Chapter 125: Happiness
Chapter 125: Happiness
Standing at the top of Slime Land, I looked around and listened.
I heard the sounds of various instruments.
Since the last parade, the number of people coming to check out the <Slime Instruments> has increased dramatically.
I let those people know that there is a music education system.
[You can learn instruments inside Slime Land?]
[Want to learn an instrument but finding a teacher is too hard? There’s a place where you can pick a teacher who studied abroad.]
[Don’t worry about the price of instruments, just play to your heart’s content.]
As people wandered around inside Slime Land looking for things to broadcast, they spread the word even further.
Many people came to Slime Land to learn instruments.
There are many adults and many children.
But not everyone came because they wanted to.
There were also children who were pushed into learning an instrument by their mother’s nagging.
A boy plays the violin.
In response, the <Slime> in front of him dances.
When the pitch of the sound goes off, the <Slime> twists its body in a bizarre way.
At that, the boy can’t help but burst out laughing.
Learning an instrument is a difficult process.
For many instruments, even making a proper sound is hard.
At first, it’s interesting, but later you try to make a sound out of stubbornness, and if it doesn’t work, you soon get tired of it.
If you’re learning without knowing why, you’ll get bored even faster.
I prepared something for those kids.
If you make a correct sound, it reacts correctly.
If you make an incorrect sound, I prepared slimes that dance in a bizarre way.
Humans are creatures that rely more on sight than hearing.
It’s much easier to understand when you provide visual information.
This <Dancing Slime> is highly praised among music teachers.
The hardest part is keeping the attention of kids who aren’t interested, but thanks to this, it’s become easier to teach.
The seed for music has been planted.
I turned my gaze.
There’s a girl skating across the ice.
The girl tried to jump but failed.
At that moment, a slime that had hardened its body with the [Harden+] skill softened itself and caught the child.
Turning my gaze a bit, I saw a boy skiing down a snowy mountain.
After passing through the goal and checking the clock, he decomposed and rode a slime up to the higher area.
There are quite a few people who come for biking and end up discovering they can enjoy winter sports.
Some people keep at it because it’s so much fun.
And there are people who aren’t just doing it for fun, but are ready to stake their lives and get serious about it.
Korea is an environment where it’s hard to even try winter sports.
It was hard to even dream in the first place, but inside Slime Land, the dream of winning a medal is beginning to sprout.
The seed for sports has been planted.
I turned my gaze.
Some kids are kneading slime.
Some kids are drawing pictures on top of slime.
It’s a good thing to let your imagination run free like that.
I’ve also prepared something for those who want to get a little more serious.
A man painted a still life.
When he put down his brush, the object in the painting swelled up and became three-dimensional.
Looking at the distorted parts, the man learned where he’d made mistakes.
The seed for art has been planted.
I turned my gaze.
“Softer! Please play more softly!”
“No, teacher. That’s as soft as it gets.”
“Softer! Touch it as delicately and gently as when peeling a roasted sweet pumpkin!”
“If it’s sweet pumpkin, you just wipe it with a <Towel Slime> and eat it with the skin.”
The penguin grumbled but plucked the string as softly as possible.
“That’s it! See, you can do it!”
“It’s frustrating, but… well, as long as it sounds good, it’s not bad.”
People who previously had no reason to interact, far apart from each other, now connected without fear.
A bridge was formed between the Awakened and ordinary people.
I turned my gaze.
In the [Slime Course], people spent peaceful time.
In the [Scream Course], people let out their stress with screams.
In the [Adventure Course], people’s hearts pounded and their eyes sparkled.
In the [Family Course], people strengthened their bonds.
In [My Own Story], people found closure for their regrets.
The idea for Slime Land itself had existed for a while.
But the actual operation of Slime Land started after I spat out the Curse of Sloth.
There were things I’d planned before opening the doors.
There are also things I added after opening.
In the orchard, a man agonized for a long time over what to eat, but the moment he put the fruit in his mouth, his face lit up.
