Episode 65: Pew Slime
“Well, what’s that group?”
Using Spatial Jump, I moved near the Cybarossa Capital and onto the main road. I saw a group wearing familiar Knight Uniforms leading a splendid carriage coming from ahead.
They’re Cybarossa Knights. Is Master in the carriage? Since I know them, I’ll step aside and show my face.
“Cladfield, is that you?”
“It’s been a while, Knights Order Commander Worgen.”
The Knights Order Commander came out from the ranks. He’s the one who interviewed me.
“Traveling on foot?”
“Yes. I’m alone, after all.”
Taking care of a horse is troublesome when you’re alone.
“I see… I was looking for some extra hands, but aren’t you tired?”
“I wasn’t on any particularly difficult journey, so I’m fine.”
“Is that so? Then come with us.”
Huh? Walk alongside this line of horses? Does that mean jogging? Oh, it is jogging.
“Master, is that alright?”
“What is it?”
The Knights Order Commander called out to the carriage, and a voice came from inside.
“I’ve picked up Cladfield.”
“Oh?”
“Hey, I’m not a lost item, you know.”
The carriage window opened, and Young Lady Aria peeked out.
“Since you don’t have a horse, would you like a ride in the carriage?”
“Ah, if it’s Cladfield-kun, I don’t mind. I’d like to hear your opinion, too.”
“He says it’s alright, get in.”
“Understood. What about my weapon?”
“Hmm, what should we do?”
“It’s fine as it is.”
“Yes.”
With Master’s permission, I jumped into the moving carriage. It’s not going that fast, but it’s still pretty dangerous.
“It’s been a while, Master, Young Lady.”
“It’s been a while, Cladfield-kun.”
“Long time no see.”
I took off my robe, put it in my Magic Bag, and greeted the two of them.
“Where are you headed? To my village?”
“No, if we were going to inspect that place, we’d need three times this many guards.”
“Come on… you’re joking, right?”
“I’m serious.”
“Ahahaha.”
The road isn’t that dangerous, though.
“I’d like to ask you to protect my daughter again. Apparently, there’s been a troublesome incident in Radrock Village, and since there’s no Adventurer’s Guild nearby, the story came directly to me.”
“A troublesome incident?”
“Yes. Do you know about Carbonex Slimes?”
“Carbonex?”
Huh?
“Hahaha. Then you know about Pew Slimes, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“That’s it.”
“Ah, so that’s not the official name.”
“That’s right. Apparently, they’re spawning in large numbers.”
Pew Slimes are Monsters characterized by their round, jelly-like bodies, the so-called slimes. Their size varies, but some can be as big as an adult can embrace.
They contain a lot of air in their bodies, and when you take their Magic Stone or simply cut them, they deflate with a ‘pew’ sound, which is why they’re often called Pew Slimes. They’re often bullied by children on the outskirts of villages and towns.
“Large numbers… a Dungeon?”
“They can’t determine that. Apparently, there are only Carbonex Slimes, but the source seems to be the ground.”
“So, they’re spawning from the same place?”
“That’s right.”
“In that case, it’s either a Dungeon or a Mother Monster, right?”
“I think so. If it’s a Dungeon, the Dungeon Master might be a Carbonex Slime? Or there might be a Mother Carbonex Slime under the ground. Either way, we won’t know until we dig it up.”
“So, they haven’t found the entrance to the Dungeon?”
“That’s right.”
I see. In that case…
“Could it be that under the hole, or rather, under the ground…”
“Yes. Probably a lot of them. In a way, it’s a flood.”
The ground is probably packed with Pew Slimes… I should be glad it’s just Pew Slimes.
Pew!
Pew!
Pew pew!
As we approached our destination, we heard a rather silly sound.
“Amazing.”
“Young Lady, please don’t go too far ahead.”
“I, I understand.”
We arrived at the village and greeted the village chief. Guided by the village chief, we headed to our destination.
In a slightly recessed area of land, there was a mound of Pew Slimes. A mound, indeed.
Each one isn’t that big, but the sheer number of them is amazing.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Ah, Knights-sama!”
The villagers were using bamboo poles with nets and baskets to catch the slimes like they were catching bugs. They seemed to be scooping up and defeating one or two at a time.
“First, we need to do something about this mound.”
“Indeed. But if we attack from below, it will collapse.”
“We’ve been trying to keep them from accumulating, but it’s become like this overnight.”
Well, the villagers probably don’t want to spend all night doing this.
“It’s good that we can get a lot of Magic Stones.”
“Yes, but it’s too much for the village to use. We’ll buy up the excess.”
The villagers seem to have defeated a considerable number of Pew Slimes.
“At first, the children were helping, too.”
Well, they’d get bored.
“Should we pour oil on them and burn them from above?”
“They’re jelly-like, after all. It would take a considerable amount of oil.”
“Besides, they might fly away and be dangerous.”
Young Lady and Master don’t seem to have any ideas.
“…Alright, let’s break it down.”
“Eh?”
The Knights Order Commander stepped forward.
“I don’t mind, but… won’t you get covered from above?”
The Knights Order Commander stopped moving at Master’s words.
“…I don’t like that. Cladfield, do you have any ideas? Do slimes appear in your village, too?”
“Of course, but not like this… Ah, but they’re weak, so magic should be effective.”
The Monsters that appear near the village are often strong, so interference magic is often resisted. But Pew Slimes are weak.
“Telekinesis.”
I dropped a large chunk from the top.
“Ooh!”
“Non-attribute magic is convenient.”
“It’s hard to use against normal Monsters. But because they’re weak, they don’t resist.”
Against Monsters of a certain level, I can only hinder their movements.
