Chapter 9: Sold out. Sold out. Sold out again!

1 o’clock.

Finally, my product is listed on the Alchemy Shop!

<Insole Slime> – Sold out.

Somehow, it feels disappointing.

The worry that my items might not sell.

The joy when the stock decreases.

The thrill of seeing the stock hit 0.

There should be this kind of heart-pounding excitement.

Starting from zero right away.

The stock just won’t go down.

It’s boring.

“Is this too much of a spoiled complaint?”

I looked at the product pages of other items listed on the Alchemy Shop.

Since it’s a shopping mall run by the government, it’s generally pretty dry.

It shows what effects the creator claims the product has.

And among those, which effects have been verified.

If you’re really dissatisfied, you can personally request to have something uploaded.

Though, they say rejections happen often.

HowToAlchemyShop.pdf says to just be satisfied unless it looks like the person in charge made it while drunk or with their feet.

Since they’re civil servants, they can’t help but be conservative.

If false or exaggerated advertising is reported or complained about, imagine how much they’d get scolded by their superiors.

Shall I take a look at my own product page now?

[All side effects caused by using alchemy products are the responsibility of the user.]

Starting with the basic warning.

[For just 2,000 won,

your life

will change.]

What’s with this intense phrasing right from the start?

For a moment, I doubted whether I was really on the Alchemy Shop.

[The embarrassment that rises when you take off your shoes.]

[The sadness of your child running away while holding their nose.]

[The itch that won’t go away no matter how much you wash or apply medicine.]

Wow. I can feel the passion even in the photos.

[<Insole Slime> will save you.]

No way, are you serious?

After that, various phrases and photos kept enticing consumers.

Others have content that could be covered by a single A4 sheet.

Why is mine so long?

Is this the work of a civil servant?

As I scrolled down, I reached the very bottom.

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0(21)

Wow…. I’ve never seen my product sell, and yet there are already 21 reviews. And the rating is a perfect score.

From the product description to the reviews.

Hey, listen.

What will people think if they see this?

Anyone would think there was some kind of shady deal.

It looks like I paid for fake reviews.

This is so unfair.

Let’s see what they wrote.

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-I’ve been using it for four days now, and the condition of my soles has improved so much! When I went to the hospital for treatment, it was (photo) like this, but this morning my soles are (photo) like this! I’m really, really happy because it’s gotten so much better. I used to wake up often because my soles itched like crazy, but lately, I sleep like a baby.

Also, because of foot odor, I always got glares from my coworkers, but while using this, there’s really not even a hint of smell.

I strongly recommend it to anyone suffering from athlete’s foot like me.

I can’t live without this now.

Alchemist, if you see this post, please restock as soon as possible.

I’m sincerely begging you.

Hey there?

I’m grateful for the long review with attached photos.

I am thankful, but…

My product was listed on June 26th, and a comment posted on June 26th says they’ve been using it for four days. What will people think of that!

They’ll think it’s a fake review, won’t they!

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-This is amazing. My feet feel so comfortable^^

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-I’ll write a review after using it more. So, please restock…

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-I want to give it 1 star so others won’t buy it… (crying)

But my conscience won’t allow it… (crying)

Please restock… haha

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-I’ll hold my breath until you restock. If I die, it’s the Alchemist’s fault.

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-Thank you for making such a great product. I want to keep wearing it, so please mass-produce it.

They’re all pretty much like this.

Full of praise and requests to restock soon.

Seeing how my products keep selling out before they’re even listed, I suspect the staff at Seoul Central Alchemy Center are buying them.

Is there some kind of tradition where staff buy the first product of a Grade F Alchemist?

There was nothing like that in the HowToAlchemyShop.pdf that Makina gave me.

Well, Makina doesn’t know everything.

This time, I’ll send double. 100 pairs. That should last a while.

Since 70 pairs have sold, the staff who wanted to buy them probably already did.

Looking at the reviews written by staff, it seems like it’ll sell out as soon as I send them, but I shouldn’t trust that.

How could staff write anything but praise? Of course, it’s all compliments.

From now on, I have to fight in the cold, harsh general consumer market.

There won’t be that many regular consumers willing to buy an unverified product.

I hope they fall for this advertisement and the staff’s bait reviews.

I packed the <Insole Slime> and placed it by the front door.

My work with Alchemy Slime ends here.

