In Sumeru City,
Fuse
I take it back, this city is actual hell. How the hell am I supposed to find anything here? There's no signs or anything!
God, this is why American cities were superior to European ones. I literally can't find anything but merchants here. And these streets… God, why do the architects and engineers of this nation despise themselves so?
Meanwhile, in America, we'd just organize it all in blocks and everything would be really easy to find… And probably easier to give directions to, too!
Eventually, I just stop and look around to find someone that could help me find something instead of wandering around for hours on end like a moron.
Unfortunately, my dumbass accidentally stopped in front of someone, and they crashed into me.
Even more unfortunately, is that because I'm part-slime, I get folded like a paper towel, so I lose my balance and fall down, only catching myself with my hands.
I winced in pain for a moment, before getting back up and turning around, already hearing the lady who hit me apologize, though to be fair that was mostly my fault.
Now, who's this pretty gal…
Nilou
Status: Fine, Dazed
Title: The Dancer
Race: Human
Classes: Sword Fighter, Hydromancy
Professions: Dancing
Overall Ranking: C
Yep, I have no idea who she is. At least she's cute.
The redhead looked very apologetic while she was taking in her surroundings for a moment, and by then I had gotten up and started speaking.
"It's fine," I said, reaching out to shake her hand, "It was pretty dumb of me to just stand in the middle of the street and not expect someone to hit me."
Nilou shook her head, "No! No, I should've paid more attention to my surroundings, it was my fault!"
…Ah, Canadian.
…Those Canadians are definitely laughing at our misfortune right now…
…Bastards. Oh, they'll one day become American. One day…
Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I simply just nodded at her reply. No need to make it longer than it has to.
But also, I do need a tour guide, "Well, we can call it even. But I'm also new around here and I have no idea where I'm going."
Nilou immediately realizes the game, and decides to humor me, "Oh, well, I'm not busy right now. I can definitely show you around!"
So, she smiled and raised her hand for a handshake, "By the way, my name is Nilou!"
And so, I shook her hand, "My name is Fuse. Now, do you know of any good restaurants around here? Because I haven't realized how hungry I am until now."
Nilou giggled, "Ah, of course! I'll take you to one of my favorites…"
I was kind of eating like a moron, because I really don't want anyone to see my face. Luckily, Nilou just accepted my excuse of being shy about my face. Nilou is sky-rocketing up my favorite people list currently. Though to be fair, my favorite people list basically was just a few of my old friends and my dad.
The food was pretty good, and my only gripe about it is that they're following the example of Europe and have miniscule portion sizes in comparison to a good, hearty American meal. But beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.
Nilou, as it turned out, knows a lot of things about this city. Although considering she's a native, that's not saying much.
After talking a bit with Nilou, it sounds like she's one of the performers down in the theater around here. One of their most popular ones, at least. And yeah, I can tell why she's popular. Easy to talk with, accepting, cute, definitely everyone's friend.
Of course, the average American woman beats her 9 times out of 10, but we can't be picky in a whole different world, right?
As for my introduction, I just introduced myself as Fuse and called myself a traveler from afar and she didn't pry too deep, which was nice of her because I still don't know what to say if anyone asked where I'm actually from. Do I just tell people about America? Do I keep it vague? Who knows? Who cares?
Either way, I still needed information, so the rest of the conversation was about me asking about basic things, embarrassingly.
As it turns out, the local blacksmith is like a stone's toss away from here, I just moved in the wrong direction. So I'd like to have it on record that I was basically right! The guy is really nice, apparently, and is very willing to be commissioned for things. So I think that if I just gave him the materials and blueprints to make a bullet, he can make a bunch for me.
…I don't need those bullets to be exactly precise, do I? I just liked shooting them, not learning about their actual builds.
Well, moving on, I had asked about whether or not I could take some sewing classes anywhere, because I wanted to do some stylist stuff, and as it turns out, Nilou's theater troupe has a bunch of them that do all of that! So I was invited to hang out with her tailors to learn from them in exchange for helping out with a show, and I accepted her offer.
Hopefully, the American flag that I'm going to make won't be a total disgrace. Honestly, the hardest part about the flag is going to be making sure all of the 50 stars are in the right place, and making sure the flag is big enough to have those 50 stars…
Oh, speaking of which, apparently they don't do flags around here, which seems weird to me. Instead of flags, they have national seals, which they sometimes put on flags or banners, but it's not exactly the same thing, is it?
…Well, unless if you ask the states that just have the seal on blue. Then I guess that counts as a flag. But personally, no.
Who's big idea was it to do that anyways? Absolute national tragedy, to not have good state flags. There's a reason New Yorkers were the most miserable people in the nation. That state flag was even worse than 9/11…
Also, there are adventurers here in this world. To be honest, seeing as this felt like a mostly medieval or at least industrial revolution era world, I wasn't that surprised. Nilou asked whether or not I was an adventurer, and I had to be educated on them. Essentially, they're kind of just mercenaries with a fancy name.
So, obviously I want to be an adventurer. And also I passed the adventurer's guild on the way here, so that's something.
Quest obtained:
[Become an adventurer]
Description: In the past, many American adventurers set out west in order to create a new future for themselves. This is a bit different from that, but that sense of adventure has still been passed down to you.
Objective: Become an adventurer by passing the guild's test [0/1]
Reward: 1 gacha token, M1903 Springfield Rifle, x15 .30-0.6 Springfield ammunition.
Oh, a new quest that's cool- HOLY CRAP I GET A SPRINGFIELD RIFLE!? I'm doing that straight away!
Well, as soon as I find a way to get out of this conversation with Nilou as politely as possible.
Nilou, however, was in the middle of saying something, "-and if you need me to take you to the adventurer's guild, I could take you there!"
Oh, how extremely convenient.
Now, blacksmith first, or the adventurer's guild…
Well, maybe I should get my adventurer's license so that if the guy asks for specific materials, I can go get them myself instead straight away.
So, I nodded, "Yeah, okay, let's go to the adventurer's guild."
And so we paid for our food, and we left to go to the guild.
Which was a process that literally took 1 minute to do. It was kind of embarrassing that I needed the help, honestly.
