Since I have started from the lowest rank once again I don't get to do anything difficult or exiting, at most the typical herb collection and subjugation of weak monsters like the horned rabbits that I did in ingracia. Looking at the myriad of odd jobs posted on the F rank board I decide to ignore all that have nothing to do with combat, like helping with the construction of buildings or herb collection. That only leaves me with one option, collection of slime cores.

After deciding what to do I check if its a permanent quest and surprise surprise it is. Reading the detail it, I get to know the location where the slimes could be found and an explanation for why the cores are needed. It so happens that slimes are pretty similar to unicellular beings from my world like bacterias. Their core works like their brain and it also holds the highest concentration of mana from within their bodies. This last factor is the reason why they are valuable, slime cores have a similar mana concentration as magic stones, therefore, making them a viable replacement. However, there is where their usefulness ends, unlike magic cores, slime cores don't recharge over time and can't be manually recharged like magic crystals either. If you attempt to manually recharge an empty slime core it will break just like a magic stone would.

Slime cores are interesting and all but in the end slimes are still weak, having to kill these guys is no fun. Well, it doesn't matter, I still have to do it no matter how much I complain, moreover I still need to figure out a way to get rid of this curse, it's annoying that I am having my strength caped because of it. After my little fight at the guild, I decided to place a cap to the amount of mana I can use, this way I won't end up dry after wasting it. So, as of now, I am at only at around ten percent of my maximum strength and it bothers me to no end.

While thinking of this and that I began walking towards the north exit of the town, however, something caught my attention as I walked. There at the side of the road was a large building with an uncanny resemblance to a catholic church from earth, there were some differences like instead of a cross as the main symbol it was a tree. While admiring the building a memory surfaced in my mind. Back when I had just reincarnated here or was it transmigration? doesn’t matter, in Gaia’s letter, she wrote that I may end up being able to talk with her if I went to a temple! If I get to talk with Gaia I may be able to ask her to get rid of this stupid curse!

Looking around I spotted a statue which I can only assume is Gaia’s. The statue depicted a somewhat tall woman with a slender yet curvaceous body wearing what looked like greek garments from the hundreds before Christ. Long somewhat wavy hair and a stern look, while holding a sword and shield. As a matter of fact, there are a few of these statues around, each one holding a different object like books or a scale. Taking a deep breath I decided to give it a try and offered a prayer to one of the statues. In an instant, everything faded to white.

“Welcome my child, it has been a long time since last we talk”

A voice that radiated composure and divinity, that is my first impression of the goddess’ voice, however, that was something extremely odd about it, something that didn’t fit with the image of the goddess that the statues depicted. The pitch was too high! it sounded like a young girl of no more than twelve years! Turning around I saw the goddess, I must admit she does resemble the statue in some aspects like the wavy hair and the cloths but everything else is wrong! Her body looks like that of a kid of around twelve years, her face is cute instead of beautiful. The statues depicted her as extremely beautiful but I can only think that instead of beautiful this kid is the definition of cute!

“I-is that you Gaia? why do you look so different from the statues?”

I was trying my best to contain my laughter, the difference was too much. From beautiful women with curves in all the right places to this kid with flat chest and baby fat here and there. Moreover, if she can’t change her appearance at will that would mean that this is her true form and those statues are her attempts at looking more womanly it’s too much I think I will burst out at any moment now.

“I know I look different from the statues! Don’t laugh! I am a goddess this is too disrespectful!”

“Sorry sorry, I can’t help it”

I wiped the tears that had formed at the corners of my eyes. It took a while but I was able to calm down and get into business.

“So Gaia, you said I could come and visit and you would help me if you could right?”

A simple nod and a smile, to tell the truth, that simple action would be enough to melt the heart of anyone, she was just too cute.

“So you see, I got cursed so I was wondering if-”

“I can’t”

I couldn’t even finish my sentence before I was denied! Oi, you are a god! Don’t tell me a dumb rock has more power than you! that is just ridiculous!

“I mean I can, but I am not allowed to, that would be interfering with the world and as such as a breach of the agreement we gods have”

So it’s that, This is awful, how am I supposed to get rid of this curse! Do I have to go and search for the pope of Gaia’s religion! I don’t want to, give me a break, I swear I will give hell to that dumb rock!

“Could you at least tell me how to get rid of it?”

“That I can do, for starters the curse is like a poison that affects the life force of the user, so the most direct way of clearing it would be to expel all affected life force, therefore, clearing the curse”

“Wait wouldn’t that kill the cursed person!?”

“yea it would”

“Then what is the use of that! that is like telling me to kill myself! that is not a solution!”

“You say that for you it might be”

“What do you mean”

“Sorry can’t say anymore, times up, pulling your soul into this divine realm is tiring you know, if you want to talk again come in around ten years or so, bye”

You little shit of a god! don’t you dare do this to me! I have more questions than answers now! I swear I will tear your stupid temple to the ground! Before I knew it I was back in front of the statue. That stupid loli goddess! this was useless! useless I tell you! Go expel all your life force to clear the curse, you might as well have told me to go and lift a mountain! I will die if I expel my life force! Its called life force for a reason!

After silently ranting for a while I calmed down, I wasn’t serious when I thought about tearing the place apart. She was the one that reincarnated me, to begin with, she owes nothing to me, on the contrary, I owe her for what happened, even so, it’s frustrating. With a long sigh, I left the church and went on my way towards the forest to the north, its slime hunting season baby.

In front of me, there is a bunch of goop trembling, it isn’t trembling from fear, that’s what slimes do to look menacing, they tremble as a warning just how some snakes produce that rattle sound with their tails as a warning. Well, this thing is anything but menacing, for starters, it’s about the same size as a soccer ball, a melted soccer ball that is. Since I wasn’t retreating but instead getting closer to it, the slime went for the first strike by shooting a part of itself at me. However, its efforts were futile, I am too fast even without overload for it. Stepping to the side the fluid flys past me and hits a tree, with a sizzling sound the tree’s bark starts to melt due to the corrosive substance. Reminded of a soccer ball from earth I decided to give it a good kick and with it, the poor slime explodes raining its corrosive body everywhere. kicking it was a bad idea.

After using some mana to fix my melted clothes I realise I am close to the cap I had set for myself, really having a lack of mana is a pain in the arse. Since these things tend to blow up when hit I decided against going on melee range, instead I pick up some rocks and throw them at the blobs of goop, causing them to explode at a safe distance. It takes me anywhere between three to ten shots to get kill a slime, even though they die from one impact my aim is really bad.

It takes me the whole afternoon to kill enough slimes for the twice the minimum requirement of ten in other words twenty. As I said they are easy to kill but the little shits are good at hiding so finding them is harder than killing them. Though I must admit it was kind of fun to play this hide and seek game with the poor slimes, for me it was like a game, for them, well, they were playing with their lives on the line. Anyway, now that I have finished here I decided to head back, complete the request, get my reward and spend it on lodging.

After I received my money it was already getting dark so I began looking for an appropriate in. However, while doing so I went past an ally where screams could be heard, glancing at it I saw a scene I wish I had been spared from, my anger rose to a hundred in an instant as I felt my body going into rage mode. My blood began to boil as my vision grew clearer despite the darkness of the night. If I had a mirror I would be able to see my right eye changing into its black and red form. Tonight, I am out for blood.