Chapter 3: The First Video

[Trait: Slime Lv. 5

Skills:

Decompose Lv. 6.

Absorb Lv. 6.

Analyze Lv. 5.

Divide Lv. 4.

Control Lv. 4.

Transform Lv. 1.]

[Transform].

Doesn’t sound like a pleasant word.

It’s usually used when food spoils and becomes inedible.

“Is this how you use it?”

[The Transform skill has leveled up to 2.]

<Plain Water Slime>

– A slime in the shape of a tasteless, odorless orb. Can be used for hydration.

Compared to the first time I made it, the description has expanded.

Must be the effect of the [Analyze] skill leveling up.

<Salty Slime>

– A slime in the shape of a salty orb. Can be used to replenish water and salt.

<Sweet Slime>

– A slime in the shape of a sweet orb. Can be used to replenish water and energy.

<Sour Slime>

– A slime in the shape of a sour orb. Has sterilizing and appetite-stimulating effects.

<Bitter Slime>

– A slime in the shape of a bitter orb. Might be good for your health?

What’s with that last one? Is my Analyze skill level too low?

Either way, I can manipulate the components however I want.

In that case.

“Hiyah!”

My arm began to slowly take on a flesh tone.

“Ugh…”

Even to the eye, the texture looked weird, so I touched it.

The outer layer was still smooth like a slime’s skin, not human skin.

[The Transform skill has leveled up to 3.]

Before long, I couldn’t maintain it anymore, and my arm instantly turned bluish again.

This time, I changed it to white and used the [Divide] skill.

<White Slime>

– It’s white.

When divided, the transformation remains, but if it stays connected to my body, it reverts.

Still, there’s a glimmer of hope.

I might be able to disguise myself for a short time.

Suddenly, an idea came to mind.

I enlarged my hand and used the Divide skill while recalling the original shape of my hand. Then, the slime around my hand maintained that shape and detached from my body.

Slime Glove complete.

The inner membrane of the Slime Glove was smooth, and my skin was soft enough to make actresses in skincare commercials jealous, so it peeled off easily.

Mascot Suit.

I think I can make one.

First, I puffed up my body.

But I couldn’t grow beyond a certain size.

[Insufficient mass.]

I don’t really have anything to eat.

It’s a waste, but do I need to eat food?

No, wait. If it’s just about mass, water should be enough.

I gulped down water.

Then tried again.

[Transform skill level is insufficient.]

Because of the large amount of water I drank, my body’s overall color became lighter. When I tried to change it to something else, a notification popped up saying my Transform skill level was too low.

Why are there so many restrictions? I really need to level up fast.

I refocused and used the [Control] skill.

Since my [Transform] skill has limits when it comes to color changes, I made the outer layer pale. The deeper it goes, the darker it becomes, so the parts in contact with my body wouldn’t let light through. I shaped it into a stiff, opaque material like thick fabric in the form of a round fishbowl, then coated it with slime. I made the eyes using a fine mesh pattern coated with black slime and created the hood in the shape of a helmet with a visor. Inside the head, I built a mount for a voice recorder. Lastly, I added a slit on the back to wear and remove it, and another slit at the bottom for bathroom use. Now I just need to use [Divide].

“Ugh…”

I gathered my scattered focus and maintained the [Control] and [Transform] skills.

“Yap!”

I used the [Divide] skill.

[The Divide skill has leveled up to 6.]

[The Control skill has leveled up to 6.]

[The Transform skill has leveled up to 5.]

[Mana has been depleted.]

The world spun around me.

***

For a moment, I hoped I had turned back into a human because the world was dark.

But realizing it was because of the black mesh and visor, I went to the bathroom.

In the mirror stood a slime wearing a mascot suit.

It looked a lot like a penguin onesie.

My mouth turned a little bitter, but I decided to think positively.

Mascot suit creation: success.

I put on clothes over it, recorded a video with my smartphone, and checked it from various angles.

No matter what, no one would be able to tell there’s a slime inside.

“It’s pretty cute.”

Because of the light coming in from the side, the mascot suit sparkled and looked quite pretty. Who would’ve thought drinking water due to lack of mass would lead to this?

This is what you call a blessing in disguise.

I took off the mascot suit and cut off a finger, tossing it into my mouth.

I can use the [Divide] and [Control] skills without issue.

I learned that using skills consumes mana, which naturally regenerates over time.

“I feel hungry.”

It’s a bit different from regular hunger.

It’s like the drained feeling you get from walking too long without eating properly.

It’s a shame, but let’s eat some ingredients.

Since it’s come to this, might as well practice.

While boiling water, I took out all the ramen in the house.

It’s only three packs, though.

I also took out the side dish container and picked up some seasoned bellflower root with chopsticks.

Come to think of it, I can’t use this side dish in the broadcast anyway.

If I make a video with my mom’s homemade food, it’ll just look fake, and I’ll get scolded for playing with food. If I’m lucky, she’ll just call, but if she comes over, it’ll be a headache. And if I eat all the side dishes, she might make more and bring them over. I really hope she doesn’t come, so I need to avoid that.

I tilted my head back and dropped the bellflower root into my mouth.

Plop.

The bellflower root slid cleanly into my mouth.

Crunch crunch.

Great texture.

I picked up another piece of bellflower root and dropped it in.

Another perfect landing.

I’m not even putting it directly into my mouth, so why is it going in so well?

It feels like my body is moving with more precision.

Without looking, I tossed the bellflower root upward.

It landed right in my mouth.

Back when I was human, I couldn’t pull off tricks like this.

