We finally got up, paid the waitress with the freckles, and made our way to a certain building. But it was actually more my own pace that set the direction. Well, actually, the town map that Monika had gotten at the inn showed the way.
But still, I felt my pace quicken the closer we got to the wide stone steps.
When we arrived, I saw Anna giggle quietly and Monika glance at me, which told me straight that she already guessed what was coming.
"Right. A quest," I said, and although I tried to say it neutrally, you could clearly hear the excitement in my voice.
"As expected of my hero! You truly have the best ideas!" said Anna, and was about to throw herself at me happily, but Monika pulled on her dress and stopped her again.
It felt like an eternity since we had last been to an adventure guild and accepted a quest. Back then, in that goblin cave, where I met the sealed Loli in the hidden study and defeated the sandworm with her... just thinking about the first time I used a weapon skill gave me goosebumps on my arms.
It wasn't a pleasant tingling sensation, more like a nostalgic tremor.
But now it was time! Finally, a new adventure.
We stepped through the heavy wooden doors of the adventure guild and the background noise hit us like a wave. A thick, warm-smelling rush of sweat, alcohol, and metal greeted us.
As soon as we entered, two older men were sitting at a round table arguing about which of them had killed more monsters on their last mission.
Next to them was a young archer arguing with a girl, presumably his sister, as the resemblance between them was unmistakable. She kept pushing him and nagging him to finally learn how to hold the arrows straight.
Several heavily armored adventurers gathered around one of the large bulletin boards and discussed the quests posted there.
There also was a blond man trying to offer a piece of meat to a cat that had crawled under a table.
At another table, two women were playing some kind of card game and accusing each other of cheating.
Very lively here, I would say. But my path led us straight to the reception desk, which was located right across the entrance.
"Well, well! I've never seen you here before. Are you new here?" the receptionist suddenly asked us.
"Yes, we are. We just arrived this morning," I replied.
"I see. Then I warmly welcome you to the adventure guild of Zyronthar. My name is Liselotte. How can I help you?"
Liselotte was a brown-haired woman who wore her hair tied back in a neat bun. The glasses on her nose sparkled in the light of the hanging lamps as she folded her hands with calm elegance.
Her uniform was the same as the one worn by the little receptionist we met in the other town... except for... well.
No comment, but the size difference was obvious.
Melons, huh?...
"We'd like to take on a quest to earn some quick money," I said.
She nodded politely. "I see. May I see your guild cards, please?"
We handed her our cards. I watched her eyes move beneath the rims of her glasses. But then her eyes widened as if she had discovered something unexpected.
"Oh."
"Is there a problem?" I asked cautiously, scratching the back of my head.
" As I see you all stil have the old guild card. Haven't you heard about our new system?"
"A new system?" I looked very surprised.
"It's called a ranking system. This means that every adventurer has a rank, which means they can only accept certain quests that are of the same rank or lower than their own. This is to protect our adventurers, because in the past, many of them overestimated themselves and unfortunately suffered tragic accidents," explained Liselotte.
"A rank...?" asked Anna, unaware.
"I see... and how will the rank be decided?" I added.
"From now on, quests will be divided into nine ranks, just like adventurers, from SSS to F. The lowest rank is F. By successfully completing a quest, you will receive not only the quest reward but also so-called guild points, which will be registered and stored on your new guild card. Once you have collected a certain number of points, we, the adventurers' guild, will let you know that you can promote to a higher rank, which will allow you to attempt more difficult quests. However, even with your current F rank, you are allowed to undertake a quest from the next higher rank, in other words, E rank. However, if you fail a quest from, for example, the E rank, you will receive a penalty, which means you will only be allowed to accept a quest from your current F rank. Please keep this in mind and be careful."
"Hoh..." I muttered, and for some reason I momentarily felt like a rookie... even though I was no longer one.
"Bureaucracy..." Monika muttered quietly.
"But now to your request," she continued. "To begin with, I will pick out some F-rank quests for you and create your new guild cards at the same time. Please take a seat and wait a moment."
We sat down at one of the large round wooden tables. The tabletop was covered with countless nicks and scratches. A couple of other adventurers were sitting two seats away, talking about how a giant wolf had stolen all their provisions last night. A boy next to them was desperately trying to pull his sword out of its sheath, even though the blade seemed to be rusted shut.
