World Keeper

Chapter 575: Evolution Achieved

In order to speed things along a bit, I chose to fast-forward the world by a few short hours. In doing so, I was immediately awarded a prompt related to the two slimes that Aurivy was looking over. However, the content of the prompts was something of a surprise to me.

I blinked as I read over the prompts. So, I won’t be able to choose domains for monsters, then? I suppose that’s how the system prevents me from just not assigning monster domains.

Shaking my head, I began to look over the options. Fortunately, both of them had Slimes as a suitable domain, so I didn’t have to worry about breaking my promise with Aurivy. However, neither of them had a domain for Learning, which surprised me.

At this point, I had to decide what I wanted the second Slime’s domain to be, to know which would be which. I wasn’t particularly keen on using the ki domain for a slime, as that domain was somewhat reserved in my mind for Scarlet. As for Evolution… while it did seem to be an equivalent domain to Learning, it had different implications that I wasn’t entirely sure I was comfortable with.

In regards to the other slime… the Devouring domain was instantly rejected. I couldn’t be sure what would happen if I gave a monster that power, let alone a slime. Which left Mimicry… this one I could see being both amazing and terrifying at the same time. Especially when you consider the possibility that the domain might allow the slime to mimic other divine domains.

At this point, it was a choice between Mimicry and Evolution. Both of them had potentially dangerous implications, so I had to take other matters into account. For instance, this slime wouldn’t be an independent entity, but would instead be Aurivy’s subordinate god. This meant that Aurivy herself would gain the domain of whatever I chose.

At the same time, I had to question how much control Aurivy would hold over these slimes after their ascension. If they were properly controlled, that would severely lessen the negative possibilities of these domains. Aurivy wouldn’t be likely to allow them to trigger a mass evolution for monsters or anything like that.

So, if I were choosing a domain for Aurivy instead of one for a slime… I knew what I had to pick.

While the time may have stalled for those residents of the Administration Room, that time passed in a flash for those in the world. Two pillars of golden light merged into one and rose above the island in the middle of the great ocean. This event, far removed from any mortal eyes, signaled the ascension of new gods.

Aurivy, who had been patiently waiting, looked eagerly at the two slimes. She could feel her own divinity increasing in response to the ascension of her subordinates. However, there was soon a bit of confusion on her face. “Evolution? Didn’t he say Learning?”

Naturally, she was able to sense the domains that had been added onto her profile, one of them being the highly anticipated slime domain. As she was questioning this second domain, Dale’s voice spoke into her mind. It wouldn’t let me pick Learning. I had three options for each, and this was the best combination I could give you.

“Oh, that makes sense!” She nodded her head happily. “Now, let’s get you two outside. Trial, sweetie?”

“Understood, Mother.” Trial spoke, creating a transfer portal to send the two slimes to the surface. By now, their appearance was no different than a typical golden slime, save for the fact that they had no core within their bodies. Without that core to target, it would be incredibly difficult to destroy either of them.

At least, that was the plan. The moment that they emerged atop the dungeon, and left the influence of its mana field, the two slimes were flattened to the ground, squirming and letting out high pitched whines.

“Huh?” Aurivy blinked in confusion, looking at the two of them. “Sunlight shouldn’t have any kind of effect on–Oh, I get it!” She let out a light laugh, shaking her head.

Tsubaki, I need your help for just a second. There are a pair of new gods waiting for your registry. It hadn’t occurred to her that the two of them had escaped from the Divine Registry by remaining in the dungeon for so long. Now that they had left it, it was bringing the full weight of its power down on them.

Tsubaki arrived after merely a few seconds, appearing in a flash of light. She looked around, trying to find the identity of the two new gods, before looking at Aurivy in confusion. Seeing that, Aurivy pointed to the two golden puddles on the ground.

“Ah… this is unusual, I admit. But, it should still work.” As she said that, she took the registry stone from her storage space and used it to scan the two slimes and register them. Once she had done so, the puddles seemed to swell, letting out relieved warbles with how they shook.

“Thanks, Tsubaki!” Aurivy beamed a bright smile to the nine-tailed kitsune, who had a contemplative expression on her face.

“Is it really worth it to allow slimes to ascend, Lady Aurivy? I mean no disrespect, but I doubt that you will find many worshippers for them. Without that, it’s unlikely that they will be able to grow in power.”

“Well yeah, if I were to let them stay here!” Aurivy grinned, happy that Tsubaki had voiced her concern rather than showing blind reverence. “I’ll be taking these two somewhere that they will be able to acquire their own following. It’ll be really cool!”

