“So you got a new slime?” [Wereanna]
Noon came, and we exchanged information over lunch.
On my part, I reported about how my study of the warlock arts was going well, as well as the discovery of a new Curse Slime.
“That’s not all. Rosenberg-sama also told me about a slime called the Miasma Slime.” [Ryouma]
Remembering the Execution Ground of Hunger and Thirst, I wondered whether there might have been slimes that absorbed miasma and asked about it.
As it turns out, in regions thick with miasma, such slimes can indeed be found, albeit very rarely.
“They spread miasma around them, so the recommended action upon meeting one is extermination. Still, the fact that there’s a recommendation like that is a testament to their existence. It’s a rare slime, but we should be able to find one should we search a bit.
However, even if we do find one, taking it away might prove difficult. You should be prepared for the possibility that some sort of procedure or permit will be required.” [Eleonora]
Well, it can’t be helped if that turns out to be case. Miasma is a dangerous substance, after all. Still, there’s no rule that outright says you’re not allowed to keep miasma slimes.
Of course, the reason for that is because no one is crazy enough to keep a monster that spews miasma.
Even criminals find it too dangerous, so why bother banning something no one would do?
As such, keeping one kind of feels like going against the spirit of the law, but hey, they didn’t ban them.
At worst, I’ll have to use my position as a specialist and get permission from the ducal house for “slime research purposes.” [Ryouma]
Besides, my desire to study a Miasma Slime is genuine. If I found one I would definitely study it. And if it’s a slime that eats miasma, there’s a high chance it could help in the purification of miasma.
As for obtaining one, I suspect I could probably get one just by evolving it instead of having to run everywhere looking for one.
With all that miasma in that miasma zone, evolution should be more than possible.
Of course, actually evolving one will take a while.
First of all, I’ve yet to find a slime that likes miasma.
I tried it with a Curse Slime that I picked up from the underground area of the testing site, and apparently, miasma wasn’t quite up to the taste.
Then again, even if it did like miasma, I wouldn’t let it evolve until I’ve studied it enough.
Based off of its reaction to miasma, the nature of miasma itself, and my experience evolving Poison Slimes, I predict the fatality rate would be quite high unless the slime’s preferences perfectly match miasma.
While I do occasionally feed the slimes poison out of curiosity, I have no intention of needlessly killing them.
Miasma is also a type of mana, so I figure the evolution into a Miasma Slime should be similar to that of a Curse Slime’s, so for the time being I plan to look for slimes that prefer the darkness attribute, evolve them into Dark Slimes, observe their reactions, then see whether they can become Miasma Slimes or something else entirely.
I also need to confirm whether “spewing miasma” is part of their natural ecology or a hunting or defense reaction, as that will greatly change how I handle them, but if a Miasma Slime eats miasma, I believe it should be usable for miasma purification or even miasma storage, or in other words, for dealing with miasma in general.
“Still, we’ll need proper safety measures in place. Even with the experiment site, I don’t want to cause unnecessary harm, so until everything is ready I’ll keep working at my anti-miasma abilities.” [Ryouma]
“That’s probably for the best. We don’t know anything about purification or curses, but even we can feel that something is off in these lands.” [Mizelia]
When the tigerkin Mizelia-san said that, not only the other three beastkin but even the human Jeff-san nodded deeply.
They must have felt the miasma filling the zone this morning when they accompanied me to purify.
“Anyway, that’s the situation on my end, how was the mountain?” [Ryouma]
“We focused on surveying the most usable lands, keeping in mind that we might develop the mountain.” [Jeff]
Jeff-san was the one to answer. He was talking about the plateau Siria-san and the others mentioned yesterday.
“Same as yesterday, just bugs and small animals. Didn’t see any dangerous beasts or even big ones. Might not be great for hunting, but aside from that the miasma zone in the mountain looks safe.” [Syria]
“We weren’t sure how much of the mountain you were planning to develop, but there’s plenty of space for fields and buildings, nyaa. As for securing water, Yurdum says he has an idea, nyaa.” [Miya]
“What do you mean?” [Ryouma]
Does he know where the river is?
