Ring-ring!
Ring-ring!
I woke to the sound of my alarm.
I’d slept barely five hours, but after three days without sleep, it felt wonderfully refreshing.
Ppuu!
“Oh, you’ve been working hard?”
Ppuu sounded as though it was shouting, ‘Why am I working while you’re sleeping?’ I gave it a bright smile in return.
Then I noticed the piles of tomatoes, apparently harvested while I slept.
All of them were safely preserved under a coating of slime secretions.
“Ooh, how was your first harvest, Ppuu?”
Ppuuu…
Ppuu had apparently helped itself to a few tomatoes along the way, because it was noticeably plumper now and made a satisfied sound.
As expected of a Level 10 slime.
Unlike the others, it could even vocalize.
Quite impressive.
“The cooldown should be almost finished.”
My excitement rose as I watched the remaining time tick down.
This would be my first use of Liquid Synthesis since it leveled up, and I was eager to find out whether both charges would refill at once.
Pop!
“Hm?
What’s this?”
The new recruit tending the vegetable patch had brought me something.
On closer inspection, it was a collection of seeds.
“Oh!
Carrot seeds?”
Squirm!
I’d deliberately left one carrot in the ground to collect its seeds.
Since I’d originally pulled the carrots up, I hadn’t been sure it would work when I replanted one, but slimes were capable of almost anything.
“I should plant these downstairs.”
There were about ten minutes left before my ability became available, so I climbed down the ladder.
The slimes were already working busily across the vast underground field.
Was the land too large for them after all?
Perhaps I should send Ppuu down to help.
“Everyone, plant these too.
See that empty section over there?”
Squish!
I walked over and directed them toward the vacant section.
We’d already grown and harvested carrots once, so the work went smoothly.
I was especially excited about this batch.
These weren’t ordinary carrot seeds.
They came from mana-infused carrots that had grown here.
Surely that had to change something.
“The tomatoes have already been planted, of course.”
Green sprouts had emerged while I slept.
They were seedlings grown from the mana-infused tomatoes we’d harvested here.
But their shape looked a little different.
When I approached and examined them, I could see the difference more clearly.
For a moment, I wondered whether I’d mixed up the sections, but no, these were definitely the tomatoes.
“Is it all right to get my hopes up?”
I’d grown cherry tomatoes before, so I knew what the seedlings should look like.
Even someone without that experience would have noticed how unusual these were.
Their leaves were a strange mixture of green and purple.
“…They aren’t going to turn into something inedible, are they?”
What if they’d mutated and developed poison?
The thought made me nervous, but if that happened, I could simply uproot everything and plant a new batch.
The slimes would do the work anyway, so it wasn’t a major problem.
“Time’s up.”
I checked the status window with anticipation.
Sure enough, the remaining-use counter now displayed exactly 2.
“Yes!”
I had confirmed that I could use the ability twice a day.
That opened up many more possibilities.
“First, let’s synthesize these little guys.”
Ppuu was already Level 10, of course, but it was a special case.
I couldn’t even tell what abilities it possessed because its status showed nothing but question marks.
“Come on, Dokdoki.
Time to merge with Physical Resistance.”
I activated Liquid Synthesis.
Unlike the previous failed attempts, the two slimes merged immediately.
So they really did have to be the same level.
[Slime LV.2 and Slime LV.2 are being synthesized.]
[The slimes being combined will share all their memories and experiences.]
[Please select a specialized ability.]
Oh, this was new.
There was actually something I could choose.
[Poison] [Physical Resistance]
Two options appeared.
In that case, I could safely synthesize Mark Two as well, couldn’t I?
I would just have to choose Farming.
“Poison.”
Poison appealed to me more than the passive Physical Resistance ability.
At least poison was something I could actively use.
[Slime LV.3 has been created.]
The synthesis completed as soon as I made my choice.
“Ooh!”
The core was visibly larger than before, and its color had changed from green to purple.
I didn’t know whether all Level 3 slimes became purple or whether this was because Dokdoki specialized in poison.
Either way, it was still unmistakably a slime.
[Slime LV.3]
An ordi?nary slime.
Ability: Poison LV.2
The status window showed that its Poison ability had risen by one level.
But I saw tremendous potential in that simple change.