Before I went up to Katheryne, I asked Nilou a very important question, "Uh, so is there a map of the city anywhere? Because the fact that the entire trip lasted a whole minute was kind of a massive hit to my personal pride."
Nilou giggled slightly before pointing to a building nearby, "That building has a bunch of maps! It's mostly for tourists and adventurers, so you're basically the people that they think of when they make them."
I thanked Nilou one last time before I went up to the booth and asked what I needed to do to become an adventurer. Although, I did note that Nilou hadn't left the area yet. Maybe she just wanted to make sure I was going to be fine? But that's kind of insulting to be honest… How does anyone mess up talking with the receptionist?
I hadn't observed Katheryne yet, so I took the moment to do so.
Katheryne
Status: Optimal Functioning
Title: The Receptionist
Race: Robotic Humanoid
Classes: n/a.
Professions: Receptionist
Overall stats: F+
I blinked. She's a robot?
Well, I didn't know they had those here. Judging by her appearance, that might be a secret, so I won't snitch. Still though, Dori said she knew that primitive guns exist, but this place is fantasy-medieval as hell, but there are actual, real robots here. What even is this world?
Pushing those thoughts aside, I introduced myself to Katheryne, "Hey, my name is Fuse. I'd be interested in becoming an adventurer. Can you please tell me the process for becoming one?"
Katheryne nodded, "Of course. To become an adventurer, you must first pass a trial, and that trial is…"
Suddenly, a huge voice came from behind me, "And that trial is me!"
I turned around immediately and observed the person that looked like they spoke to find out whether or not I should be worried.
Kamal
Status: Healthy
Title: Branch Master of Sumeru's Adventurer's Guild
Race: Human
Classes: Claymore Warrior
Professions: Cook
Overall Status: B-
Power Ranking: B-
Magic Ranking: F
Social Ranking: A
Ah.
Maybe I should've picked a different day to become an adventurer.
Katheryne, fortunately, stepped in, saying, "Sir, that is not the correct protocol for inducting new adventurers."
Kamal, unfortunately, pushed back, "Well, as the branch master of this guild, I'm saying that today, this is the correct procedure! I'm free right now anyways, and this looks like a good way to spend my time."
And Katheryne, that traitor, just nodded, "If you say so, sir."
Kamal just smiled, and turned to me, "So, if you can impress me in a fight, you're in!"
I looked over to Nilou, still watching, and she apparently had a worried look on her face. Which basically meant she thought I would get my ass handed to.
…Well, that basically meant I am no longer fighting for the certification of being an adventurer, but basically for the approval of a cute girl and my pride.
Mostly my pride.
I pulled out Roosevelt and Eisenhower, my dual swords, out of my inventory and pointed one at Kamal, "If you're ready, I'm ready."
Obviously, I'm bluffing as all hell because I literally have never fought with my swords before, and I don't want to accidentally kill Kamal with Washington or Lincoln.
Unfortunately, Kamal wasn't bluffing, because he immediately pulled out a huge claymore from his back and immediately took up a fighting stance, smiling, "Glad to hear it!"
Quest Updated!
[Become an adventurer] [UPDATED]
Description: In the past, many American adventurers set out west in order to create a new future for themselves. This is a bit different from that, but that sense of adventure has still been passed down to you.
Description 2: Kamal has randomly decided to test you personally. Fortunately, the American spirit has yet to know true defeat.
Objective: Become an adventurer by passing the guild's test [0/1]
Bonus Objective: Win the fight against Kamal [0/1]
Reward: 1 gacha token, M1903 Springfield Rifle, x10 .30-0.6 Springfield ammunition.
Bonus Reward: 2 gacha tokens, Rifle Scope, A bust of Abraham Lincoln
A bust of- oh yeah that guy is going DOWN.
I took a deep breath to assess my situation…
A: His stats are way better than mine. I'm screwed in a physical fight.
B: I'm half slime, so I'm physically weak, meaning I'm going to get folded in a test of strength.
C: I don't want to accidentally kill the dude by shooting him, and I, like a fool, decided guns were more fun than magic.
Maybe I'm the guy who's going down.
Lowering myself in order to get ready to dash to attack his legs, I start mentally psyching myself up…
"While both your enthusiasms are well received, unfortunately, I must ask you to take this test outside of city premises as to avoid damage." Katheryne butted in, completely taking the wind out of both of our lungs.
"Blagh! Fine! Fuse, let's go!" Kamal loudly conceded to her, already moving towards his destination.
I just shook off my energy and nodded in confirmation, still slightly disappointed.
Looking to my side, I see Nilou coming towards me, and I walk towards her for a quick chat, "So, uh, is this normal around here?"
Nilou wore a somewhat worried expression on her face, "Uh, I wouldn't know… But uh, good luck!"
Well, I guess I'm just an unfortunate bastard, then, "Yeah, thanks. Are you going to watch the fight?"
Nilou looked at the nearby shadows, trying to look at the time, then suddenly, her eyes widened, "Oh, uh, I think I have other things to do… Uhm, sorry! I hope you pass!" Nilou then immediately departed, waving goodbye.
Annnd I no longer have a cute girl to fight for. Bleck.
I sighed, just running to catch up to Kamal, and he immediately started poking fun at me, "Hah! Looks like even Nilou knew who was winning this one!"
My eye twitched, and I sent a look his way, "Yeah, me. She was being considerate, leaving so that you wouldn't be embarrassed about losing badly to me."
Kamal kept up his smile, "I hope you can keep up that attitude!"
Soon, we made our way outside the city and onto a relatively flat space, and we readied ourselves again for the fight.
Now, this guy's probably a slow attacker, so theoretically, I might be able to duck and weave between his attacks… Although, that's just wishful thinking, considering I've never entered into melee combat before.
Well, at least this is a good, non-lethal way to practice. And of course, if I'm losing, I can always just shoot him.
Kamal went ahead of me by a few feet before turning around, "Alright! Whoever is knocked onto the floor first loses! But your job is to just impress me!"
I pulled back out Roosevelt and Eisenhower, nodding in confirmation before partaking in a bit of friendly bantering, "Don't take it easy on me, so you can't use the excuse of not using your full power when you lose!"
