Chapter 16: New slime and Gemma Merchant Company
After returning to the guild we split the rewards evenly and me, Blanche and Lena returned to the inn. Lena, of course, went to tell her parents about everything, so we accompanied her after dinner.
"So the total number of goblins was that great?!"
"The complete total was one hundred even without those we hunted on the previous day," I confirmed to Henry some minor details Lena forgot to mention.
"That's really something… never would've I thought something like that could be possible so close to the city. We will look into this matter with the town hall. On another note, the dungeon had opened up today so we will go investigate tomorrow," Laina added.
"So what monsters can we expect?" Lena asked as if it was natural she would go on the first day.
"You are expecting no dungeon tomorrow. I will have you accompanied by Raven and Alvin in investigation of a separate mineshaft. Also, Arito, I've heard about your digging spell. Under no exception you are to use it, is that understood?" Laina smiled coldly at me, definitely hearing about what I did for the guildmaster on this excursion from Lena. …don't tell me she was only reporting about me and Blanche and completely forgot about what this day was all about…
"Umm… can I at least make a map of the dungeon? I believe it will be good for both you and the adventurers," I started sweating under the pressing looks.
"You should do that."
"Thank you… could I ask if there are any monsters in the mines?"
"There might be slimes, Big mantises and Earth Rats, nothing above H rank."
"It's quite safe, huh? Well, I wonder what kind of slimes live there, what was mined there previously?"
"Mostly magic stones and Black ore, though about one hundred years ago, we found some metals as well."
"I see, thank you for telling me, Mr. Edgar. Is the Black ore used for something?"
Black Ore is in other words black coal. If it's highly pure, I guess I could make carbon… wait, I can't make it into fibers, though… Well, at least I could get some good source of heat. Or, I could even test if I could make Graphite from it… would it be possible to make Diamonds, though?
I will find out tomorrow either way, I guess.
"Yes it is used as fuel for furnaces in some countries, but here it is strictly used in metal smelting. However, in Nomille duchy there are not enough metal deposits for mining to be profitable. Same goes for the Black ore, it is a valuable commodity, but making charcoal is more profitable in most parts of the kingdom. Especially since charcoal made from Treant wood lasts longer in furnace and produces more heat."
"So if you want some, feel free to mine it yourself. I'm already planning to make you the one charge as a reward for your help with the attackers. It might seem weird rewarding you with work, but as a Mine Manager, you will have a free reign over happenings inside the mines," Henry winked at me.
I guess I will be making my base there pretty soon, then.
"Alright, I understand. I will procure plants I'm still missing and get ready to start planting en masse."
"Procure plants? Did you already get some?"
"Yes. I already got my hands on Peench, Appo and Plun trees. I have twenty of each in pots inside my Dimension home."
"Those are the fruits used to make the liquors you gave us previously, right?"
"Yes. I'm also going to talk with my dwarf colleague in adventurers guild one of these days about alcohol brewing in dwarven country. I heard it's hard to get your hands on strong alcohol outside of dwarven countries."
„You work fast, where did you even get time for that?" Kalvig asked.
„I asked in the lobby if it could be arranged and they said it's okay."
„Hmm… I guess the best way going forward would be to introduce you to one of my contracted merchants. Could you prepare some examples of sellable items?"
„To make connections even without you here, right?" I smiled at Henry.
„Glad you caught on quick," Henry smiled back at me.
I can introduce the Cocoon slime fabric, Collagen Slime supplement, Resin slime glue and glass-like containers and lastly Ink from Ink slime. Maybe I could add some Blue Moon Liquids too, since they are so versatile and useful. Gotta think of my own business first, though.
***
The next morning we boarded the carriage and headed out through the eastern gate, which we used to get into the city when we arrived. After that we went off the road which we came by and headed by another road that led to the mines. The grass was soon replaced by dry, cracked dirt and gravel. The higher we got, the more the air smelled of coal. Soon, we overcame the first hill and arrived in a crescent shaped valley with few abandoned houses in the middle. As it turned out, originally this valley was L shaped, but they threw away the mined dust and Black ore on a single pile, so the valley eventually closed up, giving it its current look.
