Sluggish Escapade

*Huff* ... *wheeze*... Can you help me ... please? I ... I'm absolutely spent...

Thanks, but I can't leave. Not before I find all my Originium Slugs... Oh, self intro! Yes! The name's Oleg. I'm a UWST scientist.

Yeah. Those slugs were specifically bred and raised for unique traits with great scientific value! I actually asked Anthony to watch over them before leaving my lab. But the man went missing and all my slugs escaped.

Oh... I'm not really sure myself. But there's definitely one of them nearby. Ugh. I almost managed to catch that one... Almost...

Outrunning them would be quite ... impossible...

But if you look closely, these slugs seem to move along a fixed path. You can try using that to your advantage.

Really? You can help? Thank you so much!

One more thing. Here. A special Originium Slug net. It's essential for catching the slugs.

How goes your slug hunt?

Thank you so much! This breed of Originium Slugs isn't native to Talos-II, but they're adapting really well. In fact, their running speed hasn't changed much compared to their Terran ancestors.

Well, yeah. Originium Slugs came from Terra. People brought them along when they came to Talos-II.

Over the years, the slugs also evolved to better adapt to the Talosian environment.

And with this little guy, I can finally continue my research.

Oh, if you come across more slugs at other places, catch them for me! PLEASE!

How goes your slug hunt? Caught anything?

Awesome work!

Let me count them. Yeah, we might be missing some.

These Originium Slugs really know how to hide. Please find them for me!

You actually caught them all! Thank you so much!

The slugs... They're important to our research. I'll be extra cautious when hiring my replacement slug-sitter...

Originium Slugs are perfect lab animals. They reproduce quickly and can literally live anywhere!

When we Terrans first moved to Talos-II, food options were really limited. The slugs got us covered, you know. We released a few slugs into the wild. They quickly adapted to the Talosian environment and evolved into the many slug breeds we see today.

These creatures are now a key part of the global biome. Studying the slugs will help us learn more about Talos-II...

Oh ... that ... yeah... That's probably ... food-grade kohl.

Science is not an easy career, my friend... And I was pursuing a rather important side project concerning ethanol and organic substances. Had to test the results myself, you know. Heheh.

Truth be told ... Originium Slugs were once widely employed to make fermented beverages. Slug secretions contain enzymes that could catalyze starchy crops into kohl and other aromatic compounds.

Well, you can probably find them ... anywhere. Originium Slugs are extremely adaptable and thrive in all sorts of environments.

But slugs aren't very brave. Try looking around caves, rock crevices ... or even the tiny spaces hidden behind the containers.

Look around the spots I mentioned. Good luck.

Anthony is a research assistant I hired. I asked him to look after the Originium Slugs.

I was assigned to support another site due to the Æther rupture. Before I left, I specifically told my RA to keep the slugs safely confined.

But when I returned, both my RA and the Originium Slugs went missing...

I knew the lad for quite a while. Anthony's the dependable type... I wonder why he left without telling me anything.

Yeah... I just hope he's alright.

You did? Where?

The Blight...