The tiger-like beast growled, roaring fiercely. A slight smile appeared on my face, it was already stuck on the ground, completely defenceless. Its head is pierced through by my sword.
And with that, I've completed the request! A whole ten Tiger Wolves killed by me and Ai! Tiger Wolves are F-rank monsters, but usually, they fight in packs, meaning they can get up to D-Rank in difficulty! Luckily enough, the biggest pack we found was a group of four. Turns out, Ai is actually an okay fighter, considering her age... Or maybe it's normal for people her age to know how to fight decently and maybe I'm just applying the logic of my former world...
Anyway.
I've finally made my way to level 20! And what would you know, I've got some evolution options. However, I wanna save the surprise for later, so I'll see my options when we get back. Oh, on the note of levels, Ai has made it to level 16, an upgrade from her former level 12 self.
Now, while we're out in this forest, I might as well look for these medicinal herbs... I think it's called Yelnt herb, I took another request to collect these plants... Oh, hey, I don't think I've explained to you how a lot of this Guild stuff works.
So, there are eight ranks. Starting from the bottom, there's F-rank. F-rank's are the weakest of the weak adventurers or ones who have just started... So, I and Ai are F-rank.
After that, there's E-rank... You, know, thinking about this, this system is pretty basic, I mean, pretty much every Isekai uses a ranking system like this... Hey, a little more creativity would be nice! You know how it works, right? It goes up to S-rank, and these rankings are specific to Adventurers, you know! As was stated a while ago by Gamma, monster's too have ranks, the same one used for adventurers. Seriously, how uncreative can this world get? Yeah, I guess keeping it simple makes it easier to remember, but come on!
Anyway, you get the gist, accept requests, eventually rank up, repeat. That's how the adventurers guild works. Mostly, the guild will take on any request, unless it's too morally wrong, such as assassinations and such. Though requests to kill a group of bandits or something are allowed, they're usually only posted by the guards, however.
Oh, I've gotten off task. Usually, looking for Yelnt herbs would be difficult, especially considering they look almost identical to common weeds, but with almighty appraisal, this should be easy! Or... That's what I want to think. See, Yelnt herbs are... Well, pretty rare. So, I'm gonna have to be appraising a lot of stuff.
...
And how right I was, after searching for three hours, I found a total of fifteen, and that's just enough to finish the request. To think, they would post this as an F-rank request! This is like, D-rank at most with how long this took. And did I mention how many monsters attacked me while I was trying to appraise the stuff? Seriously, I could have died! If Ai wasn't here, some monster could of surprise attacked me and killed me in one hit... Better not to think about how low my health and defence stat are, that'll just make me stress out about it.
Hm, with both requests we took, I guess it's time we should head back... Well, I want to say that, but something just caught my eyes... Well, something interesting got caught on Mana Sense, my eyes aren't actually functional, so...
Some guy in black robes, wearing some strange mask, walks by us, not seeming to notice us. Reminds me of the guy that bandit told us about... The Cult of Tal Darle, huh? I mean, I didn't think I would meet someone in that cult, like ever! Well, 'meet,' I'm really the only one focused on him. So, now I'm just wondering if I should follow him or not...
Oh, why not? I'm pretty confident in my stealth! I mean, I'm a slime, I weigh next to nothing, not like I can actually make much noise, considering that. Wait... I'm pretty sure I have a skill perfect for this scenario. Camouflage! I haven't had to use it a lot, so it's just level two. Oh, if you wanna know, the skill just changes the colour of your skin or other outer layer of the body to the colour that camouflages better with the surrounding area.
"Ai, stay here," I spoke quietly, activating the skill. She seemed confused, but nodded, sitting against a tree. Sure, just leaving her by herself seems stupid, but she can handle herself pretty well. Ignoring skills, she could probably beat me in a fight if she played or cards right.
I start following the Masked Man, transforming into my Demon Lizard form. Despite how it looks, it's a pretty stealthy monster, I mean, it's the one that had camouflage, to begin with! That, and it makes little noise.
So, after a bit of following, he stops... He hasn't like, reached anywhere, so why...? Wait, did he realize I was--
"Creature, show yourself, or I shall make you." He spoke in a frightening tone, definitely aware of me at this point. I transformed back, walking out from the tree I was hiding behind... I mean, did I have a choice? He probably would have killed me if I didn't.
"Hm... An Arch-Slime...?" He said in a confused manner... Oh god, how did he know I'm a slime? That's definitely a problem, "No, a normal one wouldn't be able to understand speech, with a skill's help or not... A mutation then?" He must have appraisal, right? Damn! I never accounted for that, since it's such a rare skill.
"Hey, um... Could you just let me go? I was just a bit curious, you know! I won't bother you with... whatever you're doing."
"No, you obviously know what group I am a part of... You must be a monster tamed by Draila, then... They've caught on..." He clenched his fists, "I have no choice then, I must kill you." He stated, glaring at me.
Huh...?
HUH?
Seriously, how the hell did you reach that conclusion?!
"Hey! As I said, I was just curious! I'm not even a tamed monster, so you really don't have to take such drastic measures." I instinctively reached for my sword...
However, at that moment, the man started releasing this terrible aura... One with power like I had only felt once before.
"No... I cannot take any chances... You shall die here, Disalusioned Child of Tal Darle. I apologize." Without even a single chance to speak, four spheres of pure darkness appeared by his side.
Yep, nope. I'm not dealing with that! Even one of those things could kill me five times over! I got way over my head. Look, I'm not a coward, but I'm not an idiot either! I'm not gonna die here, nor am I gonna fight this lunatic!
However, the spheres are already heading for me. In a panic, I activate Defense Form, now unable to move.
The things hit me head-on... But nothing happens. Phew, maybe I really should rely on that skill a bit more.
"What...?" The Masked man spoke confused, but in his voice was a hint of anger.
Alright, now using that time, I'll escape! I transform into the Lesser Roc, activate Gust behind me, and go flying forward! Bye Cultist guy, nice seeing you, but I'm not dealing with you today!
Luckily enough, he doesn't seem to be following me... Jeez, if there was a luck stat, mine would be at a million! I make it back to Ai, transforming back.
"Look, uh, we need to get out of here, quick."
"... Why?"
"Ugh, Overpowered Cultist guy! I'll explain later!" By the time I responded, I was already around five meters away from her.
Ai stood up, and so we made our way out of there as fast as possible, little did I know how much danger that little situation would put me in the future.
[Chapter 24, end.]