"All these mines were closed about five years ago. The town still has some mines to the north, so the industry will survive for quite a while. But as we can't be sure when those mines dry up as well, we started plans on expansion to other industries," Laina explained.
"You mean those lakes on the other side of the river?"
"Exactly. They are high enough so if the water levels in the river rises, they won't be affected as they get water from streams on the other side. Plus all the way upstream from the connected lakes is a natural deposit of silver that will start getting mined in two or three years."
"I see."
We got to the abandoned houses that were made out of wood and stones with Black ore present in them. The stones were binded with concrete-like material, which didn't seem really practical to me, as it was so porous that it practically let the water through. Maybe due to the long time this place was abandoned, I could not smell the same coal smell I smelled before, meaning it came with the wind from the north. What I could smell though, was mold and moss growing all around. As it turned out, this house had a pond for gathering water from the mines, as well as the rainwater right behind it.
Water filled with heavy metal
This water is undrinkable due to the heavy metals it contains (Iron, Copper, Zinc, Lead, Chromium).
I guess Alchemy could purify this thing? I wonder if I could get the metals from this water and use them in some way…
I explored the mines with my eyes and noticed that they were all closed off with thick earth walls, leaving only doors for one person to enter. I can understand why they said only Slimes, Earth rats and Big mantises could live there. They are only monsters that can dig through the walls, plus Slimes get born everywhere where there are sufficient magic power levels.
We separated here and the Duke with his wife and Henretta went to the most heavily guarded tunnel, while we went to a separate tunnel on the opposite side of the same hill. I used my magic here and created the map of the underground.
"Oh, wow, it's so expansive," Blanche said as she looked at the map I created.
"It looks like they started mining only the veins once they found them."
"Yeah, that is true, but this will work for us as well."
"Work how?" Raven asked.
"Well, imagine what would happen, if I connected these two shafts."
"You would create a big space? O-Ooooh, I get it. It would be the perfect size for the orchard."
"Yes, that being said, I would want to try out some magic once we make it inside, would it be possible?"
"Of course, just keep it on a smaller scale."
"Understood."
We walked up to the doors and unlocked them with an old massive key. I only saw those at castles during my trip to Europe back in my university days…
"Grrrrr… they are stuck…"
"Yeah, there is a lot of rust build up. These won't move no matter what you do.
"Wow, it's so easy now. These slimes are really useful."
"Right? If only people understood the greatness of weak monsters…" I shrugged at Raven's big eyed happy attitude.
Once we entered the tunnel, Raven used a Light spell and we safely narrated through the passages. Along the way, I was making marks with Earth magic to know where it was safe to dig down.
Lump of Rocks
A big lump of rock from Aula city mines. 0,579 kilogram (Common Stone 55%; Coal 25%; Aluminium 5%; Copper 5%; Iron 2% Zinc 2%, Lead 2%, Chromium 1%; Magic stones 1,5%, Magic Crystals 1,5%)
"Why did you appraise that stone?" Alvin asked me.
"Oh, just to make sure what can be found here. Apparently a Magic stone is in this rock."
"Really?!" Raven's eyes sparkled.
"Yeah, but without alchemy you can't get it out. There is copper and iron too."
"Yeah, those were mined here previously," Alvin nodded solemnly as I threw the rock back on the ground.
"Hm? What is…" as the stone hit the ground it started to roll away, but it was stopped by something soft.
"Is it a monster there? Raven," Alvin prepared for battle, his eyes squinting to look into the darkness.
"Right!" On Alvin's call, Raven sent another ball of light further away from us.
"Is that…"
"A new slime!" As soon as I saw it, I instantly ran over to the black stone that wriggled away from the light and upon capturing it, I used taming magic.
Carbon slime
Advanced species of slime. It eats coal and creates carbon in turn. Approximately thirty centimeters in diameter Harden 10, Crystallize 8, Heat up 7, Gas spit 6
Wait, gas spit? Does that mean like Carbon monoxide? Or is it Carbon Dioxide? I gotta experiment with this outside… That being said, if I can get pure Carbon, then I could make pencils like those on earth with some clay… though I could also make diamonds.
