Chapter 128: <Enhanced Diving Slime>

Hunter Choi Daeheon from the Peace Guild sighed as he reviewed the information gathered by the scouting team.

“Daeheon hyung, what’s wrong?”

“Hey, we’re screwed.”

Choi Daeheon handed the report to his teammate, Lee Dohyeon.

Upon checking it, Lee Dohyeon grimaced.

“Why is this coming to us? What is the Marine Guild even doing?”

“How would I know?”

The environments inside dungeons are diverse.

Sometimes a jungle appears, sometimes a mountain, sometimes a snowy field, sometimes a desert, and sometimes a city or ruins.

Preferences vary depending on the environment.

If a city or ruins appear, it’s a jackpot since there’s a high chance of artifacts being hidden there.

Jungles and deserts are generally disliked. Jungles are full of various insects, and deserts are harsh environments in themselves.

Both are undesirable, but which one is worse is an endless debate.

-Have you ever been tormented by all sorts of bugs in a jungle? If you haven’t, don’t even talk. How dare you compare it to a desert.

└There are plenty of venomous insects in the desert too, you know? And their poison is nastier.

└You wouldn’t say the jungle is harder unless you’ve been parched in the desert, desperate for a single sip of water.

└And have you ever gotten sick from drinking purified water with alchemy potions in the jungle?

Whenever things got boring, a contest of ‘Who has suffered more?’ would break out.

This debate reached a turning point with the appearance of <Slime>.

The <Mosquito> series, including <Mosquito Hell Slime>, <Lure Light Slime>, <Mosquito Repellent Slime>, <Mosquito Extermination Slime>, and <Bite Relief Slime>.

Armed with the penguin set consisting of <Raincoat Slime>, <Boot Slime>, and <Glove Slime>, most insects were no longer a concern.

Unless it was a giant insect monster capable of swallowing a person whole, whose teeth could pierce through <Raincoat Slime>.

But being bitten by such a monster is too exceptional to simply call it an insect bite.

And large insect monsters can be easily dealt with by throwing a <Mosquito Extermination Slime> into their mouths.

The biggest issue in jungle dungeons, insects, was resolved.

-Insects? Just use the <Mosquito> series and it’s over. Jungle < Desert, case closed.

└Insects in the desert are taken care of with the <Mosquito> series too!

└Insects were never the main issue in the desert, you know? It’s the heat and lack of water.

└Heat? Use <Raincoat Slime>. Water? Use <Humidifier Slime>. Problem solved!

The contest of who suffered more never ended.

However, there was a type of dungeon that could silence both sides instantly.

-Got assigned a marine dungeon.

└Hang in there.

└Good luck.

The dungeon that hunters voted as the worst was none other than the marine dungeon.

Though very rare, there were dungeons set in the sea.

Here, even the penguin set, which could be useful in hot or cold environments, offered no solution.

Penguins may swim well, but they aren’t fish.

They can’t breathe underwater.

<Raincoat Slime> can store a decent amount of air.

However, it can’t keep you active underwater indefinitely.

You could buy items like underwater breathing potions or carry oxygen tanks, but there was a bigger issue.

Namely, resistance.

Underwater, your senses become a complete mess.

Wearing the penguin set reduced water resistance, making combat relatively easier.

Even so, there’s no way you could fight with the same senses as on land.

Since the release of <Slime>, raiding marine dungeons has become easier, but many difficulties still remain.

There are guilds like the Marine Guild that specialize in handling such marine dungeons.

However, since marine dungeons don’t appear that often, even the Marine Guild usually tackles regular dungeons.

From the Marine Guild’s perspective, they can’t just abandon the dungeons they’re already working on.

If the timing is bad, they might refuse to handle a marine dungeon even if one appears.

Handling migratory dungeons is a hunter’s duty.

Whether you like it or not, there are times when you have to deal with them due to assignments.

Sometimes guilds exchange dungeons, but no guild would take on a marine dungeon.

No matter how much he racked his brain, Dohyeon eventually concluded that they had to go in themselves and lamented.

“I wish it would just cause a dungeon break instead.”

“Hey, don’t say stuff like that.”

The monsters that emerge from marine dungeons are all sea creatures. Most of them can’t breathe on land.

If a dungeon break occurs, they flop around and suffocate to death.

You can raid the dungeon easily without any danger and obtain monster materials and mana stones.

Because of such advantages, some countries simply leave marine dungeons alone when discovered.

But there are problems that arise from this.

The area where a dungeon break occurs becomes dead land.

“They do that overseas, though.”

“Korea has limited land, you know.”

Countries with vast territories often leave dungeons alone if they’re too burdensome to handle or not cost-effective.