"What do you think of this new system?" Anna asked with interest as she crossed her legs.
Monika grunted slightly. "What should we think of it? A guild is still a guild, and an adventurer is still an adventurer."
I shrugged. "I don't think it's bad at all. A ranking system sounds pret..."
"Have you heard about this rumor?" someone called out from the back corner. It was a man with shoulder-length, matted hair and scars on his arms. At first glance, he looked like an experienced fighter, but maybe he was just someone who liked to exaggerate.
I started again. "As I said. A ranking sy-..."
"You mean the one about that mysterious old building deep in the forest?" interrupted his buddy, a slightly taller man with tanned skin who looked like he could tear down walls to say hello.
"I uh..." I muttered, interrupted again.
"I've heard there's treasure inside! Gold! Jewelry! Artifacts! But the monsters there are supposed to be... disgusting and dangerous."
Several adventurers pricked up their ears, some laughing quietly while others slid their chairs closer.
"So, what I actually wanted to say..."
"You don't need to bother," Monika suddenly interrupted me, looking me straight in the face. "You want to investigate this rumor, don't you?"
"How...?" I froze.
Anna held her left hand over her mouth and grinned so widely that for a moment I thought she was about to breathe fire.
"Your tail is wagging like crazy with excitement."
Tail? I glanced behind me, and indeed. What the...?!
When I sat down, my coat must have moved slightly, causing my wolf tail to pop out of its specially made compartment, and now I was staring at the thing that was wagging wildly back and forth.
Damn this tail! Stop wagging!!
I was briefly busy trying to stop it with my hands. But no chance. Eiko and Reiko giggled in the background, while Monika just shook her head. In the end, I simply adjusted my black travel coat and hid the tail again.
"Now go and ask for information. We'll wait here for you," said Monika, giving me a warm, somewhat resigned smile.
"Thanks, you guys are the best!"
I almost jumped off the table and ran to the small group that had just formed to discuss the rumor. The men looked at me skeptically, but one of them put his hand on his heart and started to tell the story.
"This rumor says that gold and jewelry are hidden in an abandoned house deep in the forest," he explained, his voice as rough as a dry wooden board. "But... the treasure is guarded by monsters. And not just any monsters."
Another added, "We've heard they're called
"Completely," added the third, nodding seriously.
Just then, I felt a spark ignite inside me. A mischievous spark. A spark of pure, sinful anticipation.
Fufufu... The time had finally come. A slime that etches your clothes, huh...? It's like the Holy Grail!
Back then, I couldn't convince Monika and Anna to take on this kind of quest. Although... these details seem familiar somehow. Wasn't there even an official guild quest to eliminate slimes in an abandoned building?
Well, never mind. Whether it's the same quest or not, this time I'll succeed. I just don't tell them about the slimes.
Okay! I'm calling this plan: Operation Mr. Slime!
You're such a pervert, did you know that? Loli suddenly piped up in my head. Her voice was cold as ice. I couldn't see her face, but I could hear a hint of disappointment in her tone.
Big sister is right. Why do you have such thoughts, big brother? Violet joined in.
I cleared my throat loudly in my head. "You don't understand! I'm not doing this just for myself... but for my male squad!"
Which male squad? Loli asked dryly. You're the only guy in this party.
"Yes... That's true..." I muttered and sighed.
It's true, as the only boy in this party, it won't be easy to carry out this operation. It would be nice to have another guy in the group. And as a friend...
...I wonder what Yorohiko and Koji are doing right now? Are they still grieving over my death? If they were grieving in the first place...
"Kaito." Monika's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. She was suddenly standing next to me and pointing to the reception desk. "The lady at the reception desk said she's ready and has found a few quests."
"Oh, I've already found a quest that's perfect for us."
"You mean that rumor?"
"Yep."
Monika snorted softly. But she smiled. "All right, if you insist."
I nodded triumphantly. We picked up our newly created guild cards and set off immediately.
"And off he goes..." one of the three guys watched me leave.
"He seems to be in a hurry. No wonder, he seems to have two cute companions. I can well imagine what he has in mind," another one chuckled in a rough voice.
"The kids these days, I would have said, but I probably wouldn't have done anything differently, hahahaha!" laughed the third stoically.
