Chapter 61. Potion Hell (3)

Mihou

The outskirts of the forest were populated, different parties were heading inside one after another which makes sense considering that this forest is also the beginner forest that most starting adventurers are taken to with instructors to experience beforehand what to do during certain situations and all those other trainings.

Mana and I managed to skip the training with the help of Aurora and Estelle, but it is the standard procedure in most cases. It is also the reason why the Western Exit of the city is perfect for heading out towards the capital since it is the safest route and also the fastest. The capital is around a two-day run from this place and also the central commerce city is about a day from here which also contributes to its populated area.

“Should we split up?” I inquired while looking at the main entrance of the forest where most of the groups entered. It was an entrance that had two members from the Guild watching over since they don’t want some random person to enter unprotected despite it being the beginner zone.

“I think it would be more efficient if we split; the herbs are mostly on the outskirts while the stinky slime is more likely to be in the inner parts of the forest,” Mana said as all of us agreed simultaneously. It made more sense if we want efficiency to split up especially considering that the stinky slime is the hardest to find.

“Where should we meet up?” Kate inquired.

“We could meet at the entrance of the forest in forty minutes if possible, or in an hour maximum considering that the herbs can be found within twenty minutes at maximum while the slime is about an hour maximum unless something happens…” Leisha spoke while looking at us as if she wants to ask something.

I would love to hear her question, but it seems like, from the looks of it, she can’t tell us with Kate around which could mean it is some sort of secret. I am curious though, but I guess I have to wait a bit since patience is the key to everything.

“I think that should be more than enough, then let’s meet up at the entrance in an hour from now. Do you all agree?” I said before all of them nodded with no objections. An hour should be more than enough with the mini-map on my side since it makes it far easier to detect opponents that are within the map’s search radius.

“Well then, to the best of one another!” Mana said, placing her hand on the center as I placed mine above hers with Leisha placing hers above mine and last but not the least, Kate at the very top… and also Flora who was sitting on Mana’s shoulders.

After our short parting, the three of us including Flora made our way towards the entrance of the forest where the two guild members looked at us for a second, nodding as we entered inside where the sight of dozens of parties moving through the place populated both my sight and my map.

The map was showing about eighteen parties with each party consisting of four to six members which was the normal amount, about two of those members are usually veterans and the remaining are the people who are starting out. The fact that there were plenty of parties made it hard for us to filter out which is what.

“How about we head to the center?” Mana suggested while holding down Flora’s legs to make sure she doesn’t fall.

“I agree, it’s too hard to find them on the mini-map…” I said before she nodded, looking at her top right as if she was also staring at something which made me curious.

“How do you navigate the mini-map, if you don’t mind I ask?” Mana inquired while gazing at her top right corner almost like she had her own mini-map which was strange.

“Have you perhaps unlocked the mini-map?” I asked before she looked at me, nodding… I see, then that makes more sense now. If Mana has unlocked the mini-map, the chances of Leisha also unlocking another part of the system is high which is maybe why she wants to ask.

“Well, to navigate it… just think of where you want to look; well, it’s hard to explain inside a populated area, how about I’ll teach you after this quest?” I offered while walking down the dimly lit forest as Flora looked around with glimmering eyes while Mana nodded.

“Boar~ Boar~ Boar~ where are you~?” Flora started singing as she looked left and right, searching for the potential prey for her meal. Too bad for the little deer girl, all the boars are pretty much afraid of her that even from a million miles, they can sense her coming.

After ten minutes of walking, we soon reached the center of the forest. It was a circular empty zone where the light tends to enter, there were no trees other than a gigantic behemoth tree at the very center of the place. The tree is said to be the main mana source of the place which is why there are no trees within the surrounding radius.

“Let me check my map again…” I said before turning towards my mini-map which was still fairly populated but not as populated as before as the parties went either right or left which gave me enough space to individually search each dot that was near us.

From my experience, the stinky slime tends to be a brown dot which there are only about seven of them within the close radius. There were two to our left and four to our right with one at our front which was the odd one. These slimes tend to not gather together which makes more sense for me to check the lone one.

“I think I might have found it,” I said while looking at the dot at the front of us. It was not far from our location, only about a two-to-five minute walk depending on how many creatures we encounter. Though then again, most creatures that we encounter usually are sliced in one go with my dagger which makes it easier.

“Let’s head there, then…” Mana said while taking out three towels, wrapping her nose with it before also covering Flora’s as I covered mine with the towel she handed. It was kind of an extra measure against stinky slimes though it isn’t a hundred percent efficient.

After preparing ourselves from our weapons to our defensives, we soon made our way towards the direction of the stinky slime, slicing a few wolves left and right; we only took the wolves’ fangs since it was additional materials that can be used to create weapons and arrows and can get you a bit of pocket money, the fur is useless though since the market has more fur than there is demand.

“It stinks…” I complained as we soon reached near the dot before two windows popped out, showing something that is as if coming out from a nightmare.

The Library

You have encountered [Evolved Stinky Slime], unlocking the special secret quest: [Stink Extinguisher]

The Library: Quest [Stink Extinguisher]

A certain monster has evolved within the forest, casting a blanket of smell onto the forest; the populace still hasn’t discovered the cause but most suspected that the cause is a stinky slime. As the finder of the Evolved Stinky Slime, it is your responsibility to clear it and save the populace from the smell!

Rewards

100 Raw Experience Points.

20 Gold Coins.

+1000 respect from the adventurers.

I felt like I had stumbled upon something that was not the best of the best… a special quest that requires us to defeat not just a stinky slime but an EVOLVED one… I felt dizzy from the sight of the quest as I closed the window before a gigantic brown slime that had a marvelous UwU face came to sight, emitting the most horrendous smell that even my stomach can’t endure.