The King and the Queen were walking on a nicely paved path. The rain had stopped leaving the path slightly damp. It was still early morning so the rising sun’s reds and yellows reflected nicely from the Kobold Bricks. It gave the brick path that romantic feeling of warmth. On the sides of the path, there were lanterns spaced every dozen metres or so. A spider lanternkeeper was running around turning off the Magical Lanterns to save the FireAgave juice, aka Fire Juice, for the next night. The little spider waved at the royal pair, but the two ignored the little fellow; they were too engrossed in their conversation to notice. Spider lanterkeeper didn’t mind because it was obvious they were having a very serious discussion.

“By the way, what’s the buff?”

“Just try it yourself and sss-see it?”

Lamia Queen dipped her finger into the bucket and then brought it closer to his lips. That gesture was entirely unnecessary but since both of his hands were busy with a bucket that somehow seemed appropriate.

So Into the mouth it went with *Hawlp* *Click* “Noice!” It tasted amazing!

[Temporary buff Eldrich Telepathy obtained]

“Huh?!”

His vision distorted as if the light itself was pulled into a violent whirlpool, then his mind became hazy and his body weightless. Soon his vision cleared but what he saw was hard to describe. He was standing in the devastated field of DustyBlue. He saw there spiders building a structure and White Sprigans growing the buds. But his sight, vision, or even the ability to see was different. The sun and the light were of entirely different colours, actually, he saw colours he hadn’t seen before; it was hard to put into words. A strange aura shrouded the spiders, the Sprigans and even the plants.

‘Is this some sort of illusion?’ He wondered in his mind, however, it felt way too real.

All of a sudden, his body felt strangely jiggly, he felt parts of it moving, parts which normally he shouldn't have.

“King!” A familiar voice exclaimed, “How Wonderful For You To Visit!”

He blinked, no, it wasn’t him who blinked but he experienced that anyway.

‘Huh, what’s happening?’ He asked confused.

“You Don’t Know?” He felt two arms crossing under the chest. Then he experienced a rather heavy but squishy sensation on those arms.

Obviously, he recognised the voice and that iconic feeling of jelly-like softness and squishiness. ‘Johny! Why am I in your body?’

“Eldrich Telephathy!” Johny began excitedly. “Now You Can Visit Me Anytime! All The Time!”

Hye didn’t know if he wanted it to be ‘All The Time’.

“Eh? Am I Being Too Clingy?”

Ups… apparently he didn’t need to think it ‘out loud’ for Johny to hear it.

“No, You Don’t. It’s Telepathy.”

‘Huh, you’re rather knowledgeable about it.’

“Of Course. I’ve Been Using It Whenever I’m Bored.”

‘Huh?’

“King, You ‘huh’ Rather Often, Hee-Hee.” She giggled in amusement. “But I Understand Your Confusion. You See, I Can…” Johny paused, and he could feel her embarrassment for a moment. “Invade The Minds Of Those Who Consume My Jelly. But It’s Rather Boring Since The Connection Is One-Sided.”

He was thinking.

“Oh, Yes. That Includes Yours…” He was filled with her feelings of guilt and remorse. “I Was Just Curious. I Apologise.” She said that but there was also a feeling of loneliness.

‘I understand, I am not angry. It must have been lonely for you. After all, aside from me, you had no other visitors.’

“…”

The two exchanged some rather complex emotions without saying a single word. It lasted only a moment but unlike with words, using this kind of telepathy, complex feelings could be communicated in a flash of a second.

“Ha-Ha. I Didn't Know The King Feels So About Me. How Bold, Hee-Hee” She giggled.

‘I rather we keep our feelings to ourselves. How do I control this thing?’

“Why Worry? What Happens In Our Heads Remains In Our Heads. It’s Not Like I’ll Tell Anyone.”

‘You’re surprisingly understanding.’

“Of Course. We’re Friends. And You Too, I Thought You’d Be Mad…”

‘Nah, your ability is rather useful! You can spy on everyone. You’re perfect for information gathering.’

“I Didn’t Think About It That Way. You Are Right! But…” She went on to explain certain limitations.

The perk was called Eldrich Telepathy, it didn’t show in her status screen then he had inspected Johny that other time because it was a hidden racial perk, a perk she had even before her evolution. It granted Johny Mind Invasion, but it could only be used while the other party had Slug Jelly in their system. It depended on the individual and the amount of jelly consumed, so it could last anywhere between minutes and hours. Also, it sapped Johny’s mana and she only had 100MP which roughly translated to ten minutes.

