Chapter 54: College entrance exam event.

<Plane Slime>, huh.

Now that I think about it, <Plane Slime> absorbs radio waves, so radar wouldn’t work on it.

If I make it transparent, it’d be hard to spot with the naked eye too.

Why am I thinking of messing with airlines and coming up with a <Stealth Plane Slime>?

If I set my mind to it, I could probably make one.

But let’s not, since it feels like that would lead to military conflict.

To establish a <Slime Land Slime>, you need land first.

For now, I want to buy James Theodore’s <Pandora>, so I’m putting off buying land. Also, handling construction myself would be a hassle. How am I supposed to know the laws about building amusement parks? Are buildings made 100% out of slime even classified as buildings in the first place?

The fact that I’d have to actually go out and build it myself is also a problem.

It’d be hard to take on such a large-scale project right away.

If travel agencies and airlines hadn’t messed with me, I never would’ve thought of any of this.

I get why the other companies did, but why did these two mess with me?

All I did was attract foreign tourists to Korea.

Let’s just make some winter products.

Unlike before, winter products need to account for energy supply.

In winter, I can’t use the [Convert] skill to turn heat into mana.

Performance and energy consumption.

Normally, you’d give up one or the other.

I didn’t want to give up, so until now I just kept refueling them.

The early <Pack Slime> would lose lifespan the dirtier you used it. If you wiped off heavy makeup often, you could barely use it a few times.

Now it’s the opposite. The dirtier you use it, the longer its lifespan.

That’s thanks to improved performance of the [Decompose] and [Absorb] skills.

Just like how a human digests food.

If you run a calorie deficit during digestion, you starve to death, but if you have enough calories, you get energy.

In the past, if you didn’t eat high-calorie foods, you’d lose weight.

Now, even if you eat a little, you gain weight.

If a <Slime> eats sweat or grime, its lifespan increases.

But there’s a limit to how much the lifespan can increase.

That’s a maximum lifespan I set on purpose.

If you could use something for the rest of your life just by buying one, new products wouldn’t sell!

Well, that’s half a joke.

It’s a safety mechanism so that even if there are unforeseen side effects or the <Slime> is misused and can’t be recalled, it’ll naturally disappear.

There’s been more than one or two times <Slime> has stabbed me in the back or blindsided me.

How was I supposed to predict people would use <Pack Slime> as a vitality booster?

How was I supposed to predict people would use <Gargle Slime> as a laxative?

How was I supposed to imagine people would use <Random Jelly Slime (Extremely Spicy Flavor)> as a dementia treatment!

Since people keep coming up with uses I never expected, I have no choice but to add safety features.

Who knows? Someone might come up with a way to use my <Slime> as a weapon of mass destruction.

And then there are side effects.

Actually, there was a side effect I secretly fixed.

The early <Slime> was designed to draw in mana from its surroundings to work. Recently, I’ve been making them so they use as little outside mana as possible.

Because people don’t just use one or two <Slime>s.

<Insole Slime+> on your feet, <Pack Slime> under both arms and around your neck, <Pack Slime C> inside your hat, on your chest, between your thighs, <Mosquito Repellent Slime> on your wrists, <Pillow Slime> in your pocket.

Just with that, you’re wearing ten <Slime>s on your body.

Even with power strips, plugging too many things into one is dangerous.

If the <Slime>s attached to your body all absorb mana, there’s a high chance you’ll end up mana-depleted. Even if they’re designed not to absorb mana from your body, there’s still a risk of depleting the mana in your surroundings.

Imagine a subway full of people with slime stuck all over their bodies during the morning commute.

There would be mana dead zones all around.

Not just in one or two places, but all along the subway lines.

It’d be like the entire Seoul subway underground turning into a mana dead zone.

I have no idea what would happen if it got that bad.

After realizing that kind of dangerous situation could happen, I started designing <Slime> to be as self-sufficient with mana as possible.

The fact that their lifespan increases with energy supply is just a bonus.

The basic design is that once the mana I put into the <Slime> at the start runs out, that’s it.

Is that too short?

Thank you for your repeat purchase.

