[Day 3]
Today, I woke up early in the morning.
You see, yesterday I planned to return to the village and bury the remaining bodies.
But for some reason, I forgot about it, and night fell.
So, I decided to go to the village on the third day instead.
If I'm lucky, I might be able to bury 5 to 10 of the villagers' bodies.
I found a fairly large bag to carry all my tools.
I also brought the sword I used yesterday, just in case.
Apart from some food, a small dagger, a book, and an ink pen, I didn't bring much else.
I walked out of the hut, passing through trees and steep paths.
Without realizing it, I had run quite far from the village.
Perhaps some adventurers wandering by might notice the strange occurrences in the village.
On my way, I stopped to rest near a river.
The water was crystal clear, and there were many fish near the riverbank.
I thought, maybe I'll come back here later to fetch water or catch fish.
While drinking water at the river's edge, I saw a small shrimp hiding behind a rock.
"Maybe I could set a trap and collect it when I return from the village."
But… how should I make it?
"I think I can use the jerky I brought as bait."
I ran to the riverbank, searching for some long branches.
Fifteen minutes later, I returned with as many branches as I could carry on my back.
"Now, I just need something to bind them together."
After some thought, I decided to head back into the forest.
What I was looking for were rattan vines.
Earlier, I had seen plenty of thorny vines in the forest, which were rattan.
So, it wasn't too hard to find them.
Rattan vines have sharp thorns, so I brought my dagger along.
I cut the vines into smaller pieces, then cleaned the thorns off their surface with my dagger.
After finishing, I carried the vines back to the riverbank.
"Looks like these branches are too long..."
I trimmed the branches into smaller pieces, then began tying them together.
The shape I had in mind was a cylindrical tube with a small diameter.
And so, I began assembling it.
I carefully arranged the branches, then secured the top and bottom with the rattan vines I had prepared.
The branches were tied together to form a tube.
Its opening was quite small, just a few centimeters wide, but enough for shrimp to enter.
Next, I needed to make an entrance for the shrimp.
I took some smaller branches and tied them into a cone shape using the vines.
Quickly, the entrance was finished.
The final step was creating a lid for one end and attaching the cone-shaped entrance to the other.
Five minutes later.
"Phew… Done!"
Making even one shrimp trap was exhausting. I don't think I can make another one today.
"Now to place this by the riverbank."
I carried all my tools to the upstream part of the river, where the water flowed more gently.
There, I spotted some brown bears fishing for salmon.
Maybe I could make a trap for salmon too?
Since they reproduce every year, the bear population also seemed to be increasing.
Thankfully, these bears were docile and not aggressive.
Just look at how their cubs were playing with each other in the water.
"Uh… Maybe putting it there isn't a good idea. The bears might destroy it."
So, I decided to place it in calmer, shallower water.
A few bears gathered around me, as if curious about what I was doing.
Perhaps because I was small, they thought I was one of their cubs?
That's possible.
After securing the shrimp trap to a large rock, I left the river.
Due to yesterday's rain, the current was a bit strong. I didn't want to get swept away.
Not long after, I stumbled upon a beautiful flower field.
"Wow…"
I was mesmerized for a moment.
Many animals were either sleeping or playing around here.
I also wanted to rest here.
However, something unexpected happened.
I was blocked by a large, intimidating blue creature.
It stared at me with a threatening gaze, and I felt a bit scared.
"Blup-blup blup blup!"
It was a slime.
And not just one or two—there were about ten of them.
"Blup blup?"
The large blue slime seemed to be talking, but I didn't understand.
"Blup blup blup!"
The red slime next to it also appeared to be speaking to the blue slime.
"Blup."
So did the green one.
"Blup… Blup blup? Blup blup blup blup!"
Suddenly, the blue slime shouted.
"Blup blup, blup blup blup blup?"
Behind them, a yellow slime stepped forward to mediate between the three.
"Blup blup."
"Blup blup."
"Blup blup."
Suddenly, the other slimes, apart from the four, raised their tiny arms.
"Blup… Blup blup blup. Blup- blup blup."
The yellow slime sighed, then pointed its tiny hand toward me.
"M-Me?"
Before I knew it, the blue slime moved forward to attack.
Its large body forced me to retreat.
"Ugh…"
I raised my sword and pointed it at the blue slime.
"Hyahh!"
The blue slime didn't move.
As I got closer, it knocked the sword from my hand.
My sword fell to the ground.
The blue slime picked it up.
"M-My sword!"
"Blup blup."
The blue slime tapped its head, looking confused.
"Blup!"
It swung the sword in its hand.
The swing sliced a tree trunk in half.
"…"
I was stunned.
"Are you trying to teach me?"
"Blup blup!"
The large slime nodded.
It threw the sword back to me.
"W-Whoa."
It wanted me to try.
I lifted the sword, almost as tall as I was.
"Haaah!"
But unfortunately, the tree didn't get cut.
"Blup…"
The large slime looked disappointed.
"Blup blup? Blup blup!"
The blue slime spoke to its companions.
"Blup! Blup blup blup!"
"Blup blup blup!"
Some tried to stop it.
"Blup blup."
The yellow slime mediated again.
"Blup blup-blup blup blup."
The yellow slime approached me, touching my head as if checking something.
"Blup blup!"
Suddenly, the yellow slime seemed shocked.
"Blup!"
"Blup!"
"Blup!"
The slimes around it were also surprised.
"Huh?"
I was even more confused.
"…"
"Blup blup-blup."
"Blup blup."
"This!?"
The blue slime brought out a transparent paper with a magic circle drawn on it.
It was a Beast Master contract.
"You… want to make a contract with me?"
"Blup blup."
"But doesn't that mean you'll lose your freedom?"
"Blup blup blup~"
The slime waved its hand as if to say it didn't mind.
"Alright then, let's form the contract!"
I took the paper and placed it on my head.
A magic circle formed, and a thin blue string appeared between my chest and the creature.
[The Beast Master Job has been acquired.]
"Congratulations! You're now a Beast Master!"
"Wait… Are you talking to me?"
[The Beast Master Job skill, "Beast Language," has been granted.]
"Of course. I've been trying to communicate, but it seems you couldn't understand us before."
[Your first beast is the "Slime Prince."]
"Sorry for being rude earlier. We were just trying to protect this flower field from humans. Since you were carrying a sword, we were a bit skeptical."
[A life-and-death contract has been formed.]
"But when the Priest saw your intentions, they realized you were kind. So, please consider this an apology."
"No, it's fine. I understand your good intentions. But… can you cancel this contract!?"
"Uh… no."
"…"
The sun set.
In the end, I slept with the slimes in the flower field.
And with that, Day 3 ended.