Hopefully, that B- in his power ranking doesn't mean cutting me in half immediately. Because that would just be embarrassing.
Kamal laughed, "Of course! That being said, don't be too sad when I beat you! We start when that bird starts flying away from that tree!"
Kamal pointed at a nearby tree to our right, and pointed out the 2 birds hanging on one of the branches.
Knowing that birds could take 6 thousand years to take off again, I mentally psych myself up and immediately ready myself to attack.
…And after a few moments, Kamal just decided to pick up a rock and throw it at the birds.
As the birds flew, I dashed towards Kamal and sent my 2 blades at him immediately.
Kamal, however, was prepared and managed to block my blades with his claymore, and immediately pushed me back without much effort.
"Huh?! What are you made out of, paper?!" Kamal said in surprise of how easily I was pushed back.
Oh, how basically right he is… Still, that didn't hurt that much. That physical resistance from being half-slime is putting in some work.
Not giving a reply back, I approached him a bit slower this time, as I waited for him to attack so I could take advantage of the opening.
Unfortunately, Kamal knew what he was doing, and didn't make an obvious opening, "Hah, you're going to need a bit more than that strategy to beat me!"
So instead, I just poked him a bit with my sword, and he was able to block or dodge most of my small pokes.
It went on like this for a few more seconds before I managed to get his claymore into an unfavorable position as I immediately launched Lincoln straight into his abdomen, getting a clean stab and drawing a bit of blood, which made both of us jump back, albeit for different reasons.
I titled my head, "Oh, is losing blood fine?"
Kamal just took a quick assessment of his wound and nodded, "Oh, this is nothing! We have a bunch of healers in the city to accelerate our natural healing anyways!"
Ah, so beating people to near-death is fair game because healers exist. I understand.
So, I immediately rushed to face Kamal head on with my two blades landing in different areas, trying to force a situation where he had to take one to block another.
And then he just disrespected my entire family line and jumped to my side and hit me with the blunt side of his claymore, throwing me back a solid few yards, causing me a bunch of pain. But that still wasn't enough to fully knock me onto the floor.
Kamal looked somewhat confused at my lack of weight, "Wait, really, how are you so light?"
Regaining balance, I replied with the dignity and grace of a republican representative, "Shut up."
Alright, so skill-wise, I'm getting my ass beat. He's just better than me, and there's not much I can do about it. Not to mention I'm a lightweight, so I'm never going to be able to stand next to him for any extended period of time.
And if I try to get more wounds the way I got my first strike, more than likely he's just going to swing and I don't want to gamble if he's faster than me or not, because god he's a lot faster than I thought he would be.
If I can't figure out how to beat this guy, I'm just going to shoot him.
Kamal sighed, "If you want to give up now, you're free to do so!"
I shook my head, "No, no, I'm just… Warming up."
Yeah, that's what we call getting our asses beat back in the states. It's really a shame I can't back out now without looking like an overconfident arrogant moron. Because right now I'm an overconfident arrogant moron.
…Well, if all else fails…
I pulled out Washington, "Anyways, my warm up is over."
I'm learning magic as soon as physically possible, I'm literally not built to be a physical fight right now. Therefore, the great equalizer is man's greatest weapon while I figure out a way to do that.
Everyone says to always aim at the chest when shooting someone, but honestly, I'm not catching the heat if he dies.
Shooting twice, I missed one shot, and landed another shot on his leg while Kamal was bewildered at my new weapon.
17 bullets remaining, god, if anyone back home saw me like this, they'd all be laughing…
"Agh!" Kamal hissed in pain as he fell down due to both the force of the bullet and the pain, signaling my victory, "What- I've never seen a gun like that before, where did you get that?!"
"I win?" I asked, approaching him while putting Washington away, lending him a hand.
He took it, nodding, "Yes, you win, but seriously, where did you get that? Even the Fatui would have a hard time trying to make something as devastating as that!"
I gave a noncommittal shrug, "I bought it from back home. By the way, I'm an adventurer now, right?"
Uninvited, he slung his arm over my shoulder so that he doesn't fall down due to the fact that his legs have holes in them now, "Ah, of course! Uh, you can ask Katheryne more about it, but for now… Can you take me to the hospital? That really did hurt."
I chuckled a bit, "Hah, sure."
You have defeated Kamal, Branch Master of Sumeru's Adventurer's Guild!
You have gained 3 minor rank points.
You have completed the quest: [Become An Adventurer]
Objective: Become an adventurer by passing the guild's test [1/1]
Bonus Objective: Win the fight against Kamal [1/1]
Rewards: 3 gacha tokens, M1903 Springfield Rifle, x10 .30-0.6 Springfield ammunition. Rifle Scope, A bust of Abraham Lincoln
While carrying Kamal to wherever he's pointing me towards, I mentally take note of the reward I got for beating Kamal. Back when I killed those bandits, I got a single minor rank point for killing each individual bandit. But just by beating up Kamal, I get 3 minor points. I think it probably works by giving me points based on how tough the enemy is… But that does make me wonder, couldn't I just beat the crap out of the local wildlife population and get a bunch of points that way? Or eventually, would it just stop giving me points?
Ah well, something to test out later.
After getting Kamal to the hospital, I get the confirmation that Katheryne, through the use of the akasha, knows of my success, and that I'm now officially an adventurer.
So, I wave goodbye and find a relatively empty space to organize my stuff.
Firstly, my 3 gacha tokens.
Legendary Class Upgrade (Skill) rolled.
[Ricochet - Active - When this skill is used, your next shot will ricochet into the nearest enemy. Tires you slightly when used.]
Uncommon Weapon rolled.
[Steel Katana - It's a katana.]
Rare Skill rolled.
[Poison Breath - Active - When used, your breath will turn poisonous. This skill does not help you with the ejection of your breath. You are immune to your own poison. Uses a small amount of mana.]
I got excited when I read legendary, but then I read the actual thing I got and I was immediately let down. I guess class upgrade just means it's related to my class? So I got a legendary skill for my class. And… Well, I guess ricochet will probably come in handy somewhere down the line. I just don't know if that feels legendary…
As for the other 2… Well, a katana is nice. Poison breath… Well, I guess the skills are meant to be random, but considering I wear a mask all the time, I don't think that's going to be useful.
