"How is this possible?!" Layton exclaimed, his voice thick with disbelief, his wide eyes locked onto the gleaming blade in Anyi's hand.

Ariana's gaze was equally captivated, her curiosity plain as she asked, "I want to know too."

Even Miruku, usually so reserved, stared at Anyi's sword with a mix of awe and envy. 'Pulling out weapons from nowhere... so cool...' she thought, her mind drifting into daydreams of summoning her own.

Anyi, ever the composed one, glanced at the group and began to explain. "You all received your rewards for completing the first quest, right?" His voice was calm, though there was a slight smirk at the corner of his lips. "I commanded the system to open my Inventory, used the reward, and voilà — this sword appeared. I simply thought about summoning it, and here it is."

The group blinked, trying to digest this new layer of divine power. The system he spoke of was beyond their understanding, a gift they couldn't access. Yet, despite their confusion, they hung on his every word.

A bright white light flashed again, and suddenly both Ariana and Miruku held weapons of their own. Ariana gripped a simple wooden staff with a white glass orb at its top, while Miruku stared down at a pair of daggers, plain but effective.

"Success!" Ariana beamed, excitement radiating from her as she admired the staff in her hand, casting a smile at Miruku.

Miruku forced a smile in return, her voice betraying her uncertainty. "Ah... yes."

Around them, the believers erupted in awe, their voices rising in reverence.

"This is a Kami-given weapon! A Divine Weapon!!" one shouted, tears streaming down his face.

"Miraculous! Truly miraculous!" another cried, kneeling as if in prayer.

"Humanity is saved!" the chorus grew louder, filled with devotion.

Anyi stood in silence, watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and detachment. He had seen this before — the fervor of believers whenever something otherworldly appeared before their eyes. Layton scratched his head, still unsure what to do with this newfound knowledge.

But Anyi’s focus shifted quickly to the slimes that had begun hopping towards him, their primitive instincts drawn to the presence of living beings. Several even managed to ooze onto his boots, their gelatinous forms sticking to the soles.

"Hero-sama, step on the slime's core and they’ll turn into regular water!" Masi, ever eager to please, called out from the sidelines.

"Understood," Anyi replied, his voice steady as he shifted his foot. With a firm stomp, the core of the nearest slime shattered, and its body dissolved into clear water, pooling at his feet.

[Kill slime x1, experience points +10]

[LV1 experience points: 10/1000]

Anyi mused. 'Killing the magic core turns the body to water, and their souls convert to experience through the system.'

But he quickly grew impatient. "If I rely on stomping them out one by one, it'll take forever," he muttered, his eyes narrowing at the encroaching mass of slimes.

With a swift motion, Anyi raised his sword. In one fluid strike, two slimes were lifted into the air, their cores exposed. In the blink of an eye, he slashed horizontally, and both slimes burst apart, turning to water midair.

[Kill slime x2, experience points +20]

A gust of wind followed the strike, slamming against the wooden walls of the farm with a force that shook the entire enclosure. The onlookers were momentarily stunned, the sheer power of the attack leaving them speechless.

When the dust settled, Layton was the first to speak, his voice filled with admiration. "Isn't this incredible?!"

Anyi, however, merely glanced down at the sword in his hand, his expression one of mild disbelief. 'This max-level beginner weapon... it's far stronger than I expected.'

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Sword Hero Anyi Carl-sama, in the first battle at Camacho Village, effortlessly crushed the slime with a single step, followed by a casual slash that summoned a hurricane, eradicating two monsters in a single breath," one of the believers wrote furiously in his notebook, his eyes alight with fervor.

Anyi stood silently, glancing sideways at the enthusiastic note-taker. "Isn't that... a bit much?" he muttered to himself. The exaggerated retelling made him wince internally.

Meanwhile, Miruku stood beside him, her eyes sparkling as she vividly imagined her own glorious moments being immortalized in history. 'One day, they'll write about me too... slayer of monsters, admired by all...' She smiled, lost in the fantasy.

Ariana, unable to contain her excitement, bounded forward. "I want to try too!" She entered the slime farm with eager energy and turned to Anyi for guidance on how to use magic.

Anyi scratched his head. "Magic attacks are a bit different from using weapons," he admitted. "Honestly, I can't give you much advice on that." He encouraged her to try out one of her skills instead, knowing that the only way she'd learn was by practicing.