I opened my Dimension home and put the new slime in, feeling strangely fulfilled. That being said, apart from this one, we found no other monster to train with, a pitty, but expectable.
We walked around for two hours until we got back out. Lena was depressed and no matter what I promised her, she would not cheer up.
"No monster huh? Too bad," Henretta smiled happily when she saw us.
"What did you find in the dungeon?" I asked her flatly, ignoring the look on her face.
"We found a colony of Kobolds, it wasn't terribly big, but they did have a Kobold King."
Kobolds are like a combination of wolves and bears on a humanoid body, they are often called Furry goblins. I might think too deep into this, but they sound like the perfect guard dogs for the orchard. That reminds me that I need to ask the Summoners guild for Octolocks feed. I was giving them plants I got around the lake together with some fish. Since they could eat everything, I was curious about feed that would make them grow faster.
"We will post a job with the adventurers guild to take out the ones left behind," Henry said as he cleaned his sword of blood.
"I guess I will take it. Those Kobolds sound like perfect guard dogs for the orchard."
"Really? Should we get you a tamer that specializes in them?"
"It's alright. I can still tame more monsters with ease, but I would like some pointers for caring for them and monsters I keep for food," I pondered and took out the Carbon slime together with the Foliage slimes. As it turned out, the slimes were already close to each other and the space of the Dimension home was filled with a forest-like smell.
"Oh wow, it smells like we were in the forest."
"Let me guess, the Carbon slimes produce Carbon Dioxide which the Foliage slimes absorb and create oxygen in turn," Lena watched the slimes next to me.
"Exactly. I believe we could make pencils if I manage to make this carbon it segregates into Graphite. Or make soda from Carbon Dioxide, too."
"I would love some soda, but couldn't you make the other type of crystal too?"
"In theory yes, but it would need greater amount, heat and pressure."
"Wouldn't it be possible to replicate that with earth magic?"
"It definitely is possible, but I would need a great amount of concentration. One wrong step and it could explode into my face."
"That's possible… hey, what about using alchemy to extract some carbon from the coal here?"
"That could work…"
As the only two earthlings present, we started pondering about possibilities of this new slime, without care about the confused people around us. Anyway, I went and started thinking up a spell. All I needed to do was change the crystal structure of carbon. Since we had a great chemistry teacher at school, I still remember all about it even though it was such a long time since I went there.
"I purified some carbon, please step aside as I try out a new spell," I warned everyone as I finished using alchemy on some excavated rocks.
"Okay. Everyone! Arito will try out a new spell but as we can't be sure about its effects yet, we should move away," Henry called out to the rest of our group and moved to a safe distance.
"Righty!" Blanche, all familiar with my magic experiments, picked up the foliage and carbon slimes and went behind the nearest rock. The ducal family and their servants did the same and whipped up a barrier as a bonus and I started concentrating on the spell.
Of course, I had to think of my safety as well, so I placed between myself and the table made of stone in front of me a see-through shield I got from experimenting with the Resin slimes. This shield was not reinforced with Cocoon slime's steel mesh, but it was thick, heavy and it could even withstand my serious blows and higher tier magic. I even learned how to use Explosion to test it out and it got out unscathed. This is what I call a Riot shield.
Anyway, back to the spell. The spells construct was built on so-called Metal magic i.e. the combination of Fire and Earth magic spells. Its effects were [increase pressure] and [reshape structure], while keeping higher temperature enclosed around the target.
The pile of carbon started to shine and formed a roundish object.
"It's done! Now just wait until it cools down!"
I should also think of a name for the spell. Gods said in the book they left me with that naming spells makes them more stable, I gotta test that out. What should I call it? Crystalize? Create Gems? That sounds most correct…
Pure diamond
Diamond made by magic with no impurities in it. Once cut properly it will be one of the most precious stones on the continent. Roughly 4 centimeters in diameter.
"A diamond?!!!!" Laina screamed out flabbergasted.
"To think he would create a diamond of all things. You never stop amaze me…" Kalvig added his part, holding the base of his nose with one hand.
