Chapter 15: Slimes

Chapter 15: Slimes

“Are you sure we’re far enough away? Shooting rocks tends to result in razor sharp shards to go everywhere and then there’s a risk of ricochets ...” Isaac asked. While he was likely one of the most experienced fighters here, he could freely admit he knew bugger all about guns.

The Golem had been propped up against the far end of the gun range, around twenty meters away.

“It’ll be fine.” Professor Bishop waved his concerns away, then turned to Raul “What gun would you like to try first?”

As he said that, he stepped over to the large shed next to them and threw it open. A large gun safe sat within, but there were also several other weapons next to it.

“Is that an atlatl?” Isaac asked incredulously.

“Yes. Also, a blowgun, modern recurve bow, traditionally made bow and several varieties of javelins. I enjoy studying the older kinds of weaponry in my spare time.” Bishop announced proudly while he opened the safe.

“So, which one would you like to try first?” he asked.

“I think I’ll try the hunting rifle since it’s what I’d most likely be using to fight one of these things, then try the revolver and handgun on whatever is still intact.” Raul mused.

“How hard are those to get?” Bishop asked.

“Summon and kill? Not hard, it’s a matter of seconds. Getting it here, up that bloody hill ... if this is going to become a regular thing, we’ll need some help carrying.” Isaac said.

“You’ll only summon them in that bunker of yours, then? How dangerous are they?” Bishop asked.

“Not dangerous at all, at least not to me. I know exactly where the core is, and I have a [Skill] perfect for bypassing armor.” Isaac told him “I don’t think I’d be very popluar if I started summoning them where they could theoretically get away, though. And while I can handle them easily, using that as my defense is only going to make me look cocky. How about you, are you doing any experiments with the Summoning System?”

“Not really, though I’m preparing to. We’re looking to check which creatures are the least likely to be a problem and find a good place to summon it so we can see what their physicality is like. Though I don’t think a little help from someone with experience fighting them would go amiss.” Bishop offered.

“I think I’d like that. As long as there aren’t any conflicts with my other tasks, I’d love to be there.” Isaac told him with a smile. Any kind of connection here could be helpful.

“I thought we were only allowed to summon in the bunker.” Raul asked.

“Not exactly. We’re only allowed to summon creatures in a situation that is as safe as we can make it, with unfamiliar creatures, that means a heavily armored and fully sealable room in most cases. Also, where all your experiments are concerned, you need to conduct those in an environment that you can control. Theoretically, I could just start summoning anywhere as long as I take reasonable precautions, though in practice, I’ll likely try to borrow your bunker.” Bishop explained and Isaac took a mental note of that. If he ever needed to summon something while having some kind of official proof of where he did so, it sounded like Professor Bishop was a good person to ask.

“I’m ready, clear the range.” Raul announced, sounding overly formal. Isaac supposed it was some kind of verbal warning that needed to be given before one started flinging around chunks of lead at speeds that could easily kill a human.

“Mr. Thoma, you need to wear some ear protection.” Bishop warned, holding out a pair of earmuff looking thing things.

“Ah, thanks.” Isaac said, gingerly grabbing it and slipping it onto his head. He really needed to start learning some of the etiquette around guns if this was going to become a regular thing.

As he watched, Raul carefully took aim with a normal hunting rifle and fired.

An explosion of stone dust erupted, followed by cracks shooting across the surface of the Golem, large rents radiating outwards while smaller ones spiderwebbed the space in between. It was still intact, but clearly damaged.

Raul put down the rifle, flicked on the safety and announced “Gun’s down, range is safe.”

The three of them walked forward towards the hunk of rock to inspect it.

“It’s clearly still intact, but I don’t know how much of that it’d be able to keep if it kept moving. A lot of that would probably crack off.” Bishop observed.

“Yep. They’re definitely not bulletproof, but they’re not going to just crumble in the face of firearms, either.” Raul added.

“Alright, time to shoot it again?” Isaac suggested.

The second bullet blew most of the damaged surface clear off, the third one turned what had been the inside of the Golem into a shattered mess and the one after that destroyed it for good.

“So, four bullets to kill a Golem? Seems doable, though a sledgehammer might be a better weapon.” Bishop mused.

“Seeing as how slow they are, a sledgehammer is definitely a better choice, at least I think so. Though what I’d like to know is if doing it like this would get the core.” Isaac wondered “You know what, I’ll go see if Professor Bailey has one he can spare.”

And with that, Isaac headed off, jogging back towards the biology building. When he reached the meeting room, things were very quiet, just three people swiping at the air as they worked the [System].

Seeing as Bailey wasn’t here, the Professor was likely in his office, so that’s where he went next.

“Come in.” Bailey called out mere seconds after Isaac had knocked.

“Adam, I was wondering if I could have one of the more intact Golem cores we got yesterday so we can see if a gun can destroy it.” Isaac asked.

