Okay! Now I've arrived—well, outside the gate—where all the slimes are just bouncing around.
What do I do?
Of course! I strike a pose with my new sword!
Well… Short Sword.
I grinned at the slimes, raising my blade.
Then, for dramatic effect, I pretended to lick the sword like some edgy villain and shouted:
"BE READY FOR THE MIGHTY HAZUKI! THE LEGENDARY HERO! OH YEAH!!!"
The slimes bounced cluelessly.
…
Whatever. Time to hunt!
"Hyah!"
I swung my sword directly at the core of the nearest slime.
Zaben already taught me how to take them down.
With one swift motion—swoosh!—the blade cut through the air, striking true!
SPLASH!
The slime exploded into goo, evaporating into nothingness.
"One down!" I cheered, pumping my fist in the air.
Now for the second slime!
I turned to my next target, excitement coursing through me.
"Alright, let's do this!"
With a fierce battle cry, I lunged at the next slime, ready to show it what the mighty Hazuki was capable of!
"Yeah! With my new sword, this is easy! Gyahahahaha!!"
I threw my head back and laughed like a villain, striking a cool pose with my sword.
…
"Mommy, that uncle is laughing with a weird pose."
…
Huh?
I turned my head and saw a small kid pointing at me while tugging at his mother's dress.
"Shhh! Don't look!" the mother whispered urgently, pulling the kid away as if I was some dangerous lunatic.
…
"H-hey! I'm not a weird guy!" I called after them.
But they hurried off without looking back.
…
Damn.
This is why I hate normies.
Because of that embarrassing moment?
Yeah, no more poses.
No more laughing.
I squatted down, gripping my sword, and aimed at the slime's core in the most boring, mechanical way possible.
Then—stab.
The slime popped and evaporated, just like the last one.
No shouting. No posing. Just pure, emotionless stabbing.
Like some boring-ass adventurer.
I kept doing the same thing, over and over.
Stab. Pop. Move to the next.
…
Well… this is better.
At least no one is calling me a weirdo.
I kept this routine, not even noticing the time passing.
Find a slime. Squat down. Stab the core. Done.
No fancy moves. No excitement. Just the same boring routine.
And no drops.
Not a single item. No loot. Nothing.
Well, Zaben did say that these monsters rarely drop anything.
…
Still, I kept going.
Squat. Stab. Pop. Repeat.
By the time I finally noticed the sky turning orange, I had been at this all day.
And then—on the very last slime—
Plop!
Something fell to the ground where the slime had vanished.
I blinked. Huh?
A small, clear crystal sat in the grass.
I reached down, picked it up, and stared at it closely.
…
I have no idea what this is.
But…
"OH YEAHHHHH!!!! I GOT MY FIRST DROP!!!!"
I jumped up, fist-pumping the air like a total idiot.
"Ehehe… ehehehehe… ehehehehehehe… AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"UOOOOHHH!!! MY FIRST ISEKAI DROP! OH YEAH!!"
I held the crystal up to the sky, grinning like an absolute maniac.
This wasn't just a drop; this was a victory.
This was proof that I was making progress!
…
Well, time to pocket it.
Ehehehehe.
Since I still had some coins left, I decided to reward myself.
First stop? The usual public bath run by Granny.
I washed up, letting the warm water melt away the fatigue of the day. After a nice soak, I paid 3 copper for a cold ale.
Ahhh… nothing beats this.
The crisp, refreshing taste of the ale was the perfect way to celebrate my small triumph.
After that, I headed straight to my usual cheap eatery, grinning like an idiot the whole way.
Yeah! Life is good.
For others? Like I care.
Those overpowered, over-rich, over-harem, overkill protagonists in other isekai stories probably never cared about little drops like this.
To them, this was probably trash.
But for me?!
THIS WAS SUCCESS!
YEAH!!
Well, better ask Hesbeirn if he wants to buy this.
I turned and started walking toward Hesbeirn's shop.
Err… rundown shop?
I mean, can it even be called a shop? The place looked one bad storm away from collapsing.
But hey, he's a good guy.
Maybe I could sell this crystal to him. Or maybe—just maybe—he could do something with it.
I walked through the streets, trying my best to remember the way to his place.
…
Yeah. I was lost.
But can you blame me?!
The capital city is BIG!
It's not like I've memorized every single street.
Who even has time for that?!
I spent my entire day from morning to evening doing one of two things:
Pushing a wheelbarrow full of stone.
Handing those stones to the wall repairmen.
And that's it!
You think I had time for sightseeing?!
I sighed, scratching my head.
"Ugh… now where the hell was that alley again?"
"Yo! Do you know where Hesbeirn's workshop is?"
A nearby merchant, who was stacking crates, looked up. "Hmm? Who's that?"
I blinked. "Huh? He's a blacksmith! A good one. Well… kinda thin? Messy hair?"
The guy snapped his fingers. "Oh! That guy? The thin dude who dreams of becoming the best blacksmith in town, yet all he makes are common weapons?"
…
I scratched my cheek. "Uhh… yeah?"
He burst out laughing. "Ahahaha! Yeah! That wire-haired guy! His shop's that way. Just go down the alley, and you'll find him. He lives in his workshop, that crazy thin blacksmith! Ahahaha!"**
…
Well, that's one way to describe him.
I nodded, thanked the guy, and headed off toward the alley.
Of course, I looked around until I found the only alleyway that fit the description.
And at the very end of it?
Yep. Hesbeirn's shop.
No wonder he got no customers.
I walked up and pushed open the creaky door.
"Yo! Hesbeirn!"
The thin blacksmith looked up from his work. "Oh! Hazuki. You coming to pay? That fast."
I clicked my tongue. "Tch! Do you think I have money after just getting the weapon?! Damn!"
"Ahahahaha! What can I do for you? Need your short sword repaired already?"
"Hey! It's not like it broke from killing slimes."
"Oh…"
Silence.
Then I cleared my throat. "I just wanna show you something."
"What is it?"
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the crystal I got from the slime, handing it to him.
"Do you know what this is?"
Hesbeirn's eyes widened.
"Ohhh!! A slime crystal! Wow, you're lucky to get one."
I smirked. "So? Can I sell it to you?"
He scratched his chin. "Err… well, this isn't really valuable for selling. It's mostly used for fusing into weapons. Not really popular, but…"
I raised an eyebrow. "But?"
"If you want, I can fuse it into your short sword."
"Oh? And what happens when you fuse it?"
Hesbeirn grinned. "You know, weapons can actually be upgraded based on how long you use them, how many monsters they kill, and how they're enhanced."
I leaned in, intrigued. "So you're saying… they also gain EXP?"
"Let's just say… yeah, they kinda do."
Oho~ that's interesting.
( End of Chapter )