"Hey, Arito, could you make other gems too? I feel like making diamonds is too eye-catching," Henry asked worriedly.
"I should be able to make some other precious gems, given I have the materials for it. My mother said that gems are colored the same way glass is, so if you have the correct materials, you should be able to make them with little creativity."
"Let's aim for Rubies next!" Lena who was standing next to me smiled happily, her eyes sparkling.
"Your mother must've been a great scholar…" Kalvig muttered.
"Actually, she was a musclehead through and through. Though she was great when it came to forging weapons and moving her fingers around. She once told me that she only knew of this because her father told her when she was little."
"Truely?" Kalvig sounded impressed.
"Yes, she was the one who taught me how to fight and how to make and care for weapons. She was a really good artisan too."
"I see, she taught you this then? And what about magic?"
"That would be my father, he always experimented with magic and taught me most of the things like manners, importance of keeping notes on experiments and such."
I felt a little bad about lying to them, but not using the backstory the gods prepared for me would be insulting in a way too.
"This is really something. We better keep it a secret. However, it is true that it could turn into a steady source of income for you."
"Gemma has many gem cutters, right? Maybe we could have him work on this?" Laina added.
"Yeah, that would be for the best. Let's go to his shop right away. Arito, could you make one smaller in front of him? It would be great for getting him on our boat," Henry smiled wolfishly.
"I see what you mean."
In other words, for his silence about the origin of the gems, he will process them and sell them for us. Making money for all parties involved. I can already guess that Henry wants to build up my fortune to make it easier for me to move around.
"But before we go, let's have lunch!" Laina smiled happily and the maids brought in food. While the food was amazingly delicious, I could only think of the implementation of the Carbon slime the entire time. I mean, I most likely could make bombs with Carbon monoxide. This slime is equally precious as it is dangerous.
After the lunch we headed back to the city and this time we headed south instead of north where the inn stood. We arrived approximately in the center of the city, this was also where Church, Adventurers guild, Merchants guild, Smithing guild and Summoners guild were located as well as a cackle of big companies. We passed by the guilds and stopped by one of the merchant companies. The building was apparently previously owned by a noble and had quite an eye-catching exterior. Henry entered the building like if he owned it and instantly got to meet the shop owner.
"What a pleasure to see you, Duke Nomille. What brings you to this humble establishment with your entire precious family? Hmm?'' The man that entered the room looked to be in his mid thirties. He was not a dwarf what first look would suggest thanks to his beard, but was of a relative race called Deepling.
"Hey there Mozz. I brought you something interesting to look at."
"Would it possibly have something to do with the Ancient boy or the Albino elf girl? I've heard rumors," he smiled at us, his robes releasing his short hands, which were rather thin compared to those of dwarves I've met before.
"You catch on quick. There are quite some items you might be interested in. Arito."
"Right, my name is Arito Aruze. As you can see, I'm an Ancient and due to various events I am staying with the ducal family. This is my companion Blanche," I introduced myself with a slight bow.
"A pleasure to meet you," Blanche bowed next to me as well.
"Oh, pardon my rudeness, I've yet to introduce myself, I'm Mozz Gemma, chairman of Gemma merchant company. I've been in Duke's good graces for some time and we have a mutually beneficial relationship," Mozz bowed to us just as politely as we did.
"We've come to introduce Arito as his items are rather unique," Henry said with a smile.
"Then, please show me, if they earned lord Henry's approval, then I would like to see them for myself."
"Alright.
"Oh my… these are quite interesting. Mind if I use appraisal to check them?"
"Please suit yourself," I said to him with an extended hand.
"This silk like fabric is phenomenal… such clarity and it's quite resilient too. This thread is from same material right?" Mozz investigated the Cocoon slime fabric and regular string.
"If you like those strings, what about these?" I pressed to him similarly looking fabric and string.
"Hm, what is this… oh! A steel thread and fabric? This would be great for hidden equipment… quite impressive. I might want to sell these in my shop, but let me see the rest of the items as well," he smiled at us and picked up a bottle with my Ink slime's ink.
