Morphing Softworms, but it might be premature to categorize it as such.”
Sanders studied the observation chamber intently for a moment before lightly tapping it.
Immediately, the interior of the chamber was filled with converging illusion nodes. A carnivorous insect-beast with a greenish-purple skin appeared from the sky, emanating a menacing aura.
Startled, the snot creature in the chamber transformed instantly.
Just like a previous wasp specimen, it metamorphosed into a greenish-blue sea urchin.
As the carnivorous insect-beast’s aura grew more potent and it began to close in, the snot creature started slowly retreating. At that moment, a buzzing wasp flew into the observation chamber.
The carnivorous insect-beast unfurled its pink tongue, enveloping the wasp and swallowing it.
With the sound of crunching, the wasp’s aura disappeared entirely.
This development startled the snot creature once more.
At first, Angel wasn’t sure what Sanders was aiming for with this stress test against foes. They had already conducted this experiment before, so why repeat it?
While Angel was puzzling over this, the carnivorous insect-beast extended its tongue in an attack on the snot creature. Several cracks appeared on the observation chamber’s walls, all caused by the carnivorous insect-beast’s tongue assault.
However, the snot creature demonstrated astonishing speed at that moment, spinning like a rubber ball to evade the attacks.
But the observation chamber wasn’t large. Even if the snot creature could dodge the carnivorous insect-beast’s strikes, it would inevitably end up in its stomach if it couldn’t escape.
Just when it seemed like the snot creature’s situation was worsening, Angel was suddenly blinded by a flashing light.
Witnessing the transformation of the snot creature into a sea urchin, it shot its ‘spines’ toward the carnivorous insect-beast’s tongue and eyes. Simultaneously, the snot creature morphed into a dark silver, spike-like form, inflating its body at least threefold. It ferociously stabbed at the crack previously made by the carnivorous insect-beast in the observation box.
Apparently, the snot creature aimed to escape by carving a hole through the crack.
However, despite its best efforts, the snot creature failed to break the observation box.
Upon seeing this, Sanders subtly snapped his fingers.
The carnivorous insect-beast was itself an illusion; thus, it dissipated along with the sonic fluctuations. Also vanishing were the foul-smelling saliva left by the carnivorous insect-beast and the wall’s cracks — all were illusions.
Precisely because the cracks were illusions, the snot creature’s attempt to escape through them was futile.
While Sanders dispelled the illusion, he extracted the ‘spines’ that had remained on the carnivorous insect-beast.
He examined them closely, then handed them to Angel, saying, “Take a look for yourself.”
Angel received the spines. Although as an alchemist, he’d already formed an opinion upon seeing them, holding the actual objects still brought a tinge of surprise.
Hard, cold, and shimmering with a metallic luster under the light source.
Yet saying it was metal wouldn’t quite fit, as the spines clearly bore traces of biological tissue. But claiming it was part of the snot creature also seemed inaccurate to Angel.
It closely resembled an intermediate product of biological alchemy.
Sanders noted, “These spines are different from the ones it initially displayed. When facing an intense, life-threatening danger, it altered some properties of its skin for survival. This characteristic is more in line with that of a Morphing Softworm.”
“Moreover, when it transformed into that spike-like shape, you must have sensed a unique energy fluctuation,” he added.
Angel nodded, “Its outer layer exhibits a sort of spatial fluctuation.”
“Exactly, this specific type of spatial ripple is also a characteristic of the Morphing Softworm,” Sanders said. “Both of these unique traits align with the requirements for a Morphing Softworm. So, it’s safe to say that it is indeed a Morphing Softworm.”
“As for why its shape differs from other Morphing Softworms and appears rather… peculiar,” Sanders caught himself before uttering the word ‘disgusting,’ and paused for a moment, “it might be some sort of self-preservation mechanism.”
Just as Angel had previously told Popoca, the Morphing Softworm has the ability to transform at will. Who could accurately describe its true form?
“If you’re genuinely concerned, you might want to consult Kimberly or Isabelle. During their prime years, Morphing Softworms were not yet extinct, so they might know something,” Sanders suggested.