Why am I so obsessed with <Slime> lifespan?

[Yeonseul, you’re not making padded jackets?]

Because I saw a post like this.

No matter how much I rack my brain, padded jackets are too hard.

Making them is easy.

<Padded Jacket Slime>

-A slime that wraps your body warmly. It might even stop a handgun bullet?

Padded jackets are the worst when it comes to energy supply.

Since you wear clothes underneath, it can’t even absorb sweat.

Since it’s cold outside, it can’t absorb heat either.

You don’t use it to wipe off dirt.

My <Slime> is basically a consumable.

Who would wear a padded jacket for just a week and throw it away?

That’s why I don’t want to make padded jackets.

<Raincoat Slime>

-A slime that keeps your body warm. Whether it’s rain or snow, I’ll protect you.

A raincoat is enough.

As long as it insulates, there’s no need to make it so bulky.

I make it deliberately like a disposable raincoat.

That way, no one will try to force themselves to use it for a long time.

You say raincoats don’t look good enough to wear every day?

I’m a slime who wears a fluorescent rainbow space hoodie.

Don’t expect fashion sense from me.

Still, maybe I’ll make it feel a bit like SLimelove. I’ll make the hood stick out a bit in front. I’ll make it so you can raise the collar at the neck. The eyes… If you want to, you can draw them on with <Coloring Play Slime (for Slime)>.

<Glove Slime>

-A slime that keeps your hands warm. Don’t worry, you can still use your smartphone.

Gloves that feel like latex.

Hmm… Should I make them so they can change into three shapes: mitten-like gloves like my own hands, webbed hands, or just regular gloves?

Outerwear and gloves. If I have those two, that should be enough for now.

Let’s think about the next product when it starts snowing and the ground begins to freeze.

***

The senior exhaled a breath that froze in the air.

The day had finally come.

Unfortunately, a meteorite didn’t crash into the school, so the college entrance exam wasn’t canceled.

Not only was there no blizzard, there wasn’t even a single cloud in the sky.

There was no sign of an earthquake, either.

Looks like I really am going to take the exam today.

No matter how I think about it, I feel like I haven’t studied enough and get anxious.

On the other hand, I’m excited that after today, I’ll finally be free from this endless test-taking life.

My steps are light, but also heavy.

The bus drove down a road so empty you’d never see it like this on a normal day, and arrived at the school where I’d take the exam.

In front of the school, it was packed with people cheering, but for a senior assigned to a school all alone, it felt like someone else’s business. My parents were too busy to see me off, too.

As soon as I entered the classroom, my heart started pounding like crazy.

At this rate, I felt so nervous I might not be able to take the exam properly.

If I mess up the first test, I’ll lose my mind and probably screw up the rest too.

Instead of a calming pill, I pulled out the <Pure Jelsl> I brought.

As I tore open the packaging, I made eye contact with the student sitting next to me.

He was holding a <Pure Jelsl> too.

“Pfft.”

We both burst out laughing at the same time.

As soon as I put the <Pure Jelsl> in my mouth, a cool, sweet flavor spread all through the inside of my mouth.

“Mine’s lemon flavor. What did you get?”

“Mint choco.”

“Tough luck.”

“What do you mean, tough luck? I’m lucky!”

“Mint choco is lucky?”

“You haven’t tried <Pure Jelsl> mint choco? It’s on a whole different level from other mint choco, you know?”

“Still, it’s mint choco.”

After bickering, we stepped out into the hallway under the stares of those around us.

There, we burst out laughing again.

“Why are we arguing about this right before the college entrance exam?”

“I know, right.”

We exchanged names and even contact information.

“Good luck.”

“You too.”

When I returned to my seat, all my nerves had vanished.

Mint choco really is the best.

The heat that had been rising to my head faded away, and the sweetness made my head spin.

For some reason, I had a good feeling about this.

—

The mint choco senior came out, shaking his dazed head.

The lemon senior from the next seat came out with him.

“What are you going to do?”

“I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Don’t you have any friends?”

“What about you? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to the PC bang to play games.”

“Hey.”