Maybe a good excuse for why I wear a mask, but nothing more than that.
Well, this entire haul was sort of a let down. Fortunately, I'm not going to be let down by this dope ass old-style rifle that I now have!
[M1903 Springfield Rifle - An old bolt-action rifle, typically used for hunting or sniping.]
x10 [.30-0.6 Springfield ammunition - Ammunition for the M1903 Springfield Rifle]
Pulling it out, I marvel at the nice, neat design, as if it was just made yesterday. Well, depending on how this gacha works, it really might've been made just now. This truly does get the heart soaring, what a real, patriotic weapon…
Now, I'm going to bind this baby to my soul.
Please name your soul-bound item
Now, what to name it…
Well, I obviously have to keep up the tradition of naming it after presidents, but what to name the rifle?
Well, maybe I can think of a president associated with rifles, speaking of, I got a scope for this thing, so it's like a sniper rifle. So a president associated with sniper- oh.
I just got a really terrible idea inside my head and I can't get it out. This is a terrible day to have a brain, but I can't pass this opportunity up.
…I'm sorry, Mr. President.
[Kennedy (M1903 Springfield Rifle) - A bolt-action rifle bound to Fuse's soul, allowing it to grow alongside him. This particular weapon is named after the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy]
I hope you'll forgive me, wherever you are.
Speaking of presidents, how nice is this bust of Abraham Lincoln?
Taking it out, I carefully inspected the marble stone used to carve his face, and… Yeah, this is a very good bust. Definitely worth it. I'll probably put it in my room at Dori's place somewhere.
With my newfound rifle in my hand, I can probably solo anyone in this country, but the fact is, I only have like 10 rounds for Kennedy, so I really need to find that blacksmith now and hope that he knows how to make bullets.
Now, thanks to Nilou, I know where that blacksmith is, I just need to figure out how to get there from here…
Bleh, America would never do this to me… I can't wait until cars are invented here, hopefully that'll knock some sense into these actually insane people.
Ahangar looked at the 2 different bullets I needed with a piercing gaze.
Ahangar took apart one of the bullets, looked inside, and looked at me oddly, "Well, theoretically, I could make these for you."
I internally cheered before my cheering immediately stopped at an odd word, "Theoretically?"
Ahangar nodded, showing me the inner workings of the bullet, "These are pretty precise cuts, and you're trying to tell me you need a lot of them? Even if they don't need to be that precise, at best, I can get you a couple of each every time I make them. The actual cost of the bullets isn't that high, since gunpowder and iron aren't that expensive these days, but the cost of labor for them will be."
Ah, damn. That makes sense, since all of these bullets were made in a factory, it must be hard for human hands to make something as precise… Not to mention, I'm pretty sure the mechanism inside of the gun needs a precisely sized hole to ignite the gunpowder inside, so I understand why that would suck to make. But still, "So, uh, how much would the bullets theoretically cost?"
Ahangar shrugged, "Who knows, I would say about… 5,000 mora each, if you really need it to be that precise."
I checked my inventory.
I have 900 mora to my name.
I cringed, "Yikes. Alright, well, I'll get back to you whenever I somehow scrounge that money up, alright?"
Ahangar nodded with understanding, "That's alright. It's better than some of my other customers who keep complaining that I should be doing things for free, anyways."
Ah, Karens. Truly a universal constant…
I thanked him for his time, and then I left to head to the adventurer's guild to see if I could earn some mora to pay the dude for the bullets.
…In the meantime though, I'm going to have to fight melee.
…That's going to suck. Hopefully, my future enemies aren't going to be like Kamal…
Mondstadt, Knights of Favonius HQ
Rosaria
Showing off her wounds to the Acting Grandmaster's surprise and shock, she laid out her conclusion, "She, who identified herself as Luciel, despite beating me in a fight, isn't that much of a threat, I'd wager. She's clearly inexperienced in fighting, and the one reason why she beat me was because she was clearly unable to tire out, and I was."
And what a tough fight that was, trying her best to dodge all of the ice coming her way. Even for someone with a cryo vision like her, the low temperatures in that fight would have slowed anyone down.
Except for Luciel, apparently. Likely due to her blue skin, possibly hinting at some other non-human heritage.
All in her written report, of course. But she isn't going to waste words on speculation.
Jean, still filled with eyes of concern, asked, "That's fine, we can send out some of our more experienced knights to apprehend her, but are you sure that she can't be negotiated with?"
Rosaria shook her head, "I tried negotiating with her, since it's quite clear from her body language that she has no idea what she's doing. But as I tried to get closer to her, she ended up becoming hostile, becoming convinced that I was the cause of her 'headache.'"
Jean looked at her curiously, "Headache?"
Rosaria elaborated, "Before attacking me, she whispered out something along the lines of 'will this get rid of my headache?', so she's quite convinced that her illness isn't the result of a common illness or the like. My personal theory is that she's cursed somehow, seeing as her skin is all blue."
Jean looked over to Lisa, who was listening intently from the side. Lisa, in return, simply raised an eyebrow, "Don't look at me as the expert here, I haven't heard anything about blue humans. As for the theory about the curse… Well, if it's just a headache, it might be the symptom of a larger problem, or it could just not be that serious and Luciel is just overreacting to her pain."
Jean closed her eyes and thought about something for a moment before looking back up and sighing, "In that case, we can't really blame her for trying to attack anything that's come close to her. But still, we can't really let her go. Thank you for your report, Rosaria, and please don't feel obligated to keep unofficially serving us."
She rolled her eyes mildly at the request to have her stop working, "Right, right. I'll think about it."
Obviously, she wouldn't think about it, seeing as she still hasn't paid back her debt to Varka yet.
