Chapter 35: The Slime Mission

"Whaaaat?! What do you mean?! How did that happen?! I never heard that the Moonlit Sage took a disciple!"

Warren’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"If that’s the case, then I want to become Tempest Blade’s Igor’s disciple too!"

"Moonlit Sage? Tempest Blade’s Igor...?" Qiu Nuoya repeated, confused.

He had heard those names for the first time.

Qiu Nuoya tilted his head at the unfamiliar terms.

"You don’t know?!" Warren shouted. "How can you follow them around without even knowing who they are?!"

No, that was not how it happened.

Qiu Nuoya had not been the one following them around.

Besides, even if he did know who they were, that did not mean it would be acceptable to cling to them.

"Those two are the unbeatable golden duo around here! Viktor the Moonlit Sage and Igor the Tempest Blade! Everyone knows them!"

Warren continued excitedly. "People like us are just kids to them. Even my friends who became adventurers before me kept their distance because they thought those two would never pay attention to low rank adventurers like us. Yet somehow, you’re..."

Qiu Nuoya blinked his eyes.

Well, he had no idea.

And as for them supposedly not paying attention to people like him, that clearly was not true.

Whenever someone approached Viktor or Igor, they always responded normally.

They even shook hands with their admirers.

Every time that happened, Qiu Nuoya had thought, "So these two really are famous."

But he had never imagined they were admired to the point that lower rank adventurers viewed them almost like legendary figures.

"If you’re that curious, why don’t you just talk to them normally? Both of them are not scary at all."

"It’s not about whether they’re scary or not! Don’t you have any respect for other people?!"

Even if Warren said that, Viktor and Igor were no longer people Qiu Nuoya viewed as distant figures worthy of admiration.

To him, they were already roommates.

Almost like family.

"Then do you want me to introduce you to them?"

"Eh...?"

"Viktor is currently out of town for work, but I can introduce you to Igor anytime. Ah, actually, maybe we could all have a meal together sometime!"

"Wait, wait, wait! Don’t just decide that on your own!"

Warren suddenly became flustered.

Did he want to meet them or not?

"You... What are you?"

Warren looked at him with a complicated expression.

"I’ve done nothing but bother you until now..."

"Bother me?"

When Qiu Nuoya tilted his head in confusion, Warren let out a deep sigh. "Forget it. But introducing me to Tempest Blade is definitely happening, okay?"

"Sure. Do you want to meet him today?"

"Uh..."

Warren hesitated.

"Give me some time to mentally prepare!"

Qiu Nuoya did not think there was any reason to be so nervous.

However, since Warren said he could not do it immediately, they decided to arrange the meeting for another day.

Igor probably had his own schedule as well.

Qiu Nuoya decided that he would ask Igor about his plans tonight.

...

A few days had passed since Qiu Nuoya began interacting with Warren.

Today, for the first time, Qiu Nuoya accepted a mission to defeat slimes.

He had heard that leather armor was essential equipment for fighting slimes, so when he told Warren that he could not accept the mission until he bought a set, Warren offered to give him his old one.

"Actually, why do you even need leather armor for slimes? Can’t you just defeat them quickly before they attack? Those guys run away the moment they’re attacked. The only people who get caught by them are the ones who are ridiculously slow. Besides, you’re a mage, right? Just defeat them without getting close."

"....."

Qiu Nuoya had no response.

It was too logical.

The more he learned about slimes, the more he realized Warren was right.

Slimes were weak and timid creatures by nature.

Apparently, it was extremely rare for them to actually attack people.

The first time Qiu Nuoya had been attacked was probably just the slime’s desperate attempt at revenge because it thought its companion had been taken away.

And Qiu Nuoya had simply been an ignorant child who had no way to defend himself.

Besides, a slime’s attack was not something that could take a person’s life.

It only dissolved the fibers of clothing.

Igor had told him that leather armor was necessary, but that was only because he believed someone with no knowledge of slimes needed it.

The truth was, Qiu Nuoya had already understood this.

And because he understood, he had avoided accepting slime extermination missions until now.

To increase his adventurer rank, he needed to complete both gathering missions and extermination missions at least once.

However, the reason Qiu Nuoya had refused to accept a slime extermination mission until now was because, somewhere in his heart, he did not want to kill them.

If he had been attacked without reason, he could fight back.

But attacking an opponent that showed no hostility made him uncomfortable.

However, if the slime population increased too much, all the grass in this field would eventually be eaten.

To prevent that from happening, slime extermination was necessary.

"All right!"

Qiu Nuoya gathered his resolve and looked toward the slimes.

Just like always, the slimes were bouncing around him happily.

"...Ugh."

"Why are you making such a pathetic face?"

"Because, look at them! Aren’t they cute?! They are not doing anything bad. They just eat a little too much. Do we really have to kill them?"

Even though Qiu Nuoya had gathered his resolve and confronted the slimes, he still could not bring himself to attack the innocent creatures bouncing around happily.

To prove completion of a slime extermination mission, he needed to collect the cores left behind after defeating them and submit them to the guild.

If he failed to collect the cores, the mission would be considered a failure, and apparently there would even be a penalty fee.

"Even so, you have to complete an extermination mission at least once if you want to raise your adventurer rank. And the only extermination request available to Rank G Adventurers is basically slimes. Just go for it!"