What an unexpected item to discover.
I’d been wondering how long it would take me to raise my slimes’ levels by synthesizing the two I could summon every day.
I never imagined there was an item like this.
‘If I raise Mark Two’s level first and then copy it…
Wait, why bother?
If I copy Ppuu and synthesize the two together, I’ll have a Level 11 slime right away!’
I stood there with the little slime model in my hand, lost in all the possibilities, until my companions came over to check on me.
“Mr.
Gyuseong?”
“Little brother!”
Ah, right.
I should look around a little more before deciding.
I put the Slime Copier down and smiled as if nothing had happened, then followed Han Seokjun.
“It was so cute that it caught my eye.”
“That’s an item called a Slime Copier.
I know about it, of course.
But it’s so difficult to find a use for that we actually put it up for auction.
Nobody wanted to buy it, so…”
In other words, it hadn’t been added to the collection because they particularly valued it.
It had just ended up here because they couldn’t get rid of it.
I decided to ask a casual question, just in case.
“Do items like that show up at auctions often?”
“As far as I know, that’s the first item ever registered under the name Slime Copier.”
“Ah, I see.”
That was a shame.
If copiers like that were easy to come by, I’d have been able to produce slimes in enormous numbers.
For now, I finished exploring the Tier 1 section and moved into Tier 2.
Naturally, my companions assumed I’d choose something from here.
They hadn’t paid much attention to the Tier 1 collection in the first place.
Tier 2 certainly displayed items that looked more impressive.
To be honest, I wouldn’t have been surprised if a single item here could fetch tens or even hundreds of millions of won.
“Feel free to take your time looking around.
I’ve set aside time specifically for you today, Mr.
Gyuseong.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Still, nothing in Tier 2 particularly stood out.
They were all things that would be nice to own, but none of them really grabbed me.
‘The Slime Copier is the only choice.’
Whether I used it on Ppuu now or waited until I’d raised another slime’s level, it would save an astonishing amount of time.
Using it on a Level 10 slime could save me several years of work.
‘Time is money.’
For me, several years were worth more than a few hundred million won.
Perhaps far more.
“I’ve decided.”
“Oh?
Are you sure you don’t want to look around some more?”
“Yes.”
I gave the displays one last look, but nothing else appealed to me.
More importantly, I couldn’t find anything that would help my current situation as much as the Slime Copier.
“I’d like to take the Slime Copier.”
“Ah!
The Slime Copier…
Huh?”
Han Seokjun repeated my choice, then tilted his head as though he’d misheard.
The other two stared at me in disbelief as well.
“Mr.
Lee Gyuseong!
The Slime Copier?!”
Jeong Soyeon sounded completely bewildered.
I repeated my answer clearly.
“Yes.
The item I’ve chosen is the Slime Copier.”
“Come on!
Even if the things in Tier 2 aren’t all that great, why would you choose something like that…?”
Apparently, Kang Hanul thought I was choosing the copier out of spite because I disliked the other items.
I slowly shook my head at him.
“I really do need that item.
You saw it yourself, Mr.
Hanul.
I didn’t even touch most of the other items, but I picked up the Slime Copier.”
“Are you seriously going to take it?
Nobody even wanted to buy that thing.”
“That’s why I’m glad it was still here.
Otherwise, we never would’ve crossed paths.”
I shrugged.
Everyone looked rather deflated.
Of course, if I’d been allowed to choose something from Tier 3 or higher, I might have thought a little harder.
But among the Tier 2 items, I hadn’t found anything more valuable to me than that copier.
“You really are an unusual person, Mr.
Gyuseong.”
Han Seokjun gave a faint smile and led me back toward Tier 1.
When we reached the Slime Copier again, I glanced at the others.
“I can take it, right?” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Of course.
It’s yours now.”
I picked up the object, which looked almost like an ordinary slime figurine.
Already, countless possibilities for how to use it were flooding my mind.
* * *
After Lee Gyuseong left, Han Seokjun, Kang Hanul, and Jeong Soyeon remained behind to discuss him.