Taking her leave, she returns to her house to briefly patch herself up and…
Hm, she'll likely hang out at Angel's Tavern, perhaps the drunk ones will have some more information about the potential threat…
Sumeru, In the jungle
Fuse
Now that I'm being paid to go shoot up some 'hillichurls', whatever they are, my [Hired Gun] perk should kick into gear whenever I actually find those hillichurls to shoot. I also have no clue what a hillichurl looks like, so that's a thing I should probably look out for. Although, should I really spend my limited bullets on hillichurls? I mean, I am getting 3000 mora for this… But depending on how many enemies there are to kill, there's no way I can shoot liberally without running out of bullets and the money to finance them.
…Now that I think of it, Dori is a millionaire or something, right? Theoretically, I could just convince her to loan me some money…
…Actually, no. I don't want to be in debt to her. Sometimes, a man just needs to pull himself up by the bootstraps. It's a shame that those idiotic republicans thought that the boot needed to be on the hard, concrete floor instead of a nice, padded carpet.
Really, did they think that we were going to give everyone a nice bed? God, the fear mongering among them was insane…
Staying on the topic of getting loan money, I really don't want to be in debt to a millionaire. I've yet to meet a good millionaire- actually, I'm lying, plenty of good millionaires.
Billionaires on the other hand… Traitors, the lot of them. I'd like to take them out back against a wall and introduce them to a firing squad.
Taking a look at the map that Katheryne marked for me to tell me where my enemies are, I can vaguely tell that I'm close to my targets, so I end my train of thought and focus on how the hell I'm killing everyone here without getting my ass kicked.
I eventually found the guys I'm looking for, and I got myself to some high ground nearby and started planning on how to take them out.
So, I observed a few of the different looking enemies here. Starting with the small looking ones.
Hilichurl
Status: Great
Stamina: Full
Classes: Physical Fighter
Overall Ranking: D
Power Rank: D
Magic Rank: F-
Social Rank: F-
And the big one…
Mitachurl
Staus: Great.
Stamina: Full
Classes: Axe Warrior
Overall Ranking: C+
Power: C+
Magic Rank: F-
Social Rank: F-
And the one chanting…
Cryo Abyss Mage
Status: Great, Focused
Stamina: Full
Mana: Full
Classes: Cryomancy.
Overall Ranking: B-
Power Rank: F-
Magic Rank: B-
Social Rank: C
Hm. So I count about 4 hillichurls, 2 Mitachurls, and 1 abyss mage…
If I shoot the mage accurately in the head, I'd say it'd be well worth the bullet from Kennedy. And then… Hm, I think I'll get my ass kicked if I fight the 2 Mitachurls at once, but they'd look like they'd survive a couple shots. It is day right now, so I get a small boost from my [Sunshine Power] perk, but even that didn't save me from Kamal, so I don't know how effective that would be with bullets…
Well, maybe I snipe the mage, and then snipe a single Mitachurl and practice fighting the rest? I take less physical damage anyways, since I'm half slime…
After a moment of thinking about it, I decide that that's going to be the plan.
So, I double check that Kennedy is ready for its debut, and I line up my shot on the mage…
And a moment later, the entire camp is in panic.
Lining up another shot, I shot a Mitachurl, but that burnt hashbrown managed to move his body at the right time to make the bullet land onto his shoulder, piercing straight through.
Well, 8 bullets remain for Kennedy. Now, let's get some sword practice in.
Jumping down from my high ground, I took out Eisenhower and Roosevelt and started to fight against them.
Dodging both Mitachurl's attacks, I jammed both my blades into the injured one's face, taking out its eyes, causing it to fall to the floor, dead.
Narrowly only being hit with the tip of the 4 hillichurl's clubs, I readjust myself to fight the rest, as I dash to try and cut up one of the hillichurls.
Alas, the remaining Mitachurl swung its axe down and forced myself to dodge it. Unfortunately for him, the hillichurls and I are now separated, and now I can attack its arms without worry.
As I swung down with all my might, my blades found its way into the mitachurl's arm, causing him to drop his axe as he cried in pain.
The 4 hillichurls immediately leaped to their ally's defense, and I dodged enough to only get hit by 1 of their clubs, knocking me back slightly, but not doing any visible damage.
Not deterred at all, I slice once, and the Hillichurl's arms are so weak that I was actually able to cut it straight off, though it did take a lot of force to do so.
The rest of the fight went rather smoothly, with their heavy hitters disabled, I managed to mop up the rest without much worry.
You have completed a quest: Wandering Evil.
Objectives: Take out the nearby hillichurl camp [Complete]
Reward: Minor increase to: Confidence, Charm. 1,500 Mora, 10 Primogems. 3 Minor Rank Points.
Addendum: Return to Katheryne to receive the guild rewards!
Confidence has increased to D- Rank!
Charm has increased to F+ Rank!
Vitality has increased to D- Rank!
Your Power stat has increased to D- Rank!
Your Overall Ranking has increased to D- Rank!
You have used 3 minor rank points on: Luck.
Luck has increased to F+ Rank!
Your Social Rank has increased to D- Rank!
Souls obtained:
[Weak, Pitiful Soul: A weak soul, gained by killing the weak.] x4
[Soul of a Mediocre Warrior: A soul gained by killing a weak warrior.] x2
[Soul of a Weak Mage: A soul gained by killing a weak mage.]
New Items obtained:
[Primogem - A primordial crystalline gem that's beyond the mundane world. Shines with the condensed hopes and dreams of universes that once were. 160 of these items will create 1 gacha token.] x10
Man, I just love huge walls of text that I have to read. Reading is my absolute favorite thing in the world to do.
Anyways, I'm dumping my 3 minor points into luck for good luck, then I take note of the 10 primogems and make a note to get more of those, Afterwards I decide now is the perfect time to experiment with souls.
Taking out one of the weak and pitiful souls, I let it sit out in the palm of my right hand for a little while, observing its movements.
It obviously wants to be freed, but there's an invisible force around my hand that doesn't let it go, I presume.
Hm, what if I drop it?
Letting go of it, the soul immediately lost its shape and dissipated into the air.
Well, that's nice to know. Now I'm never letting any of these souls go.
Now… Should I eat one?
…Ah, why not. If Satan can eat souls whenever he wants, then I can too!
Taking out another weak soul, I prepared to take it into my mouth, and then I realized something.
I'm a slime, can't I just absorb this into my skin?
