Chapter 43: Is slime material filled with dreams??
"Huh? They show up here too? I didn't know."
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"? What is it?"
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I'm currently at a river near my base. Come to think of it, I remembered that I hadn't done any fishing at all... And the weather was just perfect, so we all came early in the morning like we were having a picnic.
On the way, Uru said to me, "Wouldn't it be faster if I caught them with my hands...?'' And that's true, but I want to raise my skill level. As expected, I won't be able to catch rare items in this area, but it might come in handy somewhere someday.
The fishing results were mediocre, and my skill experience points only had been increased by a little. If I were alone, I'd aim for efficiency, but today I'm only half-pying, so I don't care. But someday, I'll take a boat out from Kua Vilge and go fishing off the coast... No, the abandoned continent is close, wouldn't it be dangerous?
Fricka patiently accompanies me fishing, but Uru and Fin quickly dropped out and are pying in the water with Zephyr, and for some reason Regulus and Liese are kicking fish out of the river. You guys are very dexterous. It seems like they are taking care not to affect my fishing since they are fishing a little further downstream.
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Now, talking about what showed out in middle of that heartwarming experience.
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Spsh... Spsh...
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"...!"
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Fricka throws out her fishing rod and hurriedly hides behind me. Oh~, she's being very cautious.
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“It’s just a green slime, right?”
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"... Yes, that's right, it's just a slime..."
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Yes, one of the cssic monsters in fantasy games, along with goblins, the slime.
There are various types of slimes, and the one that appeared this time is the green slime, which is the weakest of all slimes. As the name suggests, it is green and irregur in shape, and if rounded, it would be about 50 centimeters in diameter. It's not a rge type. It's semi-transparent, so you can clearly see its weak point, the core.
Although it appears during the time of the Creator God, it is not particurly strong. This is because the condition for this monster to appear is anywhere as long as its near water. In fact, if they come out during the day, they will be weakened and easier to hunt. So I almost want to ask them, why are you guys coming out at this time?
A green slime is a weakling, but there are other slimes to watch out for, such as Aqua slime that appears underwater (Caution: It's very difficult to see), Fme slime that appears in volcanic zones (Caution: risk of burns), when it comes to being particurly troublesome ones, there are shadow slimes (Caution: weak miasma) that lurks in the shadows and ambushes you.
What all slimes have in common is that their bodies are amorphous, making them strong against physical attacks and weak against magical attacks (with some exceptions). However, if you can strike the core, physical attacks will work as well. If you break the core, you can't get magic stones, but you can get a material called slime jelly (effects may vary depending on the type of slime). Since there are no special uses for a slime magic stone, I mostly hunted them for slime jelly.
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"Hey."
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Pachuun
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I put down my fishing rod, took out a bow and arrow from my QA, and took a shot. I succeeded in hitting the core without any mistakes, killing it instantly. Of course, I don't forget to collect materials.
Looking closely, there are still a few more in the back. So I decided to hunt them all down, when I fired arrows at them, they died instantly as well. Well, they're just small fry.
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“Eww, so this is what it feels like in real life.”
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Slime jelly was just a slightly soft material in the game, and was used as a shock absorbing material for armor or as a material for alchemy. However, the one I just picked up feels squishy, and yet at times it feels like a fluid, It's a strange feeling. Maybe it feels a little good to touch?
While I was pying with it, Fricka started talking to me with a troubled look on her face.
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"... Rion-sama, how you can touch that thing like that...?"
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"It feels surprisingly good. Do you want to touch it?"
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“I refuse.”
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Hoo? That's an unusually strong tone for her.
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“… Did you have any trauma with slimes?”
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"... Well, you could say so..."
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She quietly averted her gaze with an expression as if she had bitten a bitter insect. Hmm... I think it would be better to stop asking more.
While we were having this exchange, the others also came over. When I expined what had happened and showed them the loot, they all looked disgusted.
... It feels good, though?
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As it was getting close to noon and the sun was getting hot, we decided to retreat. Thanks to here not being humid as Japan, the temperature doesn't feel that high.
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I made lunch with the fish I caught, and since I caught some slime jelly in the afternoon, I decided to see if I could put it to good use.
