Syl-Chapter 262: Posture

When Alpha finally reformed, I was met with a new message I'd never experienced before.

<[Sub-Core Alpha LV 6] has been fully reformed. Swap Primary Core?>

Immediately, I was relieved that such a feature was available, as this meant that I could regain my enchantment engravings without any extra hassle.

Thanks, Gramps. Now, I won't need to break my core again to customize my enchantments!

I was certainly worried about it, and it was a real downside of my anti-death trait. I promptly accepted the offer, and after a momentary perspective shift, I was in the fresh new core while returning Alpha to its original core.

When I examined my freshly formed and pristine core, it was like a blank canvas ready to accept whatever enchantments I placed on it. Rather than enchanting it right away, I opted to sleep on it and decide when I was fresh and ready in the morning.

The next morning, I stared at my core while mentally cycling through my available enchantments. Originally, I had gone for magic resistance and mental resistance, fueled by my paranoia against being enslaved or mind-controlled, but when I received [Thunder Step], I lamented at not having lightning resistance enchanted on my core.

My [Voltaic Slime] had grown since then, as had my other natural resistances. So, despite having the opportunity to engrave lighting resistance into my core, I hesitated to jump to that idea. Self repair was another factor as it would save slime anytime I was injured, but at the moment I didn't need to be excessively frugal with my slime if I could go on some more hunting trips and refill my reserves.

What I wouldn't give for another giant worm to eat!

Ultimately, I decided to engrave my core with magic and mental resistance again. It was still my number one weakness, in my opinion, so I considered it a safe bet. If I found another enchantment I really wanted, I could always break my core now that I knew I'd be offered a chance to swap to the freshly remade core.

Vee watched with fascination as I engraved it while throwing comments that I was "performing open heart surgery on myself" or "tattooing my brain."

When I was finally done, I hoped to get back to messing with [Dimension Magic] when Paeris arrived and said we would be starting our lessons. Before I could even yawn properly, I was being scolded for slouching. I groaned and reluctantly agreed while correcting myself. I could sense he was going to be a harsh taskmaster.

"Posture reflects the discipline of the mind," Paeris said, gliding past as if floating while gesturing for me to take a seat at the table.

I had barely sat down. I thought I was just being told to sit up straight, but no—apparently, there's an entire moral philosophy baked into the alignment of one's spine. I don't even have a spine!

Over the next few days, the lessons grew in scope. Napkin folding, utensil placement, the art of polite refusal. Forks had ranks, apparently. My personal favorite was the fish fork because I could never remember which one it was, and Paeris' left eye would twitch ever so slightly each time I reached for the wrong one. It became a sort of game for me, though I don't think he saw it that way.

His voice was always calm, with that ageless, melodic tone elves have, like he was reciting poetry, even when explaining how to decant tea without disgracing my ancestors. I would nod at the right moments, repeat phrases like "How charming" or "Indeed, quite so" in the dullest tone I could manage, and mentally drift away to far more interesting things—[Dimension Magic] was literally sitting in my lap, begging to be toyed with!

He insisted I practice bowing at exactly fifteen degrees when greeting nobility of "moderate esteem" and a full thirty when addressing anyone of "superior station." I once asked if I could just bow twenty-two and a half degrees to everyone and call it even. He did not answer. He simply looked at me.

To his credit, Paeris never lost his temper. Not once. Not even when I tried balancing the dessert spoon on my nose. He just pressed his fingers together, closed his eyes for a long moment, and then gently reminded me that "whimsy, while charming, must always be leashed."

By the fourth day, I could curtsey, pour wine, and insult someone without them realizing I'd done it. I hated how good I was getting at it. Worse, I hated how I sometimes caught myself enjoying it—not the rules, never the rules, but the rare smirk Paeris gave when I got something exactly right. Like I was an unexpectedly clever houseplant or a wolf pup that had learned to fetch.

Or a brainless slime that's learned to clean a house…

In the end, I suppose I was refined. Or at least, I could fake it well enough. Whenever I picked up a salad fork, I could still hear his voice in my head, reminding me it's not for cake—as though the world might end if I stabbed a strawberry tart with the wrong piece of silver. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

The biggest advantage, however, was that it was all stashed away inside the [Roleplay] skill, so I could turn it off when I really didn't want it. I'd hate interacting with someone like Pelopi and suddenly demeaning them for using the incorrect utensils.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

I don't think Pelopi can even use a knife and fork; she'd probably just shapeshift some bear claws and use them as skewers!

During my downtime, when I was free of the naggy elf, I'd used any time available to continue my magical training while letting Vee wrestle with my [Sub-Cores]. They'd all reached level two now and were likely on the verge of level three, but Vee was progressing rapidly herself. If she kept it up, she'd be able to handle two of them working in tandem!

Sadly, my progress in the dimensional debuff was slow—excruciatingly slow. To give myself some much-needed short-term success, I would also look into other spells as I'd had a somewhat source of inspiration when I considered that the "information" segment of the [Position] spell was recreating some skills or traits but with magic.

For example, I had [Electro-Magnetic Sense], but couldn't I also do that through a spell like I did with [Temperature]? I could have a spell inform me of a target's exact lightning conductivity, which also made me think of another spell—[Lightning Rod].

