After enjoying their dinner, Pier, Ser, Lyos, and Gourd left Ivell to conduct Pier’s first monster hunt.
“So, what’re we looking for?” Pier asked.
“Slimes,” Ser answered.
“Slimes usually like wet areas,” Gourd immediately started going into a rant about slimes, “Though, they’re really weak, so most don’t survive for long in environments that don’t perfectly fit them. Incidentally, the best area for slimes is actually the ocean.”
“So we’re looking for somewhere wet?”
“Yes, there’re a few dew pods in the forest where a lot of slimes like to gather.” Breaking through the foliage of the trees and bushes, a cluster of tall, vibrantly-colored plants rested. The plants had blue pods resting on top of their stems that were constantly sweating with water with large droplets dropping onto the ground. This plant has been here for so long, that those large droplets have formed a small moat around the entire plant. “Ah, dew pods, the mysterious water collectors of nature. They’re not really that mysterious, they just have long roots that allow them to collect a lot of water that they then convert into the pods that rest on top of the plants.” Pier would’ve listened to Gourd’s explanation, if it weren’t for the rustling bushes next to the dew pods. A blue mass popped out from the foliage, soon followed by three more. The slimes hopped around the plant, seemingly unaware of Pier and the other’s existence.
“There they are,” Pier remarked, “Seeing as how the slimes here are as basic as basic comes, let’s see you take them on alone, Pier.”
“...Alright, then.” Pier was hesitant to take on monsters alone, even if they were the iconic weakest monster of any fantasy world. Pier drew out his shortsword and slowly approached the group of slimes, who were still entirely unaware of his existence. As Pier brushed up against a bush, causing its leaves to rustle, the slimes finally took notice of him. Now four slimes began to hop their way towards Pier, though they didn’t look angered by any means. Pier raised his blade as a slime landed next to him. Whispering apologies to the adorable slime, Pier launched his blade into the middle of the slime, skewering its body on the shortsword. Screeches filled Pier’s ears as the other three slimes became enraged in response to their kins death. The slimes’ movement quickened as they sought vengeance on Pier. Leaping at Pier, these slimes were only met with steel. As though it was paper, Pier cut through all of the slimes in only two swings of his sword.
“I don’t know if I should congratulate you or not, considering how easy that seemed.”
“Y-Yeah, I guess…” Pier’s answer was exempt of enthusiasm, though his thoughts were just the opposite. Hoooly sh–Though his thoughts were cut off by the ensuing conversation.
“There weren’t as many slimes as I was expecting,” Gourd remarked. “They usually gather here like moths to a flame.”
“That is true…” Ser said, pondering the possibilities of the lack of slimes in the area.
“Welp, that’s a question for another day. For now, we have proof for the Guild that Pier can be an Adventurer. Pier, there should be a few parts of those slimes that you can take out.” Reaching into one of the pools of slime residue, Pier grasped an odd object. Pulling it out, he found a solidified glob of dark-blue slime.
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“We call those slime organs, not that they actually have organs, it’s just that nobody could come up with a better name.”
“So with these I can become an Adventurer?”
“Yeah.” Pier collected the slime organs, thrusting his hand into each slime and pulling out their organs. In total, Pier collected 5 organs from the four slimes he had slain.
The bottom of the Sun hit the horizon as Pier and the others began their return to Ivell. The insects of the forest were abuzz more than ever as the light from the Sun lessened. However, Pier noticed that the insects were gradually becoming more and more silent, until they went fully silent.
“What happened to all of the insects?” Lyos questioned. Everybody else had also noticed the insects going quiet, and were evidently on edge.
“Gourd, Pier, pull out your swords,” Ser commanded, following suit by unsheathing his own longsword. The silence of the forest was only ever interrupted by subtle breezes of wind, leaving everybody only more tense as they waited for whatever was hiding amongst the trees. Soon, thumps from no discernable direction came within earshot of everybody. The thumps grew louder and louder. The violent rustling of trees and bushes sent birds flying into the sky, and whatever was once hiding from them now came into view. It started as a silhouette, large but without proper shape. As it stepped closer, loud thumps following each step it took, the once silhouette gained more depth and detail. It towered above everybody with its head meeting the crown of the surrounding trees, and its head was that of a skull without its lower jaw. It wore a hood and cape and was plated in dark armor that covered all of its body except for where one’s intestines would normally be. Underneath the armor seemingly layers of cloth were covering the monster’s skeleton. In its right hand, it grasped a large handle over its shoulder with an oddly small axe head adorning the top of the handle. Its pink eyes darted from behind the shade of its hood, observing the faces of everybody that now stood opposite to it, with its eyes resting specifically on Pier.
“I see,” The armored skeleton whispered to himself. “Pitiful humans! I am known as Drone, and I am a sworn knight to that of my creator. It would seem that my creator now holds two of your kind, one of which I believe you truly care for.”
“I-If you have Reice, then give her back!” Lyos impulsively shouted. Drone silently chuckled in response.
“Now, now, calm yourselves. My creator is by no means some monstrosity that will kill them without warning, he simply has questions that need answering,” Drone intimately stared at Pier as he spoke. “If you can answer my creator’s question, then he will surely release both humans that I have captured. Only if you give him a sufficient answer,” Drone began to walk back from where he came, leaving the four with some final words. He turned his head to glance at Pier as he spoke: “I expect great things. Do not disappoint us.” Drone’s heavy footsteps went silent faster than when he first arrived. Everybody was unsure how to react to what they had just encountered.
“G-Gourd…”
“I don’t know, Ser. I really don’t. I’ll check with the Guild’s archives but whatever that thing is, we are not ready for it.”
“What about Reice then? That thing’s got her and we don’t know when it might kill her.”
“Lyos! Calm down. I understand your worries, but we can’t fight that thing without a plan. So, we’ll have to trust its words, for now.”
While Ser calmed down Lyos, Pier’s thoughts ran amuck. That thing…It’s eyes were shaped like a hexagon, just like–
“Pier, you're good, right?” Ser asked.
“Huh? Oh, yeah…”
“Good, we’re going back to Ivell now. We need to get you registered with the Adventurers’ Guild and discuss what we’re going to do about Reice and that monster.”