Chapter 3: Summer Program | 3.5 Slime Cores
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Determined to sweep the mana realm clean, Iris used her mana sense to target nearby slimes hidden within the tall grass. Search. Crush. Collect. Store. Following the mundane task, Iris’s mind wandered.
A few close-future memories came up, and an interesting idea popped up from a beginner alchemy class. Iris smiled. ‘Should I grow a slime core?’ With her collected mana stones, she could feed a slime and promote it to form a mana core. Killing a slime with a mana core would give her more leveling experience. Plus, magic ink made from mana cores is better than those made from mana stones.
‘Ah, but Nick is here… I’ll keep collecting mana stones until I get father away. When I’m near the corner of the mana realm, I’ll find a few slimes to feed.’ Walking back and forth in the fields, Iris slowly expanded the distance between her position and the study spot.
She collected many mana stones, and the tattoo on her right hand had grown to the size of her thumb. Mentally examining the mark, she counted the amount. ‘82. I think that’s enough for a slime or two.’ Close to the mana realm's corner, she searched for a slime but sensed something else instead.
[Mana Sense] allowed Iris to sense her surroundings with mana, and [Book Sense] overlayed it allowing her to identify and pinpoint book-related items. Iris turned to the farthest point of the mana realm because she sensed a book hidden amongst the tall grass.
Iris repeated a safety rule in her mind. 'Items left inside a mana-concentrated area can turn into a mimic.' Focusing on it, she determined it wasn't a mimic yet. 'I...should remove it from the mana realm, but...' Iris was curious about what a wild book mimic be like. 'How different would it be from Lexi?' Her curiosity grew as she wondered about it.
A bit conflicted, Iris turned away from the corner. 'I want to see it...' She refocused on her slime hunt and tried not to focus on the potential book mimic growing in the realm's corner. Eventually, Iris found two slimes with fairly mature mana stones. 'It shouldn't take too many mana stones before they form a core.'
Adjusting her gloves, Iris secretly dropped a small pile of mana stones near each slime. Monitoring the surroundings with her [Mana Sense], she hunted nearby slimes while waiting for her two chosen slimes to form a core or run out of food. Iris had to refill the mana stone piles once more before it seemed to be enough for them.
After an hour, one of the slimes had processed all the mana stones and formed a mana core. Monsters can grow fast after acquiring a mana core. She didn't want to take any chances, so Iris walked nearby in preparation for it. It glowed slightly in the tall grass, but it wasn't too noticeable otherwise. The slime increased a little in size and the spherical core inside was very clear through its transparent body.
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Stepping closer, she slammed her foot down, defeating it just like all the other slimes. Its body was crushed, spilling outward. Iris could feel the mana core under her foot. It was like stepping on a stone. Storing it with her skill, she focused on the other slime and defeated it once it grew. Iris returned to her normal hunting and collected lots of mana stones. She continued to defeat slime and encourage a couple more slime to form mana cores until it was time to go home.
Elsewhere, Casey was with the twins at the public library during the day. She was turning a few of their books, but something along the notice board caught her eye. 'An open position...' Reading the details, her heart skipped a beat. It felt like fate. The job was right down her alley. With a smile, she shook her head and focused on her sons. 'I stopped working after their birth, but... they're old enough now that I can probably go back to work.'
Her mind was open to the possibility. Casey messaged her husband asking him to pick up Iris before going to the front desk. After speaking to the librarian, she understood the opportunity and work environment better. Getting a submission link, she collected Connor and Caster from the children's book area and went home to get all the necessary paperwork ready.
Mason picked Iris up from the summer program. Surprised, she quickly greeted her father and got into the car. Throughout the drive, Mason felt something was off about Iris, but he couldn't pinpoint the change. He shook his head, 'I'm probably just too stressed about my job search.' He ignored his senses and pushed the thought away.
Arriving at home, the twins approached Iris to show her their library books. 'This is a good opportunity to improve our relationship.' Looking over them, she asked if they wanted her to read to them. They were both surprised because she had never offered to do that before. After quickly agreeing, Iris told them to give her a few minutes to set things down in her room, and she brought the books along.
Using telepathy with Lexi, Iris checked in. 'Lexi, how are you feeling? I want you to assimilate to these books. I'm going to read them to my younger brothers.' Lexi affirmed that she could do it. Her familiar even suggested leaving one of the books in her room, so they could have enough separation for her familiar to change books.
Iris liked the idea. Inside her room, she placed the books on the desk, and let Lexi out from her tattoo storage. Once she organized her things, Iris went back downstairs to the living room to read to her brothers.
Mason and Casey marveled at the children in the living room. They whispered to each other. "It looks like Iris is in a good mood. I've never seen her read to her brothers before." Casey observed, and Mason agreed with a nod of his head. "By the way... what happened today?" When Casey had asked him to pick up Iris, she hadn't provided much detail, so he was curious if something happened. She smiled widely at him before dragging him to their room to talk about her going back to work.