Slime Evolution

[NunuNote: Enjoy this Bonus Chapter for your Power Stone Goal!]

While Isabella and Evelyn were back to having a more "normal" conversation, Lohan, who had also logged off from Elysium at that moment, was working out when suddenly...

Ding, Dong...

The doorbell rang.

Glancing at the time and seeing that it was already one in the morning, he sensed that something was wrong.

As the intercom screen updated to show who was on the other side of the door, the doorbell rang twice more, revealing the impatience of whoever was there. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The intercom screen switched to the swollen, sweaty face of Oscar, the owner of the apartment where Lohan lived.

Unlike their previous encounter, where he had merely exuded the rudeness of a greedy landlord, now his eyes were dilated and red, darting erratically as he sniffed constantly.

The hologram over his left eye flickered in an unstable yellow hue, reflecting the nervous agitation of someone under the influence of heavy chemical stimulants.

Lohan felt a tightness in his chest, but it wasn’t the paralyzing fear from before. Thanks to the enhancements he’d received from Elysium, his senses picked up the acrid smell of sweat and synthetic substances wafting from under the door even before he opened it.

As soon as Lohan unlocked the door, Oscar shoved it open forcefully, bursting in like a caged animal. "Where’s the money, Hayes? I know you’ve been hiding something in this dump!" he shouted, his voice hoarse and faltering, while his gold jewelry clinked against one another in an irritating metallic jingle.

"Oscar, I paid the $300 rent three weeks ago; there are still a few days left until the next rent is due," Lohan replied, keeping his voice calm as he felt Mana circulate through the inner pathways of his arms, warming his defined muscles.

"Don’t give me that bullshit, kid! The building’s purification fees have gone up, and I need a $350 advance NOW!" Oscar lunged forward, breathing heavily and foully.

Lohan instinctively activated his lung filter so he wouldn’t smell the stench of rot the man was exuding.

"And what kind of look is that on your ugly face?! You think you’re better than me just because you go to that trashy college?!" Oscar raised his fat hand, clenching his fist to deliver a clumsy blow to Lohan’s face.

However, to Lohan’s perception, honed by days of combat against predators with genuine hunting and killing experience, Oscar’s movement seemed to occur in slow motion.

Through the [Instinctive Perception] and [Viscous Flow] integrated into his physical body, he saw the punch’s trajectory even before Oscar’s arm was fully tensed.

If that punch hit him, his skin would instantly harden to disperse the impact, but Lohan had no intention of letting that happen.

"Lower your hand, Oscar..." Lohan said in a low, cold voice, exuding a faint trace of the newly developed murderous intent born from killing hundreds of monsters.

He didn’t move, but the intensity of the energy he now exuded made the landlord hesitate for a millisecond, panic flashing across his drug-clouded gaze.

Lohan actually had enough money to pay those $350, since of the $500 he’d withdrawn from Elysium last time, he still had $402 saved in his bank account.

The problem with this situation was that Oscar clearly wanted to take advantage of him, demanding $40 more than agreed, and being taken for a sucker wasn’t something Lohan liked.

But the fury induced by chemical stimulants and the desperation for another dose clouded what little remained of Oscar’s rationality.

With a scream that reeked of rot and cheap synthetic food, the landlord ignored the warning and lunged forward, throwing his full weight into a clumsy, straight punch.

To Lohan, it was like watching a Level 1 Goblin attempting a charge. Using the [Artificial Magic Core Harmonizer Lv 2], Lohan felt Mana flow instantly from his chest to his arm, warming his tendons just as it always did whenever he entered combat in Elysium.

He didn’t use [Non-Newtonian Resilience] to absorb the impact... he chose to go on the offensive. With a subtle pivot, Lohan slid to the side of Oscar’s fist’s trajectory and delivered a short, sharp punch directly to the man’s solar plexus.

The impact didn’t sound like flesh hitting flesh, but like a solid thud. Oscar froze in midair, his eyes bulging from their sockets as all the air in his lungs was expelled in an agonized hiss.

The fat man collapsed onto the apartment’s dirty floor, writhing like a worm, his fat hands clutching his stomach as he desperately tried to inhale any amount of air, which wouldn’t come.

Lohan watched the scene with a coldness that surprised him for a brief second; seeing that man on the floor, Lohan realized he felt the same indifference toward him as he did when he saw a Goblin being dissolved by his acid.

Without haste, he picked up his old cell phone with the cracked screen and opened the Atlas Bank app, where his balance of $402 glowed in the dim light of the apartment.

With a few taps, he completed the transfer.

"I just transferred $310 to your account, Oscar. The exact amount of rent you yourself stipulated last week," Lohan said, his voice sounding steady and dangerous as he crouched down near the fallen man. "I know you wanted $350, but I’m not your personal bank, much less a sucker you can extort to support your addiction."

Oscar was still trying to catch his breath, his face turning purple under the flickering light of the broken refrigerator.

"Consider this $310 an advance for next month. I’m staying in this apartment, and you’re going to stop banging on my door at all hours," Lohan continued, letting a trace of a predator’s murderous intent seep into his words. "If you try to come in here again without permission, or if you ’forget’ the agreed-upon amount one more time, I guarantee the next punch won’t just knock the wind out of you. You know how easy it is for someone to ’disappear’ in the Lower Zone, don’t you?"

Lohan stood up, feeling the Mana circulate back to the core of his chest, leaving a sensation of power and calm.

Oscar, finally managing to let out a shaky, wheezing breath, looked at Lohan with genuine terror, as if he were seeing one of the Upper Zone’s super-soldiers in disguise.

Without saying a word, the landlord shuffled out of the apartment, tripping over his own feet as he fled down the dark hallway.

Oscar couldn’t understand it, not only because of the drugs clouding his mind, but because it made no sense at all that the frail, skinny boy he bullied whenever he needed more money would suddenly possess such monstrous strength!

’Had he been hiding this strength all along?!’

Closing the door and locking it, Lohan sighed.

He now had only $92 left, a tight budget to get through the rest of the month, but the satisfaction of not having been made a fool of in the real world was incredible!

Adrenaline was coursing through his veins, making it hard for him to fall asleep, but Lohan didn’t care; he’d even decided to work out again to calm down.

But thinking that he needed another $820 to pay the bank interest, he pondered how to handle it.

Suddenly, he had an idea!