To think I had worse motor skills than a Slime that doesn’t even have a single nerve strand. That’s embarrassing for a vertebrate.

Well, I don’t have a spine now, anyway.

Just as I finished the seasoned bellflower root, the water started to boil.

I put in the ramen and started eating the braised burdock root.

By the time I was halfway through, the ramen was fully cooked.

I picked up a bit and put it in my mouth.

The way I’m eating this looks kind of lame.

I checked the footage, and yeah, it does look lame.

Mukbangs are supposed to be bold and satisfying.

Grabbed a big bite and popped it in.

Three bites with chopsticks and all the noodles were gone.

It looked like I ate a whole pack of ramen in one bite.

It’s flashy, but ramen really comes alive in videos when you slurp it. Maybe raw ramen is better for mukbangs?

I don’t think my video will go viral, but I still plan to show it to my family.

If I’m going to explain why I’m living in a mascot suit, I need to at least look like I put in some effort.

Downed the broth in one shot.

Even if it’s hot, it’s no problem!

Still, my skill level isn’t going up. At first, just a little salt would boost it like crazy.

Anyway, I’m no longer hungry.

If I hadn’t become a Slime, I’d probably still be playing the game from yesterday.

“Guess I should study editing.”

I’m not planning to upload raw footage, so I don’t need to study super hard. Still, I need to know how to cut or mute anything weird or anything that might reveal my identity. Since I’m not going to talk, I also have to learn how to add text and subtitles.

Since it’s a mukbang, I don’t have to worry much about sound effects, which is a relief.

It’s not just editing-I also need to learn how to tag, set up hashtags, and make thumbnails.

I do wonder if I really need to go this far.

But I will.

Even if no one watches, if I’m going to tell my family I’m doing WTube, I need to make it look legit.

***

I woke up again, and my arms were still all squishy.

Let’s think positively.

No wrinkles, no blemishes, no moles, no acne scars.

I got transparent skin that would make a singer gasp, an actor jealous, and a CF star cry, without spending a single penny. Some people spend tens of millions for skin this smooth.

Imagine doing a skincare commercial with this skin. I’d get hundreds of thousands of subscribers and make millions.

Seriously, it’s a shame to keep this to myself.

“…Let’s keep studying.”

I’m not particularly hungry.

I don’t even need to use the bathroom.

Along with several human desires being stripped away, I also don’t feel sleepy, though I can still sleep.

That’s a real blessing.

Having to stay awake for 24 hours without the escape of dreams would be mentally unbearable right now.

Will there ever come a day when I’m grateful I can use all 24 hours of the day?

While studying video production, delivery packages started arriving one by one.

I set up the equipment and looked at the footage on screen.

“Oh, I look kinda cool?”

Thanks to the lighting, the mascot suit looked pretty stylish.

But the background was the problem.

The beige checkered wallpaper behind the shiny Slime looked ridiculously out of place.

Should I coat the walls with Slime?

Living in a mascot suit, I’ve realized something.

As a Slime, my soundproofing is pretty impressive.

If I wallpaper the room with Slime, I might be able to drastically reduce noise.

I was worried about sound leaking into the mic when I tilted my head back, but this fixes that.

And it looks way better than regular wallpaper.

“Ptoo.”

<Sticky Slime>

– A Slime that hardens by absorbing moisture from the air. We are not responsible if your fingers get stuck during use.

I applied the sticky Slime to the wall.

<Soundproof Slime>

– A Slime that eats sound. Free yourself from noise!

I spread the spongey, fluffy Slime on the wall.

I didn’t have enough mass to do the whole house, so I just did the wall behind the filming area for now.

“Not bad.”

After covering the wall in a deep ocean blue and filming, the vibe turned out pretty nice.

I actually considered going with black.

When I looked up silent eating mukbangs on WTube, the backgrounds were usually black.

Probably to help viewers focus on the food and the person eating.

In some videos, even the clothes were black to draw attention to the food and mouth.

But I’m wearing a flashy Slime mascot suit, so there’s no way the focus will be on the food.

And viewers usually focus on the mouth, but I have no intention of showing mine.

Considering all that, I decided a background color that fits my character would be better.

And though I didn’t plan it, the way I tilt my head back to eat looks a lot like a penguin swallowing a big fish. The blue background enhances that effect even more.

Alright, let’s give it a shot.

The first mukbang is this.

A delicacy that, just a few hundred years ago, only nobles could eat in some places.

Now, it’s a beloved ingredient that nearly everyone eats.

It’s mass-produced these days, and few foods can compete with it in terms of calories per cost.

WHO’s recommended daily intake is 25g.

The lethal dose for a 70kg man is 2kg.

I placed the whole bag on the table in front of the camera.

Thud.

The heavy thing that made that sound was sugar.

The devilish white powder that, if two people eat 4kg, one of them ends up dead.

That seductive powder-15kg.

Not 150g, not 1.5kg, but 15kg.

If I upload a video of me eating this, everyone will think it was edited as a joke.

Because if someone eats that much sugar in one sitting and lives, they’re not human.

***

After filming, I carefully checked to make sure no Slime flesh was visible.

Since there was nothing majorly problematic, I immediately created a WTube channel and uploaded it.

I also made a 15-second short of just the part where I scoop sugar with a cup and pour it into the mascot’s mouth.

But I don’t think anyone’s going to watch it.

Who would watch a rigged mukbang that doesn’t even show the mouth?

That’s what I thought.

But a day after uploading the video.

“?????”

Just one video.

A mukbang that doesn’t even show the mouth eating.

The only thing being eaten is sugar.

Anyone can tell it’s fake.

And yet, the views on that video were insane.