Chapter 118: <Piano Slime>

A male singer with solid singing skills.

He had a concern.

Namely, hair loss.

At one point, he was stressed out just waiting for the chance for his hair roots to escape, even developing wrinkles between his brows.

The fact that he had no bangs to cover it deepened those wrinkles even further.

Despite trying various methods, it was a war already destined for defeat.

The escape of the remaining soldiers hadn’t ended.

While living, covering the barren plain with fakes.

<Wig Slime> came into the world.

Except for its unique texture, it was an amazing item that overcame all the drawbacks of existing wigs.

The man thanked God and put the <Wig Slime> on his head.

Since then, he has been thriving in his career with high notes that people describe as ‘like his head had popped open.’

Then, he received an offer to appear on a celebrity observation program.

These days, the hottest topic among people is the events held inside Slime Land.

For broadcasters, it was a honey pot that would attract viewers, but not all programs could utilize this material.

If it didn’t match the broadcast theme, no matter how much it seemed like ratings would rise, they couldn’t air it.

If a show about visiting hometowns aired footage from inside Slime Land, the repercussions wouldn’t be a joke.

However, depending on the program, with a little trickery, it could be broadcasted.

The PD looked for someone who wouldn’t seem out of place being sent to the cake zone.

That’s why he, who frequently uses <Slime> and is known for often visiting Slime Land, was cast.

The male singer opened the front door and let the filming crew inside.

Specks of light fell from his hair.

Seeing this, the filming crew employees harbored suspicions.

If you cherish a <Wig Slime> and are recognized for it, the <Wig Slime> responds to that thought.

It can scatter specks of light from the hair or make the hair wiggle slightly.

Even if the lifespan of a <Wig Slime> ends, the will of the predecessor inherits to the successor.

Without needing to build rapport from scratch, you can continue the camaraderie forged with the predecessor while fighting the formidable foe of hair loss.

Although quite some time has passed since <Wig Slime> was released, it’s rare to see someone scattering such vivid specks of light.

Usually, someone showing that level of affection is…

Of course, there are exceptions, but…

The male singer, unaware of the filming crew’s suspicions, showed them around the house.

“My house is pretty simple, right? I don’t spend much time at home. The items I use often have been moved to the place we’re heading now.”

The house tour ended quickly, and the male singer and filming crew moved to Slime Land.

There, the male singer guided the filming crew to My Room inside Slime Land.

“There’s quite a lot here, huh?”

“It’s much more convenient here than at home. At home, I just sleep.”

“Can’t you sleep here?”

“I can, but…”

The male singer made a circle with his index finger and thumb as he spoke.

“The furniture rental fee and space rental fee are pretty high.”

Even if it’s called My Room, it’s not a room you have ownership of.

You can rent furniture or bring your own and set it up like a My Room in a game.

When you load it, the furniture is stationed exactly as you set it.

It’s not free.

Except for basic furniture, if you rent additional furniture, you have to pay a rental fee, and if you bring your own and store it here, you have to pay a storage fee.

“Plus, the longer you stay, the more surcharges are added.”

Night surcharges apply, and if you use it for more than a certain number of hours a day, surcharges apply, and if you use it for more than a certain number of hours a month, surcharges apply.

If another place charged fees like this, they’d be criticized for being money-hungry.

But in Slime Land, there was clearly a different reason.

The male singer figured out the reason.

“I understand. If they didn’t do this, too many people would just want to live here.”

It’s too convenient here.

Not only are there all sorts of convenience facilities, but the entertainment facilities are unparalleled, and transportation through <Tunnel Slimes> allows for very fast movement to various parts of Seoul.

If they didn’t add all these surcharges to make people pay more, it’s obvious that tons of people would just want to live here.

Calculating the cost of living here for a month, it’s slightly more expensive than living in an apartment in Gangnam with similar conditions on rent.

Since the cost is per hour, if you’re not in the room all day, it might be a bit cheaper.

“If you play inside Slime Land instead of in My Room, it doesn’t count toward My Room usage time, so-“

The male singer shared a few small tips.

“That’s why I come here when I want to rest alone or sing. Especially when singing, this place is really great. The sound is different.”

The male singer sat on a chair and picked up an acoustic guitar.

As he started playing the guitar and singing, the <Wig Slime> slightly wiggled and scattered specks of light even more extravagantly.

With that mysterious atmosphere combined with the sweet song.

“Wow…”

The filming crew couldn’t help but let out a small gasp.

They listened to the song as if entranced, and when it ended, they clapped.

“Thank you. The song feels different, right?”

“Yes! It really does!”

