Chapter 36: Medal revoked?

Tennis player Yang Geonwoo.

As a child, he was called a promising talent, and even just a few years ago, he ranked within the world’s top 100. With good results in various junior tournaments, even people who didn’t care about tennis knew his name.

But then, at some point, he started losing matches more and more often due to foot injuries.

He changed his shoes, changed his insoles, ordered custom shoes and insoles, and even painstakingly adjusted his posture, but injuries always followed him.

The constant injuries made him hesitate in his movements, his actions became timid, and his skills regressed.

His ranking gradually dropped, and eventually he couldn’t even enter the Grand Slam qualifiers.

Should I just give up and look for a coaching job?

While seriously considering retirement, he returned to Korea to look for work and clear his head-and had a fateful encounter.

The subject of that encounter was none other than the <Insole Slime>.

No matter how fiercely he moved, the <Insole Slime> firmly protected his feet.

With less worry about injuries, his movements regained their original energy.

Planting his weight confidently on his feet and stretching his leg out powerfully, the tennis ball that had always seemed out of reach came closer. Even when he desperately stretched his arm, his racket had only ever sliced through empty air, but now it connected with the ball. The ball landed solidly in his hand and whipped through his opponent’s court.

In the short time he had left, he clawed his way up the rankings and barely qualified for the US Open preliminaries.

The preliminaries had only ever brought him misery until now.

But this time, the qualifiers were his rehabilitation, his comeback, and the training that let him surpass his former self.

He beat the opponent who had stepped over him to rise higher.

He defeated the rival who had always been called his equal.

He grabbed the ankle of the opponent who had always been above him and dragged him down.

In less than two weeks, he won three qualifiers and six main draw matches.

His body felt heavy from the string of matches.

He’d fought desperately in every game, unable to think about pacing himself, so he felt even heavier.

The more his stamina dropped and the more strength left his legs, the greater his fear of injury became.

His stride must have grown narrower along with his waning confidence.

‘I believe.’

He felt as if the foot he planted with all his strength was connected to the ground.

He shifted that connection naturally to his left foot.

Using his planted left foot as a pivot, his body spun smoothly but forcefully.

The posture he’d learned when he first started playing tennis.

A basic technique he hadn’t been able to execute properly for ages, always too busy chasing the ball.

Forehand.

Pang!

The ball, charged with his confidence, sped toward the opponent’s court.

The opposing tennis player lunged and stretched out his racket, but couldn’t reach it.

Yang Geonwoo slowly lowered his arm and tilted his head back.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!!!”

With his eyes closed, he let out a shout and released years of pain.

Yang Geonwoo.

The first Asian ever to win the US Open men’s singles.

And then.

[Tech doping extends its claws from track and field to tennis.]

He was swept up in controversy.

***

[Tech doping extends its claws from track and field to tennis.]

Isn’t this dangerous?

There are even rumors that a doping violation could void the victory.

The fire is small now, but if we leave it alone and things go wrong, it could turn into a wildfire.

If it’s finally ruled as doping and the victory is invalidated-

I become the traitor who destroyed a national hero’s career.

It’s not like I forced him to use <Insole Slime> at knifepoint.

I didn’t pay him advertising fees or tie him down with a contract so he had to use it in matches.

Yang Geonwoo bought it himself and used it of his own free will.

So I’m not responsible.

But the medal and the Grade C Alchemist are about to go up in smoke.

That can’t happen.

Grade C Alchemist is right in front of me.

Inventory increases by 5%, and the commission drops from 40% to 30%.

That means net profit goes from 51% to 63%.

And I’m supposed to give that up?

If this had happened in Korea, there would be tons of people defending me.

How is an insole doping?

Everyone uses performance sneakers, isn’t that doping too?

By that logic, don’t wear shoes at all and play barefoot.

People would say things like that.

In fact, they already are.

But what’s the point of writing comments in Korean on Korean news articles?

The real problem is that this incident happened in a place where I have almost no influence.

I know there’s a fire, but it’s burning so far away that I can’t put it out myself.

And the bigger problem is that there are a lot of people who are happy about the fire where it’s burning.

There are definitely plenty of people who don’t like to see an Asian win the US Open.

If Yang Geonwoo’s victory is voided, the runner-up has a shot at the title.

‘The only reason my guy lost is because the other guy doped.’

What a sweet sound to the ears.

