Chapter 64: Became a Grade B Alchemist.

Comic Fest.

A festival for people involved in doujin activities.

Since the number of products was limited, people gathered in crowds and waited even before the doors opened.

Thanks to <Slime>, the number of people who have experienced open-run has increased significantly. As a result, order was being kept quite well.

Even if order is maintained, when so many people gather in one place like this, the smell and heat tend to build up and the air gets stuffy.

But it was surprisingly easy to breathe.

One of the advantages of <Raincoat Slime>.

There’s no need to take off your clothes indoors. Since the inside of <Raincoat Slime> is kept at a comfortable temperature, you don’t get hot even when you enter a well-heated indoor space.

Even while standing in line like this, people didn’t take off their <Raincoat Slime>, and thanks to that, the smell and heat were subdued.

Many people were also equipped with secret weapons.

If the amount is small, just <Towel Slime>. If it’s a lot, combining with <Humidifier Slime> dramatically reduces the need to go to the bathroom. In places where crowds gather in the bathroom like this, it’s a pretty useful trick. Plus, if <Towel Slime> covers the back, it also removes odors from gas.

It’s best if you don’t need to use it, but just having this kind of insurance makes you feel much more comfortable mentally.

The event begins.

Inside the venue, various booths were selling all kinds of items.

They sold illustrations, towels, eye masks, acrylic stands, mouse pads, and other goods featuring characters from comics, anime, novels, and games.

There were actually quite a few products related to SLimelove.

Former convenience store clerk, current beauty W-tuber BeautyLime.

By the time she came to her senses, both of her hands had already grown heavy.

The adorable PengRhyme was now also featured on her <Raincoat Slime>.

Truly a dangerous event for your wallet.

To avoid the disaster of her WTube settlement passing right through her bank account, she stepped outside.

Outdoors, there were tons of people in cosplay.

Many people were cosplaying as SLimelove.

Filling the inside of <Raincoat Slime> with <Pillow Slime> and <Towel Slime>, and wrapping the legs with <Towel Slime> and <Pack Slime>.

If you have <Slime>, SLimelove is actually pretty easy to cosplay.

But in BeautyLime’s critical eyes, there wasn’t a single cosplayer with high completion.

Still, there were quite a few clever SLimelove cosplayers.

“Jjin~bboom!”

Some made sound effects out loud.

Some people extracted sounds from WTube videos and pretended to eat.

“Huh?”

There was one cosplayer boasting exceptional quality.

It was true that they had combined other <Slime> types based on <Raincoat Slime> for their cosplay.

Yet their appearance was different from the rest.

BeautyLime, suppressing her wildly pounding heart, approached and spoke.

“Ha, can I ta, take a picture with you?”

“Jjin~bboom!”

***

A festival of doujin.

I went to Comic Fest.

I went not to buy things, but to observe people.

Since I didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention, I purposely did a sloppy cosplay.

But BeautyLime, whom I met along the way, seemed to recognize me.

She’s recognized me before, so how on earth does she do it?

My impression is that Comic Fest was pretty fruitful.

My current goal is to build an amusement park.

With a land area of 300,000 pyeong and the ability to build several hundred meters up and down. Of course, it can’t compare to the world’s largest amusement parks, but there’s tons of space.

I’m still debating what to fill it with.

I thought maybe I should include a space for people interested in subculture, so I went to investigate.

Personally, I really like comics, games, anime, and novels.

Reviews posted online are useful too, but seeing is believing.

As I walked around, I watched which parts people liked and which parts they didn’t.

I made some discoveries in my own way.

Should the place be underground, away from sunlight?

Judging by people’s skin color, it seemed like many would suffer like vampires if exposed to the sun.

Also, it might be good to use the space for other purposes most of the time, and turn it into a flea market once every month or two.

If the number of people gathering is awkwardly large, the field just cools off instead.

You have to get a real crowd to ignite the atmosphere.

Other ideas include a concert hall, survival game arena, botanical garden, or even a human cannon. Since those don’t have a set season, you can visit anytime. I could just make it however I want.

Since I have <Slime>, maybe not being tied to stereotypes will let me create a more interesting place.

I don’t know exactly when, but building Slime Land is pretty much a done deal.

