Slimes
Asher wandered through the forest without much direction. Asher was rather upset because he had been in the woods for almost two hours without seeing another living being. Asher began to doubt the man who told him there were slimes in this area. He even thought he was sent on a wild goose chase.
Asher held his hand out as fragments of light came together and formed the monsterpedia. He flipped to the description of the slime, hoping for some explanation as to where he could find the damn things. The difficulty finding the slime made him want to take a flamethrower to the forest.
Asher read through the different descriptions as the author recorded five different types of slimes in the book. Red slimes, blue slimes, brown slimes, sticky slimes, and acid slimes would form in areas that favored their specific typing. Unlike other monsters, slimes were greatly influenced by the surrounding areas.
Areas with high fire-based mana, such as volcanos and lava pools, would produce the fire-type red slimes. At the same time, large bodies of water would often be inhabited by blue slimes. Metal slimes only appear underground in areas with many metal veins and other minerals. The most dangerous were the acid slimes in bogs and toxic swamps.
The sticky slimes appear in dense forests. They mainly feed on plants and small prey and can produce a sticky trend from their bodies to entrap and bind enemies. These treads were light yet strong as steel, making them perfect for making clothes. They mostly make their homes in the forest, where they hang in the trees waiting to ambush anything that might be small and walk past.
After confirming the information in the monsterpedia, Asher understood why he had difficulty finding the slime. He checked the map data on his license, and there was a large lake to the north of him and a dense forest to the east. The slime would be in those areas because it pertained to the evolutionary process of the slimes. They would start as regular slime and, as they grow, would turn into one of the five types of slime.
Asher figured the best place to hunt was a strip of land northeast between the lake and forest area. He figured if he would get 5 liters of each type, he could ask Cynthia to tutor him in the art of Alchemy. Asher ran to his new hunting ground as fast as his leg could.
Once he arrived, it did not take him long to find his first slimy victim. A tiny teardrop body was moving along as if it did not have a care in the world. Asher summoned his sword to hang at his side while confirming that this was his chosen target.
[Scan complete]
Monster: Blue Slime
LV: 2
HP: 10/10
MP: 200/200
Description: A slime monster that the water element has influenced. The blue slime has grown to be able to use its liquid body as a weapon. It is very passive and will not attack unless attacked. The fluid body makes cutting difficult and is immune to bludgeoning damage.
He did not get any other information, but it was, in fact, slime. The slime looked like a blue droplet without features. Asher charged forward and slashed the slime, engaging it. Asher unsheathed the broadsword from his sheath in a flash of silver with fantastic speed.
[You have dealt the blue slime one damage.]
The slime did not like being attacked. Its body rippled, spikes made out of the main body as it lunged at Asher. Asher paired it strikes before counteracting. With his level of training, it was not that hard for him to block the attack with the sword.
[ You have lost three health]
[You have dealt the blue slime one damage.]
[You have lost five health]
[You have dealt the blue slime one damage.]
[The blue slime has gained 2 HP]
This exchange went back and forth between Asher and the slime for over an hour with little change. The slime would regenerate every few seconds. When Asher delivered the final blow, the slime deflated like a puddle. Asher placed his hand onto the pool, and it broke into pieces of light.
[You have defeated a blue slime. You have gained five exp.]
[You have killed a monster for the first time. You have gained ten exp.]
[You have acquired 1.2 liters of slime reside (blue). It has been placed in your Magic Canister]
When Asher left for his first mission, Helen gave him a bag full of equipment that the guild gave new members before their first mission. It had ten potions for mana and health, a magic canister, flint, and other survival equipment. The magic canister looked like a metal thermos.
Item: Magic canister
Quality: A
Description: A bottle enchanted with powerful spatial magic. This bottle can hold up to 25 liters of liquid with no trouble. Due to the enchantments, it does not increase in weight.