Now that I think about it, this is definitely going to blow up.

Yang Geonwoo will be burned at the stake, and the brand mark seared in that fire will be stamped on my alchemy product.

The export route will be blocked, and I’ll be trapped in the tiny Korean market.

I called Counselor Park Taeyang.

After a brief greeting, I got straight to the point.

“We need to export <Insole> to America.”

I never thought I’d be the one to say this.

“Since you brought up exports, you’ve checked out possible sales channels, right?”

There’s no way anyone would export products from Korea without checking out the American market.

“If possible, we need to send the goods to New York.”

The US Open matches were held in New York.

Right now, that’s also where the most tennis fans are gathered.

-We’re preparing.

Well, of course. If a layman like me can think of it, the experts must have already done it.

“I’m going to try increasing our Slime’s production, so please send me some of those expensive, high-quality ingredients like last time.”

Sending just ten or twenty thousand units overseas isn’t enough to turn public opinion around.

We need to create an environment where lots of people can get their hands on <Insole Slime>.

Taking all the products in Korea and selling them in America might work once or twice, but if we keep doing it, it’s basically abandoning our home base.

We have to increase production.

Not just me, but Gongdori’s production as well.

But we can’t just do it for no reason.

There has to be a trigger for innovation.

This is Experience Points Event, Part 2.

It’s not that I’m being greedy.

You want to increase production for no reason at all?

That’s basically admitting I’ve been hiding my abilities.

If they find out I’ve been holding back, my reputation will take a hit.

Normally, I’m busy coming up with new product ideas, but if necessary, I can get investment and make an Elixir of Growth. That sort of image is much better.

“Spread out the items a bit. Don’t try to eat everything by yourself.”

Just increasing production for me and Gongdori isn’t enough.

There’s a limit to how much product the Seoul Central Alchemy Center can handle.

Seoul Central Alchemy Center is the largest, but it’s not the only Alchemy Center in Korea. There are also Alchemy Centers in Seoul with east, west, south, and north branches. There are several in each metropolitan city.

And yet, why does the Seoul Central Alchemy Center swallow up all the product I send?

Because the person who gets the credit depends on which Alchemy Center delivers results.

There are reasons like security, efficiency, and flexibility, but in the end, the biggest reason is the fight over turf.

Up until now, they’ve managed to get by by working the public officials to the bone, but it’ll be different from now on.

Not only will I be sending more items, but Gongdori’s production will also be doubled.

There’s absolutely no way one place can handle it all.

***

[The level of the Store skill has increased to 26.]

[The level of the Multiply skill has increased to 21.]

“Status window.”

[Trait: Slime☆ Lv. 24

+Courage

Skills:

Decompose Lv. 26.

Absorb Lv. 26.

Analyze Lv. 25.

Divide Lv. 25.

Control Lv. 25.

Transform Lv. 25.

Store Lv. 26.

Convert Lv. 25.

Multiply Lv. 21.]

If I level up any skill just one more time, [Trait: Slime☆] will reach level 25.

Judging from my experience so far, it’s about time for the [Special Divide] skill to appear.

I’ve been sticking my tentacle into the power strip and sucking up electricity for a while now.

The [Convert] skill should be about to level up.

“This month’s electric bill is going to be insane. Hahaha….”

I’m nervous.

The experience of vomiting up a <Curse Fragment>.

It was truly awful. It’s not something I ever want to go through again.

Is it safe because I already vomited up a <Curse Fragment>?

Absolutely not. What I spat out was just a fragment. It means there’s still some curse left inside me.

On top of that, lately I’ve been feeling a sense of incongruity in my way of thinking.

I keep wanting people to recognize me and pay attention to me.

I start to feel like my success is only natural.

I start to feel like people praising my results is only natural.

All in all, I think I’ve caught a case of celebrity disease.

Maybe it’s just my ego getting bloated from all the attention and success I’ve received so far.

But is it really possible that the curse hasn’t affected me at all?

This urge to go outside and show off-

Is it just the result of being drunk on undeserved popularity?

[The level of the Convert skill has increased to 26.]

[The level of Trait: Slime☆ has increased to 25.]

[You can choose a new skill.]

[+Courage], help me out.

“Come on! Status window!”

[Trait: Slime☆ Lv. 25

–

Convert Lv. 25.

Multiply Lv. 21.

Skill +]

I pressed [Skill +] firmly.

What is this!