‘Ultimately, I can create an unlimited number of slimes.
And Slime Lord can improve when I complete its quests.
Maybe someday I’ll be able to produce two slimes a day.’
A slime that could keep leveling up indefinitely.
It sounded like a dream, but if I could eventually make a Level 999 slime, even a creature as weak as a slime would have extraordinary potential.
‘Though I have no idea how long it would take to reach Level 999.’
Math had never been my strong suit.
Would a hundred years be enough?
Would it take longer?
Well, Level 999 was just an example.
Even reaching Level 10 would be extremely useful.
[Poison LV.2]
Emits toxins that poison the target.
A poisoned target becomes paralyzed after at least 10 minutes.
The description hadn’t changed at all.
Still, since the ability had reached Level 2, something must have improved.
The system windows shown to Awakened were always frustratingly unhelpful.
The only way to discover anything was to test it directly.
“I should ask Yeongseong hyung to compare this with the original poison.”
The results from the earlier sample were probably back by now.
I could send him some of the Level 2 poison and ask him to compare the two.
Squirm!
Dokdoki looked around as though inspecting its own body, then began dancing excitedly.
Boing!
Boing!
“How cute.”
It had already been big enough to droop over my hand when I held it, but Level 3 had made it even larger.
I’d probably need both hands to carry it now.
“Now the question is what to do with my other use.”
I still had one charge of Liquid Synthesis left.
The cooldown was already running, so there was no rush to spend it immediately, but I wanted to make a plan.
“Should I synthesize another slime or make a potion?”
I had no carrots left, so I couldn’t make more fruit and vegetable juice.
After a moment’s thought, I decided to synthesize another slime.
Slime Lord’s cooldown would end soon, and I could summon one more recruit, then combine it with the Level 1 slime upstairs to make another Level 2 in advance.
‘How much more efficient would Farming LV.2 be?’
A one-level increase might not make a dramatic difference, but those small changes would add up.
At higher levels, the improvement would surely become obvious.
Once I’d decided, everything went smoothly.
I used Slime Lord to summon another slime and immediately created a Level 2 slime.
[Slime LV.2]
Ability: Running LV.1
“Wow, that’s a dud.”
I had never imagined an ability like that would appear.
Running?
What kind of running could a creature that did nothing but crawl possibly manage?
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
I intended to combine this slime with Mark Two anyway.
The Running ability would disappear, and Farming would level up instead.
Splat!
While I was thinking, yet another slime fell from the ceiling.
It looked completely bewildered, so I gave it the friendliest smile I could muster.
“Welcome.
First time farming?”
* * *
On an upper floor of the Ara Hongryeon Guild’s headquarters, the guild’s executives had gathered for a rare meal together.
“Haa.
This is giving me a headache.”
Jeong Soyeon, leader of Team One and one of the guild’s representative Awakened, sighed as she cut into a steak made from Bullet Cow, one of the delicacies found inside dungeons.
“We underestimated it because it was only Grade 4.
Don’t take it too hard.”
One of the guild’s elders, the deputy leader of Team One, tried to console her.
But her expression remained troubled.
“That’s exactly the problem.
The guild’s reputation has taken a hit.
News has spread that we struggled with a mere Grade 4 dungeon and couldn’t clear it.”
“Nobody could have predicted this.
We thought we’d already mastered every type of Grade 4 dungeon.
How were we to know a new kind of monster would appear?”
As they spoke, Guild Master Han Seokjun quietly intervened.
“I think we should cooperate with Team Two.”
“Ugh.”
Soyeon shuddered at his suggestion.
She found Kang Hanul, the leader of Team Two, difficult to deal with, even though he wasn’t present at the meal.
Yet she couldn’t easily disobey the man who had recognized her talent and personally recruited her.
“Wouldn’t it still be difficult even with Team Two?
The real problem is the newly discovered monster.”
“Which is why we need them all the more.
We don’t have an Awakened with the Three Eyes ability, so we have no choice but to fight the monster directly and gather data.”
Seokjun’s calm explanation left Soyeon with little room for complaint.
In truth, Team One could probably obtain the necessary data on its own, but it would take much longer.
Ara Hongryeon was one of the five largest guilds in South Korea.
