Without even waiting for Lapis or her drones to fully step into the room, Niwla launched out a Yin-Yang Blast.

A black and white orb, no bigger than usual, materialized in front of him. That was a tad disappointing, but nevertheless, he continued. Perhaps the change was reflected in other aspects of the Species Skill.

As they travelled forward, the two orbs spiralled around each other, moving closer and closer together. They orbited at exactly the same speed. Another disappointment. Still, Niwla held out, hoping that it wasn't all for naught.

Then the two orbs crashed into each other. Their shells ruptured, Dark and Light Mana bled into each other. A huge, blinding explosion detonated, shaking the room. A Yin-Yang Symbol easily twice the size of what he was used to took shape.

Niwla smiled. That was more like it.

Alwin, still squashed under him, let out a muffled cheer. For once, they could both agree on something.

"Impressive," Lapis said.

Niwla turned around to face the floating diamond-shaped crystal. Despite the lack of eyes, he could tell that she was transfixed on the Yin-Yang Symbol he had created.

Like Lapis, the drones were frozen in place the moment the Yin-Yang Blast went off. They, too, were absorbed by the sight in front of them. Little flashes of light burst out from the tips of their mini-diamond head, each burst followed by the clicks and snaps of a rolling shutter. They were documenting. But why just photographs?

Niwla's gaze drifted across the swarm. Some of their lights remained on. A small beeping red dot was in the center of its otherwise translucent blue body. Those drones must've been recording a video. Smart. He would've done the same, too.

As it slowly faded away, magical particles dissipating in the air, her attention travelled downward toward the Yin-Yang Slime.

"Heya…" she paused.

"What's wrong?" Niwla asked.

"I'm not sure who I'm talking to. Slime boy or turkey boy. It's like a mix of both. Did you finally resolve your multiple personality issues?"

"Turkey boy," Niwla said. "And no. Me and Alwin are just having some issues right now."

"What kind of issues?"

"The kind where I need to take control of the body and discipline him."

"Kinda weird, but okay. Also, don't really care. Drones!"

They ended their little paparazzi session, shutting off the flashing lights. Swarming around Niwla, those same blue scanning beams trailed up and down his body once again. As they performed their analysis, Lapis spoke.

"That was a very promising show, turkey boy. Or are you slime boy now? It's really hard to tell. Could you resolve your issues and either go back into one being or split into two?"

"It's still turkey boy. And again, the answer is no."

"Worth a shot." Lapis shrugged, which involved her shifting her entire body up and then down again.

The drones shut off their beams. Like before, all except for one retreated back into her lab. It floated toward her, then above her, before landing on the top of her head, their tips touching. Both tips lit up with a warm blue shine. Then, the drone detached itself from her head and flew back to join the rest of its companions.

It was weird, but then again, so was Lapis. She probably had a reason. Maybe there was so much information about this possibly new and improved Yin-Yang Slime form of theirs that a direct connection was the only method to transmit data in a timely manner.

"Why do the drones deliver information to you differently each time? First, they organized themselves into words, then there were a bunch of 'beeps' and 'boops', and now you're touching each other. What's the reasoning behind it?"

"Oh, that? Just wanted to have some fun with the drones. It gets boring if they keep telling me stuff the same way over and over again. So, there's a little competition among them. The drone that can send me a message in the most fun way possible gets a day off!"

"Oh…" Niwla said dejectedly.

"Yup. Anyways, the results are in. Drumroll, please!"

All around the entire room, the loud thumping of drums echoed out, and Niwla could feel it in his chest.

"Congratulations, slime and, or, turkey boy apprentice of mine. You're officially fifty percent Dark Essence and fifty percent Light Essence. Not only that, but from what I've seen so far, spells which make use of both Dark Essence and Light Essence are boosted!"

"That's amazing, Niwla," said. "Do you know what that means?"

"That I have more work to do?"

"Nope. We've just figured out a way to boost the ability of Monsterkind. Think about how effective the attacks of a monster of your Tier could be if you had a hundred percent Essence purity."

"Have you ever heard of the phrase, 'Jump the gun'?"

"I have. What about it?"

"Well, you've jumped past that and even soared past a cannon. What you're saying is technically correct when operating in a vacuum, but we need to conduct even more research before such a fact can be established."

"What more research do we need? Wasn't that Yin-Yang Blast evidence enough?"

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Try using either a Dark Tackle or a Glimmer Ray."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Niwla did as told, much to Alwin's annoyance.

Darkness flooded out of his Core, shrouding his body. He was forced forward, tackling the air before the Dark Mana around him dissolved into the environment.

"Okay, I did it. And?"

"Gimmer Ray."

Niwla sighed. Alwin sighed even louder.

Light Mana shot out of his body. It materialized as a beam that flew forward, scorching the white walls with white char.

"Okay. I've done it. I still don't get—"

Realization dawned on Niwla. Maybe it was the fact that he had to restrain Alwin, but boy, was he slow in figuring out what Lapis was hinting at.

Sure, his Yin-Yang Blast may have been greatly boosted, but neither his Dark Tackle nor his Glimmer Ray showed any similar effects. They were exactly the same as before, maybe a tad bit stronger, but nothing significant.

"Why?" Niwla asked.

"No idea. Leading guess is that since Light and Darkness are two opposing forces, they cancel out any boost that a higher Essence purity might provide."

