Chương 31: Chapter 17 - Slug Killing Spree

Evan spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the village of Silvercreek, but quickly found there wasn't much to explore. Beyond the handful of shops in the village center, there was nothing there worth a visit. When the sun started setting, he returned to the smithy with the intention of offering to accompany Maya home. It was only a twenty-minute walk back to the Detreyo farm, but this world did have monsters, and Evan had magical fighting skill that Maya did not have.

Oliver's sister was still working when he arrived, polishing a knife under the watchful eyes of Luther the smith.

"Good work, Maya," the bulky man said.

"Very good." Evan watched as Maya held the knife up, inspecting her own work. The firelight from the smithy behind her reflected in the blade.

"Wow," he said as he walked into the smithy.

"This looks really awesome, Maya." She paused the examination of her knife to look at him.

"You think? I make half a dozen of those things every month. Out here, surrounded by forest and wilderness, people are always in need of a good knife."

"Is it up for sale?" A knife was the last item left on his shopping list. He needed it both as a utility item and as a secondary weapon in case he ever got into close-range combat… or if he accidentally dropped his sword again.

"Sure. Can you afford it?"

"How much are you asking?"

"Hmm… how about 50 mana stones? Special promotion price because you saved my brother's butt."

"Deal!" Evan said with a grin. Luther, who'd listened in on their conversation, nodded.

"Good choice, young man. Maya here produces excellent handiwork. You won't be disappointed with your purchase. Do you need a sheath for it as well? I can sell you one for an extra 10 mana stones."

"I'll take it. Thank you, Luther." The smith retrieved a simple leather sheath that could be attached to a belt and took Evan's 60 stones in return. It put a dent in his savings, but Evan felt the knife was well worth the price.

"Do you want me to accompany you back home?" he asked Maya as she hung her leather apron back on the wall hook and wiped her hands with a cloth rag. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Very gentlemanly, but I don't really need an escort."

"I'd like to come along anyway, if you don't mind." She still had a skeptical expression on her face.

"You want to talk to my brother, hm?"

"Yeah," Evan admitted.

"I have a… proposition." She flashed him a smile, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I have a feeling my father wouldn't like that proposition."

"I'm certain he wouldn't. But I have to try it. For Oliver's sake." Maya raised her hands in defense.

"It's not me you have to convince, Evan. Of course you can come along." Evan and Maya made their way back to the Detreyo farm in silence. Evan had an inkling she already knew what he was going to suggest to Oliver, but she didn't ask and he didn't offer any additional details. He didn't want to get her into trouble with her father by dragging her deeper into it than necessary. To his relief, Oliver was still outside, drawing water from a well next to the house.

He looked grimy and exhausted, but when he spotted Evan, a grin lit up his face.

"I didn't expect you to come back here after your first encounter with my father. Sorry about his rudeness. I wish I could say he isn't always like this, but he is always like this." Evan glanced at the farmhouse, watching Maya walk up the sandy path leading to the front door, and making sure Oliver's father was not in sight. He took a deep breath.

"I'm going to Stormhaven with Alexandra the day after tomorrow." Oliver pulled the water bucket out of the well and set it down on the ground with a long sigh.

"I see. Makes sense, I guess. I'm just sorry to see you go. Fighting monsters alongside you was a lot of fun."

"Then come with us." He let out a laugh.

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm serious, Oliver. You're a grown man. Your father can't stop you if you want to leave." Evan knew it was a long shot, but he had managed to convince Oliver to use that second sword gem instead of leaving the skill slot open for a gem his father approved of, so maybe there was a chance. A mix of emotions crossed Oliver's face. Longing, excitement, but also guilt and fear.

"Man, I wish it were that easy, but I can't. I'm the oldest son. I have responsibilities. I can't just drop everything here just because I want to have fun adventures." His words struck Evan at a fundamental level. It was like he'd just listened to a recording of himself. How many times had he said words almost exactly like this? To his mother? His brother? Leah? His friends? They'd all told him to drop his responsibilities and "have fun" or "live his own life" or "enjoy his youth."

