Akatsuki Translations

【Slime】 Rank: Thirteen to Six

As a monster, it’s one of the most popular kinds. Also, there probably isn’t any other monster that shows such a wide range of strengths and weaknesses. The first thing adventurers should do when encountering this monster is to use【Analysis】on it. Slimes are prone to absorbing their surroundings and environment, leading to easy transformations. It’s not uncommon for two Slimes encountered in the same place to possess completely different characteristics.

Due to these traits, the more experienced adventurers are often more susceptible to falling into this trap. This is why the nickname 【Intermediate Killer】 has become popular among adventurers.

The only commonality is that destroying their central core results in their demise.

Adventurers, even if they become wealthy, should always keep this in mind. Monsters are never the “prey” of adventurers. They are the “enemy.”

Excerpt from the【Collection of Maxims by Nameless Adventurers】

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『GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG』

To explain the situation in chronological order:

First, a huge soft-bodied creature, a slime, suddenly emerged from the gaps in the cobblestone ground. The two-meter-long creature appeared behind Echelle.

Next, Rock pointed out the monster to Echelle. Surprised, Echelle fired her magic rifle, but the shot was off-target, slicing through Rock’s neck and hitting the slime. However, it missed the slime’s core, prompting the creature to commence hostile actions.

Lastly, Echelle, on the verge of panicking and randomly firing her rifle, was quickly immobilized by Shizuku using magic, who pinned her to the ground.

“Didn’t she have combat experience?” -Lynne

“She said she had killed monsters with a rifle before, I guess it depends on the situation.” -Ur

As magic light grazed her hair, causing Lynne to sweat, Ur, with slightly scorched armor, supplemented. Shooting monsters from a safe distance, in a safe place, where the monsters can’t retaliate, still counts as having killed them.

He had an uneasy feeling. Right after entering the dungeon, Echelle was clearly too tense. It wasn’t just in one area; her whole body was rigid. It was far from the demeanor of someone familiar with dungeons, similar to how Ur was when he first entered a dungeon.

Considering the possibility of an accident, he had positioned Rock near her to prevent any collateral damage should anything go wrong. And now, it was a good thing he had been cautious.

“So, Lynne, are you ready?” -Ur

“I’ve learned the magic talismans and I’m good to go, though reluctant. Very reluctant.” -Lynne

“The usual method is easier for you, so it can’t be helped.” -Ur

“I’ll kill you.” -Lynne

“Kill the slime, please. 【Analysis】.” -Ur

Ur directed his ring towards the Slimes and cast an analysis spell. The mana appeared above the ring. He recognized their form. In the City of Sin, Greed, Glen had thoroughly drilled him on how to read mana.

Mana is infinite, and while no two are exactly alike, it’s possible to identify trends and broadly categorize them. The shape of this one…

“What’s that? It’s a strangely distorted shape.” -Ur

“Slimes tend to have simpler mana, but maybe it’s influenced by the environment?” -Lynne

“【Heavy】…? Does that mean it’s heavy[1]? Wind magic might not be very effective.” -Ur

“Understood.” -Lynne

While interpreting the fragmented information, Ur dodged as the slime changed its body to swing an arm-like appendage at him. The ground shattered under the impact. The destructive power was unimaginable from its soft appearance, causing Ur to shiver slightly.

Meanwhile, the two magicians remained calm. One sang to cast a spell while the other took out a magic talisman and released it immediately.

“【Electric Thunder Talisman】” -Lynne

“【【【Sing, O Ice, and Pierce】】】” -Shizuku

From the simple White King Formation, lightning coursed, passing through and burning the body of the slime. Shizuku’s ice spears pierced the scorched body, shattering it along with its magic stone core.

『…………！』

The Slimes, voiceless, disintegrated as their magic stones were shattered. The magic stone, glowing with magic light, was visible inside their translucent bodies – a clear weak point. Of course, that’s if there’s a way to penetrate to that extent.

“【Roar・ Burst Bullet】” -Ur

Ur expertly maneuvered the dragonfang spear, opening its barrel and releasing magical light. The new magical light, resulting from the growth of the magic core and the updated spear, formed a huge sphere rather than a column of light, landing among the slimes.

『………！！！』

And then it exploded. The light and heat swept away the semi-transparent bodies of the slimes, exposing their cores.

“【Piercing Thrust】” -Ur

Ur thrust his spear into the exposed core, shattering it.

The power of the new 【Roar】 was undeniable. Moreover, it was capable of more nuanced tactics than the previous emission-focused attacks. Unfortunately, its magical energy consumption was high, and if depleted, it required time to recharge.

『Oi, Ur. What should I do? 』-Rock

Rock, with his body and head rejoined, asked while standing over Echelle, who was still unable to move.