In the [Shopping Course], people walked tall with their heads held high, actively shopping for items.
In [Slime Hunting], the Guardian revealed their hidden preferences and blew off stress with their enemies.
Dogs and cats that were once shunned now played happily with people.
Slime Land, the land of dreams, tentacles, hope, and slime.
True to its name, it’s full of dreams and hope.
I see smiles with my eyes.
I hear laughter with my ears.
The operation of Slime Land began while it was still consumed by the current curse.
Yet there’s no trace of tragedy-only happiness fills the place.
It all happened so easily that it’s hard to say I fought and won against the curse.
What is the curse really thinking?
I left Slime Land and went to a place with no people.
After preparing myself, I swallowed a Class A artifact.
[Trait: Slime☆☆☆☆ level has increased to 60.]
[You can select a new skill.]
“Status window.”
[Trait: Slime☆☆☆☆ Lv. 60.
+Courage +Temperance +Faith +Diligence
Skills:
Decompose+ Lv. 60. Absorb+ Lv. 60.
Analyze+ Lv. 60. Divide+ Lv. 59.
Transform+ Lv. 59. Store+ Lv. 58.
Convert+ Lv. 59. Multiply+ Lv. 59.
Accelerate+ Lv. 60. Link+ Lv. 58.
Harden+ Lv. 57. Purification+ Lv. 64.
Healing☆ Lv. 64. Evangelize+ Lv. 60.
Barrier☆ Lv. 64.
Skill+]
[You can select a skill.
1. General Skill: Coexistence Lv. 1.
2. Special Skill: Special Divide.]
[Coexistence Lv. 1
-Go together with the curse.]
Coexistence, huh.
Was that your goal?
Do you really think that makes sense?
Go together with the curse.
If you contract an incurable disease, you learn to live with it.
But a curse can be removed.
There’s no reason to go together with it.
Crack.
I felt a fracture appear in the [Barrier☆] skill.
A sweet and seductive voice echoed in my mind.
‘Because if you’re with me, you can make people even happier.’
I didn’t want to humor the curse’s nonsense, but my body wouldn’t move.
I had no choice but to converse with the curse.
“You’re saying a curse can make people happier? That sounds like something a demon would sing in a hymn.”
‘I know best what people wish for.
I was born from people’s desires.
In fact, after I intervened, there’s been more laughter inside Slime Land, hasn’t there?’
I couldn’t think of anything to refute that, and my mouth shut for a moment.
“It’s something I could have done even without your interference.”
‘Are you really sure about that?
This can’t be done because of this. That can’t be done because of that.
Weren’t you just hesitating, lost in all sorts of negative thoughts?’
“There’s a reason to hesitate, that’s why I hesitate.”
‘Is that really true?
I think you’re just worrying for no reason.
All I did was give you a little push from behind when you wanted to do something and were allowed to do it, but still hesitated.
But look at the results. Everything turned out to be something you could do, didn’t it?’
Suddenly, I remembered the Slime Land and scenery I saw before coming here.
‘When you hesitate like that, I’ll help you.
I’ll help you make people happy, just like you’ve been doing until now.’
“And in the process, you’re trying to control me?”
‘I’ve never controlled you. I can’t, either. All I can do is whisper to you like this. That’ll be even more true now that you have the [Coexistence] skill.’
“You did control me. I only managed to stop you when I came to my senses in the middle.”
‘You mean drawing people into Slime Land? That was something you wanted and wished for, too. Inviting people to leave a complicated and painful world and come to a comfortable, happy Slime Land-there’s nothing bad about that.
To people suffering because they don’t know about Slime Land, you’re telling them there’s a place this happy in the world.
What’s so bad about letting them know that?’
I thought of Sage, who’s been playing the Piano Slime with great passion lately.
If my Slime Land hadn’t become such a buzz among people, would an S-rank Hunter have taken an interest in something like a theme park?
Maybe Sage would have only become interested in Slime Land much later.
By then, he might have already completely given up on the piano.
Maybe the reason I could pull out a dream before it sank completely was thanks to my aggressive management style.
