Chapter 136: Midway Through the Event.

The giant monster Mother soaring through the sky.

Me, gazing down at the ground from inside her.

For some reason, it feels like I should say something like ‘I will stand in the sky.’

Just kidding.

Why would I send Mother, who’s busy managing Slime Land, up into the air?

It would be fun, though.

A service that comes to you.

Like a circus that travels to its audience, I could go around the world and invite people who normally wouldn’t be able to visit Slime Land.

It’s just on a bigger scale.

But on the outside, it would look exactly like a giant monster swallowing people whole.

Since it’s still a concept that’s too soon for humanity to accept, let’s save the idea of Alchemy Slime’s moving theme park for later.

More importantly, right now it’s time to focus on Water Land.

With the [Pressure+] skill, there are a lot of things that need to be adjusted.

Making things fly isn’t all the [Pressure+] skill can do.

There are many ways to use it.

Of course, Water Land is fine as it is right now.

I started the event because I was confident that even at this level, I could satisfy people.

But if there are things I can improve, not acting just because it’s a hassle or a bother is not setting a good example.

As someone in a leadership position, I can’t show that kind of attitude.

If I give the [Pressure+] skill to the boss, I can create scenes with even more tension.

It’s also good to intimidate the opponent visually with sheer impact.

Still, if there’s a mysterious sense of pressure, the boss will feel even stronger.

Giving a sense of pressure as a sign the boss is about to appear could work too.

If your body suddenly feels heavy, you’ll feel a sense of foreboding and tension.

If I give monsters the [Pressure+] skill, I can make their movements even more bizarre.

Like, they clearly jumped forward but then move backward.

Or move at high speed without moving a single joint.

They could even perform irregular maneuvers in the air.

I could apply it to horror genres too.

That sensation of sleep paralysis.

The feeling of something invisible grabbing your ankle.

Or making it so you can’t move your body at all, only your head and eyes.

There are a lot of sunken ships in the deep sea, and among them are things like ghost ships.

Some ghost ships have an action vibe, but others have a horror vibe.

Besides ghost ships, there are also places like caves where vengeful spirits live.

Since it’s summer, I’ve prepared places where you can feel a scary atmosphere.

I think it’s good enough already, but if I leave it to Lee Doa and Uh Byungwook, they’ll make it even more chilling.

Lee Doa has a knack for jump scares that come out of nowhere.

Uh Byungwook is an expert in creeping, insidious fear.

Even just thinking for a moment, so many ideas come to mind.

Let’s discuss the rest with our think tank.

I’m sure we’ll come up with a ton of fun ideas.

But before that, there’s one part that needs to be improved first.

“Everyone, gather up. It’s time to upgrade the Mascot Slime.”

The enforcers in charge of security must always be stronger than the customers.

I took Mascot Slimes from the retired Hunters and modified them.

“I’ve added flight functions. Try it out.”

The retired Hunters began trying out various things wearing their Mascot Slimes, following my orders.

“Whoops.”

[10] [10] [10]

Accidentally pulling off a triple axel.

“Clumsy.”

“That was a new technique just now, you know?”

“Crashing headfirst, you mean?”

Colliding in midair.

“I am I-” Beep~!!!

Wobbling through the sky and then pulling off a superhero landing just before crashing to the ground.

After some trial and error, the mascots started getting the hang of it.

“Punch!”

Flying through the air with a fist outstretched, like a hero wearing red underwear on the outside, and striking a scarecrow.

“Kick!”

Leaping straight up, then accelerating to deliver a flying kick.

“Take this!”

Delivering showy attacks, like charging headfirst in a standing-at-attention pose.

The retired Hunters’ movements, which had been so mascot-like, gradually became smaller and simpler.

“I keep unconsciously stepping with my feet.”

“Exactly. There’s no need to, though.”

The movements became simpler, but the trajectories of their attacks grew stranger and stranger.

It looked like someone was grabbing a game character with a mouse and shaking it around while it attacked.

There was even a penguin who, while kicking, slid backward to dodge an attack, returned to its original spot, and struck back.