Taking off my gloves, I try to absorb the soul into my body, and the soul is slowly sucked into my orange, gel body.
A weak, pitiful soul has been consumed.
You have gained [Remnant Gel]
[Remnant Gel - The result of a pitiful soul encountering a slime far stronger than it. This item can be used for crafting low-tier items and low ranked curses.]
Achievement Unlocked!
[Soul Eater]
Requirements: Consume a soul.
Description: Let those who are against you in life have a second chance. That is to say, a second chance to be useful to you.
Reward: Title: Devourer of Souls.
…Well, that's disappointing. I have no idea what I would use that gel for. At least I got a cool sounding achievement out of it.
So, what does the title do?
[Devourer of Souls - Title - Souls shall have only one destination to go to; Me. When equipped, any souls you eat will temporarily increase one of your ranks by a small amount.]
Ooh, that's a nice effect. You know what, I'm going to use it right now.
You have equipped the title: Devourer of Souls.
Sweet. Now, back to the disappointing bit,
Taking a closer look at the description, I take note of the wording. Does it imply that I get a different result if I use a stronger soul?
Keeping up with that train of thought, I took out the soul I got from the mitachurl and immediately consumed it using the same method.
The soul of a weak warrior has been consumed.
You have gained: Temporary increase in Endurance for 5 minutes. [Remnant Gel]
Aw, pity. Still more remnant gel. In that case, I'll just keep the souls in my back pocket for future endeavors. I might become some sort of soul mage or something, after all. Or maybe I could infuse souls into inanimate objects?
…Well, shit, now that I got the idea in my head, I feel the strong, masculine urge to inject some souls into objects.
…Ah, now that I think of it, could I use my ambitious soul to feed myself?
Going into my inventory, I take acute notice that my souls are there, but not the ambitious one.
So, I head back into my system status menu, move past all of the warnings about calamity or whatever, and looked at the source of all my problems.
[Ambitious Soul of The Domino - Ambition is the fuel that great and terrible men use to enact their will upon their world, and your ambition shall raze all you gaze upon.]
Now, how do I get this thing out…
No matter what technique or bizarre thing I tried, after about 5 minutes of attempts, I finally just gave up.
I can't get that stupid thing out of my body. So instead, I'll just forget about it.
Looking at the sky, though, I could see it was starting to get dark, and I should probably make my way to the guild before heading to Dori's place. All those ideas about the souls are going to have to be put on hold for now. I might just use my soul jar and keep one as decoration or something, and then maybe I'll have a room full of souls if I can become a soul mage or something.
…Hm, I wonder if I'll have the luxury of being able to choose my next class? I know that I will eventually get another class, but is it the same process as the first one? That's something I probably should've asked Shapeshifter while I still had the time…
Ah, I realize now that I'll probably never see that guy again, huh? What a shame, I really would've liked to fight him once in my life for dropping me down like that. Seriously, what kind of maniac just drops people into new worlds? He could've probably made it a door or something.
…If it was a door, would I have been injected with that ambitious soul? Or was it all, as my system seems to say, destined to happen?
…If so, was America falling destined to happen?
Clicking my tongue in slight frustration, I kicked a rock into the distance before walking back to Sumeru city.
Of course it wasn't destined to happen. Didn't Shapeshifter say it loud and clear? He hadn't seen a world like our's before, and so was caught by surprise. If he's so powerful a god, then why hasn't he simply checked all of his worlds? Meaning… We still have our free will.
In that sense, America hasn't fallen at all. We've merely… Let the other nations of the world hold the torch of freedom for a little while, while we sort out our traitors. After all, if free will still exists, then that means that by the virtue of our stronger nationality, we shall prevail over all our challenges.
And oh, when I return home, those traitors will feel the full wrath of everything I will learn on this journey… Each and every single one of them, all 6 feet under, in Mexico, just to rub salt in their wounds. Traitors won't be allowed to be buried in America any longer…
God, just imagining Trump's crying is making my patriotism tear up…
Ah, America, when can I see your star-spangled banner again?
Palace of Alcazarzaray
Dori
Sitting on a chair made of mostly mora, Dori contemplated the calculations on what exactly to do with Fuse.
Firstly, Fuse was an outlander from another world, so that made him a thousand times easier to… Influence, let's say. And being able to influence someone like that had a lot of potential uses. Say, for instance, he manages to return back home, and then comes back here with all of his also otherworldly friends. Imagine the sort of business that could occur…
Dori giggled a bit, thinking of all the money rolling in from the other world, before immediately straightening herself to keep up appearances. After all, nobody knows who could come in at any moment…
Letting a second or two pass without interruption, she went back to her train of thought. Fuse right now was broke, the type of person she wouldn't even think of talking to. Although, she did hear from one of her informants that Fuse ended up joining the adventurer's guild to make some money, and that his exam was beating Kamal, which he did with his gun.
Though, she did note that he didn't seem to be very gifted with his swords, judging from the reports.
Quite frankly, that didn't make her any more anxious about his very casual attitude towards death. Even she, someone on the shadier side of society, would hesitate at least a little bit before taking the lives of those thieves…
The only bit of hesitation Fuse showed was in aiming his guns.
Hm, are all Americans like that? Well, if they descended into civil war for… Huh, why did they descend into civil war? Something about traitors?
Well, she supposed it didn't really matter to her why they went to war. The important part is that they sound like they know how to conduct good business, and all businessmen get richer when they share notes.
Hopefully, Fuse does have the ability to one day make it back home… It did sound like Fuse felt confident in his ability to get back home one day, so she'll put his faith in him that he'll get home one day.
It would terribly upset her too if she were to be ripped away from all her mora…
Back to the point at hand, because of his low standards for other humans, Fuse's only viable options for getting a job really were just the adventurer's guild, and her. And judging by the fact that Fuse went with the guild…
Hm, could he be trying to assert his own independence away from her?
She doesn't know much about the culture of his own country, because she ended up talking mostly about Teyvat when traveling to the city to get him acquainted with the world, so she wouldn't know if being independent was a big thing for him.
Though, to be honest, she could probably just ask him and he'd answer. That guy doesn't know how to keep a secret to save his life.