If I think about what I've created compared to [Position], then what's stopping me from also recreating [Positioning]? Sure, I've already got [Conductive], which combined my lightning debuff and [Lightning Rod], but what if I could set something's properties?

Ignoring using it for offense, couldn't I copy the conductivity numbers from like a rock and override my own? Then I'd be nonconductive! Couldn't I also do the same with [Temperature] and change things to be hot or cold?

I paused and chuckled to myself while shaking my head.

I might have gone a bit mad. Have I gone so stir-crazy from Paeris that I've begun ranting like a lunatic? I've followed one errant thought like it's some hidden conspiracy theory. There's no way that it would actually work like that, right?

I sighed and was about to get back to work when I received an unexpected and shocking notification.

<Quest received: Continue exploring all avenues of magic.

Reward: ??? .>

Mother?

No response.

I knew it couldn't be Gramps, as he had no interest in my magical progression. But it was so unexpected that I was a little shocked—had I discovered some truth in my mad ramblings? If so, Mother was directly telling me to continue down this road and even offering me some form of reward.

Things are certainly getting interesting…

***

"Are you sure you don't wish to take me up on my offer of trading our [Experiments]?" Mother asked. "I can even offer you three for one."

"For the hundredth time, no!" Gramps refused. "I don't understand why you are so fascinated by my slime. Didn't Syl already help your spider remove its magic restrictions? Not to mention the further tutoring beyond that."

Mother sighed deeply, "That slime keeps uncovering more and more of my magic system, and it's so refreshing to see it so stagnant for what feels like decades."

Gramps snorted, "That's your own fault for making it so cryptic and dangerous. Who would willingly put themselves through so much suffering?"

"Syl is," Mother answered, stating the obvious and causing Gramps to snort again. "That slime keeps seeing a loose thread and pulling on it until finding where it leads. None of my other [Experiments] are even close to that, despite me having pushed their evolutions towards magic."

"My answer is still no," Gramps retorted. "Be happy that you get to watch Syl's progress due to our agreement."

"Surely Vee is more interesting for you?" Mother offered. "That spider is much more focused on trying to find rare and unique evolutions—doesn't that suit your own mindset?"

"Despite my moniker being the Grandfather of Monsters, that was always just a means to an end. My true passion always traits and creating unique monsters was just a byproduct of me exploring my own creative process."

"So you aren't interested in creating a trait for Vee to get some form of humanity or werewolf-esque transformation?" she teased.

"I wouldn't go that far… and I do admit that I have drafted a few ideas," Gramps sighed. "But, even without our soft alliance agreement, I'm sure you wouldn't hesitate to accept a trait from me. Especially since it would empower your own [Experiment]."

Mother nodded, albeit with some reluctance, "True. I would accept it. Frankly, we should consider solidifying our alliance even more, as the others have already begun to do so."

"Those fools are banding together?" Gramps chuckled. "What a futile struggle."

"Call them fools if you want; some powerful alliances are being formed around you. There's already been talk of some of the lesser [Experiments] becoming slaves to the dragon one."

Gramps rolled his eyes, "As if the dragon needs any extra help. If anything, having subjects could weaken it depending on how it feels emotionally about them."

"I still can't believe we agreed to let a dragon exist," Mother sighed.

"I thought it would die young, thanks to its draconic nature," Gramps answered.

"And now it's the clear leader of this little competition."

"Ha! Just wait until Syl's next evolution," Gramps replied smugly.

"I genuinely don't see how a single evolution would bridge the gap between slime and dragon. Unless you're letting Syl directly evolve into a dragon, too?"

"Bah, never!" Gramps swiftly rejected. "And you're right that one evolution alone won't be enough, but it's the perfect foundation for some significant advancements! Syl will be like a snowball rolling down the mountain!"

"Assuming Syl picks it, of course," Mother pointed out.

"If Syl doesn't pick it, then she deserves to be dragon food," Gramps scoffed.

Mother sighed and began working with her system interface. Gramps noticed her actions quickly.

"What are you doing sending more distractions to my subject?" he demanded.

"If Syl is going to be dragon food, I want to at least see how much more of my magic system she will uncover first!"

"Assuming your meddling doesn't cause Syl to die before even meeting the dragon!"

"Well, it's a good thing you've given her so many extra lives, which just furthers my point that she's the perfect subject to explore my magic system!"

Gramps grumbled but opted to drop his complaints. He knew there was no more reasoning with her when it came to the magic system. Also, a small part of him thought that Syl could use [Dimension Magic] to teleport away.

"H-hey! Have you two heard about the alliances forming?" Unc shouted as he burst into the room.

"Mother mentioned them, but I've been keeping out of the politics," Gramps replied halfheartedly

"I-I think we need to do something!" Unc said. "They even tried to recruit me, but I dodged the question. If I'm going to join an alliance, I want it to be with you two!"

"I told you we should formalize our alliance!" Mother yelled. "Hate the politics all you want, but Syl has already angered two other gods by defeating two and even eating one other [Experiment]. I'd be willing to bet they will target Syl and, by extension, Vee with the first opportunity they get."

Gramps sighed, "Very well… let's talk."

"I'll get some snacks!" Unc cried out excitedly.

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