Chapter 1

"Fifteen... fourteen... thirteen... twelve... eleven... ten, oh."

Tall noticed the sensation of cracking an eggshell and slowly pulled out the knife he had thrust into the forest slime. The blade, which had been immersed in the slime's dissolving fluid, had discolored and was severely warped. Grateful for the good fortune of having finished the job in time, he shook the blade lightly to fling off the sticky liquid.

Focusing his mind on the knife he held, Tall chanted inwardly:

--<Restoration>.

The moment he uttered the incantation, the deed was already done. The terrible state of the blade from a moment ago had vanished without a trace, and the knife was back to its original pristine condition.

Exhaling a thin breath due to the sense of loss from the depletion of his magic, Tall quickly sheathed the knife and took the long, coiled shell he had tucked into his belt. The slime, which had been clinging to the tree trunk, began to drip and fall due to its core being crushed. He placed the mouth of the shell against the brown fluid and began to collect it, pouring it in.

The forest slime, a shapeless monster born from condensed miasma, becomes safe when it dies, as its dissolving properties are lost. The sticky fluid, when heated, becomes a powerful adhesive or reinforcing material, making it useful for various purposes. Therefore, the price for a single coiled shell is five copper coins, which is surprisingly high. The high price is also due to the fact that almost no one wants to collect it.

The forest slime, which looks like a lump of mud, clings to tree trunks and slowly withers the tree. It doesn't attack even when approached, and it doesn't counterattack even when an attempt is made to kill it.

It might seem easy to deal with, but the problem lies in how to kill it. First, the slime's surface membrane is surprisingly elastic, and it can't be penetrated without a sharp blade. To find the weak point, the core, hidden in the brown fluid, one must stir it like a stew pot with the blade. During this time, the slime will continuously dissolve any foreign objects that enter its body. This is why it's a monster that's not worth the high price of a valuable weapon, and it's no wonder it's unpopular.

Naturally, the dissection knife Tall uses is not spared when it comes into contact with the slime. But he has a "skill" that can nullify this.

This land, called Eternoa, is a battleground between the gods of creation and the gods of destruction. People are on the side of the gods of creation and are destined to fight against the minions of the gods of destruction that attack day and night.

The weakest of humans have no chance against the terrifying monsters, which are embodiments of destruction. However, the gods of creation did not abandon their children, whom they had created. The compassionate gods granted the people of the world the means to fight against the monsters.

This is the skill tree. Every human soul is born with a skill tree, and through the skills that reside in its branches, various miracles can be performed. Once granted, the tree never withers and never changes into a new one.

Tall's skill tree, however, was not from one of the six major gods but from an unknown deity. The tree had only one branch, which held the skill called <Restoration>.

The old priest who appraised it was surprised and delighted, calling it a rare innate skill. The people around him also made a big fuss, assuming that it could restore anything to its original state.

But that was only until Tall grew older and gained enough magic to actually use the skill. <Restoration> required a large amount of magic, yet its effect was disappointingly weak. The skill was only effective on objects that were touched, and living beings were not eligible. It could only restore something to its state ten seconds prior, and it could only be used once per hour.

It couldn't even heal minor injuries. It was only useful for restoring something that had just broken in front of him. Moreover, the gods had placed significant restrictions on the skills they granted for fighting. They could only be used on monsters sent by the gods of destruction or on people and objects related to them.

In the end, the only use Tall could think of for <Restoration> was to restore weapons that had been dissolved by slimes.

After collecting the fluid equivalent to three coiled shells, Tall carefully sealed the stopper with one hand and put it in his backpack. The part of the tree trunk where the slime had been attached was melted, leaving a large hollow. If he had been a little later, the tree would have been doomed.

Having completed his task, Tall checked the time through the dappled sunlight. The slightly reddish light indicated that the sun was about to set.

Deciding it was time to head back, he walked out of the woods and onto the forest path. The Little Devil Forest had been developed over many years by many people, and a well-maintained road had been established.

Tall, who had switched to a wooden sword, began to walk briskly, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings.

After walking for about thirty minutes through the forest, the gray stone wall of the border town of Dadan came into view.

A large gate stood in front of the stone wall, with two guards in reddish-brown leather armor standing beside it. However, the sturdy wooden doors with iron frames were wide open, and the guards were leaning against the wall, showing no signs of enthusiasm. The lax guards noticed Tall approaching and stopped their conversation.