Is it [Transform]! Is it [Mimicry]! Is it [Camouflage]!

[You can select a skill.

1. General Skill: Harden Lv. 1.

2. Special Skill: Special Divide.]

“…?”

It stays quiet, no matter how long I wait.

No weird voice tries to tempt me.

Nothing tries to drag me into despair.

I don’t feel any insane urge to get the [Harden] skill, either.

What’s going on?

Is that actually not the [Harden] skill, but something like [Hardened Illusion]?

[Harden Lv. 1.

-You can harden the tissues of your body.]

The skill description is exactly the same as before.

Seriously, [Harden], you again? I’m starting to get attached.

Maybe [Special Divide] is a trap?

[Special Divide.

-Detach a slime from your body that inherits all your skills.

All skill levels are reset to 1 immediately upon use, and this skill disappears.]

It’s exactly as I saw before.

“???”

I made two ten-sided dice and rolled them.

<0> <0>.

Total failure!

…So?

Why is nothing happening?

Maybe there’s no curse after all and I just have celebrity disease?

“Hmm… press.”

[Are you sure you want to acquire the Special Divide skill?]

[The skill will be used immediately upon acquisition.]

[Once the skill is used, it cannot be canceled.]

In this situation, [Special Divide] is the way to go.

With [Special Divide], I can increase production much more.

Pressed ‘Yes’ firmly.

“Kuaaaagh!”

-Please wait a moment as the slime’s body is torn apart.-

Ugh. The last time I vomited up a <Curse Fragment> was so traumatic, I forgot how painful [Special Divide] is too.

“Let’s see if our Gongsooni is okay.”

Smooth and squishy.

No parts stained black.

No weird things like horns or wings attached.

Good.

Once I send Gongsooni to the Seoul Central Alchemy Center, my job is done.

The rest is up to the Alchemy Center to handle.

Honestly, I don’t have much faith in them, but what choice do I have but to trust them.

While I was leveling up, things were going wild overseas.

Uncle Charles, the W-tuber with 38 million subscribers, actually tried out the product.

And Polar Girl, who tasted the Alchemy Slime.

My overseas fans, including these two, defended me passionately.

But their power was far too weak.

The numbers were just too different, and they lacked persuasion.

There were so few people who had actually used the Insole Slime themselves.

The result of rumors breeding more rumors. The performance of Insole Slime got so blown out of proportion that now it feels like just putting them in your shoes will turn you into a tennis player straight out of a comic book.

They say your jump height triples so you can smash a serve from four meters up.

They say you can teleport from one end of the court to the other in a single step.

There’s even talk that the ball gets sucked toward the player. What is this, Texkazon?

I need to shatter these illusions.

The best way to break an illusion is to confront it with reality.

Seeing is believing, so if people just try it themselves, it’ll be resolved.

Haven’t you had that kind of experience?

A restaurant with a line out the door and all the reviews are glowing. But after waiting hours and finally getting in, you eat and just go, “Huh?”

Even if the food is good, sometimes your expectations get so high that you end up disappointed.

It’s the same with Insole Slime.

Now, the bubble has grown as big as it can, and when it meets reality, it’s going to burst. The gap between expectation and reality is the key to resolving this whole situation.

When people actually use it, they’ll be disappointed, thinking, “Wait, doesn’t this let me run 100 meters in 7 seconds, do a dunk with a light jump, and slide home on a single hit? What, this is just normal.”

That disappointment will turn into, “All that fuss was over this?”

And then the controversy will be over.

***

[(Real Story) International Tennis Federation. “Insole Slime is a great invention that extends athletes’ careers.”]

[After Australia and Switzerland, even America bows to Korea-Is this the reason?]

[America clings to Korea’s pant leg, begging to buy the products.]

[Seoul Central Alchemy Center. “No disruption to domestic supply.”]

[Seoul Central Alchemy Center steps up to improve distribution. Will ordered Pack Slime arrive faster?]

[The number one product foreign tourists buy at duty free shops is Insole Slime+.]

[Yang Geonwoo, the first Asian to win the US Open in tennis. Will he receive the Blue Dragon Medal?]

[Awarding the Soaring Wings Medal to Alchemy Slime. Did not attend the ceremony. “For identity protection.”]

“Eat well, lose well.” Jelly & Gargle Slime diet craze.

“Huh? Jelly & Gargle Slime diet craze?”