"Ink, eh? It's definitely much more fluid and runny then the one you can get from Ink guild back in Macedia, and the color is also good. Do you mind if I try it out on some paper?"
"Please do," Henry smiled as proudly as if he made it himself.
"Marvelous, it doesn't soak into paper too much and lets you make fine lines. Definitely a top shelf product. That being said, what is this crystal clear container? It doesn't look like glass to me."
"You are correct. It's not glass, but it has glass-like properties, that being said, it's much easier to create. It's made from resin."
"Truely? From hardened tree sap? That's hard to believe, but even my Appraisal spell confirms it, so there is no doubt about it."
"Interesting right? And there is one thing that connects them all, do you want to know?"
"I'm all ears," the two men were looking intensely.
"All of these were made from slimes."
"Truely?!" Mozz forgot himself and jumped up with wide eyes.
"It is as Mr. Henry said. The remaining items I've taken out are made in the same way. This yellowish liquid is glue made by Resin slimes which made these containers as well."
"I understand why you said those items are rather unique Lord Henry. But these are definitely some great quality goods, so I would be a fool to let this opportunity slip away. You can count on me to spread great word about them!"
"You really are getting excited, but we are still not at the best part. Arito, please take out that item."
"Right!" I reached into my pocket and took out the diamond wrapped in some fabric I had on hand.
"Is that… Holy ancestors! A pure diamond!!!" Mozz's eyes were glued to the stone in my hand. He was sparkling so much that Laina had to remind him where he was by clearing her throat. He quickly send out his servants and started talking.
"Ah! Right… I'm sorry about my conduct just now, you just took me by surprise. By the way you spoke just now, Lord Henry, I assume you want to introduce this jewel as a product too?"
"Yes, but… what if I told you, there is a spell that allows you to create gems, such as this one?"
"I would usually laugh it off, but given what I saw today, I would not be surprised if it turned out to be truth… however conflicting it may be," Mozz's eyes went to me, but he at least tried to play it cool.
"Would you like to see me make one?"
"Please do, Arito," Henry confirmed.
"Okay, please appraise these stones. I got them from the Eastern mines. Magic Crystals and Stones were mined there previously, but the Black ore stayed there. Can you confirm this is really black ore?"
"Indeed, this is pure black ore," Mozz said after he took each of the stones to his hand and inspected them with his Appraisal spell.
"Great, now to give you a little explanation. Coal, which is another name for Black ore, is made from several types of stones, one of which is called 'Carbon.' I will be extracting that one with alchemy before using magic on it to create the diamond. I could make it from just the coal, but the diamond would have a lot of impurities."
"I see, please continue," Mozz nodded with a dark look on his face. Clearly, he did not believe alchemy was more than a tool of charlatans.
With a smile I continued my work and quickly made a diamond the size of my thumb's fingernail.
"I-i-it's true!!!! I'm sorry for doubting you, but to think you really can use real alchemy… What a joyous day this is! No matter what you need you can count on me," Mozz reacted over the top, but we got him to help us so no skin off my back.
Following that, we drew up a contract that separated profits 80/20, with eighty going to me and twenty to Mozz. Apparently contracts with this huge gap were uncommon to say the least, but Mozz was employing his own private caravans, so the transportation fee was smaller and I had to agree to only sell these diamonds through his company. It was also decided that profit from selling the diamonds would be divided 40/30/30 between me, Mozz and the craftsmen who will work on them. We also decided that the items sold (except for the gemstones) will hold my shop's sign so once I open my store with monster produced items, I will be able to sell them there. Maybe I could teach the Carbon slime how to make them to give myself more free time. It can already make pure carbon, it would just be shaping it.
"So you plan to open a shop with monster products? That is really amazing. And the Liquor shop is a good idea, if your alcohol is strong, people will willingly pay a little more."
"Well, I first need to procure a stable income of ingredients, then I can start thinking about the shop."
"That is certainly wise, this town has a lot of dwarves, though, the elves love their wine too. I could get you some information about the likes and dislikes of our townsfolk."
"I would appreciate it, thank you. Would you like to taste some?"
