First Job
As Alex waited in 'Proper Grocer' he focused solely and increasing his magical capacity by absorbing Ethernano.
He knew in the years to come he would want all the magic he could get.
He also wanted to get to a point where he could use {Metamorphosis} for as long as he wanted.
He was not looking forward to the pain again but figured if he followed the skills suggestion and strengthened his body, the transformation would be easier and less painful.
He also wanted to see if he could use a partial take over, according to his implanted knowledge of the skill it should be possible.
However, it didn't tell him how to do it.
*sigh* 'Just another thing to add to the list of testing to do' He thought wryly.
He wanted to get to a point where he could use just his wings for ease of travel.
This was mostly because if his magic sticks to the common theme with slayer wizards, his own enhanced senses are going to give him motion sickness in vehicles.
'Just the thought of being like Natsu in/on vehicles make me shutter' He thought as a chill when up his spine.
True to the old mans estimation, the city workers showed up almost exactly an hour later.
They were a little skeptical having a new guy watch their backs, it took but a very small demonstration of his flames to change their minds though.
After waving goodbye to the old man, Alex followed the workers to the sewer access.
They were all Male of about 30 years old with well built bodies.
He could tell at a glance they did physical labour almost everyday. They were not a talkative bunch, witch Alex was internally Grateful for.
He did not think he had the people skills to have a full conversation with the 3 men.
When they first entered the sewers, the smell hit him like a truck and he needed to take a minute to steady himself and get his bearings 'Damn that's nasty!' he yelled in his head. 'Humans are disgusting'.
After getting his senses under control and mentally wishing he had an off switch for his nose, he caught up to the workers.
He could tell they were not concerned with the slimes while they were alert, because they didn't stop or wait for him.
While walking in silence, Alex was making a mental map of the place, noting down when they made a turn and basically making it so he knew he could get out if they got separated.
While walking through the tunnels without a torch did earn him a few curious glances, he didn't pay any attention to the workers.
They didn't ask, so he wasn't gonna say.
With his enhanced sight and dark vision, he was able to see many slimes hiding in dark corners or even on the ceiling.
They were slow moving lumps of green acid.
Having noticed many more slimes than he thought they would be seeing, he decided to voice his concern.
"They are only harmful if they get on your skin, they can follow you through vibration but they are incredibly slow.
If they aren't directly in our way we just leave them be". The Foreman replied to his inquiry.
"Would they not eventually increase in number to the point that they could pose a threat?" Alex asked back.
"Yes they could, and its for that reason we have a yearly Culling of their numbers, But we have to be careful not to kill them all" the foreman replied with a slightly more serious tone.
"Why would you want slimes in your sewers?" Alex asked, though he already had an idea.
"They eat the refuse and break it down further, It makes our jobs and the decomposition process much easier" was the reply.
'Yup, just what I thought, magic sewer cleaners. Neat!' Alex smirked to himself.
When they finally got to the area where the work was gonna be taking place, 2 of the workers started setting up their gear as the foreman turned to Alex.
"We will be in this location for the entire time today.
Do an initial walk around and then watch the 3 connecting tunnels, there are no other ways to this point so all your attention should be there". He said, before joining the others.
On his initial walk around the bigger open area, he spotted a couple slimes slowly making their way to the workers location.
Judging from their speed it would take them about an hour to get there.
Not wanting to waste any time and also wanting the extra 100 jewel, he threw a fireball at the closest slime.
The {Fel-Fire} had a very interesting reaction with the acid sludge, It burned so fast and hot it was like a magical flashbang going off in the dark tunnel.
When his sight returned he was welcomed with the sight of a black mark on the ground.
Searching around and not finding the core he concluded it must have been what reacted with his magic.
"What the hell?" he said out loud. "I thought you were supposed to kill them with fire, Guess the heat is crazier than I thought."
After thinking about it for a while, and knowing he had lots of time before the slimes were an issue.
He decided to play around with his {Mana Manipulation} to see if he could create a regular flame.
Finding it to be WAY easier than he thought it would be, he decided to try it with ice too.
It was also incredibly easy, however it was more taxing and required more mana than fire.
'Got to be because of my natural affinity to fire as a Fire Demon Slayer.' Alex thought.
He shrugged it off seconds later, it made sense and didn't matter in the long run.
Armed with 2 new magics he went to face the slimes again.