Ariana nodded obediently, ready to try her hand. Unlike combat fighters who could use weapons, a mage's normal attack would involve directly striking with a magic staff—a clumsy method, really. But her enthusiasm made Anyi smile. She was like a blank slate, waiting for someone to write the first lines of her story.

She called forth her skill: [Holy Judge]. The air shimmered briefly before divine energy erupted from her staff, the attack consuming a mere 10 mana. According to Anyi’s estimate, with her current level, Ariana’s mana pool shouldn’t exceed 300 points.

Yet, after using the skill more than thirty times, her mana showed no signs of depletion. "That’s odd..." Anyi thought, narrowing his eyes. He suspected it had something to do with her status as the Holy Maiden. Perhaps her base Prana attributes were much higher than he’d anticipated.

Part of him had wanted Ariana to push her limits until her mana ran out, just to see if it would trigger her [Gluttony] skill—a ability that activated when HP or mana fell below 1/10. Once triggered, it would drive her into a ravenous frenzy, restoring both health and mana until she was completely recovered.

As Ariana wrapped up her training, Miruku stepped forward. She had been lost in daydreams, picturing herself admired by the villagers for her quick and lethal strikes. In reality, her movements were so fast that no one even saw her kill the slimes. When the villagers finally noticed, they gave a polite round of applause, though it was clear her effort hadn't left the same impression as Anyi’s dramatic display.

Miruku stifled a giggle as she rejoined the group. Next up was Layton. With newfound confidence, he accessed his Inventory, pulling out his shield for the first time. His technique was solid as he slammed the shield down onto a slime, crushing it in a single blow. Yet despite his strength, the spectacle paled in comparison to Anyi’s earlier whirlwind slash. Still, he basked in the satisfaction of his effort.

As the team busied themselves practicing against the slimes, none of them noticed a figure quietly slipping away from the edge of the slime farm, their eyes watching with a calculating gleam before disappearing into the trees.

...

Masi slipped away unnoticed while Anyi was busy teaching Ariana magic. His footsteps grew heavier as he returned to his office, his mind racing with dark thoughts. He paced restlessly, the wooden floor creaking under the weight of his troubled steps.

"Captain, what's wrong?" One of the employees asked, eyes narrowing at Masi’s unusually grim expression.

Masi halted, his face pale and lined with worry. "We... we might lose our jobs," he said, his voice low and ominous.

The room went silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing, turning to face him in disbelief.

"Lose our jobs? What are you talking about, Captain?"

"Yeah, are we being fired?"

The employees, who were often lazy but reliable when it mattered, exchanged glances. There hadn’t been any sign of trouble before this. Why would Masi suddenly say something so drastic?

"You saw those Heroes earlier, didn’t you?" Masi began, eyes darting around the room. "They said they’re planning to kill all the slimes. All of them. They want to make sure this village is free of slime attacks for good."

The weight of his words sank into the room, followed by incredulous laughter.

"Kill all the slimes? Do they have any idea how many slimes show up every day?"

"Yeah! That’s impossible! Slimes reproduce too quickly."

Masi raised his hand, silencing them. "You didn’t see what I saw. Those Heroes… they’re not normal people. One of them, the Sword Hero—he raised his sword, and with just one swing, a hurricane scattered two slimes like they were nothing. I've been killing slimes since I was fourteen, and never in my life have I seen anything like it. They didn't even have time to turn into water."

His words landed heavily. The employees exchanged uneasy glances, half of them still skeptical, the other half growing concerned.

"So, what happens if they do kill all the slimes?" one employee asked, finally voicing the underlying fear. "Does that mean we won’t have any work left?"

A murmur of agreement rippled through the room. The reality of their situation began to dawn on them. Being a Slime Cleaner was a lifetime job for most of them—simple, low-risk, and reliable, because slimes were always multiplying. But if the Heroes succeeded, their livelihoods would vanish overnight.

Masi clenched his fists, his jaw set. "We can't let them leave the village."

"What?" someone asked, confused. "But they’re Heroes!"

"I don’t care what they are," Masi snapped. "If they go out there and wipe out the slimes, we’ll have nothing left. No jobs, no income, nothing! We have to stop them, somehow." His voice was desperate, edged with panic.