I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 40: A Surprise in the Illustrated Handbook

After spending a night at a cheap inn in Valencia Village,  

the next morning,  

everyone gathered at the village entrance fully equipped.  

Valencia Village was a small settlement with a sparse population. Besides running an orchard, its main function was to serve as a resting point for the occasional passing caravans and convoys.  

According to the village chief, many young people had moved to Grayrock Town or even farther to the forest city of Barry City for work and life.  

"This group of slimes has already damaged quite a few fruit trees in the village. Please help us root out those filthy blobs!"  

Following the village chief’s reminder, the group started searching outside the Harvest Orchard.  

Before engaging in battle with the slimes, finding them was a challenge.  

Because the orchard was quite large,  

everyone had to spread out first, operating in teams of two.  

The swordsman and the priest, Levin and the archer, and Gauss and the rogue apprentice Meva.  

Meva was very skilled at this kind of search work.  

Right after they set out, she moved with agile steps, searching everywhere in the orchard for possible slime traces.  

Slimes left behind slime residue.  

Although it would quickly evaporate after sunrise, Meva said that with careful observation, it was still possible to see a faint reflective halo.  

Meva searched for clues along the way, while Gauss took on the watch duty.  

The Bone Staff was always held firmly in his hand.  

With the rapid casting bonus the Bone Staff provided, he believed that even if monsters appeared, he could launch Magic Missiles before the monsters attacked.  

That was the confidence the staff gave him.  

Although it was a weakened version of Magic Missile, it could still easily one-shot creatures like goblins.  

Now he could cast the weakened Magic Missile three times, so as long as they didn’t rush headfirst into the enemy’s main base, the two of them were very safe.  

"Any discoveries?"  

After walking some distance, Gauss noticed Meva lingering in front of a fence longer than usual and approached her to ask.  

"Yes."  

"Here, there are traces where slimes have rubbed past. Judging by the direction, they should be heading that way." Meva squatted down pointing to a spot on the fence, then looked further ahead.  

Such keen eyesight?  

Gauss also squatted to observe but didn’t notice anything unusual.  

It could only be said that elves were naturally born archers. Even Meva, with her thin elf bloodline, seemed to have better eyesight than ordinary people. How sharp must a true elf’s vision be? Like hawk eyes?  

Gauss followed Meva further along.  

All the while, Meva was writing and drawing on a piece of parchment, recording information.  

Finally, she looked up.  

"Let’s go back and regroup with Levin and the others first."  

"Okay."  

Even though they had found slime traces, neither Meva nor Gauss wanted to explore further.  

Safety was paramount in this mission.  

Returning to the agreed gathering point, they waited for a moment.  

The other two teams gradually returned as well, but judging by their expressions, it seemed they hadn’t made any gains.  

Fortunately, they weren’t the main force for this search.  

When everyone learned that Gauss and Meva had found slime traces, they all breathed a sigh of relief.  

"It’s all up to you, Meva."  

"Luckily, we arrived early before the sun came out. Otherwise, the traces would have completely disappeared." Meva did not take credit.  

The assembled teams started moving toward the direction Gauss and Meva had found.  

Along the way, Levin kept reminding everyone to use their small wooden shields to block during battle.  

Although slimes were low-level monsters, if their slime touched the skin, it would cause burning pain for several days.  

If they didn’t want to suffer, they had to be cautious during the fight.  

Gauss listened silently.  

In his view, Levin, like him as a shield bearer, had a strong sense of responsibility. His protection and instructions for teammates were very thorough, almost like a male mother.  

Could this not be a coincidence?  

Was it that he was subconsciously conforming to the responsibilities of a shield bearer, or was the profession itself subtly influencing him as he practiced shield skills?  

He vaguely felt he had a deeper understanding of his profession and path.  

Perhaps it was not just a simple level upgrade.  

Walking through the woods, the soil underfoot gradually became damp.  

