Chapter 133: First Day at Water Land.

If you sell <Slime> cheaply, I’ll take care of the internal territorial waters.

But handle the open sea on your own.

Hmm…. Is this the kind of story it is?

If you sell tools cheaply, I’ll clear the snow in front of my house.

As for the other roads, take care of them yourself.

However, you’re free to set up stalls and do business on those roads.

But you must not block the use of those roads.

And you must not fully develop the areas around the roads.

I guess I can take it roughly like this.

It’s basically a declaration that dungeons in the open sea won’t be treated as humanity’s public property like deep-sea floor resources.

There’s a story about not touching undersea resources, but to some extent, they won’t say anything even if you do.

There’s no proper way to check whether they’ve been touched or not.

There might be a need to touch them in the process of clearing dungeons.

This is walking a subtle line again.

Even though dungeons tend not to form often in the sea, the area is just so vast.

In terms of area, wouldn’t it be comparable to the combined territories all countries in the world claim sovereignty over?

Half of the world.

They’ve essentially handed over the rights to the dungeons existing in that vast area to me.

Moreover, it seems they’ve given me not just the resources obtained from raiding dungeons, but also the resources from collapsed dungeons.

There are immense dungeon resources lying dormant in the deep sea.

Up until now, mana stones, monster materials, and artifacts from collapsed dungeons have sunk to the deep-sea floor.

Over the long years, some must have weathered away, some must have drifted off, and since they were on dead land, the mana probably hasn’t remained intact either.

Mana stones would be hard to retrieve, monster materials likely wouldn’t be in good condition, and artifacts are highly likely to be damaged.

Even so, to me, all of those are resources to run my [Analyze+] skill on and gain information from.

They’re lumps of experience points for leveling up.

To put it in perspective, it’s like they’ve given me all the rights to shipwrecks sunk in the open sea.

I definitely need to clarify this part.

Anyway, this is how I’m going to take it.

Up to this point, it’s about collapsed dungeons.

The rights to mana stones, monster materials, and artifacts obtained from raiding non-collapsed dungeons all belong to me.

Dungeons are generally high risk, high return. This rule doesn’t always apply, but dangerous dungeons can yield quite valuable items if you can raid them.

Also, Jeongju Dungeons are of great value. Because you can continuously obtain resources from a place where the danger level doesn’t change much, guilds are desperate to secure the rights to them.

I don’t necessarily have to obtain the resources myself.

I can build something like a deep-sea elevator at the location of an undersea dungeon and leave it to others.

If it’s a Jeongju Dungeon that produces expensive resources, I could even build a small village on the sea or under it.

Lastly, this proposal isn’t finalized; it’s just a draft.

I have Hans, who I suspect might be using alien technology to shoot brainwashing beams at people.

Once we have a clearer agreement, I’ll likely secure even more rights than what’s currently proposed.

Hans is going to be busy.

***

The young man, a Guardian of [Slime Hunting] and a middle school emo-phase archer, also participated in the event.

Whether Water Land would suit his taste, as someone who prefers simple games without a story, was unknown.

Still, if a game company he likes releases a new game, trying it out for a bit is the right attitude for a gamer.

As soon as Water Land opened, he jumped in, but even after several hours, he couldn’t start the game.

‘The freedom is way too high!’

It’s an event many ordinary people participate in. The young man had planned to cosplay as an ordinary person.

But the moment he saw the level of customization freedom, that thought flew out the window.

There were a formidable number of samples, and he could mold the appearance freely like clay.

If he wanted, he could even base it on his real appearance.

There was also a voice recognition function.

“Sharp and cool, but with a subtly warm vibe, and an appearance that naturally draws attention.”

Even speaking like this resulted in a pretty good-looking appearance being completed.

Of course, the young man had no intention of customizing it that way.

He crafted every detail from head to toe, stitch by stitch.

The outfits were also incredibly varied.

[This outfit can be obtained in the game.]

It wasn’t an initial outfit but one that could be obtained in the game.

In other words, obtaining it could be set as a goal.

The middle school emo-phase archer crafted his ideal form.

It became a very satisfying form.

If he meets someone he knows, he’ll definitely pretend not to know them.

[Please select your starting point.]

The young man chose [Random].

After all, his goal was to collect outfits scattered somewhere in the world and complete his ideal form.