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It can be used as a shock absorber by pasting it on the inside of armor or pcing it in gaps, and it can also be used as an ingredient in medicine if dried and turned into powder. As a side note, when I talked about the tter, Fricka muttered, "I definitely don't want to drink it..."
... What on earth happened... Could it be... She had an encounter with 'that thing'...?
A possibility crossed my mind, but I pushed it aside for the time being and returned my thoughts to thinking about how to use it. I don't need medicine because there are substitutes, It could be used as a shock absorber, though...
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There is a part of me who thinks that 'using it like that would be boring'.
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Now I can make something that is not in the recipe ―― I can make things freely. I can't stop feeling excited to try out different things.
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“Now then, I wonder what I can do now.”
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"Fricka, Liese. Do you know where there's a slime colony?"
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"... R-Rion-sama...?"
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“A Colony?”
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Just before evening, I asked the two of them who were in the dining room preparing for dinner. As a side note, Liese's cooking skill level is not that high. It's not like it's low, so things like "For some reason a bck matter manifested...'' didn't happen. Really, I still wonder why something like that happened in Uru's case... No, It's not the time to look far away.
Liese just tilted her head and Fricka became extremely confused. But I won't stop asking. I'm sorry.
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"Hmm... I remember seeing small groups of them, but I don't think I've ever seen a rge group of them."
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"I see, that's too bad. What about Fricka?"
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"Uh..."
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She's looking away... So, she knows, right? Considering Fricka's personality, she'll simply say that she doesn't know anything if she really doesn't know.
So I asked again, "You know something?'' just to be sure, and Fricka let out a big sigh before asking me back.
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“… Is it really necessary?”
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"Yeah."
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Because it turns out that slime jelly can be a useful material not only in battle but also in everyday life.
If it makes me and everyone more comfortable, there's no reason not to use it. Of course, there is also my desire to just create something.
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"... It was impossible for me to refuse your request in first pce."
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"Huh... I'm forcing myself to ask because I really want slime material, but I don't mind if you just decline the other things that you don't like, okay?"
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"It's okay, nothing like that has happened so far."
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Did Fricka seemed to feel a little relieved by my addition? She let out a smile, although it was more close to a bitter smile.
... I have to be careful not to ask anything carelessly.
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Also, Liese, could you please stop looking at us with such lukewarm eyes...? Is there such an element in this conversation...?
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"There's a slime colony located in a ke about an hour's walk east of Alness Vilge. I often went there when I wanted to get magic stones easily."
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The pce Fricka mentioned was much closer than she expected.
I can't go far due to the request of the Earth God, but it's still within the range of a day trip.
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In a hurry, we set out the following morning.
The members are me, Uru, Fricka (I told her 'Don't push yourself', but she insisted that she would come with us), Fin, Liese, and Zephyr. Regulus had to stay home this time.
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"... Why am I the only one who can't go?"
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"... You might see something that you shouldn't see..."
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"???"
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Regulus didn't seem to be convinced by the expnation, which wasn't really an expnation, but he reluctantly stayed behind, probably because I said it in such a serious way while looking away.
What's going to happen? There's no way I can expin to him.
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I walk east through the forest of Alness Vilge for the first time in a long while, fighting the urge to gather all the materials along the way.
Initially, the pn was to move slowly to accommodate Fin's ck of physical strength, but that problem was resolved by putting her on Zephyr's back. Although the other members couldn't ride on it due to their size, Fin was the only one who could. And that's how Fin became the first Dragon Rider. I'm a little jealous.
... Furthermore, It's better to not mention that I thought Fricka should have been the first candidate to ride it because her clumsiness. Even if say that, she can't ride anyway.
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It took us less than an hour to walk through the forest, hunting the beasts we encountered for lunch, and gathering materials. The path was getting worse little by little. And the humidity has turned the nd into mud.
Although it was somewhat cool because it was a forest, the humidity increased and the discomfort level increased. With the noise of insects flying around the discomfort only increased exponentially. I don't think I'll get bitten because I used an insect repellent potion, but just seeing them flying around makes me wince.
As the tall trees became less dense and the short bdes of grass began to cover my feet, a rge ke spread out across my field of vision.
