Chapter 186: Branch Point.

Today is December 29th.

It’s a day ending in 9, but there’s still no reply from Makina.

Despite using money and power to spread clones and search, clues are not easily found.

It seems difficult to find without obtaining a new skill.

So, I leveled up diligently.

Not just beginner dungeons, but quite dangerous ones were eaten.

[Trait: Slime☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ has reached level 80.]

As expected, expensive food levels up well.

[You can select a new skill.]

I wish a skill like [Search] would appear.

[You can select a skill.

1. Transform Lv. 1.

2. Transform Lv. 1.]

3. Luck Lv. 1.]

[Transform] appeared!

At first glance, it seems like a duplicate skill, but it’s clearly two different kinds.

I activated the [Analyze+] skill.

[Transform Lv. 1

-You can take on the form of the same species after acquiring sufficient information.]

One is the skill that the curse first offered me.

The part demanding live sacrifices has completely disappeared.

It said to acquire sufficient information, and I’ve acquired enough information about humans and people inside people.

<Slime Land> has so much genetic material left by people.

I collected it legally.

The contract signed when entering Slime Land clearly states that customer information can be collected.

And on the first day I transformed into a slime.

I cleaned my room neatly.

I also securely store my personal information.

So, I can return to my original form.

The next Transform skill is.

[Transform Lv. 1

-You can encrypt and decrypt signals.]

If I get that skill, I might use it to dig into Makina’s identity.

It’s the skill I slightly conflicted over.

If a + is added to it, the performance will be stronger.

Not only satellites in the sky, but undersea cables are also within the range my tentacles can reach.

I hold the pathways through which information is transmitted.

As long as Makina operates on the communication network, it’s not easy to avoid my tentacles armed with that [Transform] skill.

The last one is [Luck].

[Luck Lv. 1.

-Luck improves.]

It hasn’t changed at all from before.

The Curse of Sloth probably barely touched the [Luck] skill, as expected.

The [Luck] skill might also help when finding Makina.

Like a small coincidence ruining a well-laid plan.

If I’m lucky and Makina is unlucky, we might coincidentally meet and I recognize it.

But it’s too uncertain, so I’ll exclude it.

Transform (Body Change) that changes the body.

Transform (Signal Change) that changes information.

If I choose the former, I can be freed from the worries I currently have.

Instead, finding Makina will stay in place.

If I choose the latter, it will help when finding Makina.

Instead, I have to continue carrying the annoying worries that torment me in one corner of my head.

It’s not simply a matter of which one to prioritize.

“Status window. If there are homophones for skills, does that mean I can’t get other skills?”

Of course, no answer came back.

In the end, it’s saying I have to make the judgment.

I might only be able to get one of the two skills.

I want to think this is unnecessary worry.

But I have to consider the worst case.

It’s not just because they are homophones that I’m worried.

In life, it’s common that you’re waiting for just one more, but it doesn’t come until the end.

It feels like the status window picks skills that I need, but it’s not definite.

There’s a non-zero possibility that this is the last chance.

Suddenly, I want [Luck].

With luck, at level 85, I get the search [Transform (Signal Change)] skill, and at level 90, I get the [Transform (Body Change)] skill, which would be perfect.

Since things in the world don’t go that smoothly, I have no intention of choosing the [Luck] skill.

I don’t really care about my appearance as a slime.

Yet, the reason I think the [Transform (Body Change)] skill is absolutely necessary.

It’s not for leaving descendants with human people.

It’s not because I want to date and get married.

It’s because I’ve realized the problems arising from my body being a slime.

“You’re too outstanding.”

All this time, I’ve been carrying a curse.

So, I restrained myself instead.

Because I might cross the line without realizing it due to the curse.

But now, I’ve completely spat out the curse.

The fear of acting against my will due to impulses that aren’t mine has disappeared.

By removing the curse as a restraint, my actions have become unrestrained.

Acting according to emotions and reason is extremely human-like.

The problem is my abilities.

The boundary between jokes and sincerity has blurred.

Because I have the ability to turn jokes into reality.

The behavior patterns that gradually became inhuman while carrying the curse.

I feel myself drifting further from being human.

It’s easy to change something, but hard to revert it.

That truth applies to my mind as well.

The changes that happened to me while carrying the curse won’t vanish in an instant just because I spat it out.

And since my body is a slime, this will only worsen, not improve.

People change their actions and thoughts according to what they can do.

For example, suppose your hand’s skin is thick and you can’t feel heat properly.

At first, you’d wear gloves when touching hot objects, but later, you’d grab them bare-handed without issue. You wouldn’t fear hot objects and avoid them. When you need to move hot objects, you’d step up with confidence.

There are plenty of other examples.

Position makes the person.

Once you hold power, people change.

Once you suddenly get a lot of money, people break.

It’s a change that occurs because the things you can do change when you gain a different status, hold power, or own money.

My change is more extreme than that.

I gained a high status, held great power, and owned enormous money.

Here, the body is strong and versatile, not inferior to any Awakened.

The [Network★] skill spurred on my mental ideal.

The [Control+] skill, [Link+] skill, and [Evangelize+] skill fused to create the [Network★] skill.

It was a skill that used <Terminal Slime> as a base station and, by utilizing the [Link+] skill, made the existing network range even more sturdy and expansive.

My clones or <Collection Slime>-like slimes that need to make high-level judgments can only be used in limited areas.

The tentacles connected to my children could only be used in nearby areas.

But with the [Network★] skill, even ordinary <Slime> can be used as relays to control slimes that are farther away.

Meaning I can spread my clones all over the world.

