Infinite Adaptation: Starting As A Level 1 Slime-Chapter 51: Soul

Hmm, that’s strange.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully.

He had been suspicious that the Eternal Moon was alive and that Roselle knew - given how she acted toward him. He thought that if he deciphered her skill, he might be able to find where she was getting her power from and expose the Eternal Moon.

But now he wasn’t so sure.

After all...

She was getting her power from him.

That’s right. The Moon Saintess skill was connected to him.

It meant Roselle could borrow both mana and skills from him directly.

This is strange.

He didn’t understand how this was possible.

If he took her word for it, she had obtained this skill long before he existed. Meaning this connection wasn’t always the case.

Then when did it change?

There were two possibilities.

The first - it changed after he received the Eternal Moon’s blessing.

The second - it changed after he was recognized as the Eternal Moon through the combined faith of the villagers.

There was also a third possibility.

She wasn’t actually drawing power from him, but rather borrowing the Eternal Moon’s power. Since he possessed the Eternal Moon’s mana, she was able to access it through him.

If that was the case, this would be the best case scenario.

It would mean she couldn’t just borrow his personal skills at will. It would also mean the Eternal Moon was truly dead and wasn’t scheming against him from the shadows.

He exhaled heavily.

I’m really not cut out for this.

Putting that matter aside, he had gained something interesting from the ability.

The way Moon Saintess borrowed power from the Eternal Moon was through a unique link. One that seemed to ignore space entirely. It functioned with no direct connection whatsoever.

He remembered seeing something similar before.

He decided to continue breaking it down to see if he could discover more.

...

The following day.

Lunaris opened his eyes.

He exhaled slowly.

His Thought Acceleration had advanced to 5000x.

He had pushed his abilities to their absolute limit throughout the night, analyzing and deciphering the nature of that link.

After all that time, he finally felt he had an understanding of it.

It was the soul.

Roselle had formed a soul connection with the Eternal Moon.

A soul connection had no spatial or mana limitations. It was always connected, regardless of distance or energy. It could be used to transmit requests and receive power through the same pathway.

This could definitely prove useful.

He needed to give it a test with Mira.

But before that...

He extended his hands.

Lina appeared in them.

He looked down at her.

The core was taking root within her body. He could see the tendrils of mana spreading through her system, anchoring themselves deeper and deeper.

But the body was showing more and more cracks.

Blue light seeped through the fractures in her skin. The glow pulsed weakly, like a dying heartbeat.

It seemed she might not make it.

Luckily, he had a solution for this now.

He looked through her with his enhanced perception.

After understanding the soul, he could finally comprehend why her "self" had been dissipating earlier.

She had received an injury to the soul.

And the soul was now dissipating because of that wound.

That was why healing the physical body had done nothing. He had been treating the wrong thing entirely.

Now that he had some understanding of the soul, he could directly attempt to apply healing onto it.

He concentrated.

His mana shifted, taking on a different form of existence. No longer targeting flesh and bone, but something far deeper.

He reached toward her soul.

...

Lina’s eyes fluttered open.

She saw an unfamiliar ceiling above her.

Where... am I?

Then the memories came flooding back.

Dark cloaked figures. Screams. Blood on the cobblestones. Running through the streets. A silver coin clutched in her hand.

Her heart seized with panic.

No.

I need to get to Mother.

She sat up abruptly...

And froze.

There, sitting nearby, was a familiar figure.

An ethereal aura seemed to surround him and a soft light radiated from his body.

Her eyes widened.

"Mister...?"

She looked around the unfamiliar room. Wooden walls. Simple furniture. Definitely not her inn.

She swallowed hard.

"Did I... die?"

She looked back at him, at the otherworldly glow emanating from his form.

"Is Mister a god?"

He regarded her calmly.

"I guess you could say that."

Her eyes went even wider.

"I knew it. I knew Mister wasn’t a simple person."

She knelt before him, pressing her forehead to the floor.

"Please! I beg you, save my mother!"

Her voice trembled.

"I’m willing to offer my soul in exchange!"

"But your soul already belongs to me."

Lina’s head shot up. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

She didn’t know what to say.

Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

Then Lunaris chuckled.

"I apologize for teasing you."

His expression softened.

"I’m not a god. And you’re not dead."

Lina stared at him.

Then her face flushed red.

"You...!"

She jumped to her feet and started punching his arm.

"You tricked me! That’s so mean! I really thought I was dead!"

Lunaris raised his hands defensively.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry."

She landed a few more hits before stopping.

Then her expression shifted.

The worry returned to her face.

"What happened to my mother?"

Her voice was small.

Lunaris’s smile faded.

"I don’t know."

He met her eyes honestly.

"You were critically injured. I took you with me. I didn’t have time to look into your mother’s situation."

Lina’s hands clenched at her sides.

"I’m fine now, right? I need to go check on her. I need to..."

"That’s impossible."

She froze.

"Why...?"

Her voice wavered.

Lunaris raised a finger.

"First, we’re quite far from the Astoria Kingdom."

"Far?" she repeated. "We’re not in Astoria anymore?"

"That’s right."

He paused.

"We’re actually in the Beast Forest."

Lina’s face went pale.

"The Beast Forest?!"

Her voice rose in pitch.

"Isn’t that where all kinds of monsters and beastmen live?!"

"That’s right."