The guild receptionist smiled as she looked at the highly motivated Godrick party.
“You’re finally taking the C-rank promotion test. Best of luck to all of you.”
The adventurers’ guild, where dozens of parties pass through each day.
It’s easy to get confused by the sheer number of people, but the Godrick party was not one the receptionist could forget.
That’s because they had an element that made them more memorable than any other party.
They had a slime with them.
At first, she thought they were just a weird party with strange ideas.
Sometimes, you meet really strange folks working as a receptionist.
But the Godrick party had far exceeded her expectations—in a good way.
They never complained, even when assigned F-rank herb-gathering quests.
They didn’t throw a fit, demanding why they had to do such lame requests.
Though Skol occasionally grumbled, it was only verbal and never became a serious protest.
Honestly, if you judged them by appearance alone, they looked like bandits—but the Godrick party was incredibly diligent.
From the receptionist’s point of view, they were hardworking and left a positive impression.
Although she still couldn’t figure out exactly how the slime contributed to the party.
Anyway, that’s why the receptionist sincerely hoped the Godrick party would pass this promotion test.
“So, what’s the test we’re taking?”
After applying, the guild selects a request that suits the party’s level for the promotion test.
“This is the one you’ll be doing.”
The party’s eyes focused on the request form the receptionist handed over.
“Eliminating a Lesser Troll?”
Lesser Troll.
A C-rank monster that had lower regeneration and a smaller body than a B-rank troll.
“There was a Lesser Troll around here?”
“No, the area where the Lesser Troll has been reported is…”
The receptionist pulled out a map and pointed to a location.
“Here.”
“That’s at least a half-month by carriage, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But since it’s a promotion test, we’ll pay handsomely, so don’t worry.”
“Why do we have to go so far?”
Skol’s question was answered immediately by the receptionist.
“Because it’s a test. A promotion test. Especially for C-rank, the test is meant to evaluate your capabilities and see what you still need to learn.”
“Then why was this request selected for us?”
“Your diligence has already been proven. But up until now, you’ve only completed requests near the city, right?”
“The guild wants to know if you can handle long-distance missions as well. The ability to complete distant requests safely is also essential for adventurers.”
Godrick’s party couldn’t think of a rebuttal to the receptionist’s words.
Because even they had to admit they’d only been taking nearby requests!
“Well, we should take on a request like this every now and then! Right?”
“Yes, boss!”
Skol, Hawane, and Def’s energetic shouts echoed through the guild.
Boing!
To add to the chorus, the slime bounced on top of Def’s head as if it were responding too.
***
C-rank promotion test.
After receiving the request to eliminate the Lesser Troll, the Godrick party prepared for a long journey and boarded a carriage.
Inside the rattling carriage, they passed the time maintaining their weapons or petting the slime, and during breaks, they would step out to eat simple meals.
Godrick’s party chewed on the pre-packed rations they had brought with them.
“Ugh, this is why I hate going far.”
Skol grumbled as he chewed on a piece of jerky from their supplies.
No one in the party criticized him for complaining.
Because they all felt the same way.
Ever since becoming wanted, the Godrick party’s eating habits had become quite restricted.
They couldn’t even eat properly in towns.
Even black markets had food stalls, but staying too long risked being reported.
In the end, they had to rely on packed rations, foraging for fruits in the forest, or hunting animals.
There were even days when they couldn’t find a single animal hair and couldn’t hunt at all.
So they often survived on just rations and fruits.
If only it tasted better, there wouldn’t be much to complain about—but it was nearly impossible to get professionally made jerky like the venison from the elf village on the black market.
Even if it were available, it was too expensive to buy in bulk.
With that experience in mind, the Godrick party tried to avoid eating rations during their adventuring and preferred to take one-day requests near town so they could eat at restaurants instead.
“Here, Tongtong.”
Def pulled out some jerky and handed it to the slime.
‘Jerky.’
The slime absorbed the jerky into its body and savored the flavor.
It wasn’t as nutritious or tasty as the jerky Nellin gave him.
‘Tasty!’
But for the slime, food shared with others almost always tasted ‘delicious.’
While it could distinguish different flavors, it wasn’t a picky eater.
Chewing jerky in silence got boring, so Skol turned to Hawane with a question.
“Hawane, is there anything famous near the Lesser Troll area?”
“Why do you ask?”
“We came all this way, didn’t we? Are we really just gonna kill the troll and go right back? If there’s something cool nearby—hey! We should go check it out!”
“Hah, I never expected Skol to say something like that.”
“Is it that funny hearing me say this?”
“I-I want to look around too, if there’s something to see. Tongtong also likes exploring…”
‘Sightseeing!’
Boing!
“Well, as long as it’s after the subjugation, sightseeing sounds fun. Hawane, do you know any spots?”
Even Godrick asked, prompting Hawane to fall silent in thought.
