Turns out Grifith had no desire to go anywhere near slimes. The cores were too small and buried behind too much slime mass for him to comfortably kill them with any sort of efficiency.
After Grifith and I finished for the day, we started our daily “jog” back to the city. It was remarkably easier for me to run now that I had a few levels in Enhanced Body. I thought some more about the slime dungeon I read about and was going to ask Luke for some information about it.
According to the book I had, Dungeons are pocket dimensions that have a set number of spawners and monsters that reset at predetermined intervals. Dungeons are given ranks similar to what adventurers had but lettered from F at the weakest to A at the strongest. The ranking is based on how powerful the monsters it spawned were, how many monsters it spawned per reset, and how strong the boss monster was at the end of the dungeon in comparison to the rest of the monster in the dungeon.
According to the information given in the book, the slime dungeon was about 15 miles north of here and had between 140 and 210 slimes, with the boss monster being a stronger slime that spawned as a more powerful version of itself the less regular slimes spawned. So a 150 slime count boss would be a lot stronger than a 200 slime count boss. I assume it’s due to a power distribution system in place to keep the fighting fair.
Apparently the boss slime also had a chance to drop a bracelet that increased the wearer’s mana capacity by 10 points. The book mentioned that the bracelet could grow more powerful by feeding it slime cores too, but specifically slime cores gathered from that dungeon only. Any other slime cored that were fed to it would just be wasted.
Okay, I have GOT to get my hands on that. It has so much potential to be a broken item. If I can get the slimes grouped, I should be able to wipe out loads of them at a time with just a single Arcane Explosion. There’s not a chance in hell I wouldn't be doing this.
I got to the guild hall and rushed right over to Luke. I asked him to bring out all the bins he had because I've been hoarding the Cat Ears herbs I've been picking and wanted to get rid of them all today. He instead brought a magic bag over that was used specifically for situations like this. I just had to dump all the Cat Ears I had into it, and it would count them automatically and show the number on a tag attached to it. Quite nifty, if you ask me.
I had 512 Cat Ear herbs, all were in pristine condition since they were stored in my storage skill. Apparently it kept herbs and perishables fresh for an indefinite amount of time as long as they were in the actual skill.
The Cat Ears, goblin kills, and goblin drops added up to 11 silver 22 copper. I asked Luke if he had a bit to talk about a possible dungeon run, and he said, “That's my job man. What dungeon did you have in mind? I can’t say I recommend anything over rank E for right now, but I'm sure you’ll get there soon enough. Also, are you bringing anybody along with you?”
“Well, I plan on going solo, actually. And I want to do the Slime Dungeon to the north. I have a good skill set to deal with it, and I plan on taking some potions with me, so don’t go getting your panties in a bunch.” I could see the protest in his face as soon as I said solo.
“Fine, but I firmly object to you doing this by yourself. Won’t Griffith go with you? It would be a cakewalk for him. And you’d at least have back up that way. I’d be alot more comfortable with you going if you had a high copper rank with you.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Dude, I'll be fine. My arcane magic is almost level 10, same with my barriers. Would it help if I said I wasn't going to do the boss and just farmed the basic slime spawns?”
He looked up at that. “Yeah actually, that would help a lot.”
“Well too bad, because I want that bracelet.” I laughed, but Like didn't see the humor in my joke. “I promise I'll take it slow and safe. Griffith has been helping me train my physical skill, so I won't have any problems running at the first sign of trouble, okay?”
He looked annoyed, but rolled his eyes and finally agreed. “Fine, you can go. I still object though. Make sure you stock up on supplies before you head out. And don't stay there for too long. You better be here bright and early in the morning.”
“Aaaaactually, I planned on maybe staying around up there for a day or two. It would be a waste to go all the way up there only to have to come right back so soon. I want to farm the dungeon for at least two days, maybe a third while I'm at it. I will need to pack plenty of water. Which reminds me, I should get a water skin. I need to start hydrating better, instead of just chugging water after my runs with Griffith and before I leave the inn.”
Luke looked at me like I was stupid. “Dude, how are you even alive? You've been going all these days with no water? What's wrong with you!”
“Yeah, I know I know. I’ll be better. Anyways. I'm heading upstairs then going to the enchanter's guild to sell more mana. At least they love me!”
It was true. On my way out yesterday, everyone stopped what they were working on and stared at me and whispered amongst themselves. I felt like a proper celebrity.
Luke angrily waved me off when I went for the stairs.
“Hey! Long time no see. What’s it been, two whole days since I last saw you?” Sarah made my heart skip a beat when I saw her.
“Yep, an entire 48 hours. I just can’t stay away from you.” I blew a flirty air kiss at her and she laughed.
“So mister big shot, what’ll it be this time? You here to buy our full plate, dragon proof armor that goes for 20 gold? I’m sure you could afford it by now, right?” She’s started a running joke of offering to sell me gear worth hundreds of times what I could afford. Last time she offered to sell me a war hammer made of solid adamantium worth 350 gold pieces. It was my turn to laugh now.
