Chapter 40: The Illustrated Guide’s Surprise
After spending the night in a cheap inn in Valencia Village.
Early the next morning.
Everyone gathered at the entrance of the village with all their equipment.
Valencia Village is a sparsely populated small village, mainly functioning as a resting place for occasional caravans, apart from managing an orchard.
According to the village chief, many young people have moved to Gray Rock Town, or even further to Barry City to work and live.
"These slimes have already caused a lot of damage to the fruit trees in the village, please help us root out those filthy blobs!"
Upon the village chief’s urging, the group started searching outside the Harvest Fruit Garden.
Finding the slimes before engaging in combat with them is a difficult task.
Due to the large area of the orchard.
Everyone had to split up and operate in teams of two.
The Swordsman and Priest, Levin and the Archer, and Gauss and the Wandering Apprentice Medvedeva.
Medvedeva is quite adept at this kind of search work.
As soon as they started moving, she was already searching around the orchard for possible traces of slimes with light, agile steps.
Slimes leave traces of mucus as they pass.
Although, after sunrise, the mucus quickly evaporates, Medvedeva said that with careful observation, it’s still possible to see a faint reflective halo.
Medvedeva searched for information along the way, while Gauss took up the task of guarding.
The White Bone Staff has been held in his hand all along.
With the fast casting boost the White Bone Staff provides, he believes that even if a monster appears, he would be able to launch a Magic Missile before the monster attacks.
This is the confidence the staff gives him.
Although it’s a weakened version of Magic Missile, it can still easily kill creatures like goblins.
And he can now release the weakened version of Magic Missile three times; unless they blindly walk into an enemy’s main base, the two of them are quite safe.
"Did you find anything?"
After walking a bit, Gauss noticed that Medvedeva had been lingering at a fence for a while and approached her to ask.
"Yes."
"Here, there are traces of slimes rubbing by. Judging by the direction, they should be heading that way." Squatting, Medvedeva pointed to an area of the fence and then looked further away.
Such good eyesight?
Gauss also squatted down to take a look but didn’t notice anything unusual.
It can only be said that elves are inherently skilled archers, and even Medvedeva, with her diluted elven bloodline, seems to have better eyesight than ordinary people. A true elf’s vision must be comparable to Eagle Eye, right?
Gauss followed Medvedeva further along the path.
Along the way, Medvedeva kept writing and drawing on parchment, recording information.
Finally, she looked up.
"Let’s go back and regroup with Levin and the others first."
"Okay."
Even though they discovered the slime’s trail, Medvedeva and Gauss had no intention to delve deeper.
The commission prioritizes safety, after all.
Returning to the agreed meeting point, they waited for a short moment.
Gradually, the other two teams returned as well, but judging by their expressions, they didn’t seem to have any findings.
Fortunately, they weren’t the main force in this search.
Upon learning that Gauss and his partner found the slime trail, everyone looked relieved.
"All thanks to you, Medvedeva."
"Luckily, we came early. The sun hasn’t come up, otherwise the traces would have completely disappeared by now." Medvedeva didn’t take the credit.
The reassembled team began walking in the direction Gauss and Medvedeva had found.
Along the way, Levin continuously reminded everyone to make more use of the small Wooden Shield they brought along to block during combat.
Although slimes are just low-level creatures, if their mucus gets on the skin, it will cause it to sting for several days.
If you don’t want to suffer, you’d better be careful during the fight.
Gauss listened silently.
In his opinion, Levin, like his profession as a Shield Master, possesses a strong sense of responsibility, caring and advising teammates diligently, much like a "male mom."
Could it be a coincidence?
Is it because he identifies with the Shield Master’s responsibility, or is the profession subtly influencing him as he practices Shield Master skills?
He faintly gained a deeper understanding of the profession and path.
Perhaps it is not just an increase in level.
Walking in the forest, the soil underfoot gradually became moist.
Finally, in a seldom-trodden muddy area by a creek, the group saw a small cluster of strange, slime-like creatures from a distance.