Since it was an adventure toward something whose location he didn’t even know, he thought starting at a random place would be enough.

And if possible, it would be better to start with good gear that isn’t easily obtainable.

The young man landed in an unfamiliar place.

It was a forest filled with astonishingly tall trees.

As he wandered around a bit, he locked eyes with a pair of huge eyes.

“Ah, hello?”

Koeeeek!

“This isn’t right!!!”

The young man immediately started to run away.

A giant dinosaur chased after him.

“A dinosaur? A dino~saur? They said it was the island of mythology! This is a prehistoric island!”

Rolling, running, jumping.

Thanks to the physical enhancement of his avatar, he somehow managed to escape.

“I’m a strength archer, okay! Not an agility archer!”

Shouting in the forest wasn’t a wise move, but it didn’t matter right now.

After all, the giant dinosaur chasing him was already causing a huge commotion.

It was better to just do whatever he wanted and relieve some stress.

When he was in his Guardian state of [Slime Hunting], he wouldn’t have shouted like this, but right now, without weapons or proper clothes, roleplaying wasn’t working well.

As he escaped the forest, his view suddenly opened up.

A deep valley awaited him.

“I don’t need to follow this kind of cliché!!!”

The young man didn’t stop and kept running.

He leaped with all his might toward the land beyond the cliff.

He flailed his legs, desperately running through the air, but fell just a bit short.

“Uwaaah! Argh!”

He desperately stretched out his hand.

His fingers caught a small ledge, barely avoiding a fall.

His avatar-enhanced body gave him physical abilities rivaling the protagonist of an adventure game.

Relying on that small ledge, he pulled himself up.

Climbing up the cliff, he looked back.

The dinosaur that had been chasing him stopped on the other side of the valley.

The dinosaur chasing the young man was something between a reptile and a bird.

Its arms were closer to wings, and it had feathers on its body.

But its build was so large that it clearly couldn’t fly.

The dinosaur, looking down into the valley, turned its body around.

“Hahaha! You chicken head! Serves you right!”

As expected, without a bow, cheap behavior came out.

Was that a bad thing?

The dinosaur that was leaving stopped in its tracks.

It lowered its stance and prepared to jump.

“Hey, it’s a fake, right? Right?”

The dinosaur started running.

Lifting its massive body high, it flapped its short wings.

Its appearance looked just like a chicken.

A chicken is a creature that sometimes shows surprising jumping ability.

Thud.

The dinosaur safely crossed the valley and landed.

“How about we call it a draw?”

Koeeeek!

“Aaaah!”

The young man started running away again.

Fortunately, the long jump seemed to be a burden for the dinosaur as well, so it couldn’t chase immediately, allowing him to gain some distance.

Running with all his might, a stone staircase appeared before the young man.

As he ran up it, there was a crude axe, seemingly carved from a meteorite, on a stone altar.

The young man was gripped by serious conflict.

He was an archer.

No matter what game he played, he always chose to be a bowman.

Even if people called it trash, he stuck with the bow.

And he paid great attention to the appearance of his gear.

Even if it meant compromising a bit on stats, he prioritized the look of his equipment.

Even if people called him a casual gamer, that was his style.

He disliked crude weapons that looked like something a primitive person would use.

It wasn’t just a matter of not matching his taste; he outright hated it.

And since it was an axe instead of a bow, it was even more of a minus.

Thud thud thud.

But the axe looked incredibly powerful.

Not only was it clearly placed in a very important location, but the aura emanating from the axe itself was extraordinary.

It felt like a weapon that could split the earth with a single swing.

Thud!

The dinosaur leaped and landed on the altar.

Koeeeek!!

“Aaaah! Just this once!”

With tears in his eyes, the young man gripped the axe with both hands.

Strength surged through his entire body.

As he kicked off the ground, his body accelerated in an instant.

With that momentum, he slashed through the dinosaur’s neck and passed by.

No blood came out.

The dinosaur’s form crumpled like a slime and collapsed.

In its place, a treasure chest remained.

[Achievement unlocked.]

-Discovered an ancient altar for the first time.

-Obtained an ancient mythology weapon for the first time.

-Defeated an area boss for the first time.

-Vanquished a monster.

-One-hit kill-

-.

Checking the achievements he hadn’t noticed in the chaos, a large number of them had been unlocked.

The young man looked at the axe in his hand.