Now it’s time to return to SLimelove.

Today’s theme is friends of delivery food.

The partner of jjajangmyeon,

3kg of danmuji.

Half-and-half radish mania,

3kg of chicken radish.

Following pizza and left alone,

3kg of pickles.

It looks like less than usual, but this is the weight of just the solids.

Of course, I plan to drink all the remaining liquid later.

I need to eat a lot since my mass is insufficient from making <Insole Slime>.

***

-PengRhyme is cute. PengRhyme is cute. PengRhyme is cute. PengRhyme is cute. Peng (see more)

The graduate student frowned while reading the comments.

Even though they acknowledged the cuteness, they worried that Lime might be swayed by such comments.

There are many W-tubers who get swayed by comments and go down the wrong path.

“Lime, your strength isn’t cuteness, it’s sound.”

Lime’s channel is growing rapidly.

The subscriber count has already reached 8.7 thousand, nearing 10 thousand.

The recent tanghulu video has already hit 370 thousand views, surpassing even the original sugar video.

Still, sugar is fine since its shorts hit 28 million views.

The reason the SLimelove channel is growing so fast?

It might partly be due to being spotlighted somewhere.

But ultimately, it’s the captivating sound that grabs people’s ears, resulting in these views and subscriber numbers.

-PengRhyme is cute. PengRhyme is cute. PengRhyme is cute. PengRhyme is cute. Peng (see more)

Yet, looking at the comments, it seems like the growth is due to cuteness.

Even if I try to counter with my own comments, their firepower is just too strong.

“Please don’t fall into the wrong path.”

With a praying heart, the graduate student checked the newly uploaded video.

“Thank goodness.”

This video features danmuji, chicken radish, and pickles.

Fans who shout for PengRhyme tend to go crazy over large foods.

Their preferences are clearly confirmed in the comments on the bitter melon mukbang.

If Lime had been swayed by the comments, she wouldn’t have prepared small, cut pieces but whole danmuji, whole radish, and whole cucumbers.

“I won’t ask for cinematic visuals, just please focus on the sound….”

The Slime on the screen tossed three pieces of danmuji into the air at once.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Swoosh.

Without swallowing, it threw in three pieces of radish.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Swoosh.

Finally, it threw in three pieces of pickles.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Gulp.

Crunch. Crunch. Gulp. Swoosh.

A steady 4/4 beat like a metronome.

Variations created by the subtle texture differences of danmuji, chicken radish, and pickles.

A clean yet unique sound without any messiness.

“Lime, oh Lime…. How can you be this good….”

10 out of 10 points.

A formidable rival threatening sugar’s throne has appeared.

***

Tuesday at 11 a.m.

A fierce battle of nerves broke out among the staff at Seoul Central Alchemy Center.

The rumor of the hero Slime who defeated a fragment of Beelzebub risen from hell spread widely over the weekend, and the story of 25 Slimes rising to defeat the resurrected fragment of Beelzebub added spice to the rumor.

This drew people’s attention to <Insole Slime>.

The price of <Insole Slime> is 2,000 won.

2,000 won was an amount that adults with stable jobs were willing to spend to satisfy their curiosity.

For those who wanted a Slime to replace the whitened, suffocated <Insole Slime>, it was unfortunate that 11 a.m., when the product was registered, was during peak working hours.

Monday’s <Insole Slime> ended up in the hands of those who were lucky at the right moment.

Thus, the number of people who experienced <Insole Slime> increased from 10 to 29.

The number of people captivated by <Insole Slime> tripled, and the rumor spread at an exponential rate.

Calluses on the thumb or little toe, hardened from rubbing inside shoes.

Cracked, unsightly dead skin on the heels.

Sacrifice one Slime, and it becomes soft and tender.

Sacrifice two Slimes, and it becomes smooth and sleek.

Thus, the soles of the feet became as delicate as a baby’s skin, unable to endure shoes without <Insole Slime>.

Blisters caused by shoes slipping around?

One Slime was enough.

It wasn’t just people with foot problems who were satisfied.

Just by placing <Insole Slime> in shoes, one could reach the state of perfect unity between body and shoe.

No matter how much you walk, your soles stay fresh, leaving no footprints even when walking on a floor, reaching the state of stepping without a trace.

With such comfort, there might be people who’ve never used it, but no one who’s used it only once.

Competition ignited.