Their bodies were bright green, covered in mud, playfully bouncing around in the muddy ground.
Unlike the cute image of the slimes in Gauss’s previous life animation works, the slimes before them were not pleasing to the eye. Their soft, sticky, gelatinous bodies resembled lumps of translucent fat, filled with various branches, undigested fruit pulp, stones, and all sorts of strange objects.
Moreover, each slime was not small in size.
They were about dozens of centimeters large, and with each bounce, they could cover a distance of more than a meter.
So their movements were not slow, and an ordinary person could be knocked over if they were not careful. If one were surrounded by several slimes, there’s a danger of becoming part of their digestive contents.
"A total of 25!"
Gauss heard Medvedeva’s count and felt a bit excited inside.
For him, these little monsters that liked to gather together were the best fodder for increasing total monster kill counts in the Monster Atlas.
𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
His total monster kills had already reached 23/50.
If they could wipe out this group of slimes, they would be just one step away from receiving the next stage reward.
Unfortunately, that was not possible.
Combat was specifically arranged around "kills," but their team’s strength wasn’t sufficient for that.
Fortunately, his main purpose today was just to refresh one slime entry in the kill atlas.
"Can we lure some out with bait?" Gauss recalled a previous mission where they first lured out six goblins and used traps to effortlessly complete the kill.
"I’m afraid not," Levin shook his head and explained immediately.
"Looking at these slimes’ bulging body states, it’s clear they’ve already eaten their fill. It’s hard to lure them out of their habitat at this time."
"Prepare for combat everyone! Stay safe."
Fortunately, slimes weren’t too strong opponents for their group.
Not being able to lure out some first to eliminate wasn’t a big issue, at most it meant exerting a little more effort.
"Oliver, Medvedeva, Gauss, prepare to make the first move," Levin called out to the three in the team with long-range capabilities.
The group slowly approached.
The slimes still hadn’t noticed them.
At about twenty meters away, they stopped.
Gauss exchanged a glance with Archer Oliver and Medvedeva, who was holding a one-handed crossbow.
Each began preparing themselves.
Gauss naturally prepared to launch a Magic Missile.
He would not miss any opportunity to practice Magic Missile in real combat.
Although this Spell was indeed the team’s trump card, if it’s kept unused for too long, his proficiency with the Spell would increase too slowly.
He locked his gaze on the muddy ground in the distance.
Two or three slimes were huddled together, constantly rubbing against each other.
It’s you!
Gauss, Oliver, and Medvedeva made a gesture, confirming their attacks wouldn’t overlap.
Draw the bow and nock an arrow!
Pull the trigger!
Gauss simultaneously raised the White Bone Staff.
The three struck together!
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Shush!"
Three sharp sounds cutting through the air!
The fastest was the Magic Missile.
Already fast, the missile received a further boost from the staff!
In a state of heightened focus where Gauss re-entered a sort of low-fidelity bullet time, the Magic Missile precisely targeted the moment when the three slimes were lined up together.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!!"
Three crisp blasts, the Magic Missile penetrated three cores in succession.
Finally, it fell into the mud, with mud and water exploding and splashing several meters away!
Two arrows whistled through the air, tearing the air with elongated afterimages, following the Magic Missile and eventually piercing into the bodies of two slimes, striking the cores about the size of ostrich eggs in the center.
"Splat!"
The slimes with pierced cores instantly melted, their slime merging with the muddy water.
Slime -5!
"Killed Slime*3"
"Total monster kills: 26!"
"Title acquired [Slime Hunter]; this title upgrades with the number of kills of this species."
"Current effect: Intimidation. After activating this ability, it can cause mental intimidation to slimes within a 3-meter radius and cause 0.5-1 second of control! This ability requires a cooldown period between uses."
"[Ordinary Monsters] collection type +1! Note: When the accumulated number reaches 5 types, you can randomly select one weakened version of an innate ability from these 5 types of monsters; the weaker the innate ability, the higher probability of selection."