Chapter 91

 Volume 3 part1
The next day.

Today, I’m going to make charcoal and look after the abandoned mine.
Until now I’ve been relying on my charcoal reserves, but I’ve almost it up already. If I don’t make some more before I really run out, the deodorant slimes won’t have anything to eat. Also, the weeds I cut the other day are in good condition now, so….

Oh, that feels good.
[Ryouma]
It hasn’t been raining recently, so the weeds have already been dried. If not for that, I would have had to use my alchemy to dry them in a flash.

Alrighty then. Let’s give it a shot.
[Ryouma]
I used my newly purchased pitchfork to gather the weeds scattered on the ground.

Oh! This is pretty good.
[Ryouma]
I poured my mana into the metal fixtures attached to the handle of the pitchfork and invoked the Body Reinforcement spell imbued in it. Suddenly, it seemed as if the weight of the pitchfork had vanished from my hands, and I was able to easily gather the weeds.
As a result, gathering all of the weeds into a single pile and storing it in my Dimension Home looked like a trifle job. This is actually fun.

Next I have to cut out weeds for use next time.
[Ryouma]
I took out my ‘Scythe’ from my Item Box. Light Novels would have you believe that this is a weapon, but this is a farming tool. It has a handle like that of a one-handed sickle, only bigger. It has a blade, and there are two poles parallel to each other.

Am I doing this right?
[Ryouma]
There were metal fixtures similar to those of the pitchfork on the two poles, so I tried holding the scythe there. When I did, the giant sickle was positioned parallel to the ground with the edge of the blade facing forward. I’ve never used this tool before, so I’m not confident with how I’m holding it, but I think this should be about right.

Heave-ho!

I had my right hand on the front while my left hand pulled. Most of the grass caught were just pushed down, but the scythe had cut them a little, so I seem to be using it right. I’ll need to keep practicing.

Fuu, fuu, fuu… Un.

After an our of trial error and practice, I gradually became better at using the scythe. The key point was to position the blade similar to how I would position a katana. Also, the power comes from the hips rather than the arms. The arm is just there for support, and the part of the blade that should be hitting the weeds is the part near the edge of the blade.
When I stuck to those key points, I was easily able to cut the weeds.
Gradually, the boundary between the weeds that have been cut and those that haven’t were changing. The scythe is much more efficient than a sickle that can only cut what’s immediately in front of you, and it’s also really fun to use when you know how to. Looks like I managed to snag another good purchase.

…This much should do.
[Ryouma]
I left the mowing at that, and went down to the foot of the mountain to cut some lumber to turn into charcoal.
Naturally, what I’ll be using here is none other than my magic axe. Axes are generally heavy, but that’s also the source of their strength, so you can’t just make them lighter. This magic axe of mine, however, is imbued with a spell so that its wielder can use it as if it were light without reducing its actual weight.
Depending on the person, this axe might be easier to use than attack magic.
4 or 5 trees should do. After cutting them down, I carried them back up, then I cut off the branches and divided them into appropriate parts, and then… Before I knew it, the sun had already risen to its highest point.
Should I take a break and have lunch now?
…? This sound…

Dange—
[Ryouma]
I shifted my body slightly to then side, and in the next moment, an iron ball passed where my head was just a while ago.

Be careful!
[Ryouma]
The iron ball that passed was my Iron Slime. It wasn’t moving from where it fell after I warned it.

You can go.
[Ryouma]
When I said that, the slime turned into an iron ball again and rolled back up the abandoned mine.
…Lately, the iron and metal slimes have been growing quickly.
When I remembered about them turning into a ball when I caressed them, I made them practice the motion, and the metal slime was able to turn into a ball. Eventually, the iron slime was also able to do the same thing.
I thought they were just gradually growing up, but a few days later, the metal and iron slimes started rolling around wherever they pleased.
A closer investigation showed that although their body was hard and heavy, inside, their nucleus could quickly move as it pleased, so they could shift the center of their gravity to move themselves where they pleased. At first, I thought it was nothing more than a coincidence, but eventually that coincidence turned into their main method of getting around.
The slimes that used to be the slowest from my goo of slimes were now battling for 1st or 2nd place in terms of speed. What’s more is that the two of them learned the High-Speed Movement skill.
That being said, it’s only on level ground that they are able to move as they please. On hills or slopes, they could easily find themselves being taken by gravity.
But the slimes actually enjoy that, so when I leave them on their own, they can usually be found rolling down the hills. When they roll down too quickly, though, they can end up out of course and fly off just like that one slime just now. Their bodies are made of metal so it’s really dangerous.
The metal and iron slimes have also been increasing their numbers lately due to the abundance of food. All of those slimes are able to roll.
…I might have to make a special track for them in one of the tunnels…
I’ll think of something in the near future.
Volume 3 part2
After lunch.