Dead land increases, but since they have an abundance of land, it’s not a significant issue.

Nowadays, due to the anxiety caused by curses, the people might protest and demand they be dealt with.

Korea has limited land. With so many mountains, it’s not like you can just build roads everywhere.

If a dungeon is left alone to cause a break and the monsters that emerge take root on a highway and create another dungeon, it would be a disaster.

“Anyway, Alchemy Slime can heal dead land now, right?”

“If you rationalize things one by one like that, it’ll turn into a mess.”

“I know. I was just saying. Sigh… Should we at least practice with a game at Slime Land?”

“It won’t help much, but it’s better than doing nothing.”

It had been a long time since Daeheon and Dohyeon last fought underwater.

At Slime Land, there’s an FPS game that lets you experience a sensation similar to an underwater environment.

It would be better to prepare in a similar environment before diving headfirst into the real thing.

“I heard it’s pretty popular these days. Do we need to make a reservation? Do they even take reservations?”

Dohyeon, who was looking up information on his smartphone, stopped his fingers.

“Daeheon hyung.”

“What?”

“Alchemy Slime is releasing swimsuits, apparently.”

“You’re not suggesting we wear swimsuits to raid a dungeon, are you?”

Since it’s an item made by Alchemy Slime, it must be a swimsuit that helps with underwater movement.

But fighting monsters in a dungeon wearing just a swimsuit is suicidal.

Even <Raincoat Slime>, which is reputed to keep you unscathed in a traffic accident, wouldn’t withstand the charge of a swordfish the size of a car rushing at over 100 km/h.

If even <Raincoat Slime>, which covers the entire body, is like that, a single swimsuit is far too dangerous.

“It’s not just swimsuits; they’re also making diving suits, it seems.”

“Diving suits might be useful, then.”

It would definitely be much better than regular clothes.

It would be even better if it outperformed wearing <Raincoat Slime> when going in.

Daeheon and Dohyeon headed to Slime Land.

As they entered the [Shopping Course], two <Dedicated Guide Slime>s bounced over to them.

“Hey, good to see you. Hyung’s here.”

Daeheon greeted them warmly, and the <Dedicated Guide Slime> waved a sign, welcoming him back.

“Hyung’s <Guide Slime> looks a bit different, doesn’t it?”

Dohyeon noticed a difference between the <Guide Slime> that approached Daeheon and the one that came to him.

He hadn’t noticed it before, but seeing them side by side, the subtle differences were apparent.

“<Dedicated Guide Slime> responds according to the care you put into it.”

“Hyung….”

“Seriously?”

Daeheon is a Tank. Full-body armor is his main gear.

Wearing full-body armor in dungeons like jungles or deserts felt like being in a steamer.

As an Awakened, he could endure it, but it was indeed distressing.

He overcame such inconveniences by using various <Slimes>.

Since then, Daeheon praised <Slimes> at every chance he got.

“Most people don’t know this, but <Dedicated Guide Slime> is literally dedicated. The same one always comes to you. So, if you interact with it, you can build a bond. Plus, there’s a nurturing element to it. If you give it gifts or spend time together, it starts showing different reactions, you know?”

Dohyeon also acknowledged the convenience of <Slimes> and loved using them.

But listening to such endless praise inevitably got tiresome.

“If you put that attention into a woman, you’d probably have two kids by now.”

“Hey, get over here.”

Daeheon chased after Dohyeon, but Daeheon is a Tank and Dohyeon is a Damage Dealer. Their agility was different.

Eventually giving up the chase, Daeheon turned his gaze away from Dohyeon and asked his <Guide Slime>.

“I came to look at swimsuits. Can you guide me? The purpose? I need to enter a marine dungeon, so I’m looking for diving tools.”

Daeheon’s <Guide Slime> bounced ahead, taking the lead.

They entered a store with swimsuits made using <Slimes>.

The <Guide Slime> didn’t stop there and went into a secluded corner, then passed through a wall.

Following it through, a hidden store appeared.

“See? If you love it, it responds in kind.”

Daeheon said triumphantly.

“Even if I asked my <Guide Slime>, it would’ve guided me here, right? Isn’t that so?”

At Dohyeon’s words, his <Guide Slime> showed no reaction at all.

“Seriously….”

Realizing he had entered a secret shop not open to just anyone, Dohyeon felt a bit remorseful.

But since he didn’t want to admit it, he looked around.

The tools here were clearly different from what he’d seen passing by the stores outside.

They looked much sturdier.

Looking at the product descriptions, he could immediately tell why there was such a difference.

The items here were mixed with Hunter-exclusive gear.

“Didn’t Alchemy Slime not make gear for Hunters?”

“There’s <Explosive Web Slime>, isn’t there?”

