By now, crafting debuffs had become a well-practiced routine. I executed the familiar motions, swiftly replacing them with Lightning Mana. With [Mana Conception LV 6] and [Mana Manipulation LV 5], I felt akin to a surgeon wielding a scalpel instead of a blunt knife. The longing for the next level of [Mana Manipulation] was palpable, and the prospect of tinkering with Arcane Mana without corruption was tantalizing.

In a remarkably short time, my latest spell was born, and I reveled in the gratification of a well-executed job. I also theorized that aligning to Lightning with [Elemental Shift] facilitated the ease of working with it. The new debuff was called [Conductive], which made me realize that none of my new debuff spells had ever informed me that I had discovered a new spell or unlocked an existing one.

'Onto my never-ending list of questions for Gramps, it goes. Seriously, I could write a book at this stage.'

<[Lightning Magic LV 2] spell [Lightning Rod] learned.>

And it went without saying that manipulating and creating a custom spell was amazing for experience, or maybe that was just me abusing [Prodigy] and [Elven Legacy]. And just like [Ice Magic], it seemed like I wouldn't get offensive spells right out of the gate; I honestly expected level two to give me something like [Lightning Bolt] or some form of ranged spell, but instead, I got a concept.

'I shouldn't complain too much; it is a really good one, after all.'

As its name implied, the [Lightning Rod] spell caused nearby Lightning, both natural and magical, to try redirecting into the target. Seeing a spell recreate my newest trait was a little funny. What was very interesting was that this was clearly a debuff spell, but if I didn't have and understand them already from [Corrosion Magic], I might not have realized it.

'It would have been strange if only one form of magic monopolized all debuffs. I wonder what other spell forms I may miss by merely not understanding them enough.'

Before heading off to bed, the last thing I checked was casting [Lightning Rod] and then observing it with [EM Field]. I targeted a stone and watched it unnaturally light up to a glowing yellow. I cast [Spark] nearby and watched the crackling lightning energy go straight for the rock.

'I'll want to combine this with [Conductive]; I can't even think of a scenario where if I'm making something weak to Lightning where I wouldn't want it to also attract it. But only after I make a ranged spell, I can't have my only attack spell be limited to melee or moving the origin point.'

***

Unfortunately, I didn't finish creating a projectile spell before Trixie woke up. If I had to describe it, Lightning Mana didn't like being contained and struggled like an unruly child. But, with my current capabilities, I could certainly force it; I just needed more time.

The spawns for the day were more harpies and, weirdly, a singular water elemental in the lake. This island really liked spawning harpies; Evan would hate it. Lightning spells were devastating against the harpies, and the poor water elemental basically went pop with a single spell. I shuddered, thinking that I had almost the same fate.

"I can't imagine you're getting much experience from this island anymore." Trixie pointed out.

"No... Definitely not; risk plays a big factor in experience gains, and this almost feels like bullying. I've basically conquered this island. If not for really wanting another yellow slime, I'd leave."

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts. Once you move to a high essence zone, you'll look fondly back to these relaxing times."

"I wonder if that's why high-level adventurers retire and become Guild Masters in these areas. I'm assuming they haven't leveled in a long time."

"That or pickup a non-combat job. No need to constantly seek out bigger and tougher monsters to fight. I'm definitely swapping to [Weaver] or [Tailor] when I visit home."

"Are you sure I can't convince you to come with me?"

"I'd say the same to you. I still think you should abandon the adventurer shtick and come with me."

"...Maybe after I deal with the dwarves. I don't know how easily I'd ever get access to another silver slime."

"Well then, when you're done hunting slimes here, we'll part ways and meet up again there. I hope you can handle your booze." Trixie said cheekily.

"Ha! I'm immune to it."

"Boo! That's no fun."

***

Our routine continued like this for another few days. In that time, I successfully created a ranged spell and chuckled that I had predicted its obvious name—[Lightning Bolt]. It was honestly a lot of fun because, combined with [Lightning Rod], I could toss the spell and watch it curve toward the target with unnatural precision. No more would I worry about pesky pegasi dodging my spells and taunting me from a distance!

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Despite killing quite a few monsters, I had gained no level-ups. I likely only gained the last level in Elementalist as leftovers from my massively boosted gains from the undine. That's not to say my skills and traits didn't progress.

I kept experimenting with [EM Field], not to mention leaving Epsilon to use it, so it leveled up relatively fast. [Eagle Vision] I used to scout out our spawned targets, which was getting thorough usage.

Trixie agreed to do some [Counter Magic] training. Although if I ever brought my [Sub-Cores] to help, she would storm off and refuse to play anymore, claiming I was cheating.