“Le-leafe, it to me!!” -Echelle

“…Guard Echelle-sama, at least until this battle is over.” -Ur

『Understood, well, it’s easy enough. 』-Rock

Rock quickly grabbed her and escaped from the encirclement of slimes.

It would be troublesome if she died. Truly troublesome. They couldn’t protect her forever.

The slimes continued to wriggle and squirm, unexpectedly swinging their arms at them. The numbers didn’t seem to have decreased at all. No, they must have, but,

“Ur-sama, the slimes are increasing.” -Shizuku

“Where are they coming from?” -Ur

“No, they’re increasing right here.” -Shizuku

“What a hassle.” -Ur

One of the slime’s traits: parthenogenesis.

They don’t have gender distinctions and can produce an identical being from just one individual. The more powerful the individual, the more troublesome it is.

There’s only one way to deal with it. Quickly eliminate them all at once.

“【Jaw Extension】” -Ur

The shaft of the dragonfang spear, the “jaw,” extended, transforming into a longer spear form. The sinisterly twisted spear glowed ominously in red-purple, not an illusion but the overflow of magical power from the claw taken from the Poison Omen Bird.

Toxic magical power. Corroding and burning whatever it touches.

“【Circle Flash・Toxic Fang】” -Ur

Using his entire small body, Ur spun around, flexing the spear, and swung it forcefully. The toxic magical power flowing from the tip of the spear turned into a blade, corroding the watery bodies, repelling them, and destroying the remaining magic stones.

“【【【【Pierce】】】】”  -Shizuku

The remaining slimes were finished off by Shizuku, thus all Slimes were eliminated.

Ur sighed in relief.

“Damage report.” -Ur

“None.” -Shizuku

“Nothing here.” -Lynne

『My head flew off, but apart from that, all good. 』-Rock

“………” -Echelle

One was silent, but it seemed like there were no injuries. Confirming everyone’s safety, Ur let out another sigh of relief and approached Echelle, who was still being carried by Rock.

“Now, Echelle-sama.” -Ur

“…What?” -Echelle

“We’re going back outside. Please go home. It’s impossible for us to protect you.” -Ur

Ur stated this bluntly.

“Wait! I am your employer!” -Echelle

“All the more reason. We can’t protect an important employer and fight at the same time. It’s not about willingness, but about feasibility.” -Ur

Ur had anticipated this outcome, but since Echelle seemed unwilling to back down during initial persuasion, he decided to bring her into combat once to see the inevitable result. But it was truly dangerous. Using someone’s life to test a situation was not a wise move.

“If you refuse, I’m sorry, but we’ll knock you out and take you outside the city, and then we’ll flee. Even if I become an outcast from the Temple, it’s better than committing suicide.” -Ur

“Kh…..!” -Echelle

Echelle clenched her teeth at Ur’s words. Her expression showed anger and more than that, desperation. Ur had no intention of uncovering why she was so insistent on accompanying them. Knowing the reason might end up forcing them to take her into the dungeon, which would be troublesome. For now, the priority was to get her out as quickly as possible…

“Hey hey hey, who do I see here, if it ain’t the Sun Knight? What’re ya’ doing?”

The voice came from the top of a half-constructed high-rise building that was likely under construction. It was a human voice, indicating they were in the dungeon, which essentially meant a fellow adventurer was speaking. Ur looked towards the direction of the voice.

“………huge.” -Ur

The man was large, both vertically and horizontally.

A human, easily over two meters tall. The large man, holding hatchets in both hands, was clearly visible even from a distance. In this world, where magical power strongly influences physical abilities, simple physical size alone can be imposing. With a bad-tempered, scowling face, the man exuded a strong presence.

Hidden behind him, other adventurers were peeking out. They appeared to be a mixed group of beast people and humans. They leaped down with the unique physical abilities of adventurers, lightly cracking the ground as they landed in front of Ur and his group.

“Are you bunch the adventurers newly hired by the Sun Knight? Yer just a buncha brats.”

“…Nice to meet you, senpai.” -Ur

Ur maintained his composure as much as possible while intensifying his caution.

In dungeons, the basic response when encountering other adventurers is to “ignore” them. When people gather in a dungeon, it attracts monsters. Avoiding unnecessary contact is a basic self-defense measure, and even otherwise, any dispute between adventurers could lead to both parties being attacked by monsters and suffering mutual defeat. However, the man in front of them was ignoring this theory. They had to be cautious.

“【White Serpent】! How dare you people show your faces so brazenly!” -Echelle

Echelle’s voice, filled with anger, echoed throughout the urban dungeon. The White Serpent, the silver-ranked guards hired by Echelle, were unfazed by her rage.

“You ain’t changed a bit, diving headfirst into danger like this. We don’t have no obligation to get permission from ya for dungeon exploration.”

