"Home RUUUUN!" Aaron's most recent attack had been flawless, hitting the slime precisely in the middle of its body mass.
It launched into the air and splattered to the ground.
PING
-Killed : Blue slime - Lvl 1 Contribution 99.9%-
Haha that was fun.
He picked up a Bloomflower to nibble while he cleaned his staff on the grass. Gum is a useful tool to prevent yourself from giving in to desires, and the professor was right when he suggested it.
Although chewing the Bloomflower wasn't especially enjoyable, it did an excellent job of cleaning the mouth. Aaron also observed that his teeth were gradually becoming whiter.
While their healing effects were minimal because their power was not fully activated like a potion, they did aid with stomach issues like Aaron's.
He had stopped throwing up his meal by chewing them.
--
Aaron ripped the piece of paper that had a drawing of a slime on it.
-Kill 10 slimes-
-Reward: 10 bits-
And brought it to a counter with a clerk.
“The cil.” The clerk asked him curtly holding out his hand.
“Good evening to you too Logan.” Aaron placed today’s cil harvest onto the counter.
The total amount of crystals was far higher than the required for the extermination quest.
“You know this is too much right?” Logan asked him.
He placed down two more slips of paper.
One of the slips required five coins to complete and was similar to his first extermination task. The second was for 15. The sum for today was a lovely 3 gros.
"You know that I shouldn't be able to let you monopolize the slime missions; I'm only doing this because before you nobody had even bothered to go after them, they give much too little xp and their cil is typically just useful in potions," I said.
Well, we both help each other, so it all works out, right? He offered a tip of three copper bits.
He should be content with 10%.
As he handed Aaron two pouches—one containing his pencil and the other his coins—Logan grinned as he tucked the cash under his sleeve. Aaron began preparing his next move as he entered the tavern for his supper.
In addition to keeping me alive all this time, potions and bloomflowers are accelerating my efforts to kick my nicotine addiction and improve my physical health.
The next day, I'll rent out what would be the equivalent of an apartment here and acquire some nicer clothes for going out. Despite the fact that I enjoy being so close to the Guild, the fact that I have to travel great distances for training and have little to no privacy is pissing me off.
Plus I need a haircut and a shave.
On his chin, stubble had already begun to appear in irregular patches. His hair was in strands.
The only way to repair this shit is for me to go bald.
“Ale, Aaron?” Tadek the towering barkeep asked holding a flagon in his huge hands.
“I told you I’m keeping off the drink for now, I need to let my body recover.” Aaron replied with a smile.
“I know, I know just testing your integrity.” He laughed and walked away coming back with some meat, vegetables and milk.
“Why do you bother with milk and vegetable young Aaron, everyone knows the Ale is better and they only ever order the meat.”
“They’re good for you.” Aaron answered.
“Hahaha, your funny Aaron, Haha, now your going to tell me milk is good for your bones and vegetables balance out your diet, HAha… hah… ha”
Aaron was staring at him with all the seriousness, solemnity and sincerity in the world.
“Yes.” One blunt word left Aaron’s mouth.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Oh…” Tadek turned away, feeling intimidated by that look. For some reason, he thought that Aaron was a far more intelligent being than he was, like a higher life form. The only part of him that didn't appear to be damaged like the rest of his body was his eyes.
This is really freaking me out; these people's knowledge is atrociously lacking. I need to find a way to strengthen myself because the cancer inside of me is a ticking time bomb; if I don't know how to slow it down or, ideally, completely remove it, I'll die in as little as 6 months.
After a night without a wink of sleep, Aaron realized that the aesthetic properties of the Bloomflowers leaf could be used as a kind of sleep aid. He placed two leaves under his gums before going to bed. This is how it seemed to function.
He would wake up feeling incredibly rested and, best of all, fresh-breathed. The leaves would absorb bacteria from his gums.
Aaron had initially believed that living in this new world without toothpaste would be a major problem, but this Bloomflower seemed to solve all of his issues as they arose.
--
Aaron’s savings added up to about 23 copper gros, he had started selling the cil to Art after the alchemist had learned that he was also farming slimes. He would never say no to refilling his stores of materials.
“So your telling me I can rent this place out for just 10 gros a month?” Aaron asked the young girl he was about to sign a contract with.
