First Slime Hunt

As long as the number of monsters reaches a certain level, some will inevitably appear on the road or affect the normal farming of the village.

According to the intelligence from the previous quest, it should be relatively easy to find slimes by searching along the stream.

As long as ten slimes are killed and their slime is collected, I can return to Oak City.

For collecting the slime, I prepared a mineral water bottle. After all, it was originally for pure water, so it should be fine to temporarily hold slime for now. When I go to the guild to settle, they will have special containers, and I can just pour it in then.

Walking step by step along the stream, the moss on the stones underfoot was very slippery. If I wasn't careful, I would definitely fall badly.

I tested the water temperature with my finger. It seemed to be meltwater flowing down from the mountains, and the water was extremely cold. In this weather, it was not suitable to fall into the water.

The air carried a slight scent of decaying leaves, along with the faint coolness of melting ice and snow.

Except for a small amount of unmelted snow dripping from the treetops, the entire forest was extremely quiet, with no other sounds to be heard.

The monsters in each area are basically fixed. Occasionally, monsters will wander into other areas, but the possibility is very low. If I encounter one, I just need to retreat in time.

Activate [Assassin's Breathing Technique].

Everything around instantly became quieter. In this state, not only could I hide myself better, but I could also focus my attention to sense the movements around me.

As I ventured deeper, the light ahead grew dimmer. Leaves and branches intertwined. Not all tree species shed their leaves in winter; some trees shed their leaves after the ice and snow melt, and when the weather warms up, they quickly grow new buds.

Walking forward step by step, one hand tightly gripped the dagger at my waist.

"Relax, just treat this like a hardcore game," Mel muttered to himself, constantly reassuring himself.

If I didn't know so much, I might not be so nervous, but knowing more made it somewhat terrifying.

I heard something breaking through the bushes, and it was hitting the ground rhythmically, then bouncing back up repeatedly. Just from the sound, I could tell this must be the slime I was looking for.

My hand slowly loosened from the dagger, and I took out my long saber from the System space, continuing to approach. I could use a directional [Back Hop] followed by a [Mighty Slash] to achieve a one-hit kill.

It was easy to deal with these low-level monsters in the game; they were basically two hits each.

[Back Hop] was activated instantly. I leaped backward, then swung a [Mighty Slash] at the slime.

Proficiency +1

Effort +1

The slime was like a blue gummy candy. The blade cut through its surface and sank in, but the attack didn't penetrate deeply. It was tougher than I expected, not the squishy feeling I imagined.

Mel Karl once again used [Back Hop] to create distance, dodging the slime's charge.

With a thud, the slime hit a large tree nearby. It felt like a solid rubber ball hitting the tree, and a large amount of snow, along with leaves, slid off the tree.

If this thing hit me directly, I'd probably break a few ribs.

After repeating the previous actions several times, I finally killed the slime in front of me on the 5th [Mighty Slash]. The blade cutting into it didn't feel like cutting jelly at all, but like cutting a solid rubber ball.

Mel wiped the sweat from his brow. He finally understood why slimes were also considered monsters. Things that humans could consider monsters were truly capable of killing people. If I had approached this thing with my game understanding, I would have been at a huge disadvantage.

"Back Hop plus Mighty Slash, it's really a god-tier combo for beginners. I didn't expect it to be so useful in another world too." Mel took out his dagger, preparing to collect the slime's mucus. The useful part was only the small portion of mucus from the slime's core, which looked a deeper blue. After cutting it open with the dagger, it was clearly different from the light blue of the outer layer.

After killing one slime, I gained 5 points of Mighty Slash Proficiency and 5 points of Effort. The slime's mucus could be directly stored in the System space, but it would all eventually be transferred into containers. Using mineral water bottles would allow me to see how many milliliters of mucus one slime yielded.

Even a Level 2 slime was so difficult to deal with. Compared to dealing with monsters that had no obvious weak points, dealing with people was simpler. People had too many weak points.

It occupied about 1/3 of the mineral water bottle's space, meaning one slime yielded 200 milliliters of mucus.

"Let's continue."

Mel Karl continued to walk inward, but he gradually realized that he had only encountered one slime so quickly due to good luck. In the following search, he couldn't find any slimes for most of the time. Moreover, the muddy ground in the forest was very wet and slippery, only slightly better than a swamp.

"Slimes aren't pack animals, which makes things a bit difficult. I don't have any tracking skills either. It looks like I'll be stuck here all day."

Mel Karl continued his search. The entire day was wasted like this, and he finally managed to kill enough slimes. It was exhausting, all that hard work for just 30 copper coins.

Slime Mucus +10

Effort +100

Inventory: Wallet, Instant Noodles ×49, Cola ×50, Chips ×50, Mineral Water ×50, Bandit's Knife, Alcohol ×9, First Aid Bandage ×9, YunX Baiyao ×4, Disposable Anesthetic Injection ×4, Chocolate Beans x2950, Slime Mucus 4 bottles.

[Mighty Slash] Proficiency 850/10000

[Back Hop] Proficiency 3851/10000

Current Effort Value: 191.

My shoes were already soaked through with water, and my clothes were damp with sweat. It was a terrible day. I didn't even feel like practicing Back Hop anymore. I'd go back, eat, find someone to practice Theft on, and then go to sleep.

Dragging his tired body, Mel Karl left the forest and walked towards Oak City in the afterglow of the sunset and melting snow.

There was still a long way to go. Without a carriage, it would take some effort. Moreover, there might be other monsters appearing on some sections of the road. I saw a notice on the guild's bulletin board earlier about a quest to hunt goblins, which was also in the vicinity of this road.

However, just dealing with the slimes was already exhausting. I didn't even dare to think about goblins for now. Those were monsters that had nearly taken down a Level 15 adventurer. After all, goblins were pack monsters.

I just don't know if the goblins in this world would capture females to reproduce, as many works describe.

The fatigue in his body made his mind wander to other things to alleviate it.

To put it more elegantly, this should be called emptying one's soul.

"Hurry up and get back, I want a hot bath," Mel Karl muttered. He had accidentally been hit by a slime during the battle earlier. If he hadn't rolled on the ground a few times to dissipate the force, he almost wouldn't have recovered.

At least one thing was good: the temperature was starting to rise and wasn't getting any colder, so I wouldn't have to deliberately buy a winter coat.

Also on this road, in another location, a freckled boy was fighting goblins. Several wounds had already appeared on his body, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably. "The intel was wrong. These goblins have weapons, and they're at least Level 5! Those damned villagers must have been trying to pay less!"