The guild master and the leaders of Teams One and Two had been the ones to welcome him, and that arrangement had actually been deliberate from the beginning.
“We haven’t identified exactly what his ability is, but I suspect it has something to do with slimes,” Jeong Soyeon suggested first.
Having personally experienced the effects of his item during the Yeongdeungpo dungeon expedition, she’d become his most enthusiastic admirer among the three of them.
“Whatever that ability is, our guild needs to recruit him before anyone else does.”
“I told you before, little brother Gyuseong doesn’t seem interested in joining a guild yet.
You think I haven’t already asked him?”
“That’s because you were too soft on him, Team Two Leader.
I guess I have no choice.
I’ll have to use my dazzling beauty and charm to seduce him…”
“Pwahahaha!
Kid, what makes you think you’ve got the charm for that?”
“What?!
You want to say that again?!”
Jeong Soyeon had been joking too, but the unexpected jab made her flare up.
Han Seokjun watched their familiar bickering with a weary smile and shook his head.
“Enough, both of you.”
“Ahem!”
“Yes…”
“I agree to a certain extent that we should recruit Mr.
Gyuseong.
Regardless of what his ability turns out to be, or whether he’s Grade 1, we’ve seen the potential in his products.
But I don’t think there’s any need to rush.”
Han Seokjun checked the reports on his tablet.
“His crops, and the items he makes from them…
I’m sure we’ll try producing similar things ourselves, but I doubt we’ll be able to create exactly what he does.”
“Hmm.”
Kang Hanul nodded quietly in agreement.
Both he and Han Seokjun belonged to the first generation of Awakened.
They could confidently claim to have more experience than almost anyone else in the world of the Awakened, yet even to them, Lee Gyuseong was an unusual case.
“That’s why I think we should build a relationship with him slowly.
First, we should find out whether there’s anything we can help him with.”
“Something he needs, huh?
So you’re saying we should identify what little brother Gyuseong lacks and offer it before he has to ask.”
The other two fell into thought.
They didn’t know much about Gyuseong yet.
Apart from his Grade 1 classification and the fact that he possessed an unusual ability, they had very little information.
“Maybe he needs more combat strength?”
“Why would little brother Gyuseong need to fight anyone?”
“Well, it’s not as though he’s short of money.
Not with an ability like that.”
“Hmm.
That’s true too.”
A misunderstanding was taking shape, but it never occurred to any of them that Gyuseong might be poor.
“Ah, come to think of it, we met him through Choi Yeongseong.
Wouldn’t Choi Yeongseong know more about little brother Gyuseong, hyung?”
“I believe we heard that he’s helping treat Ms.
Kim Siyeong, didn’t we?”
“That’s right.”
“Huh?
This is the first I’ve heard about it.
Gyuseong is treating Siyeong unni?”
Jeong Soyeon looked shocked, then remembered the fruit and vegetable juice she’d drunk.
“Ah!
That’s right!
It had a detoxification effect too!”
“We don’t know the results yet,” Kang Hanul said.
“I contacted Choi Yeongseong this morning.
He was still personally analyzing the juice and said he was almost done.
But if little brother Gyuseong’s item can cure Kim Siyeong…”
Hanul thought not only of Kim Siyeong but also of the other people poisoned that day.
“If we can confirm that it can treat Vice Guild Master Kim Siyeong, it will cause a major upheaval in the Awakened industry,” Han Seokjun declared.
As the wife of Choi Yeongseong and the former vice guild master of Ara Hongryeon, Kim Siyeong was a figure of enormous importance.
“The people who attempted that dungeon associated with one of the Sins were part of a multinational alliance.
And only famous, highly accomplished Awakened were allowed to take part,” Han Seokjun continued.
“Which means that once word gets out about Kim Siyeong’s recovery, people from other countries will come looking for little brother Gyuseong too.”
“…Mr.
Gyuseong is a much bigger deal than I realized.”
“Looks like you’re right.
We can’t just stand around doing nothing.”
Kang Hanul grinned.
Something about the smile made Han Seokjun uneasy.
