Home Beyond Reach

Maybe I should kick them into this one. This should be it.

Hmm. Where did the slugs go...?

Oh, Endmin! Hi there! I'm Brightfire. Pleased to meet you.

Did you hear all that...? Ahem. Oh dear.

Situation's normal here. But, er ... something suddenly came up.

I'm trying to get a few Originium Slugs back into a special slug tunnel, but they rolled themselves into the ruins...

The North Wuling EZ Miasma does make Yinglung Pass quite inhospitable to life, but there are exceptions.

After we built Yinglung Pass, Globular Originium Slugs living along the fringes of the EZ slowly made their way here.

If these slugs burrow around unchecked, they might affect the operations of the Balepyre Tower. So we built a few special slug tunnels and assigned someone to look after them.

That was how we coexisted with the Originium Slugs for a decade. After all, they're an integral part of the local ecology.

I tried piling the slugs together but they seem afraid of me and kept rolling around. They'd just disappear when I take my eyes off them for a sec.

I'll just keep looking around. If the slugs get problematic, I'll just take the punishment ... I guess...

Wha? I can't just make the Endmin clean up my mess...

Sure thing, I guess...! Please save Yinglung Pass from the burrowing claws of the local slugs!

I'll wait for you at the slug tunnel. Feel free to ask me if you got any questions.

However, a few of the slugs simply refused to return to the tunnels. They want to burrow around again.

Endmin, can I help you with anything?

The slugs like lying on sticky rocks that give off certain aromas. I hope this knowledge is useful.

I thought so too. But the slugs seem to enjoy the kick very much.

Dirt and gravel can easily build up in the many gaps and pores of their shells.

Kicking and rolling them help loosen and get rid of these buildup.

A fellow Yinglung told me that Globular Originium Slug migrations can help improve the vitality of other lifeforms in the area.

They're good for the environment. In fact, they're our hope for getting other critters to return and live in the EZ.

This is why we like doing it. Taking care of these "neighbors" is part of our duty.

I'm counting on you for this sluggish problem.

The Originium Slug bounced back again! Hey, wait. What is this...?

(Mumbling to self) Another new, blighted problem. I just can't figure out these slugs!

Ah, well, Endmin, maybe you can take this slug to my fellow Yinglung to get it examined.

Her codename is Frigid. She's on duty somewhere else.

Frigid used to be the one in charge of the slug tunnels. She definitely knows more than me...

Well, this is Yinglung Pass! Everyone must work together to defend it!

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

This stash is so caked in mud. Wait for me. I'll rinse it down.

This slug looks quite timid. I think it enjoys rolling around...

If it rolls into a crevice or a tricky place, call me. I'll get it out in no time.

My presence spooks the slugs. It's something that we can use to our advantage, haha...

Why wouldn't the slugs go home?

Wha? Endmin? Why are you dribbling an Originium Slug around?

Brightfire wants the slug back in its tunnel? Whatever. He's got a good heart, I give him that.

I think I know what happened.

I made tiny marks on the Originium Slugs to help me differentiate between them. This little bugger got bounced out of the slug tunnel because it's not a resident.

What you've been doing is like stuffing liquid Xiranite into a Xiragen canister... Maybe it's more like redeploying me from Wuling to Valley IV...

Well, I'll just take it from here. I'll send this one back to its proper tunnel.

But there's one more thing...

Originium Slugs tend to stay in fixed territories. They don't like visitors and they certainly don't like visiting other turf.

This slug comes from a colony active on the other side of Yinglung Pass. It's actually pretty far away.

Globular Originium Slugs are pretty big and clumsy. They would need help from other lifeforms to achieve long distance traveling.

The fact it showed up in this area feels quite unusual.

Brightfire is usually in charge of surveillance operations and hardly dealt with Originium Slugs. Maybe something has happened.

Let me tag along. I need to get to the bottom of this.

Three, four... Oh dear ... there are so many left...

Whoa! E-Endmin?! You brought Frigid along!

Brightfire, can you ... explain what's happening here?!

Just this morning I saw an Originium Slug rolling around like it was looking for something. I remember you telling me that the slugs are social critters, so I guess it's trying to look for its friends...

But things didn't get any better when I kicked another slug close to it. So I kicked a third, and then a fourth...

And then they got really disoriented and started digging around the place. I think they lost their way home.

I don't know what exactly went wrong. All I know is that we must get them home to stop their digging.

Then I tried returning the slugs to their tunnels, yet some of them kept bouncing back up.

I want to fix the problem myself, but the issue keeps getting worse. I don't want anything to happen to the Balepyre Tower. And then suddenly...

Ugh. The slugs release pheromones when they roll around and collide into things.

Slug pheromones are essential for their pathfinding and food acquisition... They also help other lifeforms locate water and avoid Originium formations.

You gathered slugs from different tunnels into a single place, and that really messed up their pheromones. That's why all of them are lost.

I mentioned this during the last workshop on Originium Slugs. I guess you...

Hey, I attended that workshop, okay...! I may have missed a bit because I gotta submit an EZ surveillance op proposal on the same day...

I knew it.

Yeah. It's like carrying an old gramp across a river without a bridge ... and not asking them if they wanted to be carried in the first place.

Oh, blight me. That sounds really bad! I messed up.

Well, at least you tried to contain the problem and didn't let the slugs burrow around. Now that would be serious trouble.

I'll help you bring the slugs back home. Please be extra careful when you run into a slug next time.

Before I forget! Endmin, I rinsed the slug stash! It contains pieces of ore, herbs, and other good stuff.

Slugs tend to pick up things from the ground when they roll around.

Once they return to the slug tunnel, they would store the food and get rid of things they do not need.

Treat the stash as "nature's bounty".

Well, if you run into more globular slugs, help them get back home. It'll improve the ecology and the grateful slugs might reward you with something.

You really helped me out today, Endmin. I'll be extra careful next time. Good intentions may go wrong without proper knowledge...

Before I forget! Endmin, I rinsed the slug stash! It's got pieces of ore, herbs, and other good stuff.

Globular Originium Slugs like these tend to pick things up from the ground while rolling around.

Endmin? What is it? Is there anything I can do for you?

Oh ... okay. I'll be at my post for a while. Come talk to me anytime.