“Just 10 gros? Oh you must be an adventurer, you don’t look like one though, your not big, strong or heroic. You don’t even look handsome, you look like a walking undead.” She bluntly replied, she was clearly bored of this job that she had been given.
Arg, damn, the gall of the young, they don’t care at all about feelings.
“I’ll give you 9, what do you say kid?” Aaron rolled a charisma check.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.” She clasped down on his hand, then looked up with an evil grin. “Would have given it to you for 8.”
Shit, I got played, stupid weak ass charisma.
Although he had just been played Aaron wasn’t about to ruin his whole day, and life, by killing her in cold blood. The thought only crossed his mind briefly.
“Here’s the, key and a small map that will lead you to your new home, have a nice day.”
With a place to stay off of the agenda Aaron took the key and his money and left the villages house office. It was time to go shopping.
--
Aaron walked out of the clothes shop having spent 6 of his 14 gros. He had bought a shirt with ruffles on the sleeves and some navy blue breeches, other than the house this had been his highest expense thus far.
Imma go leave these clothes at the house… where was that damn map.
Aaron patted down his pockets, both his money and the map were gone.
Fuck, there’s a thief.
He caught a glimpse of a man with sweat on his forehead looking around covertly out of the corner of his eye. He was attempting to distance himself from Aaron without drawing attention.
Oh no you don’t.
Aaron dunked down a potion, his grip on his staff got stronger.
He launched himself into the direction of the anxious man, yelling at the top of his lungs.
“THEIF!”
The village square was filled with people, hearing the accusation the man bolted.
“Come back here you bastard!”
The chase led Aaron through parts of the village he had yet to visit.
He finally caught up in a dark alleyway behind a warehouse.
“Heh…” The man turned around with a sinister smile. “Looks like you’ve caught me… Heh…”
Aaron’s eyes darted around expecting a trap.
Two men and a woman came out from behind some boxes.
The men had knives while the woman was holding some sort of weird stick in her hand.
Looks like running isn’t an option, hopefully the village guards can get here in time before I keel.
Aaron adjusted his cloak for combat and dunked down another potion, Overhealth was going to be a must for this upcoming fight.
“Status.” He muttered.
-Aaron Ziel-
-Lvl 3-
-Class: None-
-HP: 103/75-
-Mana: 170/170-
-Strenght: 0.7 (1.1)-
-Endurance: 0.7 (1.1)-
-Dexterity: 0.6 (1.0)-
-Intelligence: 2.0 (2.0)-
-Wisdom: 1.5 (1.5)-
Passives :
Medical education (unique)
Fists of steel I (uncommon)
Condition Modifiers:
Stage IV Lung cancer (severe)
Malnourished body (lower)
Destroyed Body (Drugs)
Nicotine addiction (severe)
Alcohol addiction (moderate)
Overhealth
Skills :
Strike II (common),Unarmed Strike I (uncommon), Block II (common), Meditate II (common)
The two goons charged Aaron while the woman started saying some things in a weird language, her stick lit up red.
So this must be magic then, I don’t think I want to get hit by what she is preparing.
With the exception of a few bar fights where both he and his opponents were inebriated, Aaron had never engaged in combat with humans.
The first criminal swung his knife wildly toward Aaron's neck.
Dodge and attack.
As he had done when he was younger, Aaron took a half step back and assumed a batter's stance.
The knife sailed past his jugular, not finding purchase in his skin.
What the fuck am I doing! I should be dodging not just taking a step back.
Due to the last few days of training on slimes Aaron was back at his top form from college.
And this time there was no way that he could miss.
“Strike!”
The force of his swing and the momentum of the over weight thug collided in one certain spot, the goon’s jaw.
CRACK
PING
-Killed : Rouge - Lvl 6 Contribution 97.3%-
Huh?
The alley fell silent as the rouge’s body fell in a heap.
Due to the precision of the strike, damage wasn’t calculated in the normal way, although the attack and momentum combo was strong enough to maybe knock the rouge out, it’s theoretical damage had no right to kill him.
PING
-Level Up-
-Advanced to Lvl 4-
The was no way for him to dodge the projectile that would hit him in a matter of seconds, so he did the only thing he could think of to take it on.
With expertise he instantly dunked down a potion, with his other hand he grabbed another and poured it onto the front of his cloak.
He then grabbed the soaked front of his cloak and covered himself just as the fireball hit him.
--