"Hyah...!" Saki raised her sword and swung down on Slime A, dealing 12 damage, then quickly pulled her sword away. Slime B jumps up and attacks, but Saki knows this and quickly steps aside. "Here we go!" Saki then drives her sword to Slime A, but it already has regenerated, so she dealt 15 damage instead of defeating it. Her idea didn't work as the slime already regenerated after Slime B attacked.
"How can these slimes regenerate so quickly?!" She complained as she stood guard. The slimes attack her, but Saki steps to the side to dodge them. While she was dodging, she thought of an idea. She performed her top attack once again and dealt 10 damage, but this time, she didn't pull out her sword. With her sword stuck inside Slime A, she dodged Slime B's attack, and quickly plunged her sword deeper into Slime A, dealing 5 damage.
"Only five damage?!" She complained as she quickly pulled her sword out. Her new idea didn't work, by keeping her sword in the first slime, she thought pushing the blade deeper would deal hurtful damage. As she watched the slimes, she quickly realized that Slime C wasn't joining Slime B in its attack when Slime A was in distress. "What? Got a plan inside that gelatinous mind of yours?" She muttered angrily.
"Saki! You fought two slimes already, right? And it seems like you took a liking on feeling your blade cutting through its body like a maniac. You should already have a rough calculation of their viscous body! Gather your strength in your arms, shift your body as you strike, and strike true!" Abigail yells.
Despite her encouragement, there was still a teasing remark. Saki was annoyed by this. "Shut up! Don't call me that!" She then focused on the battle. Abigail was right, she had a vague calculation of how tough the slimes' bodies were and the force she should apply to make a cut on its body. And as if sensing her new idea, the slimes began to attack.
Slime A jumped first and attacked, but Saki stepped to the side to dodge, then Slime B followed, and then Slime C. Saki dodged all their attacks and her turn was next. Remembering the force she applied from the previous victories against the slimes, she exerts her strength on her arm more than usual, her body ready to support her swing to apply more force.
"Haah...!" Saki yells out as she swings from the right with all the force she can gather. Upon impact, the blade sliced through Slime A's body, dealing 9 damage. "Yes!" She watched Slime A regenerate back 10 hp. She didn't mind the regeneration as more ideas came into mind when her attack finally came through. She can finally hit slimes normally, she thought.
"Let's finish this quickly!" With a new determination, Saki raised her sword to her right and swung, dealing 8 damage to Slime A as its blade passed through its gelatinous body. Saki quickly follows up by thrusting her blade deep into Slime A's body, dealing 15 damage. Slime A explodes into a pile of sticky gels splattering on the ground. "Haha! Yes!" Saki laughed as she cheered.
At the back, Abigail nods with a hum. "Her top slash deals heavy damage of ten, but since it's heavy, she couldn't bring up a proper succession and gets attacked, interrupting her... By replacing it with a normal strike that she was able to work out, she can easily follow up with a thrust... Even if her normal strikes deal less damage than her top attack, it was enough to slay the slime with the fifteen damage of the follow-up thrust" She thought as she kept watch on Saki's battle.
Slime A was defeated, with only the two remaining left. Saki already knew the trick, attack normally, then thrust. She knew she already won this battle the moment she was able to slice the slimes without attacking from the top. When Slime B and C attacked, Saki easily stepped away and dodged from their strikes. With her turn, she yells. "This is my victory now!"
She swung her sword from the left, dealing 7 damage to Slime B, then followed up with a thrust, dealing 15 damage. Slime B explodes into a pile of sticky gel. With a grin, she quickly attacks first, executing the same move and reducing Slime C into the same pile of sticky gel. With a triumphant grin, she swings her sword to the side to clean her blade before sheathing it.
She quickly turns to Abigail. "Hah! See that?!" She said with enthusiasm. "Yes! Your abuse towards slime has gotten better!" Abigail happily grins. "Oh, be quiet" Saki shook her head with a smile and read her interface. 'Saki defeated the slimes!' 'Saki ranked up to Village Militia!' 'Saki can now learn skills!' She reads with delight but returns to the second text. "Wait... I ranked up from a normal villager rank, which should have boosted my stats a lot... But why am I called a militia now? I'm not radical!" She complained.