“We found a stream, but the water volume isn’t great and it’s far from the plateau too. It’s fine for drinking and daily use, but a bit too inconvenient. When you factor in the amount needed for fields, you’ll probably have to dig out wells.” [Yurdum]
“Ah, so by idea, you mean you might know where the water is likely to come out?” [Ryouma]
“Yep. This mountain has all kinds of trees mixed together, and among them is a tree called a Kareppashi. It stores a lot of water inside its trunk and tends to take root in places with abundant water, so there’s an old saying that ‘if you dig where Kareppashi trees grow in clusters, you’ll find water.’” [Yurdum]
While I happily listened to Yurdum-san, he told me they’d already found a spot where Kareppashi trees grow thickly.
They work fast.
We haven’t decided how much of the mountain to develop yet, but if we know where the river and the cluster is, then water shouldn’t be an issue.
I can probably dig out irrigation channels and wells with my magic.
“Also, this isn’t about using the mountain but managing it. I think we should clear the undergrowth and do some thinning and pruning as soon as possible. Right now it’s obvious the place has been left alone, which looks bad, and more importantly it would let fire spread easily if a forest fire caught light.” [Yurdum]
“Ah, yeah, forest-fire prevention is definitely a priority.” [Ryouma]
I’d completely overlooked that.
If it were just about appearances, I could excuse it by saying not enough time has passed since I received the land, but a forest fire will cause damage the moment it starts.
No excuses afterwards will be able to change anything, so we should prepare in advance to keep the damage to a minimum.
Speaking of forest-fire prevention, I can’t help but think of ‘firebreaks.’
If I recall correctly, in Japan’s fire laws it was specified to be about 6 to 30 meters wide, but either way, it’s a belt of land where the trees are cut down to stop fire from spreading.
Since I was planning to make roads anyway, if I just make them a bit wider they should double as firebreaks.
“Oh, Yurdum-san. Since Kareppashi trees store water, are they fire-resistant by any chance? And if we can propagate them, I was wondering whether we could plant them along both sides of the road to build fire-prevention belts.” [Ryouma]
“They can be an effective barrier as long as you keep them alive; otherwise, they burn fast. I’m pretty sure they can be propagated via plant cutting. If I can borrow some slime fertilizer, I should be able to prepare saplings for planting. Want me to handle that?” [Yurdum]
“Please do!” [Ryouma]
I’m not an expert on forest management, but I at least know that it’s not enough to just cut trees, you have to plant new ones too.
If you only cut and leave it at that, you end up with something like the miasma zone: nothing but environmental destruction. I don’t want that, and I won’t let that happen.
Yurdum-san is reliable when it comes to plants, so I’ll be sure to get plenty of advice from him.
But first, I need to decide exactly how I’m going to develop this mountain.
If the person with final say–that is, me–doesn’t at least have a rough idea of the end product, nobody can make detailed plans or offer revisions.
“If we’re setting priorities right now, it should be roads and basic mountain maintenance.
We can let the Huge Bush Slimes roam free around this cabin, and they’ll take care of most of the undergrowth.
As for pruning branches, let’s mobilize all the goblins.
My metal and iron slimes can provide the tools.” [Ryouma]
“I believe Ryouma-sama has just under a hundred goblins, yes? That’s quite a sizable workforce,” [Sebasu]
It was Sebasu-san who said that with an impressed nod as he recalled the goblin unit from the Town of Departed Spirits.
In fact, their numbers have already broken a hundred last week and now stand at 113-man strong.
It’s nowhere near enough for full-scale pioneering, but for mountain upkeep? It’s a respectable force.
“They can work just like humans for simple jobs, while hobgoblins are strong. I think it will be more efficient for me to make the roads with the slimes, but the pruning can be left entirely to them. Once the roads and maintenance are done, I’d like to tackle the landslide in the miasma zone.” [Ryouma]
If we leave it like that, another collapse could happen any day, and that would make future purification much harder.