‘I’m on your side.’
“Don’t lie.”
‘I’m telling the truth. I even gave back your [Barrier☆] skill, didn’t I? If I were your enemy, I would have kept a skill like that locked away and never given it back.’
From the curse’s perspective, [Barrier☆] is a skill that should never be returned to me.
I kept wondering why it was given back.
And now you’re saying it was just a simple act of goodwill?
That’s far too bold to be explained away as kindness.
“You made me mistake you for Arrogance.”
So I brought up the curse’s misdeeds.
‘If you hadn’t mistaken me for Arrogance, you never would have listened to me.
Just because I’m a curse, you would have ignored everything I said.
Isn’t that right?’
If I hadn’t thought I should listen to others, I would have just denied or ignored everything the curse whispered to me.
Whether that was right or wrong.
“You also blocked the growth of the [Purification] skill.”
‘I don’t like pain. The flames of [Purification] hurt a lot, you know. Isn’t it admirable of me to wish for people’s happiness even while burning in that fire?’
I didn’t find it admirable, but I could understand.
If someone tries to fan the flames meant to burn me, of course I’d try to stop them.
‘Think about it. What bad thing did I do? I just pitched in a little to make the Slime Land you created a better place.
Did anything turn out badly because of that?’
No.
‘Isn’t it too much to deny me just because I’m a curse?’
Is it really right to deny a curse just because it’s a curse?
Is it right to eliminate a curse that’s being this friendly, just because it’s a curse?
If I defend that logic-
Then when people rejected me just because I was a slime, I’d have to accept that, too.
I don’t want that.
After everything I’ve done, I don’t want to be rejected just for being a slime.
But if I think about the curses that will remain, I can’t choose to coexist with a curse.
‘You can spit out and burn all the other curses.
I’ll help you.
Unlike the other curses, I just want to make people happy.
I’ll show you how to make people happy.
Let’s make people happy together.’
A great swindler knows the law inside out.
An outstanding hacker masters security technology.
If a curse specializes in plunging people into despair by denying their wishes, then it must know people’s wishes inside and out.
I have [Barrier☆] and [Purification+] as safety devices.
There are also the employees of AlchemySlime Company and my children as brakes.
Even if I go a little out of control, there are enough mechanisms to stop me.
As long as I remember to use [Barrier☆] and [Purification+] strongly whenever something tries to block my way, I should be fine.
Since [Coexistence] is still a skill, I should be able to use it weakly if I want.
My finger moved toward the [Coexistence] skill.
Tick.
I heard the sound of a clock.
I remembered Gisu saying he hated slimes.
I remembered the broken text Makina sent and the game we played then.
My finger stopped.
Instead, my mouth moved.
“What does happiness mean to you?”
‘Happiness is happiness.’
“Explain it in more detail.”
“How would you define happiness?”
“You’re lying.”
The fog in my head began to clear.
“I always wondered why you couldn’t fully hide your true nature. Is it that you get weaker just by denying yourself?”
It seems you’re fine with dressing up your other sides, but you can’t quite manage direct lies like that.
“What does happiness mean to you?”
‘To be free from all suffering, surrendering myself to endless tranquility. That’s what I think happiness is.’
There’s not much difference from what I consider happiness.
But there is a difference.
“What kind of place do you want Slime Land to be?”
‘A place where infinite happiness is given, a place where you can dream an endless dream-I want to make it like that.’
“How could you make a place like that?”
Humans are creatures that adapt.
If the same days repeat, they start to see that state as normal.
And people don’t think of normal as being happy.
To avoid that, things even happier than before need to keep happening, over and over.
‘Wouldn’t it be fine if everything you wanted came true?’
I realized what Makina meant when she recommended that city-building game.
I also remembered those who love Slimes and Gisu, who hates Slimes.
“People’s wishes are bound to clash.”
Even the same thing can be liked by some and hated by others.
The more Slimes spread throughout the city, the more people like it.
But for people like Gisu who hate Slimes, life just gets harder and harder.