“Damn traitors!” -Echelle

“Forget it.”

The man quickly dismissed Echelle and turned his gaze back to Ur. His look was clearly that of someone looking at an inferior. And it was accurate. Facing him head-on, it was clear that this man was a higher-ranking adventurer than Ur.

“The name’s Jain, of the 【White Serpent】. Leader of the dungeon exploration.” -Jain

“I’m Ur, leading a guild called 【The Walkers】.” -Ur

“That so? And what brings ya’ here with her? Guess it’s obvious since she’s here.” -Jain

“Yeah, it’s to conquer this dungeon.” -Ur

Conquering the dungeon was their current mission. Ur already knew that Jain was supposed to receive this request from Echelle. Thus, it was easy to guess. Jain stepped closer to Ur.

“I don’t give a shit whatcha or anyone else does. If ya’ wanna break through the dungeon, go ahead. We got no right to stop ya’. But…” -Jain

The grip on the handles of his hatchets tightened, making a creaking sound. Ur could tell it was filled with immense strength. If Jain swung them at this close range, Ur’s head would be gone before anyone could intervene. Ur sweated profusely.

“…This is our workplace as well. We’re clearing out monsters, securing routes, establishing bases, and mining magic stones. We’ve been advancing the exploration of this dungeon for that purpose. Ya’ got that?”  -Jain

Ur understood what he meant. This was a claim of territory.

“If ya’ enter our hunting grounds without permission, yer dead meat.” -Jain

“…Understood.” -Ur

After the city’s phenomenon, exploring this now uncharted dungeon, defeating monsters, and mining magic stones were the efforts of these adventurers. Later adventurers who casually reap the benefits without permission would never be tolerated.

Both practically and as a matter of pride for silver-ranked adventurers.

Jain’s murderous intent was natural. Their livelihood depended on this. If Ur had said anything frivolous, it could have easily escalated into a deadly conflict.

“So, can you tell us specifically which areas we should avoid entering?” -Shizuku

“Huh?” -Jain

Shizuku, either completely oblivious to the atmosphere or deliberately breaking it, stood next to Ur with a smile. Jain seemed momentarily disarmed by her out-of-place beauty…

“I’m talking to this brat right now. Who gave ya’ permission to butt in?” -Jain

Apparently not. Jain’s mood worsened as he glared at Shizuku. Her demeanor was definitely irritating to those offended by it. She could elicit extreme fondness or hostility.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Shizuku.” -Shizuku

And she was utterly unfazed by hostility.

“Regarding the earlier discussion, if possible, we’d like to know the current hunting grounds of the 【White Serpent】. We don’t want to mistakenly intrude.” -Shizuku

“So, ya’ want us to just hand over the information?” -Jain

“Then we’ll buy it. Information about the dungeon and your hunting grounds.”  -Shizuku

Shizuku anticipated Jain’s sarcastic response and immediately offered to buy the information. There hadn’t been time to discuss this beforehand, but Ur maintained a composed facade. As guild leader, Ur’s relationship with Shizuku was equal, and so was their handling of finances. She had the right to decide on the use of the guild’s funds.

Jain’s expression didn’t change, but there was a calculating look in his eyes.

“…How much?” -Jain

“We don’t have much leeway. How about 20 silver coins for the dungeon’s monster information?” -Shizuku

“One gold coin. I’ll throw in detailed information about the monsters for that price.” -Jain

“Could we perhaps agree on 25 silver coins?” -Shizuku

“It’s that or nothin’. We’re just gonna smash anyone who gets in our way.” -Jain

Shizuku hesitated briefly, then glanced at Ur. He sighed and nodded.

“Then, we’ll buy it for tha――――oh?” -Shizuku

Shizuku suddenly looked down. Ur was the first to realize the meaning of her reaction, but Jain also quickly caught on. Both drew their weapons and leaped back. Ur scooped Shizuku into his arms and jumped away, followed by everyone else retreating.

“Enemy attack!!!” -Ur

The next moment, the ground exploded. The cobblestone road cracked severely, and the same slimes they had defeated earlier started crawling out of the fissures. Not only that, but a 【Black Swamp Crocodile】 with black, rough skin and a gigantic jaw also emerged.

“A【Collision】[2]!!” -Jain

The battle commenced.

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TL Note(s)

[1] The sentence in the raw is “【重】……？重たいのか？” This is a bit hard to translate, the character “重” has the meaning of being heavy, and so Ur surmises that this means “重たい” which is an adjective that means to be heavy.  

[2] The raw uses the word “衝突” but gives the reading “コンフリクション” which is the English word “Confliction,” however I believe the word the author meant to use was “Collision” given that confliction does not make sense given the definition he provides in the next chapter. Therefore, I will use “Collision.”