I slightly frowned.
[Paralysis Resistance]: Provides some resistance to abnormal status paralysis.
If I got this skill now, it means that Skadi is trying to paralyze me.
I looked at her who was still shaking my hand like it was a play thing.
I couldn't see a trace of malice or hidden intention on her.
I pulled my hand away.
"Ah..."
She looked slightly dejected after I did so.
Is she acting?
Was I a bit too rash in asking her to accompany me?
…No.
From what I have seen so far, Skadi is a straightforward person.
She wears her emotions on her face and it's easy to tell what she's feeling based on her expressions.
Right now, I can see happiness, excitement, curiosity, and a bit of loneliness.
Seeing her dejected look, I had the sudden urge to pat her head.
Even though we were about the same height, I did so anyways.
She was surprised at my sudden action but accepted it for some reason.
Her hair had a smooth texture and felt cool to the touch.
I took this chance and used [Sensing] to fully scan her while I was in contact with her.
"?!"
And what I saw was unexpected.
Skadi's mana was lightning.
Every living being that I've seen so far has a place on their body where a large amount of mana gathers.
Even monsters.
I learned through my classmates that this place is called a mana center or mana core.
Magic crystals appear precisely where this mana center is located after a monster dies outside a dungeon.
My mana center is wherever my ruby core is.
Generally, mana has a liquid type of feeling that constantly flows and circulates in someone's body similar to blood.
Outside the body, it was like teeny tiny small particles of dust.
But what I sensed flowing in Skadi had a lightning appearance.
This is the first time I saw mana taking on a different form inside somebody.
Is this the cause of me getting the [Paralysis Resistance] skill and why those guys from earlier were knocked out just by touching Skadi?
I should experiment more on this.
"Hehe..."
When I started patting Skadi's head, she became content like a cat lazily laying around.
But after I started using my mana to scan her, her eyes opened wide and she became like a cat on guard with its hair standing up.
I quickly stopped and she returned back to the satisfied cat look.
Even though she's a Mermaid, how come she's so like a pet cat?
If she was a loli like Dawn, her cuteness level would have reached sky high.
"By the way Skadi, how old are you?"
I couldn't help but ask her.
"I'm 18!"
So she's legal.
Wait, why am I thinking that?
"I'm 17, just a year younger than you."
Since she told me her age, it was only right for me to tell her mine.
"Do you already have a place to stay in this city yet?"
"Not yet." She said.
"Then let's meet up with my companion. He should be looking for a good place to rest while we look for transportation."
I could sense Mumador close to the harbor where a bunch of ships were docked.
I took the lead and headed over there while Skadi followed along.
###
Close to the ship harbor, Mumador had found a cheap but secure inn.
Unfortunately, the inn did not have a dining hall so there were no food services.
We had to eat somewhere else.
Fortunately, because we were close to a bustling part of the city, it was not hard to find restaurants and food stalls.
In fact, there quite a number of them scattered around here and there, all of which were selling a variety of seafood.
"So you beat Mumador's boss and made him your subordinate?"
"Yup. That's why we're heading to a slave trader."
I introduced Skadi to Mumador and we were now looking for a slave trader after we had just finished eating.
I'll omit the part where Mumador got a rather shocking handshake from Skadi.
The meal we ate was okay but it lacked a bit of flavor for me.
"Wow. That means that you're pretty strong right Rim?!"
"Well I sure hope so."
Around this area I can still be considered as "over-leveled".
My current abilities outmatch this place.
The average level of people and monsters I've seen so far in Aqua Port City is just around 10 levels higher than in Lam City.
If I get into a fight, as long as my opponent doesn't use any sneaky tricks like Nat's smoke, I'm confident that I could beat them.
I could probably even go toe-to-toe with Argo now that I had [Sin of Sloth].
But I didn't let it all go to my head.
The reason why is because of all the stories I heard about the Heroes from the past that my classmates had found out through the Adventurer Guild's historical records.
Since the Adventurers Guild was established by one of the very first heroes in this world, it was only natural for them to keep records of the succeeding heroes.
The ones that my classmates read about all contained the astonishing feats of Heroes.
One hero named Phym was able to slice the land apart thus creating the Phym archipelago.
Another hero named Kairne, literally moved mountains with a single kick.
He created the Kairne Mountain range in order to protect his country from a colossal monster tide led by a Demon King.
Most of the heroes were involved in wars with the Demons.
Some of them even reached the World War scale.
Of course, the things that my classmates had learned about weren't everything the Adventurers Guild had records on.
There were other records that only high ranking Adventurers had access to.
Hearing about their stories made me realize how ridiculous this world was and how broken heroes were.
The only person who could fight evenly with a hero was a Demon King.
Strangely, whenever a Hero fought with a Demon King, records of the fight and the result remained obscure.
It's always either the Hero sacrificed himself/herself to defeat the Demon King, or the Hero defeated the Demon King but was gravely injured and was resting in some faraway unknown land.
I had no idea whether I would meet any of these legendary beings but I made it my side quest to become strong enough to be able to protect myself in case I do.
Or at least run away unscathed.
Finding a way home takes priority of course.
###
I successfully made Mumador my slave and left the slave trader's place.
Surprisingly, it was a decent place that properly took care of slaves.
Slavery in this world is not as bad as how those novels I read made them out to be.
In fact, becoming a slave is just a way for some people to get work.
It's a respectable profession in this world much unlike the Thief job.
However, there were some underground slave traders that illegally forced people into becoming slaves.
In a way, Mumador got a good deal by becoming my slave.
I felt slightly cheated.
Contract Magic wasn't a big deal.
The two people who were part of the contract had to swear upon mana to uphold their oath in the contract.
Breaching it would result in immediately becoming mana.
That means that they would evaporate like monsters in dungeons.
Mumador had to follow any order I gave him and he wasn't allowed to hurt me or have any bad intentions towards me.
I closely observed when the slave trader used the Contract Magic in order to learn how it works.
Unfortunately, I couldn't understand anything about it.
I couldn't even tell if mana was being used or not.
It made me doubt the legitimacy of the contract.
But when I ordered Mumador to break his arm, he did so without hesitation.
I apologized and healed him up of course.
It's a shame I couldn't get anything out of the observation but whatever.
I paid the fee for the contract and left with the others.
"With that out of the way, what should we do now?"
I spoke to myself.
"If I could give a suggestion, why not start asking around for a method to get to the Beastman Kingdom? Asking the harbormaster would be a good start." Mumador said.
"Oh! Good idea. I didn't think about that. I just thought of asking random people I pass by." I stated.
"Me too!" Skadi agreed with me.
"As your slave it's my pleasure to serve you."
Hmm. Not bad.
Not bad at all.
I can already feel the convenience owning a slave brings.
I now understand why slavery existed in the past in my world.
With a plan on hand, we asked directions pointing to the harbormaster.
Name: Ruby Sen Lv. 18
Age: 17
Race: ???
Class: Magical Creature
Job: - Lv. 18
HP: 20 [100%]
MP: 20 [100%]
STR: 15 (+5)
DEF: 15 (+25)
INT: 22
WILL: 20
SPD: 16
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Foresight
Shapeshift
Novice Magic Caster
Poison Resistance
Sleep Resistance
Intermediate Weapon Master
Paralysis Resistance
<
Dissolve
Sensing
Sculpting
Detonate
Appraisal Analysis
Cloning
Mana Designing
Mana Disturb
Heal
Boost
Stealth
Engraving
Steal
<
Tongue Enhancement
Sin of Sloth