Somewhere deep inside him, something shifted ever so slightly, but the shift made him feel uncomfortable. Unsteady. He brushed the feeling away. This was different. He couldn't compare his father's medical needs to working on a farm. And unlike Evan, Oliver had six siblings who were around to take over his duties. His younger brother, Felix was more than willing to take care of the farm. He wanted to! There was no reason it had to be Oliver. Evan told his friend exactly that, but Oliver just shook his head.

"I wish I could… but I can't. My father would be furious. He would never allow me back home if I left without his permission."

"There's nothing I can say to convince you?" Oliver bit his lip, staring at the bucket in his hands in silence for a long moment. But then he shook his head. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Evan returned to the inn in a sour mood. The conversation with Oliver had upset him more than he'd expected, despite already anticipating Oliver would refuse the call to adventure.

He struggled to fall asleep that night, despite the fact that the bed in his small rental room was much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor at the Detreyo farm. When he woke up with the first rays of sunshine the next morning, he decided to chase away his gloomy mood with a hearty breakfast and some excitement. The breakfast part was easy. He asked, and Reynold delivered. Evan asked for the price, but the innkeeper refused his mana stones and told him it was included in the room's rent.

After some scrambled eggs that tasted delicious and another cup of Mari juice, he turned his attention to the second part of his plan to lighten his mood.

"Reynold, if a man wanted to hunt some low rank monster, where would he go?" Reynold looked surprised, eyeing Evan from head to toe as if he was seeing him in an entirely new light.

"You want to hunt monsters?"

"I do. I recently came into possession of an affinity crystal and some gems, and I want to train."

"An affinity crystal, huh? Lucky you." He grinned.

"If it's monsters you're after, Silvercreek has more than enough of those. Just head into the forest in any direction and you'll find some."

"Thank you."

"Just be careful out there. Most of our monsters are rank 1 but you might find the occasional rank 2 monster if you venture deep enough into the forest. Oh, and better stay away from the ruins up in the mountains. Old Francis told me he spotted a Mud Golem roaming around there." Evan smiled away the warning and headed out. For a moment he considered going to Agatha's hut first to ask Alexandra if she would join him, but then decided against it.

If he wanted to prevail in this world, he needed to learn how to fend for himself. He wouldn't always be able to rely on a guide. The training wheels had to come off. And Alex probably had better things to do than train with a guy ten ranks her junior. He left the village and went north, following a dirt road leading past more fields. After walking for about half an hour, the pastoral farmland made room for dense forest. The road was still there, winding between the trees, but narrower and bumpy.

Evan followed it for a while, sword in hand, but encountered no monsters. Maybe he would have more luck if he ventured off the beaten path? Eager to kill some monsters and earn some of those mana stones back he'd spent during his shopping spree, he went off the road and deeper into the forest. He cut through the thick underbrush, ducked under low-hanging branches, and climbed over fallen trees until he finally found something that looked like it might be a monster.

A big slug-like creature was making its way up a tree. It was bright green and the size of a wiener dog, but Evan wasn't certain if it was really a monster or just ordinary wildlife native to this world. Just as he was contemplating the thought, his interface decided to help him along by showing the slug's stats hovering above its body. [Woodland Slug - Rank 1] Evan grinned. He wasn't a trained fighter, but he felt confident he could deal with a slug.

"Sorry, buddy, I know you're just going about your day here, but I have to think about my financial situation. And you are draining mana, aren't you?" Evan took out his sword and poked it right through the slug's soft body. [You have killed Woodland Slug] [You have earned 3 experience points] [You have looted 4 mana stones] His moment of triumph was ruined when the slug exploded in a splurge of bright green liquid. It got all over Evan, drenching his clothes and splashing into his face.

"Ouch! Damn it!" Evan cursed, trying to wipe the stuff off. It burned like hell wherever it touched his bare skin. Even after removing the worst of it, the stinging sensation continued. He checked his health bar and noticed it had dropped several points.

"Did you spray me with some kind of acid?" he asked the burst-open carcass of the slug. He got no answer from the dead monster, but thankfully the burning sensation started to fade as his magically enhanced body activated its healing powers. With the pain gone, Evan took another look at the dead slug. He should've expected something like this. It was a monster after all; of course it was dangerous, even if it looked unthreatening.

