Chapter 22
Tael was running around and looking around the area. What Tael is describing is true. The immediate area around us is a gra.s.sy field and in the distance there appears to be a small forest with rolling hills. Honestly speaking, this is the first time I've ever seen so much s.p.a.ce that hasn't been claimed by civilization before. The sight is impressive.
"Kenji can you hear me? It's super cool, right?"
"Y-yeah it's cool. Calm down. We've got a lot of walking ahead of us and I don't want you bowing out halfway."
"Fine fine. You're way too tense Kenji. We're just going to be going to slay goblins and stuff after all."
Instead of dignifying his dismissal with a response, I instead just let out a sigh. We continued to walk for a little while before I decided to say something. Despite my face feeling like it's about to burn off, I took a deep breath and spoke.
"Ahem… I-I'm a virgin..."
"Eh? What are you saying? Kenji I'm sorry man but I don't swing that way."
"I don't mean it like that you dunce! I just… We're going to be trusting one another with our lives so I feel like it's important if we share some personal information like that with one another."
"O-oh… I see."
Tael looked towards the ground for a moment before bringing his blus.h.i.+ng head up to face me.
"I-I am also a virgin! I've never had a girlfriend, b-but I prefer women with a big a.s.s over big b.o.o.bs! If I had to give an exact account I would say that I prefer a girl with a 4:6 ratio of b.o.o.bs to a.s.s!"
I nodded my head at his declaration.
"I personally prefer a 7:3 ratio, but I respect your preferences." I said as I gave a thumbs up.
"M-me too!" Tael said as he returned my thumbs up. I feel like we just formed a connection that is rarely shared between people.
After we had made this connection, I felt the slight tension between us dissipate as it turned into us being new friends on a stroll together. The late spring breeze is pleasant and the scenery is easy on the eyes. This strolling went on for a little while as nothing happened.
"Slurp… Slurp…"
I can hear a familiar noise.
"Kenji, what's that noise? It reminds me of something I heard in the guild hall once."
"Slurp… Slurp…"
I took a look around and
"I think it's coming from that. It looks like a slime from Dr***n Q***t."
"That thing's a dragon?"
"N-no I just said it was from it."
"So that's a slime, huh? I read about them in my books. They're pretty basic but they're acidic. Don't let them touch you if you can prevent it."
"Understood." I said as I began to draw my broadsword.
"Hey wait, didn't you hear me say that they're acidic? That thing might be able to melt steel."
"Eh?"
Now that I'm looking at it closely, the path that the slime has been moving on is completely devoid of gra.s.s. Has it been consuming the area around itself? I'm worried about what it would do to my skin if it came into contact with it.
"Step aside Kenji. This is where I come in!"
For the first time since I met him, Tael looked like he was actually reliable. Tael drew out a white wand from his robe and pointed it towards the slime. The wind began to dramatically make his robe flutter. I had to brace myself from the sudden gust.
"Hmph! Behold, the essence of magic! Weep at your weakness and bow before me, monster! Firebolt!"
A small magic circle appeared in front of Tael's wand and a small streak of fire spewed out towards the slime. Once the beam made contact with the slime, it split into several pieces.
"Alright! I just cast a spell and killed a monster! Kenji, did you see that? Wasn't that super cool?"
Despite the fact that what had just happened was actually fairly cool, I couldn't help but continue to watch the slime. Much to my dismay, something is wrong.
The slime pieces that had been blown apart were slowly bringing themselves back together.
"Hey… that thing isn't dead."
"Eh? That's not possible! I just hit it with my magic!"
"Do slimes actually die when you break them apart?"
"I don't know! Why wouldn't they?"
If this thing refuses to die then that will be a problem. Instead of waiting for it to reform, I instead put away my broadsword and pulled out my dagger as I approached the slime. Steel might melt, but I doubt adamant.i.te will.
"Cover me, Tael. If this thing looks like it's going to attack me I want you to firebolt it again."
"O-okay! Woah I'm being relied on, I'm so cool!"
Ignoring what I heard, I went towards the slime and examined it closely. The slime was rea.s.sembling itself around some darker object in its center. This object looks like a core of sorts.
"It looks like they have a core. I'm going to stab it. Be ready to firebolt it, alright?"
"Alright! Leave it to me!"
I readied my dagger and brought it to the core of the slime. With a plunging motion I stabbed my dagger into the center of the slimes core. My action seems to have destroyed its core as it quickly lost all of its congealing properties and instead turned into a simple green liquid once I did this.
"Woah! Kenji, we killed it!"
I have just killed my first monster. A slime. This isn't impressive enough to celebrate, but it is important enough to mark as a landmark in my road to defeating the demon king.
"Status." I said out loud. Tael quickly followed suit.
Kenji Fujima. Level 0
Strength: 20
Dexterity: 16
Const.i.tution: 18
Mana: 30
Magic Power: 1
Luck: 7
Experience: 4
I actually gained experience. Seeing that number go up, while small, is exhilarating.
"My experience went up!" I heard Tael also shout.
"How did you gain experience if I got the kill? How much did you get?"
"I got 6 experience points! Alright!"
Wait, why did he get more experience points than I did? I'm the one that killed the thing!
"At this rate I'll level up by the end of the day! Level 2 here we come!"
...I decided to not interrupt his fun.