The Core: The First Guest

51. The Plasma Wyrm

You know what? The Tela had body integration down to a science! I had been mildly pleased with how easy and second nature it was to live and exist as a Blidda but that had no comparison to how amazingly powerful I felt as a Levasucker.

As the name implied, this species of celestial wyrm shared a symbiotic relationship with the massive Leva that I had seen when escaping from Magus the 2nd's Core.

The Levasucker existed to clean off the skin of the Leva herd and to keep the babies free from celestial parasites. They didn't need to breathe, which was something that I was becoming increasingly fascinated with and they also existed with part of a star inside their body.

I had read some of the details while looking into which alien species that I wanted to play next. What stood out for me about the Levasucker was its crazy durability and deadliness. I understood why some of the other players didn't choose to play it all the time, it had to do with the fact that the Levasucker was blind in normal and low light situations and required a bright flash of light to illuminate the surrounding area for it to see anything. Its vision worked as a sort of solar sonar. For PVP this manner of seeing had its benefits and drawbacks. One benefit would be against any creature that relied on sight to navigate. Experiencing a Levasucker's photon burst could actually harm players who were even remotely sensitive to light and even kill creatures like the Skii.

The downside was it acted as a beacon to show everyone its location and Levasuckers were just as vulnerable to cr as the next alien.

For any creature that detected heat as a source of sight, the Levasucker stood out like an active volcano just from the heat that leaked from its wide and long mouth. Its skin wasn't made from anything found on planets and was extremely durable and able to self-repair as long as it had sufficient heat. I didn't fully understand what that meant yet or where I was supposed to find "sufficient heat"... but I was sure I could figure it out. I mean, who really reads the manual?

Before that thought came back to bite me in my long slithering behind I chose to ask Invicta how I was supposed to find something hot enough to repair my skin if I was hurt.

She appeared around me as a soft mist before she answered, covering the underbrush in tiny droplets of water as I slid under low canopies and around huge boulders. With my helm magnifying all ambient light for me, I could clearly see the expanse of forest around me and navigate easily. Invicta's mist seemed to be helping me to stay concealed.

"Is that legal?" I asked as I moved through a thick plant grouping of what I would have thought was bamboo back on earth if not for the fact that it was covered in razor-sharp thorns at every knotted segment. Thorns that moved and sprung out like stingers and tried unsuccessfully to stab me as I slid past.

"Mmm... legal or not, I can do whatever I want now in regards to manifesting an avatar in game. All thanks to you." She said as she flowed easily around me, keeping me hidden as I delved deeper into the jungle.

"As to your question, it all would depend on the nature and size of the damage. If, say, a player managed to cut down the length of your body you would have to find someplace safe and to work at melting your skin back together using your internal heat via your mouth. Levasuckers who are cut in half tend to explode violently." She said, her voice gusting softly next to my helm.

"And don't worry, I understand your need for training and self-discovery. I won't interfere when you fight. It is just that, against the common native, the Levasucker is highly overpowered. Even a Fomys and Fomys Spawn will have a hard time even pestering you"

"Then why aren't all the players picking this species to play?" I asked as I heard something off in the distance.

"Disable the helmet and you will see." She giggled, causing a shiver of sparks to travel down my tail.