It also means he's never getting a hand on any of her secrets either.
Looking at the clock, also made of mora, she notes that it was getting late. She does toy with the idea that Fuse might've gotten killed at the hands of the monsters he was meant to hunt, but she dismissed the idea.
After all, she doesn't think many things could survive that many attacks from that gun.
Speaking of, how would a gun like that theoretically work anyways? The guns in teyvat that worked on elemental energies did have the capabilities to rapidly fire, but as far as she could tell, Fuse's gun wasn't using any elemental energy. Physical guns were weaker than elemental guns because of the fact that they could only shoot once before having to reload, because the gunpowder and bullet just doesn't automatically come back, but Fuse somehow managed to put a lot of bullets in his own gun… Was it in the handle, maybe? How was it made? Could she manage to make it here and sell it for a lot of mora?
Hm, she'd pay a lot of money to find his secrets…
Although, then again, she could probably just ask him and he'd answer.
Hm, would it be worth it to bribe Fuse in some way? Although, maybe it wouldn't be good to risk upsetting him, considering that Fuse has the potential to be a golden goose one day…
Oh, that thought gets her so excited… Her very own golden goose… All its riches just for her…
Before she could continue with that train of thought, her butler, Goshtasb, knocked on her door politely and invited himself in, "Madam, Fuse has returned."
Ah, there we go, she could now get those answers herself.
"Tell Fuse I'll be there in a moment," She said, getting up from her chair and ensuring that she was properly groomed to ensure that Lord Sangemah Bay didn't make a wrong decision in her own palace.
After all, the cost of failing to befriend Fuse properly was… Well. Fuse doesn't seem to be the most merciful person.
And the benefits of success…
9th place sure was nice, but oh, how nice it would be to be the richest person across 2 worlds…
Fuse
"Hey, Dori!" I greeted the little gal with a wave, "How's your day been?"
I got a cool extra 3,000 mora from Katheryne, because apparently, there were more enemies at the camp than there were supposed to be. That also means I have 5,400 mora now, meaning I can commission a single bullet from Ahangar.
God, that's sad. Mora are basically just gold coins too. I could buy so much more ammunition back home…
Well, regardless, my bootstraps are being firmly lifted up by my own two hands, and… Well, I still have a long way to go. But at the very least, my destiny is my own.
Dori waved back, smiling, "My day has been fine! But nevermind that, I hear that you're an adventurer now?"
How does she- Ah, wait, does my status get recorded in their akasha thing? I guess it really is an effective surveillance tool..
God, I just want to blow it all up.
I nodded, "Yep, I also did my very first commission, cool, right?"
Dori nodded along, "I'm sure it was. More importantly, because we were so… Rudely interrupted last time, I didn't get to ask a lot of my questions."
Ah, right, those bandits. Well, I guess they call themselves treasure hoarders, but they're essentially just thieves anyways.
I'm sure all of the looters back home are having a field day, right now. God bless those poor logistics workers, having all their work destroyed. They truly are the backbone of society… A backbone that America is currently breaking right now, but the backbone nonetheless.
"Yeah, we can talk more about my country, if you want," I replied back, inviting myself to sit on the couch nearby, "Although, I do want to talk about a few things first."
First of all, I wanted to discuss the fact that I'm half slime. I'm vaguely aware that slimes are also considered monsters in this world, but don't know how bad people hate them around here. Also, I just need to gauge the reaction of a normal person before letting that become an icebreaker from now on.
And hey, if Dori is racist…
Well, I would've said I had experience beating up racists, but then I remembered I died without shooting a single traitor.
Instead, I'm going to say that I will have experience.
Dori sat down across from me, and then I started talking, "Since coming to this world, I've somehow… Well, firstly, I'm half slime, now."
To prove this point, I took off one of my gloves and allowed my hand to lose its skin and just become an orange gel, causing Dori's eyes to widen a slight bit.
I tilted my head to question, "I hope that won't be an issue, right?"
Dori recomposed herself and nodded, "Ahem, well, half-human half-other species aren't really unheard of… Well, half slimes are unheard of, though. Although, didn't you say slimes didn't exist back in your world?"
Ah, so she's safe, "Yeah, that's right. I have no clue why I'm half slime now, but it's been a bit handy for me every once and a while today."
Well, if I knew that being half-slime was relatively fine, and if I actually knew how to before, I would've just ate the food Nilou bought for me by absorbing it instead of looking like a moron. Oh well, at least now I know.
Dori frowned a bit, "Still, doesn't it somewhat worry you that you're no longer what you were before?"
I shrugged, I really don't care, having no organs is great, "The body changes, the mind stays the same."
Dori seemed to accept it, so I moved on to my next topic.
Which lends back to the simple fact that I don't belong to this world. So, obviously, I need to find out whether or not that's safe to tell people.
On one hand, I might get treated like a delusional person. On the other hand, I might become a celebrity and have a massive target put on my back.
Either way, I still asked, "By the way, do you think it's safe for me to openly reveal my otherworldly stature? Or do you think it's best to stay hidden?"
Dori shook her head, "No, it's better if you stay hidden for now. It's going to put too much attention on you. In fact, because of the akasha, if you were caught by someone wearing it, that news might reach all of Sumeru and then you'd be in big trouble. Especially considering you're half slime, and the general fact that all of the akademiya nuts are the type to go crazy over a new world being proven to exist."
Ah, that makes sense. Still, that's quite a shame, though. It would be nice to openly shout to everyone that I'm an American and am proud of it…
Well, if I ever happen to destroy the akasha, I'll be sure to introduce America to this world… And this land seems like it could be a great ally, or perhaps become new states entirely, and America will spread throughout the multiverse?
Oh, damn, a multiversal America… Mhm, my heart just soared 6 feet into the air and did a backflip. What a wonderful thought. I have to someday make that dream a reality…
"Well, thank you for the advice," I thanked Dori, "But moving on, the next thing I need to ask is…"
That is to say, I would like to know if Dori will have my back or not if I end up doing something really stupid.
Having the 9th richest person in the world to act as my safety net would undeniably be a great asset for me. So if I ever go broke, lose a fight so badly I'm bleeding from 23 different places, or just need a place to stay, Dori would have my back.