"That reminds me, wasn't there also a rumor that the princess of this kingdom was strutting around near this town?
"Princess? Which one of the five do you mean? You'll have to be more specific," asked the man with a rough voice.
"I'm not really sure myself. That's where the information ends."
"If you don't know, then don't babble nonsense."
The aforementioned house was only about three kilometers to the east, and the closer we got to it, the more oppressive the surroundings seemed. The midday sun was still high, but its rays were blocked by the dense treetops.
A cold wind swept through the leaves.
When we finally reached the building, I stopped unconsciously. A large house, which had probably once been a mansion, towered in front of us like a defeated ruin.
The windows were smashed, the once white frames darkened. Cracks ran through the walls, and plants grew out of them, slowly reclaiming the facade.
Moss covered individual stones, and the roof sagged in places, as if someone had tried to crush the house and then given up.
The air smelled musty, of dampness, mold, and something metallic. A crow sat on the roof ridge and cawed shrill before flying away. And somewhere inside, something creaked, like wood warping in the wind.
I felt a tingling sensation run down my spine, part fear, part anticipation.
So the treasure is inside, and let's not forget the slimes. My lips twitched slightly. Operation Mr. Slime can start!
"Let's go inside, but be on your guard against the monsters lurking around here. Eiko, Reiko, if it comes to a fight, stay in the background. Your health is more important to me than your skills. When you're a little older, we'll talk about it again."
"You talk too much..." Monika grumbled.
"...Ehehe, sorry. Well then, everyone, are you ready?"
"Yes!" they replied in unison.
We stepped through the half-broken front door. The wood creaked under my fingertips, and a huge splinter came loose, as if the door itself had enough of life.
Inside, we were greeted by a rush of stale air that made my stomach rebel for a moment. Dust danced in the dim light that fell through the cracked windows.
The entrance area was large but devastated. Wallpaper hung down, yellowed and torn, some areas blackened with soot. The carpets were burnt, in some places almost reduced to ashes.
A fallen chandelier lay in the middle of the room. Once magnificent, now just a pile of broken crystals and bent metal struts.
Its remains looked like a fallen giant who had long since breathed his last breath.
"Creepy..." Anna murmured, instinctively moving closer to me.
"I don't care, let's just get in and out quickly," said Monika.
Since we found nothing at the entrance, we walked down the long hallway that led to the back. The floor creaked with every step, some floorboards slightly bent.
The smell of mold grew stronger. I also heard a dripping sound somewhere, regular but unnaturally loud.
"Did you hear that?" I whispered.
We approached the sound. One of the half-torn doors at the end of the hallway vibrated slightly as something behind it hit the wall.
I looked down, and there, half in the shadows... there he was.
The main character of my plan.
There he is! Mr. Slime!!!
He was slithering around, bigger than I had expected. A slimy green mountain that glowed with every movement, like it was guiding the dim light.
He made a smacking sound that was both cute and absolutely disgusting.
"GYAHHH!!" Anna suddenly screamed. Her hands reflexively went to her chest, as if she needed to protect herself from the slime.
"W-W-Why is there a Slime here???" Monika stuttered, pointing at Mr. Slime with an awkwardly trembling finger.
"Don't be so dramatic, those are just Slimes," I said with feigned irony, which probably seemed like sheer provocation.
"Y-You planned this from the beginning!" Monika immediately accused me.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, raising my hands like I was the innocence in person.
"You filthy... I'll beat the shit out of yo-..."
Splash. A large, dripping ball of green slime flew right into the middle of Monika's upper body. The slimy substance ran down her body, dripping onto the floor and leaving a shiny trail on her clothes.
It's time! Now the effect has to kick in!
The effect that, according to rumors, etches off clothing...
Come on! Some kind of spark! Some smoke! Anything!!
...
"Why isn't anything happening?? What about the effect!?" I froze and quickly covered my mouth.
Damn it. I said it out loud.
Monika raised her head so slowly that even horror movie monsters would be jealous. Her aura became dark, almost black.
The slime continued to drip from her body as she approached me. There was a murderous look in her eyes.
"Effect?" she asked tonelessly. "What effect?"
I backed away. One step after another. Until I bumped against the wall.
Monika drew one of her short swords with a soft scrape, sparkling steel glinting in the slight light.
She held the sharp blade directly to my throat, so close that I could feel its coldness.