I also kept practicing storing and generating Lightning with [Voltaic Slime] before finally discharging it into the sky when it finally reached its limit. I also hoped that by doing this and spamming my spells, I would influence the area with more Lightning. Trixie had originally laughed at my optimistic view, claiming I'd need to do much more than that to affect the elemental influence of an area. As if fate decided to mock her, a yellow slime spawned the next day after I had generated and cast a bunch of Lightning around the island.

"It's a pure coincidence!" Trixie fumed.

Chuckling at her outrage, I approached the slime. I didn't even need to freeze this one; I grabbed it with tendrils, and any discharges it tried against me merely filled my own capacity.

While some part of me wanted to stay around farming forever, I had other goals and objectives. I still wanted to use my other persona before I went to deal with my gold-promotion dungeon. Trixie and I agreed that the next yellow slime would be the last one.

***

In hindsight, I could have easily made an affliction spell, but I was deadset on combining [Conductive] and [Lightning Rod]. I had thought it would be a simple process like adding the freeze concept to [Frigid], but instead, it was more like layering two individual spells together. My upgraded [Frigid] was a single debuff with two effects, but this was becoming a single spell with two debuffs instead. In the grand scheme of things, I wasn't sure why the system was making such a strange differentiation, but apparently, it mattered. I didn't care for such magical nuances as long as I got my desired spell effect. I even tried to ask Trixie about it, and she described it as "Magical snobbery."

During our routine island cullings, I noticed there was one area we always avoided—the rainbow forest. I asked Trixie if we shouldn't explore it, and she sighed as if she had expected me to eventually ask.

"There's no slimes in there... I've been having us avoid it because I didn't want you fighting or killing them."

"Oh. Friends of yours?" I asked curiously.

"Kind of... That forest has a dryad and some gnomes." Trixie began explaining, and I listened in quiet anticipation. "The gnomes would likely take offense and attack, and the dryad would join in to defend them. I don't really care for the gnomes; they are basically the goblins of the spirit world, but I don't want a dryad to die."

"I mean. You've helped me so much already; it's honestly the least I can do."

Trixie chuckled at that. "I kinda feel the opposite; you helped me out of a pickle with that cage. If you really wanted to, I'd feel obligated to allow you."

"Well, then, just call it a favor between friends. I haven't gone evolution crazy yet," I said with an exaggerated wink.

"And the world lets out a collective sigh of relief," Trixie giggled. "I don't think we could handle an evolution-crazed slime that can mimic and eat anything."

***

One afternoon, while tinkering, I had an errant thought regarding [Elemental Shift]. Previously, I had tried to cast it via my [Sub-Cores] and failed, as they lacked any individual mana, which made me wonder if I could theoretically activate it on my slime. If I could have even one more active element at a time, that would greatly benefit me. The biggest example I could think of would be having active Water and Lightning, as while they weakened each other when I changed alignment, they worked well together in practice. Soaking a foe with Water magic before blasting them with Lightning was a deadly one-two combo, but I had a limited number of shifts during a fight.

When exploring what caused my slime to be used as a mana source, I narrowed it down to my [Sub-Cores] when they were trying to pull more than my natural mana output would allow. So, while I couldn't access my slime mana, they could. Following that train of thought, I ordered Alpha to activate [Elemental Shift] on my slime. I anxiously watched my slime with [Mana Conception], hoping and waiting for it to change element. Alpha was certainly trying to do something, so I ordered Beta to join in. Perhaps we simply needed more mental power.

I was currently Lightning-aligned, and slowly but surely, I watched as the slime around my two cores gradually shifted to Water. I ordered the others to join in, and then, in a flash, my slime was now of a different elemental alignment. Transferring vision rapidly to Alpha, I checked on my own core and mentally cheered when I saw it was still clearly Lightning.

"Oh no..."

"Shit, shit, shit! What have I done."

I screamed and shifted wings before flying as fast as possible to the tree. I found Trixie casually trying to weave with the spider silk.

"Syl?" She asked, looking confused as to why I had burst in.

"I've done something. Gramps is sending me messages."

"Wait. Directly?!" Trixie exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Yes. I'm going unconscious in less than 10 minutes. Can you protect me?"

"Uh... Sure. Do you know how long?"

"I have no idea. To be honest, I'm terrified. I think I just royally screwed up. Shit." I was panicking.

"Of course, Syl. Just go sit in your tub before you pass out and scatter across the floor. I promise I'll look after you." Trixie said, trying to reassure me.

I nodded frantically and rushed out; I had no idea how much time I had left. I hurriedly threw myself into the tub, and Trixie gave me her best smile and a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry, Syl. You're safe with me." She said a gentle smile on her face. "And I'll be here when you wake up. No matter how long it takes."

I was about to thank her when the world abruptly went black. It was time to face the music.