Even if I can’t revive the land, I can still build Slime Land.

My <Slime> basically doesn’t use the surrounding mana.

But I figured that Slime Land would be hard to maintain without absorbing mana from the surroundings.

Then, while talking with Hans, I thought of geothermal energy, and that solved the energy supply problem.

Energy generated by decomposing and absorbing trash.

If you add solar and geothermal energy to that, I calculated that it would be fine even without mana supply.

So, I can build Slime Land.

And there’s more good news: Mother’s growth rate is faster than I expected.

Unlike Gongdori and Gongsooni, she’s not producing <Slime> for sale, but focusing only on growing and supplying mana to the land.

As a result, her body is growing exponentially.

Until now, my slimes’ bodies never changed size, so I didn’t realize it, but her physique is overwhelming.

As her body gets bigger, the effects of her skills also get stronger.

At this rate, ten million tons of trash will disappear within half a year.

And by then, I’ll be using geothermal energy to my heart’s content, so a huge amount of mana will have been supplied to the land, right?

Hopefully, the land will be revived before then.

Rather than Slime Land built on dead land.

Wouldn’t you rather have Slime Land built on living, breathing earth?

***

Grade S Alchemist Ash examined the item sent by Alchemy Slime.

It was a box made by independently interpreting the spatial maze.

Considering that there were almost no traces of tampering with the spatial maze that was sent, it was made pretty well, but the technique was crude.

Ash used his faint remaining expectations as fuel and solved the maze.

Solved it.

Solved it.

‘What the?’

The maze, which he thought would be simple to solve, wouldn’t come undone.

He could have forced it open with strength, but since he’d been told not to, he didn’t.

He returned it to its original state and examined it carefully again.

“Ha!”

The maze was easily solved in Ash’s hands.

Inside the box, a <Random Jelly Slime (Mild Flavor)> peeked out with its face.

You peel off the packaging from the outside.

That’s just common sense.

But with this, if you start from the outside, the inside gets locked.

And you can’t start from the very inside, either.

You had to start from the middle, and if you looked closely, there was a hint.

Unlock the box’s lock without unwrapping the packaging.

It’s impossible for ordinary people, but Ash can do it.

But Ash remembers getting burned by trying to skip steps.

Unconsciously, he tried to follow the order and ended up wandering inside the maze.

It’s not about setting a problem only he can solve.

Nor is it about providing blueprints so staff can make them.

Think about what the other person can do.

Set a problem that can only be solved by using that ability in just the right place.

“Ash. We need to go.”

At the secretary’s call, Ash clicked his tongue.

He felt like he was about to reach something, but it scattered and vanished.

Ash headed to the venue where the company’s year-end party was being held.

Even if it was annoying, it was something he had to do as the company chairman.

After Ash finished his opening remarks to comfort everyone for their hard work over the past year, it was time for questions.

Since Ash rarely appeared at official events, many people wanted even a brief word with him, so this time was prepared.

Whether by luck or performance, only a select few had the right to ask questions.

A man who used that precious opportunity asked,

“Is there any alchemist you’re paying attention to right now?”

He asked, hoping his own name would be called.

It’s a question that’s come up a few times in recent years. The secretary had a manual for this question: as long as there’s no issue with performance, just say the name the other wants to hear. Ash had memorized the personnel details of the entire company, so it wasn’t hard.

But Ash’s mind was completely elsewhere, so neither the man’s name nor the manual came to mind.

So a candid answer came out.

“I think Alchemy Slime will soon be recognized as an S-rank alchemist.”

***

Snow~, snow~ snow~

Pure white poop is falling from the sky~!

Pardon me.

It’s not the kind of snow that melts as soon as it hits the ground, but real snow that piles up from the sky.

When I was a kid, I used to love it when it snowed.

At some point, when it snows, I just start worrying that the steep sidewalks will freeze over.

Still, I’m glad I don’t have to shovel the snow around my house.

When I lived in an apartment, the maintenance staff would clear it, but in a single-family house, you have to do it yourself.

But I don’t need to do that.

My house, Emergency Rations, was built with my family’s safety in mind.

There are heating wires laid in the ground around the house.

Even if it snows, I can melt it all with the flip of a switch.

But not every house has this kind of setup.