“I feel it when I sing myself, but it’s also really different when I listen to the recording.”

The sound recorded varies depending on the soundproof room.

It’s because the sound absorbed and reflected by the walls is different.

No matter how much you ensure no noise gets in, in the end, it has to be adjusted through programming.

But here, even without much tweaking, the recorded sound was very clean.

“Is this room set up with some special settings?”

“No. It’s just the default settings, and it’s still like this. Alchemy Slime handles sound really well. The sound from SLimelove’s Mukbang is truly top-notch, isn’t it?”

***

Whether it’s the backdrop for a drama, a filming location for a variety show, or a news filming crew.

Every day, people from broadcasters come and film at least one broadcast.

Not just domestic broadcasters, but overseas broadcasters come as well.

And all their broadcasts are nothing but positive content.

If malicious rumors are spread, we’ll respond, but pointing out drawbacks isn’t something we plan to take issue with.

Could it be because of that incident?

Not long after Slime Land opened, one of the overseas broadcasters aired a broadcast mocking Slime Land.

Since there wasn’t anything significantly wrong in the content, we didn’t respond.

Unfortunately for that broadcaster, their timing was bad.

That broadcast aired right after I became an S-rank Alchemist.

That day, the broadcaster’s stock price dropped by 15%.

Since then, their stock price has been steadily declining.

Are the broadcasters being cautious because of those repercussions?

I’m glad they praise me.

However, since everyone is praising me, some try to come up with different compliments to avoid overlap.

Those contents are often absurd, and that’s how rumors are born.

A sound expert?

No, I’m not.

The sound from my Mukbang just turned out like that when I recorded it.

I didn’t know how to make good sound back then, and I still don’t know now.

They say that when you play and record an instrument inside Slime Land, the characteristics of that instrument come alive well.

So, they think I must know and handle instruments well?

I never set up such a function.

It’s just that Mother is exceptional.

If it’s about instruments, I could probably reproduce most of them just by watching a video.

For example, the piano.

With various skills and tentacles at my disposal now, I could play even a piece requiring 11 fingers like a machine.

But that doesn’t mean I’m good at playing it, does it?

With the violin too, if it’s just about reproducing it after watching a few videos, I could do it without much difficulty.

But that doesn’t mean I have a talent for music, does it?

I don’t think I have any remarkable musical talent.

Rumors are just rumors.

Most of them fade away quickly and lose their power.

But sometimes, those rumors cause unexpected incidents.

“Please make me a piano.”

Like drawing an active S-rank Hunter to Slime Land.

The Hunter Sage Clark, standing before me now, reached S-rank at a young age and has garnered worldwide attention.

This is the time when he should be solving the world’s toughest problems and building his reputation.

Yet here he is, wasting time in an unrelated place.

“Wouldn’t it be better to visit a professional piano manufacturer?”

There are all kinds of people in the world.

There are those who make pianos out of monster materials, and there are those who buy them.

A sturdy piano made from monster materials is expensive, but it makes no sense that an S-rank Hunter can’t afford one.

“I’m not satisfied with the sound. And there are durability issues.”

If it’s about durability, I can do something about that.

Even S-rank Hunter Song Taesan, famous for his monstrous strength, becomes a safe mascot when wearing my <Slime>.

Sound, however, is a field I find difficult to handle.

I’m not a master of instruments.

Even if I know that the sound varies depending on the piano, I don’t know which sound is good.

Coating a piano with <Slime> might be the best option, though.

“Well, shall we give it a try?”

Instead of outright refusing, if it doesn’t work out, let’s coat a renowned piano with <Slime>.

“Give me about two hours. I’ll go investigate pianos for a bit.”

I went out, stuck a sold-out note on the front door of a piano store, and returned.

After deliciously consuming a piano, I perfectly understood its structure.

Reproducing the structure of the most expensive piano doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a good piano.

To utilize the traits of Slime, some changes would be better.

Since I’ve gathered quite a bit of information, I think a decent piano will come out of this.

<Piano Slime>

-A Slime that produces beautiful sounds. It is completed through connection with the user.

I think it’s not bad, but I wonder what the user’s impression will be.

“Please play it.”

Sage, sitting down, seemed nervous as he repeatedly took deep breaths in and out.

He slowly placed his hands on the <Piano Slime>.

He took a few more breaths.

Bang bang bang bang!

He began playing a famous piece known as Fate.

It’s not ‘ding ding dan dan!’ but ‘bang bang bang bang!’

He didn’t slam his hands down.

Even though he just pressed strongly with his fingers on the keys, it made such a sound.