Saying all this, the thing the two were having now wasn’t mind invasion but proper Telepathy communication, so the MP cost was negligible.

‘I feel woozy all of a sudden.’

“The Connection Is Weakening. Please Call Me Again. Anytime!”

‘I will…’ The connection broke.

He blinked feeling slightly out of place in his own body. The way Johny saw the world was just too unique hence the feeling of discomfort when moving between the two.

“Dear, sss? Are you alright?” The Lamia Queen hissed with concern. “You have been out, sss, for a good few minutes.”

He looked at her, and even if she was concerned that didn’t stop her from helping herself to the jelly; there was a wide circle of speared blue around her mouth.

“If you eat that much it will make you fat!” He accused staring at the visibly emptier bucket.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“SSS! No, I won’t. I’ll just exercise more!”

“…” Somehow, he felt he would be made to take part in that exercise… “So, Eldrich Telepathy, that’s a scary-sounding buff. You always pull pranks on me like this, you should have warned me.”

“Pranks-sss? Eldrich Telepathy?” She gave him a confused look. “What I have is Divine Aphrodisiac? I understand the divine part, sss, it’s the bit that makes this so irresistible.” She looked at the bucked with the eyes of a starved animal. “But what is an aphrodisiac?”

Right… Now he understood the reason behind her body language better. He wasn’t feeling any different, and hence not under the aphrodisiac effects, so it was she who was afflicted with Divine Aphrodisiac. But further investigation was necessary.

“Are you feeling different?” He asked carefully.

She gave him a famished look full of unabridged desire. “I feel very hungry.” Her eyes even glowed in purple.

“For some reason, I wonder what would happen if I remove this bucket from your sight.”

“What do you mean, sss? And what is this aphrodisiac part? Is it dangerous?”

“Very! Actually, you should just stop eating jelly entirely.”

“But when I eat it, sss, it makes me feel like that time. When I almost evolved! My body is-sss warm, and I’m all tingly… SSS, give me more jelly!”

“…” He was likely the one to blame for her ‘confusion’.

“I want to evolve! Give it to me!” She reached for the bucket.

At least it was the jelly she was going for. For now…

…

Lamia Queen was confined to her chambers until the buff wore itself off, which judging from the amount she had consumed would be anywhere from a day to a week. He felt sorry for her, but she had brought it upon herself.

In the meantime, he went around investigating the buffs the Slug Jelly gave; it varied from one race to the other.

Spiders had gotten Magnificent which made them better at their tasks, and arguably more charming.

Lamia were afflicted with Divine Aphrodisiac which put their reproductive system into an overdrive. The System said it’s a buff, but in his opinion, this was more a debuff or even a curse. Sorry Gareth, you will have to deal with the volunteers of the sampling session.

Drow obtained Magic Sight. It didn’t sound like much, but Drow Assistant was very excited about this. Apparently, this helped to improve their skill in crafting magical devices, scribing scrolls and even learning magic. Good for you Drow! The King wasn’t jealous, not at all! Eldrich Telepathy was so much jazzier, it even sounded cooler!

Centauri got GottaGoFast, which was rather self-explanatory. Their stamina doubled and kept regenerating ridiculously fast. It suited their race well and they too were happy with the effects of the buff.

White Sprigans didn’t acquire sustenance in conventional means, meaning that they didn’t eat or drink. Slathering jelly on their mouths didn’t do anything either. So there was that.

Kobolds will be visited at another time.

And for humans…

Bareth palled, his hands were shaking. “Error[System_Override]!, is what I’ve got. Monster System? Am I a monster? Is this permanent?” He voiced with a trembling voice.

“Oh! That’s unconventional. So you got access…” He looked at the visibly panicking man. “No, I don’t think it is permanent, it should turn to normal after the buff wears off.”

“It better do. I lost my class and all of my levels.”

“Really? What was your class?”

The distraction worked and the pale face returned to a more natural colour. “A Knight.” He looked at his Centauri companion, she was blushing for some reason.

“And I thought you were a Merchant.”

“I was, I switched that out a long time ago.” He said that with a distant look.

“Is that so…” Since Bareth was calmer now, the King decided to press on. “Do you see any benefits in Monster System?”