“Not in the slightest. That weak armor could never vanquish my foes! A slime could slip right through the gaps with ease, and I wouldn't even know what killed me!” We kept the sharade up for another two comments each before I let it go.
“In all seriousness though, I will be needing some more rations and a couple of water skins. I plan on taking a small trip up north to take on the Slime dungeon. I’ll be aiming for the bracelet the boss drops. It’s supposed to have a 10% drop rate though, so I'm preparing to stay a couple days up there. At least two, maybe three.”
“I see! Moving up in the world, are we? Well you better remember little old me waiting for you to get back.” She grabbed my hand and led me to a shelf with various sized water skins.
“You know i could never forget y- Oh, is this a magic water skin? That’s awesome!” Maybe I get distracted too easily.
Sarah laughed at my attention span and let me go so I could take a better look. “Yeah, it’s enchanted to hold 300 gallons of water. It’s a little expensive, but we offer trade-ins for refills when it goes dry. The full skin costs 10 silver, but a trade-in brings it down to 3 silver, assuming it’s still in peak condition.”
“That’s a great price. I’ll take it!”
“Are you sure? You wont need the full thing, and you can get a smaller one for half the price.” She looked a little concerned about my spending habits.
“Nah, I want the big one. Now I just need some rations to last me three full days, and I should be set. Want to help me pick out some meals? I’ve been set on just getting the sandwich raions that are 5 for 1 silver coin, but I think I want some variety instead of eating the same thing every meal for multiple days.”
She laughed at me and we walked to the front. She helped me pick out a couple of chicken dinners, 3 breakfast packs that came with eggs and orc meat, and she got me to try the meatloaf deluxe ration pack. I also grabbed 2 stews.
Duke was nearby and keeping an eye on us, tallying everything up as we picked it out. When we got to the counter, he told me my total was 12 silver, then wished me luck on my slime adventures.
“Don’t rush it, and run away if you have too. I don’t know who you're bringing with you, but make sure you stay safe. I’d rather not have another death to grieve.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Damn, that got morbid fast. I’ll be fine man. And I'm actually going solo. If I get that bracelet drop, I'm keeping it for myself, damnit.”
“For fuck sake. Just come back alive, dumbass.” Duke punched my arm and shooed me away. Sarah waved goodbye and I left for the Enchanter’s Guild.
It was much more straightforward than the path I took last time. I still don’t understand why my strange benefactor went the way he did.
“How can i he-” The hooded person stopped halfway through when they realized it was me. “Oh, Claff. Pleasure to see you again. Give me just a moment to let the guild leader know you’re here.” They got up and practically ran for the stairs. I get my mana is special, but I don't get the spectacle they make of it.
A minute later, the familiar hood came back down.
Hood. That's as good a nickname as any, I guess.
Hood brought me upstairs and we went straight to Paris’s lab this time rather than start in his office. He was waiting with his floating orb next to him, looking eager to get started.
“Claff! I’m so happy to see you. Come in come in!”
I came over and shook his outstretched hand. “Pleasure to see you as well. I will say though, I only have time for one round of sale today though. I have an early start tomorrow, and I'll be away for a couple of days doing a dungeon.”
Paris looked slightly concerned at that. Probably nervous at the thought of losing his precious uncorrupted-mana generator.
“I do hope you’ll stay safe. Dungeons can be quite dangerous. What rank dungeon are you going to do?”
“I’ll be doing the slime dungeon up north. It’s only E rank. And from what I read, it only got that designation due to the high number of slimes it spawns. I plan on taking my time going through it, so that wont be a problem for me.” I tried my best to put him at ease.
“I see. Well still, be sure to exercise plenty of caution. And don’t be ashamed of running. Better to run and live to tell the tale than to stay and die a pointless battle.”
Okay, he's good at acting. It almost sounds like he's genuinely concerned for my safety.
“Agreed. But how about we do the sale real quick. I want to read a bit more on the boss before bed tonight.”
“That’s absolutely fine. The mana battery sphere is already primed and ready. Feel free to start whenever.”
“Awesome.” I approached, pushed my mana into my hand, and touched the ball. I felt the familiar spark from yesterday and poured 300 points of mana into the ball. It went a little faster today, taking only 3 seconds this time. I knew what to expect, which helped speed things along.
“Your mana transfer speed still astounds me. I don’t know anyone else who can spend so much mana so quickly. But as promised, here’s 15 silver coins.”
“It’s a pleasure doing business with you. Maybe in the future, you could show me around to see what items you have for sale. I’m sure we could find a good balance to barter with.”
I truly was interested in bartering. If I could get some rings similar to the firebolt ring my benefactor showed me, I could theoretically have a nice little arsenal on my hands.
“We’ll have to see about that. The pure mana is great to run my lab here, but it would probably take a few mana deposits before you can come near the value some of my items are worth. Remember, I sell in the big leagues. The door to my office is worth more than most of the city combined. But I can see what I can do for you. It would be fun to see what results of you getting a hold on the slime bracelet though. I assume that’s what you're after?”