A wind fanned the flames here, and the product description page was the cause.

The product description page, clearly written by someone who drank and let their artistic spirit burn, remained firmly in place even a day later.

It should have been revised to something bland after higher-ups’ disapproval, but since it endured, it drew people’s attention.

What exactly is <Insole Slime> that even the conservative higher-ups turned a blind eye?

At 11 a.m. on Monday, <Insole Slime> wasn’t yet registered at the Alchemy Shop, so it could only be bought at offline stores.

But today is different.

Now, <Insole Slime> is registered at the Alchemy Shop.

As long as you can access the internet, anyone can buy it.

Here, the competitors were solely the staff of Seoul Central Alchemy Center.

Compared to outsiders, they had an overwhelmingly advantageous position.

They had the right to know when the product was stocked and when it would undergo safety inspections.

And this right poured oil on their burning competitive spirit.

‘It goes into safety inspection as soon as it’s stocked? This must be designated as a special management product!’

There are levels to special management products. For the highest level, a notice is sent to all staff. But no such notice was issued for <Insole Slime>, so it’s at the lowest level.

It receives benefits like immediate dispatch upon delivery request and safety inspection right after stocking.

A product made by a Grade F Alchemist.

Moreover, it’s not an alchemy potion but an alchemy tool designated as a special management product, which is quite unusual.

In the world of public officials, for something this unusual to happen, someone with significant power must have moved.

‘A team leader-level person must have acted!’

Credibility was added to the wild rumors circulating.

‘Inspection is done!’

Since constantly looking at their smartphones would draw suspicion, they quickly calculated the timing in their heads.

The time for packaging was obvious.

‘Packaging is done! It’s being moved now!’

The moment the packaged product arrives at the storage and the Alchemy Shop’s inventory is updated.

Unless they were in a situation where they couldn’t step away from work,

or in a meeting,

or getting harshly scolded by a superior, everyone was a competitor.

Refresh!

Refresh!

Refresh!

It’s up!

With competition this fierce, everyone wanted to buy as many as possible.

But in the time it takes to tap a few times to increase the quantity, you could fall behind in the rankings.

And if there’s only one left in stock and you order two, you get a notification that stock is insufficient.

If you get greedy, you end up empty-handed!

“Phew….”

Those who made it to the payment page sighed in relief.

‘Sorry. There are no products available.’ Those who saw this message fell into despair.

As lunchtime arrived and they had some free time, the victorious ones headed to the store.

They gleefully inserted the <Insole Slime> they had acquired into their shoes.

In fact, half of them didn’t even know exactly why there was such a frenzy.

They didn’t feel any discomfort in the shoes they were wearing.

They weren’t plagued by itchiness between their toes or pained by cracked heels.

They had simply jumped on the trend.

And yet.

The moment the soft, squishy texture of the Slime traveled past their Achilles tendon, jabbed their knees, brushed their tailbone, crawled up their spine, and smacked the back of their head, they understood.

‘I’ve been living with uncomfortable shoes without even realizing it.’

‘So this is why everyone’s going crazy.’

And then they had a gut feeling.

‘From now on, I’ll join the competition with a desperate heart.’

They immediately posted a review.

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-Alchemist, you can sleep when you’re dead^^ Please restock^^

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-I have money, so why can’t I spend it! Please, take my money!

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

-Being out of stock is a sin. It violates some kind of law. The Alchemist who made this should be sentenced to labor.

***

“Another one-minute sellout?”

Ah, or maybe not. Last time, it sold out before it even got listed on the Alchemy Shop.

If we’re being precise, a minus two-hour sellout?

“People are acting insane.”

What’s so great about insoles to cause this chaos?

Restock. Restock. Restock.

They might as well cut me up and sell me! Sell me!”

“Huh?”

It wasn’t an entirely impossible prediction.

Me. If they find out I’m a Slime, won’t they lock me in a cage and treat me like an insole-making machine?

Ding.

That startled me.

A mail arrived.

“A counselor from Seoul Central Alchemy Center?”

Since the product is selling so well, they’re offering to provide consulting.

No thanks.

If I agree, I’ll have to meet and talk with them, right?

Who would I meet looking like this?

And since everything I make and send sells out instantly, what’s the point of consulting?

There’s nothing to be a problem.

Unless the products stop selling, that is.

Could selling too much actually cause a problem?