The canister was given to hold water over long periods, but any liquid could be held inside, making it much easier for Asher to hit his goal of 25 liters for Cynthia to accept him as a student. However, Asher could not imagine how painful it would be to pull that off. The fight with the slime took a lot out of him, and he was down to 5 HP, according to his system.
Asher sat and summoned a potion with red liquid. He sipped on the potion, and energy flowed as the liquid filled his body. The HP on his system screen began to fill up again. On the grass, he found a glowing sphere. When he picked it up, his system chimed.
[Scan Complete]
Item: Monster Core
Monster: Blue Slime
Quality: Advanced
Description: An advanced core from a Blue Slime. It is rare to find a complete slime monster crystal. The core contains powerful water element energy, which can be refined to create a mana crystal.
Asher was happy that he was able to acquire the slime monster core. However, he could not use it properly at this moment in time. Asher placed the core into inventory before laying on the ground, exhausted. This mission was more challenging than he thought it would be, and if he had to do that repeatedly, he would kill himself.
Asher heard shouts not too far from where he was. He jumped up to investigate the screams. Asher hid behind a tree and saw several individuals fighting a giant slime. Asher was shocked as he could barely resist a slime the size of a medium dog, but the three individuals were fighting a slime bigger than a person.
[Scan complete]
Monster: Gaint Blue Slime
LV: 35
HP: 257/500
MP:701,289/1,000,000
Description: A Massive slime that evolves from a blue slime. This slime has absorbed so much water mana that its body became immune to physical attacks. Upon its evolution, it gained access to the mana it had in its body, and it can use simple water element spells. It is fragile to lightning.
The slime thrashed around as the three individuals could avoid the attacks. The main attacker was a man with a sword and shield, and he would act as the tank and block the slime from attacking the others. The slime shot steam of powerful water at the man in anger.
"Gaia Wall." The earth responded as a brown magic circle formed at the man's feet. A wall of dirt and mud rose from the ground, blocking the slime's advancement. Behind him was a thinner man with long robes. A staff with a crystal shined in several colors in his hand.
"Thunderous smite." The wizard-like man raised his staff, which glowed dark blue. The clouds above became dark as lightning rained down the slime with tremendous force. Asher could have sworn he heard the slime screech in pain from the attack. What was more shocking was that the slime lost almost a third of its remaining health.
The third individual was a woman who carried a spear. She wore white armor with a feather motif that made her look like a Valkyrie or angel. A green circle appeared at her feet, and the same dark blue light formed a circle around her spear. "Lightning dive." She leaped into the area with such force she went far above the trees before coming back down with blue lightning sparking off her spear.
When she drove her spear into the slime, the slime deflated and became a puddle on the ground. The broken core she had impaled on the tip of her spear. Asher understood why slime cores were so rare. They were an easy weak spot on the slime, so most adventures choose to break it for an easy win rather than waste time fighting the slime.
Asher was amazed most by the female warrior. He was sure that she used fusion magic of wind and lightning elements. There were two ways to make fusion magic. The first was to merge the spells to make one more considerable spell. This process took longer but came with greater power. The second was what the female warrior did. She cast the spells simultaneously, so they both worked together. The effect was weaker but faster and easier to control.
The three left without collecting their spoils as they viewed them as worthless. It was valid to a certain extent, and Slime residue did not go for that much. 5 liters of the stuff was only about three bronze pieces, and it was hard to collect if you didn't have the spatial or water element. Broken Monster Core was pretty much worthless. However, Asher was more than happy to ensure they went to waste.
[Monster core (Broken) has been added to your inventory.]
[10.8 liters of slime residue were added to your inventory. It was placed with your magic canister.]
Asher had enough to finish his mission twice but wasn't satisfied. He had witnessed the power of magic, and now he was excited to learn more about the other element, not just his own. He had to come up with a way to maximize his combat ability. Asher began to think carefully about which part would help him most. Enchantment and alchemy would not help as he would have to take a lot of time to learn. Illusion could not attack, and taming required a contracted monster—that left enhancement and spatial.