The Wizard and the Slime Dungeon (2)
The Wizard and the Slime Dungeon (2)
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But... these guys. Their outfits were no joke. The warrior wore light armor that exposed her navel, and the wizard had an off-shoulder top that bared her shoulders completely.
But the biggest surprise was the priest. Unlike the loose, unrevealing robes Reni or Kate wore, her vestments had a long slit up the leg so her legs were fully visible. And the sleeves were practically nonexistent.
W-wait, one wrong move and I'd see her armpits and panties. They'd said they were from West Keep, and their outfits really were different!
"Ah..."
"What's wrong?"
Reni let out a lament with a regretful face. Her gaze was fixed on the priest's face.
"It's a familiar face. How did it come to this..."
"You know her?"
"Yes. She trained under Priestess Kate alongside me. Poor thing..."
So that was how it was. I stole a glance at Reni's face, just in case, but she didn't look as dark as she used to back when she had no Divine Power. That was a relief.
I needed to memorize that priestess's outfit and think about putting Reni in something similar. Did priestesses who worked with adventurers in large cities wear more practical clothing like this? Especially that slit climbing her thigh...
"Yoo-jin? Would you get out the canteen and a blanket? I don't think we can leave these people in this state."
Reni's voice, slightly cool, abruptly cut off my musings.
"Right. We'll look after them, so go investigate."
Reni and Yuri wore composed expressions. They looked eager to take on the difficult work themselves.
"..."
...Yeah, no. It felt exactly like they were trying to push me out of the scene. Like a man was in the way.
I was curious about what happens to someone who gets hit by an Aphrodisiac Slime too. An Aphrodisiac Slime...
"Yoo-jin?"
"Ah, fine..."
An Aphrodisiac Slime... an Aphrodisiac Slime, huh. Come to think of it, there were only three adventurers inside the dungeon. Didn't they say that wizard was here? Where the hell did he go? Did the wizard get hit by an Aphrodisiac Slime too?
Leaving the two of them behind as they practically turned their backs to hide me from view, I looked around the cave.
...
The sights of the cave I'd missed earlier because I was distracted by the adventurers now caught my eye.
Judging by the bedding and the traces of a campfire, they'd been staying here for quite a while. There was a table and research flasks that they'd somehow managed to bring in.
They really had everything. They'd been eating and living inside the dungeon, not just outside it. No, at this point, they'd practically set up house.
But even the campfire seemed like it had been a long time ago. Just where had that wizard gone?
As I looked around, I spotted a journal on the table. It must have been the wizard's journal. There might be a clue here.
The title was written in a stylish script. Let's see here.
[Research Journal of Rymer Holstein]
[~On Slimes and Their Potential~]
[...I was able to enter without being attacked by slimes by mimicking the dungeon's mana wavelengths. This was possible because the Mountain Range Dungeon's wavelengths are simpler than those of West Keep's dungeon...]
...The first paragraph alone had an ominous vibe. That bone freak from Riverbridge... he'd followed a similar pattern, hadn't he? Was that wizard guy hiding somewhere around here? I checked the minimap but found nothing unusual. Still, just in case.
"Yuri!"
"Yeah?"
"Do you both need to be over there?"
"Hm? No?"
"Then check the perimeter for me. I think I need to look into this."
"Okay. Got it."
Just in case, I set Yuri as a lookout. Then I read the rest of the journal.
[...Slimes are unique lifeforms. As long as they have sufficient mana, they can recover from any wound. No, the very term "wound" is inappropriate. They merely scatter, and over time, they recombine. There is no way to completely kill a dungeon slime. I verified it with my own eyes, and it's wondrous...]
Interesting stuff. Was their short respawn time due to this trait of slimes?
[...It is a well-known fact that monsters from external dungeons consume only mana. Slimes are the same. They may swallow prey, but that is not to ingest nutrients—it is merely an act of aggression...]
Right. The guess I'd made back when we cleared the Goblin Dungeon was written out just like that. But it was a well-known fact, huh. Was this common knowledge? Well, if even I could guess it not long after falling into this other world, a local would naturally know.
[...Therefore, if the acidity is removed, it is also possible to keep prey in a fresh state. Using this, it would be possible to keep magical ingredients fresh...]
[...I did it! I succeeded in removing the slime's acidity! Once the acidity was removed, the slime's aggression vanished as well...]
Huh. No wonder the slimes didn't attack and didn't seem to dissolve anything. So this wizard had done that sort of work. Nice. Made my trip comfortable.
[...Word came from the Magic Tower. Meddlesome bastards. They're making a racket demanding I submit my results. I did borrow money from those bastards, but after all the research I've delivered to them... they still...]
[...That damned Elf Family's commission arrived. Can I perform healing with slimes? What are they thinking... It's written in polite language, but it's clearly a threat. They're telling me if I don't produce results, they'll cut my research funding. I have no choice. Even if it delays my research, I have to give those bastards what they want...]
...So this guy was just a contractor being jerked around for money too.
[...I fed a healing potion to a slime. Now it's time to test it. I wounded my own body and placed the Healing Slime on it. It seems more effective than a simple healing potion...]