There are probably houses that don’t clear the snow, and places where there’s no one to do it.

The frozen ground will threaten people’s safety.

It’s time to release this product.

<Boot Slime>

-A slime that covers your shoes from above. No safety issues!

With this, you won’t slip even if you step on ice.

It keeps your feet warm, too.

The reason I didn’t release <Raincoat Slime> and <Glove Slime> together with it.

Originally, products sell best and are most appreciated when people actually feel inconvenienced.

And you have to keep tossing out bait products to boost overall sales.

You never know when someone will leave.

So every chance I get, I have to use every trick to maintain sales.

<Raincoat Slime>, <Glove Slime>, <Boot Slime>.

The penguin set is complete.

Looks like we’ll see a penguin migration this Christmas.

Riiing.

[Counselor Park Taeyang]

How did he know I was preparing work and call just now?

-Congratulations, Alchemy Slime-nim. You’ve become a B-rank alchemist.

What kind of nonsense is that?

After hearing the explanation, I found it a bit absurd.

Ash, that guy. What on earth is he thinking?

Why did he bring up my name there?

I was a C-rank alchemist.

A C-rank alchemist whose 10% of products are discarded in safety inspections and who has to pay a 30% commission.

It was quite a struggle to become a C-rank alchemist.

To become a C-rank alchemist, you have to take a face-to-face exam.

Since I couldn’t reveal my face to anyone, I had to use a workaround.

Thanks to Yang Geonwoo winning the US Open in tennis and naming <Insole Slime> as his supporter, I was able to receive a medal. With this, the law was amended so that receiving a medal would exempt you from the exam, and I thought I’d finally get my C-rank alchemist license.

Then a controversy erupted that <Insole Slime> was tech doping, and my medal was almost revoked.

I barely managed to quell the controversy by exporting <Insole Slime> to America.

After a very complicated process, I finally obtained my C-rank alchemist license.

Next is B-rank, but I had pretty much given up.

If you reach this rank, you’re recognized as an expert even internationally.

Ordinary people might not know, but anyone in the field would know your name.

Since it’s such a recognized rank, it’s hard to get the license.

How hard? Korea doesn’t even have the authority to issue the license.

That’s the reality of K-Alchemy.

Since I can’t get it in Korea, I gave up.

To get a B-rank alchemist license, you have to go to a country that has the authority to issue it.

But how?

Would they even issue a passport to a slime?

Would they let me through immigration if I said I was here on business?

A C-rank license isn’t bad.

Unlike the D-rank K-license, which is treated as a private certification internationally, the C-rank K-license is at least somewhat recognized.

Even with just a C-rank, I have no trouble taking private commissions.

Even if institutions don’t certify me, my <Slime> itself has reached a level that’s recognized.

But suddenly, I became a B-rank alchemist.

“I think Alchemy Slime will soon be recognized as an S-rank alchemist.”

With just one person’s words.

Of course, I doubt I became a B-rank alchemist just because of Ash’s words.

This is that.

Exemption from the exam by recommendation of an authority.

Only the exam was waived; I still had to prove my skills and record separately.

My <Slime> more than proves my skills, and I’m building up my record every day. Honestly, if you count the number of alchemy products sold by an individual, I’m probably number one in the world.

America was probably just waiting for a chance to give me a B-rank license.

You can tell by how quickly they processed everything.

On paper, I’m already a B-rank alchemist, and the license is supposedly flying over on a plane.

Why is America in such a hurry to give me a B-rank license?

A license is just like an ID card.

It says where it was issued.

It’s a tiny thing, but little things like that add up.

From now on, anyone who sees my license will think I’m an alchemist affiliated with America.

If I want to get an A-rank license in the future, I’ll have to go to America.

This is how you quietly tie yourself to them.

If they get a good grip on me, they’ll try to pull me to their country for sure.

Not that I have any reason to go to America, since I can’t even get on a plane!

Anyway, thanks for the B-rank alchemist license.

The benefits you get with a B-rank alchemist license were a 5% safety inspection and a 20% commission, right.

Not bad.

Should I increase production a bit as a reward?

A reward for Ash?

Is that really necessary?

***

Hans is looking suspicious again.

Maybe Hans really is an alien, and that’s why he looks different depending on the position of the moon and stars?