"I did it," I said with relief.


    Although I glared briefly at the sparkly rainbow cloud, that was all that remained undine, which denied me a new meal full of traits. If all spirits behaved like this, then I was putting them on the shitlist just like those damn ghosts. I made a mental note to lodge a complaint with Gramps; too many things were immune to being eaten.


    I had half expected the undine to suddenly pull out another trick and instantly thaw my ice or perhaps reveal another spell I had never seen before. That water beam spell was something else; the weirdest part was that I could tell it was based on the [Torrent] spell. All my cores and I had seen her cast it enough times, and I was sure if we joined forces, we could puzzle out replicating it.


    But first... I had far too many notifications waiting to be read. I shifted to a more comfortable form and plopped down on the frozen lake. It had been far too long since [Apex Hunter] was triggered; it made me wish there was a feasible way to replicate its effects for training sessions. There was a chance Trixie was somewhat triggering it, but if so, the effects were greatly diminished, as if it knew there weren''t any real stakes at risk.


    These were all traits and skills that had been long outstanding in gaining a level up. At first, I wondered why [Vanish] was included, but then I recalled it was now applied to spells via [Magical Subterfuge].


    This was a major milestone, which meant I went from a trait budget of thirty-six to a whopping forty-nine, and all my mimicked traits could now go up to level seven! With how much I stay permanently transformed and mimic traits as if they were my own, I expected it sooner, but it seemed like as soon as any of my skills or traits hit level five, they slowed to a crawl. Definitely, something to question.


    I was a little disappointed that this only gained a single level, but I had hardly used it since gaining it, and if I was desperate to level it up, I could just eat some more cores. Hopefully, Johnathan was doing merchant things to get me some more.


    Another useful bunch of skills that managed to make some gains. Stacking [Prodigy] with [Apex Hunter] for boosted experience was so satisfying.


    In hindsight, I should have tried to do some more sneaky spells to power-level this skill. Also, it was upsetting that Aquillia either couldn''t or wouldn''t cast her spells outside of her safety zone; I would have loved to have worked on [Counter Magic]. Although I was leaning towards wouldn''t; if she was a being of mana, risking herself like that would have allowed me to potentially drain her dry if I seized her magic.


    I was shocked that [Exploit Weakness] gained two levels. I would have thought it would only gain experience when it applied [Vulnerability] and would have been hard to level up. I could only theorize that whenever I triggered an application, whether it was already applied or not, then it was gaining experience. Perhaps my barrage of [Fire Arrows] caused multiple triggers and boosted the skill greatly; she did have a ton of debuffs at the time, so the chance of success was likely near guaranteed.


    I was pleasantly surprised to see this gained a level. I was upset that I didn''t flip between elemental alignments to grind away at the skill, lost in the heat of battle. However, since it did gain a level, this potentially meant that just being in an elemental alignment was enough to gain some experience. Or perhaps casting spells that get boosted by the alignment? Regardless, I was happy.


    <Undine LV 54; Hydromancer LV 36 defeated. Experience gained.>


    <Racial Experience threshold reached. Chimeric Mimic Slime (Blue) is now LV 18.>


    <14 Trait Points are now available.>


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    <Racial Experience threshold reached. Chimeric Mimic Slime (Blue) is now LV 19.>


    <15 Trait Points are now available.>


    <Racial Experience threshold reached. Chimeric Mimic Slime (Blue) is now LV 20.>


    <16 Trait Points are now available.>


    <Racial Experience threshold reached. Chimeric Mimic Slime (Blue) is now LV 21.>


    <17 Trait Points are now available.>


    I gasped. Gaining four race levels was huge. I only needed another nine levels, and I could evolve again and gain another sneak peek at what other slimes were out there. Perhaps, more importantly, I could get Gramps to wake up and fix whatever was happening with this half-spirit mana thing. I was also once again extremely grateful for [Identity Fabrication], as otherwise, I would be showing an absolutely ridiculous elf level when disguised.


    <Class Experience threshold reached. Elementalist is now LV 2.>


    <15 Skill Points are now available.>


    <Class Experience threshold reached. Elementalist is now LV 3.>


    <16 Skill Points are now available.>


    <Your class has revealed the following skill: [Elemental Adaptation].>


    Only two class levels. My reaction was harshly the opposite of my race levels; I was astounded that it was so low. Were advanced classes this hard to level up? Is this why Tabitha had said she would have warned me against choosing Assassin as my first class?


    ''Actually... I should probably dip into Assassin and then go back to Elementalist; I could probably get a skill or two that way. I assume there would be no downside now that I''ve already invested in an advanced class.''


    Finally, I looked at my new skill.


    <[Elemental Adaptation]


    While elementally aligned, you can imbue your [Mana Reinforcement] directly with the element, gaining defensive properties and other enhanced effects based on the chosen element.


    This skill has no levels, and its effects scale off a combination of [Elemental Shift] and [Mana Reinforcement].>


    Okay, this sounded fantastic, but I would have loved some details on the so-called ''other enhanced effects.'' The defensive properties were likely not as valuable for me, assuming they would give me fire resistance while aligned with fire. Regardless, it was only a single skill point, and I loved experimenting, so I grabbed it.


