Alexander slowly turned around to the source of the voice.
Standing about seven feet away from Alexander was a short, bearish looking man with long dreadlocks and a scraggly beard, about four and a half feet tall. He was dressed in leather overalls that were slightly too big for him. He also wore large, heavy boots, and he looked as though he had not touched the shower in years.
Alexander deduced that this man must belong to the race of the dwarves from the book he had just read! He had wanted to meet and talk to another race ever since he read the book.
Although right now did not seem to be the time for an enlightening conversation. The dwarf was fuming mad, his sharp whiskers trembling. This was understandable as Alexander had just broken into his house and made a hole in the dwarf's wall.
"THIS LITTLE SLIME DARES TO INVADE MY HOME!" The dwarf bellowed.
Interestingly though, when the dwarf said this, his mouth did not move at all. Alexander had noticed this as well. He assumed that the dwarf was using some kind of mind magic. Sure enough, Alexander noticed a slender, hollow cord of pure mana that connected him and the dwarf. This dwarf was speaking directly into his head!
Alexander needed to learn how to do this, but now was not the time. The dwarf was about to pulverize the invader that had so rudely broken in and entered his home. The dwarf reached out his palm towards Alexander and began to cast a spell.
Alexander marveled at the sight. This dwarf was a full fledged magician! Alexander watched as the mana threads in the air bent to the will of the dwarf. The thin thread of mana converged on the dwarf's palm and supplied him with mana. In addition, mana flowed through the dwarf''s body into his palm, creating a very quickly growing ball of mana. Soon it became even too bright to look at, and Alexander turned away. The dwarf readied the swirling mana ball for launching at the slime.
"Wait! Wait! Please don't kill me!" Alexander said halfheartedly, "I haven't even learned about magic!"
The dwarf stopped his mana ball, seemingly startled. The mana that was contained in the ball dispersed into the air like popping a bubble filled with vapor.
"You can speak?" The dwarf asked in a low voice, very surprised at this development.
"Of course I can speak, I am the future king of slimes!" Alexander proclaimed, happy to not be facing imminent death. He was saved! The mind magic rope must go two ways!
The dwarf chuckled, "I have never met a slime capable of speech, nor have I heard of any such thing. I was wondering what you were doing with my book, can you actually read?"
The dwarf seemed to have forgotten his earlier anger, and it was replaced by interest and curiosity.
"Yeah I can read, I don't know how though because I was never taught." Alexander did not tell the whole truth. No way he would let the dwarf learn about the system. The dwarf would tear him apart like a lab rat! He was cautious of this dwarf, but, at the same time, Alexander really wanted to learn how to use magic.
"Interesting," the dwarf said thoughtfully. "You must have a very high intelligence since you are able to read and speak. I am Leif, the great blacksmith"
Alexander wondered why everyone in this world had a title. Was it a replacement for last names? "My name is Alexander."
"Hmmm, a powerful name. You may be quite a mighty slime in the future," Leif said.
"Can you teach me magic!" Alexander blurted out.
The dwarf looked at him amused. "You have high intelligence so it would be possible to teach you magic."
"You can?!" Alexander said with surprise and happiness.
"But why would I help a monster that just broke into my house?"
This was a good point. Alexander had no idea what to offer to such a powerful dwarf. He racked his brain, trying to think of anything that a dwarf would want. As he searched himself, he came across something that he didn't really understand. There was something like a large open space that he could freely walk through inside his brain. The space was about as large as a football stadium. He could feel the enormity of the space because it was inside him.
"Um Bucephalus," He asked hesitantly, "Where am I?"
[Answer: You are inside your body's magical storage.]
Wait a minute. The entire space that he was standing in is his storage! That means he could store anything in here?! The space could fit half of a village! This was overpowered!
Alright, he needed to calm down. His first priority right now was to get Leif to teach him magic. He looked around the storage space and saw a small pile of gleaming objects. He moved closer and noticed that they were actually small amounts of different metals!
"Bucephalus! How did these get in my storage?"
[Answer: Digging skill coupled with gluttony allows the user to automatically extract the pure metal that is found naturally in soil. Whenever the user digs, these two skill will activate, extracting all precious materials from consumed soil.]
Alexander was excited! How was everything going so perfectly? First, Leif didn't kill him and now he has precious metals to offer to the dwarf in exchange for teaching!
Ah yes. He knew exactly why he had such great luck. The first thing he did when he was reborn was put everything into his luck stat!
Anyway, he now had something to offer to the dwarf! He noticed the hearth at the other side of the house when he entered, and he was sure that it was used for blacksmithing!
He snapped out of his mental space and addressed the dwarf, "I can offer you 100% pure metals in a low quantity in exchange for making me your apprentice."
---
Leif raised an eyebrow. How would a lowly slime acquire pure metals? Of course he would love pure metal for his blacksmithing, but how would a slime have any if even he did not?
Before his disbelieving eyes, Leif witnessed a chunk of iron the size of a brick be expelled from the slime's body, weighing about five pounds or two and a quarter kilos. This was not just any old iron though, this iron was gleaming with a silver sheen, and was devoid of the regular inconsistencies found in mined iron! This little slime may actually be telling the truth! He picked up the iron. It was heavy for its size, which was a good way to tell if a piece of metal was high quality.
He was too excited to even say anything to Alexander as he rushed over to his hearth. Leif lit the hearth with a quick fire magic spell and began to melt down the iron. The iron that Alexander had given him was much more pliable than any he had ever worked with, and it easily shaped into a long, thin rectangle. He placed the iron on the anvil with glee. This was going better than it ever had before! Leif picked up the giant hammer that most likely weighed more than himself with ease and started to pound the iron like a master blacksmith.
Leif felt the slime behind him eying the process with curiosity. He had only made the promise to the intelligent slime because he thought the slime had no way to compensate for his teachings. Either way, right now Leif was far too focused on his blacksmithing to pay attention to the slime monster in his house. Why be worried about a lesser slime anyway?
The iron on his anvil threw sparks across the home with each pound of the hammer. As the iron started to condense and form into a thin, long, and pointed rectangle, the dwarf started pouring mana into the hammer. The mana started in a small amount but Leif continued to draw more and more mana from the air and from within himself until the surrounding air burned with condensed mana. The iron slowly took the shape of a regal longsword, the mana sharpening it and forcing the iron to bend to Leif's will with each swing of the hammer.
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
The hammer struck down one last time with a reverberating clang that almost sounded like a musical note. The completed iron sword gleamed in the mellow light of the house in the hill. Leif was awestruck! This was the best longsword he had ever made, and he had spent full days, weeks, and even months at a time honing his skills to their fullest potential. It had to have been the iron! It was so easy to mold and complied with every command of his.
He marveled the sword for another few moments, and then remembered the cheeky slime that was sitting on the ground next to Leif, looking up expectantly. Leif sighed. Maybe it was time to take on an apprentice to continue his legacy. He was getting on in his years, next new year he would already be 230. Honestly, he did not expect his protege to be a lesser slime, but there was no way he was going to give up on a chance to acquire pure materials for his blacksmithing. Also, he was very interested in the slime. He wanted to learn more about this weird, intelligent slime.
"Alright then Alexander," he said with a smile. "You are now the apprentice of Leif, the great blacksmith."