It had been a while since I was last outside the city walls.
Noticing how different the fresh air felt, I made my way toward the forest.
"Unlike before, the path's actually been cleared."
A maintained trail now stretched out toward the woods where none had existed previously.
Upon reaching the forest, I saw that trees had been cut down to carve out a direct route leading to the dungeon.
"I'm not heading into the dungeon, so this way is for me."
Stepping off the main trail, I walked toward the area where I used to hunt slimes.
Using the magic tool I had received from Cain-san, I sensed for monster presences in the vicinity.
I searched around for solitary strays, but they proved hard to find.
After wandering for about ten minutes, I finally spotted a pair of slimes.
"...All right, let's do this."
My first battle against multiple opponents.
Giving up on finding isolated targets, I locked onto the two slimes as my subjugation marks.
The pair trembled and jiggled side by side, almost as if they were playing together.
"—!"
They hadn't noticed me yet.
Taking advantage of the opening, I struck first, driving my blade straight for the core of the first slime.
My blow shattered its core in an instant.
Seeing me charge in, the second slime noticed my presence, seemingly enraged at its companion's demise.
"Tch, they really are monsters, even if they're just slimes."
Targeting me as an enemy, the slime lunged forward in a tackling charge.
I raised my shield to block the blow, but the sheer force of the impact left my arm slightly numb.
Still, I couldn't afford to flinch over something like this.
Right in front of me after its charge, the slime was completely open. I brought my sword down in a sharp strike aimed right at its core.
The blade struck dead center.
The slime collapsed and dissolved on the spot, bringing my very first fight against multiple enemies to a close.
"That actually went surprisingly well."
That was my honest assessment.
Perhaps I had been worrying over nothing, but an adventurer could never be too cautious.
Just because things went smoothly once didn't mean they always would.
"Still, this gave me a bit of confidence."
Managing to handle multiple foes on my own made me feel like I had grown, if only a little.
From there, I moved on to search for more monsters.
The next group I came across consisted of three slimes.
It was one more than the last fight, but I felt a strong urge to test my limits.
Waiting for an opening, I darted forward and shattered the first one's core.
"Ngh!"
The remaining two slimes immediately recognized me as a threat and attacked at the same time.
Because I swung my shield to block the movement of one, the other landed a direct hit right on my stomach.
A dull pain shot through me, but thanks to my protective gear, I didn't suffer any actual injury.
I quickly broke the second slime's core, then chased down the last one as it tried to back away, destroying its core as well.
"...Phew. Well, I definitely have a few things to reflect on. I need to keep a much closer eye on how the enemies move."
Against two, I could manage well enough as long as I had my shield.
Once it came to three, however, a coordinated assault meant I was bound to take a hit.
I got off easy because they were only slimes, but if I had been facing goblins, I would have walked away with serious injuries.
"Is this the limit of going solo?"
Adventurers grew alongside their companions.
Cain-san had mentioned that he, too, grew stronger alongside his party members until he reached his current tier of power.
Though he mostly operated on his own nowadays, he had said he still went on quests with his companions from time to time.
"Companions, huh..."
I didn't urgently need any right this moment.
Then again, there was no guarantee I'd find good ones the instant I actually wanted them.
That was just another difficult reality of being an adventurer.
"...Come to think of it, did Alan ever end up registering as an adventurer?"
I remembered Alan, who had traveled with me to the royal capital on the day we left our home villages.
He had mentioned wanting to study for a while once he arrived in the city, but I never asked how long that would take.
"Well, we did promise to go on requests together, but we never specifically agreed to form a party..."
Turning those thoughts over in my head, I continued hunting slimes through the woods.
◇
Monster subjugated.
Gained 1 EXP.
91/100 to next level.
◇
Even though it had been a while since I stepped outside the city walls, resolving to take on groups allowed me to rake in a substantial amount of EXP.
Still, three was definitely my limit; I didn't dare attempt a group of four.
I had fought trios of slimes twice, and both times, I failed to dodge their attacks completely.
Having wrapped up my hunt, I made my way back to the royal capital.
"Erik-kun, you look completely exhausted."
"It's been a while since I fought monsters, so I ended up pushing myself a little too hard. But I managed to defeat quite a lot."
Saying that, I handed over the proof of subjugation for the slimes.
"That's wonderful! As expected of a Bronze Rank adventurer."
"Heheh."
Hearing Reina-san praise me brought a bashful smile to my face.
After she processed the quest completion and handed over my reward, I headed straight back to the inn.
"My goodness, you're looking quite filthy today."
"I went outside the city for the first time in a while. I'm practically starving."
"Fufu, dinner is already on the table. Make sure you eat your fill today, too!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Exchanging a warm word with Amanda-san, I headed into the dining area and ate my meal.
Afterward, I took a bath and returned to my room to clean and maintain my gear before turning in for the night.
Having fought slimes over and over, my equipment was coated in grime.
Using the proper maintenance tools, I wiped away every last trace of dirt.
"All right, that'll do for tomorrow."
Satisfied with my gleaming gear, I laid down on the bed and let myself drift off to sleep.