Chapter 172: The Pregnancy of a Slime
The rain continued to fall over the city.
The sound of raindrops hitting the windows of the guild headquarters accompanied the constant movement of hunters walking through the hallways.
Liam was in one of the training rooms with his squad.
Everyone was wearing comfortable training clothes.
Lydia was standing beside him.
Jordan was facing Ray.
Chuck held several knives between his fingers.
Emily and Lena were warming up.
Zayn moved back and forth at a speed that made him difficult to follow with the naked eye.
Nora remained near a wall while several small shadow creatures crawled across the floor.
And Chloe watched the group with her small bag hanging from her shoulder.
Even though Liam was the only Platinum-rank hunter in the squad, he didn’t want that to create a difference between them.
"Alright."
Liam clapped his hands.
"Let’s begin."
Zayn shot forward.
In less than a second, he had crossed the entire room.
"Too fast!"
Lena barely managed to see him pass.
Zayn came to a stop at the other end and smiled.
"Did you see that?"
"Yes."
Liam crossed his arms.
"But you lost your balance when you stopped."
Zayn looked down at his feet.
"Oh."
He had left a small mark on the floor.
Chuck burst out laughing.
"Great speed, terrible brakes."
"Want to try it yourself?"
"No."
Chuck went back to chewing his gum.
"I’m very comfortable walking."
Liam shook his head.
"Zayn, you need to control your movements better. Your speed can be extremely useful for reconnaissance, but if you can’t stop properly..."
"I could end up smashing my face into a wall."
"Exactly."
Zayn nodded.
"Understood."
Liam looked at Nora.
"Now, you two."
Nora summoned three small shadow creatures.
"What do you want us to do?"
"I want Zayn to cover the area while your creatures explore the blind spots."
Zayn smiled.
"That sounds fun."
"It’s training."
"It can be fun too."
Liam let out a sigh.
"Begin."
Zayn disappeared again.
Nora’s creatures split up.
One climbed up a wall.
Another disappeared beneath a door.
The third moved along the ceiling.
Liam watched carefully.
The combination worked quite well.
’Zayn can cover large distances while Nora can explore places he wouldn’t be able to enter.’
It was exactly the kind of synergy he wanted to find.
◇◆◇
After more than an hour of training, Liam decided to end the session.
Jordan was sitting on the floor.
"I’m tired, Boss."
Ray sat down beside him.
"That’s because you tried to make me increase your density while you were running."
"It was a good idea."
"You fell."
"Details."
Carol burst out laughing.
Emily approached Liam.
"I think everyone needs to get used to working together."
"Yeah."
Liam looked at the group.
"But for our first time, it wasn’t bad."
Chloe approached.
"Boss."
"Yes?"
"Can I try something?"
Liam nodded.
Chloe extended her hand toward Emily.
"I need you to let me create a connection."
Emily took her hand, and a small light appeared between them.
Liam watched carefully.
Chloe closed her eyes.
"I’m going to transfer some of my energy to you."
After a few seconds, Emily opened her eyes.
"I feel better."
Chloe let go of her hand.
"But I’m a little tired."
Liam nodded.
"That’s exactly what we need to practice."
Chloe smiled.
"Understood."
Liam looked at Lydia.
She was sitting on a bench, drinking water.
"And you?"
Lydia looked up.
"I’m fine."
Liam approached her.
"Don’t you want to train?"
"Not today, honey."
Lydia smiled.
"I think I’d rather rest."
Liam understood immediately. Ever since they discovered the pregnancy, she had been much more careful with her abilities.
"Alright, don’t worry."
Lydia stood up.
"Besides, I have to go see James."
Liam nodded.
"I’ll go with you."
"No need."
Lydia looked at him.
"You can keep training with them."
Liam hesitated.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Lydia smiled.
"James just wants to run some checkups."
Liam finally nodded.
"Alright."
But before she could walk away, Lydia took his hand.
"I’m fine."
Liam looked at her.
"I know."
"Then stop making that face."