Another penguin who, from far away, swung a sword down and then accelerated rapidly to slice through the opponent.

And a penguin who grabbed axes in both hands and spun wildly in all directions, hacking away at enemies.

“Everyone’s adapting quickly.”

“When you think of it as getting a new skill, it’s a process we’ve all gone through many times.”

“And we’ve been put through the wringer by the president too.”

“Of course, we still need more practice.”

“And more research as well.”

The Mascot Slime corps, already strong, became even stronger.

I can’t wait to see what kinds of new forms the dogs and cats armed with Slime will show.

The more I think about it, the more limitless the uses for this [Pressure+] skill seem.

I really got a great skill.

***

The Water Land event has already reached its midpoint.

Even if people started playing the game at the same time, there are always differences.

There were some who stood out more than others.

The gamer pirate crew that recruited the barbarian warrior was one of them.

In the beginning, they made a lot of profit with the human torpedo build, but as time went on, countermeasures were quickly found.

The simplest way was just not to go to the rapid current sea zone. At the border between the regular sea zone and the acceleration sea zone, the power of the human torpedo build was halved.

Just by not going to the rapid current sea zone, you could avoid the gamer pirate crew’s attacks.

But as the game progressed, there were more and more times you had to travel to distant islands.

To save time, the importance of the rapid current sea zone increased.

More people started using the rapid current sea zone, even at the risk.

The gamer pirate crew targeted these people.

As time passed, other countermeasures were discovered too.

The human torpedo was a technique with many limitations.

The areas where it could be used were restricted, and above all, its attack range was extremely limited.

Because the attack relied on the acceleration of the current and the centripetal force of the rope, if the enemy was too close, the power would drop drastically.

And there was the drawback that your speed would drop rapidly if you left the rapid current sea zone for another zone.

If there was a section where you had to go against the current, your speed would drop even more dramatically.

A decrease in speed meant a decrease in power.

The faster you went, the more powerful the human torpedo build became, so this was even more pronounced.

So when an opponent spotted the gamer pirate ship, they would actually charge straight at it.

And that wasn’t all.

As the game progressed, ships were upgraded a lot too.

Their movement speed increased, of course.

The highlight of naval battles.

More and more ships were being equipped with cannons.

An upgraded human torpedo, if it hit at top speed, could sink the enemy ship in one blow.

But it seemed like our own ship would be smashed to bits before it could even hit.

In fact, the gamer pirate crew didn’t have to stick to the current-based human torpedo method.

Human torpedoes carrying explosives could simply swim over and attack the enemy directly.

That was much more reasonable.

Or you could just put a cannon on your ship.

But the gamer pirate crew weren’t the type to act so rationally.

The more restrictions and difficulties there were, the more fired up they became.

And these monsters managed to stay in the lead even with such irrational choices.

“Target spotted!”

“Good! After them!”

The enemy must have spotted the gamer pirate crew too, because they changed direction.

They made a U-turn to approach, moving away from the rapid current sea zone.

“Fire the human torpedo!”

If you leave the boundary of the rapid current sea zone like that, the human torpedo will slow down, so even if it hits, its power will be much reduced.

The method the gamer pirate crew chose to solve this problem.

First, they firmly secured a barbarian warrior to the ship.

They attached a very long stick to the barbarian warrior’s axe.

At the end of that stick, they tied a rope connected to the human torpedo.

And then.

“Now!”

“Hup!”

The barbarian warrior swung the stone axe upward.

Like bait on a fishing rod, the human torpedo soared above the water’s surface.

If your speed drops when entering another sea zone, just don’t enter another sea zone in the first place.

Gamers are people who learn from failure.

The experience of fishing up a fish with a human torpedo became their nourishment.

“Yeehaw~! Torpedo delivery!”

Watching the human torpedo fly through the sky, the captain of the trade ship shouted.

“You lunatics!”

“Thanks for the compliment!”

Bang!

***

The Water Land event has NPCs and guides.

Some NPCs repeat the same lines endlessly like characters in a game, and there are actors who play roles too. Some people enjoyed talking with them.