"What effect were you talking about?" she asked in a voice that sounded suspiciously calm.
My question would have been: Why isn't Mr. Slime doing anything? He just stands there... and watches! Does he want popcorn?
"Talk!"
"I-I'm sorry! I heard that there are slimes here that can etch away clothes!"
A moment of silence ensued, until Monika almost exploded.
"Y-You fucking pervert! What the hell are you thinking!?" her face glowing red.
"Exactly! If you want to see me unclothed, just say so!" said Anna, ready to undress, but Monika stopped her.
"You're not helping, Anna!" Monika hissed before looking back at me. "Wait... don't tell me you had the same thought about Eiko and Reiko." She looked at me with contempt, as if I were worse than trash or an insect.
I shook my head vigorously. "What are you thinking!? I didn't think that for a single moment! That's the reason why the two of them should stay in the background!"
"And you expect of me to believe that!?" Monika grabbed my right ear and tugged on it.
"Ow ow ow! Ah...!"
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked when she noticed that my gaze had wandered past her.
She slowly turned around to see a second slime standing behind her. Large, green, and clearly not peaceful.
"R-R-Run!!" Anna screamed.
We ran down the hallway. The slimes glided after us, surprisingly fast, and threw slime balls at us.
The projectiles splattered against the walls, leaving sour-smelling marks and narrowly missing us.
What should I do now? Operation Mr. Slime has failed miserably! And now they're throwing slime at me too. Disgusting! I suddenly understand what women have against slimes. I'm sorry!
It's a shame I can't just make friends with a slime...
...Make friends...? That's it!
I stopped abruptly.
The others kept running and didn't notice I was missing until they reached the next corner.
"What are you doing!? Keep running!" Monika shouted from ahead.
"Everything will be fine, I have a plan!"
I don't have a skill that can tame them, but I have something similar! I knelt down and touched the ground with both hands. It vibrated slightly, and a bright light spread out. I activated a skill I hadn't used in six months, so I had already forgotten I even had it.
The Skill: Cleaning!!
Cleaning = When one or more monsters are selected, they turn into the user's pets. The higher the skill level, the faster and more effective the activation.
A magic circle spread out, the slimes paused, their bodies glowing like glass with a candle inside. Their forms began to shrink, sliding together until the Giant Green Slimes became adult, yet howling wolves.
"Phew... done," I muttered with relief. "Guys! If we keep this up, we can defeat the slimes and grab the treasure!"
"That's all very well. But what am I supposed to do? I'm totally covered in slime," Monika complained.
"We can solve that problem quickly. Anna, that's your part." I looked over at Anna.
"Hm? Aah! I got it." Anna raised her long wand, whose magic crystal began to glow blue.
A small whirlpool of water poured over Monika and washed away the slime. That was the magic of the water attribute
Then the magic crystal suddenly shimmered green and red alternately, and a warm gust of air dried Monika until she looked like nothing had happened. By using a combination of two different attributes and formulas: the wind attribute
"T-Thank you, Anna..."
"At your service."
Once that was settled, we continued walking, and I turned every slime we encountered into another wolf, eventually creating a whole pack that followed us.
I have to say, this skill is very useful, but it consumes a lot of mana. Even though I don't even know how much mana I have... The last time I really looked at my status, I was at Level 61, but the mana still seems to be too low, especially for this skill. It's good that Anna is here; without her magic support, I would have run out of mana long ago.
After we had searched the entire building, Anna sighed. "We've searched everywhere, but still no sign of treasure."
"Wrong," I said. "There's one place we haven't been yet."
The basement.
We left the wolf pack upstairs and went down the creaky stairs with a torch. The basement smelled of dust and old wood. There was rotten furniture, boxes, and... wine everywhere. Piles of wine bottles were on the shelves.
"A wine cellar?" Monika wondered.
"Looks like it," I said. "Let's turn the whole basement upside down and finally grab that treasure!"
"Yes!"
Somehow I sounded like a treasure hunter. Or a thief? Either way, we searched the entire area but unfortunately found nothing.
"I wonder if this treasure really exists? It could just be a bluff. The slime effect thing wasn't true either," Anna muttered.
"Quite possible," agreed Monika.
"Then the whole thing was a total waste of time. Oh man, I'll never listen to rumors like that again," I groaned, leaning my back against the wall.