Right now, there are plenty of PengRhymes working in Slime Land, Slime Planet, and Gongsooni Island.

With so many ‘me’s, it’s strange to maintain the humanity of an ordinary human.

Why not just not make clones?

The stress from being able to do something but not doing it is not insignificant.

If stress builds up, should I make one PengRhyme for stress relief.

That’s the state I’m in right now.

So I want the [Transform(Body Change)] skill.

At least one.

If I have a clone trapped in the limits of a human form living as a human, maybe I’ll come to my senses a bit.

Though this isn’t exactly the way of thinking of an ordinary human either.

Transform that changes the body.

Transform that changes information.

Which one I choose seems like it will be a major turning point in my life.

***

The owner of a flashy career that fired professors, fired bosses, and blew up the Alchemy Center.

Lee Doa, the designer of the [Scream Course], came to her parents’ house to celebrate the New Year.

“You’re here.”

Her unadorable kin, lying on the sofa scratching his belly, greeted her.

Born from the same parents as her cute younger sibling and having the same gender, yet just because of the age difference, he turned out like that.

Time is truly merciless.

“Mom. A gift from the president.”

Lee Doa set down the <Slime> that President Lime had specially prepared for employees.

“Oh, oh. Tell her thanks.”

Lee Doa’s mother unwrapped the gift’s packaging.

Behind her, Lee Doa’s kin peeked over.

“That’s something I haven’t seen. A new product?”

“No, for employees.”

“…?”

Lee Doa ignored her foolish kin.

“Sis!”

Instead, she took out the gift she had prepared for her adorable younger sibling.

“Is that for me?”

“No.”

“Why?”

Lee Doa ignored the fool.

“Did you work at AlchemySlime Company?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t I know?”

“Because you have nothing in your brain.”

“Ah. I can’t even hit you for this.”

“Hit me. I’ll report it right away.”

This wasn’t a joke.

She planned to block it with the personal protection <Slime> that President Lime had given her and then report it immediately.

Lee Dohyeon saw the madness in his younger sibling’s clear eyes and quickly changed the subject.

Lee Dohyeon is a Hunter. He shouldn’t even joke about hitting.

He’s letting it slide because they’re family, but there are still many people who think Hunters are dangerous.

Thanks to the <Slime> made by Alchemy Slime, he doesn’t have to worry about accidentally hurting family by mistake anymore.

That’s why he can come home without worries, but if he shows violent behavior, it’s back to square one.

“If you’re an employee of AlchemySlime Company, do you know who designed the [Scream Course]?”

“Why?”

“I’m a fan.”

“Really?”

“I tried it last time after training when I had time left, and it was fun. It’s not easy to make a Hunter feel fear. I felt the terror of death, you know? The [Scream Course] designer is definitely a genius.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“It’s really amazing, I tell you.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’ve always acknowledged that <Slime> is great, but I honestly ignored the theme park. I thought there couldn’t be an experience that could match the tension of facing a huge, powerful monster in a dungeon. But it was no joke. I really thought I was going to die.”

Lee Doa answered with a slight smile.

“You wouldn’t die.”

“I mean it metaphorically. The [Scream Course] designer must have experienced all the fears a human can taste.”

“There can’t be such a human.”

“That’s the only way such a design could come out.”

“No.”

“How would you know. Are you close?”

“We’re close.”

Close they were.

Lee Doa had quite a strong sense of self-love.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then could you get an autograph for me? I’m a real fan now.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Come on, don’t be like that. I’ll grant you one favor next time.”

“No.”

“Hey, I’m swallowing my pride to ask you, so don’t be so tough.”

“No.”

“Hey!”

“Why should I give you an autograph.”

“…?”

“[Scream Course]. I designed it.”

A fear greater than what Lee Dohyeon experienced in the [Scream Course] came to him.

He had been praising his younger sibling all this time?

He had asked for an autograph because he became a fan of his younger sibling?

Lee Dohyeon denied reality.

“You mean you came up with the idea?”

“[Scream Course] is my main.”

Lee Dohyeon fell into serious contemplation.

How on earth could he erase what he just said from the world.

Why hasn’t Alchemy Slime released a <Slime> that erases memories.

Why did they entrust such an important task as designing amusement rides to this incompetent younger sibling.

Lee Dohyeon decided to escape reality.

“So it was madness, not genius. I finally understand. No wonder I felt insanity in the rides.”

Lee Doa stared intently at her kin with clear eyes.

Behind those eyes, the fact that the mind creating that [Scream Course] exists made Lee Dohyeon avert his gaze without realizing it.

It was scarier than the dungeon’s monsters.

Ding~.

Just then, Lee Doa’s phone alarm rang.

“I got a call. I should answer it.”

“It’s not a call.”

Lee Doa took out her smartphone.

A new video was uploaded to President Lime’s SLimelove channel.

Lee Doa immediately started watching the video.

Before long, she had a dazed expression.

“Why are you like that?”

At his younger sibling’s unusual expression, Lee Dohyeon asked in surprise.

“The president….”

***

At the moment of achieving 100 million subscribers.

One video was uploaded to SLimelove’s channel.

“Hello. I am Alchemy Slime.”

After greeting, Alchemy Slime pulled back the hood.

“I am a slime. 100% slime with no tricks, manipulations, or even a disguise.”

Beneath that, there was a being that couldn’t be seen as human.

“My awakening turned me into a slime.”

Dubbing in the languages of countries around the world to leave no room for misunderstanding.

“I will tell you the story of the past 18 months.”

Alchemy Slime began to recount its story.