Ceylon was a top student majoring in Originium Applications.
Of course.
That's what Ceylon used to think.
And because of her major, Ceylon had practically memorized the data on all sorts of Originium-based creatures. Plus, in recent years, explorers from every country on Terra had failed to discover any new species. Ceylon had once believed that all of Terra's species had been more or less discovered. Even if new species existed, they must be in extremely remote places where human footprints had not yet reached.
Like the legendary other side of the Foehn Hotlands, or the deep northern frontier.
However.
Now, Ceylon's old way of thinking shattered like a fragile mirror, breaking into pieces and scattering on the ground.
Back when she was at school, Ceylon would never in her life have imagined that the mountain behind her own home would harbor new species. And not just one, but so many!!
Back then, Ceylon would have sooner believed in gods and ghosts than believe her backyard mountain had new species.
But...
Ceylon was petrified. Her mouth hung open slightly, wide enough to fit a quail egg.
Discovering this Originium Slug with the iridescent shell was already outrageous.
Then, encountering a pile of bizarrely-shaped Originium Slugs was already ridiculously outrageous.
But..
This Originium Slug... could talk, get bigger, and shoot... Hyper Beam???
What kind of Pokémon is this.
Ceylon was completely numb. She felt like everything her Originium Ecology course teacher had taught her in class had been... betrayed. Utterly betrayed.
Seeing the Originium Slug, now shrunk back to the size of a rabbit, turn to look at her, Ceylon jumped in fright.
"Don't be afraid, Miss. I'm a decent person."
Since the Originium Slug's body had no vocal organs, Lucas used his soul to transmit his voice directly into Ceylon's mind.
That voice..
It was identical to the one that had called out to her earlier.
Ceylon sat on the ground, not caring if it was dirty or if it would stain her clothes. She pressed her small, clenched fist to her chest and shuffled her legs, as if trying to get a little further from Lucas. This cautious appearance was really quite cute, making one want to tease her a bit.
An Originium Slug that could talk, was the size of a rabbit, and could shoot a Hyper Beam was, indeed, terrifying.
No wonder there were so many doujins about noble ladies in Higashi.
And these doujins starring noble ladies were almost all the same: either the family was wiped out and the lady's status became worthless, or she was far from home and captured by a group of people who were originally of low status...
After all, perverts all love contrast.
The rich girl becomes a pauper, the pure saint falls from grace, the succubus plays at pure love, the arrogant noble lady is bullied by her subordinates.
Ceylon was screaming internally.
Are you... a person?
You look like an Originium Slug, okay!
"Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you. Besides, if I wanted to hurt you, you'd already be long gone."
Seeing Ceylon was still afraid, Lucas offered some simple comfort. She was just an ordinary girl, after all. Even if she was mentally tough, it was impossible not to be scared.
"Excuse me, Lu... Lu..."
Ceylon tried to recall Lucas's name. She vaguely remembered hearing him say it before.
"Lucas Reeve."
"Oh! Excuse me, Mr. Lucas Reeve, why... why can you talk?"
"Er... why shouldn't I be able to talk?"
Lucas silently retorted.
"Er, true."
Ceylon chatted a bit with Lucas, and gradually, her initial nervousness and fear faded. On one hand, this Originium Slug of Lucas's really did look different from ordinary ones; it was kind of cute, resembling a certain Pokémon. On the other hand, the voice Lucas transmitted to Ceylon's mind was mature and pleasant to listen to. And, given that Hyper Beam from earlier, if Lucas wanted to kill her, why would he be wasting time talking to her?
It was like her pet cat suddenly started talking. A normal person might be scared for a few minutes, but after they processed it, the next step would probably be to drag the cat over to the computer, point at a certain one-handed FPS game, and yell.
"You can talk, so transform for me!!"
"By the way, Mr. Lucas Reeve, what exactly what kind of species are you? Why can you talk? I've never heard of an Originium Slug that can talk. Don't all Originium Slugs have low intelligence?"
Since he had just met Ceylon, Lucas naturally couldn't tell her everything. He just made up a lie.
"I don't know either. When I woke up, I was already like this. Then I met you, Ceylon, and you took me home."
"Oh, oh..."
Ceylon 'oh'-ed cutely.
Suddenly.
Ceylon's eyes sharpened. A piercing question occurred to her.
That means.
It was already conscious when I brought it back to my room. Doesn't that mean!!