It’s startling, but the world is made to be tough for the Awakened to live in.

The deafening noise continued.

Can this even be called playing?

The speed and strength of his key presses are so intense that the sounds blend together.

I can distinguish the sounds, but to an ordinary person, it would feel like mysterious noise.

I’m not someone who deeply understands music as much as public opinion suggests, but I can tell this is not good playing.

There’s no consideration at all for the listener.

He’s just pouring out the frustration built up inside him onto the keys.

It feels more like a durability test than a performance.

If played like this, a regular piano wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

With a regular piano, the keys wouldn’t even have time to come back up before being pressed down again at that speed.

Where could there be a piano that can withstand such playing while producing accurate notes?

Even coating it with <Slime> might not be enough.

The speed of his playing was so fast that the piece ended in an instant.

Still keeping his hands on the keys, Sage bowed his head deeply.

Drip drip.

Tears fell onto the keys.

I waited quietly.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to become Awakened. As an S-rank Hunter who has gained immense wealth and fame, if I say something like this, people might think I don’t know how to be grateful and just complain. Still, if I could turn back time and choose not to awaken, I wouldn’t.”

Sage’s fingers began to cautiously dance across the piano keys.

“I wanted to be a pianist.”

Playing a somewhat wistful melody, Sage spoke.

“It was after my first hunt. I couldn’t easily calm my excitement, and whenever that happened, I would sit at the piano as usual. And I ended up breaking the piano I had spent my whole life with. I just pressed the keys as I normally did.”

His fingers, which had been moving cautiously, started to move roughly.

“Strength control. Yes, controlling strength is important when playing the piano. But if I have to focus so much on that to the point where I can’t put emotion into my playing, then what’s the point of playing the piano? Why listen to a piano performance full of trembling sounds? Might as well listen to a computer churning out precise notes.”

Beyond rough, Sage’s fingers created a torrent of sound.

But unlike before, while I might be swept away by the waves of sound now, it’s not to the level of feeling struck by it.

“I don’t need the power I gained in exchange for losing the piano. I don’t care about brilliant talent or whatever, so I begged countless times to have my piano returned to me. But God didn’t grant my wish.”

The heavy, resonant sound became lighter.

“I gave up and changed my thinking. I decided to save money and have an incredibly sturdy piano made. Since I had a talent for hunting, the money came quickly, and the piano returned to me. It wasn’t bad. I had various complaints, but at least I could play the piano.”

The light performance, like a brief rest on a battlefield, ended quickly.

“But as time passed, my strength only grew stronger. It might have been different if I had stopped hunting. But I have responsibilities. Whether I wanted it or not, since I have this power, I have responsibilities to bear.”

The performance, which had briefly become gentle, began to rage fiercely with Sage’s anger.

“In exchange for that dedication, the world once again took the piano away from me. To withstand my emotions, it had to be made into something that could no longer be called an instrument.”

Bang! With a powerful sound, the performance filled with despair and anger abruptly stopped.

“Finally….”

Sage closed his eyes and smiled gently.

He pressed the keys with a light touch.

“Finally…. My piano has returned. I’m glad I didn’t give up. Really….”

The piano began to sing of dreams and hope.

Awakening is both a blessing and a curse.

For some, it’s a blessing that allows them to escape a dark reality.

For others, it’s a curse that shatters their dreams.

Even with money and fame, he’s not happy because he can’t play the piano.

There probably aren’t many people who can empathize with Sage’s feelings.

Rather, according to public opinion, since he reached a better ending, isn’t it actually a good thing?

There will be people who say things like that.

Those people aren’t bad.

They probably just never had the chance to dream or were in an environment where they had to give up on their dreams.

“Thank you for listening.”

Having finished his performance at some point, Sage wore an expression like the sun finally peeking out after a long rainy season.

Indeed, people must dream and live by achieving those dreams.

‘Make Slime Land a place where everyone can dream.’

And I can provide that chance.

“Would you consider performing at Slime Land?”

“I’m glad for the proposal, but it’s been so long that I can’t play properly.”

“You can practice, can’t you?”

“Even so, I have work I need to do….”

“Does it have to be something only Sage can do? You’ve finally gotten the chance to play the piano after giving it up for so long. Isn’t it okay to take a little breathing room?”

After a moment of thought, Sage nodded and smiled.

“You’re right. I’ll gladly accept the proposal.”

And so, a performer with the rare experience of being an active S-rank Hunter was temporarily added to our Slime Land.

‘Make it a place where people can dream dreams they never have to wake from for a long, long time.’

I don’t know how long Sage will stay at Slime Land.

I hope he stays as long as possible.