I knew the smart way to approach this would be to do my research first and come up with an informed strategy for how to tackle the sludge slime, but if I’d wanted to spend that much time on a quest, I would’ve taken one of the non-location-specific ones.
I wasn’t going to go in thinking it would be a breeze or anything, but I decided I’d stick to my usual monster-hunting strategy and hope for the best.
After checking Mizzuria River’s location on a map, I headed out and left Realzahd. From there, I just had to walk south for a bit until I spotted a big river.
That must be Mizzuria River. If I keep following it downstream, I’ll probably run into a sludge slime, I thought.
It was a pretty big river, so I had a feeling I’d find more than one. In fact, there would probably be some other monsters hiding out here too.
As I walked along the bank, on high alert, I eventually noticed a bunch of bug-like monsters squirming along the edge of the water.
They looked like they were swarming around a corpse. Whatever it was, they were clearly having a feast.
I had a feeling there were probably some quests that required you to hunt them down, but I was no match for monsters like these.
Humanoid enemies were no problem for me, but I had no idea how to slay tiny monsters in a swarm like that. Sure, you could probably take them out easily with a blunt weapon or some kind of skill or magic, but trying to kill them off one by one with a sword seemed ill-advised.
Now that I could accept bronze-level quests, I’d have to be careful to scrutinize my options and carefully consider which ones would play to my strengths.
As I watched the swarming bug monsters out of the corner of my eye, I gained a renewed appreciation for the importance of good intel.
After walking for about twenty more minutes farther down the bank, I came across a dark, muddy ball of water that seemed to be wriggling around just where the river split off into a tributary stream.
Its shape was so amorphous that it was hard to tell from just a glance that it was even a living creature, but I quickly realized that it was probably one of the sludge slimes I was looking for.
Slimes were distinctive for the oozing liquid that covered their core, which they typically weaponized by flinging it at their enemies.
Based on what I could see of the sludge slime, the liquid that surrounded its core was apparently...sludge.
Mizzuria River was kind of gross, owing to its function as a sewerage system, but this sludge slime was like a concentrated ball of all of the grossest stuff in the river.
I was still pretty far away, but it stank so badly that I could already smell it. I thought I might hurl.
I’d assumed that the bubble wisp was an undead monster without any solid form, so based purely on practicality, I’d settled on this sludge slime quest. I was really starting to regret that choice, though...
Even if I could slay the sludge slime handily, it would probably be impossible to completely dodge all of its attacks. It was starting to dawn on me that there was a very real chance I’d have to return to Realzahd smelling like sewage.
Worst-case scenario, the stench might cling to my weapon and armor so badly that I’d have no choice but to ditch them. The thought of just turning around and getting the hell out was starting to feel more and more tempting.
Unfortunately, though, there was a big penalty for failing quests. And when I pictured having to go home tonight empty-handed, I couldn’t bring myself to leave without finishing the job.
“Whew...”
After steeling myself with a big sigh, I started walking over to the sludge slime.
The round monster was just bobbing around. It was impossible to tell its head from its rear, which meant launching a surprise attack was out of the question. My only choice was to tackle it straight on.
The closer I got to it, the stronger the stench became. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, but I didn’t let it distract me as I unsheathed my sword and positioned myself to attack.
The sludge slime must have noticed me approaching, because it rose out of the river and crawled up onto the bank, making its way slowly toward me.
Now that I was seeing it up close, I realized it was big. It was roughly my height, actually.
The sludge surrounding its core was changing color to a dark purple, but I could see through the sludge to the core itself, which was pitch-black.
When the core moved, the sludge around it clung on as if following it, but whenever the core stood still, the sludge concentrated around it, practically burying it. I knew my best chance of striking the core successfully would be to time my attack for when it was moving forward.
I resigned myself to the possibility of getting sludged if I couldn’t find a spot on the core to attack, but if I could, then my plan was to try to take it out in one strike.
After preparing myself for the worst, I waited for my chance as it approached.
Three... Two... One...
As the sludge slime moved forward, entering my range, I stabbed directly into it with as much force as I could muster.
It was a flawless strike. The moment my body began to move, I felt sure of that.
And yet...
There must have been something solid mixed into the sludge, because the tip of my sword seemed to have just barely failed to pierce the core.
I’d felt it make contact, but it hadn’t been enough to destroy it. I immediately withdrew my sword from the sludge and began planning a retreat.
The sludge slime came after me, shaking its body and sending sludge flying. I was so high on adrenaline from my desperation to survive that I somehow managed to avoid it.
I realized I wouldn’t be able to time another attack like the last one, so I grabbed my sword-wielding arm with my other arm and forced it to make another strike, damn the consequences.
The core was completely engulfed in a globular cloak of sludge, but I managed to push through and stab it.
This strike was significantly more difficult than the first one, owing to my awkward position and the cloak of sludge that absorbed much of the force, and yet...
The moment my sword hit the core, I could feel something break. I could only assume that I must have done a fair amount of damage with my first strike, because this seemed to do the sludge slime in.
I immediately withdrew my sword and took a step back, assessing the sludge slime’s condition.
It seemed to be struggling to keep its round shape—likely because the core was broken. I watched it slowly begin to pool, as if it were melting, into nothing but shapeless sludge.
As proof that I’d slain the monster, I took a fragment of the core out of the sludge pool and then sprinted toward the water to wash off my arm and sword.
Part of my sleeve had been slimed, so I ripped it off and carefully washed the rest of the sludge off of my arm. Once it was reasonably clean, I moved on to my sword. It was covered in sludge all the way up to the hilt, so I took my time washing it thoroughly before coating the blade with oil and sheathing it again.
It was a cheap sword, but it had still cost me a decent amount. I couldn’t bring myself to part with it just yet.
I’ll just have them fix it up at the weapon shop, I thought.
My tussle with the sludge slime hadn’t exactly been a grueling, heroic battle, but it had left me pretty exhausted.
I’m not sure this is worth it for four silvers.
I’d probably have to waste five coppers getting my sword back into shape, not to mention five more to replace the shirt I’d had to rip up. That left me with a net total of three silvers...and a stink to follow me home.
I’d finished up pretty early, considering it was still morning, but a quick job wasn’t necessarily an easy one. I resolved to myself that I would never take another sludge slime quest again.
Once I managed to snap myself out of my funk, I headed back to Realzahd.