After saying that, Aurivy wrapped herself in golden light together with the two slimes, and vanished from the island. When she reappeared, she was deep within the void of space, looking at a barren rock in the distance. Hello, Tower!

A rumbling thought echoed from the core of the growing planet. Greetings, Mother. I wasn’t expecting you to keep your word this quickly.

Ah, sorry! I’m not here for the acceleration formation yet! I’ll handle that once I get these two set up. I wanted to give you neighbors first. Then we can accelerate this entire solar system to help both planets at once!

There was silence from the planet at that, but Aurivy could feel a thin wave of divine energy passing over her and the two slimes. Ah, so that is your plan. Very well, I think it could lead to an interesting cooperation in the future.

Thanks, Tower! Aurivy hummed mentally, while moving out away from the sun. In order to not create issues with the orbits, Aurivy wanted to space these two planets far enough apart.

Once she was sure that the distance she chose was far enough, deep within an asteroid belt, she reached out to pat one of the slimes with her. Alright, Atraxi! Time to show you what you can really do.

Although Aurivy had only just gotten her new domains, she had been planning for the slime domain for a long time. Long enough that she was able to develop numerous techniques to use once she had it. With that in mind, she clasped her hands together.

I require a Territory Slime! Aurivy shouted the command with her divinity, a silver slime appearing atop a nearby asteroid. This slime warbled briefly, before instinctively sinking down into the rock beneath it. By my power, I bind this slime! You shall devour the earth which comes your way, and nothing else! Maintain the orbit that has been set, and become the world for your brothers!

As she gave the commands, she felt a small drain to her divinity. The slime she had created was still relatively weak, so setting any restrictions now would make it the easiest to keep effect later.

Next, Aurivy waved her hands, redirecting the orbits of several asteroids towards the one where the slime had been summoned. They seemingly all crashed together, and she knew that the slime had been faintly damaged, but this would also prove a catalyst for its growth.

She gave the slime an hour to fully digest the asteroids she had ‘fed’ it, and then began sending in more and more. In the span of a single day, she had cleared out a large region of the asteroid belt, and created a small planet a thousand miles across. While hardly sufficient for her final goal, it would be enough for now.

I require slimes of fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, metal, ki, and magic! On the surface of the slime planet, eight slimes began to appear one by one, each a unique color and pattern. These would be the foundation for all other slimes to advance in the future. Then, she created a hundred of the most common, basic slimes. Only then did she feel satisfied, pulling back her power.

Atraxi, Pietra, the two of you will be the gods of this world. I’ll be keeping an eye on you, but otherwise I want you two to manage this planet. If I have any advice or requests, I’ll come by to let you know. After she said that, she gently nudged the two slime gods, sending them forward.

Only once they had arrived on the planet did she channel her divinity again, this time expending a much larger amount than before. By my authority as the God of Slimes, I place this restriction. No slime shall achieve divinity without my blessing!

While such an act may seem out of place for someone like Aurivy, there was a very clear reason behind her actions. Slimes were excellent learners if given the proper environment, and she had given them a God of Evolution to empower that environment. She knew that if she left them alone while accelerating this solar system, there would easily be thousands of divine slimes by the time Tower’s world was ready to return to the normal flow of time.

With this restriction cast, Aurivy could feel a large chunk of her divinity depleting. Unless she personally chose to lift it, she knew that even Pietra and Atraxi wouldn’t be able to bypass her binding. Only with that would she feel relieved in establishing a world of slimes. Created by slimes, for slimes, from slimes.

“What did she want?” Dana asked when Tsubaki returned to the Citadel. The two of them were in her workshop, going over the blueprints that had been sent down from Udona. As expected, they were the two items that they had personally requested from the Keeper.

While the mana refinery was something that Dana would be able to create with enough time and materials, this ‘Convergence Detector’ was something that would require a good deal of study. Not only did it require fourth-tier magic, but also fourth-tier from the other three energy types as well. Thankfully, it came with a detailed explanation on how to perform the construction, even if one had not mastered that level of energy control.

“She created divine slimes…” Tsubaki said, still finding it rather difficult to put that thought into words. When Dana heard it, she blinked, before letting out a loud laugh.

“Oh, wow, now that’s going to lead to some interesting developments. Guess we better make sure that we don’t lag behind a bunch of slimes then, huh?” She asked in a challenging tone, looking towards the blueprint before her.