“I’ll say this again.
We’re not using coercion.
We need to find out what Mr.
“Hyung!
Who do you think I am?
I’d never use such rotten methods!
I like little brother Gyuseong as a person too.
Of course making friends with him comes first!”
As he spoke, Hanul’s gaze shifted to Jeong Soyeon.
“Hey, Team One Leader!
Try getting friendly with little brother Gyuseong!”
“What?
Why me?
You were calling me a kid just a moment ago!”
“A kid’s a kid!
But you’re closer to his age than either of us.
Doesn’t it make sense that you’d have an easier time getting along with him?”
“Well…
I suppose so.”
“I’m counting on you, kid.”
“All right!
But would you please stop calling me a kid?!”
* * *
After saying goodbye to the Ara Hongryeon Guild, I stopped at home before returning to the dungeon.
It had been a day filled with one unexpected development after another.
My bag, which had been so heavy earlier, now contained only a small slime figurine and some food Jaeseong had prepared when I visited home.
“Ugh!”
I stretched my stiff body and looked down at the Slime Copier.
The biggest question was when and where to use it.
“Mark Two’s only Level 3 right now.”
Mark Two, wearing its straw hat, was bouncing around the fields and diligently tending the crops.
If it had already been Level 10, I would’ve used the copier on it without the slightest hesitation.
Ppuu’s question marks made me a little wary, after all.
“What a tough choice.”
As I muttered to myself, I took out the braised potatoes Jaeseong had made for me.
“Thanks for the food.”
The potatoes had been diced into bite-sized pieces and simmered in a soy sauce seasoning.
I picked up a piece and put it in my mouth.
“Mmm!”
The taste lived up to every expectation.
The ingredients themselves were so good that I almost thought it would be impossible to make them taste bad without burning them.
‘The mashed potatoes they made at Ara Hongryeon were delicious too.’
I’d only managed one bite because four of us had shared the dish, but even that was completely different from eating plain boiled potatoes.
They’d spent a while pestering me afterward about whether I could get them more.
Ppuu?
Ppuu noticed me eating, tilted its head, and came closer.
“That’s right.
How could I eat something this good all by myself?
We should share.”
There happened to be just enough for me to give each slime a piece.
I gave one to Ppuu, then stood up and went around feeding the others who were still working.
‘Can’t have them taking a break from work!’
Imagine the boss coming around personally to feed his employees a snack.
What an excellent welfare program this farm had!
“Keep working hard, and I’ll let you try food like this from time to time.”
Squirm!
Squirm!
Watching the delighted slimes dance around made me proud.
And seeing that the harvest season was approaching for several more crops filled my heart with anticipation.
“The carrots will be ready soon, and so will the remaining potatoes.”
The eggplants, cucumbers, and Embergrill also looked nearly ready to harvest.
That left only the strawberries and sweet potatoes.
“The strawberries and sweet potatoes are taking longer than I expected.”
I’d thought the strawberries would be ready quickly because the tomatoes had grown so fast, but they were taking more time.
They hadn’t stopped growing, though, so I was trying to be patient.
“Haa, I’ve made up my mind.”
After handing out the last pieces of braised potato, I settled on a decision.
There wasn’t any need to rush, but things were changing so quickly from day to day that I wanted to keep the momentum going.
If I could make this rapid growth snowball into something bigger, all the better.
“Using the copier on Mark Two right now would be a waste.”
At the very least, I’d want Mark Two to reach Level 10 like Ppuu before copying it.
But getting Mark Two that far would take almost a year, perhaps even longer.
“The cooldown’s still got a little time left.
I’ll think about it until then.”
In truth, I was already halfway convinced I should use the copier on Ppuu.
If I still felt the same way tomorrow, I’d probably copy Ppuu and create a Level 11 slime by synthesizing the two.
Who knew?
Maybe once Ppuu reached Level 11, the mystery of its question marks would finally be solved.
Whatever Ppuu really was, I doubted it was an ordinary slime.
“Until then, let’s keep working hard!”
Ppuu!
Squirm, squirm!
Squish!