[...But monsters from external dungeons feed on the dungeon's mana. If it's only usable inside the dungeon, it's useless. The Elf Family's commission clearly asked to bring it outside the dungeon...]
[...Using the Familiar Spell Formula to export slimes out of the dungeon... slimes born while the spell formula is active, like this...]
I skimmed through, but I couldn't find any mention of where this wizard had gone. But never mind that—you can take slimes outside? This guy's got some dangerous ideas. Let's see. Next...
[...But the texture of this slime...]
"Yoo-jin!"
"Yeah?"
"L-look at this!"
Yuri suddenly called out to me, pointing at something.
"A bed?"
"No, not the bed. Come over here and look."
I followed where Yuri was pointing... and between the bed and the wall was a skeleton.
"...I guess this is the wizard we were looking for."
"Looks like it... kind of pitiful..."
"You're scared of ghosts, but this doesn't scare you?"
"...When was I?"
"..."
"Hik?! S-stop it! Stop it! Hik!"
See that. I tickled her a little with my Invisible Hand and she surrendered immediately. If she couldn't hold out against this much, why even put up the bravado?
"Haa... haa... I-I've seen them at the Arena. Skeleton-type undead. They were nothing much."
"...You weren't the one fighting them."
"But undead like that are just small fry. At the beginning, they only appear in groups to get beaten up!"
There she went again, bragging and showing off useless knowledge.
The moment the monsters disappeared, Yuri switched to talking-nonsense mode. Listening to this girl would never end. I should get my own work done.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
"What do you think? I'm collecting the remains. I can't leave him like this. Once I have recovered them, I'll contact the Magic Tower."
"Ah..."
Yuri let out a small sound, apparently having failed to think of that, then shrank into herself. Was it respect for the dead? That wasn't why I was recovering him.
"That's how we get paid, isn't it?"
"...Whoa..."
Ignoring Yuri's disgusted groan, I wrapped the skeleton in a blanket and tucked it into a corner of my inventory. Maybe because we'd cleared the Skeleton Dungeon in Riverbridge, I didn't feel anything now looking at a skeleton like this. Well, I'd seen skeletons practically every day for a whole week there, so I couldn't help but get used to it.
I supposed if any flesh had been left, I would've felt a bit queasy, but somehow there was only bare bone. In that case, there was nothing much to be scared of. A skeleton that moves and attacks is way scarier.
"..."
Right. I'd more or less taken care of the corpse. Now it was time to search the bed.
"Wh-why there too?"
"Why do you think. I have to find proof. Proof of identity. And while I'm at it, pick up anything that's worth money."
"...Whoooa..."
This girl kept making irritating noises. She had no idea how hard I was working and for whose sake!
I left Yuri alone and silently kept doing my work. And sure enough.
"Look at this."
"Whoa...!"
The pouch I'd found was packed full of small magic stones. None of them looked like they were worth much individually, but with that many of them... Mm. This would bring in a decent amount of money.
"See, if you work hard, the rewards come back to you. You've got to live diligently."
"...H-honestly, this is kind of like looting a corpse..."
"Tch! I could've just left all this and only reported it! It's only natural to take at least this much! The deceased would understand!"
"Urk..."
This girl was putting on airs in the weirdest place. After she'd been throwing money around like crazy in West Keep!
"Yoo-jin!"
I followed Reni's call, and the violated adventurers were sitting up as if they'd regained consciousness.
"Urgh... my head..."
The wizard and priestess were sitting up but still dazed. Only the warrior could barely speak.
"Are you coming to? Can you stand?"
"Ah... yes..."
The other two barely nodded. After Reni cast Cure on them, the trio somehow managed to stand.
"Let's get out for now."
...
Even after we stepped outside the dungeon, the trio looked too overwhelmed to spare a word of thanks or anything else. Well, they'd just been thoroughly wrecked by slimes—it'd be stranger if they could speak properly right now.
We needed to get them back to the village quickly, but... I had unfinished business.
"Want to head back to the village first? I've got something to do here for a moment."
"Why? What for?"
"There's something I'm a bit curious about. I'll let you know when I get back."
"Why not just come back with us..."
Yuri grumbled, sounding baffled. Reni also shot me a slightly displeased look. I pulled them both close and whispered.
"Look at the state those people are in. If I'm there, it'll just make things more awkward. Take them back first and, you know... let them wash up or something."
"W-well, that's true..."
"Reni. You said it was a familiar face, right? Um... have a good talk with her. I honestly have no idea what to say."
"Ah... yes..."
The two nodded and left, dragging the still-dazed trio with them.
"See you later!"
"Yeah!" "Yes!"
Well, I'd told them that, but it wasn't just for that reason. Let's see here...
[Dungeon #7816]
[Type: Slime / Amorphous]
[Until Respawn: 01:55:29]
It would take a little while.
I stepped back inside the dungeon. And then...
...
[Registration of Familiar 「Slime」 is complete.]
[Registration of Familiar 「Healing Slime」 is complete.]
[Registration of Familiar 「Aphrodisiac Slime」 is complete.]
Good. Time to go, then.
A lecherous grin spread across my face as I funneled the slimes into their flasks.