I started heading to the hotel to grab the things I needed before going to hunt slimes at that farm. Once there, I packed the essentials into my new backpack and set off toward the place.
I left the city and began traveling south. It's about a two-hour journey, and it was already noon, so I figured I'd be back around sunset. But I'd never actually fought a slime before, so I had no clear idea how long it would take to kill them. What I did know was that my mana was nearing its limits. Slimes take a lot of effort to kill—just something warm won't cut it. I'd need an extremely hot fire to finish them off.
I figured this was a good chance to try learning how to create blue fire. It's still regular fire, but its heat is so concentrated it can melt most materials easily. From what I knew, it required a horrendous amount of mana. I didn't plan on using it regularly—just being able to create it would be enough.
After exactly two hours, I found what I was looking for. There were slimes all over the place, both in and around the farm. It's typical behavior for them to swarm locations in massive groups. On my way here, I ran into three slimes and melted them all. It really does take an insanely heated fire to damage them, and killing them takes about three minutes of constant exposure to that heat.
I was already regretting this mission. I should've taken an easier one—there were missions involving monsters I could kill in my sleep. But on the bright side, I was forcing myself to improve my mana control. My control is actually terrible. The only reason I'm at master level is because of how much mana I have. I have the potential to become a semi-lord, a title for people far too strong to be called regular masters but not quite powerful enough to be full lords.
I'm not bragging—it's just fact. I reached this level without solid mana control and without fully tapping into my potential mana. My mother once told me I'd unlock that around mid-puberty.
I entered the farm and began killing every living thing I saw—which, in this case, was all slimes. I tried using the least mana possible. I was steadily improving; I guess it's true that actual practice works better than standard training. I hadn't made this much progress in controlling my mana throughout my entire journey so far. Interestingly, the farm didn't seem abandoned. The crops were still there, and nothing looked rusted. I figured someone probably intended to reuse it after a long break.
About an hour passed, and I was nowhere near finished. It was evening now, and I'd killed maybe 200 slimes at most. But my pace was slowing rapidly as my mana neared its limit. I figured I could kill maybe 50 more slimes, which obviously wouldn't be enough. I can't even describe how much I regretted this decision. It was unbelievably stupid. This mission was meant for a group of masters, not just one.
To have any chance of success on my own, I'd need a miracle—especially since I'd once heard slimes get stronger at night. They're still only durable, nothing else. I even tried fighting them physically, but it didn't work at all. They're completely unharmed by physical attacks. Then I remembered something I'd heard before: every group of slimes has a leader—a much stronger leader. These are called "royal slimes."
That's when I saw something inhuman approaching me. It looked like a green ball, just like all the other slimes I'd seen so far, but much larger. But this wasn't an ordinary slime—this was a royal slime. The moment I realized it, I sprang into action. If the leader dies, the group collapses.
I began launching extremely strong fire attacks at it—the kind that would instantly kill a normal slime—but they didn't even scratch it. It started attacking me with limbs made from its own body. It created and flung them at me at incredible speed. I could dodge them, but they were fast and powerful. I knew if it managed to swallow me, I was finished—I'd suffocate to death.
I kept dodging for a few minutes without counterattacking, which made the monster more confident. It started throwing even more limbs at me, faster and harder. I had no choice but to draw my sword and slice through any limb that got close. Even if the creature wasn't harmed, at least I could block the attacks—which was my top priority.
But truthfully, I had a plan. The reason those limbs were reaching me was because I was focusing on something else: creating something powerful enough to kill this terrifying slime—the blue fire. I kept dodging and dodging while forcing my mana to its absolute limits.
And I finally did it. I created the blue fire. I poured all my remaining mana into launching it. It worked. It didn't just kill the royal slime—it erased it completely. It evaporated into nothing.
Then I started feeling dizzy. I had burned through far too much mana, and my consciousness faded.
The next morning came. I woke up exhausted, feeling like I'd been hit by a train. My back ached terribly—the ground had been far too hard to sleep on. I got up and began heading back to Dawnwick. After about two hours, I reached the city and went straight to the hotel. I dropped my gear in my room after paying for another night.
Honestly, I felt a little bad for not sleeping there yesterday. The hotel owner didn't deserve free money. He kind of scams people anyway—the money I gave him is worth more than the room.
After settling into my room, I headed to the adventurer's guild to claim my reward. I walked into the guild and approached the steward. It was the same one from before, and his eyes widened when he saw me. He looked genuinely shocked. I told him I'd finished the task, and he simply nodded, still stunned. Some people in the background looked surprised too.
They probably saw me when I accepted the mission. The steward asked for the paper he gave me yesterday, and I handed it over. Then he leaned in and whispered to me:
"I'm sorry if this sounds disrespectful, but can you tell me how you killed all those slimes? The paper I gave you had magic in it—it records every kill made by the person carrying it. How did you kill more than 180 slimes? I assume you took out their boss too, which is something only elite masters are supposed to be capable of."
"Sorry, but am I really required to answer you?"
"Yes. You're not leaving here without answering."
He grabbed my hand roughly. Just as I was preparing to force my way out, I sensed a presence behind me—someone I'd met before. I turned around and saw it was that creepy guy I'd run into a few hours before entering the city a couple of days ago. He spoke to the steward in a dangerously calm tone:
"I don't think she's actually required to answer you."
He turned his gaze to me and said,
"Yeah, kid, you can ignore his question if you want."
I nodded to the creepy guy and tried to make my body language as grateful as possible. The steward let go of my hand. I asked him one last question:
"Can I claim a mission reward in a different city?" I asked politely. He nodded. I could see he was pretty angry—he'd just been humiliated by a kid. Then he said,
"But you still need to be an official adventurer to do that. Becoming one is simple—you just gain full access to missions and can keep the card as long as you want."
"Well then, I'll become an adventurer."
After a few minutes of him asking questions about me and having me channel a bit of my mana into a card (which proves my adventurer status), I got my card. Honestly, knowing someone my age—or even younger—could become an adventurer and fight monsters kids shouldn't even hear about really shows me how cruel this world is. I don't think there's much difference between my old world and this one. Someone out there is probably living an even worse life than the childhood I had in my old world.
I walked around the city and eventually found that restaurant I always eat at. It had been almost a full day since I'd eaten, so I went in, ordered some food and a drink, ate, and returned to the hotel. I got into my room and took a bath.
God, I love this bath. My love for it is infinite, and it'll never fade. It made me feel like I was in paradise—and it made me sleepy. I dozed off and woke up the next morning.
My sleep schedule was completely ruined. I got up, organized all the new supplies I'd bought into my backpack, and left the room. When I went downstairs to the owner, there was a difference this time—I handed him the room key. I also noticed something about this man: every time I came to the hotel, he was awake and waiting for customers. Honestly, I pitied him now that I thought about it.
I left and went to the adventurer's guild. I took a level 3 mission and left. I'd claim the reward at my next destination—Goldmere, a massive city. Traveling there would take about a month, so I picked a mission that wasn't time-sensitive.
I can say it now:
My journey had resumed.