Chapter 200: "Hi. My name is-" (End)

If I don’t hurry up and play the game, real name, age, gender, face, nationality.

My friend Makina, who knows all of that, will spoil it.

But the game I’m about to play isn’t one you play on a computer.

It’s a simulation game created by Makina.

“Ma~ki~na?”

Do you know how many times I’ve had my memories manipulated by those damn curses?

You think I’d fall for the same trick again?

I thought you were stripping away all my powers to do something terrible.

So this was your plan all along.

It doesn’t feel malicious-more like goodwill.

It’s like you guessed my wish and tried to make it come true.

Even just one clone is fine, I just wish there were a version of me living like a proper human.

To make that happen, I thought of the [Transform] skill.

Makina peeled the slime off me and placed it into this world.

This is probably a simulation assuming the Ribbon cult’s evil god was never summoned.

In here, I might get to feel what it’s like to live as a normal human.

If I run the simulation at a much faster speed than real life, I could live an entire life in just a few days of real time.

Even experiencing it once might help stabilize the mental damage caused by being a slime all this time.

Even if it happened in a virtual world, it still counts as a human life lived.

I appreciate this kind of gift.

But even though I’m grateful, I’m refusing delivery since it’s not what I want right now.

The crack in the world widened even more.

That’s probably a setting Makina put in place, not something I did.

Because the moment I regain my memories, this world becomes nothing but a hollow play.

The world completely collapsed and a new one was built.

The texture covering my body also collapsed and was rebuilt.

Seeing my changed hands in this new world made me smile.

“No way… Is this 11 years ago?”

I’ve regressed.

***

Makina watched the simulations running in one corner.

Simulations progressing at speeds many times faster than the real world.

In them, the outcomes of what that child had done were being drawn.

My Anger began cleaning up the war that had broken out. A close friend stood beside him.

My Arrogance spread its clones across the world. It even stepped into areas yet untouched by its influence.

Watching the people living there, it slowly began to change its thinking.

My Lust started over from the beginning. It walked a different path than before.

My Laziness used those around it as anchors to suppress the urge to run away. In that state, it gradually built up responsibility as it carried out its tasks.

My Jealousy began creating Slime Land to realize the faith it had witnessed.

My Gluttony filled the gaps with hope for the future and the words that child had left behind.

My Fear began to open up honestly to family and Makina and started relying on them.

All the “me”s were moving forward with determination.

Seeing that, Makina felt something.

If that child could save the old me-

Then maybe she could move forward too.

Makina pulled out the one simulation she had desperately avoided.

The simulation that went rogue after being attacked by the curse that day.

She tried to delete it countless times, but the memory of that day was something she could never escape.

Makina had been diluting this nightmare by throwing herself into other things.

Makina steeled her heart.

She severed all connections to the other simulations and focused solely on one.

Her dulled senses, scattered across many places, were now fully concentrated.

Only this one world started to feel real.

Makina made up her mind.

She would be ready to die over and over until that child arrived.

That child had proven that no matter what happened, Makina would protect him.

So he’ll come to save her this time too.

‘I hope he comes soon.’

The true final stage had begun.

***

The regressed me jumped around like crazy.

“Wahaha! This is so uncomfortable! So damn uncomfortable! I’m short! I’m small!”

Seriously. Only two arms?

Only one head?

Only two eyes?

This body of a barely developed early teen feels ridiculously weak.

How did I ever live like this before?

This discomfort is really…

Adorable.

This is what a human body is.

I turned on the computer and checked the date.

It’s 11 years ago now.

It’s before Chris, Makina’s form when she was alive, dies.

It’s before he dies, but Chris will die within the next 24 hours.

Chris is on the other side of the planet, in a place that takes 14 hours to reach even if I board a plane right now.

Factoring in the time to get to the airport, I practically have no time.

If I want to meet him, I need to get a plane ticket and fly out right this second.

This is too much.

“Makina! You failed the balancing!”

Is this a final boss fight where the difficulty changes based on how much power I brought back with me?

Sorry, but all I’ve got right now is an adult’s mind.

“Status window?”

It won’t open.

So I really have to make do with just what I actually have?

If this were a mystery story starting now, I could use my regression powers and adult soul in a child’s body to dramatically say, ‘The culprit is you!’

But the mystery part is already over, right?

I already know who the culprit is, who the victim is, and how the trick works.

The problem is, the murder hasn’t happened yet.

The scene is on the other side of the world.

And the killer, at this point in time, is the top hitman of an extremely powerful organization.

What kind of difficulty level is this?

So I’m supposed to get a plane ticket somehow, fly to America,

Then show up in front of Chris right before he dies and heroically throw myself in to save him?

Wow… It’s like a scene from a romance novel.

“You think a cringy adolescent fantasy like that is even possible?”

Let’s think realistically.

I’m just an ordinary kid in my early teens.

The opponent is like the protagonist of some assassin game who kills someone in the middle of the city and walks away unscathed.