"Hey, old man. Are you done collecting mud today?"

"Hey, cut it out."

A young man, with his hand in his pocket, spoke in a teasing tone, which was stopped by the older man.

Tall nodded slightly and showed his adventurer's badge, a plate with a green border, which indicated the lowest rank, Green Oak.

The elderly guard, a former adventurer, looked at the green plate with pity and motioned for Tall to go through the gate.

As Tall passed through, the young man's voice was thrown at his back.

"You're getting on in years. How long do you plan to keep dealing with slimes? And at such a late hour?"

"Cut it out, Karlus. Choose your words carefully!"

"You should retire, old man. Being a gatekeeper is a pretty easy job."

Tall raised his hand in response to the young man's advice without turning around. For a G-rank adventurer, finding a new job after retirement would be nearly impossible. At best, he could find daily labor work, but with his condition, it wouldn't last long. This was a well-known fact.

Beyond the gate was a square. The sun had already set, and the stone buildings were dimly lit by the glow of magic stones.

Tall, going against the flow of people hurrying home, headed towards the adventurer's guild building. Instead of the main entrance, he went around to the right and arrived at the window for bounty assessment.

Adventurers in similar attire were already forming a long line, holding the proof of their kills. Tall quietly joined the line.

As the line moved forward, someone who had arrived late overtook Tall and spoke to the young men in front. They seemed to be part of the same party. After a brief exchange, the latecomer joined the line. Since the settlement of hunts is usually done by the entire party, this wasn't a punishable offense.

The young man who had joined the line turned back, perhaps to greet Tall, and his eyes widened when he noticed the G-rank plate around Tall's neck. He pointed at Tall and whispered something to the woman beside him. The young men in front, hearing the conversation, turned their heads to confirm the sight of the middle-aged adventurer. Compared to their dirty and damaged equipment, Tall's leather coat, though well-worn, showed no signs of having fought a monster. The young men, assuming the worst, began to mutter in disdain.

"Man, I don't want to end up like that."

"How long does he plan to cling to this life, the bounty thief?"

"I would have retired long ago out of shame."

Tall looked back at them with a blank expression, showing no signs of embarrassment or discomfort. His eyes, hardened by years of harsh winds and storms, met theirs.

Noticing Tall's gaze, the young men exchanged glances and fell silent. They then tried to change the topic, starting to talk about their day's achievements.

After a while, it was Tall's turn. The receptionist at the window, a woman in a green uniform, was unfamiliar, but Tall opened his backpack as usual and began to take out the coiled shells one by one, checking them.

The receptionist, with slightly upturned eyes, tapped her long nails on the counter, alternating her gaze between Tall and the line behind him. When she added a pointed horn to the last shell, she took one of the shells carelessly, pouting in dissatisfaction.

"What is this?"

The receptionist, glancing at the green-bordered plate around Tall's neck, asked in a slightly raised, intimidating tone. The staff of the adventurer's guild were mostly former high-rank adventurers, and the rest were appointed through hereditary or connections. People with such privileges often looked down on those who worked in the field.

"Are you in the right place? This is the window for bounty assessment."

Slimes, lacking a specific part to prove their kill, are verified by three coiled shells containing their fluid. In this town, Tall was almost the only one who hunted slimes, so it was understandable that the new receptionist was skeptical.

"Did you put anything strange in there?"

Without waiting for Tall's explanation, the receptionist immediately pulled the stopper out of the shell. Before Tall could stop her, the brown fluid spilled out of the tilted shell, dripping onto a stack of documents and spreading.

The receptionist, letting go of the shell, let out a loud scream.

"Ah! What is this?"

"Hey, what's going on?"

"What did you do?!"

The men in line behind her, noticing her scream, crowded around. Tall dodged a man's arm that suddenly reached out for his shoulder and skillfully avoided another who lunged at his waist.

The men who missed their targets crashed into the counter, groaning in pain. Someone shouted to call the security, and the situation began to get chaotic. Suddenly, a flustered woman's voice cut through the commotion.

"What's going on here?"

"Ah, Enna-senpai!"

A plump woman appeared from the back. Though not conventionally beautiful, she had a charming face. Enna, looking at the spilled coiled shell and the receptionist's face, seemed to understand the situation immediately. She shrugged in exasperation.

"Did you mess up again, Marika? Ah, Tall-san, thank you as always."

