Chapter 57: <Space Expansion Bags>

A proposal to grant the right to operate a waste processing facility in exchange for supplying large quantities of Glutton Slime.

This feels like when farm equipment rental fees are too expensive, so you give land to the rental company and tell them to farm it themselves.

“Are you trying to saddle me with a waste processing facility?”

-It’s the landfill located in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

“Wait a second.”

I was surprised at the mention of Seoul, impressed by Seocho-gu, and snapped to attention at Yangjae-dong.

I looked it up, and sure enough.

I don’t know geography well. I don’t remember the names of neighborhoods that aren’t near me or famous.

But I do know the landfill in Yangjae-dong.

“That’s dead land. You’re not seriously trying to sell me that land, are you?”

There is a type of dungeon called a migratory dungeon.

Unlike stationary dungeons, which stay in one place, migratory dungeons move.

Migratory dungeons are dungeons that must be eliminated before they move.

A migratory dungeon looks like a giant seed sprouting from the ground, and when it splits open, a dungeon gate forms, leading inside. This gap widens over time, and when it opens fully, monsters pour out in droves.

That’s what’s called a dungeon break.

Depending on the type of monster, the monsters that come out during a dungeon break aren’t usually aggressive about killing living things.

They typically prioritize moving, like a stampede of rampaging buffalo.

They run, crushing everything in their path.

When the horde stops somewhere, an even larger and more powerful dungeon forms at that spot.

And no matter what you do, the original dungeon site becomes dead land where not even a single blade of grass will grow.

About twenty years ago. That’s how dead land was created at Cheonggye Mountain.

Since land killed by a dungeon was useless, they decided to build a landfill there.

Hardly anyone wanted to live near the land of death, so there was little opposition.

The plan went ahead, and a fairly large landfill was completed.

-They’re offering to sell you a 300,000-pyeong landfill for 300 million won.

Selling 300,000 pyeong for 300 million? That’s 1,000 won per pyeong? Even if it’s dead land, it’s still Seoul, and you can use it as a landfill?

-Of course, this is under the condition that you continue disposing of a certain amount of waste using Glutton Slime.

No matter how you look at it, something feels off.

“I’m not really interested.”

If there were no obligations, I’d just take the land and use it to stockpile materials.

But there’s the obligation to keep processing waste.

People will be coming and going all the time, so I can’t just leave it unattended.

I’d need someone to manage it, but there’s no one to trust with the job.

Should I leave it to the Alchemy Center?

Maybe if it were somewhere as secure as the Alchemy Center.

Three hundred thousand pyeong. Three hundred thousand pyeong.

And it’s three hundred thousand pyeong where garbage trucks will be coming and going endlessly.

The fact that Glutton Slime is being imported from America won’t stay secret for long.

People from all directions will swarm in and try to steal Glutton Slime like they’re raiding crops.

But if I make it hard to steal-

Then it becomes inconvenient to use.

I guarantee that if I leave it to the Alchemy Center, Glutton Slime will keep getting stolen.

What would make other companies trust and use it?

To put it bluntly.

Even if I accept the 300,000-pyeong waste facility, I can’t manage it.

Counselor Park Taeyang talked about tax exemptions and whatnot, but I replied indifferently.

“Then give me the authority to ignore building codes so I can build a fortress there, and legal immunity if someone trespasses and dies at the landfill. Then I’ll take it.”

If you want to tempt me, bring better terms.

***

The patient put a Random Jelly Slime (Extremely Spicy Flavor) in his mouth.

An intense, nauseating taste, like pouring spoiled coffee into an old ashtray and drinking it, trampled his tongue.

He showed no reaction and slowly breathed as he chewed and swallowed thoroughly.

Even when he got the worst one, he didn’t curse.

It was pain he gladly endured for the body he’d tormented his whole life.

He closed his eyes and waited, and his mind, which felt like it was sinking to the riverbed wrapped in wet cotton, became a little clearer.

He put a Random Jelly Slime (Mild Flavor) in his mouth.