Finally, by a remote muddy creek, the group saw from afar a small cluster of strange creatures with no fixed shape and slime-like bodies.  

Their bodies were bright green, wrapped in mud, hopping and playing in the mud.  

Unlike the cute slimes from Gauss’s previous life’s animations, these slimes were not attractive. Their soft, slimy, semi-transparent fat bodies were filled with all sorts of strange things inside—twigs, undigested fruit flesh, stones, and various odd items.  

Moreover, individual slimes were not small.  

They were about several dozen centimeters in size, and each hop could cover more than a meter.  

So their movements were not sluggish; ordinary people could easily be knocked over if not careful. If surrounded by several slimes, one might risk becoming their digestive content.  

"Twenty-five in total!"  

Gauss heard Meva’s count and felt a bit excited.  

For him, these small monsters that liked to cluster were the best fodder for accumulating total monster kills in the Monster Encyclopedia.  

His total monster kill count had already reached 23 out of 50.  

If they could wipe out this group of slimes, the next reward stage would be just one step away.  

Unfortunately, that was impossible.  

They deliberately refrained from "kills" during battle; their team’s strength was not yet sufficient for that.  

Luckily, Gauss’s main goal today was just to refresh the slime kill entry in the Monster Encyclopedia.  

"Can we lure some out using bait?" Gauss recalled that in a previous mission, they had first lured six goblins out and easily killed them with traps.  

"Probably not." Levin shook his head and explained.  

"Judging by the bloated state of these slimes, they’re obviously full. It’s hard to lure them out of their habitat at this time."  

"Prepare for battle! Everyone be careful."  

Fortunately, the slimes were not very strong opponents for their group.  

If they couldn’t lure them out and had to eliminate some directly, it was no big deal—just more effort.  

"Oliver, Meva, Gauss, you three with ranged capabilities will prepare to strike first." Levin named the three who had ranged methods in the team.  

They all crept closer.  

The slimes still hadn’t noticed them.  

At about twenty meters away, they stopped.  

Gauss, the archer Oliver, and Meva with her one-handed crossbow exchanged glances.  

They began to prepare.  

Gauss naturally got ready to launch Magic Missiles.  

He would never miss a chance to practice Magic Missiles in real combat.  

Although this spell was the team’s trump card kept for emergencies, if he never used it, his proficiency would not improve.  

His gaze locked onto the mud where two or three slimes were huddled together, constantly rubbing against one another.  

"It’s you!"  

Gauss, Oliver, and Meva gestured to confirm no overlapping attacks.  

Bow bent and arrow nocked!  

Trigger pulled!  

Gauss simultaneously raised the Bone Staff.  

The three struck simultaneously!  

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Shing!"  

Three piercing sounds tore through the air!  

The fastest was Magic Missile.  

The already incredibly fast missile sped up even more with the staff’s bonus!  

Gauss concentrated and entered a low-tier bullet time state again. The Magic Missile precisely hit the moment when three slimes lined up side by side.  

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!!"  

Three crisp sounds rang out as the Magic Missiles pierced through the cores of the three slimes in succession.  

They finally fell into the mud, splashing mud and water several meters away!  

The two arrows followed the "whoosh" sound, tearing through the air, leaving thin trails, and then accurately pierced into the cores of two slimes about the size of ostrich eggs.  

"Splatter!"  

The slimes with pierced cores instantly melted, their slime and mud merging into one.  

Slime count: 5!  

"Slime Slime Kill *3"  

"Monster Kill Total: 26!"  

"Title obtained: Slime Hunter. This title upgrades as the kill count of this species increases."  

"Current effect: Intimidation. When activated, it mentally intimidates slimes within a 3-meter radius, causing 0.5 to 1 second of crowd control! This ability requires a cooldown between uses."  

"Ordinary monster types collected +1! Note: When the total reaches 5 types, you can randomly obtain a weakened talent ability from these 5 monsters. The weaker the talent, the higher the chance of being selected."