Chapter 1-6: My First Follower

It had been almost two years since Grandpa Merlin began teaching me.

…Huh? Why am I skipping ahead so quickly?

Even if you ask me that, there really wasn’t anything particularly interesting to talk about.

After learning how to control my mana, every day was pretty much the same, with nothing much changing.

Controlling mana itself was quite simple.

Specifically:

1. Immerse yourself in water, stand upright, and calm your mind.

2. Imagine a system of channels running through your body through which mana can circulate.

3. Once you can visualize those channels, imagine mana flowing through them.

4. When your body begins to feel lighter and warmth spreads through every part of you, you’ve succeeded.

5. Once you get used to it, you can channel mana into objects you are holding or wearing.

That’s it.

Instead of imagining some vague concept like “mana channels,” I pictured blood vessels and blood flowing through my body.

And I succeeded on my very first try.

After that, all I had to do was try to maintain the circulation of mana through my body for as long as possible while going about my daily life.

The only real change in my studies was that I spent less time learning from Mother and more time studying under Grandpa Merlin.

And just like that…

I grew to the age of six.

Today, Father told me that he was finally going to teach me how to hunt.

Though, to tell the truth…

I had some experience with hunting in my previous life as well.

So early that morning, Father and I entered the Great Elder Forest.

“Father, there’s a Maru bird beneath that tree.”

“All right. Leave it to me.”

With that, Father swiftly drew his bow and fired.

The arrow flew straight into the Maru bird’s neck.

It dropped dead on the spot.

“You’re really good at this, Tenma.”

“That makes eight today, doesn’t it?”

“And it isn’t even noon yet.”

“But three of them got away because I noticed them too late.”

“Even so, an experienced hunter would have trouble finding prey at this rate.”

“You’ll get better with the bow little by little.”

(Finding them is easy enough when I combine Appraisal and Detection.)

Tenma thought to himself.

“Tenma.”

“Let’s call it a day early.”

“You’ve already exceeded the number we planned to hunt.”

Ricardo suggested.

Just then…

A rustling sound came from a nearby bush.

The two immediately stepped back and drew their knives.

What emerged from the bushes was…

“A slime?”

“Don’t worry, Tenma.”

“They’re considered the weakest of all monsters.”

Ricardo said this as he slightly lowered his guard.

“Tenma.”

“This is a good opportunity.”

“Try defeating it.”

Hearing his father’s words, Tenma nervously approached the slime.

The slime stared back at him.

Step by step…

Step by step…

The distance between them gradually narrowed.

When they were only two meters apart…

Tenma suddenly felt something strange.

(What is this?)

(It feels like my consciousness is being drawn toward this slime…)

Tenma stopped.

He put his knife back into its sheath.

Then he continued walking toward the slime.

“Tenma!”

“What are you doing?!”

Ricardo panicked and was about to rush forward.

But Tenma raised a hand to stop him.

“It’s okay, Father.”

“I don’t think it intends to attack me.”

With that, Tenma reached out toward the slime.

The slime’s body trembled slightly.

It slowly moved closer.

Then it touched Tenma’s hand.

At that very moment…

Tenma clearly felt it.

Between himself and the slime…

Something had connected them.

“Father.”

“I think it likes me!”

Ricardo stared at Tenma in astonishment.

“Tenma…”

“You have a talent for 『Taming』 too?!”

“What is 『Taming』?”

“『Taming』 is a skill that allows you to tame monsters.”

“You can turn monsters into your followers and command them to fight alongside you.”

“Oh…”

“That sounds interesting.”

(It’s kind of like those monster games I played in my previous life.)

“Slimes may be low-level monsters…”

“But being able to tame one is still quite remarkable.”

“I wonder if Mother and Grandpa will be surprised?”

“I’m not sure about Merlin.”

“But your mother will definitely be shocked.”

“We should probably tell her about the slime before showing it to her.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to keep it secret and surprise everyone.”

“If we aren’t careful…”

“Your mother might get so startled that she attacks the slime.”

“We can’t have that!”

“To be safe, we’ll show it to Merlin first.”

“Then we’ll have him come with us before showing it to your mother.”

“Yes! I understand!”

Father and son prepared to return to the village.

Tenma carried the slime in his arms.

Every now and then, its body happily jiggled as though expressing its delight.

When they returned to the village…

“Merlin, are you home?”

Tenma and Ricardo immediately went to Merlin’s house.

After explaining what had happened with the slime…

“Oh…”

“So you have a talent for Taming.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“And I understand the situation with Celia.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“There’s something I want to discuss about this slime as well.”

With that, Merlin accompanied them to Celia’s house.

Just as they had expected…

Celia was extremely surprised.

But after hearing the whole story, she happily praised Tenma.

“That’s amazing, Tenma!”

“It’s been a very long time since anyone in this village successfully used 『Taming』!”

Afterward, Merlin said that he had something to discuss.

Everyone gathered around the table.

The slime rested on Tenma’s lap.

“It appears that this slime can use magic.”

His unexpected statement surprised everyone.

Tenma immediately activated:

『Appraisal』

Attribute	Value
Name	???
Age	1
Race	Slime
Title	Tenma’s Follower
HP	500
MP	500
Strength	E-
Defense	E-
Speed	D-
Magic	C+
Mental Strength	D-
Growth Potential	B
Luck	B

Skills

Skill	Level
Abnormal Status Resistance	Lv5
Endurance	Lv2
Martial Arts	Lv1
Space-Time Magic	Lv1

Compared to an ordinary slime…

It was clearly far stronger.

Normally, a slime’s stats only ranged from F- to F+.

