Chapter 30: Vacation over!

The former convenience store clerk, now W-tuber BeautyLime, who experienced an unexpected encounter, rolled around on the floor.

She needed to film a broadcast, but her face was absolutely not something she could show viewers right now.

She was a beauty W-tuber. She needed to act out expressions that matched her makeup and clothes.

How could she act out expressions when her cheeks melted limply every time she recalled today’s encounter?

She held the card she was hugging tightly and read the contents again.

[I’m enjoying watching your broadcast. You can talk about meeting me today on your broadcast, but please hide my fashion sense. I ask you this ♡ -From SLimelove to BeautyLime.

PS. Because me being Alchemy Slime is a secret?]

♡!

At the force of her heart, which felt like it would pop out every time she saw the heart, she rolled around on the floor.

‘PengRhyme. I love you too.’

Not a note, but a firm card with a texture similar to <Insole Slime>.

The words were embossed on it.

It wasn’t something that could be made on the spot.

Just when did he prepare such a card?

He wouldn’t have predicted they would meet like this today.

PengRhyme is clearly not just a W-tuber and Alchemist, but also a magician.

BeautyLime turned her head, looked at the hat that had become her second treasure from today, and grinned widely.

If anyone touched that, it was war.

Her first treasure was, of course, the card with the heart drawn on it.

She staggered up and picked up the hat she had carefully put away.

She covered her face with it and took a deep breath through her nose.

A pleasant fragrance filled her nose and lungs.

Would Courage smell like this?

Smelling it gives her strength.

No matter how much PengRhyme, if a human wore that much, it wouldn’t be strange even if they were soaked in sweat.

There was no smell of sweat.

‘Actually, isn’t PengRhyme a fairy?’

He was cursed by a terrifying skull and became his current form.

The reason he does W-tubing is to gather people’s love, regain his original form, and return to his hometown.

‘He shouldn’t go back.’

The fear that if she kept loving him, he might always return to his original form and go back to his hometown.

But PengRhyme is someone she absolutely cannot help but love.

BeautyLime, caught in that dilemma, carefully put the hat away, then rolled on the floor, agonizing.

Then she looked at the card and grinned widely again.

Ding.

An alert that a new video had been uploaded to a subscribed channel made her jump up.

Worry about it later. Now is the time to watch the video.

The video she watched was not a mukbang, but an announcement.

“PengRhyme doll!!!”

If she had to choose between <Singing Slime> and <Penguin Slime>, it would definitely be <Penguin Slime>. No matter how you looked at it, this was a PengRhyme doll!

Just as she was about to leave a comment and check if the comments she had left so far were sufficient, she suddenly recalled the conversation she had with PengRhyme today.

“Do you want a SLimelove doll if one comes out?”

She played the video from the beginning.

-And one person who gave the idea for this product.

‘Could this be me?’

“Keoheok.”

BeautyLime clutched her heart and collapsed.

In her fading mind, she added one more job to PengRhyme’s list.

He, who was a W-tuber, Alchemist, magician, and cursed fairy.

Was also an assassin trying to burst her heart.

***

Crunch.

She chewed and swallowed the candy.

In the past, she didn’t eat food unless she was filming a mukbang. She mainly ate a lot of monster materials to raise her level instead of food.

She wasn’t originally someone who took good care of herself by eating, but that got worse when she was mentally stressed.

Now she just eats for fun too.

It’s not a good habit if you’re trying to raise your level.

If you eat a lot of the same type of ingredients, the experience point acquisition rate decreases. Whether you eat it as sugar or as candy, there isn’t a big difference in the amount of experience points you can get, but the price difference is several times.

In the past, she ate considering cost-effectiveness.

“Hohoho. If there’s no sugar to eat, you can eat cake, right?”

Now she earns so much money that she can say things like this.

If, in the early game, she was short on money and fed each character cost-effective potions separately.

It’s like just drinking a full recovery potion for all characters when money overflows in the later stages.

She also stopped caring about receiving a lot of deliveries.

She was going to move anyway.

She checked her account.

She had roughly 5.8 billion won.

This wasn’t enough to buy the house she wanted.

She should start earning money soon.

Of course, our Gongdori is still working hard now and sending me money. He diligently churns out <Insole Slime D>, <Insole Slime+>, <Pack Slime>, <Pack Slime C> while feeding on alchemy waste and magic stones from the machines at the Seoul Central Alchemy Center, sending about 230 million won a day.

The one not earning money is me, the main body.

Since the day I spat out <Curse Fragment>, I stopped sending out the <Mosquito> series.

