Blade showed me a carpentry skill that allowed the user’s hand to function as various woodworking tools. For instance, making a sawing motion with the hand would let it cut like a saw, and using a fist like a hammer gave it the power of an actual hammer. He could use his fingers like the claw of a hammer to yank out any nails stuck in the scrap lumber, then straighten those out with his hand to repurpose them, though nails that were too bent required a smithing skill in order to straighten out.
“I bet you could make a good living as a carpenter with skills like this,” I commented.
“Funny you say that, because I actually hail from a long line of carpenters. My older brother’s currently running the business.” He bent a ruined nail in the opposite direction to straighten it, this time using his own strength. It was still a little crooked, but it was usable now. I continued to watch as he fashioned the scrap wood into a simple shield.
“As you can see, as long as they have a few good, flat planks, anyone can make a shield. Even a complete beginner can tie wood together with a string. Here, take it.”
“’Preciate it.” Now that I’ve seen the entire process, it looks like I can just use spatial magic in lieu of carpentry skills. Obviously I can use magic to sever the wood, but I don’t think I’d need nails either—I should be able to glue the wood together by combining pockets of space instead. I’m still working with wood, so I can get away with calling it a woodworking skill, right?
“Still, is it really okay to just take the wood in this shed?”
“Oh yeah, no problem there. Just don’t use too much of it. It’s the guild’s emergency stock, and it’s meant for adventurers with no money to their name—like us right now, for instance. But we’ve got to save some for others who might be in need.”
“Huh, okay.”
“Wood this clean can easily be recycled and repurposed. In fact, this wood’s so good that it’d fetch serious coin at a scrap shop. Otherwise the guild wouldn’t have gone out of the way to build a shed with a roof to preserve it.”
Wow, the Adventurer’s Guild sounds a lot more generous to newcomers than I would’ve expected.
“Wait, if you’re giving this shield to a newbie like me, what are you going to use?”
“That’s only a beginner’s shield, so it’s no big deal. Besides, I don’t need a shield. As long as I’ve got this, I’m good.” He selected a piece of easily holdable wood shaped like a pole. “You’ve got a shield, and I’ve got a pole. We should be equipped enough to hunt some slimes now. Follow me, Karina—we’re headed to the Slime Forest.”
“Yessir!”
Now humbly equipped, Blade and I headed out of the town.
The Slime Forest was only a short walk from the town, and slimes were the only monsters there, making it the perfect place for novices to hunt.
“Don’t let your guard down, Karina. Slimes might be the only monsters in the area, but they’re all over the place. If you get surrounded by a group of over three, get out of there immediately or you won’t make it.”
“Yessir! I’ll be careful!”
“Good response, full of spirit! You’ll be a fine adventurer yet, I know it!”
Is that his catchphrase or something?
“Now then, it’s easy to hunt slimes even with wooden weapons and armor. That makes them perfect targets for beginners. But they can still be dangerous if you’re not careful.”
According to Blade, it was important to keep your gear maintained after every hunt, even if it was just hunting slimes. If the gear was trashed beyond repair, it was best to toss it rather than attempt to use it on the next hunt.
“In your case, the best way to hunt slimes is to wait for them to attack and block with your shield. Then, once they’re stuck to your shield, punch ’em with your fist, and you’re done. Easy, right? Just be careful—you won’t finish them if you don’t hit their cores, so aim carefully.”
“And in your case?”
“Just dodge their attack, then punch them. Or you can punch them without waiting for them to attack. Either way, I won’t deny using a shield is the safer option.”
Apparently, Blade was the type to prefer the “unsafe” option.
“Also, I know it’s tempting, but don’t try to mimic what I’m about to do here. Of course, it’d be great if you could pull it off, but as a newbie, it’s best to play it safe and take as few risks as possible.”
“Huh? What are you gonna do?”
“Well, that’s— Oh, look, here’s our first target now.”
A wild slime had appeared, about the size of a stump and resembling a water manju. Its round core was floating in its center, clearly visible.
Blade aimed his wooden pole at the slime’s core and thrust it forward. Just before the pole entered the slime’s insides, he reduced the force of his thrust for a clean entrance. Then, once inside, he reapplied force, piercing through the other side and pushing the slime’s core out of its body. The intact core rolled onto the ground, and after a single shudder, the slime melted into a puddle.
“And that’s how it’s done.”
“Wow! Nice work, Blade!”
“Heh heh, it was nothing. But just keep in mind that the core will return to the slime if you leave it on the ground too long, so you’ll want to deliver these within the day.”
Apparently slime cores were quite valuable, even damaged ones. They could serve as nutrition for scavenger slimes or be recycled to create a new slime. However, the intact ones sold for a lot more.
“I gotta pay Haru back, after all, so I need the core intact. But be careful—if your thrust isn’t executed well, the slime can absorb your weapon. So I’d recommend sticking to the shield method for now, just to be safe.”
“Yessir. Oh, actually...” Couldn’t I just pop the core right out with spatial magic? Or if I was supposed to be a wind magic user, maybe it’d be best to blow the slime away as if it was being carried by the wind?
“Hey, can I try using my magic on one?”
“Sure, go ahead. Today’s a good day to experiment, since you’ve got me here to help you out.”
“Thanks.”
I tried using magic on the next slime that appeared. First, I used spatial magic to capture the entire slime except for its core. Then I slid the rest of the slime to the side while modifying its shape, making it look as though a gust of wind had blown it apart!
“Burst!” I shouted as the aqueous part of the slime splattered into pieces. The core dropped to the ground, perfectly intact. Success!
“Wow, it actually worked!”
“Whoa, way to go. You didn’t even need a weapon. If you can manage that, you’ll make enough to register for the guild in no time.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to charge the spell if you weren’t watching the area for me, though.”
“Oh, you realized that, did you? You’re awfully sharp. Yep, you’ll make a fine adventurer yet.”
We continued hunting slimes, and by the end we had five (completely intact) slime cores.
Once the hunt was over, we returned to the Adventurer’s Guild. Blade laid five slime cores on the counter.
“Yo, Sophie! Special delivery. Karina got all these herself.”
“Are you sure you didn’t get them for her?”
“Nope, she was seriously amazing. Her magic’s something else. Those slimes just went woosh!”
“I see. Then she didn’t have any problems. I’m glad to hear that.”
Blade backed me up, saying that I’d recovered those slime cores intact all on my own. Thanks, bud! Although your description could’ve used some work. Miss Receptionist must have trusted Blade a lot to have accepted a statement like that without question.
Since the slime cores were all unharmed, my share of the reward came out to eight large coppers, which I immediately spent to register with the guild.
“Congratulations, Miss Karina,” the receptionist said. “Here’s your official adventurer’s license. You’re now Rank F.”
At last, my coveted adventurer’s license! Look out, world—Karina’s an official adventurer now! Sure, F rank is still considered novice-level, but I have an official ID now! I don’t have to deceive people anymore by hypnotizing them with the Goddess’s item!
“Welp, I’m gonna go pay Haru what I owe her,” Blade said. “See ya later, Karina!”
“Yessir! Thanks for all your help! Hope we can work together again soon!”
“Sure!” he said with a chuckle. “Maybe you can treat me to a round with your own money next time!”
He walked away with a wave, clearly trying to act cool. Still, I bowed my head in gratitude. He’d really been a huge help—he’d even shown me how carpentry skills worked. But most importantly, he’d introduced me to a beautiful fox lady! I’ve got to save up as quickly as I can so I can see her again. Maybe even as early as tonight, if I’m lucky!
“You know, if Blade wasn’t such an irresponsible drunkard, he might be decent,” Sophie the receptionist commented.