After resting a bit in reality, I logged back in. The surroundings had brightened, and looking around the field, the Night Dog was gone.
This means I can make it back to town. Oh, I forgot to check the drop. I quickly appraised the loot from the Night Dog I defeated before logging out.
The result was a [Night Dog Fur] in “Bad” condition. New items are always welcome, but the condition is kinda… Hmm. Regarding skills related to drops, [Dismantling] comes to mind. I’ll try taking a skill training when I get back to town.
This appraisal has levelled up my [Appraisal] skill. The new art is [Basic Monster Appraisal]. Finally, I can see monster information!
On my way back to town, I appraised a Petit Slime and a Petit Rabbit, and gathered again at the restored gathering spots.
Using [Basic Monster Appraisal], I could read a simple monster description via a pop-up the first time. After appraising a monster once, a simplified status gauge showing HP and MP appears below the enemy monster’s name every time in battle, making combat much easier. I could also check the description later via the menu’s bestiary entry. Collecting monster information seems like fun, too.
Having returned to the First town, I quickly reported my quest at the Adventurers’ Guild, then decided to sit down on a bench in the town and rest leisurely.
While pondering what to do next, I glanced at the bulletin boards. The general board had news about an area boss finally being discovered, and the walking thread mentioned a cafe where you could eat light meals like sandwiches and coffee, and buy a food item called [Simple Cookies].
Huh, cookies?! They don’t fill you up as much as portable rations, and they’re kinda dry, but they taste way better?!
I must go shopping. I’m sick and tired of portable rations. I want a sandwich too.
I plan to head to the cafe first, then the weapon and armour shops. After that, I’ll return to the guild for the [Dismantling] skill training! …They won’t make us dissect Petit Rabbit or anything gory like that in the training, right? It is a game middle schoolers can play too, so it should be fine, right??
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After doing several things, I came back to the bench again. Doing it all at once really wore me out.
Getting to the cafe was fine, but maybe word about the snacks spread? The place was packed so that I couldn’t get in. I bought a few cookies with a heavy heart and left the shop.
I finally outgrew the beginner weapons and armour. I used the money from selling materials to buy a stone sword, leather light armour, and a small shield. When I returned to town, I realised I’d forgotten to do the extra delivery quests and was glad the armour shop bought my furs.
After chatting with the armour shop owner, I learned the Adventurers’ Guild also buys materials. They had delivery quests for furs and slime mucus, but you could sell them directly too. Is there a difference in guild contribution points or something?
The [Dismantling] skill training didn’t involve bloody dissections like I feared. They had me do various things while wearing work gloves on a near-death? Petit Slime.
Slimes generally drop mucus, but unless they have an elemental attribute, the dropped item is always called [Slime Mucus]. That explains why the drop from Petit Slimes was named [Slime Mucus].
Besides, if you defeat them with elemental magic matching their weakness, the material quality might deteriorate. This is why you must be careful about your attack method if you want specific materials. Skill training is beneficial.
Alright, what should I do next? I’ll check out that area boss I saw mentioned on the bulletin board. From the posts, it is a huge slime. There is no way I can beat it alone yet, but I should be able to check it out at least.
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After leaving town and walking along the main road, a bridge spanned a large, meandering river.
There, a huge slime was camped out, thudding around. The next town was faintly visible beyond the bridge, so this must be the border.
According to the bulletin board, this giant slime is called [Large Slime], and several players were gathered before it. At first, I thought it would be more crowded, but looking closer, I saw each party being teleported separately in front of the slime.
Ah, the boss is in the instance areas to prevent crowding. (Meaning each party gets its own separate area.)
In that case, even if I lose the fight, no one will see me looking pathetic! I decided to queue up without worry.
When my turn came and I stepped before the Large Slime, a pop-up asked if I wanted to challenge the area boss. I selected “Yes.” Then, everything blurred momentarily, and I was transported to the instance area.
A huge slime bobbing and bouncing right before my eyes. Alright, my first boss fight! Let’s go for it with a bang!!!
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About ten minutes later, I found myself respawning in front of the portal in First Town.
Well, I held out pretty well. But man, when that giant body charged me, I got knocked flying even though I was defending. And when I tried to back off and cast magic, it just sprayed acid at me.
Yeah. Soloing this is impossible!
For now, I’ll rest until the death penalty wears off and try to join a random party. Party recruitment posts for the area boss run all over this portal square. I’ll figure something out.
Next time I’ll win! Just you wait, Large Slime!!
Author Note:
・Large Slime Basic Appraisal Results
An abnormally developed individual among slime species. Its attack methods are identical to regular slimes, but its large size means even a simple body slam can be fatal.
It is far more challenging to defeat than regular slimes, yet its drop items are largely the same, making the quests to defeat it unpopular.