Pine Hollow wasn't much of a town. A handful of wooden houses, a windmill that didn't spin, and one very bored-looking cow staring at nothing in particular. The cart driver dropped off his goods, mumbled something about taxes, and left Julian and Lira standing in front of a crooked sign that read:
Welcome to Pine Hollow – Population: Yes
Julian stared at it. "That's not even a number."
[Neither is your intelligence, yet here we are.]
They walked toward the tiny village square. An elderly man in a green shawl waved them over with both arms like he was guiding an airship.
"You're the Bronze Rank adventurers, right? Please tell me you've come to help with the slime problem."
"Define 'problem,'" Julian said, folding his arms.
The old man motioned frantically. "They're everywhere. In the well, the fields, my washing tub—one of them absorbed my grandson's shoes."
[Sounds like a localized mana leak resulted in rogue slime proliferation.]
"You could've just said 'magic mess made goop monsters.'"
[I did, just politely.]
Lira looked intrigued. "Slimes are easy. But if they're feeding off ambient magic, it might get messy."
Julian glanced at her. "You sound a little *too* excited."
"They jiggle when you hit them."
The man led them to the edge of a nearby field. Sure enough, slimy blobs of blue, green, and pink squished along the grass like spilled jelly with a personal grudge. One of them burped, and a chicken feather floated out.
Julian winced. "Poor chicken."
[No known record of slimes showing mercy. Recommend long-range attacks.]
"Guess we do this the old-fashioned way."
Lira raised her hands, fire swirling in her palms.
Julian channeled a pulse into his spoon and focused on the biggest green one, which looked like it had swallowed a boot.
They charged.
Julian's Mind Pulse slammed into the green slime, making it ripple violently. Lira's fireball turned a blue one into a steaming puddle. A pink slime lunged toward Julian—only to explode mid-air after another pulse blast.
"I'm getting the hang of this!" Julian shouted, ducking a slime tentacle.
[Good. Try not to get eaten by fruit-colored gelatin.]
The field battle lasted nearly twenty minutes. Slime pieces splattered across grass, trees, and Julian's face. By the time the last one was reduced to a twitching blob of goo, he was drenched in... something unpleasant.
He looked at his cloak.
"Do you think dry cleaning is a thing in this world?"
[Not for you.]
Lira wiped slime off her boots with a twig. "I think that's all of them."
The old man ran over, clapping loudly.
"You did it! Oh, thank the Goddess. And thank you! Here—your reward!"
He handed them a small pouch that jingled with silver.
Julian raised an eyebrow. "Wait. This is... actually decent pay?"
Lira peeked inside. "Ten silver. That's more than the cart job."
[Congratulations. You are now barely above destitute.]
They walked back toward the center of town, enjoying a rare moment of victory.
"So what now?" Julian asked.
[Sleep. Clean clothes. And maybe don't smell like acidic pudding.]
"Fair."
As they passed the well, something squished beneath Julian's boot. He looked down to see a tiny green slime shivering in place.
"Seriously?"
The slime blinked its beady eyes at him.
Lira raised a fireball.
"Wait," Julian said. "It's... kind of cute."
[No.]
"I could keep it as a pet."
[Absolutely not.]
Julian knelt beside it. "Hey little guy. You wanna travel with us?"
The slime made a soft burp and jiggled.
Lira shook her head. "You're going to regret this."
Julian scooped it into a pouch.
"I'm naming him Blobby."