Infinite Adaptation: Starting As A Level 1 Slime-Chapter 46: Puppet

Looking at her now, the physical wounds had already healed completely. But her condition was getting worse.

It was as if something was fundamentally missing.

He concentrated all his brainpower on analyzing her, trying to figure out what he was overlooking.

Then his eyes suddenly widened.

This...

He quickly acted.

He extended his hand.

Mana began crystallizing around his palm. It grew larger and larger until it was about six inches in diameter.

Then it began glowing brighter and brighter as he injected more and more mana into it.

After that, he loaded the skill Moon Body v2 onto the mana stone he had created.

He pressed the mana stone against her chest.

Slowly, it sank into her body.

After he let go, her own body acted on instinct - consuming the mana stone into herself.

He watched her condition closely.

Suddenly, cracks began appearing on her skin.

Did it fail?

He observed her more carefully.

Earlier, when he had analyzed her condition, he had realized something strange.

Her entire self... seemed to be dissipating.

It was hard to explain since her physical appearance seemed fine. But he guessed it was similar to what happened with monsters.

When monsters died, their "self" - whatever made them them - seemed to concentrate into the mana stone that adventurers would collect.

In that sense, he felt that humans also had "cores."

He wondered if this was what people called the soul. But he wasn’t entirely sure.

By creating a magic stone and altering her DNA to support it like monsters did, he allowed her scattering self to concentrate within the newly created core.

But that wasn’t all.

If he only did that, she would still die.

So he modified the stone in such a way that it projected the self outward onto the body - not just absorbing it completely.

And by giving the core the Moon Body skill, it would be able to handle the immense load of projecting onto the physical form.

So in short, what he had actually done was capture her "self" inside the mana stone, make the mana stone her new self, and then allow the self within the mana stone to exert her will outward by controlling her original body.

Like a puppet.

It was a strange way of doing things.

But he couldn’t think of a better solution.

As he wondered whether it had failed...

He noticed something.

This...

Her condition seemed to be stabilizing.

And the mana stone seemed to be forming more and more roots throughout her body.

The cracks on her skin began to glow with a soft blue light.

It was working.

It seemed he just had to give her time for her core to take root properly within her body.

...

Lunaris rushed through the forest in his wolf form.

The trees blurred past him. The wind roared in his ears.

Then he slowed.

A massive fence loomed before him.

And standing guard at the gate were huge green creatures wielding massive clubs. Their muscles bulged beneath their rough skin. Their tusks jutted out from their lower jaws.

What’s going on here?

He transformed back into his human form.

Has our home been taken over by monsters while I was away?

They walked toward the gate.

Mira immediately stepped in front of him, her stance defensive.

"My Lord, be careful. These guys are dangerous."

"You know them?"

"They’re from the orc tribe," she explained. "They and our rabbit tribe are not on good terms."

He remembered now.

Roselle had told him about this. She had also mentioned that the orc tribe had thousands of people.

Had they really taken over his land?

He had just come from one battle, and now he was being thrown into another.

This was really beginning to piss him off.

The orcs lumbered toward them, weapons raised.

"Who are you?" one of them demanded. "What business do you have here?"

Lunaris didn’t respond.

His aura exploded outward.

The pressure was immense.

The orcs collapsed to their knees, their weapons clattering against the ground. They grunted and strained, but they couldn’t rise against the weight of his presence.

"What did you do to my people?"

His voice was cold.

At that moment...

He sensed something.

He paused.

This...

He turned around.

Two figures were approaching from the distance.

Although they were far away, he could see them clearly.

"Dad!"

Luna was charging toward him at full speed.

He was confused.

But within moments, she had already closed the distance and leaped into his arms.

Damn... so strong.

What were they feeding this girl?

She almost knocked him backward from the impact.

He steadied himself and patted her back gently.

"I’m home."

His gaze shifted to the approaching figure behind her.

Roselle walked up calmly. She nodded at Mira.

"Great work."

Then she knelt before Lunaris, her head bowed.

"Welcome back, my Lord."

He looked at her suspiciously.

"Where are you two coming from?"

Roselle kept her head lowered.

"I was simply taking the Young Lord for a walk. She requested it of me."

He maintained his gaze.

He guessed it was acceptable, wolves were part of the dog family so he supposed taking a walk was healthy for them.

"And what’s with these orcs on our land?"

Roselle placed a hand over her chest.

"Just the other day, I was walking the Young Lord as per her request. During our stroll, we were ambushed by both the orc and goblin tribes."

She paused.

"I was surprised at first. But then I remembered how my Lord had expressed concern over our lack of manpower."

Her tone grew more confident.

"So I saw it as an opportunity to recruit more forces for my Lord. Under the Young Moon’s orders, I fought and subjugated both the Goblin Shaman and the Orc King."

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.

"I have brought their tribes here to serve you, my Lord."

Her tail wagged excitedly behind her.

She was clearly expecting praise.

He looked at her.

Why do I feel like something is wrong here?

He held his chin in thought.

But her explanation sounded logical. And it was a good thing - he really was lacking in manpower. His tribe only had a hundred or so useful people.

But with these guys...

He glanced at the orcs still pressed to the ground.

They were huge. Muscular. Built for labor and combat.

They would definitely be useful.

He sighed.

"You did great. I’m proud of you."

Her tail wagged even faster.

"But one thing is strange..." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Roselle froze.

Did he find out?

She had intentionally positioned herself and the Young Lord in a location where they would encounter these tribes. That way, the Young Lord would order her to take action, giving her the perfect excuse to go all out.

Was I discovered?

"How were you able to beat those two?" Lunaris asked. "Especially together. Before, your tribes were at a deadlock. What changed?"

Roselle’s composure returned.

She smiled.

"Has my Lord already forgotten?"

She tilted her head.

"You gave me your blessing before you left. With its power, I was able to easily overcome them and emerge victorious."

He nodded slowly.

That made sense.

The way Roselle fought was the berserker style - dealing damage without any care for the damage she received in return.

With the Moon Body pack he had given her - especially the v2 version with Ultraspeed Regeneration - she could easily overcome that weakness.

She would become an unstoppable killing machine.

How scary.