Testing Divine Items (Part 1)

"I think it's time." Ryuji heard Vreta spoke, and he looked blankly at the goddess of dreams then he felt his consciousness fade. His soul blended with the psychedelic background.

It felt like a few minutes when Ryuji opened his eyes again, it was dimly lit and dreary not the myriad of colors that he just saw earlier. He was back in his small cave. The slime was bouncing at the entrance of the cave. He gave a quick glance, and it is still dark. Probably it was still dusk. He blinked a few more times. That dream was so vivid that he was conversing with the gods. they told him about the quest. Everything they said was still in his memory. The Realm of Dreams was like an hour or so, but he fell asleep before. 'Maybe, it's just the same time.' Ryuji shrugged the thought.

He looked at his arms and he saw a sword and a creepy canopic jar. "What the fuck!!" Ryuji blurted out. He was dumbfounded about the items. "If this was the <Sword of Tartarus> and the <Canopic Jar of Duat>, then..." he glanced subconsciously patted his greenish neck and said to himself. "Oh, the <tears of Styx>." He fiddled the three tear shaped gems that gave an eerie glow on his neck. It was creepy but these are the things that the gods gave him to survive.

Ryuji contemplated about what he remembered from the Realm of Dreams. The <sword of Tartarus> is an awesome weapon and if he remembered it correctly it changes forms. He wondered if he could have this turn into a gun or a bazooka but decided to shelf the thought because he needed some proficiency to unlock its other forms. He wondered if there is a gun or bazooka that exists in this fantasy world? He stood up, grabbed the sword, and practiced swinging it. He felt it was light and felt like an extension of his arms as if he were not carrying anything despite that it looks very nasty and heavy looking evil sword. He was thankful but using the sword, he needed to learn to use it in an actual situation. "I should hunt with this later…" He felt stomach rumble and gave a meaningful gaze to the sword. He should make use of this very soon. Not only the sword but also the other items given to him.

The next, he would like to try casting magic. He had a problem before or manifesting his desire to cast a spell out. Either he put too much mana for a meager amount or uncontrollable output of magic. He went out of the cave but again dumbfounded. He could see the sky changing colors, but it was no longer dusk as he thought it was, it was actually already dawn. "Did I sleep that long?" He muttered to himself as he noticed the sky changing as it cast its light slowly revealing the lush greenery. Now he realized that the hour or two in the Realm of Dreams seemed to be longer in the real world. Judging the time that he was asleep, it's about more than twelve hours long. He had no watch here, but he was following the sunrise and sunset ever since he came in Zariya. He subconsciously wiped his cold sweat. 'Next time, I'd ask the gods not to let me in the dream realm. It's quite scary slumbering while chatting with them for an hour or two.' He felt dead tired because his consciousness was still working while in the Realm of Dreams but he still needed to test out his divine items so he can grow accustomed to it.

Pyun-Pyun saw his master already up exiting the cave. He was planning to gather some herbs to shove it to his master's mouth if the goblin had not woken up by sunrise. The slime was a bit scared last night being left alone with the unusual long sleep. While he did not feel that his master died through the familiar contract, he was terrified when his master was unconscious and not responding to the whole night. He felt that the physical body is with him but not his consciousness. It was still nerve-wracking moment for the slime despite the fact that he is a blob of liquid. He jiggled vigorously and bounced around in circles as if celebrating with his master being alive.

"Pyun-Pyun, sorry for leaving you alone the whole night." Ryuji apologized to the non-talking slime. He knows it will not respond verbally but gave a shake as if saying it is ok. "Now let's test some magic so we can hunt later." Ryuji gave an impish smile. He was a goblin, no need for good looks. The slime continuously jiggled in a celebratory manner.

Ryuji tested <Ignite>. He felt sufficient power being released to his liking. He set a flame on a twig without starting a grass fire. He also tested his offensive spells on hand. While they are few, it seems it does not drain too much magic as if it were regulated according to what he desired. No strain on his mana unlike before. Before he if <Ignite> was for five mana to cast, it was uncontrollable, he would create the same fire five to twenty times the cost. Most of the time, the effect would also be uncontrollable like it evolves into a flamethrower on full power which caused him to shun using fire magic. He would not like to cause a fire to burn the whole forest down. With the new items, he was very satisfied with this result. At least he would not worry to cast magic out of hand, and this allows him to save his mana for later.

The slime was watching from the sidelines and would jiggle from time to time. Ryuji practiced some water magic to gauge the power. He was shooting <aqua shot> like bullets in small pellets. he was imagining he has some gun on hand when a bigger mass of water shot out of nowhere. He gazed to where it came from and saw the slime shaking violently like it was constipated. The familiar let out a slightly smaller amount of <Aqua Shot> to knock off another tree. He was surprised that Pyun-Pyun was actually observing him and mimicking him.

"Ah Pyun-Pyun is a genius!" Ryuji exclaimed. He knew that the slime could cast magic, but it seems aside from <Heal>, he could also learn some offensive spells. Now, they could tag team their prey which was convenient for them to hunt.

They continued practicing until the sun illuminates the surroundings. Ryuji then hauled Pyun-Pyun to hunt something to eat for the day. They hunted the usual rabivores, about five of them. He easily cut through a herd of rabivore like he was a legendary swordsman or so he thought. He was clumsy but he made most of swings count. He made sure that each swing will hit his victims which Pyun-Pyun got a bit scared. The slime was afraid to be a collateral damage with the <Sword of Tartarus> was swung like a stick. The goblin had no formal training with weapons in his life so swinging wildly was the best move he could do.

After some light scratches from evading attacks and tons of screaming and flailing, the last rabivore succumbed to its demise. He gazed at the five lifeless rabivores around the meadow. "Whew… That was very exhausting" Ryuji sighed. Such life of a transmigrator. He admits that it is easier to work his brains out at the concrete jungle back on Earth. He somehow missed that eight to five chains of despair, his office clothes, the mindless chattering of his idle subordinates that would rush the final hour, the ramen shops he would wander late at night once he left the office and small things that brought him convenience. But apart from this he knows he was lonely back there. He quickly dispelled these thoughts as he remembered that the gods would allow him to meet his only family. "That's a bad trade…" He told himself. Convenience for family, not a chance.

His mind wandered a bit, 'what should I do when I meet Takehiko?' He would probably spoil him about what happened that ninja boy being a father marrying that white eyed gal. Or he could say that pirate chef met with his family back home and got an arranged marriage with a weird three eyed girl. What would Takehiko's reaction would be? His brother died before realizing those things.