The taste of strawberry filled his mouth, and his trembling body calmed.

Finally, he put a Strawberry Gargle Slime in his mouth.

After chewing thoroughly and letting it expand, he swallowed, and the Gargle Slime soothed his ragged insides as it slid down.

He attached a Pack Slime to his body, got up, and walked with unsteady steps to the room with the rehab equipment.

He had lived his whole life working.

Work was his vitality.

Work was his lover.

Work was his life.

When he succeeded, he figured out the reason and achieved even greater success next time.

When he failed, he analyzed with burning determination and ran toward greater success.

He overcame any adversity.

But there were failures in the world that couldn’t be undone.

He had genius-level ability when it came to leading projects to success.

But in household matters, he was as good as minus one hundred points.

He spent half his waking hours inhaling cigarette smoke.

The other half, he drank coffee.

He utterly failed at managing his health.

Between his lungs and his kidneys, his kidneys were the first to surrender.

When he could no longer endure the rapid decline in his condition and went to the hospital.

His body was in the worst state.

Starting with his kidneys.

His lungs were a mess, his nerves were a mess, his digestive tract was a mess, his blood vessels were a mess.

It was hard to find a single part of him that was healthy.

Even if he wanted a kidney transplant, it was hard to find a suitable one right away.

The doctor told him to quit smoking and coffee, get on dialysis, and wait while managing his health as best as possible.

He followed that advice for a while, but couldn’t last long.

He couldn’t stand being unable to work properly.

He got his hands on a powerful alchemy potion and drank it.

But as an ordinary person, not an Awakened, and with his body in terrible shape, he couldn’t withstand the potion.

His body completely broke down.

He had a lot of money.

Modern medical technology kept him alive.

Barely alive.

He would only wake up occasionally, at very long intervals.

He ended up bedridden, unable to move at all.

No one came to see him.

He had failed at forming relationships too.

The only people around him were those connected through work.

Once he couldn’t work, they stopped coming.

He had no family left, and he never made a new one.

If his attending doctor hadn’t been interested in Slime therapy, he would have just died.

When he barely regained consciousness, the doctor suggested Slime therapy, and he agreed, thinking it was his last chance.

As he began living on a Pillow Slime, the time he spent in a coma gradually shortened.

Every time he swallowed a Poison Jelsl, the time he needed to use the dialysis machine decreased.

Every time he swallowed a Pure Jelsl, the trembling in his body subsided.

As he ate Gargle Slime, the teeth that had been loose and wobbly returned to their place.

He became able to digest thin foods.

Once he could eat, he was able to get out of bed.

He did rehab exercises in a room lined with Insole Slime.

He applied Pack Slime to protect his weakened skin while soothing his muscles and nerves at the same time.

Supported by Slime, he gradually regained his life step by step.

After finishing his rehab exercises and returning to his room, he turned on a video.

He spoke to Alchemy Slime, who was filming a broadcast wearing a penguin Mascot Suit made of slime.

“Thank you. You saved my life.”

In Korean, which was not his native language.

Slime didn’t just heal his body.

It also soothed his mind.

On the day he heard from the doctor that no matter how much rehab he did, he’d never return to normal-

Pillow Slime led him into a deep sleep.

The despair that had swept over him with the diagnosis had mostly faded by the time he woke up.

With a clear mind, he was able to slowly accept reality.

Thanks to that, he avoided falling into despair and making an extreme choice.

Whenever he felt like collapsing under the pain of rehab, Insole Slime would push his body forward.

When his head went foggy and his body felt heavy, making him want to give up on everything, Pillow Slime would push him to get up quickly.

Thanks to that, he gained the courage to walk forward again.

And Slime gave him a goal.

Someday, to go to Korea himself.

And personally thank Alchemy Slime in person.

It gave him a reason to keep living.

***

M-My bank account! It went from 12 digits to 11!

Even in the billions, that’s still a lot.

Where did I spend it, you ask?

I bought a painting.