“Hmm…” Bareth was looking through his tables in thought. “I have jobs instead of a class. I have Fighting which must be equivalent for a Knight, but also Trading. And a bunch of perks. I guess I have the best of both worlds now. Under the normal System, after switching to a Peasant Soldier, I’d lost my Merchant skills, but now I can see them. Well, some of them, in the form of perks.” His eyes darted as if going through an invisible list. “Some are new. What is Monster Negotiator?”

“Inspect it and it should tell you.”

“[Inspect],” he invoked somewhat unsure. “Oh! It says I get a better Reputation with various monster races. But I have to discover them first. I have Spiders, Lamia, Drow, and most importantly Centauri. This Monster System is not too bad!” He seemed to like the perk.

“Good, now let's see how long it will last.” The King turned a sand clock beginning to time it.

While waiting the three chatted about this and that. It soon became obvious that the Human and the Centauri were more than companions. It was pleasant to see different races mingling so closely together. Hopefully, other humans will follow the good example Bareth and Gareth were setting here. And Gareth definitely needed some help!

“That’s it. It reverted.” Bareth said somewhat sadly.

The sand clock was only half full, but he had turned it twice already. “Two hours and thirty minutes, not bad for a shot of jelly.” He concluded. “Here, I’ll leave a small flask. Please test the System some more, maybe you can level and unlock new perks. Let's see if they remain between the switches.” He gave the last of his stock away.

Bareth put the flask into his pocket. “Thank you, King. Thank you for trusting me with this.” The old man clearly understood just how precious this jelly was, and its value. After all, there was only so much to go around.

Speaking of which it was already past noon and time for a certain appointment. “I must go. You stay well.” He bid a farewell and left with urgency.

On his way towards the flower field, he observed a peculiar scene unfolding. A Friendly Lamia was jumping, rolling, dancing and doing all sorts of tricks.

“Is she practising for a show?” He was interested so he approached closer.

“I command you to do a summersault!” A stern and manly but still charming voice ordered her.

Lamia attempted it but her long tail was getting in her way.

“Now, twenty jumping jacks!” It commanded.

Lamia wasn’t the best of jumpers to say the least but even then she obeyed.

“Higher!”

“Yes, King, Yes!” She replied.

King? How did she see him, she shouldn’t have been able to because he was approaching from a side.

“He-he. Meow.” Someone was giggling behind a corner of a building.

“What’s going on?” He asked intrigued.

“King? I’m doing my best! Please, sss, don’t punish me.” She cried turning to face him.

“Eek!” Someone shouted in a stolen voice. “Meow! Let’s run!”

“So… you were just following my commands?” He asked the lamia.

“Yes-sss, to the best of my ability. So please!”

He had a hunch about what happened, but even so, he talked it out with Friedly Lamia.

“Those two! I told it not to use my voice. [Summon Darkness]!”

The shadow right in front of him bubbled and a blob of darkness formed out of it.

“Eek! Master!” It spoke in a stolen royal voice. “Eek! Meow.” It changed it to a wyrmling.

“Where is the other one? [Call Familiar]!”

Somewhere in the distance, a high-pitched shout voiced “Meow! I’m busy!”

“[Call Familiar]!” Sometimes he had to repeat it because the wyrmling was a familiar and not a slave like Darkness.

“Meow!”

The two pets were right in front of him and the Friendly Lamia.

“Now, apologise!”

“Sorry, I’ll be good. Meow!” Said the shadowy slime.

“Hey! That’s my line, meow!”

The King glared.

“This was just a prank, meow!” The wyrmling meowed at lamia. The King slapped the back of its head. “I mean, I am sorry, meow!”

Just a few days ago one was chasing and threatening to bite the other and now they were fast friends pulling pranks on unsuspecting denizens of Spider Kingdom. What a pair of troublemakers!

“No more pranks, or else.” He threatened. “If you use my voice again, I’ll feed you to Johny.”

*Sob “No, please. I’ll be good, meow. I won’t do it again, sob, sob.” The shadowy slime quivered.

“And you…” He looked at wyrmling in disappointment. “You are older and should set an example to your junior! I expect more from someone who says they’re an adult. So childish!”

“Meow! I am an adult.”

“So behave like one!”

The wyrmling lowered its head. “I’m sorry, meow. I’ll be more mature.”

He was done scolding the two. “Now then, I’m busy so scram. And behave!”

“One more thing, Master.” *Bleh, Darkness spat a bunch of rocks. “I’m sorry… I was hungry.”

“These were your Spirit Stones, but… Meow! It’s not my fault! Sorry!”

He picked the stones. They weren’t your usual spirit stones not anymore…