Fortunately, the curse magic I learned this morning can block miasma. I want to put that knowledge to practical use, both to master it and to review what I’ve learned.
“Also, as is, my goblins are brewing alcohol every spare second they can get, so I want them to work hard on other jobs too.” [Ryouma]
Lately they’ve grown bored with just white liquor and have started to experiment with different ingredients such as the wheat and potatoes from the slime-farmer experiments. They even used the leftover fruits I handed out as souvenirs from the Great Great Forest.
Thanks to their enthusiastic brewing, we’ve even discovered Drunk Slimes that feed on half-fermented mash, which has contributed to my research.
But judging from past patterns, those Drunk Slimes are highly likely to evolve into something useful for alcohol production, like a Moromi Slime. (Moromi = Main Fermentation Mash)
Don’t get me wrong—I’m genuinely thrilled and overjoyed whenever a new slime appears. But if we actually end up with a slime specialized for making booze, I’m going to need real countermeasures, or keeping them cooped up in the Dimension Home forever with zero exercise will destroy their health to say the least.
Come to think of it, regular forest maintenance might just be good exercise for them. And while we’re at it, this is a chance for me to get in shape too.
“Get in shape? You planning some kind of special training?” [Mizelia]
It was Mizelia-san who asked that, her ears perking at the word.
“If I can find the time.
You know how I went home for a visit recently?
I’m fine moving through the Great Forest as is, but when it comes to taking down monsters in the depths, my attack power still feels a bit lacking.” [Ryouma]
“If you can go into the Great Forest and come back alive, then you’re plenty strong already. Are the monsters in the depths really that dangerous?” [Wereanna]
“There’s a lot of big, sturdy beasts. There are some smaller and tricky ones too, but my attacks work on those just fine.” [Ryouma]
Unfortunately, against something like the Tyrant Raptor or the leader of those Cannonball Rhinos, if Glen-san hadn’t been there, I would’ve been in some serious trouble. Sure, I could probably beat them with slimes and some sleight of hand, but my power is definitely lacking.
Now I’m not planning on turning into another Glen, but I should at least polish my ki usage and magic a bit more.
Also, that guy dashed off saying he was “going to buy retort food,” so he’ll probably show up again before long. Wouldn’t put it past him to demand another duel too.
“Well, if there’s anything I can help with, just say the word.” [Mizelia]
“We can at least cast strengthening magic, nyaa.” [Miya]
“I’ll tag along too when the time comes.” [Jeff]
“Thanks, everyone!” [Ryouma]
Now that I’m thinking about it, finding time to train actually sounds fun. So much so that I want to nail down the details right away, but unfortunately, we have more pressing matters to deal with.
“Anyway, since the goblins will help with mountain maintenance, I’d like to see the key locations with my own eyes at least once.” [Ryouma]
“In that case, I’ll guide you. We’ve already reported everything we’ve explored, so just give the word when it’s convenient for you, Boss.” [Yurdum]
“Rosenberg-sama?” [Ryouma]
When I asked for his opinion, Rosenberg-sama opened his mouth with a gentle smile.
“Ryouma-kun, you can already perform a full purification on your own. I will of course offer advice whenever I’m present, but from here on it’s best to rack up real experience and gradually find the method that suits you best.
I will always make myself available when needed, so please decide for yourself.” [Ryouma]
He’s leaving it entirely up to me. In that case, let’s have Yurdum-san show me around the mountain this afternoon.
“Yurdum-san, I’ll be counting on you this afternoon then.” [Ryouma]
“Roger that.” [Yurdum]
“And Rosenberg-sama—later I’ll hand over the materials on that lost magic I mentioned. Could you take a look when you have a moment?” [Ryouma]
“Of course.” [Rozenberg]
I’d prepared the documents long ago, but right after we rendezvoused we dove straight into purification lessons, so I never found the right timing. I’ll have him read them today and discuss the details tomorrow.
Unexpected jobs and schedule changes were the bane of my previous life, but moving forward step by step while discussing things with everyone like this? It’s fun. I want to keep this momentum and work hard toward our goals from now on too.
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