"Stay away!"
The one shouting is a petite girl.
Unable to stand with her legs giving out, she's collapsed on the spot, trembling in fear.
Approaching the girl leisurely is a bouncing, jiggling creature showing off its glossy body, the quintessential RPG monster: a slime.
Its speed is about one-fifth of an adult's walking pace. Truly slow, with a dignified gait.
Frankly speaking, it's super slow.
As expected of one who holds the title of weakest monster (?).
In contrast to a formidable warrior, it has a feeble aura that inspires no fear whatsoever.
However, for the girl, it's a formidable enemy.
Even if it's a slime, it's still a monster. Even if it moves slowly, it's still a monster. Even if it can only dissolve clothes, it's still a monster.
Actually, that last one might be the most dangerous.
※Slimes in this game do not dissolve clothes.
Humans without jobs are equally fragile.
If attacked by a monster, they don't stand a chance. That's common sense in this world.
Therefore, even if it doesn't look like she's being attacked no matter how you look at it, even if you think she could outrun it just by walking, for children under 16 in this world, this is a serious life-threatening crisis.
Fear so intense that her legs give out and she can't move.
Tears well up in the girl's eyes.
Watching this scene secretly from behind a tree is yours truly, Zephyrus.
Not yet. It's too early to accept this quest.
Although the realistic scene makes me want to exterminate the slime immediately, I wait patiently for the moment, with anguish in my heart.
Why is the slime moving so slowly, and why isn't the girl moving from that spot, just waiting to be attacked by the slime?
It's because this quest is "Save the Girl Being Attacked by a Slime."
Yes, being attacked.
You have to wait for her to be attacked in this quest.
The slime being slow and the girl not moving are both to allow the player to time their rescue. Because this is the Nameless Starting Village, this is a tutorial quest.
It's a tutorial for players to practice. Even though it's a hidden quest.
So sorry, girl. Just wait a little longer.
If I go out now and exterminate the slime, the quest won't trigger and it'll be over.
This is the nasty part of hidden quests.
I stay put, staring intently, watching carefully for that exact moment.
The slime approaches the girl with its slow, dignified gait.
Then, at a distance of about 2 meters from the girl, it stops and begins to shake its body vigorously. It was building up power as if to say, "I'm about to charge at you with momentum."
Now!
Seeing the all-too-obvious signal, I leap out from behind the tree.
After one beat, no, two beats, no, about three beats, the slime jumps and pounces toward the girl.
"Kyaaaaaah!"
The girl screams, but by then I'm already beside her.
"There."
My carelessly swung sword hits the slime directly, instantly reducing its HP to 0. It falls to the ground, leaves behind a drop of slime jelly, and disappears.
Yup. Weak.
Even without a job, as long as you have a weapon, there's no way you'd lose to a slime.
That's how weak they are.
"Hidden Quest 'Save the Girl Being Attacked by a Slime' completed."
An announcement flows through my mind, and I'm inwardly relieved that I cleared the quest successfully.
If I'd messed this up, I couldn't redo it. Please give me save and load functions.
"Huh?"
Responding to the confused voice from behind, I turn around to see the girl bewildered at being saved so anticlimactically.
Yeah, you'd be confused. That's just how slimes are.
"Are you okay? That was close. I defeated the slime, so you're safe now."
I don't know what part was actually close, but I say this innocuously to reassure the girl.
Finally understanding that she's been saved, the girl turns toward me, but when she looks at my face, she just stares blankly and says nothing.
Huh? Is this different from the game? In the game, it was like "Thanks for saving me, here's a potion as thanks," and she'd give me the reward and leave right away.
"Hellooo. Can you hear me?"
"Huh! Ah, um, I'm sorry! No wait, um, um, that's right! Thank you so much for saving me!"
"Oh, sure. Don't mention it."
When I call out again, the girl's face turns red for some reason and she starts panicking.
I'm a bit taken aback by the sudden intensity.
"Um, you see. I came to gather potion ingredients and was suddenly attacked, and I thought I was done for."
"I see. Good thing I made it in time."
I don't know which part was "suddenly attacked" or "done for," but I give appropriate responses to move the conversation along. Hurry up and give me that potion reward.
"Um. I'd like to thank you properly, so would you mind coming to my house?"
"Hm?"
Wait, the reward isn't a potion?
"Ah, no, it's not like that. My family runs an alchemy shop, so I thought I could give you something as thanks through that connection. Th-there's no deeper meaning to it, okay?"
The girl rambles rapidly as if trying to cover something up, but I'm not paying attention to that, absorbed in my own thoughts.
The reward should be a potion, right?
But there was no scene in the game where she invites you to her house.
Maybe even though this is the game world, reality is slightly different from the game.
I can have normal conversations too.
I see, I see. Dan-katsu that's different from the game era.
That's great!
"Alright, let's go! Let's go right now!"
"What! You're that eager!? Um, um. It's true that I'm the one who invited you, but wait a moment..."
"Why are you being so slow like a slime? Let's go now!"
"Ahhh!?"
For some reason, the moment I become enthusiastic, the girl starts hesitating, but I take her hand and start walking.
The girl is being pulled along saying "ah, ah," but I don't care about that.
This world is subtly different from the Dan-katsu I know.
There's a Dan-katsu I don't know, even though I was called the database of Dan-katsu, knowing everything about it.
That's just, you know, the best!
I can't help but look forward to what happens next.
My excitement meter, which had been gradually declining, shoots back up to maximum again, and I rush toward the village alchemy shop with my excitement at full blast.
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