Syl

Chapter 72: Books

We had a bit of a celebratory dinner at the inn for my promotion. Roderick's retelling of Lisa's reaction was full of amusement, and the rest of his party laughed along.

Whitney asked if we would be questing together while they were in the city, but Roderick had advised against it. He said that regardless of my actual contributions, it would be seen as their party babysitting me and would be bad for his and Lisa's reputation for approving my promotion.

I lay down in my bed and sighed. Everything since the goblins had felt like a rush lately, although part of that was my fault for rushing into the dungeon. Part of me wondered if I should try to tell them the truth, Whitney might accept it, as she seemed closer to me than the others for some reason. Dewi was another candidate, as his fascination with magic and knowledge might be enough to sway him. I could even try to bribe him with mana potions.

Using [Identify] on my tag revealed my name and rank, likely to avoid people faking it by swapping the chain. Progressing through the guild seemed to hold a lot of benefits, and their interactions with the system and skills were fascinating. Could I make myself so reputable that my true origins wouldn't even matter? The counter to that would be that I'd be so valuable I couldn't be allowed to roam free.

When I woke up, I skipped breakfast, as this inn didn't include it with the room. The others hadn't woken up yet, so I headed to the guild to see if I could meet Luke and find an interesting monster to eat. I asked the receptionist to meet him, but apparently, his shift wouldn't start for another hour. I instead asked if I could see the library, and after confirming my Silver rank, they led me to a large room filled with books.

I was introduced to the librarian and stared in shock at the shortest man I'd ever seen. He had a wispy black beard that nearly touched the floor and was stout and built like a rock.

'A dwarf!' I thought to myself.

"Gods, an actual elf left the bloody forest!" The dwarf interrupted my thoughts, "I thought I had drank too much when I heard the rumors yesterday."

He slapped himself as if to check that he wasn't still drunk, then blinked a few times, examining me closely.

"I'm Syl. Nice to meet you."

"Fuck, and you're polite? Aren't all you tree huggers hoity toity with a twig up your arse?" He slapped himself again.

I could only stare in confusion as the dwarf continued to slap himself. I wasn't sure if beating yourself up could sober you up. I recalled Roderick telling me that dwarves loved alcohol, so I withdrew one of my canteens inside myself and added a hefty amount of ethanol to the contents, then faked withdrawing it from my pouch. I offered the canteen to the dwarf.

"What's this pigwash you're offering me?" He asked, taking a big sniff, and his eyes widened in surprise, "And you know dwarf custom as well? I must be dreaming."

He took a swig and stumbled. I immediately cursed mentally. Did I screw up? I mean, it was coming from a trait labeled [Poison Slime]. While my mind was frantically going through escape plans and disposing of the evidence, the dwarf corrected himself and looked at me with a big grin plastered on his face.

"Gods, that's a powerful drink, no flavor, and pure kick." He said with a hearty chuckle and took another swig, followed by slapping his desk repeatedly.

"I feel like a mule just kicked me in the head!" He said, although, despite his words, he seemed pleased.

'Who the hell wants a mule to kick them in the head?'

"If you're drinking this stuff, I swear you must be a reincarnated dwarf trapped in an elf body." He said, giving a hearty chuckle, "At first I didn't like how it sticks to the back of the throat, but I think its growing on me. Honestly its extremely thick like trying to drink custard. I guess maybe that's why its so potent."

'Oh... I forgot to lower the density of it, I'm so used to compressing my slime automatically now I assume its my default.'

"Glad you liked it."

"Like it? I love it. I think you give this to any dwarf, and as long as they aren't a sissy, they'd love it." He slapped his belly and gave another hearty laugh, "Names Thern. Sorry for being rude earlier. I'd never met an elf before, but my pa did and said it was truly unpleasant."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I felt shell-shocked at how quickly his attitude flipped. One minute, he was cursing at me, and after just a few sips, he was still cursing, but now I was like his best friend. I'd need to thank Roderick for his advice.

"Nice to meet you, Thern. You're the first dwarf I've ever met, so I didn't know what to expect. But an adventurer friend advised me to break the ice with alcohol."

"Ha! I'd kiss your friend if I ever met him. Damn good advice. So, what can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for information on slimes. Locations, preferably nearby, so I can hunt them. Also, information on any that can be used as mana catalysts."

"Slimes, hey? Interesting... They do make good catalysts since they are usually very pure, although killing one while keeping the core intact is tough."

