Chapter 125: Acid Slime

“Let me take a look at this weapon.”

Coming back to his senses, Talenberg took the musket from Bray and examined it carefully in his hands.

After a while, he couldn’t help but sigh:

“I just realized how finely crafted this musket is. I wonder if the craftsmen of our Holy Nation of Caleb can manage to replicate it?”

“So eager to copy the muskets made in Bianshu Town—does Marquis Eisen not mind?” 

Lemi asked.

“Marquis Eisen doesn’t mind at all.” 

Bray replied. 

“He’s said before that the core technology is very difficult to reproduce.”

What Bray didn’t know was that Owen’s confidence came from the fact that he already possessed even more advanced musket designs, so he didn’t care much about this front-loading flintlock.

“That makes sense. Just copying the musket alone won’t help.”

Freya handed the already dismantled paper cartridge back to Talenberg, and clearly pointed out:

“You first need to figure out the formula for the black powder. That’s the truly crucial part.”

With the decision made to cooperate with Border Town, the group returned to the central hall to continue their discussions.

In the end, it was decided that Bishop Flynn, who was already stationed there, would act as their representative to handle matters with Marquis Eisen.

Back in Bianshu Town.

Since they had already obtained a Strong Acid Slime from the Gemini Chamber of Commerce, it was time to try raising it.

As there was only one specimen—extremely precious—and no one had ever raised one before, Owen didn’t feel comfortable entrusting it to anyone else. He decided to take the lead himself.

He planned to first develop a proper set of methods and experience, then pass it on to others for breeding.

Winston was also very interested. He would record observations through Owen’s vision and provide assistance.

Before starting, Owen read through the precautions provided by Heinte to understand the slime’s habits.

Like other slimes, it disliked sunlight and preferred dark, damp places.

So Owen set up a simple breeding shed in the corner of the castle courtyard. Once he confirmed the Acid Slime had calmed down inside its clay pot, he opened the lid to release it.

It was Owen’s first time seeing it in person. Its body was jelly-like, similar to ordinary slimes, but yellow in color, with an orange core sphere at its center.

【So this is what a slime looks like. It really resembles those orange-flavored jelly snacks from our side. Looks pretty tasty.】 

Winston said in Owen’s mind.

“Tasty?” 

Owen couldn’t agree with that at all.

Though its appearance looked silly and harmless, it was still a wild monster.

The moment it was released from the clay pot, it immediately regarded the humans present as enemies. Its jelly-like body trembled violently as it spat acid in Owen’s direction.

【Watch out!】 

Winston exclaimed.

Fortunately, Owen had anticipated this and instantly conjured a fire-element shield in front of him, blocking the acid attack.

On the side, Mapel reacted quickly as well—she drew her magic sword and was just about to unleash an ice blade at the slime, but Owen raised his hand to stop her.

“Wait, Mapel. The Acid Slime is an important monster. Don’t harm it.”

“Yes.”

Though still worried, Mapel sheathed her sword, keeping her eyes warily fixed on the slime.

The two cautiously backed away until the Acid Slime no longer saw them as a threat and eventually calmed down.

Winston calculated a safe distance and quickly told Owen that as long as he stayed more than four meters away, the slime wouldn’t actively attack.

Seeing the slime’s strong attack instinct, Owen secretly sighed. Good thing he had taken charge himself—he was able to block the attack. If he had handed it over to someone else to raise, wouldn’t that have been a disaster?

Even if there were clerics around to save their lives, they’d still end up with terrible scars.

Still, the strong-acid slime was ultimately just a low-level monster with little intelligence, surviving in this world purely on instinct.

After being fed several times, its vigilance toward Owen gradually decreased, as if realizing this human posed no threat.

Slimes are omnivorous monsters—able and willing to eat anything—so Owen simply used the castle’s leftover meals each day as feed.

Its way of eating was to engulf food whole, and after a short time everything would be digested completely—very quickly.

When Euchina returned to the castle after school and saw Owen engrossed in slime research, she also became interested and would occasionally help feed it.

Within a few days, the acid slime even began to show affection toward Owen, no longer randomly spitting acid.

This showed that safety issues in raising it could be avoided—as long as one built a good relationship with the slime.

Once Owen confirmed it was safe, he decided to touch the acid slime with his bare hands. This nearly scared Mapel to death.

“Lord Owen, you mustn’t! What if it corrodes your hand? At the very least, wearing gloves would be safer!”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.” 

Owen reassured her.

Since Owen insisted on touching it, Mapel couldn’t stop him—she could only stand nervously at the side, ready to act at the slightest accident.

When his hand gently pressed down, the slime’s surface was astonishingly smooth and springy, with a very pleasant texture.

Afterward, his hand was coated with a layer of transparent slime—slippery and slick.

Sure enough, Owen couldn’t help but smile; it was just as Winston had concluded.

The slime’s secretions were usually only weakly acidic, with a pH of about 6, not enough to harm skin.

Only when it felt threatened would it release the strong acid stored in its body—otherwise it would not.

“Lord Owen, are you alright?” 

Mapel asked nervously.

“I’m fine.”

Owen smiled calmly and said.

“As long as the acid slime doesn’t see me as an enemy, it won’t spit acid. Mapel, it doesn’t seem to see you as a threat either. Why don’t you try touching it?”

“Uh… better not…”

Of course, Owen hadn’t forgotten the real reason he wanted to raise the slime—to collect its acid.

As for exactly what kind of acid it produced, that needed to be identified.

Extracting the acid was relatively simple: just provoke it a little and it would spit acid.

By shaking the slime inside its clay jar, Owen could feel it spitting furiously inside. Then, by opening the lid just slightly, he could collect the acid into a container.

Finally, he would set the jar aside in a dark corner for a while. Once the slime calmed down, he’d release it again.

Since Owen’s temporary laboratory had only just been set up and lacked proper equipment and chemical reagents, the first batch of acid was sent to Winston for analysis.

The results came back quickly—but were somewhat disappointing.

【Ah, Owen, the acid you sent over is far too mixed,】 

Winston said regretfully.

The analysis showed that the slime’s acid was a mixture of many types, with the highest concentrations being nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid.

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