Chapter 412 - 20: Slimes Can Be Powerful
Why them? Why the employees of the garbage collection station (the Natural Essence Manufacturing Plant), who had always been so unnoticeable within the territory?
It all began with Als, the territory he had recently conquered.
Ever since Lin Yu sent his people to occupy Als, the territory had belonged to him.
As the territory’s garbage collectors, the Gluttonous Slimes had naturally gone there to collect trash (corrupted matter, corpses, all sorts of dead plants, etc.).
Unexpectedly, their jelly-like bodies were only slightly affected by the triple gravity on the Titan Continent.
Aside from their bodies being compressed into small blobs by the high gravity, their abilities and movement speed remained completely unchanged.
After receiving the report, Lin Yu quietly observed them from the sky for several days.
Then, to his pleasant surprise, he discovered that as the Gluttonous Slimes consumed trash on the Titan Continent, they were gradually absorbing the most important characteristic of the materials there—adaptability to high gravity.
As they gradually adapted to the high gravity of the Titan Continent, their bodies returned to their normal size, looking no different than they did back in his own territory.
What’s more, they could pass this trait on to other Gluttonous Slimes that hadn’t adapted to the high gravity by merging with them and then separating.
This unparalleled adaptability left Lin Yu overjoyed. In that moment, the Gluttonous Slimes’ Devour and Assimilate ability finally earned his full approval.
After assessing the Slimes’ combat capabilities, however, Lin Yu regretfully abandoned his plan to add them to his combat roster.
Nevertheless, Lin Yu decided to use "Enlighten" to forge the Slimes into another powerful race of subjects, second only to the Plant People he had already created.
The Slimes’ extraordinary reproductive capabilities and their ability to spread traits held immense strategic value.
The Slimes’ survivability was also impressive. When facing a powerful foe, they could merge into a single, high-level, colossal Slime. They could then swallow the enemy, even while under attack, and slowly digest it.
If they could neither swallow nor defeat an enemy, they could split into countless low-level Slimes and scatter to escape. As long as a single Slime survived, the race could not be exterminated (assuming no sprites were present to convert them).
In short, after his investigation, Lin Yu began to attach great importance to these once-overlooked inhabitants of his territory.
However, the Gluttonous Slimes’ weaknesses were also obvious.
First: Low intelligence.
Perhaps their bodies had been damaged during their mutation from sprites into Slimes, or perhaps their intelligence had been impaired by eating too much trash.
The Gluttonous Slimes generally had low intelligence, at best comparable to that of a newborn sprite.
They could distinguish friend from foe and understand simple commands, but more complex instructions would leave them struggling.
Second: A lack of offensive methods.
The Gluttonous Slimes had only one method of attack: swallowing a target, using their own bodies to prevent it from escaping, and then slowly digesting it.
However, their movement speed was not fast. Compared to the other subjects in the territory, they moved at a snail’s pace.
This was why, until now, their role in the territory had been limited to collecting garbage.
No enemy would be foolish enough to stand still and wait to be swallowed.
If these two weaknesses weren’t addressed, then no matter how amazing the Gluttonous Slimes were, they would be nothing more than skilled garbage collectors. Forget becoming the territory’s main force; they wouldn’t even qualify as combat support.
Any other lord would likely have given up on them after this assessment.
But Lin Yu was different. His "Enlighten All Things" talent could turn the mundane into the miraculous. Even if it didn’t work on the first try, applying it to the Slimes a few more times could still forge them into powerful Warriors.
He would just have them earn back the spent "Enlighten" charges in future conquests.
[Use "Enlighten." Target: Territory Slime]
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[Mimicry]: Slimes can control their bodies to transform, mimicking items, species, etc., that they have digested.
The mimicry can perfectly replicate a devoured item, including its properties.
If mimicking a piece of equipment, it can be wielded by other creatures and will produce the corresponding effects.
If mimicking a common appliance, it can be connected to an external power source or run on its own internal energy.
Note: Do not eat a Slime that is mimicking food. It will revert to its original form inside your stomach and eat you from the inside out.
The mimicry can perfectly replicate the appearance and physiological traits of a devoured species.
Synergy—Devour and Assimilate: When a Gluttonous Slime devours and assimilates an organism, it can obtain a portion of its memories, intellect, skills, and talents. It can store these and use them even when not in a mimicked state.
Note: A Gluttonous Slime can only store the intellect, skills, and talents of one organism at a time.
Note: Memories can be retained indefinitely, though a Gluttonous Slime with low intelligence may forget portions of them.
Slime Grade +1.
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[Corruption]: Some Slimes have mutated after long periods of being unable to find corrupted materials.
Their bodies have developed the ability to corrupt. Any matter that comes into contact with them will rapidly decay, reaching the end of its lifespan.
Slimes will leave a trail of corrosion in their wake. Matter and creatures that come into contact with this trail will suffer a minor corruption effect.
Anything a Slime swallows will be subject to this corruption effect, accelerating the digestion process.
Synergy—Corruption Purification: Matter corrupted by a Slime will gradually exude elemental substances containing its essence. These substances will combine to form Elemental Crystals.
Creatures corrupted by a Slime will, upon death, yield Talent Crystals or Skill Crystals containing their essence.
Using a Talent Crystal grants a portion of the original creature’s talents.
Using a Skill Crystal provides a chance to obtain some of the original creature’s skills.
Slime Grade +1.
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[Hive Mind]: The Slimes’ minds have undergone a mysterious change, increasing their Spiritual Power and intelligence. They can now use Telekinesis.
When in close proximity, a mysterious connection forms between them, greatly enhancing their collective consciousness.
When a Slime is within a ten-meter radius of another, they form a mental link. This link can be extended outward through other Slimes.
Once Slimes are mentally linked, their minds connect, and their Telekinesis, intelligence, and Spiritual Power are all amplified.
(Spiritual Power = Spell Power)
(Telekinesis Effect = Spell Power + Attack)
Effect: Intelligence enhanced, Spiritual Power +30%, grants the Telekinesis ability.
When a Slime connects with other Slimes, the amplification effect of the Hive Mind is strengthened.
As the number of mentally linked Slimes increases, this enhancement effect will grow progressively stronger.
For each additional Slime, the amplification effect increases by 1% (this bonus is additive).
Synergy—Split and Merge: For every level a Slime gains, it can split off one additional Level 1 Slime. Therefore, each level gained is equivalent to forming a mental link with one Slime.
Slime Grade +1.
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