I smiled in the affirmative. “Indeed. I could have a lot of fun with that thing. I really hope I get it. If not the first run, then I'll keep trying until I do. Either that or untill i run out of food and have to come back.”
Paris smiled at my determination. He wished me luck and bade me farewell.
Hood and I left back down the hallway and down the stairs, and everyone stopped working again to whisper about me. It felt a little embarrassing being the center of attention like that, but I also felt like a superstar knowing they all knew my face. It was awesome.
When I got back to Half Moon, I made sure Thaggerd and Theona knew tonight would be my last night here for a little bit. They seemed sad to see me go, but understood I'd be back. I did have to pay a deposit so they'd keep my room for me.
“Actually, would you mind if I got a load of laundry done? I'd like to make sure I have a clean set before I head out.”
Theona gave me a bag and I loaded all my clothes in it. She said she'll have them ready for me by sunrise, so with that, I went to my room to read some more about the slime boss in the dungeon.
Apparently, it was a large slime with multiple cores inside of its body. The basic party procedure for killing it involved a tank getting its attention while any spell casters or ranged fighters targeted the cores to bring it down. It mentioned a second phase to the boss too. If it wasn’t brought down fast enough, the giant slime would start slinging corrosive slime goop all around itself until it shrunk to half its original size. Then its speed got a drastic increase and it would double how fast it could attack.
The prospect of dealing with a giant slime intrigued me. I was excited to go and fight it already. I hardly slept a wink that night. Instead, I practiced making a barrier that would go around me while I slept. I would be using it as my makeshift tent while I was out in the woods outside of the dungeon.
The next morning, I got my freshly clean clothes, had a light breakfast, then went to the adventurer’s guild to check in with Luke. He asked if I was sure I wanted to actually go by myself and reiterated how dangerous it was.
“My mind hasn’t changed, Luke. I will be doing this. I’d love some moral support, but I get you’re upset about it. I’ll be off then. I just wanted to say goodbye. Have a good one man.”
“Wait a second. I’ll give you some support by doing you a favor. Give me your guild tag real quick.” I handed it to him ,wondering what he would do.
He went to the back room for a minute and came back out looking pleased.
“Alright, check your map. I added the exact location of the dungeon entrance so you won’t get lost. Just follow the guide marker and you’ll be there in no time.”
Sure enough, when I pulled out the bigger version of my map UI, it showed a glowing marker about 16 miles north of my current location.
“Sweet! I didn’t know you could do that. I appreciate it man. I really do.”
“Show your appreciation by coming back alive.” I rolled my eyes, but had to smile.
“Alright, I’m outta here. Later, Luke.”
I left the hall, but not for the dungeon. Not yet, at least. Instead, I went to the Enchanter’s Guild and made my last sale before heading out. It was quick, and went much like last time. I walked in, made small talk with Paris, deposited 300 points of mana, got paid, and then Hood guided me back out to the entrance room where people stopped working to whisper and stare at me.
With all that done, I started my journey north. It was going to be a long walk. I estimated it would take me around three hours to get to the dungeon at a light jog. This would also be my first time jogging for a longer distance than 5 miles. I did an actual jog in the morning to get to the field where I first met Griffith, but that was a third of the distance and took me around 40 minutes still. I’d be going a bit slower this time since I had so much further to go.
I wanted to hurry, but I wasn’t in a time crunch or anything.
Let’s try to actually enjoy this run, shall we?
I pulled up my whole status to see what I was working with as I left.
User: Claff:
Health 240/240
Stamina 235/240
Mana 70/360
Quests [2]
Kill Goblins 0/∞
Kill Slimes 0/∞
Party [0]
Equipment
Ring of Mana Regeneration (20%)
SKILLS
PASSIVE
Enhanced Body Lv 7 [67%]
Increased Mental Capacity Lv13 [61%]
Regeneration Lv14 [58%]
ACTIVE
Arcane Magic Lv 9 [73%]
Barrier Magic Lv 9 [98%]
Game-like Storage Lv9 [9%]
Storage (9/20)
0 g 66s 43 c
1. Bowie knife
2. 25 shirts (varied colors, cloth)
3. 10 pants (cloth)
4. 10 underwear (5 boxers, 5 sock pairs )
5. 11 rations (varied flavors)
6. 3 minor stamina potions
7. 1 leather armor set
8. 5 books
9. Water skin
I was surprised to see I was almost up to a whole gold coin. Most of it came from selling mana, since I got 15 silver for each silver for now. When I get that bracelet to increase my capacity though, it’ll be a whole lot more. I shivered at the thought.
Time to go. Goodbye for now, Silface. I'll see you in a few days.
I started with a walk and picked up the pace until I was at a comfortable jog. I have a long way to go, but when my skills get to a higher level, I’ll be the most badass person ever. I’ll be soloing A rank dungeons before I know it.