It couldn’t afford to spend that much time on a mere Grade 4 dungeon.
Just as the conversation seemed settled, someone suddenly burst through the door.
“Wahahaha!
Sorry I’m late, hyung!”
“Welcome, Team Leader Two.”
Seokjun was in his mid-forties, but looked barely twenty, like a celebrity who had taken extraordinary care of his appearance.
It was quite a sight to hear someone with the grizzled, battle-hardened presence of Kang Hanul call him ‘hyung.’
“Hyung, you’re hurting my feelings by calling me that again!”
“This is an official meeting, Team Leader Two.”
Seokjun smiled gently.
Hanul grumbled as he sat down.
“You weren’t like this in the old days.
I swear, a position changes a man.
Tsk, tsk.”
“Have you eaten, Team Leader Two?”
“What’s on the menu?”
“Bullet Cow steak.
One of your favorites.”
“Ooh, that sounds good!
I’ll have one too!”
After ordering a steak, Hanul suddenly smacked his lips and spoke up.
“Hyung, I found something interesting recently.”
“Oh?
If it caught your attention, I must admit I’m curious.
What did you discover?”
“I met this young fellow, and he brought along something called mana-infused carrots and cherry tomatoes!”
“Mana-infused what?”
“Carrots and cherry tomatoes.”
Soyeon, listening beside them, tilted her head.
“I’ve never heard of those.
They aren’t items, are they?”
“They are.
They even have buff effects.”
The guild master suddenly recalled a recent report.
“The research team submitted a report about a carrot just recently.
Could it be the same item?”
“Oh!
That’s exactly right, hyung.
I happened to visit the research department, and they were analyzing a strange-looking carrot.
When I tasted it, it was the most extraordinary delicacy!”
Listening to Hanul, Soyeon swallowed.
Fine dining was her hobby, and she was an enthusiastic gourmet.
She knew how demanding Hanul’s palate was, so his praise was enough to make her eager to try it.
“I looked into it, and it turned out the carrot came from Choi Yeongseong’s shop!
I went there myself and met the owner of the carrot.
Wahahaha!”
“And who was that person?”
“Hm?
Oh, I can’t tell you that, even if you’re my hyung.
I can’t just go around revealing someone else’s personal information.”
“Hmm.
Although you’ve already told me it came from former Research Department Head Choi Yeongseong’s shop?”
“I told you that because you’re my hyung!
If you want to meet the youngster, you’ll have to get off your backside and find him yourself!
Wahahaha!”
After thinking for a moment, Seokjun nodded.
“We have too many urgent matters to make a visit right now.
Let’s clear the Grade 4 dungeon in Yeongdeungpo first, then go see him.”
“You won’t regret it!
I’ve never eaten anything that delicious in my entire life!”
Soyeon, who had been listening to their conversation, had practically begun to drool.
Nobody had even described the taste in detail, yet her imagination was already running wild.
“By the way, that carrot improved eyesight.
Do you think it could be useful in the dungeon…?”
“An eyesight enhancement alone isn’t enough to make it a priority.
Still, I won’t stop you from obtaining some personally, Team Leader Two.”
“Excellent!
Haha.
Though I have no idea when I’ll see that young fellow again!”
Finally, Soyeon couldn’t resist joining in.
“Is he difficult to contact?”
“Hm?
Well, I’ve tried calling a few times, but I can’t get through.
Seems he lives inside a dungeon.
You know how some Awakened rent space in dungeons?”
“Ah…”
Some Awakened who had fallen behind the rest withdrew from society and lived in infinite dungeons.
A few had their own reasons, but most fit that pattern.
“Could he be farming inside a dungeon?”
“Oh?
I had the same thought!
That young man must be some hidden talent!
Wahahaha!”
“But hasn’t every attempt to grow crops in dungeons failed until now?”
“That’s exactly why he’s hidden talent!
He must have accomplished something nobody else could!”
“Hmm…”
Hanul’s words left the gathered Ara Hongryeon executives lost in their own thoughts.
Soyeon’s interest, in particular, had risen higher than ever.
Clap!
“Everyone, please remember that our priority is still the Yeongdeungpo dungeon.
We’ll choose our team members again and enter in two days.
Don’t forget.”
“Understood, Guild Master.”