I left the city and reached the open plain not long after. Maybe because I stuck to the main road from the forest, or maybe I just got lucky, but I didn't run into a single monster on the way. It wasn't even that far.
"I heard this area is the spawn point for them..."
I scanned the surroundings, looking for blue slimes. After walking and searching for a bit, I spotted a blue, jelly-like blob sitting right in front of me.
"That's a blue slime. Let's try out the Appraisal Eye on it."
Following Melfina's suggestion, I focused on using the skill. I had no idea how to activate it at first, but the moment I wanted to see its status, the information appeared in my mind. It felt natural, like moving a part of my body. Skills really are convenient once you have them.
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Blue Slime 0 years old No gender Blue Slime
Level: 1
Title: None
HP: 5/5
MP: 0/0
Strength: 1
Durability: 1
Agility: 2
Mana: 1
Luck: 2
Skills: Strike Resistance
Skill Points: 0
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So, this is what Appraisal Eye does. It reads the target's full data in an instant.
"The Appraisal Eye works on more than just living creatures. It can appraise un-appraised items too. For creatures and monsters, it works up to level 100. For items, it goes up to S-class."
"That's powerful. It covers almost everything... Wait a second. When I tried to appraise you Melfina, earlier, everything came back as unverifiable. Does that mean your level is over 100?
"I'm a Goddess, after all."
"Modest too." I huff, hinted a sarcastic, yet friendly tone.
How much MP would it even take to summon you... Anyway, that's a topic for later. Right now, the blue slime in front of me is the priority.
I approached slowly. First goal: make the contract succeed. But the other party has to consent. Should I try talking to the slime and convince it to agree?
"For monsters that don't understand words, it's usually better to weaken them first until they're on the verge of defeat. That often makes them willing to accept being your friend."
Melfina sure knows her game mechanics. She sounds like a dang tutorial. Fine, I'll weaken it with magic. I gripped the wooden rod and swung.
"Take this!"
I put some real force into the hit. The slime flew a few meters, rolling across the grass. I quickly used Appraisal Eye again.
"Three HP left. Perfect timing. Let's try the contract."
I held my hand out toward the slime as it struggled back into position and focused on forming the contract.
"Whoa, something's flowing out of me! Is this normal!?"
"Success or failure, the contract always consumes half of your remaining MP."
"You could have led with that... So, did it work?"
I looked at the blue slime. It started glowing white, brighter and brighter.
"Congratulations. The contract succeeded."
"Really? That's it?"
"The monster doesn't have a name yet. Why don't you give it one?"
A name, huh? I should probably think about this. If I blurt out a random name, it'll probably end up sounding like something coming from a second-year middle schooler. Better play it safe... No, wait. This is a fantasy world. I can afford to be a little dramatic.
"Alright. From today on, your name is Kuroto."
Kuroto gave a little tremble, almost like a joyful bounce. The white light turned into particles and flowed straight into me. Just like Melfina explained earlier: it had become a magical body and assimilated with my magic pool.
"Hey, Kuroto. Can you hear me?"
I didn't hear actual words, but I felt its emotions clearly. It was happy. Really happy.
"Communication happens without spoken words. It's a safe feature that works even between subordinates!"
Oh, Kuroto flinched a little. Melfina, don't spook him like that.
It felt like a subordinate network. Way faster than talking out loud, and it would probably be super useful in combat.
The contract took half my MP, so I had 10 MP left. Is that enough?
"For a slime at this level, yes. One thing to note: if a subordinate's HP hits zero, they die permanently, and the contract ends automatically."
So, in this world, zero HP really means death. No church revives like in games. Kuroto is going to be my partner from now on. I can't let it get careless.
"If you have even one HP left, you can cancel the summon and restore your magic power."
Good to know. Lesson learned. With Melfina's okay, I decided to test summoning right away. I didn't know my magic range yet, so I summoned him directly in front of me.
A magic circle flashed for a split second. The next moment, Kuroto was there, fully materialized. The process was surprisingly quick.
"First objective complete. Now we can finally start the subjugation."
"You're kind of ruthless, having Kuroto kill his own kind."
"Ugh."
I winced at my own thoughtlessness. Meanwhile, Kuroto had already started moving.
"The slime tribe doesn't mind. The strong absorb the weak and grow stronger."
Kuroto trembled with enthusiasm, practically radiating motivation. If he's fine with it, then no problem.
"It's okay to absorb the defeated one, but for the quest we need the slime core as proof of subjugation."
From Kuroto's perspective, absorbing even a portion should be fine. I still have some MP left. Might as well try a little magic too. We started searching for the next target.