If he'd known beforehand the thing would explode into acidic slime, he would've teleported away. The thought gave him pause. If he could find more of them, he could practice his [Teleport] skill. The slug acid was painful, but not seriously harmful. A perfect opportunity to give his skill a workout and work on his timing. With that plan in mind, he continued his way deeper into the forest. He didn't have to walk far to find another slug. The trees were practically crawling with them.

Evan picked out an extra fat individual and readied himself. He swung his sword and sliced the slug in two halves, before immediately activating [Teleport] to move out of harm's way. He was too slow and got another face full of green, burning slime. After wiping himself clean with the sleeve of his tunic, he went hunting for more slugs, determined to get it right this time. He needed three more attempts until he nailed the timing.

A slash with his sword, a quick [Teleport], and the slug exploded harmlessly several feet away from him. [+1 Speed] Evan pumped his fists.

"Hell yeah! I'm getting the hang of this!" It was just a dachshund-sized slug, but it was a start. The first step toward becoming a monster hunter. Wait, becoming a monster hunter? The thought had crossed his mind before, but he hadn't outright admitted to himself that that was what he wanted to do. His end goal was still returning to his own world, but from everything he'd learned so far, that could take years, and he needed a way to make a living in the meantime. Maybe hunting monsters was the way to go for him.

Hadn't Oliver mentioned there was a guild exclusively for monster hunters? Maybe he could join them when he got to Stormhaven. He filed the idea away for later. It was probably a good idea to check out more potential career paths before he made a decision. Crafting was off the table. He had zero talent in that regard. With a shudder, he remembered the abomination of a Christmas card he'd made for his mother in second grade.

It was supposed to show a snowman under a tree, made from macaroni, but the end result was more reminiscent of a white van that had been exploded by a pipe bomb. Nope, crafting was not his path. Oliver had mentioned explorers. That sounded fun. He'd also said something about a Guardian Guild. Evan wasn't sure what exactly a guardian's job description entailed, but he would find out. Extra motivated, he returned to his mission to slay slugs.

He managed to kill three more, completely avoiding getting sprayed with slime, before he started to get bored. His arms felt tired from swinging the sword, and his stomach grumbled from hunger, yearning for a hearty meal from innkeeper Reynold. But before he could return to the village, he needed to clean his clothes. People in Silvercreek were already watching him closely. He didn't want to walk through the streets covered head to toe in green slug goo.

He sheathed his sword and opened the map in his interface, looking for the shortest route to the river he and Oliver had passed on their way to Silvercreek. It wasn't very far away and in the same direction he would have to take to return to the inn. Looking forward to cleaning the remains of the slug slime off his body and clothes, he set off, trudging through the forest while checking his map intermittently to make sure he was still on the right path.

Finally, the dense forest receded, and the river became visible between the trees. Evan walked up to the riverbank and dunked his hands into the shallow water, splashing some of it into his face and hair. After he'd cleaned his skin, he stripped off his clothes. The sun was high in the sky, and it was more than warm enough to be comfortable in his undressed state. He submerged the dirty clothes in the water and rubbed at the stains until the green goo came out.

He felt a bit miffed about ruining his new clothes like this, just one day after buying them, but monster hunting was probably not a very clean profession, so mishaps like this one were to be expected. After his clothes were reasonably clean again, Evan wrung them out and draped them over a nearby stone so they could dry in the sun He refilled his waterskin with river water.

On Earth he would never have risked drinking water from a river he knew nothing about, but if this water gave him cholera, he could always get rid of it with a health potion. At least he hoped he could. Refilled waterskin in hand, he lay down by the river, resting in the soft green grass and listening to the gurgling water while the sun warmed his skin. He kept an eye on his recovering health and mana bar, but wasn't fretting over either of them. He considered his training done for the day.

His successful slug-killing spree had earned him 22 mana stones, one point in Speed, and it had brought him a little bit closer to rank 3, so he deserved some rest. Sipping cool water and enjoying the sun, Evan was feeling pretty good about himself and the strange new world he'd found himself in. If not for the gnawing hunger, he might have dozed off. The rumbling of his stomach kept him awake, though, and alert enough to notice the sudden movement coming from the river, just in time to save his life.