Well, it’ll go back up soon enough.

It’s almost November 24.

Not such an important day in Korea, but it’s different in America.

Black Friday.

The day when American stores post their biggest profits.

To prepare for this, I’m working hard making Slimes to send to America.

Anyway.

“You’re here.”

The American side accepted all my terms and sent a space expansion bag as a deposit.

This leather backpack, the kind a rich college student might carry, can hold up to one ton regardless of volume.

When I open the bag and touch it, a screen pops up like a game inventory. I pick a box, and it enlarges into a big tray. When I toss items in, the screen shrinks and shows a photo of the item in the inventory.

Thanks for the meal.

[Decompose skill level has increased to 22.]

[Absorb skill level has increased to 22.]

[Analyze skill level has increased to 25.]

[Store skill has evolved into Store+ skill.]

[Store+ skill level has increased to 26.]

[Trait: Slime☆☆ level has increased to 22.]

Last time I ate a Mimic Doll, my level went up by 7.

This time, my total level went up by 11.

Considering my level was higher back then, the total experience points are probably about the same.

That’s why they say a space expansion bag is on par with a Class A artifact.

And just as I expected, my [Store] skill evolved into [Store+].

[Store+ Lv. 26.

-Can store things by compressing both volume and mass.]

The description hasn’t changed.

Except for the increased compression rate… huh?

Now that I’ve eaten and analyzed the space expansion bag, I could probably make a fake space expansion bag slime.

My [Store] skill has different compression rates depending on the material. I can compress slime the most, and everything else is just average. If it has to keep its shape, I can barely compress it at all.

But now that [Store] has become [Store+] and I’ve analyzed the space expansion bag-

Bag Slime

-A slime that compresses the mass and volume of items inside while keeping them intact.

Of course, compressing one ton into a single bag is impossible.

It can probably halve the weight and reduce the volume to about a fifth.

I put Glutton Slime and a gift set into the box.

That’s my reply.

***

Ash checked the items that had arrived.

Normally, they would have been filtered out by the security inspection, but he’d ordered that anything sent by Alchemy Slime be sent straight up.

He set aside the Glutton Slime.

Even though he’d gotten it by sending a space expansion bag, there was something more interesting.

A tiny bag made of slime.

As he tried to open the entrance, the bag swelled up five times and opened.

Inside was another identical bag.

Opening it again, there was a pouch of powder and a card inside.

He couldn’t read the writing on the pouch, but he could read the part that said 1kg.

‘Is the weight about half?’

Even if you put this space expansion slime into another slime, the weight and volume don’t decrease again.

The reason for sending two must be-

‘Is he saying he can mass produce them?’

Even if the performance of each one falls short of what Sole Alchemy makes, he’s saying he can overwhelm with sheer numbers.

Besides, if the thing being compressed is a Slime, you can compress it at an incredible ratio-as proven by the slime orbs Alchemy Slime sold in America.

‘This alone is disappointing.’

There was some kind of weird code on the card.

odiso mitzaeng baginia

“Odiso mitzaeng baginia?”

After several minutes of searching, he finally found out what it meant.

“Hahaha! This guy’s funny!”

I thought he hadn’t noticed, but he totally did.

He realized it, but still sent a lower quality bag.

And not just one, but two.

That means he understood the message I sent.

In that case, this gift can be interpreted another way.

‘You’re only at this level too, aren’t you?’

Chairman of the world’s largest alchemy company, Sole Alchemy, and an S-rank Alchemist.

Ash Pramel got up from his seat and walked to the window.

He looked up at the Korean sky and smiled.

“Yeah. You’re right. This is my level too.”

Officially, there are six people recognized as S-rank Alchemists.

However, among them, the only people Ash recognized as true Alchemists were just two, including himself.

He considered the rest to be fakes who didn’t meet the standard.

“This guy. Maybe he’ll become the third Alchemist.”

Suddenly curious about the powder that was sent along, Ash looked it up.

“Fxck.”

With a cruel smile, he prepared a return gift.