"But... this..."

"Didn't I tell you to be careful with the slime's fluid?"

"I didn't hear that."

"Again, that. I'll take care of this, so go write a report in the back."

"But I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Just go, go. It seems there was a misunderstanding. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Enna, a familiar face, dismissed the dissatisfied Marika and apologized to the men still in pain, quickly resolving the situation. She bowed to Tall and then picked up the spilled coiled shell to prevent further damage. Tall's hand reached out and touched the spilled fluid before she could.

In the next moment, the spilled slime fluid disappeared without a trace.

Enna, seeing the fluid back in the shell as if nothing had happened, was taken aback. But she quickly understood what had happened and smiled at Tall. She efficiently counted the items, wrote down Tall's name and the amount on the assessment sheet, and stamped it.

"Here, I've confirmed. One Horned Mole and five Forest Slimes, and fifteen vials of fluid. Please take it."

The tray she handed over contained ninety-five copper coins. Considering that a day laborer's daily wage was about two hundred copper coins, it wasn't a good deal. But Tall accepted it silently and put the coins in a small bag hanging from his belt.

"Thank you. I'll make sure to talk to that girl, so please forgive her."

Tall scratched his chin in response to Enna's mediation. After leaving the assessment window, he headed to the buyback office attached to the adventurer's guild.

The buyback office was where the remains of defeated monsters were purchased, dissected, and wholesaled. The unique smell hit him as he entered. Inside, dissection tables lined the spacious room, and staff in blood-stained aprons were busy cutting up the bodies. One of them, a short, sturdy man with a horn on his forehead, noticed Tall and approached the counter.

"Welcome, Tall-san."

Nodding to the familiar staff, Tall handed over the Horned Mole's body, which he had already cut off the horn. The Horned Mole is a mole that has been mutated by miasma. Its nose is hard and pointed like a horn, and its body has grown to the size of a medium-sized dog. It has the habit of suddenly attacking from underground when it senses prey. Despite this, it is considered a step below slimes in the Little Devil Forest, which is suitable for beginners.

"You always catch them so cleanly. This one will have a nice, undamaged hide, which really helps."

Usually, monsters are killed using martial or magical skills, leaving their bodies burned or torn apart. But the mole Tall brought had only a concentrated mark of a blow on its face, with minimal damage.

"Shall I handle it as usual?"

Tall, scratching under his chin silently, received the disassembled Horned Mole's meat, wrapped in leaves, from the staff. After confirming that he had put it in his backpack, the staff handed him three copper coins. The buyback price for one Horned Mole is five copper coins, but it was also possible to have the meat and hide purchased separately.

"Also, here's the usual bonus."

As Tall reached for the leaf-wrapped package the staff had secretly placed on the counter, someone's voice suddenly interrupted.

"What is that, Sargon?"

"Supervisor!"

"I received a report that some staff were illegally diverting purchased items. I didn't expect you to be so shameless."

The man who approached, raising his voice, was a red-haired, dark-skinned man in the same white apron as the others. However, his clothes were spotless. The man snatched the package from Sargon, who hurriedly explained.

"It's a misunderstanding, Supervisor. It's a part that was going to be discarded."

"Why would you give something like that? Lying won't do you any good."

"I, I did it at Tall-san's request."

The man, called Supervisor, opened the package on the counter, revealing the Horned Mole's bones and organs, which were not suitable for consumption, as Sargon had said. The red-haired man, looking at the contents and Tall's face with a stern expression, seemed to recognize the green-bordered plate around Tall's neck and his expression changed to one of mockery.

"Oh, I see. You're the one they call the mud collector. I understand, you've fallen so low as to become a beggar."

Losing interest, the man took out a pipe from his pocket and lit it, blowing out smoke dramatically. Ignoring Tall, he addressed the staff.

"Well, I'll let it slide this time. It saves the trouble of disposal. But, Sargon, dealing with people who have lost their dignity is futile. Make sure this doesn't happen again."

"…Understood."

Sargon, looking reluctant, gave a subtle nod. Realizing the meaning, Tall silently picked up the leaf-wrapped package.

"Besides, there's no value in the life of someone who has lost their pride. Don't you agree?"

"Yes, very much so, Supervisor."

Tall, leaving the buyback office, readjusted his backpack and exhaled deeply. He finally started walking home.

The high-pitched voice of the red-haired man could still be faintly heard from behind.