Chapter 3: Hammer VS Metal Slime

Yuzama had never been interested in dungeons. He knew that some civilians became dungeon explorers (commonly known as Seekers) and made a fortune, but there was no doubt that dungeons were dangerous, and only eccentric people would deliberately enter them. It was still a profession with many prejudices. Yuzama thought so, and that hasn't changed.

But right in front of him was a small dungeon, and inside was a rare monster. If he could defeat it, a magic gem might drop.

If it's a rare monster, it might drop a rare magic gem.

Some magic gems are traded for hundreds of millions of yen. Could this be a chance that has come my way?

I'm not particularly smart, and I don't have any special talents. If I go to a low-tier university and get a job, my life won't amount to much.

If I can make a fortune here, I might be able to live a life of leisure...

Such worldly thoughts flashed through his mind.

Yuzama hurried back home and rummaged through the closet, looking for something that could be used as a weapon. According to the internet, slimes are weak, and there's no need to worry about getting hurt.

If there's no danger, there's no reason to hesitate.

From the back of the closet, he found a hammer he had bought from a home center. He remembered it cost 1,280 yen. He put on his sandals on the veranda and returned to the hole in the yard for the third time.

He shone a flashlight into the hole and cautiously entered it.

A small bear watched with a curious look on its face.

"Wow, it's really narrow."

The hole was just wide enough for one adult to fit. There was no space to swing the hammer, and it was difficult to move around.

But the same goes for the opponent. There should be no place for the slime to run.

The slime became alert as an intruder entered the hole. Yuzama curled up into a ball, like a turtle, and faced off with the slime.

He raised the hammer in his right hand and brought it down on the slime's head.

Clank! The hammer was deflected.

"It's hard!"

The sensation was more than he expected. The slime looked metallic, but he was half-skeptical about whether it was really metal.

However, the sensation was undoubtedly metallic, and it was a very strong steel.

Can I defeat this thing? As he was thinking this, the slime in front of him started moving at high speed. There was no place to run in the narrow space, but he couldn't hit it with the hammer.

"Damn! It's so nimble!"

Yuzama also couldn't move well in the narrow space. As he struggled, the slime lunged at him. "Whoa!" he exclaimed as the slime rammed into his knee.

"Ouch!!"

A sharp pain shot through him. It felt like he had been hit with a metal ball.

"Y-You...!"

He tried to bring the hammer down again, but the slime nimbly avoided it and lunged at his arm. When it hit his right arm, the pain was so intense that he dropped the hammer.

The slime is safe!? There's no risk of injury!? No way!

Yuzama desperately crawled out of the hole and lay on the ground, holding his right arm. He was breathing heavily, and as he looked up at the sky, his pet bear, Mamezou, approached with a worried look.

Mamezou licked Yuzama's cheek and whined.

"Huff, huff... No good, Mamezou... There's a vicious monster in there... It's dangerous, so don't get close."

Yuzama wobbled to his feet and returned home. He took an ice pack from the freezer and applied it to his bruised arm and knee.

"Ouch, ouch... What a rough time I've had."

He sat on the sofa, took a deep breath, and placed the ice pack on his knee while holding his phone.

He searched for information about dungeon monsters again. The information about slimes was all similar.

Slimes are very weak monsters that even children can defeat. They move slowly and cannot move faster than humans, and all the information denied any danger.

"It's all lies! A metal slime is completely different."

According to the articles, weak monsters in the shallow layers of the dungeon can be defeated with physical attacks. However, powerful monsters in the deeper layers are resistant to physical attacks and are difficult to defeat.

It seems that a metal slime can't be defeated with physical attacks either.

"Is that thing a powerful monster? Even though it was in a very shallow layer?"

According to the articles, even powerful monsters can be affected by indirect attacks like magic.

Magic is a special power that can only be used in dungeons, and fire, water, and lightning magic are commonly used.

"Indirect attack... metal... if that's the case—"

Yuzama looked at the low shrubs in the yard.

"Maybe I can defeat it by burning it..."