Ceylon thought of the scene of her changing clothes in her room.
Her entire face turned bright red.
As a young lady.
Ceylon had never even held hands with any man other than her father, let alone... let her body be seen completely!
Mmm!!
So embarrassing!!!
Hm??
Suddenly.
Ceylon thought of a question.
A man?
She looked down and studied Lucas.
A tiny little... Originium Slug?
It's not really a person, is it?
This shouldn't count as being seen, right?
Right... it probably doesn't count.
"Miss Ceylon, I have some bad news for you."
"Please, go ahead, Mr. Lucas Reeve."
Ceylon crouched on the ground, trying not to look down on Lucas from too high up. But Lucas was just too small. Even with Ceylon crouching, she was still a giant.
"Do you remember earlier, during the emergency, when I asked you to open your mind?"
Ceylon nodded cutely.
"I remember."
"I asked you to open your mind so that my soul and your soul could connect, allowing me to borrow some of your power to fight those monsters. But... it seems there was a tiny, tiny accident."
"An accident?"
Ceylon froze.
"My soul and your soul seem to be partially locked together, making it difficult to separate. It's not just a soul-lock, but also a binding of Originium energy. It's like, in the future, if I run out of my own Originium energy, I can just use yours. Also, our lives are bound together. This means, if you die, Miss Ceylon, I will also be gravely injured and near death. And if I die, you will also be gravely injured, Miss Ceylon."
Lucas himself didn't know what had happened. Everything seemed to have happened for no reason.
Ceylon's expression froze too.
To be honest.
She really didn't dare bring a talking Originium Slug back home. She was just an ordinary person, not a carefree and highly adaptable person like Franka. Ceylon had actually been planning to release this Originium Slug, which had a name and everything, and let it play on the volcano by itself. She probably wouldn't be coming back to the volcano for a while.
But if this was true...
It basically meant.
Ceylon's own life was bound to this Originium Slug named Lucas Reeve.
Well, if she had to take it with her, so be it.
This Originium Slug was one-of-a-kind in all the world. For Ceylon, a top student in Originium studies, it was practically a global treasure.
In any case, since she was already here, and with Lucas around, Ceylon decided to finish her evening's ecological survey before heading back. Ceylon didn't encounter any more monsters on the way; it was relatively safe. She reached the spot deep in the volcano she had already scouted. Inside a cave, there was a large cluster of Originium. However, these Originium crystals had many impurities, and there weren't that many, so they had never been mined. This made them perfect for Ceylon's research.
After some time, Lucas also gradually got used to this Originium Slug body. He waddled over to a corner of the cave and stared at the Originium. A craving suddenly welled up from within this Originium Slug's body. It was the same feeling Ceobe got when she saw dessert.
Lucas impatiently took a bite and swallowed one of the Originium crystals, which was even larger than his entire body.
The second he swallowed it.
The Originium crystal melted like cotton candy in water. The hard outer shell, which stored the energy, dissolved at a visible rate, and the energy within the Originium surged into his body. The impurities were all filtered out.
After absorbing this energy.
Lucas could vaguely feel that this body of his had gotten a tiny bit stronger.
He could get stronger just by eating Originium?
Lucas's eyes lit up.
Although this body wasn't human, if he could use this trait of getting stronger by devouring Originium to continuously eat... then couldn't this Originium Slug body grow to be as big as a small mountain?
Tsk tsk....
An Originium Slug body the size of a small mountain. At that point, the body's strength would already be at the Divine Fragment level. Ordinary weapons, even large-yield bombs, would be useless. And a single blast from him would be enough to annihilate a village or a small town.
For a moment.
Lucas seemed to feel that this Originium Slug body wasn't bad either. It wouldn't be his main body, but it could be a spare combat body.
Lucas swallowed a few more pieces of Originium.
Just as he predicted.
After absorbing the energy, the Originium Slug's body became a tiny bit stronger again, just as he thought.
However, just then.
Ceylon stopped Lucas. After all, this Originium was her research subject. Once she was done observing, Lucas could eat whatever he wanted.
After that.
Ceylon also chatted with Lucas about other things.
As a young lady.
Although Ceylon studied in Victoria, she didn't have any real friends. After all, her classmates were, without exception, the children of corporate bigwigs or Victorian nobles. These classmates had perfectly inherited their elders' mindsets, and every word out of their mouths was a lie. All their so-called 'parties' were just opportunities to show off and compare. Ceylon hated these gatherings and rarely went after attending just once.
