Published: August 15, 2025
Today, two chapters are posted simultaneously.
This is the second chapter.
When we returned to the watchtower, Lord Reinbach and the others had already prepared the camp.
“Oh, you’re back. What kind of slime did you become this time?”
As he set up the tent, Lord Reinbach quickly noticed us. He probably already understood my behavior patterns. Since he asked so naturally, I explained what we had learned about the grave slime through magical beast appraisal and experiments.
“Grave slime... I’ve never heard of it before. I suppose it’s a new species, but what interests me more is its abilities.”
“The ability to attract and consume undead is quite the evolutionary advancement at the right time.”
“I think it’s because we fed it a lot before coming here.”
“We observed the experiments on its abilities, so I’m confident about that. But personally, I find its resistance to miasma more intriguing. Not just the undead, but can it also consume and process miasma together?”
“If we can determine how much miasma a grave slime can tolerate, it might be able to handle both undead and miasma. But we have to investigate under various conditions.”
“If that’s possible, the value of the grave slime would increase significantly.”
Undead and miasma can appear anywhere and anytime in environments where living beings die. Moreover, the more numerous and gruesome the deaths, the higher the chance of their appearance.
There are methods to prevent undead from forming, such as proper burial of corpses, and ways to handle them if they appear. So, it’s rare for them to appear in human living areas, and if they do, they are usually dealt with immediately. But nothing humans do is absolute. The ruins of the prison visible nearby are an example of prevention and response failing.
There aren’t many places as bad as here, but apparently, there are many locations prone to the spawning of undead and miasma. So, grave slimes have a high potential to be useful in such places.
“What interests me is the ‘corpse storage’ ability. Even if it’s not undead, if it can freely absorb and expel things, I’d want to assign one of them during military or knight orders.”
“When on a mission to hunt magical beasts, as a reward, besides salary, it’s allowed to convert the meat and materials of the beasts slain into money. But when there’s no room in the inventory, you have no choice but to dispose of them. If you can bring back more materials, your profits increase. Naturally, that would boost the morale of the squad.”
“Also... sometimes there are casualties during missions.”
“...I see.”
When a comrade dies, it’s only human to want to bring them back if possible.
“As a Beast Tamer, the only thing I can think of is contracting with undead-type magical beasts.”
Everyone shared their thoughts on the grave slime’s abilities and pointed out things I hadn’t considered. But I was surprised by Lord Reinbach’s words.
“You can contract with undead?”
“Undead are proper magical beasts, so it’s possible. But few Beast Tamers prefer to command them. Especially using humanoid corpses is often shunned. They usually can’t stay at inns, and sometimes can’t enter towns.”
“Even when considered just as magical beasts, the only convenient ability is their regeneration. Considering their daytime weakness, odor, and how others perceive them, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.”
“I understand. So, they’re not popular... but are there people who actually contract with them?”
“I once tried it to check suitability as a Beast Tamer. I didn’t intend to command them, but some tamers who only have affinity with undead or researchers needing them for study have no choice but to use them.”
It seems there are researchers as unfortunate as slime researchers who have no choice but to use undead for study. I wonder what they would do if they learned about the grave slime? If only the slime could stay inside the grave slime except during research... No, that won’t work.