Fist King - Prologue - Episode 10: To the First Hunt

Fist King: I Will Save the Earth from Zero in Another Reincarnation, Starting from Real World

Initiation ⑤ To the First Hunt

The next morning, I carried a bag with a mace in it and rode my bicycle to the place I had researched last night. A large backpack for collecting slime cores was also in the front basket of my bicycle. The place I was heading to was said to be heavily populated with slimes. As I traveled, I recalled what I had researched last night.

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Slimes are teardrop-shaped monsters, about 20 cm in size, that primarily attack by ramming. Their color changes depending on their habitat; they are green in forests and blue near water. Special individuals, such as those three times larger than normal or those with wings, also exist. The small white stones that drop after defeating a slime are slime cores, which can be sold for 1 yen per gram. There is a dedicated counter at the ward office for buying them, so I just need to take them there. There is a place like a slime nest about an hour away by bicycle from my house.

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Conversely, in residential areas, slimes and other monsters are rarely seen at all. I had seen them in games and in images last night, but I really wanted to see the real thing soon. Feeling impatient, I boosted my physical abilities and rushed to my destination. My smartphone's map app showed that it would take an hour by bicycle, but I arrived in 40 minutes.

The moment I arrived, I saw a vast expanse of green slimes spread across the forest before me.

"Slimes everywhere I look."

I couldn't help but speak out, moved by the sight of my first live slime. Slimes are non-active monsters that won't ram you unless you do something to them. I knew that, but actually having slimes in front of me made me nervous.

(I didn't come here to just stare at slimes.)

I took the mace out of its bag and struck a bouncing slime with Bash. With a squishing sound, the slime's form collapsed and disappeared.

(I defeated it!)

I couldn't feel relieved yet. When slimes sense that a comrade is being attacked, they all rush toward you at once. I re-gripped my mace and began striking slimes as far as the eye could see with Bash.

I learned something while fighting. Even though I can defeat a slime with one hit using Bash, if my magic runs out and I just punch them normally, it takes two hits to defeat them. I can somehow defeat one at a time without taking damage, but if two come at me simultaneously, I'm not confident I can dodge their ramming attacks.

(I wish I had the Attack Speed Increase skill soon.)

Attack Speed Increase, which increases attack speed, requires Sword Proficiency Lv 5 and Stamina Recovery Lv 5. I think I've achieved Stamina Recovery from all the log punching I've done, but I haven't used a sword at all, so I haven't met that condition.

As I was thinking while collecting the defeated slime cores, a large rabbit with a single horn passed in front of me.

"Whoa!"

I was startled and fell on my rear, but this one-horned rabbit was also a non-active monster. Looking closely, it was about 40 cm long, and its horn was 10 cm. The one-horned rabbit attacks by thrusting its horn, so if I couldn't dodge, I would be seriously injured. Looking around, there were no other one-horned rabbits.

(One last fight!)

Putting aside collecting slime cores, I struck the one-horned rabbit from the side with Bash. The one-horned rabbit was blown back about 2 meters by the Bash. However, it didn't fall with one hit and jumped toward me, thrusting its horn in an attempt to counterattack. I swung down a second Bash at the one-horned rabbit, which was coming straight at me.

"Fall!"

The one-horned rabbit, having taken two Bashes, did not move from the spot. I felt a sense of accomplishment from defeating the one-horned rabbit while sensing danger to my life. However, the defeated one-horned rabbit did not disappear and remained there.

(In games, they disappear and drop items...)

I waited while collecting slime cores, but the one-horned rabbit didn't disappear, so I looked it up on my smartphone. It said that if I dissected the one-horned rabbit and took it in, it would be worth 1000 yen. Also, it seemed common to prepare a dissecting knife when hunting animals like one-horned rabbits.

(Unlike games, they don't disappear...)

It said that they would buy it even if I didn't dissect it, so I decided to take it to the ward office as is. I put the rabbit in the front basket, carried my full backpack and mace, and rode my bicycle towards the ward office. It was already starting to get dark when I returned home.