Chapter 8: Slime Ooze and Buffs

Chapter 8: Slime Ooze and Buffs

Cajun Fried Catfish Rank: C Fried to perfection Made by: Mishun

Suggestion: Dip in tartar sauce or hot sauce for flavor.

I brushed aside the Analysis and devoured the food. I was famished. Only on the third bite did I realize just how delicious it was. The fries served with spicy ketchup complemented the flavor. Leslie watched me eat with an amused expression on her face. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were starving,” she said. “Do you really have no money? This place is pretty cheap. They call it the po’boy special for a reason.” I took a swig of milk in an effort to stall answering her question. “This is my first time here. Why would I have guild money?” Leslie frowned. “It’s not just the guild that uses standard currency. The entire world does. You can even spend standard on other planets. None of the peasant money has that kind of value. With them, you have to exchange it for something else every time you visit another country.” “Peasants?” I asked, nearly choking on my food when she said the word. She giggled. “That’s what we call the unawakened. I didn’t make it up. That’s what everyone calls them. It’s not a bad thing. We never say it to their faces. They’re just, you know, not very magical.” “How can it be good if you can’t say it to their faces?” I asked. “That’s the definition of bad.” She took another bite of her sandwich before answering. “You’ll soon learn that you aren’t allowed to tell them anything about our world. It’s against the law. Earth is a protected planet. You aren’t permitted to tell the unawakened anything about magic.” “What happens if I do?” I asked, wondering how anyone could police that. “That depends,” she replied. “It could be any number of things. If you do something dangerous, they might throw you in prison. Most likely, you’ll be deported. I’ve heard of that happening before.” “To where?” I asked, trying to work out where they would send a citizen who was born in the United States. Leslie shrugged to indicate she didn’t know. A black woman who’d served us our food walked over with a pitcher of water in her hand. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear. You’ll probably be deported to Gaia. That’s the closest unrestricted planet. You don’t want to go there though. The living conditions are like living in the dark ages.” I looked at the middle-aged woman. She wore a scarf in her hair, keeping it back, and a thick white apron smeared with various sauces.

Mishun Aries Class: Master Chef Level: 53 Age: 48 Weight: 154 Lbs Height 5’9

Her class gave me a whole new appreciation of Mishun’s cooking. “You made this sandwich!” She smoothed out her apron. “Oh, you don’t say? What gave it away?” Leslie giggled. “Oliver’s new here. This is the owner of the best restaurant in the guild. Miss Aries.” “The best restaurant in the state of New York,” Mishun corrected. “Do you have any hot sauce or some tartar sauce?” I asked, remembering the suggestion. Mishun leaned over the table to stare me down. “Are you suggesting my sandwich isn’t good without sauce?” “No no no!” I stammered. “It’s delicious. I just think it could be even better with sauce.” “Any other suggestions you’d like to make?” She asked, her left eye twitching uncontrollably. My skill decided to re-examine the sandwich on its own.

Suggestions Flavor: Add cumin for flavor Constitution: Make bread from Byeast dough Strength: Exchange Catfish for Kraken meat Dexterity: Make a sauce from Slime ooze

I gaped at the suggestions. “Um, do you have any Byeast dough or Kraken meat?” Mishun scoffed. “You don’t want to know how much I’d have to charge if I carried magic food. That stuff is premium and would cost about twenty silver a sandwich.” Leslie whistled appreciatively. “I’ve heard of magic food. I want to try it someday.” The idea of using monster meat in food excited me and made me feel sick all at the same time. Still, I had to try it. “If we get the ingredients, can you cook it?” “We?” Leslie asked, giving me an exasperated look. Mishun laughed. “If you can get it, I can cook it. Mark my words on that.” “Can we get some?” I asked, ignoring Leslie’s previous comment. She shook her head rapidly, giving me her answer before she said anything. “Absolutely not. Krakens are A rank monsters. I don’t even know what a Byeast is but that probably means it’s dangerous. The only clearance we’re going to get is for F ranked monster vision.” I frowned. More roadblocks. “Can we at least get some Slime ooze?” Leslie crinkled up her nose in disgust. “Ew, no, why? That’s disgusting.” “I believe you can make a nice sauce for this catfish using Slime ooze,” I explained though the thought of eating anything slimy sounded disgusting. “Slime, huh?” Mishun said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “Now that could work, and it’s not hard to get. I’ll tell you what. Bring me some Slime ooze and I’ll make you another sandwich on the house.” “Deal,” I said before Leslie could stop me.

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The next stop on the tour was a small window on the third floor of the guild hall. We walked up several sets of stairs and passed a roped-off hall manned by an attendant. “That’s where high-ranked adventurers go to get the big quests,” Leslie explained as we walked past. “The simple errands we run are called F ranked quests. Then there are D and C ranked quests that are a lot like ours but just a little harder. B ranked quests can still be done by strong adventurers but they are usually taken by groups. A ranked quests are difficult even for groups and are usually assigned when there is something big like a dragon lurking about. S ranked quests typically mean war or worldwide catastrophe. When an S rank is issued, every able-bodied adventurer is drafted to help handle it.” I did my best to catalog what she was saying. “So, I can do up to B ranked quests by myself, right?” She let out an exasperated groan. “The rats would probably eat you without me being there. You need to find a way to level up and pick up some fighting skills. Otherwise, you should take any quests.” It was my turn to sigh. How was I going to make money and get Slime Ooze without earning money from quests? At least I still had delivery quests. I had no qualms about being a magic mailman. A bored girl about Leslie’s age sat behind the window and watched us approach. “Can I help you two?” Leslie pointed her thumb at me over her shoulder. “This guy’s a Craftsman. What profession does that class go with?” The girl shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of it. For now, he can fill out the paperwork. I trust he was scanned by the guild when he arrived?” Leslie nodded. “Of course. “Can you write?” The girl asked while holding out a clipboard. “Yes,” I grumbled, snatching it from her, and not sure I liked her tone. The paperwork started fairly simple.

