I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 39: Slime Slimes

Beneath the fluttering banner bearing a sword, shield, and staff design.  

After many days apart.  

The members of the Night Owl Squad reunited once more!  

Compared to their exhausted, dust-covered appearances when they last completed a mission, everyone now looked refreshed and vibrant.  

Clearly, their fatigue—both physical and mental—had been alleviated after several days of rest.  

"Morning, Gauss." Doyle, sporting a freshly trimmed hairstyle, waved enthusiastically at Gauss.  

"Morning."  

Gauss noted that while Doyle had initially seemed reticent and taciturn when they first met, he was actually quite warm once they became familiar with each other—perhaps even a bit of a closet extrovert.  

Of course, it might also have been because Gauss's abilities had earned his respect.  

Sharp-eyed Doyle immediately noticed the white staff tucked at Gauss's waist.  

"Is that a magic wand?"  

The others turned to look as well, their curiosity piqued by the slender white rod at his side.  

"It's just an unenchanted staff, nothing valuable." Gauss waved it off.  

But clearly, the others weren't entirely convinced, even though he was telling the absolute truth.  

The problem was that the bone staff's craftsmanship was simply too exquisite.  

Daphne was no exception. She glanced down at her own wooden staff, then back at Gauss's, pursing her lips.  

Suddenly, her once-beloved staff seemed far less impressive.  

Still, what material was that staff made of? Gemstone? Stone? It didn't seem like the usual wood used for magic wands.  

"Alright, let's pick up a commission." After brief greetings, Levin led the group into the Adventurers Guild hall.  

The guild hall was as crowded as ever.  

The moment they stepped past the entrance, a cacophony of chatter assaulted their ears.  

One couldn't expect low-tier adventurers to mind their volume in public spaces.  

Especially not the hulking, fur-covered half-orcs, whose booming voices functioned like megaphones, as if they wanted every stranger to hear their conversations.  

"Levin, how about we take on something different this time?" Gauss had to raise his voice to be heard.  

"Different how?"  

"Non-goblin combat commissions. I want to fight a greater variety of monsters, gain experience against enemies with different physical forms."  

"I see. I'll do my best to pick accordingly." Levin nodded solemnly.  

Gauss's strength had earned his approval, so he naturally took the request seriously.  

Besides, it wasn't a big ask.  

The low-tier monsters adventurers faced weren't limited to goblins—it was just that goblins were the most common.  

Thus, novice adventurers encountered them most frequently.  

Beyond goblins, low-tier adventurers might also face skeletons in graveyards, kobolds in mines, water ghouls darting across riverbeds, or slimes lurking in swampy puddles...  

Like goblins, these creatures could threaten lives and property, prompting individuals or organizations to post bounties.  

Since Gauss wasn't the leader, he refrained from further input after making his suggestion, leaving the final decision to Levin.  

Instead, he mentally browsed the Monster Encyclopedia in his Adventurer’s Manual.  

The encyclopedia had six pages in total, but currently, only the first—[Common Monsters]—was accessible.  

On that page, only one image was illuminated: a ferocious-looking green-skinned creature. In the bottom-right corner of its image was a small "23."  

The other icons remained grayed out, obscured by a mist, making it impossible to discern how many common-tier monsters existed.  

Beneath the mist, at the very bottom of the page, was a line of text:  

[Common] Types Collected: 1  

Total Kills: 23/50  

This recorded the types of monsters he had slain so far, as well as his total kill count.  

Since he had only fought goblins thus far, the number of goblin kills matched the total at the bottom.  

While Gauss was lost in thought, the others had already gathered around Levin to discuss which commission to accept.  

By the time Gauss snapped back to reality, a contract had been finalized:  

Locate and eliminate the slime slimes wandering near the harvest orchard outside Valencia Village.  

Reward: 60 copper coins per slime  

Target: 20 or more.  

They also picked up a long-term material collection quest: slime gel, priced at 30 copper coins per piece.  

Ordinary slimes were weaker than goblins in combat, but their timid nature made them harder to track down.  

That said, they weren't entirely harmless—their acidic innards had corrosive properties.  

All in all, it was a relatively easy mission.  

The destination wasn't far either.  

Judging by the map, Valencia Village was only about half a day's journey away.  

After some discussion, the group settled on accepting the quest.  

At noon, once they had gathered their gear and supplies,  

the team reconvened at the town's exit and embarked on their mission.  

Since the journey was short, the packhorse-drawn cart carried fewer supplies this time,  

giving the rotating resting squad members more space to move around.  

When it was Gauss's turn to rest in the cart, he didn't waste the opportunity.  

Pulling out a notebook from his clothes, he propped himself against a bundle and began reading quietly amidst the cart's jostling.  

Lately, he had been squeezing in time to study this notebook—one of Andni's earlier records.  

Though it didn't teach any specific spells, it contained her personal reflections on magic and mana, as well as various arcane knowledge she had gathered during her early adventures.  

For Gauss—a complete novice who had never encountered (let alone wielded) supernatural forces in his past life—this notebook served as an excellent primer on foundational "common knowledge."  

What he valued most were the introductions to common cantrips and low-level spell effects.  

He also learned that the Identify spell Andni had used to appraise his Life Magic Stone was a 1st-tier spell.  

Its effect: While maintaining contact with an item, casting this spell would—in most cases—allow the caster to discern its properties if it was magical or mana-infused.  

Who would've thought such an unremarkable-looking spell was 1st-tier?  

Still, its effects were undeniably useful. For a novice caster like Gauss, mastering it would undoubtedly aid both daily life and missions.  

Additionally, Gauss gleaned another crucial piece of information:  

The number of spells a caster could master at any given time was limited.  

There was no fixed quota—it varied based on the caster's soul strength.  

The more powerful the spell, the greater the burden it placed on the caster's soul.  

Some might even need to deliberately forget unwanted spells to make room.  

Thus, even when armed with numerous spellbooks, most casters carefully curated their repertoire for optimal synergy.