The far east wing of Rondor City was known as the demi-human haven. Most demi-humans, and occasionally some residents of the Demon Continent, would take refuge here. Although discrimination against race was not as harsh here as it would be in the inner parts of the kingdom, from time to time, there were disputes between humans and demi-humans.
The building that I was told to go to by one of the guild attendants was an old wooden shack, about the size of a 1R apartment room. I felt sorry for the poor soul that has to live here. Having said that, I knocked, then entered.
To my surprise, it was many times more spacious inside; almost the size of a university lecture room in all three dimensions. Piles of books piled high. Scattered scrolls and material on the floor. Despite being in such a wide room, I was starting to feel claustrophobic.
“Thank you very much for taking up my request, Mr. Freikas.”
Before me, stirring a cauldron, stood a petite robed girl. She was roughly 60 centimeters shorter than me, but other than bits of her protruding blonde hair from her cowl, I could not get a good view of her other features. Her high-pitch voice was pretty cute though.
“As you probably already know, I am in urgent need of Mana grass. The more, the better. I would go gather them myself, but as you can see, I cannot stop stirring the cauldron or the contents will burn.”
[So, what does this Mana grass look like?]
“Please pick up the 2nd book from the top from the pile of books to your left and turn to page 394. You’ll find the information there.”
How she was able to discern the book from the others and remember the exact page it was on was beyond me. I picked up the book and looked up the characteristics of Mana grass. In short, it was a weed that contains traces of magical power and is commonly used in potion making. It cannot be cultivated and can only be found in the wild near a fresh water source. The reason why it is rarely sold on the market is that:
1. Its uses are limited
2. It cannot be commercially farmed
3. Unless you were a herbology expert, it is very difficult to discern it from regular grass as they are practically identical.
4. It tastes extremely bitter.
“Please take the book for reference and return here before nightfall with as much as you can collect. I’m not sure how long I will be able to continue stirring for.”
----------------------------------------
There was a luscious green meadow, brimming with vegetation, in the eastern outskirts of the city. Dirt roads, paved with horse tracks and wheel marks, led to other cities in the inner districts, and ultimately the capital of the Kingdom of Kines. In the horizon, I could see multiple mountain ranges and forests. A river was flowing not more than 500 meters from the gate, courtesy of the guard on duty, so I decided to head there.
[She was right… They look almost the same as regular grass patches, save for a barely noticeable blue tint at the very tip of the blade of grass.]
About an hour had passed. The Sun shifted quite a bit to the east, so visibility was soon going to be a problem. Apparently, the Sun rises from the west and sets in the east in this world. I was actively searching, but so far, I had only found four small clusters, despite all the time that had passed.
[Damn it! This is impossible! How am I supposed to collect even a bunch of these weeds? There should be an easier way to tell them apart fro… I’m an idiot.]
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
Although I was not entirely confident about its uses, something in the back of my head told me that a certain skill would make my problems disappear.
[Analyze]
Just as if turning the HUD on in a video game, bars of information formed in my sight.
[Grass] [Grass] [Tree] [Mana Grass] [Mana Grass] [Chrysalis Flower] [Grass] [Slime] [Grass]
[There it is! Why couldn’t I think of this earlier… Wait, is that a slime?]
Water Slime
Level
3
Species
Slime
STR
5
DEX
3
VIT
5
AGI
5
INT
6
WIS
3
Skills:
· Call for Help (Lv. Max)
Traits:
· Slime Body
o Water Form
This was not what I had in mind. This is not what a slime should look like. What happened to the beady eyes? The smile? Instead of the round shape that I was used to, this slime’s body was a blue pile of sludge. Its “skin” was as if there was water indefinitely flowing from its form.
Abruptly, the slime tucked itself inside its own body, like a spring, and thrust into my stomach. The force threw my body backward, crashing against a tree. There was a hole in my shirt where the slime had made an impact, exposing my stomach that felt like it was being digested by the slime’s bodily fluids. I would never have expected to take this much damage from a monster that you would usually encounter when you first start your adventure.
In my weakened state, I knew that running would be difficult, especially if could propel itself forward at that velocity. I was also pretty far away from the gate, so calling for help would probably be of no hope, thus leaving me with one option. I must fight.
Coincidentally, there was a piece of wood next to me that looked like it was sturdy enough to be used as a weapon. Picking up the stick, I readied myself, then promptly swung down in a straight line. Splat! The body of the slime exploded and stained the surrounding vegetation with oozing liquids. But, as it had not taken any damage whatsoever, the scattered pieces of its body reformed around a small blue crystalline rock.
Once again, the slime retracted itself into its own body and threw itself towards me. Fortunately, since I was aware of what capabilities, I was able to dodge the oncoming blow by a hair’s width. The slime slammed into the tree behind me and dropped to the ground. Without hesitating, I swung down again, scattering its body and exposing the crystal once more. Before the body had time to reform itself, the crystal was shattered by a swift blow from my trusty stick.
After being shattered, the broken fragments began to emit a faint blue light, to which multiple Water Slimes appeared.
[Call for Help – A skill often known by lesser, weaker monster species. Nearing death, the monster will signal fellow monsters in the area to come to its aid.]
Shit… It was already hard enough to deal with just one. Now there are seven, all with the [Call for Help] skill. I let out an agitated sigh.
[No way around it, I guess. I need those Mana Grass if I want to get paid… COME AT ME!]
Using the same tactic that I used against the first slime, I waited for it to attack then hit it and destroy its crystal before it had the chance to recover. Except for this time, I had to fight all seven simultaneously. When one was slain, two more took its place. It felt like I was fighting against a hydra.
After roughly 30 minutes of fighting, I was starting to get into the flow of combat. I noticed that there was a slight delay before the slimes spring forward and after it had completed its attack, making those moments the optimal time to strike. Hitting the slimes mid-flight risked me breaking my weapon, so I tried my best to avoid doing so. There was also the problem with dodging, but since their attacks were linear, the only thing that I had to worry about was multiple attacks at the same time.
One hour, 30 slimes later and nearing exhaustion, the number of slimes were cut down to all but one. With one last combo, the slime was dead and its core, broken, along with my trusty “sword”. You did well, partner. Not being able to keep my body upright, I collapsed to the ground from fatigue.
[Why does Izumi always get the easy jobs?]
After a short rest, I got up and continued my quest, to which I was able to collect five bunches of Mana Grass, despite my aching body. With that being said, I returned to the wooden shack, turned in the raw materials and picked up my reward of 3 silver and 50 bronze coins.
Now I just want a long night’s rest.
----------------------------------------
[Level Up: 2 -> 8]
[Skill Level Up: Analyze 1 -> 2]
[Acquired Blunt Weapon Mastery]
[Acquired Title: Slime Killer]