The Heist for Mother's Memory

Dark clouds covered the sky, hiding away the stars and moon. In the darkness, a shadow unseen moved at their leisure, darting from alleyway to alleyway, fearing only the streetlamps on the main streets.

Eventually, the shadow, Theodore, arrived at a storehouse in a corner of the western district, the district where the magic forges lay. Never did he think that he'd be returning so soon. Extending threads of Aether through the awning windows, Theodore made sure that no presence could be detected within the storehouse before entering.

The scent of blood was completely gone from this place and no traces of the corpse had been left behind. Even the cabinet seemed to have been cleaned thoroughly. And yet, a layer of dust lay on each object stored here, as if nothing was ever touched. It appeared that Lady Felicie was a meticulous one indeed.

Theodore moved to the trapdoor hidden beneath bricks. Prying the bricks off the floor and entering the trapdoor, Theodore made sure to place the bricks back with his threads. If anyone were to come through after him, they would be none the wiser.

After descending a ladder, Theodore easily bypassed the locked doors in his way using the same method as the last time. It was ironic that the doors that were supposed to keep unwanted guests away from the mother slime could be so easily opened by another slime. Though, such a trick would only be available to those who possessed the Demon Lord's mastery over behavioral matrices.

With the doors behind him, Theodore cautiously traveled down the long staircase and soon found himself back down at the chamber of the mother slime.

Standing before the mother slime and the slimes clustered around it, Theodore got to work without delay. After all, there was no way to know if someone might come down to this place. While it was true that Theodore encountered a pair of apprentices near dawn the last time he was here, he couldn't be sure if that would always be the case.

From the pouch hanging on his back, Theodore pulled out two vials of clear, greenish liquid. These were diluted extracts of the Dandelion Mandragora roots. Though diluted they were still rich in Aether and provide those who consume them a temporary boost in Aether density, provided that the mage drinking has an adequate amount of Aether control. Though usually dangerous for even an apprentice years into training to consume, Kalman was confident enough in Theodore's control to provide him with them.

Twisting off the glass cap of the vials, Theodore consumed the greenish liquid within. The moment it hit his stomach, Theodore could feel his body surging with energy, just barely contained by his will.

After taking a moment to focus and channel the Aether within his body, Theodore took his satchel and robe off, putting them down on the side. Though it was risky for him to reveal himself like this, it would likely be more dangerous for him to dive into the mother slime's massive body while wearing his robes. A mage's robes weren't made with hydrodynamics in mind, after all.

Once more, Theodore began to focus, this time channeling his Aether outwards. From his body, threads of Aether emerged. Previously, around two hundred threads were Theodore's limit. However, thanks to his daily consumption of Aetherglow tea and his unfaltering practice of Aether condensation, Theodore could, by this point, form over four hundred threads with ease, twice his previous limit. And having consumed two vials of diluted Dandelion Mandragora extracts, Theodore was forming over a thousand threads at once.

Using these threads, Theodore began to weave a layer of Aether over him, forming an armor to protect him from being broken down by the mother slime. The 'Aetherweave Armor,' was what he called it.

With everything prepared, Theodore took a deep breath and charged into the mother slime, building up momentum and diving as deeply into its body as he could.

He went in with surprising ease, the mother slime seemingly welcoming him into its mass. However, while entry was easy, once he was two-thirds the way in, roughly two meters into the mother slime's five meters wide body, with a meter left till he reached the center, Theodore found it difficult to proceed. It was as if an invisible wall was in his way.

Theodore was quick to realize what was wrong. Unlike the regular slimes, the mother slime had an additional layer in its body, a transparent membrane preventing him from getting close to the core.

Fortunately, Theodore came prepared. Using the furnace in Kalman's workshop, he managed to create a makeshift glass knife made of Aethervoid glass by melting the glass vials into a mold and then carefully grinding the blade to a fine edge with the whetstone in the kitchen.

With a swing, Theodore easily sliced through the transparent membrane protecting the mother slime's core. Quickly, he plunged his arm into the opening and reached for the center before the slime could repair itself, touching it with the tips of his fingers.

Then, from his pouch, he pulled out a clear red crystal, morphed into the shape of a prism for easier handling, and began copying the information he received from the mother slime's core into it.

It took Theodore two minutes to sift through the memories within the behavioral matrix that was the core and search for the relevant information. It took another minute to copy it into the crystal he held in his other hand. Though he had used magic to prolong his ability to stay submerged, five minutes was his utmost limit.

After he was done with the operation, he had two minutes left to exit the body. It was plenty of time, if not for the fact that he quickly found himself stuck where he was. Tried as he might to exit, Theodore found himself stuck where he was, hardly able to move.

To trap the pests they've captured, a slime could tighten the membrane that formed the surface of its body to increase the water pressure within, trapping its victims. The mother slime appeared to be no different.

Even with his Aether density strengthened by the extracts of Dandelion Mandragora roots, Theodore did not have the power to break through this entrapment. His threads simply were not made for brute force. Perhaps if it was Albatross and her lightning Aether, something could be done, but alas, bringing her out of the workhouse during curfew would be unwise.

With only one minute left, Theodore could feel the mother slime breaking down his Aetherweave Armor. If he does not act now, it will be too late.

Forcing his arms to move within the high water pressure, reinforcing them with threads of Aether, Theodore pulled out the glass knife once more and opened a new cut in the mother slime's inner membrane. With his other hand, he plunged into the new opening and stuffed it full of clear red crystals.

These were the Aether crystals extracted from his own body and he had prepared them for this exact occasion. If he could help it, he would have avoided doing this, but the mother slime had proved itself too much for him.

All at once, the red crystals let off an intense glow. It was the same function as the one in the behavioral matrix of the mouse undead: The self-destruct function.

***

End of Chapter 102

***