    <Skill [Elemental Adaptation] obtained. Skill Points remaining 15.>


    There were still a few notifications still waiting for me.


    <Emblem Usurped: [Spirit Candidate].>


    <Error. You do not meet the requirements. Emblem Lost.>


    <Error correction. Requirements partially met. Emblem Granted.>


    <Error.>


    <Error.>


    <Your accomplishments have been acknowledged.


    Emblem Achieved: [S???????p?????i????????????r???????i?????????t?????????? Candidate].>


    <[S???????p?????i????????????r???????i?????????t?????????? Candidate]


    Error.


    Redacted.>


    <[S???????p?????i????????????r???????i?????????t?????????? Candidate] has been forcibly equipped, replacing [Apex Hunter].>


    <Error. Emblem cannot be equipped.>


    <Warning: Candidates must always present themselves.>


    "Okay, this is getting ridiculous," I muttered.


    "Are you done leveling up?" Trixie asked, fluttering nearby and looking absolutely delighted. "Also, congrats! I knew you could do it."


    "Thanks. I certainly gained a lot. I probably could have ended it quicker if I had tried to freeze her first; I thought the fire would be the go-to counter since [Elemental Shift] puts it as the opposing element to water."


    "True. Freezing her was what I originally had in mind. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to tell you that directly." Trixie shrugged. "Not that it seems to have mattered; you got there in the end and even robbed her of her domain. Truly excellent! I actually had no idea you could freeze an entire lake! I joked about you turning this island into a glacier, but you basically did it anyway! Where the heck did you even keep all that slime? Dimensional storage?"


    I could only stare at the nonstop verbal barrage from the excited pixie. Examining my storage was a grim sight; I had blown through over half of my reserves. In the long run, it was worth it as I had secured a victory and made considerable gains, but without [Slime Conversion], my anxiety was growing.


    "That can wait. More importantly, what''s a spirit candidate?" I said.


    "Don''t worry about-" Trixie tried to brush it off, but I pressed.


    "I gained the emblem."


    "What? Impossible." Trixie looked me over and shook her head. "A rather poor prank, Syl."


    I couldn''t help but frown. I wondered if I could project the emblem to her like a trait or skill. With hardly any effort, I soon had the broken emblem projected before me. It seemed possible to share nearly anything in your profile if you wanted.


    Trixie stared at the broken emblem and frowned deeply.


    "Well. That''s not good. What did you do to it?" Trixie asked with a hint of accusation. "Actually, no. Why do you even have that? You''re not a spirit."


    "That''s what I want to know." I fired back.


    Trixie gave a reluctant sigh. "Okay... I''ll explain... Some of it."


    "I''m all ears."


    "A [Spirit Candidate] is someone with the potential to become a Grand Spirit and oversee a major magical aspect. Think of it almost like nobility, except actually important. In Aquila''s case, she was one of the candidates trying to preside over Water."


    "She would literally rule over Water?" I questioned.


    "Eh... Kinda? She would be tied to it and responsible for rainfall and water-related disasters, ensuring a balance of Water Mana throughout the world... Lots of admin. And work... Lots of boring work."


    It was on the tip of my tongue. I had to ask. "Are you a Grand Spirit?"


    "Bah! You''d never catch me doing such boring work. I don''t need some fancy title to boost my ego." Trixie guffawed. "Maybe if they made a Grand Spirit of Pranks, I''d consider it."


    "Right... So what should I do about this?"


    "Honestly? Nothing. You''re not wearing the emblem, so you''re automatically disqualified. You''re supposed to proudly wear it so other candidates can attempt to remove the competition. The most qualified candidate would be promoted if the current Grand Spirit of Water kicks the bucket or retires."


    "And she would have gotten that by just sitting around here?"


    "Yeah... It''s certainly not the best qualification. I doubt she was really in the runnings, but being a high level is usually seen as worthy enough."


    "Yeah... I can''t say that appeals to me," I admitted. "I''m not going to get in trouble for killing a candidate, right?"


    Trixie giggled, "I''m glad we agree. And no, candidates are expected to be able to survive against monsters. If I had taken her out directly, there might have been some trouble."


    "So... I can get my yellow slime now?" I asked, trying to look on the bright side and avoid the things outside my control.


    Trixie paused and breathed in deeply, her eyes shut tight. "The essence flow is returning to normal for the island, so regular spawn rules should be resuming very soon."


    "How long does it take for monsters to spawn?"


    "Depends on the area, but since floating islands are self-regulating, there''s likely a daily batch of spawns. There''s currently a lot of built-up essence; Aquillia going pop has flooded the place." Trixie began explaining, tapping her finger against her lip. "If you''re lucky, I''d say as soon as tomorrow; otherwise, maybe a week at most? Assuming you do some daily monster culling."


    "Great! I can''t wait!" I said with newfound optimism.


    "Just try to avoid breaking something else." Trixie giggled.


    Leaving the frozen lake behind, we started heading towards our tree fort. I shifted to a water alignment and started toying around with replicating that impressive water beam spell. I couldn''t help but giggle at the thought of Dewi complaining about compression again when I eventually showed him this spell.


    I was feeling absolutely giddy. Finally, the yellow slime core was potentially in my grasp again, and I was armed to the teeth to get it.