Slime Evolution

Chapter 403: 403 - Surprising Reception

Sam went quiet for a moment, his bluish form flickering unsteadily over the glowing grass.

Even he, with all his optimism, felt the weight of the aesthetic gap between them and that beautiful place.

They looked like intruders in a divine sanctuary, and the humiliation of another ’no’ seemed more and more inevitable in the face of that splendor.

Since they were already there, they sighed and continued their approach with slow steps, almost as if they were walking toward a sentencing.

When they crossed the outer boundary of the guild base’s passive purification barrier, the first being to notice their presence was a tiny, extremely cute fairy flying near one of the great tree’s main roots.

She had translucent wings resembling glowing flower petals and light blue hair framing a delicate face. Beside her, a majestic unicorn with silver fur and a spiraled crystal horn rested gracefully on the grass, listening to the little fairy’s murmurs.

The instant the unicorn turned its head and focused its bright eyes toward Dan and Sam, the creature’s reaction was immediate and violent.

The animal picked up the scent of entropy and the frightening spiritual presence of Sam’s Ghost, and letting out a sharp neigh of pure terror, the unicorn reared up on its front legs and bolted deep into the forest, fleeing that dark aura it considered a dangerous, unwelcome anomaly.

Dan stopped walking at that exact instant, his face hardening beneath his hood and his fists gripping the staff’s handle so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"There. See, Sam? Even the forest’s magical creatures run from us like we’re death itself. Their appearance test has already started, and we’ve already failed before even passing the main gate. Our chance of getting into this elite group is now exactly zero. They’d never let beings who scare off the local wildlife become part of the guild."

Sam felt his ethereal form float lower, his brother’s discouragement directly affecting his spiritual resonance. "I’m sorry, Dan... I really thought things would be different here because of what we read in Astralis’s rules."

But to the two brothers’ absolute surprise, the little fairy girl didn’t follow the unicorn’s lead.

She didn’t scream, didn’t fly away in fear, and showed not the slightest trace of revulsion or disgust looking closely at their appearances.

Having high affinity with Natural Energy and Magic, Elle was able to see Sam floating beside Dan, and in fact, seeing the two players standing so hesitantly and glumly at the guild’s entrance, Elle’s delicate face lit up with genuine joy and an infectious warmth that completely disarmed the brothers’ guard.

"Elle was waiting for you two!" the little fairy exclaimed in her sweet, melodic voice, flapping her wings enthusiastically and quickly flying over to stop in the air just inches from Dan’s covered face. "Alice told Elle this morning that two very important new friends would be arriving for the interviews! Elle kept watch at the entrance all day because Elle wanted to be the first to welcome Astralis’s new companions!"

Dan took a step back, completely shocked by the little creature’s lack of revulsion.

He could sense the little fairy was weak, probably only around Level 9 or 10, not even having gone through her first evolution yet. The gap in strength between him and her was massive, which meant the energy radiating off him should have felt even more intense to this small girl, but even so, how could she act like this?

He was used to people looking away or making disgusted faces, but this little fairy stared at him with eyes shining with admiration, as if standing before a hero out of ancient legends.

To her, his pale, peeling skin or Dan’s dull eyes made no difference at all, she saw only the new friends Alice had promised would bring more life to her home.

And even though it was such a simple thing, it was still a reality check for someone used to constant scorn, both from other Players and from this world’s NPCs.

That gap was creating enormous confusion in his mind, to the point where, without realizing it, Dan had to ask the big question weighing on him.

"You... you’re not afraid of us?" Dan asked, his voice coming out in a subtle, trembling, uncertain whisper. "I’m a decrepit warlock, and my brother is a ghost with no physical body. We scared off your guild’s unicorn. Our presence seems to taint the beauty of this garden."

As soon as he finished saying that, Dan regretted it, realizing that a line like that might remind the little girl they weren’t worthy of being there, but at the same time some part of him hoped that even after saying something like that, the little girl’s attitude wouldn’t change.

Elle let out a cheerful, crystalline laugh that scattered small particles of blue light through the air, moving even closer to them with complete confidence. "That unicorn is really silly and gets scared by any stronger breeze in the forest hihi! Elle isn’t afraid of the new friends! Elle can feel your energy... wow! You two are incredibly strong! The mana running through your body, old man, is even deeper than Tunder’s!! And your ghost friend’s spirit glows with such a beautiful blue light! Elle is so surprised by the power you two give off! Having friends this strong is wonderful!"

The little fairy’s innocent, sincere words hit Dan and Sam’s chests with the force of a legendary level healing spell.

They felt a deep, comforting warmth fill their hearts, dissolving all at once every bit of bitterness, exhaustion, and humiliation they’d built up over the past weeks of rejection in both the real world and Elysium.

It was as if Elle’s innocence let her see their true worth, ignoring the ugly shell their classes had forced them to wear as a biological penalty.

"Elle’s name is Elle!" the fairy continued, giving a small bow in the air with her tiny hands clasped in front of her chest. "Elle is the guardian and desi... degi... degine... designer! Designer of Astralis Requiem’s flowers! If you two get accepted in Dylan’s interviews, Elle promises to show you where the trees with the sweetest fruits and the rarest flowers Elle paints in the morning are! We’re going to have so much fun!"

Dan looked at his brother, and seeing Sam’s ghostly form glow with a cheerful intensity he hadn’t seen in months, he cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure and hold back the moisture that kept threatening to well up in the corners of his clouded eyes at that unexpected, affectionate treatment.

"I... I’m Dan," the warlock replied, his voice still a little shaky and awkward, clumsily raising his free hand to give a small wave in greeting to the little fairy. "And this beside me is my brother, Sam. We... we thank you for your hospitality, Elle. We really weren’t used to being welcomed this warmly by anyone in this world."

"And Dan talks really nice!" Elle praised, flapping her butterfly wings with excitement. "Come on, come on! Elle is going to guide the new friends to the main hall of the headquarters tree! Lisa and Halon are already there with Dylan and Alice getting the interview rooms ready! They’re going to love meeting you both in person, and you’re going to see how Astralis is one big family!"

Hearing Halon’s name come out of Elle’s mouth, the two brothers froze, the confidence they’d just built up practically vanishing to make room for both dread and excitement at meeting that legendary Player.

’Are we really about to meet that big shot right off the bat?!’

With Elle flying cheerfully ahead of them, leaving a glowing trail of pure mana along the path, Dan and Sam finally crossed the threshold of Astralis Requiem with steady steps, feeling that their long, exhausting weeks long journey had finally been worth every silver coin invested.

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