And.
Ceylon was enrolled in the noble class at Victoria's best university. How could the school possibly stick noble ladies in traditional eight-person or four-person dorms? Their dorms were all luxurious villas, so 'roommates' didn't exist. Plus, Ceylon was passionate about her studies, while the other young ladies around her had little interest in learning. After all, given their family backgrounds, it didn't matter how much they studied; it was of little use to their families, unless they became a leading authority in their field. But was that even possible?
Actually, Ceylon knew.
These classmates of hers, these young ladies, all seemed carefree, but they were all non-essential children in their families. They weren't very important. In the future, they would almost all be used by their families for political marriages.
To be honest.
It was quite pitiful.
Because of this, Ceylon had very few friends at Victoria University.
For Ceylon, she had only one true friend: Schwarz.
However..
Schwarz had been deliberately avoiding her these past few years, as if to avoid suspicion. This made Ceylon incredibly sad. That's why... she was now chatting so happily with a talking Originium Slug. Lucas also used his conversational skills to get all the information from this young lady. She was actually the heiress of Siesta. Impressive, a real rich girl... although she's nowhere near Jessica's level.
Ceylon also asked about Lucas's origins. Lucas passed it off vaguely, claiming amnesia and that he didn't know. Lucas wasn't lying, either. He really didn't know what the deal was with this Originium Slug body.
But... what Lucas cared about most was that Originium Slug that resembled a horror fish. What was that thing...
Since Ceylon had no combat ability, Lucas needed to act as a bodyguard while she conducted her research. After half an hour, she finally finished recording, packed up her instruments, and got ready to leave.
"Actually, Ceylon, you shouldn't worry too much about it."
"As you said, Schwarz is your bodyguard, and she's also your father's subordinate. She's nine years older than you. As the young mistress, you might not have any reservations, but Schwarz can't be like that. After all, your difference in status and position has already created an invisible barrier between you. When you were little, it was fine, but now you're older. If Schwarz still acts like your friend, what do you think your father would think?"
Lucas was telling the truth.
In this world, the most terrifying thing was social standing.
Like Jessica...
Jessica seemed amicable and easy to talk to.
In reality, if it weren't for the fact that Franka and Liskarm already had a senior-junior relationship with Jessica, there would be an insurmountable barrier between them too. The only ones with the power to truly break that barrier and be completely free and unrestrained were Divine Fragments like Nian and Dusk.
"Mm..."
Ceylon was a young woman now; she understood. On the way back, seeing Lucas wriggling on the ground as if he were tired, Ceylon simply picked up the rabbit-sized Lucas, held him in her arms, and carried him home.
——————
"That's the basic situation."
When Ceylon returned home, Lucas's consciousness descended into the Doctor's body. Since Amiya wasn't around, Lucas could speak freely. He recounted everything that had just happened, the most important part being the hybrid of the Seaborn and Originium Slugs. Of course, he didn't mention that he *was* the Originium Slug. That was too embarrassing.
"So... is Ceylon pretty?"
Laurentina asked a sharp question.
"So, Lucas, you're out flirting with another girl again?"
Franka covered her mouth, pretending to be shocked, but in reality, she was already used to it.
Jessica: "..."
She had no words.
"Ahem! Is that *really* the important part?"
Lucas coughed to ease the awkwardness.
Skadi, who had been quiet on the side, finally spoke. "It looks like a hybrid of a Seaborn and an Originium Slug?"
Skadi had been a bounty hunter and had seen plenty of Originium Slugs, but a hybrid of the two... Skadi had never seen such a thing.
"Seaborn have an absorptive-evolutionary nature. If the Seaborn devoured these Originium Slugs and evolved, it's truly possible."
"I'm going up the mountain now."
Skadi stood up, preparing to leave. Seaborn were no small matter.
"I'm going too."
As an Abyssal Hunter, Laurentina also spoke up.
Her previous joking demeanor was gone, replaced by a grave expression.
Impossible...
Even if the Seaborn devoured low-level terrestrial creatures, they wouldn't evolve this much... And, for the Seaborn to fully adapt to the Originium on land, it would take at least a hundred years. And the quintessential Originium-based lifeform on land was the Originium Slug... So, even if the Seaborn devoured Originium Slugs, it would be difficult for them to complete a fundamental evolution.