“Every now and then…”

“High-ranking monsters are born as mutations.”

“This slime is probably one of those cases.”

“Such individuals tend to possess greater intelligence, and many of them have the potential to become much stronger.”

“So this slime is a rare individual, Merlin?”

“That’s right.”

“Even though we call it a mutation…”

“In the end, it’s still a slime.”

“Normally, they’re killed before they ever get the chance to grow.”

“In that sense…”

“It truly is quite rare.”

“So is that why you came all the way here?”

Celia asked.

Merlin looked at Tenma and the slime.

“That’s part of the reason.”

“But the main reason…”

“Has to do with Tenma’s mana.”

“My mana?”

Tenma tilted his head in confusion.

“That’s right.”

“Tenma’s mana control has improved considerably lately.”

“So I was planning to begin teaching him magic.”

“But what does that have to do with the slime?”

Ricardo asked.

“Don’t be impatient.”

“Originally, I intended to use this.”

Merlin took a small stone, about two or three centimeters in size, out of his bag.

He placed it on the table.

“This is an empty magic stone with no mana inside it, right?”

Celia asked.

Merlin nodded.

“Correct.”

“I was planning to have Tenma channel his mana into it.”

“That would allow him to learn how to release and use his mana.”

“But now I think we could have the slime receive his mana instead.”

The three listened attentively.

Merlin continued.

“If too much mana is poured into a magic stone at once, it will break.”

“That makes it very useful for practicing mana output.”

“And since the slime has become Tenma’s follower, a connection has already formed between them.”

“It should be easier to transfer mana through that connection.”

“I think I understand the general idea.”

“But what exactly is this ‘connection,’ Grandpa?”

“It’s a kind of channel that forms between a master and their follower.”

“Some people also call it a bond.”

“But is it safe to transfer mana into the slime?”

Tenma’s question was perfectly reasonable.

If the very first slime he had ever tamed exploded because he poured mana into it…

That could easily become a traumatic memory.

“Don’t worry.”

“Slimes are naturally omnivorous.”

“But they can survive on nothing more than water and mana.”

“It’s even possible that absorbing Tenma’s mana will help it grow stronger.”

“It would accomplish two things at once.”

Hearing that, Tenma breathed a sigh of relief.

“Celia.”

“I still have some empty magic stones at home.”

“I’ll bring them over later.”

“Magic stones filled with mana can be sold to merchants.”

“You can use the money from those sales to buy more empty magic stones.”

“Thank you.”

“But are you sure it’s okay for us to accept the magic stones?”

“It’s fine.”

“You’re always feeding me delicious meals, after all.”

“Consider this my payment.”

Celia happily accepted his offer.

Then Ricardo suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, right, Tenma.”

“You need to give the slime a name.”

“You can’t leave it nameless forever.”

Merlin and Celia agreed.

“That’s right.”

“It’s a new member of Tenma’s family.”

“Give it a good name.”

“Exactly.”

“It would be rather pitiful if you never named it.”

“But Tenma…”

“You’ll have to take care of it yourself.”

Actually…

Tenma had already decided on a name a long time ago.

“This slime’s name will be…”

“Slalin!”

Ever since he had tamed the slime…

Only one name had come to Tenma’s mind.

It was the name of a slime from an RPG he had played in his previous life.

When the other three heard the name…

Their reactions were:

“Because it’s a slime, you named it Slalin…?”

“That’s rather simple.”

“But it is easy to remember.”

“Oh, I think it’s perfectly fine.”

“It sounds adorable.”

“That’s right.”

“Besides, Tenma was the one who chose it.”

“And more importantly…”

“It looks like Slalin likes the name too.”

Sure enough…

The slime happily jiggled its body.

It even began bouncing up and down.

It looked as though it were dancing.

“I’m looking forward to having you with me from now on, Slalin.”

Tenma gently spoke to his new friend…

The newest member of his family.

End of Chapter 1-6

And so, the slime has joined the party.

The author believes that the first monster to become a companion is usually a slime, right?

At least, that’s what the author thinks.

As for the name… please forgive me.

Whenever I tried to think of a name for a slime, this was the only one that came to mind.

Status

【Tenma Ootori, Age 6】

Attribute	Value
Age	6
Race	Human
Title	Sage’s Disciple / Tamer / (Beloved Child of the Gods)
HP	1,500
MP	8,500
Strength	E-
Defense	E
Speed	D
Magic	A
Mental Strength	B-
Growth Potential	SS-
Luck	B

Skills:

Throwing Lv5, Taming Lv5, Night Vision Lv5, Endurance Lv5, Cooking Lv4, Dismantling Lv4, Traps Lv4, Archery Lv4, Swordsmanship Lv3, Martial Arts Lv3, Spearmanship Lv3, Staff Arts Lv3, Axe Arts Lv3, Fire Magic Lv2, Water Magic Lv2, All Magic Attributes Lv1 (6)

Hidden Skills:

Appraisal Lv10, Detection Lv10, Concealment Lv10, Enhanced Skill Acquisition Lv10, Follower Enhancement Lv10, Growth Enhancement Lv8, Life Force Enhancement Lv8, Recovery Enhancement Lv8, Abnormal Status Resistance Lv8, Sensory Enhancement Lv7, Physical Ability Enhancement Lv7, Destructive Power Enhancement Lv5, Mana Enhancement Lv5, Creation Magic Lv5, Enchantment Magic Lv5, Destruction Resistance Lv5, Instant Death Resistance Lv5, Master of All Martial Arts Lv5

Blessing: Blessing of the Gods

Tenma has grown! Everything is progressing smoothly.