Name: Oliver Evans Age: 13 Class: Craftsman Level: 2 Known Skills: Analyze, Research

Father’s Name: Maxwell Evans Father’s Class:

I hesitated. “Um, excuse me. I don’t know if my dad had a class. The girl waved me off. Just put NA for not applicable.” I continued.

Mother’s Name: Mary Evans Class: NA

I put my real Mom’s name, not my stepmother’s. As far as I was concerned, we were not related. The questionnaire went on to ask about my schooling and experience with making things. I thought about putting down things I made with mud and building blocks as a child but decided that wasn’t what they were looking for so I put NA. The next question also stumped me.

What do you want to make:

I sat there biting the tip of my pencil. I hadn’t given much thought to what I wanted to make. Then it hit me.

I want to make a magic bag.

Satisfied with my answer, I moved on to the next question.

What is the melting point of bronze:

I stared at the question in confusion. I didn’t know.

Bronze Melting point: 1,675 degrees F/913 degrees C

Analyze gave me both Fahrenheit and Celsius so I wrote both answers. Thanks, Analysis! The questionnaire went on to ask a bunch of additional technical questions and Analyze provided answers for them all. I quickly filled them in and returned to the counter. “Done already?” The girl asked, looking over my answers. “Well, I suppose you know the basics. Come back in a week.” “A week?” I gasped. “But I wanted to get started right away.” She chuckled. “An eager beaver, are we? You’re more than welcome to go to any of the guilds and see if they’ll have you. I’d wait if I were you though. You always get better offers if they come to you.”

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“Don’t be such a Gloomy Gus,” Leslie said as she backpedaled ahead of me while trying to cheer me up. “Look at it this way. Now you get to spend the whole week with me. I’ll take you on a bunch of quests. We can get you to level five before your first day of work.” “You can?” I asked, confused. I’d only gotten one level and I still wasn’t sure what qualified for experience. “Uh, sure we can,” she mumbled, not sounding as sure anymore. “Let’s get some buffs so we can go do our quests.” “Buffs?” I asked, totally confused. Leslie smiled. “Buffs are magic spells cast on you that alter your body. They can be anything, really. There are some special ones we can get for free since we’re kids and low-level. The guild can’t have junior adventurers dying now, can they?” “I, uh…” I trailed off, still confused. She giggled and led me to yet another window. “Hello, Marian. We need some buffs for a kill quest.” “Show me the slip,” the old lady behind the counter said. Leslie handed over both slips which also included my delivery quest. Marian looked both over before opening a door next to her. “Come on in, Children.” We walked down a hall and were directed to stand by a wall with a line on it. “Don’t worry,” Leslie whispered in my ear. “Buffs don’t hurt. They do tickle a bit though.” I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. A part of me expected someone to come in with a syringe and give me a shot or something. Instead, a group of four people entered from the other end of the hall. A plump man took his place in front of us first and announced his spell. “I am going to give you the buff Monster Vision Rank F.” He pointed a wand at me and my vision blurred for a moment as though I was caught in a heat haze. He did the same for Leslie before leaving the way he came. Next, a woman took his spot. “I am going to give you a Regeneration buff.” The spell she cast washed over me like a cool breeze, making my skin tingle. Leslie explained what it did. “This spell will heal any wounds you get. It won’t save you if you are mortally wounded but it’s good for most cuts and bruises. Oh, and bites. It works wonders against rat bites.” A skinny man with glasses was next. “I am giving you a stone skin buff.” True to its name, the spell made my skin itch as it hardened. Part of me worried that I was getting heavier but I didn’t have any problem moving around so I decided it must be in my mind. The last mage, another woman, stood in front of us last. “I am giving you a disease immunity buff. This way those rats won’t give you the plague.” I frowned, ignoring the woman as she worked her magic on us. Turning my attention to Leslie, I asked, “If a buff like this exists, why did they let so many people die from the Flu?” Leslie stiffened. “Listen, Oliver. There was a lot of debate about that. There always is when there’s a worldwide calamity. Even if we wanted to, we can’t save everybody. If we tried, how would we choose? It’s unfortunate, but the community has adopted a hands-off approach when it comes to dealing with the unawakened.” “Well, that sucks,” I announced loud enough to make the mage casting the buff flinch. She finished her business and scuttled out of the room without saying another word. Leslie gave me a sad look but didn’t say anything in reply. All I could think of was how my mom died when she didn’t have to. The more I learned about the awakened world, the less I liked it. Still, I had to learn more about my skills to make money, so there was no option but to become one of them. “So what next?” I sighed. Leslie beamed. “Now, we go on an adventure!”