“That’s the only one. And judging by how they hardly increase production, it’s not their main focus either.”

The only Hunter-exclusive <Slime> made by Alchemy Slime is <Explosive Web Slime>. It’s an alchemy tool that explodes on impact when thrown at an opponent, binding them. It’s very useful for hunting small or medium-sized monsters, but because the Alchemy Center foolishly stationed the product page in a hidden spot, it didn’t see the light of day for a long time. Once the product page was moved to an accessible location, it quickly gained popularity.

Quite a few Hunters lamented, ‘This is why I didn’t tell anyone about it.’

Now that it’s selling well, they could drastically increase production, but Alchemy Slime didn’t do that.

As if they were determined to focus on the ordinary person market.

“Are they finally planning to enter the Hunter market?”

“Well, I think it might be a bit premature.”

Alchemy Slime is an S-rank Alchemist, but there are six other S-rank Alchemists in the world. Not to mention them, as long as there are Grade A Alchemists below them holding their ground, expanding market share in the Hunter market won’t be easy.

Until now, since their fields were different, there wasn’t much interference, but if they invade their territory, the story will change.

“I’m sure they have their plans.”

“True. Why are we worrying about an S-rank Alchemist anyway?”

The two looked around at the products.

Daeheon, being a Tank, picked a fairly thick <Enhanced Diving Slime>, while Dohyeon, a Damage Dealer, chose a thinner <Enhanced Diving Slime>.

The <Guide Slime> waved its tentacles at Daeheon and then held up a sign.

“There’s a place where I can test it out?”

Once the message was conveyed, the <Guide Slime> bounced along, guiding Daeheon.

The destination was a training center.

There was a training facility where you could set the dungeon environment and the strength of attacking monsters.

“This is amazing.”

“Exactly.”

There are training centers here and there, but facilities where you can set the environment like this are extremely few.

Training facilities where you can set a marine dungeon environment are nonexistent.

After finishing the settings, the two Hunters put on their <Enhanced Diving Slime> and started training.

As expected of something made by Alchemy Slime, the <Enhanced Diving Slime> was exceptional.

It would take some training, but they could move freely enough to disregard being underwater.

The training center was impressive too.

Even knowing the monsters were fake, they felt quite threatening.

“I’ve got to tell the team about this.”

Daeheon decided to buy the <Enhanced Diving Slime>.

When he went to pay, Daeheon’s <Dedicated Guide Slime> gave him a discount coupon.

“A discount? Thanks.”

Dohyeon looked at his own <Guide Slime>.

Daeheon laughed at Dohyeon, who was being ignored by his <Guide Slime>.

“Alright! I get it! I just need to treat it better, right?”

***

Summer has returned.

It’s a season when accidents often happen while playing in the water.

Last year, I was busy making <Insole Slime> and <Pack Slime>, so I let it pass, but this year I have quite a bit of breathing room.

So, I decided to make and sell swimsuits.

The design was intentionally made rugged.

Because it’s an item made for safety.

The price was set quite high too.

So, even if articles or posts come up saying Alchemy Slime is out to kill companies again, I plan to ignore them.

If the design was outstanding or offered amazing cost-effectiveness to the point that people wanted to buy it despite sacrificing safety, then even if I sold swimsuits, they’d keep selling.

I have no intention of showing consideration for those who sell ambiguous products that are neither here nor there.

Honestly, I put more care into <Enhanced Diving Slime> than the swimsuits.

I asked our retired Hunters which dungeon they disliked the most.

Except for one, they all picked marine dungeons.

That one was a Hunter who could exert more force underwater, so they were an exception.

Since it was almost unanimous that marine dungeons are tough, I made <Enhanced Diving Slime> for use in marine dungeons.

“Hunters these days really need to thank the president.”

“Back in our day, we didn’t have anything nice like underwater breathing potions. In my time, we went down with a plastic bag full of air and a sword, you know? When the plastic bag tore, it was really nerve-wracking.”

“At least take an oxygen tank with you.”

“The monsters in the dungeon were cunning and targeted the oxygen tank first. It was something I barely managed to get.”

Our retired Hunters grumbled and envied to the point that <Enhanced Diving Slime> turned out really well.

Since the sensation on land is different, adaptation will be needed, but with enough practice, hunting monsters will be much easier than before.

In fact, our mascots adapted quickly and showed quite impressive forms.

I also made a training room for practice.

Unlike outside, inside Slime Land, there is Mother.

The movements of <Monster Slime> controlled by Mother are quite good.

The more people train, the more Mother learns, and the movements will get even better.

Slime Land’s military power will keep rising.

The reason I’m suddenly paying attention to military power?

Because if a dungeon problem breaks out, I have to solve it myself.