‘Wouldn’t it be fine to give each person a space where anything they want comes true? You could do it, you know.’
Yeah, I probably could.
I just need to use the same method as with [My Own Story].
Throw a person onto that stage alone and make everything they wish for come true.
Could I give that kind of space to everyone who comes?
I can.
Just isolate them with the [Barrier☆] skill and compress it with the [Store+] skill.
“But there’s still a limit.”
It’s just like when you use cheat codes to enjoy a game.
Even if you gain omnipotent power, you’ll get bored after swinging it around a few times.
‘You just have to forget everything.
If you don’t remember, you can taste new happiness every time.’
With the power of a curse, something like that is probably possible.
Even I, with the [Purification+] skill, can’t escape the Swamp of Forgetfulness if the curse grows strong.
I don’t think an ordinary person could endure it.
“If you do what you’re saying, humanity will be destroyed.”
Everyone would live in their own world.
There would be no way for new life to be born.
In just a hundred years, humanity would be finished.
‘You just have to make a single night’s dream feel like a person’s entire life.
If you can feel happy for what seems like eternity, that’s enough, isn’t it?’
If the [Accelerate+] skill gets even stronger, I wonder if it could speed up only the dreams of the people inside Slime Land.
Maybe it could.
If a day stretched into a whole lifetime, anyone could live more than a million years.
Why would reproduction matter?
It’s no different from humanity surviving for over a million years already.
‘If we’re together, we can make a paradise that lasts forever.
A paradise with no aging and no pain.’
If there were days that weren’t happy, just forget them and repeat.
If you feel like your life isn’t happy, just start over.
Forget what you want to forget.
Live a life where everything you wish for keeps coming true.
That really is a utopia.
“That kind of place is where you go after you die.”
How is that kind of life any different from being dead?
“A world where everyone is happy. I’m sure it would be a wonderful place. But that’s a finished place. The happiness you want has no future.”
I took out the watch Ash gave me.
“In the world I made, something mysterious like this could never be born.”
There’s no way to create anything new.
Without hardship and adversity, people can’t grow.
Even people who seem to do everything perfectly.
Underneath it all, there’s always a mix of great effort and much deliberation.
A place where anything comes true?
Even I couldn’t make a place like that.
My limits are the limits of that world.
“No matter how happy a dream is, it’s still a dream.
People have to hold that dream and move forward.”
Dream your dream.
Wake from that dream.
Move forward to make that dream come true.
What’s the point if you just keep dreaming forever?
Now I understand the difference between the curse and myself.
The curse is trying to make each person happy.
It wants to sink everyone into a swamp of comfortable, peaceful happiness and turn them to stone.
It doesn’t care if humanity is wiped out as a result.
Each individual would certainly have been happy.
I know for sure now.
My wish is different.
“Slime Land is the land of dreams and hope.”
When you’ve lost your way.
When you don’t know what you want to do.
When you have to give up what you were doing.
Come, recharge, and then leave.
“I want Slime Land to be a place where you dream for a moment and then leave with hope.”
Not the final destination of happiness.
I want it to be a place you just visit briefly before moving on.
When you’re struggling, come and make your dream clear.
I want it to be a place where you get the strength to run again and then move on.
Only then.
Only if everyone pursues happiness and works for it.
The world will become happier than I ever imagined.
It’ll become happier than my own limits.
[Would you really like to acquire the Special Divide skill?]
[The skill will activate immediately upon acquisition.]
[Once the skill is used, it cannot be canceled.]
‘What a shame. If we were together, we could have made people happy.’
I felt as if something that had soaked deep into my body was being torn out.
“Ptooey.”
A <Curse Fragment> with a sinister glow popped out.
<Curse Fragment>
-A portion of the curse forged from deep resentment.
■■ The one dearest to you will ■■ sink into the Swamp of Despair ■■ and meet their end at your hands ■■■!
[You have overcome Despair five times.]
[A suppressed trait is partially activated.]
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the cursed text looks concerning. i wonder is that how the ending will go