“Hmm...” Lynn did not reject Lupa's proposal regarding the split of the bounty, mostly because Lupa indeed hadn't done much.
Lynn thought about it and proposed, “How about we split it seventy-thirty?”
He didn't really know how to handle the distribution of rewards, so he suggested a ratio he felt was relatively reasonable.
Lupa looked puzzled at first, but she quickly agreed.
Lynn thought Lupa might be dissatisfied with his proposed split, but in reality, Lupa wasn't unhappy about getting less.
On the contrary, she felt that with Lynn only taking seventy percent, he was drawing the short straw.
After all, she really hadn't done much besides standing at the front and holding off the slimes' assault for him.
Even without her, Lynn could have fought while retreating and achieved the same result.
But since Lynn had offered her a larger share, Lupa didn't reject it. She simply made a mental note of it.
Lynn seemed like a very reliable adventurer; there might be opportunities to adventure together in the future.
“Let's go. We should head back to the guild and turn in the quest first,” Lynn said, collecting the six concentrated slime cores and putting them into the pouch at his waist.
Meanwhile, Lupa was already eagerly walking ahead, the lightning lantern swaying in her hand, causing the shadows in the sewer to twist and writhe along with it.
Seeing the girl so full of energy, Lynn let out a faint, barely noticeable smile.
But just as the two of them were about to reach the sewer entrance, Lupa suddenly stopped and reached out to block Lynn, who was about to keep walking forward.
“What's wrong?” Lynn asked in a lowered voice.
Although he didn't know exactly what was happening, since Lupa had made a move, there was definitely something unusual ahead.
Lupa whispered, “There's a monster ahead. It smells really bad... I think it might be a slime.”
More slimes?
Lynn subconsciously reached for his waist, but his fingers didn't find the familiar texture of the clay pots.
Due to the limited space on his belt, Lynn had only brought six clay pots. He had used them all up just now when dealing with those ordinary slimes.
Were there more than six slimes in the sewer?
Lynn felt a bit helpless.
However, discrepancies in intelligence were not uncommon in these low-level quests. After all, the Adventurers' Guild handled countless White Iron Rank quests every day. With their limited manpower, it was impossible to investigate the details of every single quest.
The information for White Iron Rank quests was basically reported by the clients themselves.
For now, he had to think about what to do.
If there was only one slime, Lynn could easily defeat it with the power of his Magic Missile.
Even if there were two or three, Lynn and Lupa, with her monstrous strength, should be able to handle them if they worked together.
What Lynn feared most was a whole pack of slimes lying in ambush ahead.
“Can we bypass it?” Lupa asked.
When encountering targets outside of the quest parameters, if one wasn't confident, it was always best to consider escaping first.
Pulling out the sewer map provided by the town administration hall, Lynn studied it for a moment under the light of the lightning lantern, locating their current position in the sewer.
Before long, Lynn said with a grim expression, “Wingen Town's sewer actually only has one entrance...”
He was almost driven to laughter by the sheer absurdity.
But considering Wingen Town was just a medieval town, its sewer system naturally couldn't be built to run in all directions like those in big cities.
“I'll scout ahead first,” Lynn said, activating his Stealth skill and taking the lead.
Behind him, to coordinate with Lynn's Stealth, Lupa dimmed the lightning lantern, plunging the sewer into deep gloom.
Wouldn't this affect Lupa's own movements?
Lynn turned back in surprise, only to find Lupa's eyes glowing with a faint, eerie green light.
It seemed Lupa also possessed some sort of night vision.
Recalling the various ways Lupa differed from ordinary people, a few conjectures formed in Lynn's mind.
The two of them advanced a bit further toward the entrance, only to see a massive, ugly lump of gray mucus blocking the sewer exit.
Unlike those slimes that acted almost purely on instinct, this lump of mucus seemed to have a consciousness of its own.
It appeared to have deliberately blocked the sewer entrance. Its body, over two meters wide, obstructed almost the entire passage, leaving a gap that probably only a mouse could squeeze through.
It was as if it were hunting prey that had entered the sewer.
Slime: The extraction point camper has arrived...
The moment he saw this monster, a notification also popped up in Lynn's 《Monster Identification Manual》—
“In the year 442 of the New Star Calendar, Adventurer Lynn unlocked a new entry in the monster encyclopedia—Dungeon Slime. Current unlocked encyclopedia entries: 6.”
“14 more encyclopedia entries required for the next Rune reward.”
It was actually an evolved form of the slime!
A regular slime was already a monster with a Challenge Rating of 1/4. What level would a Dungeon Slime be?
Would it be Challenge Rating 1/2, the same level as a Goblin Warrior, or a true ranked monster?
Facing this monster that was several times larger than himself and Lupa combined, Lynn felt a bit apprehensive.
Should they fight?
Lynn felt that if he poked it with his spear, it would probably feel like acupuncture to the creature.
Lupa's face had even turned pale by now, clearly frightened out of her wits by this massive monster.
But no matter how intimidated they felt, they had to face reality—if they wanted to escape, they would have to fight the Dungeon Slime!
Fortunately, Lynn wasn't completely defenseless against the Dungeon Slime.
At this moment, Lynn couldn't help but feel glad that he had chosen the "Goblin Apprentice" bloodline and randomly obtained a First-Circle spell.
“Magic Missile” was Lynn's ultimate trump card!
As a First-Circle spell that only official Mage class-holders could master, the power of Magic Missile could not be ignored, even by a ranked monster.
However, with Lynn's maximum mana, he only had one shot. He had to use it with extreme caution.
In the blink of an eye, Lynn had formulated a battle plan.
Although he had a First-Circle spell at his disposal, Lynn still decided that escaping the sewer would be their primary objective.
As for whether they could kill the Dungeon Slime, that would depend entirely on luck.
Lynn gently grasped Lupa's hand behind him, the warmth of his palm pulling her back from her fear.
...
【Dungeon Slime: A monster that lives in dark sewers, usually residing alongside its kin that breed in the shadows. It possesses a strong instinct to protect its kind, acting as a leader within the pack. If smashed using non-magical, physical means, it will split into several ordinary slimes to continue fighting. If it manages to devour a sufficiently powerful monster, the core inside its body will transform into a crown, turning it into a Slime King.】
It is a true ranked monster with a Challenge Rating. Even novice class-holders who face it will be knocked to the ground and swallowed to be digested until not even their bones remain if they are not careful enough!
Note: Dungeon Slimes often contain treasures left behind by other unfortunate adventurers, which is why they are also known as the "mimics of the dungeons."
Rate on N.U.