"If you have some on your hand, then gladly," Mozz nodded in affirmation, so I opened my Dimension Home and took out one of the fermenting slimes and ordered him to pour us glasses. Blanche decided to sit it out, but everyone else ordered their favorite drink. Mozz got three glasses with Peench, Plun and Appo liquors and he investigated them with his Appraisal.
"I know I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but this is really alcohol made by a Slime… truly fascinating… it makes alcohol based on the fruits it ate, right?"
"That is correct."
"Producing seedlings that could bear fruits quickly is —to be honest with you— hard, but I could get you some Arrappo and Rappo berry seedlings."
Wait, those are…
"You want to see if they would be able to make wine, right?"
"You catch on quick, Mr. Arito. You will be a fine merchant one day," Mozz laughed softly.
"To be honest with you, it's been too long since I had good wine, so I would be happy if you could produce the saplings for me. Oh, and would you have some Citon, too?"
"I have some fruits here, but why do you ask?"
"I want to experiment with the alcohol's taste, plus there is a chance I could make non-alcoholic beverages with them."
"I understand," Mozz nodded and summoned his assistant that in less than a minute brought a wooden box filled with yellow fruits. That's right, Citon is this world's version of lemons.
"Oh wow, that was fast. How much for them?"
"Please take them. This is another possible way of business in this town, so I would love to be apart of it," Mozz confessed right away, "Plus it's not like you have many people who would understand inner machinations of merchants so I would be glad if you came to me when you have an idea for new potential business'."
"Okay, that sounds reasonable, but I will be discussing those ideas with the duke and his family too, I hope you understand," I smiled back at him and he smiled at me.
"Well, of course. It is only logical as they were the first to meet you," Mozz said, still with the smile plastered on his face, "That being said, you should register with the Merchant's guild before you start your business. It's not necessary when you do a small pocket change, but this alcohol is so high quality and so good that I feel that if you don't register, there might be problems down the road."
"That's certainly a well founded worry. Merchant's guild was set up by the government to regulate business in the kingdom and the Southern Alliance to enforce equal tax in the proportion of the business."
"How much are we talking about?" I asked Henry who spoke up.
"Well, for small business' it's Round Small Gold every year, for middle sized business' it's Pentagonal Small Gold and for big business' it's Round Big Gold. The size is calculated by your years revenue and is paid once a year, similarly to land tax."
So it's 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 Alba per year by the size of my shop, huh? And land tax?
"And this land tax, how much is it?"
"Usually around twenty thousand Alba per parcel you own. The land tax is given to nobles who are in charge of said land. Business tax is paid to the government though. Oh, and there is a residential tax of 150 Alba per month that goes to the town's funds. One of my recent reports states that Alcohol tax may be abolished, still, if you plan to sell it, then remember that the tax is right now 5% of your sales of it."
So residential tax is 1,800 per year. I guess that the Residential, Business and Land taxes will start around 32 000 with small business, 72 000 with medium sized business and 122 000 for big business. And that's yearly tax. I'm sure I will make my money easily with the alcohol.
"Have you made up your mind?" Blanche asked.
"Yes. I'm going to do it."
"Really? That was quick," Laina added.
"I'm more surprised that lady Blanche picked up on it first. You might have a talent for reading people's intentions," Mozz sounded interested in Blanche for the first time.
"Oh no, I can't read people at all, it's just because I spent so much time with Arito that I already know what is on his mind," Blanche blushed softly as she waved her hands before her face in denial.
"I see, it's that kind of reading," Mozz smiled softly and nodded his head.
Um, sir? Why are you looking at me with pity as if I had no chance to run? I don't want to run from this, you know? I already kissed her too, not like a single kiss seals the deal, but I'm not the type of guy who would run away from his responsibilities, and I take pride in that, you see?
"Right?" Laina added with a smile.
Miss, you are not helping. Stop thinking of me as the guy who defines density.
After this increasingly painful discussion was over, I collected my Citons and left for the inn with the rest of the ducal family. No need to say that Blanche was more touchy-feely than usual.
This day was way too long, I'm just gonna sleep after I get back to the inn…