Just then, my smartphone notification went off.

It was a message from the Alchemy Shop.

[Special event for exam takers.

Students who verify themselves as exam takers can buy three Alchemy Slime products.

Thanks for all your hard work taking the college entrance exam.]

“Amazing.”

“Hey. What are you going to buy?”

“Three sets of mint choco gargle.”

“Are you crazy….”

“What about you? What are you going to buy?”

“<Raincoat Slime> and <Glove Slime>. And <Pure Jelsl>.”

“You really want a raincoat?”

“Yeonseul made it, so I’m sure it’ll be useful if I buy it.”

“Maybe I should get a raincoat and gloves too.”

***

When someone becomes famous and the things they sell are excellent, strange things start to happen.

[Alchemy Slime. Specially giving exam takers a chance to buy three <Slimes>.]

People praise you just for giving them a chance to buy something.

If you think about it normally, it’s just an ad.

It’s not even a sale.

Other shops and companies spend a fortune on ads begging people to buy their stuff.

All I did was send a message to people who had bookmarked Alchemy Slime in the Alchemy Shop.

But it gets written up in articles.

They say when you get famous, people applaud even if you poop.

There are about 430,000 exam takers. Not all of them will have bookmarked Alchemy Slime in the Alchemy Shop, and not everyone has money.

Roughly calculated, that’s 1.2 million units.

I’ve been steadily stockpiling since that day I spat the curse.

Securing inventory is done. Unless all the demand goes crazy and focuses on just one or two products, I can handle it.

Sales will probably come out to around 12 to 15 billion won.

The money I get is about 10 billion won.

That’s an enormous sum, but for me right now, it’s not enough to make a fuss over.

I make about 3.7 billion won a day.

Two-thirds of that comes from America.

Since they don’t do safety inspections, don’t take commissions, and even send more volume than Korea, I make double the money in America compared to Korea.

After I buy <Pandora>, I might need to think about where to spend my money.

Ding.

Counselor Park Taeyang sent me the order list from this exam taker event.

There are quite a lot of sales for <Raincoat Slime> and <Glove Slime>.

Yeah. I knew this would happen.

Now that the college entrance exam is over and everyone’s feeling liberated.

I figured everyone would want to try out the new products.

Since they’re all young, once they get the goods, they’ll probably take a ton of photos and post them on social media.

They’ll do all sorts of experiments too.

This should be enough promotion for <Raincoat Slime> and <Glove Slime>.

***

[Tips for beginner gardeners]

There are probably quite a few of you who don’t know how to grow flowers but ended up having to because you got them as a gift.

In those cases, you might kill them by giving too little water.

Or the roots might rot from too much water.

The leaves might dry out from dry wind and hot sunlight.

For people like that, here’s a simple way to take care of your potted plants.

Put <Pack Slime> on top of the potting soil.

Pour in plenty of water, and that’s it!

Simple, right?

-Why did it turn out this way?

-Do you have money to burn.

-If it’s an expensive plant, it’s worth trying.

-This is seriously the best. No bugs, either.

—

[How to make 3 million won a month growing orchids with <Pack Slime>]

“First, I’ll verify the transaction details.”

(photo)

“This method has been spreading by word of mouth, and I don’t think it’ll work as well in winter, so I’m sharing it now. Just don’t forget to hit ‘like’ and ‘subscribe.'”

—

[The air will get drier from now on. Let’s overcome it by growing hydroponic plants.]

I grow carrots, radishes, scallions, and sweet potatoes at home and eat them.

Using hydroponics.

When it comes to hydroponics, some people find it hard to manage because of moss and green algae, or get overwhelmed when mosquitoes breed in large quantities.

I make it simple by using this.

Wondering what this is?

It’s <Pack Slime>.

—

Plants, huh.

Not satisfied with sticking it on your body, now you’re growing plants with <Pack Slime> too.

Just how far are you planning to go.

But why is this kind of video suddenly showing up?

There’s no reason for it to pop up if people aren’t searching for it.

Did the plants people got in May start dying off?

Isn’t it already too late even if you look it up now?