There are no particular aftereffects, but the person called the team leader told me to rest, so I’m just resting.

I wanted to see what kind of response the Seoul Central Alchemy Center would show during this opportunity when I went on strike.

But the Alchemy Shop kept selling the <Mosquito> series? Even though the sold out email was right there in my inbox?

They weren’t replicas.

They were genuine <Mosquito> series with the <Jjin-Poom!> Slime attached.

It was easy to figure out the reason.

These humans.

They had been hoarding stock.

According to the contract between me and the Seoul Central Alchemy Center, they hold full distribution rights.

An email is automatically sent when items are sold out. They don’t inform me of the stock status in real time. They would probably tell me if I requested it. But with that, I can’t figure out how much stock the Seoul Central Alchemy Center holds.

Why?

Because they didn’t accumulate my property without selling it, but rather bought it from me and accumulated it on their end.

So the <Mosquito> series being sold now isn’t my property. It’s the Alchemy Center’s property.

These humans just kept saying I had no stock while not selling the items they had secured.

It’s a little vexing, but let’s think positively.

You encounter dirty things while earning money.

There were good things too.

Thanks to that, I was able to avoid the disgrace of a long-term stock shortage.

They also expressed their sincerity by sending materials and tools that shone brightly and emitted sacred light.

What I’ve suffered so far can be repaid in the future.

-This is Counselor Park Taeyang.

“This is Alchemy Slime. It’s been a while.”

-It has.

“Actually, I have a small favor to ask. Can you grant it?”

-Please state it.

“I’m planning to hold an event on WTube, and it’s troublesome for me to send the prizes myself, so I was wondering if you could handle it?”

-Our Seoul Central Alchemy Center is not a errand service-

“Then I think I can comfortably resume work. And while I’m at it, I’ll increase the daily production volume of my Slime there.”

–That’s right.

“Thank you. I’ll send the materials right away. Oh, and I have one more favor to ask.”

When I conveyed my request, Counselor Park Taeyang readily agreed.

-Understood. That’s originally our job anyway.

“Please take care of it.”

-By the way, how much do you think the production volume will increase?

“I can’t increase it as much as last time. At most, about 20%? I made some Elixir of Growth based on the glittery things you sent last time, and it seems to have a decent effect.”

Of course, I didn’t actually make anything like an Elixir of Growth.

Becoming a 1 Star has improved my overall abilities.

It feels like a pipe that was clogged and leaking water little by little has been slightly unclogged. Using skills has become much smoother.

The determination to return home also came from the confidence that I can maintain the [Control] and [Transform] skills for longer.

These changes weren’t limited to just me.

Our Gongdori also became a 1-star Slime.

Saying it like this makes it sound kind of insignificant, doesn’t it?

Anyway, the amount our Gongdori can produce has increased significantly.

But the Alchemy Center can’t do good deeds for free.

As much as they’ve used me so far, I should use them just as much.

“Oh, and I’ve decided on a house. Number 8.”

-…Of all houses, that one?

“Isn’t it ridiculously cheap for its value?”

-As you may know, that house is….

“I’ve considered it thoroughly and made my decision. Please take care of the contract and loan.”

-Since it’s the kind of property it is, the loan review might take a bit longer.

“My daily income is 200 million, you know? And it’s expected to become 300 million soon.”

-Mortgage loans are determined based on the value of the house. The house you’ve chosen, Alchemy Slime, has significant instability, so there may be disadvantages.

“What about a credit loan? I have a lot of income, don’t I?”

-Even if you apply for a credit loan, Alchemy Slime, you had no income last year, and the period of income this year is short. It’s highly likely that the loan amount will be determined based on the evaluation of a Grade D Alchemist.

“This is ridiculous. Is it even possible to live as a freelancer with this kind of treatment? I might as well work hard and buy it with cash.”

-It won’t take that long. We’ll do our best to get approval as quickly as possible.

“Still, just in case, I should increase my cash reserves.”

-Will you be sending the <Mosquito> series?

Counselor Park Taeyang sounded a bit excited as he said that.

No matter how much I’ve stockpiled, it’s about time to run out.

Alright, it’s a matter of mood.

I’ll meet that expectation.

“Correct. I’ll send the 100,000 units I’ve made so far right away.”

-…Could you repeat that?

“100,000 units. In English, that’s 0.1 million. Congratulations. It’s the stock you’ve been longing for.”

-D-Did you make this in just a week?

“Yes. I got a bit of a FEEL~ this time, so this is the result of my hard work.”

-An amount close to three times your usual output?

