+] A single slash wouldn’t kill a slime.
Even splitting it in half could easily result in two smaller slimes.
To eliminate a monster like this, one had to strike repeatedly, hacking away until the membrane could no longer regenerate.
Haus raised his greatsword and brought it down again and again, meticulously chopping the slime before him into mincemeat.
“That’s enough, Haus.
Save your strength; we still have a mission next.” Captain Garp’s shout snapped Haus out of his focus.
Feeling the weight of the longsword in his hand, Haus nodded to the captain and bent down, reaching for a small piece of slime mucus.
The uses for this substance were numerous, including but not limited to construction, reinforcing buildings, repairing equipment, brewing potions, and stretching it into threads for bowstrings or fishing nets…
But just as Haus leaned over, Captain Garp offered another piece of well-meaning advice: “That stuff won’t do.
The quality is subpar; it won’t fetch more than a few copper coins.” Not worth much, huh?
Forget it then.
Understanding the implication, Haus decisively gave up.
The group continued onward toward the goblin nest.
That was where the real money lay.
A single goblin was worth 50 copper coins, almost equivalent to half a month’s wages in his previous life.
…
A moment later, another slime appeared ahead.
Haus drew his sword and struck it down.
Another moment passed.
A slime unlike any Haus had seen before, entirely clear and blue, appeared before the group.
Staring at the beautiful-looking slime, no larger than a basketball in size, Haus’s eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over.
[Race: slime] [Favorability: 0/100] Finally!
After hunting so many male slimes, Haus had finally encountered his first slime that met the criteria for a contract.
But with the slime right before him, Haus found himself at a loss.
‘How do I increase favorability?’ The system displayed only the favorability value and provided no methods or options.
Haus took back his earlier words.
This was anything but straightforward!
In the distance, seeing Haus frozen in place, Captain Garp, sensing something was wrong, hurried over.
The other three teammates prepared for battle.
As he approached, Garp drew his longsword and asked in a low voice.
Hearing the sound of the drawn sword, Haus quickly turned around, signaling that he was not in danger.
“I was just thinking about how to tame a slime,” he explained to Garp behind him.
In front of Haus, the blue slime formed a pair of eyes, staring at him intently.
Normally, slimes do not actively attack humans.
This was why Haus felt safe enough to turn around and call out to Garp.
Besides, the slime before him was only about the size of a basketball, so its attack power likely wasn’t very strong.
“You want to tame it?” “Yes, Captain.
It won’t interfere with the mission, right?” “It won’t…” Garp instinctively shook his head, then paused for a moment, looking at Haus with a strange expression.
Haus, without blushing or showing any sign of guilt, stared straight at the slime, not even glancing at Garp.
“…Keep it with you for now,” Garp sighed helplessly.
“You can try feeding it something.
I’ve heard that warriors in the kingdom would use food to lure giant dragons when taming them.” With that, he turned and left.
Haus nodded thoughtfully, then took a cloth bag from his person and directly placed the slime inside.
Afterward, he tossed a rice cake into the bag.
This rice cake was essentially the isekai version of compressed biscuits, specially supplied for adventurers.
It was fortified with several nutrients and cost 10 copper coins each.
Quite expensive.
[Favorability +1] “!” The prompt appeared, and Haus was momentarily stunned before looking into the opening of the bag.
The rice cake he had tossed in earlier had already been absorbed into the slime’s body.
The once sharp, square edges had been dissolved by the liquid into smooth, rounded ovals.
[Favorability +1] …
[Favorability +1] [Favorability: 99/100] After consuming three rice cakes, the favorability finally reached 99.
But now, Haus had only one rice cake left.
A week’s worth of rations, nearly six days’ worth consumed by this slime, 30 copper coins.
But it was all worth it.
Haus took out the last rice cake, then bit off a small piece and spat it into the bag.
This amount should be enough.
Any more would be a waste.
[Favorability +1] [Contract conditions met] [Yes/No to contract] ‘Contract!’ Suppressing his inner excitement, Haus shouted in his heart.
[slime has been contracted] [Monster Codex “slime” unlocked] [Milestone Reward: Constitution +1] The next moment, Haus felt his entire body undergo an indescribable, peculiar transformation.
If he had to put it into words, it was as if his entire body had become more resilient.
Checking his status panel, the data in the [Constitution] column changed from 5 to 6.
But Haus’s focus wasn’t on that.
He was more concerned with the entry under [Skills].
[Contracted Monster: slime] [Monster Innate Skill: Slow Regeneration] [Skill “Slow Regeneration” has been shared] [Slow Regeneration: Your physical self-healing ability is slightly enhanced] [Next Evolution Requirement for Monster: Dewdrop Grass (0/3), Earth Essence (0/2), Monster Core (0/1)] After successfully contracting, Haus not only gained 1 point in Constitution but also shared the contracted monster’s Innate Skill, “Slow Regeneration.” He just didn’t know how strong this [Slow Regeneration] would be.
Could it reach the level where even if he were split in two, he could survive like a slime?
Haus couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild.
But reason ultimately told him it was impossible; humans weren’t slimes.
After understanding the skill’s effects, Haus looked down at the cloth bag in his hand.
The slime inside remained as dopey and adorable as ever.
But this time, gazing into its round, beady eyes, Haus clearly understood that this slime was expressing a desire to “eat.” The full meaning was likely that it still wanted to eat Haus’s rice cakes.
Unfortunately, Haus wasn’t one to be easily carried away by joy.
He only had one rice cake left.
If he gave it to the slime, he’d have to go hungry for the rest of the return journey.
After reattaching the cloth bag to his backpack, Haus didn’t tie the opening tightly as before.
As a Contracted Monster, the slime would never actively attack him again or run away on its own.
Loyalty was absolute.
…
By noon, the adventurer party safely reached a point one kilometer away from their mission’s target location.
“Alright, let’s stop here,” Captain Garp said to the group.
Going any further risked encountering goblin sentries and exposing themselves.
At the same time, the party needed to rest here to recover their stamina, gather more mission intelligence, and scout details such as the number of monsters, guard distribution, and terrain.