“Sure, go ahead. Does Professor Bishop want more whole golems, too?”

“Not sure, I didn’t ask. If he does, can we use the summoning room?”Ñøv€l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

“Sure, just be as careful as you normally are.” Bailey told him.

“Actually, that reminds me of something. While everyone is doing research, their Magic Regeneration is kind of being wasted, isn’t it? In the interest of efficiency, could I suggest everyone takes turns to summon the various weaker monsters so we know what they look like.” Isaac suggested.

“I’ll think about it. You’re right, in theory, but there might be trouble with properly processing them quickly enough.” Bailey cautioned him.

“Of course. We do have those storage boxes, though. And Patrick can do the autopsies while we do the tests regarding the definition of ‘acid’.” Isaac said.

“Good idea. Quick thing though, when it’s preformed on an animal, the postmortem examination is called a necropsy, not an autopsy. It’s not a big thing, but people are probably going to look at you weird if you refer to a dissection of a monster as an autopsy.” Bailey said “Also, do be careful. Nothing above a Tier 2 circle and bring the list to me for approval first, ok?”

“Obviously.” Isaac agreed “I’m going to head over to Raul and Professor Bishop, then come back. See you soon.”

“See you soon.” Bailey called after him, already turning back to his computer.

Five minutes later, Isaac had returned to the firing range with the Golem core.

“So that’s what they have for a heart then?” Bishop asked.

“Yep, seems to be the only thing that they can’t live without.” Isaac told him.

“I’m guessing that means you can’t ever get an intact one not attached to a live Golem?” Bishop asked.

“Unfortunately, that’s right on the money.” Isaac nodded.

“Alright, let’s see what would happen if it got shot.” Bishop said, a wide grin on his face.

“You like this sort of thing, don’t you Professor?” Isaac asked.

“I do, actually. I teach forestry here at the university, give most of the lessons needed for a firearms license, I spend a lot of time hunting in my free time. There’s a lot we know about the natural world and the usual hunting game, but now that there’s monsters running around ... there’s so much more to do, to see, to understand.” Bishop kept the grin on his face, infectious excitement in his voice.

“The summoning of all the other creatures you want to see will have to wait until tomorrow, unless you want to stay late?” Bailey asked.

“Normally, I wouldn’t mind staying late, but I was actually invited to a frat party tonight. I’m looking forward to doing something a little more normal, for once.” Isaac told him.

“Well, have fun. Just try to be sober again before you summon something, we’d catch hell if someone fought a monster while under the influence.” Bailey cautioned him.

“Ay, ay, Sir.” Isaac threw a mock salute and left the office. That would be it today as far as the whole summoning new and interesting creatures would be, but that wasn’t that big a problem. Acid Slimes gave good XP and he had someone else to pay the mana cost. It would cost him a little XP, namely 1 per Slime, but that was well worth it in terms of saved mana.

Acid Slime (Lv. 2) has been slain. 9 XP gained, 1 XP given to summoner

Acid Slime (Lv. 2) has been slain. 9 XP gained, 1 XP given to summoner

Acid Slime (Lv. 2) has been slain. 9 XP gained, 1 XP given to summoner

...

And just like that, the Experience started flowing in. Every person here could summon four Acid Slimes until their mana ran out and they had to regenerate it for around half an hour, depending on their relation of Magic Power to Magic Regeneration.

A total of 21 Slimes later, he had exactly 200 XP, precisely what he needed to gain Level.

Name: Isaac Thoma

Class: Rogue

Species: Human

Level: 2

XP: 0/300

Health Status: Healthy

Mana: 120/120

Stats

Fortitude

17

Perception

16

Strength

12

Agility

16

Magic Power

12

Magic Regeneration

17

Free Points: 0 Stat, 3 Skill

Skills

Hundred Faces III

Stealth III

Power Strike VI

Piercing Strike VIII

Sundering Strike VI

Knives IX

Sneak V

Sweeping Strike I

Far Strike I

Aspects

Aspect Skills

Specter

Spectral Shift

Hydra

Hydra’s Regeneration

Two points had gone into Strength, bringing it up to 12, while four each where placed in Agility and Perception, the Stats that were technically meant to be his focus. But the stat boost from the Aspects hadn’t really been in line with his intended build. Then again, that just meant he wouldn’t have to spend the points he gained from levelling. As for the [Skill] points, he’d be saving those. Also, [Piercing Strike] had advanced another Level.

Once that was done, he summoned three more Slimes before he finally had the required number

The others even managed to finish their task of looking through every possible summoning category for possible accidental summons by 6 in the evening, allowing them to summon a single Acid Slime before Bailey decided it was getting too late and dismissed them for the day.

Isaac was grinning as he left. He was going to a party. One that wasn’t a desperate attempt to drown out the impending apocalypse in a haze of alcohol and other drugs, but a celebration of life and freedom ... even if there were going to be a lot of drunk people there.