Read Novel Full Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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Chapter 232 – Appearing At This Timing
It was a small town, somewhat reminiscent of Bezart—The town of Riche.
It was after 6 p.m., and only one group of hunters appeared to be exchanging money.
While everyone else was eating and drinking at restaurants, I opened the door just in time.
Creak.
The sound echoed strangely, perhaps due to the poor construction.
Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned toward me.
“…”
Well, I suppose that’s to be expected.
The bustling lobby falls silent, but I ignore it and head for the reference room.
“H-Hey, something small but impressive just came in.”
“Ah, could it be a mercenary?”
“What is he doing in a town like this?”
(Hmmm. This armor is so flashy.)
Since I made it the other day, there are no signs of it turning black yet.
Right now, it’s completely red.
On top of that, the scales and shape of the armor make it look expensive, so I’m going to stand out like a sore thumb if I go to a town where armor is rare.
That said, this armor is indispensable for flying in the sky in the middle of winter.
I’m freezing, and it would be stupid to take it off and put it in the basket.
Making it ignite continuously while I’m touching the basket is fine, but I’m worried the basket’s contents might catch fire before I notice.
If I had Heat Tech and leg warmers, I’d spend a fortune on them without hesitation; I’m that desperate to stay warm.
Leg warmers seem easy enough to make, so I’ll write that down in my notebook later.
I quickly flip through the reference book.
There’s nothing useful in it, so I’ll just stay one night and start moving again early tomorrow morning.
With that in mind, I flip through the cover and let out a gasp.
“Slime.”
It’s a mysterious creature that is half-liquid.
It doesn’t actively attack, but it’s fragile, so it’s not recommended to break its membrane with weapons.
Also, be careful when you see red slime.
They become excited and should not be approached by those who are injured.
“I see. So this is where the slime is.”
I was surprised that the weakest creature appeared at that moment, but then I remembered.
Amanda-san had mentioned the word “slime” before.
And this explanation…
Whether it’s useful or not, something definitely smells fishy.
This is starting to get exciting, I thought, suppressing a grin as I left the guild.
The next day:
I jumped over the town warriors in plain clothes, heading for the hunting grounds, and headed for the depths of the Palmera Forest.
[Investigation]—Slime.
When I arrived at the location where I had detected a reaction, a translucent creature appeared, just as I had expected.
The only difference from my imagination was the color. This slime was not light blue, as I had imagined, but a thin, cloudy brown.
Well, here we go—Mind’s Eye.
“Decomposition Lv1, Absorption Lv1.”
“Yes!”
It’s an F-rank hunting ground, so there’s no point in complaining about the low level.
More exciting are the two new skills.
“I don’t want my weapon to get damaged, so…”
I lightly threw a small stone at the slime. It pierced the surface membrane, causing the murky water inside to spill out like a broken water balloon. The water dissolved into the soil.
What remained was a small magic stone, the smallest I had ever seen.
Even when I touched it directly, I didn’t feel anything unusual.
I wonder if this water is what Decomposition does.
With that in mind, I started with 45 of them.
Aiming for skill level 3, I ran around the Palmera Great Forest for the first time in a while.
About two hours later——
The monsters were still spread out, but thanks to Investigation, the number of monsters I defeated steadily increased. By midday, I had reached level 3, my temporary goal.
Goblins and Horned Rabbits are easy to ignore, and there’s no need to bother with dismantling, so it was smooth sailing.
Should I aim for the next level?
These two types, both of which are white text, are up for verification to see if they are useful skills.
Decomposition Lv3: Decomposes the target using magic. The decomposition speed depends on the amount of magic power infused. Magic power consumption is reduced by 20%.
I couldn’t fully grasp the explanation, so I scratched my head and placed a small stone and a twig on each palm.
Then, focusing on my palms, I materialized magic power. Though still unstable, a thin black mist began to cover my hands.
Since the mist is touching the pebble and twig, I should be able to channel my magic through them.
―Decomposition―
(…)
I activated the skill, but nothing happened.
Next, I focus on the twig, mindful of my magic consumption.
—Decomposition—Mana consumption: 20
(…)
—Decomposition—Mana consumption: 30
(…).
—Decomposition—Mana consumption: 50
“Huh?”
Finally, the lower part of the twig, which had shown no change, began to crumble and disappear little by little.
It became as fine as sand, which eventually melted away and disappeared.
The result is a mana consumption of 100, leaving only the upper part of the small branch intact.
I’m shocked by the poor fuel efficiency, but the verification process has only just begun.
Considering the possibility that my method was flawed, I tried various patterns.
——And then, I figured it out.
“I guess this is a no-go…”
That was the conclusion.
The ability was too slow-acting, and it was clear that solving that problem would require an extraordinary amount of magical power.
Though it seems powerful at first glance, in its current state, it’s not practical enough.
After observing the process, I realized that even with a mana consumption of 20, the Decomposition was progressing gradually.
Once the Decomposition effect was applied, the process continued for a certain period of time, even if the materialized magic was not touched and placed on the ground. This suggests that the delayed effect is related to the phenomenon of slimes decomposing weapons.
If you want to speed up the Decomposition rate to a few seconds, you’d need to pour in an enormous amount of magic power.
Incidentally, a random branch lying around consumes 150 magic powers.
A small stone consumes 400 magic powers, close to my maximum DPS for about a minute.
Just one small stone.
So, where would I use this skill?
I couldn’t think of any situation in which it would be useful. I quickly concluded that it wasn’t a skill worth sticking with.
Looking at the detailed explanations for each level, it’s a real shame.
The mana consumption reduction rate starts at 0% at level 1 and increases by 10% with each subsequent level. By the time I reach level 10, the reduction rate is 90%.
It could potentially be a terrifying one-hit kill skill in certain situations. At least it’s not something I’d have to worry about against level 1 monsters, though.
The other skill, Absorption, was even more confusing.
Absorption Lv3: Absorbs liquid through magic. Mana consumption: 0
That’s the only explanation.
When I first obtained the Dig skill, I had no idea what to do with its simple explanation.
Upon calm reflection, however, I realized that slimes have no eyes or mouths and are essentially floating magic stones inside their bodies.
Since it says “liquid,” they must absorb water from somewhere to form their bodies, so this skill must be necessary.
Currently, they are a murky brown color, like muddy water, so I imagine they are absorbing water from the ground. The red color mentioned in the reference book must refer to blood.
When I tried feeding it the blood of a goblin I had defeated, it immediately absorbed it and turned red and black.
Then, it extended its body like tentacles toward the goblin’s body, which was spurting blood. This indicates an excited state. So, I think I have a rough idea of what Absorption means.
The problem is how I can utilize that.
Feeling uneasy, I tried absorbing some of the goblin’s blood, but nothing unusual happened to my body.
I didn’t feel excited either, so maybe the only effect was the mysterious ability to absorb water into my body without using my mouth.
The skill name seemed promising, though.
Still, if I pick up a new skill, it’s a bonus.
As usual, I stopped at level 3 and left the town of Riche, heading toward the nearby C-rank hunting ground.
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