He pulled out a ledger and started going through it. He confirmed my rank and then started marking down books. In the end, he gave me three books. Two seemed to be sort of a bestiary of monsters, and the final book was a rudimentary introduction to mana catalysts.

"There are more, but sadly you're limited by your Silver rank."

"Speaking of silver, I heard the slimes can be used to make earth catalysts."

"Ha! As if anyone would be dumb enough to use them for that." Thern chuckled, then noticed I wasn't joining in on the laughter, "You're serious?"

"Yes. I'd really like to get a silver core."

Thern scratched his beard, "I mean... If it's just a core and not a live slime..." He started murmuring and pulling more and more at his beard, "Maybe if you had barrels and barrels of this alcohol."

"How many barrels." I immediately answered, "I can make it happen."

Thern seemed a bit shocked at my sudden answer. He scratched his beard deep in thought, "At least ten, possibly twenty..."

"Done."

"Calm down, girl! Bloody hells." He shook his head and took another swig, "Look... I'm not exactly high up in the dwarven community, but my pa has some connections. I was planning on going home for a vacation in two months, but I could push it back to three months and take you along."

"I'd love to visit the Dwarven Empire." I replied excitedly, "Why push it back, though?"

"Well, if you can make Gold rank in two months, I won't have to."

"Why would I need to be Gold rank, though?"

"The empire doesn't let non-dwarf adventurers enter unless they are at a minimum Gold rank or a non-combat class. Dems the rules. You'll also need to grease a few palms, and being Gold would go a long way to help that."

"I guess I'll have to speak to Luke about that."

"Good plan. Luke's a good kid."

I spent the next while rapidly paging through the books, using all my cores to search for any mention of the word slime. The catalyst book sadly didn't go beyond the basic elements, and slime catalysts were absent beyond water and fire. Us blue slimes could be used as a water catalyst, but the author lambasted it as extremely wasteful and would harm the mana potion industry.

The first bestiary dealt with Iron to Bronze rank monsters, and it only mentioned blue, green, and purple slimes. The blue entry included a detailed description of how to capture one and transport it safely. I had to resist the urge to destroy the page. For the other book, it mentioned red, white, and yellow. I found it a bit odd it didn't mention silver and pink. I was getting a little disappointed until, near the end, there was a page on orange slime. I eagerly read it.

Orange slimes are exclusively found in Silver-rank and above dungeons and are currently rated an upper Silver-rank threat. Orange slimes do not engage directly and instead lay traps by coating areas of the dungeon in their slime mass, which they can remotely detonate at will. The slime is usually a dull orange when inert and glows brightly when detonation is imminent.

DO NOT walk over orange slime patches, even if you feel the slime is far away, as they have an innate tremor sense and can feel your steps throughout the dungeon. It is recommended to take another path than walk down a trapped hallway. If you must pass through its territory, then sufficient quantities of water can wash away the slime in an emergency. The ideal solution is using Ice spells, which will render it permanently inert by freezing it.

Initially, they were considered a Gold-rank threat but were reduced as they don't actively hunt outside their territory and can be entirely avoided with a little common sense. Praise the Gods that they do not spawn naturally in the outside world. Currently, there is no known use for their slime or cores.

Another slime I had to add to the list, although perhaps only once I had obtained a white slime and presumably ice magic. Although, if I did encounter one, then I could wash it away. I placed the three books back on the desk with Thern.

"I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be a slime catalyst for air."

"Perhaps from one of the mutations? Maybe one of the slimes on a floating island." Thern replied.

"Are there any floating islands nearby?"

"There is one that can float within a few day's travel of the city. Thankfully, its usual path doesn't float over the city, or we'd have to worry about monsters raining down on us."

He consulted his ledger, then went for a stack of scrolls and started looking through one, then looked at a calendar. "Should be within range in a week or two. It floats to the West of the city. Good luck chartering a flight."

"How does one usually get to one?"

"The magical route is making good friends with an advanced air mage. Otherwise, a monster tamer who's tamed a large enough flying beastie."

'Well, I can hopefully just fly myself.'

"Assuming I could find a method, are there any restrictions?"

"No, just getting onto one is trouble enough. They are almost like mini-dungeon ecosystems with all the unregulated essence and can be quite dangerous."

"Well. I guess I better start working on getting to Gold. Thanks for the help, Thern."

"Always happy to help someone who shares booze as good as this! I can't wait to tell my pa we might be having an elf visiting. He's gonna lose his shit."

I thanked him and let him keep the canteen. I said I'd bring him a refill when I came next to visit, and the pure joy on his face was quite a sight. I left the library and hoped that Luke was finally in.