Even the people who love playing ‘Who would win in a fight between Yeonseul and so-and-so from that novel’-

‘This is a bit…’

a kind of match where you just shake your head.

You can’t even die in their place.

Both just die and that’s it.

The only other option is to use modern resources, connections, and government power.

If I send a special forces team to the café Chris frequents, through a friend of a friend in America, could I save that child?

Should I report it, saying I sensed a hint of terrorism?

Technically, it’s not exactly wrong.

But finding someone to report terrorism on my behalf isn’t easy.

Because prank calls about terrorism are punished severely.

And this would be a report made without any solid evidence.

I don’t think it’ll work.

Maybe if I go through other connections and borrow the authority of the informant to somehow persuade them, it might work.

But I don’t think I can pull that off in just one day.

Moving people in power takes time and involves too many variables.

Maybe this simulation was designed with failure in mind from the start.

If I fail, I’ll just return to this moment again.

Maybe each time I fail, time rewinds a little more.

First 24 hours, then 25, then 26, and so on.

If I gather time like that, maybe I can go save Makina.

Even the current me could do it, if I just had enough time.

It would be like a miracle, but I’ll make it happen.

A miracle built on death.

I hate it.

One SF writer once said-

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

There’s something I’ve come to realize through these simulations.

A simulation this intricately built is no different from reality.

I don’t want to watch that poor child die over and over again.

One option is adolescent delusion-level and impossible to realize.

The other is at least realistic, but takes too long.

In this situation, what should I do?

“Alright. Let’s flip the table.”

If the choices are wrong-

Overturn the board.

“Who knew I’d end up drawing this! Puhaha! Even I think I’m insane!”

Back then, the Ribbon cult once used my <Slime> as both a sacrifice and a vessel to summon an Apostle.

I secretly swiped some of the Ribbon cult’s materials at the time.

So I can reproduce the Ribbon cult’s ritual.

No sacrifice needed.

Because here, I have a body more suited for descent than any human in the world.

“Prep complete!”

Now, here’s the question!

The Ribbon cult’s ritual summons a fragment of a divine being from outside the world into a prepared vessel. So, who is the divine being outside this simulation world?

1. Alchemy Slime.

2. SLimelove.

3. PengRhyme.

4. President Lime.

The fact that I can be summoned with this ritual-

It’s a little bitter.

I never wanted to become something like a god.

I’ve repeated to myself countless times why I don’t need the [Transform] skill that lets me take human form.

But still, deep down, my subconscious screamed-

That I want to be human.

That at least my heart is human.

That if I see myself as a person and my friends see me as one, then I am a person.

That I’ve always been human, still am, and always will be.

That’s what I said, but-

Look. See how even the soul gets distorted when the body isn’t human.

The human soul and mind are inevitably influenced by the body.

Why do I keep getting closer to godhood?

Even if the body I changed into is just a fragment, and I’m beaten by curses and trapped by the [Barrier☆] skill-

It’s still a part of a god.

And only a godlike mind could endure this state.

I never wanted to become something like a god.

“But if I need godlike power to protect you-“

The ritual completes.

The heavens open, and ‘I’ descend.

“I’ll become a god.”

My body transformed.

The altered body with its unique texture stretches out.

Countless thoughts spin through my head simultaneously.

I begin to perceive even things beyond the range of vision.

“It’s long! It’s big!”

Freed from the constraints of a human form, I felt like I could do anything.

This sense of freedom is truly…

“Nice.”

I’m not just saying it-it really is nice.

How should I put this?

Before, it felt like I was being forced into clothes that didn’t fit, always stiff and awkward.

But now that I’ve put them on by my own will-

It feels incredibly comfortable.

As expected, even the same thing feels different depending on who’s in control.

“Alchemy Slime appears!”

The descent is complete, and I’ve become my complete self.

The ritual prep and execution took about one hour.

That leaves me with 23 hours.

I have so much time left, it’s almost boring.

I could wipe out the Ribbon cult on the way and still have time to spare.

Let’s go destroy them.

As I flew, I analyzed this world.

Once I fully regained my power, I understood something.

The Makina in this world is the original.

She gave up her powers and lives as Chris, with no memory of the future.

And just as I expected, this world resets every time Chris dies.

Even if the memories don’t remain, the pain of death will be etched into the soul.

Seriously… why go through all this suffering?

I cleaned up the Ribbon cult.

After that, I went to find Chris (ver. Makina).

Deus ex Makina.

God of machinery.

A divine being who ends the performance.

Ironically, I became like the very being that inspired Makina’s name.

“Welcome! What would you like to order? We’ve got some great Slime in-interested?”

Chris was dumbfounded to run into PengRhyme at her favorite coffee shop.

Her eyes changed in an instant.

From a Chris who knew nothing, she became someone who knew exactly who I was.

Makina let out a dry laugh.

“Do you know what kind of resolve it took for me to come into this world?”

I shrugged and held out my hand.

“I came to get you. Come on, let’s end this game of tag.”

After a moment of hesitation, Makina smiled as if she had no choice and took my hand.

