Amber Xiu couldn't be bothered to answer Isabelle's almost pointless question. He merely said, "Are you so tired your mind's getting muddled? If you're fine, go get some rest!"
After saying that rather rudely, Amber Xiu turned and left the laboratory.
Humans were so fragile. They'd only worked overtime for a few days, and already she was confused.
Isabelle watched his retreating back, unsure why her teacher had suddenly gotten angry.
It seems his undead identity is a huge sore point for him. That makes sense. A young alchemy genius ended up as a wandering ghost in an Ancient Castle. It must be a painful memory. I was so stupid to ask him that.
Still, even when he's angry, he cares about my health. He really is so kind.
Isabelle sighed inwardly. There really were kind undead in this world. She also reminded herself that the next time she saw him, she absolutely wouldn't bring up anything related to undead.
Amber Xiu left the Ancient Castle under cover of night.
Finding slimes wasn't particularly easy. They were very weak monsters, but that was exactly why they were so good at hiding.
The slimes in this world didn't look like cute little blobs of jelly. More often, they hid in dark corners, looking like clumps of mud.
Excessive light and extreme temperatures were both unsuitable for slimes. Damp, dark environments were ideal: moisture helped them maintain their bodies, while darkness made it easier for them to hunt.
Slimes usually stayed perfectly still, waiting for prey to come to them. Their slimy bodies could glide quietly across the floor, drip down from walls or ceilings, or squeeze through cracks... They were incredibly difficult to spot when hiding.
When prey passed by, a slime would launch a sneak attack. Once its prey was enveloped by its acid-filled body, most creatures would be broken down and absorbed as nutrients. But this kind of ambush hunting wasn't very efficient. Most of the time, slimes lived on dust, fungi, and even garbage.
Amber Xiu hadn't studied slimes much, so he had no idea where to look. Finding one or two might not be hard, but he was starting his research from scratch and would need at least a hundred. He couldn't just wander around on his own; he needed a professional to handle it.
When in doubt, put up a job for adventurers. Most of the time, that solved the problem.
As usual, Amber Xiu flew to Alchemy City in the middle of the night and headed for the lively Southern Cross Street.
The weather had gradually turned colder, and winter was fast approaching in Alchemy City. At this time of year, taverns always drew plenty of customers.
Even though the tavern called Iron Slag Embers liked to water down its drinks, it was the cheapest tavern in Alchemy City, so it was packed with destitute mercenaries and adventurers.
A mug of ale that cost ten copper coins left drinkers seething with resentment, so they had to vent their frustration elsewhere.
They slammed tables and cursed. Every so often, they reached out to grope a buxom serving girl as she passed. Touching her thigh meant they'd lost only half as much; touching her butt meant they'd come out ahead.
This was exactly the kind of place Amber Xiu needed.
As soon as he entered, the wave of heat hit him, making him frown. Liches generally preferred the cold; a warm environment made an uncomfortable layer of moisture cling to his bones.
The Dwarf in the corner, yodeling some folk song, was even more of a trial for Amber Xiu. He wasn't asking for an Elf Bard, but couldn't they at least get a human? A Dwarf's voice sounded like two rocks knocking together. How could anyone sing an aria with that?
With the economy in decline, even the live music was half-hearted.
Amber Xiu shook his head and pushed through the crowd to the bar.
The Orc bartender was polishing a mug. "A young Mage? I haven't seen you around before. First time here? This one's on the house."
He set down a mug that was less than half full of ale, its murky yellow surface rippling. Even though he no longer had a nose, Amber Xiu could still sense the sour smell coming from it. The ale had gone bad after being watered down. The undead had no sense of smell or taste, but that didn't mean they couldn't distinguish odors. Amber Xiu sensed it through his Soul Fire.
He took exactly one sip, then put a few copper coins on the bar. Only then did he say, "I want to ask around about something."
That was the rule: pay a tip before asking for information.
The tall Orc bartender placed one finger on the coins. Thanks to the Orc's naturally oversized fingers, he pinned down five copper coins with a light tap, then swiftly swept them into his pocket.
"Generous customer. What would you like to know?"
Amber Xiu: ...
That was a miscalculation. He should have spaced the coins out.
Orcs were naturally big. One press of the bartender's finger covered five coins; a human would have covered two at most.
But there was no time to fret over the loss. Amber Xiu asked, "Are there any slime colonies nearby? I need a place where they gather in large numbers."
The Orc bartender had a strong sense of professional ethics and answered immediately. "Of course. The vast sewers beneath Alchemy City. But the sewers haven't been very safe lately. For some reason, lots of dangerous slime variants have appeared down there."
"Dangerous variants?" Amber Xiu pressed. "What happened?"
"Heh heh. Care for another drink, customer? Only ten copper coins."
Amber Xiu put the coins on the bar and warned him, "I hope this information is worth the money."
The Orc bartender confidently swept the coins into his pocket and gave Amber Xiu the information he wanted. "You should know that a lot of alchemical waste needs special treatment. That costs a fortune. Recently, Alchemy City's finances have run into a bit of trouble—you probably know that too, so..."
Just like industrial waste, large-scale alchemy produced plenty of pollutants, and dealing with them was both difficult and expensive. The Orc bartender's explanation was enough for Amber Xiu to understand: those lunatics had dumped the alchemical waste straight into the sewers, causing the slimes down there to mutate.
"Wait, it might not just be the slimes..."
Amber Xiu knew quite a bit about alchemy. Common alchemical waste rapidly formed a list in his Soul Fire. If all of it had been dumped into the sewers, something truly terrifying might emerge before long.
But now wasn't the time to back down. He needed to gather the slimes as quickly as possible, before a truly terrifying monster could be born.
"Post a job for me. I need to collect... No, I need a guide who knows the sewers well."
Amber Xiu had originally planned to pay someone to collect slimes for him, but as the sewers grew more dangerous, adventurers' fees would rise accordingly. So he'd rather spend some time finding a guide to take him down there, then catch the slimes himself.
He might be a fake Legend, but even a fake Legend was still a Legend. He could easily defeat ordinary monsters.
The bartender immediately brightened. "Ha ha, you're in luck, customer. There's an adventuring party getting ready to explore the sewers, and they happen to be short a Mage. If you can join them, you won't even have to pay for a guide, and you'll earn a sizable commission."
Amber Xiu frowned and said through gritted teeth, "You shouldn't have used that word."
The Orc bartender was taken aback. "Sorry, what did you say? I don't think I used any impolite words."
Amber Xiu enunciated each word. "You shouldn't have said 'earn a fortune.' You especially shouldn't have said 'sizable' and 'commission.'"
"What's wrong with those words?" The Orc bartender was even more confused.
Amber Xiu sighed. "Now that you've said all that, there's no way I can refuse."
Before you continue