"What face?"
"That one."
Lydia imitated an extremely serious expression.
Liam burst out laughing.
"I don’t make that face."
Lydia leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.
"See you later."
Liam watched her walk away.
Deep down, however, he couldn’t stop worrying.
’Be careful...’
◇◆◇
James was in his office.
Several documents were stacked on his desk.
When Lydia entered, he looked up.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, James."
"Where’s Liam?"
"Training with the squad."
James smiled.
Lydia sat down.
"What are we going to do?"
"Just a few checkups."
James picked up his tablet.
"I want to compare your results with yesterday’s."
Lydia extended her arm.
"Go ahead."
James took a small blood sample.
This time, Lydia didn’t even flinch.
"You’re getting used to it."
"I guess."
James examined the results.
"Interesting."
Lydia tilted her head.
"What’s wrong?"
"Your plasma volume is still slightly higher."
"Is that bad?"
"Not necessarily."
James checked another value.
"And your white blood cell count is still elevated."
Lydia fell silent.
"Does that mean something is wrong?"
"No."
James shook his head.
"I don’t see anything concerning for now."
Lydia sighed in relief.
"Good."
James continued reviewing the results.
"How have you been feeling today?"
"Fine."
"Any mood changes?"
Lydia thought for a moment.
"A little."
"And your powers?"
"They’re still strange."
James looked up.
"What happened?"
"Yesterday, I tried to use Storage Slime."
Lydia made a small grimace.
"And I almost consumed something I didn’t want to."
James wrote something down.
"Did it activate on its own?"
"Not exactly."
"What did you feel?"
Lydia thought for a few seconds.
"Like my body reacted before I could even think."
James stopped writing.
"That’s important."
"Why?"
"Because it could indicate that your powers are reacting to hormonal changes."
Lydia frowned.
"Does that mean they’ll keep getting worse?"
"Not necessarily."
James shook his head.
"They could even improve."
"Improve?"
"Your body is going through major changes. Your powers could be adapting."
Lydia smiled.
"That would be good."
"Yes."
James looked at the screen again.
"But I need to keep monitoring them."
Lydia nodded.
"Then do it."
James smiled.
"Thank you for trusting me."
"I want to be okay."
Lydia lowered her gaze toward her abdomen.
"For myself and my baby."
James remained silent for a few seconds.
"You will be."
◇◆◇
Later, Liam received a message.
It was from James.
[James: I need to talk to you.]
Liam frowned.
He was in his office, going over some documents while waiting for the sub-captains’ meeting to begin.
He picked up his phone.
[Liam: Did something happen?]
The reply came quickly.
[James: About Lydia.]
Liam immediately stood up.
He went to the door and stepped into the hallway.
He found James a few meters away.
"What happened?"
James led him to a secluded area.
"Lydia’s checkup results are fine."
Liam let out a breath.
"Then what’s wrong?"
James crossed his arms.
"I think I’ve figured out something important about her powers."
Liam remained attentive.
"What?"
"During the pregnancy, her abilities aren’t simply malfunctioning."
Liam frowned.
"Then?"
"They’re changing."
James looked directly at Liam.
"Her body is trying to adapt to the pregnancy."
Liam remained silent.
"Some abilities could become stronger."
James paused.
"And others could become unstable."
Liam immediately remembered the problem Pix had explained to him.
"Can you do anything?"
"That’s what I’m trying to figure out."
James placed a hand on his shoulder.
"But I need time."
Liam nodded.
"I understand."
James smiled slightly.
"And for now, Lydia is fine."
Liam relaxed his shoulders.
"Thank you."
James walked away.
Liam remained in the hallway for a few seconds.
’Her body is changing...’
He looked toward the door of his office.
He knew he still had many questions.
And one of them was far more important than all the others.
’Will we be able to get her to control her powers before something happens?’
Liam closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he went back inside.
There was still a lot to do.
And at some point that day, he would have to ask Pix about the dimensions.
Because James needed answers.
And so did Liam.