Suddenly, I noticed myself slowly falling backward and landing on my back on the hard floor.
"Hey Kaito, are you okay?" Monika asked.
"Are you hurt?" Eiko came running over to me, followed by Reiko.
"I'm fine. But what just happened?"
I got up, and as I looked around carefully, a few things became clear to me. The wall was a secret door leading to a secret room where there was... absolutely nothing...
"An empty room?"
"How unspectacular." Monika was right, I was also expecting more from a secret room.
Without further ado, the others also entered the room.
"Maybe there's another secret door," thought the Salamander Princess.
"I suppose so. Let's feel the walls, maybe there's a mecha-..."
Out of nowhere, something in the pocket of my black travel coat started to glow. When I took this glowing object out of my pocket, I held the golden, ornamented pocket watch, which Eiko and Reiko had given me at the family celebration, in my hand.
Seconds later, the ground also illuminated in red, forming a strange magic circle.
"What the...?"
"So bright," the children cried.
The light grew stronger, but after only a brief blink of an eye, it disappeared again and everything was as it had been before, except for one thing...
I was nowhere to be found.
...
In the vastness of a snow-covered mountain range, a majestic landscape stretches out, whipped by an icy snowstorm.
The snow-covered peaks rise proudly into the cloudy sky, their contours veiled by swirling snow. The wind whipped snowflakes through the air in a wild dance, and the world blurred into a veil of glittering white.
Visibility was severely limited as the snowstorm unleashed its icy power.
This icy force knocked over a young hiker, but groaning, the boy tried to get back up. When he succeeded, he staggered forward and shouted:
"Where the hell am I???"
Seriously, where the fuck am I??? And where are the others? Am I alone here? Will the snow bury me??
Stop! Pull your shit together! Think calmly about what exactly happened.
So, first we found an empty secret room in the basement. After entering the room, my pocket watch magically glowed, and shortly after, so did the ground.
There seems to be a connection between the abandoned building and the pocket watch. Could this pocket watch hold other secrets?
Then I suddenly ended up here in this snowy mountain range, running through this thick snowstorm.
I can roughly explain how I ended up here, but not why. What could be the reason that I was the only one teleported?
On the one hand, I am sad to be alone, but on the other hand, I am also glad that the others are not in this dangerous snowstorm.
If they are really still in the building, they are safe.
Suddenly, I hear a deep rumbling coming from the ground. As if the snowstorm wasn't causing me enough trouble, monsters are appearing in front of me now of all times.
The monsters look like golems, but they are made of both rock and ice. Their entire bodies were cracked, but a green-blue light shone from these cracks, shining through the dense storm.
To get past them, I have no other choice but to fight them.
Pulsating lights gleamed in my palms, their glow forming a long blade in each hand, each adorned with a palm-sized gemstone.
The monsters in front of me muttered something to themselves, like an NPC trying to recite a pre-programmed text.
"Shut up," I muttered, without giving them a chance to attack me, I charged forward with a powerful battle cry and an already activated weapon skill.
"RRRGH! HAAAAHH!!!"
Since my first day in this world, I never got tired so fast after a fight like this one.
Is it because of the current situation? The weather conditions? Is it because the others who normally support me aren't here? Or is it simply because I rely too much on others, neglecting my own leveling and training?
Although I had seen death multiple times after my last rebirth and barely survived, I felt neither exuberant joy nor relief in my heart. Instead, I felt something more like despair that I had escaped with my life.
As my long swords dissolved again, the sound of a notification tone 'peep-peep' sounded, and a blue-transparent box appeared in front of my eyes. It was a notification that I had received the drop items from the golems I defeated.
I never got notifications like this before, so why now?
However, this field reminded me of the system logs from the games I used to play, so it wasn't really a surprise. There were many item names listed, but when I tried to scroll through the list, my vision suddenly faded.
"Wha…?"
I couldn't keep my balance and fell onto the snow-covered stone surface.
Shattered golems scattered across the snow, surrounding my weakened body. With weak breaths, I slowly closed my eyes and lost consciousness.
In this snowstorm, which had already half-covered both, the bodies of the monsters and my own body with snow, an unrecognizable person appeared and approached me.
Unfortunately, I don't know what happened afterwards.