Also, the fact that she probably knows a lot of people just by virtue of being the 9th richest person in the world, I could also leech off of her network as well.
So, I asked, "How much are you willing to help me? Because I'm probably going to have to leech off of your kindness for a lot longer while I'm here."
Dori chuckled a bit before settling into a calm grin, "What makes you think that I'd let my- Ahem, you, go broke while I have something to say about it? You can consider all my mora yours for the time you're with me!"
Oh- Wow, that's… Pretty nice. I'm actually touched that she'd let me have all that. Maybe there are good billionaires.
Unfortunately, my own morals wouldn't let me do that, "Thank you for your support, but I'm probably not going to ask for much from you aside from a place to stay and a friend to talk to. It's a cultural thing, really."
Dori raised her eyebrows in the middle of that sentence, but immediately coughed herself back into neutrality, "Oh, that's fine! But now you have me interested in your culture, just a bit."
Ah, I suppose I said all that I wanted to say, "Sure, ask and I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability."
Of course, her questions focused mostly around money and how Americans were somehow the richest. Of which I had to scrounge up some of my economic and history classes from the back of my head to tell her about the conditions that lead to us being the sole hegemony.
That is to say, my somewhat-decent art skills went to work in drawing the world and detailing all the fun things about continents, the Mississippi river, and immigration.
And also the fact that Europe and Asia plunged itself into war like 200 times, letting us grow bigger and bigger off of their misery.
A massive shoutout to those morons, honestly. Couldn't have done it without you.
While I was at it, I described our culture as being a type where we work hard, we love freedom, and we're very individualistic.
Also, I may have mentioned the fact that we're the greatest country in the world more than a few times.
Like, a bunch of times.
It's a very deserved title, obviously.
"Ah, speaking of which, I'm going to be visiting the Zubayr Theater tomorrow to pick up some sewing lessons from their crew." I mentioned in-between her questions.
Dori at this point had gotten a notebook out to write some of the things I've been saying, so she looked up from it in slight interest, "Oh, why are you interested in sewing?"
I pointed to the picture of the American flag that I sketched out for her, "I need myself one of those."
And then I pointed to myself, "And I need to make sure I can repair my clothes in the case that someone tears them apart."
Dori shrugged and went back to writing, "That's fair. If you happen to see Nilou, do tell her that my offer is still up for grabs."
I tilted my head, "Offer?"
"That's between her and I. Now, you keep mentioning this 'Europe'..."
"Oh, you want to know more about those arrogant pricks? Ugh, let me tell you about all of their wild, socialist delusions that we Americans pay for…"
We ended up talking for about 2 hours before heading to bed. I happened to get a guest room not too far from Dori's part of the mansion, although maybe she just wanted to keep a close eye on me.
Also, when I woke up, I got a message.
You have received a new fortune cookie!
And on my chest, a fortune cookie.
I guess they can also appear when I'm asleep too? Hopefully, they won't jumpscare me twice in a row like they did last time.
Also, these cookies are really good snacks, so I'm not that mad to get them.
'These are grand principles, they are worth every sacrifice.'
…Hm, this is… Well, I'm not sure what to think about it. First of all, I would have to figure out who's principles we're talking about, and who's being sacrificed.
For example, the principles of the United States are grand indeed. And yes, they are worth the blood being shed in our second civil war.
Of course, these fortunes suck ass at telling the future, so I have no idea if it's someone else with a different set of ideals, but I like the idea of it being of our ideals, so that's the perspective I'm going with.
I smiled a little, happy with my own interpretation. That must be what those English teachers talk about when they mention people relating to the vague poems. Maybe they were on to something.
Putting the good fortune in my inventory, I head outside to meet with Dori before traveling to the city.
After all, I do need to work on my stylist skills eventually.
"Hey, Nilou!" I shouted from the opposite side of the room, waving at her.
Nilou perked up at my voice and waved back, "Oh, hey Fuse! Sorry I had to leave you back then, but did you get your license?"
I caught up to her and shook her hand, nodding, "Yep! I even managed to beat Kamal to do it!"
Her face lit up with shock, "Oh, wow! You actually managed to beat him? How did you do that?"
Through extremely underhanded tactics, and by that I mean the gun, but I didn't want to tell her that so instead I dodged the topic, "Ah, it's a long story. But you offered me to introduce you to your tailors so I could learn from them, right?"
Nilou's mouth opened slightly as she recalled that, "Oh, that's right! Well, I think Rekhar is the only one in right now, since we just got finished with a production and the rest are having a break. But yeah, I could introduce her to you!"
I smiled a bit, "Oh, thank you! In that case, we can chat along the way."
Alrighty, in no time at all, the American flag is going to fly throughout this world, and I'll be so happy about it…
AN: for previously chapter 4 (ended at Rosaria talking part)
I went into Genshin to check if this Kamal was anywhere close to the actual Kamal and lmao no it wasn't. In game he's way more calm lol. I based him off of Cyprus.
Fortunately, he's just an NPC, so nobody cares.
Also, it's 3 hours before labor day, the day I wanted to upload the first chapter, and I'm only 4 chapters in.
Yeah, I definitely need those 2 weeks in-between chapters.
AN: for previously chapter 5 (ended up there.)
And then there's like a 2-3 day time-jump next chapter because I'm sure you're not going to like Fuse learning how to sew and knit.
(I think combining the 2 chapters helped. Though, I am now a bit behind on how many chapters I wanted to have in the chamber before I'm being pressed for time…)
(Speaking of, for some reason I didn't mention this last chapter, but before chapter 3 released, I spent 2 days making an Overlord OC fic, Time Capsule. That fic on FFN glitched out and doesn't let me see the actual views, so it has 0 views, but on AO3 it's more popular than Manifest Destiny so I'll just guess it's the same as FFN. So if you wanted to see that, then I guess you could. It's not getting another chapter for like another month though, since I need to write some more for this fic so I don't land myself in an unfavorable situation and fall behind.)
(Anyone have any good advice about pacing? It's chapter 4 and it's literally only been 1 day in-universe. Maybe it's time to make some cuts or something.)