22 Civilization, Start!

Alaric didn't receive the 8 hours of sleep he wanted. It seemed to amount to about 6 hours, as told by his stopwatch as he woke up.

Normally, sleeping a full 8 hours would be easy, but today there were people outside.

"Is anyone there?! Will you really... will you really protect us?!" a man in worn down clothes, accompanied by a middle-aged woman, an old man, and 2 children shouted.

Alaric looked outside of his window, noting that people had actually arrived, 'Pamela was successful! But, where is Gunnar?'

Alaric quickly walked outside of his room, exited his house, and greeted them with a wave. The room slime, Wurst, was of course following along.

Alaric smiled, and assured them, "I indeed can promise protection from those Ryder fiends."

The group of 5 quickly took in Alaric's appearance, a hint of disappointment appearing on their faces. Alaric's face was unwrinkled, his eyes shined a deep blue, and he obviously gave off an aura of youthful arrogance.

They all thought the same thing, 'He's much too young!'

Alaric noted their disappointment, "You're all probably too focused on my age to notice the little guy beside me, right?"

The man at the front of their group walked a bit forward, he had dark green eyes and light brown hair, and his build seemed rather sturdy as well. Although he was uncertain, the way he was brought here was simply too mystical.

He remembered, that when he woke up, words offering protection had been ingrained into the walls of his bedroom. Filled with the hope that he could escape the Ryders, he gathered his wife and children before fleeing.

"You... are indeed a bit young! And besides, you seem to be a mutated slime, its eyes have an inability to leave its core! Your ways are mysterious, but this poor village, your young appearance, and a slime pet are not enough to convince me. If I go back now, I can still evade punishment!"

Alaric was a bit stunned, 'This villager seems to be a bit eloquent. A talented man? I know that the Ryder family restricts education...'

Either way, Alaric was prepared for the arrival of a smart fellow and was even excited about it.

Alaric gestured for them to sit at one of the meal tables in the center of the village, and spoke as they walked, "I am younger than most, yes, but my talents have already allowed me to become a rank-1 wielder. Today, I shall reach the peak of rank 1. By my side is not a mutated slime, but an evolved slime. I have grasped the method of slime evolution, and my talent is 'Authority Among Slimes,' I have 4 rank-2 magical beasts at my behest!"

Alaric quietly noted that 3 of the 4 magical beasts' conditions were unknown.

The old man who had been quietly following along shuddered, and this didn't escape Alaric's eyes. The middle-aged man, who had taken the initiative originally, quickly responded before Alaric could think about it.

"A rank-2 slime? Forgive me, but that's absurd! And... you claim to be a rank-1 wielder? That's indeed impressive, but with a trashy talent like 'Authority Among Slimes' how can you protect us?!"

The man was visibly agitated, which was understandable. He walked for a total of 4 hours to get here, full of hope for the future, only to be met with an empty village and a boy who could order around the weakest of magical beasts.

Suddenly, the old man who shook before stammered out, "Is that... is that really a rank-2 slime?!"

The green-eyed man from before seemed a bit annoyed that the older man in the group interjected so suddenly, but let it be. Alaric however, raised an eyebrow at the old man's passion.

"Yeah, it is. I haven't researched a method for a rank-3 slime evolution, but it will come soon enough. Old man, are you interested in slimes? I did notice that you have a mana signature, you seem to be a wielder!"

Alaric had long since noticed the old man's mana signature. It was below that of a rank-1 wielder as if he had awakened but was never able to break through. And he was correct, the old man was indeed a wielder with weaker talents.

The old man shook his head in awe, the long, white hair upon his head shaking with it, "This old geezer has long since given up on attaining rank 1. I spent my last days researching the evolution of slimes, but they could not grow larger reserves naturally! Most beasts evolve with age, or earlier if introduced to soul shards! Slimes are an anomaly, as if they don't age, and don't accept soul shards into their bodies!"

The old man continued on, rambling in excitement, "Is this really a rank-2 slime? I have become very passionate about my research ever since the Ryder family restricted it! This old geezer's name is Clarus, please enlighten me!"

Alaric was overwhelmed by Clarus's obsession but quickly shook it off. Many researchers had indeed been obsessed with the evolution of slimes, even though such an obvious legend had been thrown into their faces. Alaric took a look at the other 4 guests he had, and the middle-aged man seemed a bit annoyed.

"Well, Clarus... I would be happy to teach you a bit later, but for now, I need to address this friend's doubts. Let's chat at another time."

The middle-aged man quickly sighed, as if releasing a bit of stress from within, "Please call me Mike, I was a bit aggressive a moment ago, my apologies. Old man Clarus has been obsessed with slimes for about 5 years now, so I'm sorry about his outbreak. I simply cannot believe that the slime in front of me is rank-2, despite the obvious appearance difference. Prove it."

Clarus seemed a bit obviously embarrassed at what Mike said but quickly got excited, probably because he could see a rank-2 slime in action.

"Well, I must note something beforehand. Every slime I've evolved thus far has taken on a different form and a different set of abilities. This slime here, whom I've named 'Wurst' is what I call a 'room slime.'"

Alaric gestured at the slime, implying that it should show off its abilities. Quickly, it stretched around from one place to another, moving extremely quickly, and then grew into a larger form and began absorbing a chair.

Mike seemed a bit astounded, and Alaric only gave him a look as if to say, "So, what is your answer?"

Despite his confusion, Mike quickly knelt on the ground, "Please protect me, my wife, and my children from the Ryder family!"

His wife and the 2 children soon followed.

"You're in luck, I happen to need some manual labor right about now!" Alaric said, with a chuckle.