“Alright, keep dropping them! You guys!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Knights each readied their weapons, so I dropped Pew Slimes near them.
Pew!
Pew!
Pew!
Pew!
Pew pew!
The Pew Slimes were defeated one after another, making silly sounds.
“We can collect the Magic Stones later. Prioritize clearing them away first.”
“Yes, sir!”
“…Also, you don’t have to use your Swords. You can defeat them by stepping on them.”
“Ah!”
The hands that were swinging Swords stopped at Master’s words.
It might be tough for children, but the weight of an adult Knight in armor would definitely defeat them. They’re wearing sturdy boots, too.
“Young Lady, will you participate?”
“…It’s not quite right.”
“I thought so.”
I don’t know what she was imagining, but I don’t think it would be an adventure.
The mound of Pew Slimes was gradually defeated as they were trampled by the large number of Knights.
Since it didn’t seem dangerous, Young Lady participated a little. But because she was wearing a skirt… she came back with a red face. I won’t say more.
“This is the source.”
Pew Slimes were spawning from the ground in the shape of puni, nyoki, pon.
“If we dig this up… is it far?”
The Knights Order Commander, holding a shovel, seemed to notice that the number of people around him had decreased.
“They’ll definitely erupt.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The Knights, Young Lady, and I agreed with Master’s words.
“…Well, it can’t be helped.”
It’s manly of him to do it himself instead of leaving it to his subordinates.
When he put the shovel in, Pew Slimes came out. Ignoring them, or rather, defeating them as he dug, the ground gradually began to vibrate.
“Worgen! Get back!”
“Yes, sir!”
Master, sensing the danger from the vibration, raised his voice.
The Knights Order Commander also ran towards us!
In an instant, Pew Slimes erupted from the ground like a volcano! Yeah, I’ve seen this scene before. That time, it was a scene of joy, though.
“Barrier.”
I didn’t want the flying Pew Slimes to hit us, so I deployed a Barrier as an umbrella. I included Young Lady, Master, and the village chief in the range.
“Oh.”
“That’s a big help, Cladfield-kun.”
“You’re welcome.”
The Knights were hastily intercepting them. They responded with their bare hands without even drawing their weapons. The Knights Order Commander was showing off his brilliant shovel skills.
“This has become quite a mess.”
“Well, in the end, they’re just Pew Slimes.”
They’re easy to defeat and weak, so it doesn’t matter if some escape.
The eruption stopped, so I also stepped on the Pew Slimes nearby. I could hear pew pew.
After clearing them away to some extent, I peered into the hole in the ground.
“Ugh.”
“This is amazing.”
“Indeed.”
Under the ground, there was a large number of Pew Slimes. Of course, there was some space because there was now room, but there were still so many that you couldn’t see the ground or the walls.
“This calls for magic. Aria-chan.”
“Yes, Father. Wind, tear apart my enemies! Wind Cutter!”
Young Lady released magic from above! Blades of wind were created, and the magic tore through the Pew Slimes and disappeared into the hole below.
We moved along the edge of the hole, step by step, as the Young Lady unleashed another magic spell from the opposite side.
“Cleave through my enemies! Wind Cutter!”
“Zubabababababa!”
“Pew!”
“Pew!”
“Pew!”
“Pew pew!”
And again, we moved.
“Cleave through my enemies! Wind Cutter!”
“Zubabababababa!”
“Pew!”
“Pew!”
“Pew!”
“Pew pew!”
And again, we moved.
“Cleave through my enemies! Wind Cutter!”
“Zubabababababan!”
“Pew!”
“Pew!”
“Pew!”
“Pew pew!”
It wasn’t very efficient, but it was a safe and sure method. Though the Young Lady was moving all over the place.
“Master, won’t you do anything?”
“I use fire magic, you see. Unlike Aria-chan, I don’t have a cutting edge or penetrating power. Besides, it could be dangerous if there’s gas accumulated down there, right?”
“Indeed.”
The other members they brought along weren’t particularly skilled in magic. Of course, there were people skilled in magic in the domain, but many of them had the same fire attribute as Master, so they weren’t brought along.
We’re short on manpower.
“Well, can we go down soon?”
As far as I could see from above, there were quite a few left, but there were so many Pew Slimes that there wasn’t even a place to step.
The ground that I could barely see was soaking wet, though.
“It doesn’t seem to be a Dungeon.”
“Eh? Is that so?”
“Yes. The liquid left behind by the Slimes is the Slime’s body. The fact that it remains means it’s not a Dungeon.”
“Oh, you’re sharp.”
Master seemed convinced by my observation.
“So, that means that liquid will remain forever. I’d rather it be a Dungeon.”
Knights Order Captain, you can’t say that.
Before long, they widened the hole, lowered a rope, and the Knights disappeared into the hole one after another.
The sound of battle, or rather, the “pew pew” sound, could be heard continuously.
“…Shall we take a break?”
“Y-yes, let’s.”
“It looks like it will take a while.”
“In that case, the villagers will keep watch. Please relax at my house, though it’s a small place.”
“That’s a great help, Village Chief. Silva, Ellie, Cladfield-kun. Continue to guard us. The rest of you, continue to keep watch around the hole.”
“「「「 Yes! 」」」”
That’s how it was decided, and we headed to the Village Chief’s house.
Master, the Young Lady, and Ellie-san went inside. Ore and Silva-san were on standby outside.
Around sunset, the Knights Order Captain reported that they had defeated the Mother.
However, it seemed that there were still Pew Slimes remaining in the hole, so the subjugation would continue tomorrow as well.
The hole was a vertical shaft and not that wide. They decided to gather soil from around it and bury it.
We stayed overnight.