"Huh?"
While everyone was changing, Lucas thought about it, and driven by intense curiosity, he still decided to go take a look.
So dark...
Lucas confirmed that his consciousness had descended upon that soul fragment.
But...
Strange...
Why couldn't he see anything?
No, it wasn't that he couldn't see anything. Rather, within Lucas's vision, he could sense the changes around him. This feeling was like a bat's; he had no eyesight but could perceive his surroundings through the reflection of ultrasound. Lucas's situation seemed similar. He couldn't see the specific details around him, but he could sense the environment through a special perception. His entire vision was a fiery crimson, like infrared senses.
Hm...
After thinking for a moment, Lucas chose to quietly try to have his soul leave the body, preparing to see the surrounding environment through his soul.
However.
As he prepared to detach his soul, Lucas discovered a major problem.
He couldn't leave.
His current state was similar to Skadi's or Surtr's. His soul seemed to be fused with this body. His consciousness could leave, but the soul within the body couldn't leave the torso. Don't tell me I've been reincarnated as some bizarre creature?
Lucas decided to use his soul-probing ability, releasing his Spiritual Power outward.
And under the perception of his Spiritual Power, the scene within a one-meter radius was completely outlined. It was a mountainous area, and he himself...
Was round, small, with a back covered in sharp edges...
Sharp edges?
A creature leaped into Lucas's mind.
Fuck!!
An Originium Slug!!
How absurd!!
"That Time I Got Reincarnated as an Originium Slug in Another World".avi
Lucas was completely shaken. He had never imagined that his soul fragment would fuse with an Originium Slug. Moreover... Lucas seemed to be able to control this Originium Slug's body to wriggle.
However, Lucas wasn't interested enough to bother.
At first, he thought his soul fragment had wandered off somewhere again. He hadn't expected it to be inside an Originium Slug. How boring. Lucas had no interest in continuing to be a bug. As for the reason, if it were in the past, Lucas might have investigated it, but now... forget it.
Ever since his soul fragments started inexplicably appearing in all sorts of bizarre places around the world, coupled with new memories constantly flooding his brain, Lucas had lost most of his interest in *why* the soul fragments were where they were.
Phew...
But Lucas also breathed a sigh of relief.
Since it was an Originium Slug, then there shouldn't be any other trouble. At first, Lucas was worried that some other incident would come up to delay his happy, relaxing vacation. Since it was just an Originium Slug, that was for the best.
Moving the Originium Slug's body under a thick tree that could serve as a landmark, Lucas's consciousness returned to his main body. After losing consciousness, the Originium Slug's body also fell into a deep sleep.
*Crunch...*
*Crunch...*
Just as Lucas's consciousness left, a young lady in a noble's dress, wearing a sun hat, reached the top of the mountain, looking somewhat tired.
Ceylon took the sun hat off her head. Her long, light-pink hair cascaded down like a waterfall, smooth and carrying a faint fragrance. Since there was no one else around, Ceylon also fanned herself with the sun hat, quite unlike a proper young lady.
Ceylon didn't particularly like wearing typical casual clothes.
Perhaps because she had been a young lady all her life, studying in Victoria, the other young ladies around her basically all wore various styles of dresses year-round. So Ceylon had also gotten used to wearing dresses as her casual wear. Although she was wearing a summer style, it was still a bit hotter than traditional shorts and a t-shirt. But, elegance... never goes out of style.
Ever since her father had failed to find the monsters she'd seen in the sea.
Ceylon would basically go alone every night to the place where she had seen the monsters to watch secretly. She would even place a camera on the reef, trying to film something. However... after several days, she had found nothing. Coupled with the counseling from the family psychologist Schwarz had found, Ceylon was also gradually beginning to think that perhaps she really was just too tired and had been seeing things.
Although she didn't want to admit it in her heart, the reality was clear.
Neither her father's investigation nor her own had turned up anything. It was basically confirmed that she had seen wrong. After all, such a large group of monsters... if they lived in the sea, how could no one have discovered them? Moreover, as the Obsidian Festival drew closer, more and more tourists were arriving. The beach, usually empty, was gradually filling up with people. If there really were monsters, these tourists should have discovered them long ago. Since no tourists had reported anything for so many days, she must have been overthinking it.
However.
After her investigation yielded no results, Ceylon didn't just stay home and relax.
After all, Ceylon's other identity was as a student of [Originium Application and Development Research] at Victoria National University. As a student at one of Terra's top institutions, summer vacation wasn't just for them to play; it was for them to go out and conduct research.
Ceylon had returned to Siesta partly to come home, and partly because there was an active volcano right next to Siesta. The Originium activity on this kind of volcano was extremely rare, even on a global scale. Therefore, Ceylon's summer project was tentatively titled [An Examination and Investigation of the Inevitable Link Between Originium and Ecology].
So, early this morning, Ceylon had left the villa alone to climb the mountain.
Arriving under a large, shady tree.
Ceylon spread a soft cloth on the lush grass, then sat down on the cloth with a distinct lack of grace, leaning comfortably against the thick tree trunk, enjoying the beautiful forest scenery that couldn't be found in the city. If her noble etiquette teacher from university saw her sitting on the ground so unceremoniously, he would probably have a meltdown and fly into a rage, Ceylon thought to herself.