Deciding to use the ice first, he created a spear and willed it to pierce the slime.
It popped like a water balloon and the acid sludge lost its cohesion.
Walking up to the sizzling goo, he found a small Glasslike object about the size of his thumbnail.
Using his {Mana Manipulation} he was able to sense the swirling energies within the core.
Popping it into his {Inventory} he continued to merciless pop all the slimes in the area.
After seeing how effective the ice spear was on the first slime he decided to use it for all the others.
In the end he pocketed 8 Slime cores. 'A cool 800 jewel, sweet.' he thought.
Having some time to kill and no more slimes to murder, he decided to check his progress.
'Status'
Name: Alexander Black
Age: 18
Class: Fire Demon Slayer
Mage Rank: C
Warrior Rank: E+
Skills: {Metamorphosis} (take-over magic)(lvl:2)
{Inventory} (re-quip magic) (lvl:3)
{Fel-Fire} (lvl:8)
{Mana Manipulation} (lvl:5)
{Stealth} (lvl:10)
{Rapid Regeneration} (lvl:2)
'Not too bad, slight improvement in everything.
Its also interesting to see how the skills tie together.
{Rapid Regeneration} will probably level with {Metamorphosis} because it requires me to get hurt, and that skill freaking hurts!
{Stealth} would probably have been higher if I did more than just have the skill on.
{Inventory} could use some work, but I'll get there.
It is a little annoying to see {Mana Manipulation} so low, I mean it gets proficiency with everything I do.
I thought for sure it'd level faster than {Fel-Fire}.
*sigh* I guess since its so broken it makes sense it would take the longest.' Alex thought as he went through his small window.
"It also looks like my body got slightly stronger, but I don't feel any difference.
Maybe the transition between E and E+ is so low, its impossible to tell?" He asked to nobody in particular.
Shrugging it off as something to watch for later, he went back to watching the tunnels.
Nothing of any note happened for the next couple hours and eventually the workers started to pack up for the day.
As they were getting ready to leave, the Foreman approached.
"Anything give you any trouble Lad?" He asked.
"Didn't have any distractions sneak up on us so that means you must have dealt with them." he followed up.
"Nothing to worry about, couple slimes here and there, was easy enough to deal with". He said Slightly excited at the prospect of getting out of the smelly tunnels.
He liked the old shop keeper, but he wasn't sure if he'd be taking the job again for the last 2 days.
"That's great!" The Foreman said.
"As soon as we make it back top side ill give you a token as proof of a job well done, and you can collect your money from the old man" he continued.
"Works for me!" Alex said happily. "Do you guys need a hand carrying anything back?"
"Nope, we should be good, Got to make this lot earn their wages". The Foreman replied in good humor.
On the way back to the surface, they only came across 2 more slimes, they were quickly disposed of and their cores deposited into his {Inventory}.
He had 10 now, enough to easily double his money from the quest.
True to his word, the Foreman gave Alex the token as proof of a job well done when they reached the surface.
After splitting up with the workers he started heading back to the 'Proper Grocer' Shop.
It didn't take him long to reach the shop as he made no detours and took the shortest route.
Upon entering the shop, he quickly waved to the old store clerk and headed his way.
"Hey Old Timer" Alex greeted cheerfully.
"I'm done the quest and got proof of completion right here" He said as he approached the counter with the chip in hand.
"The fact that you made it back sooner than expected mean you probably didn't run into any trouble". The Old man said, happy to see the youngster safe.
"we ran into a few roaming slimes so I got a couple cores to sell as well, 10 to be precise" Alex said pulling out the cores.
"Good Job Boy" the old man said with a happy smile.
"As discussed before, I can take each for 100, and I have your 1000 jewel from the quest here as well" the old man finished as he pulled out a small bag.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" Alex replied in a happy tone.
"About the other 2 days, I didn't really plan on staying in Hargeon that long, but I could make an exception if you really need the help". Alex said as he collected his money.
"Normally I wouldn't, but I haven't been able to contact my helper since he said he wont be in today.
I've got no way of knowing if he will be in tomorrow either" the old man said.
"If you'd be willing to hang around for a couple days, I will throw in a place to sleep and a couple meals a day for your trouble" the old man asked, almost pleading.
"Sounds very reasonable... Alright, I will accept your offer" Alex replied.
He really didn't have anything to loose, and having more coin would always help.