“I had a small realization this time. They say failure is the mother of success, and it’s true. Burning time is over, so I can’t keep up three times the output, but from now on, I’ll make and send about 10,000 units a day.”

-I-Is that so….

Counselor Park Taeyang let out a sound of pure joy.

The <Mosquito> series I sent before was 5,000 units a day. I’ll push in 20 days’ worth at once and send double the amount of items from before going forward. On top of that, our Gongdori’s production volume increased by 20%!

A Grade D Alchemist must pass a safety inspection for 15% of their products.

I can hear the complaints of the safety inspectors all the way here.

A sudden flood of water is always dangerous.

If coordination fails, work could come to a standstill.

And the one likely handling that coordination is probably Counselor Park Taeyang.

Not just the safety inspectors, but he’ll also have a hard time. I wonder if he’ll have any hair left.

It wouldn’t be surprising if a strike happened soon, would it?

Oh, wait, can public officials even strike?

Still, the loan will come through, right? Emergency hiring is happening too.

Everyone, fighting!

***

A food ingredient as hard as stone and good for the eyes.

It’s fine to eat raw or grilled with butter, but when boiled whole, it becomes tough, so it’s often shunned overseas as a seafood.

When you put this in and boil it into porridge, it becomes a nourishing dish in itself, the Emperor of the Sea.

Abalone.

100 pieces.

As I tilted my head back, a gap in the Slime suit opened at an angle not captured by the camera.

The abalone I tossed high slipped right in between.

Crunch. Crunch.

I took a big bite of the sea.

It’s fresh, arrived in good condition, huh?

I immediately tossed up the next abalone.

After chewing and swallowing all 100 abalones, I waved my hand.

Today’s Mukbang ends here.

I turned off the camera and chewed and swallowed the teeth and shells I had set aside.

After swallowing everything down, I tossed a plum into my mouth and started editing the video.

It’s been two months since I became a Slime.

It’s been almost two months since I became a W-tuber as well.

My starting point and the biggest contributor that got me to where I am.

Sugar Shorts.

Currently at 230 million views.

In terms of both visuals and sound, it surpasses the initial Sugar Shorts, the Colorful Sugar Mukbang.

230 million.

Besides sugar, there are many successful videos.

Counting the originals rather than Shorts, videos surpassing 1 million views include Sugar, Colorful Sugar, Tanghulu, Delivery Friend, and Ice Cream. Especially Sugar and Colorful Sugar, both exceeding 4 million.

There are even more Shorts surpassing 10 million views.

The videos I’ve uploaded recently also have decent view counts.

Gochujang Mukbang? I’ve never uploaded such a video.

The reason for suddenly checking the SLimelove channel is that I want to make use of this a little.

Before spitting out the <Curse Fragment>, I excluded it from my options out of fear of mutual decline.

Originally, sales and WTube synergize well.

WTube is a great place to promote products.

I’m not saying I’ll promote existing products.

The <Insole>, <Pack>, and <Mosquito> series are already selling excessively well without promotion.

The <Explosive Web Slime> is a bit of a sore spot, but since it’s made for Hunters, promoting it here wouldn’t have much meaning.

Alchemy potions.

I want to challenge the market for consumable alchemy potions.

The reason for challenging that market?

Money.

The unit price there is a bit higher.

This is half a joke, though.

Alchemy potions and alchemy tools. Both are alchemy products, but the boundary between the two is quite distinct.

Being good at making alchemy potions doesn’t mean you’re good at making alchemy tools, and being good at making alchemy tools doesn’t mean you’re good at making alchemy potions. Once your image is set as specializing in one, it becomes hard to challenge the other. It’s like an actor with a fixed image struggling to take on different roles. People will ask why you’re meddling in the other field when you should just keep making the alchemy tools you’ve been making, and you have to prove yourself from scratch.

Before that happens, it’s better to break into the alchemy potion side as well.

But edible Slime seems to be a bit premature for humanity, you know.

There was a Slime Mukbang channel before, but that channel got bombed and sank.

Anyone who messes with a small Slime gets totally screwed. Completely screwed.

Even if you search, there’s no one scavenging around the shipwreck looking for something to eat.

The perception that Slime isn’t something to eat is widespread in society.

In this situation, challenging the alchemy potion market would just result in a few gravestones next to the sunken ship.

“I need to change the environment first.”

An old promotional expert once said.

Don’t directly promote the product; create an environment where the product can sell.

First, I need to plant the idea in people’s minds that Slime can be used as food.

“Here is <Insole Slime>. It’s something for your feet, but right now, it’s my lunch. Munch munch, it’s delicious.”

Not in this way, though.

In a more sophisticated manner.