A lot was revealed through those conversations.

-There is a sea god there. Do not approach under any circumstances.

There are always people who do what they’re told not to. Especially in games, forbidden things usually have the best rewards.

-There was once a pirate who completely dominated both the surface and the depths of the sea. He was so fearless, he went to challenge the sea god himself, boasting that he could even defeat the sea god. But he angered the sea god and was punished. Still, one surviving crew member supposedly shouted this:

“That sea serpent didn’t sink our ship! The world’s greatest ship is still there!”

Just like that.

There’s a treasure?

A treasure that could instantly put you in the lead?

Of course you’d go,

and so many ships headed for the sea god’s waters.

-The sea god loves treasure. If you’re unlucky enough to catch the sea god’s eye, offer up treasure to avoid disaster.

Some people used this information in reverse, using treasure as bait to lure the sea god.

And then they met.

The same monster that appeared in the video shot by SLimelove.

It wasn’t even a fight.

They were swallowed whole, treasure and all, in an instant.

The inside of the giant monster was completely different from a normal creature.

It was more like a rafting course filled with human malice than a living organism.

Whether it was swimming with its mouth open or not, water endlessly poured in from behind, forming a rapid current.

Hard protrusions stuck out everywhere, damaging the ship, of course.

Occasionally, tentacles would shoot out from the walls and attack the crew.

The flow of water would shake violently with every movement of the monster.

There was no way a ship you got only halfway through the game could survive in such an environment.

“[Scream Course] Die, designer!”

Shouting what had become a catchphrase, the man lost his plank and sank.

And was excreted out the rear end.

News of this sea monster’s existence spread instantly.

And it ignited people’s desire to challenge it.

The flesh inside the sea monster was like slime, and all sorts of loot flowed through it like blood.

If you hunted this monster, you’d get all that loot.

On top of that, the monster was so strong it was clearly set as a raid boss.

If you took down this guy, you’d achieve some amazing achievements.

Treasure and achievements inside the sea monster.

You’d definitely earn a reward that would rocket you up the rankings.

Even those already at the top couldn’t rest easy.

If you didn’t participate in the sea monster raid, you could be overtaken.

How could you subdue this sea monster?

An employee of the largest trading company in Water Land testified as follows.

-The very first company president is said to have returned from the sea with the world’s fastest ship, the world’s strongest weapon, and more treasure than you could count.

A certain sailor, always drunk and hanging out in the tavern, said this.

-There’s an island that usually stays submerged, but only rises to the surface on nights with a full moon! I saw it myself!

The monster of a certain island died screaming like this.

-My sibling under the sea will avenge me!

There were hints everywhere that the real stage of the event was under the sea.

“We’ve saved up enough money.”

The captain of the gamer pirate crew said.

“Let’s modify the ship and head for the sea floor too.”

The main event had begun.

***.

More and more people are heading for the sea floor.

Now that the existence of the raid boss Lily has been revealed, there’s been a surge in people targeting her.

It’s true that Lily is the final boss.

But that’s only true for people who enjoy fighting.

Taking down Lily doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll get first place in achievement points.

You can also earn a lot of achievement points by trading with the undersea city.

Or you can rack up achievements by exploring secret areas.

Fighting isn’t always the answer.

In fact, if you only look at the speed of reaching the sea floor, the battle maniacs aren’t even the fastest.

The explorers are already roaming the sea floor, whether they ride on the back of a turtle, on a lotus flower, or pass through caves-using all sorts of methods.

When it comes to the speed of earning achievements, none of the combat, exploration, or trade routes can be called particularly superior.

Even in the parts that were hastily revised, there were no problems.

The balance is being maintained without any issues.

The Water Land event is proceeding smoothly, just as predicted.

The unexpected incident didn’t happen in Water Land, Slime Land, or under the sea.

It happened in a place no one could have predicted.

With narrowed eyes and a Pack Slime stuck to his face.

Wearing a Wig Slime that scatters purplish light.

An all-purpose solution that looks incredibly suspicious.

Hans Obeson.

He brought children from overseas.

It wasn’t kidnapping.