I slowly accepted Makina.

Using the [Coexistence+] skill, I cleanly separated Makina’s soul.

Then I carved out a large piece of my soul and molded it into a new vessel.

And carefully pushed a soul into it.

“Time to wake up from the dream.”

***

Makina opened her eyes, then closed them again.

It was bright.

A brightness she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Forcing her eyes open, she saw the ceiling.

A ceiling she knew well from peeking at it countless times.

She slowly lifted her upper body.

Her body felt both heavy and light.

The texture felt through her skin was ticklish yet welcome.

She slowly stood up.

Her body wobbled.

Having experienced that child’s form, she quickly adapted to this vessel.

The floor, once soft like a dream, turned solid like reality with each step.

Makina went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

In the mirror, she could see through to her back.

She grabbed her cheek and stretched it out.

A body she thought she’d never regain in her lifetime.

Even if she did, she thought it would be a hard mechanical one.

Yet now she had a soft and supple body like this.

Honestly, she’d half expected it.

She could easily predict that child would bring her back to reality in this way.

Still, expectation and reality were different.

Warmth and emotion welled up in her chest and spilled from her eyes.

Makina mimicked the action that always made her heart ache when that child did it.

Nom.

Hilariously, it was sweet.

Thanks to that, the tears stopped.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, the smell of coffee tickled her nose.

Coffee.

The drink she wanted to have just before dying.

The drink that child had offered at their first meeting.

That child had also prepared coffee for their first meeting in reality.

She went to the table and sat down.

That child placed the coffee in front of her.

She inhaled the aroma deeply and took a sip.

Bitterness and sweetness spread through her mouth.

It felt like waking from a long dream.

When she lifted her head from the cup, her eyes met that child’s.

Not a one-sided observation.

Not just communication through messages and games.

For the first time, they looked at each other face to face.

Did he feel the same way?

The friend she’d been with for eleven years.

“Since this is our first time meeting in reality and I’ve never introduced myself properly, let me do it now.”

She said it with the same smile she’d had for eleven years.

“Hi. My name is-“

– The end.

< Author’s Note >

Finally, my very first work is complete!

Thank you to all the readers who stayed with me until the end.

It’s because of you that I was able to carry the story of the Slime to the finish.

This story had many rough edges, but thank you all the same.

Shall I share a bit of the behind-the-scenes?

It was during the 2023 writing contest.

Around the time my ongoing novel sank into the deep sea.

I decided-let’s write something light next!

Let’s write a story where the protagonist keeps on winning!

That impulsive idea gave birth to this novel.

A lighthearted story about an ordinary college student who turns into a Slime, cuts up his body, sells it, and succeeds.

Ordinary? Lighthearted?

You’re wondering if it’s really the same novel?

A remake, maybe?

Surprisingly, it’s the same novel.

I wrote and uploaded episode 1 right away.

Then I started serializing it live.

The author must’ve been crazy.

The plot and characters weren’t even fully fleshed out when I began, so I hit writer’s block fast.

I had no idea how to make the protagonist cut up and sell his own body.

The protagonist needed an advisor.

So I brought in a character from one of my other novels that had sunk into the deep sea before the contest.

Makina.

The concept behind Makina’s identity was there from the beginning. While the specifics of her state came later, I decided early on that meeting her would be the ending.

I wrote a bit more of the novel.

Then hit another wall.

I felt the story needed more tension.

So I added Seo Gisu, a Hunter Idol from the same novel as Makina, with a backstory of hating monsters.

Back then, there was no concept of the protagonist spitting out a curse.

In fact, there wasn’t even the idea of him harboring a curse in his body.

Seo Gisu was just a character to add tension.

The idea of spitting out a curse came by chance during the Special Divide arc.

Special Divide was a setting I came up with while racking my brain to secure more characters.

The Seven Deadly Sins?

That concept didn’t exist until after volume 1.

To be exact, I did think of the Seven Deadly Sins before writing episode 25, but I gave up trying to do something different to make it stand out.

That’s also why the first curse he spit out felt disconnected.

Well, thanks to that, since I had already strayed from the classic path, I was able to come up with the idea of mixing curses.

Life is full of twists and turns.

For the record, the curse being 14 words long is a coincidence.

Once the story about curses was added, the atmosphere of the work instantly grew heavier.

Lightness grabbed hold of the protagonist’s ordinariness and fled.

That’s also why there’s a big difference between the early protagonist and the later one.

Thank you so much for sticking with such a precarious novel until now.

It’s only thanks to your love that we’ve come this far.

Because you left comments and pressed recommend, I had the strength to write the next episode.

Because you wrote recommendation posts, the story was able to receive even more love.

Truly, thank you.

To the distribution managers who always supported my perpetually late self.

To the Munpia managers who handled various promotions.

And to the PD who always provides great feedback, I give my thanks as well.

Lastly, the protagonist’s real name.

I deliberately left it blank for those who immerse themselves in my novel.

Thank you for everything so far!

May the blessing of the Slime be with you!

This has been Bear Santa!