Suddenly...
Ceylon felt like she was sitting on something.
It was very lumpy.
???
At first, Ceylon thought she had sat on a rock and ignored it, shifting her body. But after a moment, she thought, a rock shouldn't have this many sharp edges. Ceylon decided to get up and lift the blanket.
The next second!!
Ceylon covered her mouth, nearly screaming.
Because.
She suddenly discovered that it wasn't a rock underneath, but an Originium Slug!!
Originium Slugs were extremely common on Terra. Ceylon had also learned a lot about the external features and characteristics of Originium Slugs in class.
But...
After her initial shock, Ceylon observed it closely and realized that this Originium Slug seemed a bit... off.
A normal Originium Slug was about the size of an adult golden retriever. Even a newborn Originium Slug was larger than a cat. But this Originium Slug....
Was so small...
So mini...
Ceylon quickly took a measuring ruler from her tool bag on her left, measured it carefully... barely ten centimeters. It wasn't even as long as an adult man's palm, probably only about the size of an adult hamster.
The most crucial part was its shell.
Unlike the shells of traditional Originium Slugs, which were uniformly covered in sharp spikes, this Originium Slug's form seemed a bit strange. Its shell was like scales, shimmering with an iridescent light under the sun. Moreover, even on the grass, this Originium Slug's body seemed a bit moist, as if it was constantly secreting fluid to keep itself damp.
Uh....
Ceylon's eyes widened in excitement.
As a top student, she naturally remembered all the known species of Originium Slugs from her books. But this mini and uniquely-shaped Originium Slug... Ceylon had never seen it before, not even in books.
Had she...
Discovered a new Originium species!!!
Ceylon took a rod from the tool bag beside her and poked the Originium Slug. It didn't move, but it didn't seem dead; it still had reflexes. After thinking for a moment, Ceylon took a pair of tongs and a small container specially used for temporarily storing Originium materials from her tool bag, carefully picked up the Originium Slug with the tongs and placed it in the sealed container, then headed straight back home.
————————
When Lucas's consciousness returned to the hotel.
Jessica and the others had already changed into their summer clothes and were mingling in the living room.
Ooh~
When Lucas turned his head, his eyes lit up.
Jessica, Liskarm, Skadi, and the others were wearing styles similar to Amiya's, basically various styles of off-the-shoulder or midriff-baring mini t-shirts on top, and all of them wore shorts on the bottom. Paired with their stunning looks, they were a beautiful sight just standing there.
As for Nian, Dusk, and the Nine-Colored Deer, they didn't dress that way.
As three deities from Yan, their clothing naturally needed to reflect Yan's traditional characteristics. Their silk-spun long dresses combined ancient style with modern fashion. They lacked the sexiness and allure of normal summer wear but possessed an ethereal, fairy-like quality that ordinary summer clothes didn't have. Coupled with the fact that the three of them were not mortals to begin with, their natural temperament was already transcendent. Standing there, they were graceful and elegant, like immortals who had stepped out of a painting.
"Hehe..."
Franka ran over, slung her arm over Lucas's shoulder, and raised an eyebrow. "What? Disappointed? You didn't get to see the swimsuits you see on TV?"
"That's right..."
Lucas didn't pretend anymore, just saying those two words.
"..."
And Lucas's almost too-direct words left everyone a bit speechless.
"Who walks around on the street in a swimsuit? At most, we'll change into them when we go swimming."
Suddenly.
A small smile played on Laurentina's lips. Her long, slender legs took confident strides until she was in front of Lucas. She rested her fair elbow on Lucas's shoulder and said.
"In that case, Lord Lucas, you really want to see our swimsuits, hmm? If you really want to, I could..."
Laurentina's face flashed with a hint of flirtatiousness and teasing. As she spoke, her slender fingers were already on the zipper of her jacket.
"Ahem..."
A jealous Surtr coughed, and in an instant, a scorching heat wave turned the entire living room into a volcano.
Actually, Surtr and Laurentina's relationship was good.
Good in the sense that neither of them could stand the sight of the other. It was a strange relationship where they were friends but mutually disliked each other. Although the others also liked Lucas, Surtr didn't show this kind of intense jealousy, because while the others liked him, they mostly hid it in their hearts, without making overly obvious seductive moves. But Laurentina was different. Her every word was a provocation.
That... was a foul!
"Hmph, I don't feel like fighting you today. It'd be a shame if this beautiful hotel got wrecked again because of our fight."
Laurentina didn't continue to tease Surtr. She winked at Lucas and headed to the sky garden.
And Skadi, next to Surtr, nodded somewhat blankly and muttered to herself.
"I... I really want to hit her...."
Surtr nodded: "Me too."
Franka sidled over: "Me too, but I can't beat her..."
Zumama: "Me too."
Nian also joined the fun, walking over: "I can beat her."
However.
Nearby, Amiya was already somewhat stunned.
What is going on?!!
Amiya currently felt like she was watching her nerdy friend who she always played video games with at home, a friend who could always inexplicably find a girlfriend... She didn't understand it, but she was deeply shaken.