"But the Yin-Yang Blast doesn't have such a problem. Is it because it utilizes both Dark and Light Mana?"

"Possibly. It could also just be the nature of the skill—Yin and Yang, balance and whatnot."

"You're right, Lapis," Niwla said. "We do need more research. Okay, what's next on the agenda?"

That was it! Alwin had had enough of this. No more work! Only play!

With all the strength of his jelly muscles, he pushed Niwla off his back. The turkey tumbled to the ground, legs and wings sprawled. Alwin shot Winal a look, and the ant understood. He moved forward and pinned Niwla to the ground with all six of his legs.

Now, Alwin was in control again.

"No!" Alwin shouted.

"No?" Lapis repeated, confused, before she realized the sudden change in demeanour. "Oh, slime boy. Welcome back. Where's turkey boy?"

"He's in timeout until I say otherwise."

"Sure. Whatever. Now, about the next experiment."

"No!" Alwin shouted again. "No more work! I've wasted enough time on work! How many of my vacation days have I wasted on work? Think about all of the delicious meals I've missed. All of the fun I could've had. No more!"

"Roughly three weeks," Lapis said. "And you've missed zero delicious meals. About the fun part… Honestly, I don't know."

"Three weeks! Just like that. Gone! And how could I have missed zero meals if I haven't been eating!"

"But you have been eating," Lapis said. "The drones have been coming by, feeding you food and water the whole time you were refining Essence."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah."

"And all of the meals were delicious?"

"Are you calling my cooking bad?"

"Maybe. I need a banana split to verify that deliciousness claim."

"Drones!"

As if they had predicted Alwin's tamper tantrum request, a drone carrying a tray swooped in. On it, a towering bowl with two oversized bananas topped off with dollops of white, brown, and pink ice cream. It placed the glass bowl onto the floor right in front of Alwin, with a spoon and napkin by the side. Those were just unnecessary distractions on his path to deliciousness. Alwin dove face-first into the bowl of ice cream. Tongue and teeth worked in tandem, licking and swallowing the yumminess without any hesitation.

"How is it?" Lapis asked.

"It's really—brain freeze!"

Inside their mind, ice began to form. Sharp, jagged, and rocky coldness crept in from the sides of their consciousness. Still, Alwin continued to swallow down mouthful after mouthful of ice cream. That only accelerated the process, turning all three of them into ice status.

Without the influx of any more ice invading their system, it began to thaw. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Niwla was the first to break free from his icy hold. More specifically, he embraced it. Ice was nothing for a Cold Turkey after all.

Instead of kicking Alwin out of the control seat, he gently picked up the frozen slime and set him down to the side.

Now that Niwla was back in control, he dug the main body out of the bowl of ice cream and faced Lapis. Her body reflected the state that he was in, namely, the black, white, and pink smeared all over him.

He turned to the drone, saying, "Do you mind?"

It nodded, which in drone speak translated to a single forward flip, before grabbing the napkin and using it to wipe the creaminess of his face.

"So, turkey boy. How was it?" Lapis asked.

Niwla didn't really know or care, but he knew what to say to placate her.

"Words can't even begin to describe how delicious that banana split was. We'd need to invent a whole new language just to do that."

"Told you."

If she had a face, she'd be smirking right now.

"But regarding the next step of experiments..."

"Oh, did you change your mind already? Or was it only slime boy's mind about not wanting to do work anymore?"

"Mostly him, but I've been pondering about something he said."

"Which is?"

"I would like to pause the Tribulation experiments for now."

"But why?" Lapis whined.

"A Tier 1 Tribulation is simple enough, but after everything I've experienced, I realize that I need more knowledge. Especially if we want to experiment with higher Tier Tribulations."

"You don't have to do that. If you give me enough time, I can nab some really high-quality gear and Resistance Pills, and we can continue on without you getting mauled by the Tribulation."

"Sure, that helps in the short term, Lapis. But that'll only hinder my progress. Gears and Pills are a crutch."

"Don't tell that to the Minister of Equipment or the Minister of Brewing. They'll literally break you down and use you as ingredients if you're not careful."

"Duly noted, Lapis. But what I need right now is more knowledge. More skills. If I want to tackle all of the different types of Tribulations, I need to be prepared. And if I'm not, I need the ability to come up with things on the fly, and for that I need a better understanding of magic."

"So, you want to go to the library?"

"Exactly!"

"Fine," Lapis sighed. "But make it quick. We're on the cusp of something great. I can feel it."

Another drone flew in, this time with a piece of paper attached to its face. When it approached Niwla, it came to a stop, causing the paper to flutter to the floor right in front of him.

"What's this?"

"A list of recommended books. Just try not to take too long."

"Thanks—"

There was a flash of light before Niwla even had the chance to speak. Next thing he knew, he was in the library. She must've teleported him there. That was nice of her. It saved him some travelling time.

The piece of paper had been transported with him as well, lying on the brown wooden floor in front of him. A list of books and their locations was scrawled on it. Most of them were on the third floor.

Niwla approached the stairs, took a single leap forward, and bonked into something invisible. Ripples shimmered across the air, reminding him of the library's rules that he had forgotten.

There were barriers in place, and they had to prove themselves to unlock higher floors.

Looks like it was library challenge time.

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