It’s finally time to start making charcoal.
First, I stuffed the furnace with lumber, then I lit the bundle of weeds and pile of branches that I’d gathered. Dinome-san gave me a magic igniter as a free sample, so I used this opportunity to give it a try. It had a long handle, so it was easy to use.
After that I waited for the furnace to get hot. White smoke gradually billowed out from the chimney, the flames eventually turning into a partially blue transparent flame, then when the smoke changed, I blocked the entrance and chimney of the furnace with a couple of red soil blocks.
It might sound simple, but the timing is rather difficult to grasp unless you’re used to it already.
The first time I made charcoal was when I came to this world. Back in my past life, I neither had the environment nor time for it, so I always just looked on in awe whenever I saw people making it in television or in the internet. When I first tried it out myself, there were a lot of times when I carelessly burned everything in the furnace or the opposite case where the fire died before the wood could become charcoal.
But I’ve already gotten used to it by now. I know from experience that the smoke will still change some more, so I can just watch for now and wait.

…I need to get stronger.
[Ryouma]
I have to go to the Great Shurus Forest. Gathering information and hunting monsters is fine and all, but it’s hard to say that just that would be enough. Isn’t there something else I could do? I doubt I could get through the forest with a hasty preparation, so I figure I might as well try to improve my skills.
To that end, I thought of four possible aspects where I could improve myself in.
One was equipment.
I mainly fight using my body and my weapons, so providing myself a set of good weapons and armor should help but. But this is pretty basic…
The second candidate is to develop and train my magic.
Frankly, I’m not very good at offensive magic. Despite my All-Attribute Affinity trait, an adventurer that specializes in magic is still far and above me. There’s no other way to it. I have to train myself and slowly learn the techniques.
But I have an advantage from my previous life. If I use that, I might be able to come up with new spells. Only, I don’t exactly know how I’m going to accomplish that. I need information on the environment oft the Great Shurus Forest too, so I guess I really need to rely on the guild’s information.
The third candidate is research on medicine and poison.
I received medical knowledge when I came to this world. I haven’t used it for anything other than medicine, but I should be able to make poison too. The slimes are experts in poison and medicine too, so they can definitely help. Also, I should be able to procure the necessary ingredients right now by ordering them. If I choose this path, I’ll be able to add poison to my arsenal.
Grisiera-san, Fei-san, and Leelin-san are also around to consult.
The last candidate is the development of tools.
I don’t know if any of the tools I develop will be new to this world, but I could certainly bring some survival tools and convenient tools from my previous life to this world. If the tools already exist in this world, then that’s fine, but if not, then that will be my fortune. I don’t have any concrete plans yet… Ah.
I could hear the sound of metal from the distance.

Did they fall again?
[Ryouma]
I wonder which one fell this time. I know both variants can’t get hurt by falling, but I’d really appreciate it if they could stop. I know they’re happy since they learned to roll and move quickly and all, but…?

Wait a moment. Transforming their body into a ball is no different from the other slimes transforming parts of their bodies into tentacles. The only difference is that their body is made out of metal. If so, then…
[Ryouma]
Does this mean that they could change into other shapes too? Like a sword or a hammer? In the first place, the reason they learned to become a ball is because I rolled them up, so if I shape them into what I want them to transform themselves into and slowly train them, it should be possible.
The moment I realized that, I had to try it out.
I immediately called two types of slimes over and shaped the iron slime into a knife while keeping an eye on the furnace.

Ohh! This can work! It definitely can!
[Ryouma]
Turning into a ball day after day seems to have improved the slimes’ abilities, and I was able to mold one into a rough shape after supporting it just a little. All that’s left now is for the finer details. I need to make the blade part thinner.

I guess this can do for now?
[ryouma]
After shaping the slime, I ordered it not to move, then I tested it against a bundle of dried weeds.

…I see.
[ryouma]
I’m definitely grinning right now.
The iron slime knife is terrible at cutting. There are too many parts in the blade that’s either thick or bent. If a store were to sell this, it would definitely be labeled a broken product.
But it was able to cut the bundle of weeds. That might not be wholly true, but it was definitely able to cut it; hence, if I am able to forge it into a better blade, if I am able to train the slimes and correct the mistakes, then they should be able to transform into a promising product.

Let’s do this!
[Ryouma]
Like that I focused wholeheartedly in polishing the iron and metal slimes while keeping an eye out for the furnace.
As a result, the charcoal making was a failure.