“Hmm, not sure…”
“Not sure? What do you mean?”
"The village requesting the Lesser Troll extermination doesn’t really have anything worth seeing. It’s probably just an ordinary village. Still, the closest city to that village is quite famous."
“What city is it?”
“The capital, Yupitel.”
“Ugh, that place is full of people who just nag righteously all day.”
“Heh, Skol, you got nagged a lot by the village sister, didn’t you?”
“You got nagged with me by that old lady too!”
“Anyway, I’ve heard the capital is quite beautiful.”
“Don’t change the subject!”
“But why did you say it’s vague, Hawane?”
In response to Def’s question, Hawane stretched out his right hand and said,
“The capital is a five-day carriage ride from that village.”
Skol had thought that since they were already taking a long-distance request, they might as well see something interesting before heading back.
However, the capital, the most worthwhile place to visit, would take an additional five days.
If it were just a day or two away, he might’ve considered going,
But the distance was just inconvenient.
Five days was just long enough to make it hard to decide.
Should they visit the capital or not?
After talking it over for a few minutes, the Godrick party made their decision.
“Let’s take care of the Lesser Troll first and decide then.”
Postponed.
***
“Thank you for coming!”
As soon as they arrived in the village, an old man who seemed to be the village chief welcomed the Godrick party.
“You must be tired from the long journey. Please, come inside. I’d like to at least serve you some tea!”
Under the pretense of hospitality, he invited the Godrick party into his home.
“But that slime on your head...”
“Don’t worry, Chief. It’s completely safe. It won’t attack, ever.”
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
While serving them tea, the village chief began to complain.
He talked about how terrifying it was when they heard loud thuds while hunting.
How they couldn’t sleep when they heard the Lesser Troll’s creepy cries at night.
And many other stories the Godrick party wasn’t really interested in.
They had also sought help from the capital, but the holy knights capable of defeating a Lesser Troll had already been dispatched elsewhere and couldn’t help.
They requested aid from the guild as well, but no adventurers accepted the quest.
Frustrated, they begged the receptionist to explain why, and the response was outrageous.
A Lesser Troll was still a troll, after all.
It was awkwardly strong—too tough for D-rank adventurers, and not profitable enough for C-rank adventurers to bother with.
“We’re truly grateful you came! There’s been no damage yet, but who knows when that vicious monster will attack the village!”
“I-I see.”
The chief grabbed Godrick’s hand and shook it enthusiastically.
Skol whispered to Hawane, “Was this quest just handed to us because nobody else wanted it?”
“Yeah, and since it’s a promotion test, we can’t even refuse.”
“Hehe, Tongtong! Let’s do our best!”
Boing!
‘Let’s do our best!’
***
To recover from their long journey, the Godrick party spent one night in the village.
Then they set off into the mountains to find the Lesser Troll.
With testimony from the village chief and villagers, the Godrick party headed to the reported location.
And leading the party from the front was...
Boing! Boing!
The slime.
Through their time hunting with the slime, they had realized something.
The slime was the best at finding monsters.
They had no idea how it did it, but the Godrick party didn’t bother worrying about the details.
As long as it worked, that was enough.
Having already shown off many abilities, the slime’s skills were simply accepted as part of its charm.
Meanwhile, ‘Different from the forest! Water! So much!’
The slime was thrilled by the new environment.
As it bounced along and used detection, it took in the surroundings.
It wasn’t as densely forested as the thick woods.
The mountain had multiple flowing rivers, and even a stream running down one side.
Of all the environments it had seen so far, this place had the most water.
The more it used detection, the more excited it became.
Boing!
“Tongtong, be careful! The chief said there are strong currents here!”
“You idiot! Just don’t fall in the water! Besides, the strong currents are by that cliff over there!”
“S-still, Tongtong bounces a lot. What if it falls in...?”
“Heh, it doesn’t just bounce—it jumps so high it looks like its eyes will pop out.”
Though Def was worried, the slime was too thrilled with the new environment to stop.
And then—
‘...Found it!’
The slime detected a large-bodied monster.
Anyone could tell it was a Lesser Troll.
Boing! Boing!
The slime bounced in place repeatedly as a signal that it had found a monster, just like always.
“You found it?”
Boing!
“Everyone, get ready!”
“Yes, boss!”
At Godrick’s signal, the team focused.
“Lead the way, Tongtong.”
Boing!
The slime bounced along, guiding the Godrick party.
After about three minutes of travel—
Grrrrr...
A monster with blue skin, thick lips, and a massive body appeared.
They had found the Lesser Troll.
It was smaller than a normal troll, but still bigger than Def, who was the largest in the party.
Seeing the Lesser Troll for the first time, Skol muttered in disbelief, “That’s Lesser? Then how stupidly big is a regular troll?”
He had underestimated it in his mind because of the ‘Lesser’ tag, but the pressure of seeing it in person was on a whole different level.