Although Sanders himself had used Morphing Softworms, by the time he began his rise to prominence, they had become exceedingly rare. In this regard, his insights were not as extensive as those of Kimberly and Isabelle, who had lived longer.
Angel nodded again; just to be on the safe side, he decided to double-check.
When Angel was led by a semi-mechanical individual to find Lady Kimberly, she was engrossed in a pile of documents. Her brows were furrowed, and a misty gloom filled the magical forest intertwined in her hair. The ethereal spirits in it were all hidden away, daring not to poke their heads out.
Besides Lady Kimberly, there was one more presence in the room — a soul, to be precise. Moriah.
Upon hearing the door open, both Lady Kimberly and Moriah looked up.
Lady Kimberly put down her pen and looked at Angel, “What brings you here? I heard from Natasha that you’ve already spent a week in the testing grounds. Why not stay a bit longer?”
The tone of Lady Kimberly’s statement carried no particular emotion, leaving Angel unsure whether she was genuinely advising him or being sarcastic.
Reflecting on what Sanders had mentioned earlier, Angel proactively apologized first, saying Kimberly had been bothered for several days by messages from various outposts due to matters concerning him.
Lady Kimberly paused for a moment, “You’re talking about that trivial issue? I haven’t been bothered by it.”
On the other side, Moriah chuckled lightly, “Kimberly really hopes you’d stay a bit longer. These days, many people have suggested restarting the alchemical testing ground, but she’s been delaying it, using your presence inside as an excuse. Now that you’re out, she has no excuse.”
“All systems are go,” which means everything needs to restart, including the alchemical testing ground. Lady Kimberly is very passionate about alchemy, but when it comes to handling the affairs of the entire Black Castle, she’d procrastinate if she could and be as lazy as possible.
Angel hesitated for a moment: “Shall I go back in for a few more days?”
Kimberly waved her hand dismissively, “Why talk as if the testing ground is a prison? Forget it, you’re out now. Anyway, this mess here has to be dealt with eventually.”
Angel recalled the massive scale of the testing ground, and the magical materials piled up as if they were free. If this was considered a mess, then he had nothing more to say.
“Let’s get down to business. You couldn’t have come here for no reason,” Kimberly looked at Angel.
Angel explained his purpose for the visit.
After listening, Kimberly muttered under her breath, “I heard that Morphing Softworms have become extinct in the Southern Region’s Wizarding World, yet you managed to find one… I haven’t seen many Morphing Softworms, but Moriah was an auctioneer a thousand years ago and probably has seen quite a few. Why don’t you show us?”
Angel laid out the observation box and detailed the experiments he had previously conducted.
After reviewing it, Kimberly couldn’t make a judgment. However, Moriah, after a brief examination, nodded without hesitation: “It is indeed a Morphing Softworm, and perhaps one of the best kinds within that category.”
In the world, it’s challenging to find two identical things; there will always be differences. The same goes for Morphing Softworms.
According to Moriah’s explanation, the quality of Morphing Softworms also varies between good and bad. However, the delineation of good and bad is inherently nebulous, depending on the point of reference.
For wizards, the primary utility of Morphing Softworms lies in their application in shape-shifting spells. Therefore, the quality of these Softworms is gauged by their effectiveness in facilitating such spells.
Shape-shifting spells serve as a form of illusion that allows one to alter their appearance. They are touted as being versatile enough to make someone as small as a mosquito or as large as a giant.
However, this claim is more rhetorical flourish than reality. In practice, most wizards can only shrink to the size of a member of the Kulakuka tribe at best, and enlarge themselves to perhaps three to five times the size of an average human.
There are exceptions where shape-shifting spells can make one smaller than a mosquito, similar to a speck of dust; or larger than a giant, comparable to a mountain. However, instances of such extreme transformations are exceedingly rare.
Two factors determine the upper limit of these shape-shifting transformations. The first is the underlying energy reserve, and the second is the quality of the Morphing Softworms in question.
Chapter 1501 Slimy Snot Insect <TOC> Chapter 1503 Classification