As expected, he didn’t like its appearance.

But it was an ancient mythology weapon.

It must be an incredible weapon.

He opened the gear description window and read it.

It was an extraordinary weapon with a grandiose name attached.

It had just shown tremendous power, yet the description said it hadn’t even unleashed its true strength.

“….”

The young man prioritized the appearance of gear even if it meant compromising a bit on stats.

However, that was only for slight compromises.

Giving this up wasn’t just a slight compromise.

‘Let’s endure it just this once.’

If he gave this up and tried to make a bow and arrows from twigs, he wouldn’t even survive leaving this island.

Making such excuses to himself, the young man opened the treasure chest.

He froze on the spot.

“This isn’t right. This is really not right.”

Inside the treasure chest was armor made of dinosaur hide and feathers.

He checked the gear description.

The young man closed his eyes tightly and equipped the gear.

There was no mirror, but the avatar had a function to display its appearance.

The young man checked his current form.

“….”

The middle school emo-phase archer had changed jobs to a barbarian warrior!

***

In front of me were pirates, frozen stiff, looking up at me.

These were fresh rookie pirates who had just escaped the clutches of ill-tempered penguins and made it to the sea.

“Uh….”

“Yes.”

“Did we do something wrong?”

“Yes. I heard there were gutsy rookies blocking the entrance to Pirate Island, so I came to check.”

Even if piracy is allowed, if a PK group blocks the entrance right from the start, I have no choice but to intervene.

Haven’t you ever played an online game?

Awakening usually happens in your 20s, so it wouldn’t be strange if you had some experience.

The Water Land I designed is for all ages.

It’s not a hardcore game overflowing with bloody fights between people.

It’s a casual game that even kids can enjoy, overflowing with dreams, tentacles, hope, and slimes.

Even in hardcore games, PK is restricted around starting villages.

What kind of nerve do you have to block the entrance and hunt beginners?

Did you think I wouldn’t intervene if you engaged in piracy against other pirates?

“Let me introduce ourselves. We are the Seagull Slime Pirates.”

“P-Please spare us!”

“Hey, I’m not going to kill you.”

The Seagull Slime Pirates smashed the ship the rookie pirates were on.

“Glub! Glub!”

“Kids! We’ve got a big catch!”

The pirates who fell into the water were caught in nets by penguins and dragged back to Pirate Island.

For the time being, they’ll be harassed by ill-tempered penguins while saving up money to buy a ship. Or they could steal one and escape.

How they escape is up to them.

I’m not planning to put any particular restrictions when dealing with people acting as NPCs.

I’ll step in when they interfere with other customers’ enjoyment.

“Huh?”

A notification came in saying a pretty significant achievement has been accomplished.

An ancient mythology weapon has already appeared.

There are always lucky people in this world.

Some even stumble upon great fortune after falling off a cliff.

Since I’ve placed various clichés here and there, quite a few people will likely have such experiences.

Is it okay to give out such a weapon already?

An ancient mythology weapon is indeed a very good weapon.

However, it’s not to the extent of breaking the balance.

It’s ancient mythology.

In some games, anything labeled ‘ancient’ might be superior to mythology, but in Slime Land, it’s different.

It would be strange if ancient weapons were better than modern ones, right?

Technology is bound to advance with time.

Especially if it’s military power.

That axe is indeed a powerful weapon that allows you to take down an area boss in one hit.

As long as you hold it, there’s no rival on that island.

Even so, it’s just the starting island.

Even the creature that looks like a dinosaur is actually just a big, ferocious chicken.

No matter how random the start is, I’m not planning to hand over the strongest weapon right from the beginning.

Besides, the main focus this time isn’t on land but under the sea.

The truly powerful weapons are beneath the ocean.

That said, you can’t treat a weapon with the grand title of ancient mythology too lightly.

That weapon is set as merely a meteorite imbued with powerful energy, shaped into the form of an axe.

You can’t say its true power has been unleashed.

Every time an ancient, crude weapon carved with old technology is refined with advanced technology, it will become a cooler and more powerful weapon.

Deal with people who seem too much of a nuisance.

Watch those who achieve extraordinary accomplishments, whether through luck or ability.

Go to Ash, who’s sweeping up achievements, give him a piece of my mind, and exclude him from achievements ‘for the first time.’

In this way, the first day of the event passed safely.