"Silly! Militia doesn't solely mean radical people. Militias are what you call the people who protect a village too!" Abigail giggled. "W-well... I guess that's fine..." Saki just sighs. Abigail claps in delight. "Also! It seemed like you could slash at the slimes normally now!" She said. "Yeah! It feels great!" Saki grinned with enthusiasm. "Feels great to murder-" "-Anyway, let's go past the river" She quickly cuts off Abigail and walks ahead and stops before the running water.
"Look, it's not deep. We can cross the river just fine" Saki went and submerged her legs into the water, feeling its cold temperature and the force of the current. She turns back to Abigail, who seems to hesitate. With a smile, Abigail said. "Are you really going to make me get wet?". Saki frowned at her. "Are you seriously doing this right now? Your feet and a bit of your leg are the ones that will get wet, not your entire body. Come on, don't be such a royalty and follow me" She said then walks a few feet ahead before stopping again to see Abigail.
Even as Saki insisted, Abigail remained in her spot, keeping her smile up. "I don't want to get wet" She firmly stated, then turned around and pointed somewhere behind them. "Look! I think that way is a slime's nest" She tried to convince her, but Saki remained on the water, looking at her with disbelief. "If you really want to cross the river, you're gonna have to carry me across" Abigail said. "You're kidding me" Saki replied, her expression in irritation.
"No, I'm not. So, how is it going to be, Saki?" Abigail asked with the same smile. "That's not even a question. I will carry you over" Saki grumpily responded as she approached her. "See? It wasn't that hard, right?" She teased as she raised an arm. Saki picked her up by her legs and back then carried her body up towards the water.
In the middle of the river, Saki stopped. Watching her stop, Abigail quickly questioned her. "What? Did you see something?" She asked. Saki then quietly puts her down on the water. Abigail let out a yelp as her legs caught the cold temperature of the running water. "Saki!" She cried out as Saki moved her hands away from her. "You idiot, idiot, idiot!!!" Abigail let out whining noises and began hitting Saki's arm with her fists, dealing 1 damage each hit.
"Ow, stop that! Go ahead and cross the river like a normal human being!" Saki continues to defend herself with her arms. Despite her words, Abigail kept hitting her arm, dealing 1 damage each hit. She seems as though stuck frozen on the spot and cannot move. "Hey! Cut it out! You're going to have me incapacitated!" Saki kept defending herself with her arm.
Later on, deep in the forest, Saki asks Abigail as they walk. "So... Is there anything special in the village militia rank?". Abigail turns her gaze from their path ahead to Saki. "Well, you've read something, right? It says you can learn skills now, and you might have increased your stats a bit... Other than that, it just means that you're a villager capable of defending a village, a defender... or acting like one" She let out the last words in a mutter. "Sure, I did read that I can learn skills now. So what sort of skills?" Saki asked.
"I'm unfamiliar with the village militia's abilities, so I'm unsure. Maybe you can think of something now?" Abigail replied. Saki's brows rose slightly. "Right now? It's that easy?" She asked, and Abigail nodded. "Mhm. If you have something in mind and the system calculates that you're capable of that skill, it should appear in your skill set. However, you need to master the skills themselves. You may try to master a skill outside combat if you want to use it. Until then, the skill won't be available for use and is just there in the skill set" She explained.
"So, basically that means I can't do the skills yet? Well, isn't that natural? I won't be able to use the skill because I can't actually pull it off" Saki asked. "Yes, that's basically it" Abigail replies and Saki shakes her head. "You could have just said that. What's with you and your tendency to complicate things?" She said. "Well, do you always complain like that when someone is trying to explain to you in detail? Are you a simpleton, Saki?" Abigail replies with a smile.
Saki felt a bit of shame when she heard Abigail. She scoffs and averts her gaze. "Fair enough" Abigail giggles at her shameful tone. "It's okay. I too have been like you once. I'm not fond of complicated things, but I had to understand" She reassures. With Saki's curiosity in skill learning, they proceed even deeper into the forest.