Chapter 95: Recruitment.

The retired Hunters wearing Mascot Slime suits were diligently participating in training.

They looked fully committed to continuing.

As expected, it was the right call to leave this to the Slime Rangers.

If it had just been Nana and Hans, they never would have achieved this result.

At least half would have turned back.

These are people who have made more than enough money.

Most of them could live just fine without working another day.

So why did they accept such a ridiculous role as Mascot Slime?

Some probably came because Hunter Song Taesan said he would do it.

Some may have come looking for something to pass the time during their lonely old age.

Others might have come because they heard they could spend time with children.

Even if those were the reasons they came, I think the reason they decided to stay is different.

It must have been very different from what they expected.

Hunter Song Taesan treats them not as their leader, but just as another mascot.

The training is pretty intense to be considered just a pastime.

And there are all sorts of restrictions to playing with the kids.

Still, the reason no one leaves is probably because of the example set by the Slime Rangers.

The Slime Rangers are fresh retirees, having just left the dungeon after working themselves half to death.

It’s the most confusing time for them.

It was probably right around now that the retired Hunters resolved to live far away from people.

The retired Hunters want to stay here and watch.

They want to see the Slime Rangers come up with a completely different answer to the problems they once faced.

To see them not give up and remain among people.

To see that the conclusion they reached-

That the answer society wanted-

Was completely wrong.

If that’s proven, then maybe they can hope to return to society, too.

The rest will just take time.

They say a habit formed at three lasts until eighty, so habits built up over decades won’t change overnight.

Still, if they have the will, I’m sure they can overcome it.

And if they can’t, we’ll just give them a different role.

Ah, right. Should I talk about this now?

“I remembered something I needed to tell you, so I came back.”

All the penguins turned to look at me at once.

“Right now, everyone is undergoing adaptation training in Mascot Slime suits, but in the future, we’ll be dividing up roles.”

You might be assigned to hand out Balloon Slimes.

Or you might be put in charge of security.

Or you might be part of the performance team.

“Over there-the person who drew patterns with Coloring Play Slime (for Slimes) and the one wearing a Wig Slime.”

“Is that not allowed?”

The penguin with the wig pressed their Wig Slime protectively as they asked.

“No, you did great. I hope everyone pursues their individuality. It’s much more interesting to have different penguins than if they all looked the same. And if you pursue your individuality, you might even get your own fans. If you want, we’ll even make you your own merchandise.”

Some of the penguins looked quite intrigued.

They may have faded from the spotlight now, but once upon a time, they too lived for the cheers of the crowd.

Some people just love attention.

“If you want to take a form other than a penguin, that’s welcome too. The main mascot usually has friends, after all. We’ll set up a channel for requests, so think it over and apply when you’re ready.”

A few penguins here also wore thoughtful expressions.

I can’t wait to see what kinds of animals we end up with.

“And we’re planning a stage performance for the Slime Rangers, too. Anyone want to play the villain?”

Hands shot up all at once.

“You do know that means you’ll lose in the end, right?”

A lot of hands went down, but plenty stayed up.

Our Slime Rangers are a huge hit.

“We’ll cast for that based on acting skills later. And finally…”

I looked over at the Slime Rangers.

Maybe they felt my gaze, because they shivered.

“Everyone knows our Slime Rangers are looking for Pink, right?”

“Boss! That’s…!”

Green reflexively raised his voice.

The penguin crowd immediately split into two groups.

Green was surrounded by one group.

The other group turned away and ignored him completely.

Not all the retired Hunters are men. Naturally, there are women too.

“Why? You don’t want us to play Pink?”

“No, it’s not that….”

“What’s wrong with us? What’s your complaint? Is it our age?”

“N-no! You’re young and beautiful!”

“Then it’s fine.”

“It’s just, Pink is for healers….”

“That’s a lie. Back when these four were Hunter Rangers, they needed a healer so they were looking for a female healer Pink, but as for the Pink Transform set, any woman can use it.”

“Boss!”

“Of course, you have to be chosen to use it.”

A few female Hunters tried the Pink Transform set.

They didn’t seem to really want to be Pink, but they were clearly eager to tease their cute, cheeky juniors.

With the Slime Rangers on edge, the last challenger attempted to transform.

And every single one failed.

“Whew….”

The Slime Rangers let out a sigh of relief.

“Step on him.”

He got stomped.

With that, the mascot and security staff were fully recruited.

Next up, we need to prepare sales staff.

There aren’t enough retired Hunters to cover all of Slime Land.

We’ll have to hire ordinary people, too.

This job doesn’t really need any special knowledge, so as long as you like Slimes, anyone can do it.

Maybe we should prioritize people who are already used to handling Slimes.

***

Inspector Lee Mingyu from the Seoul Central Alchemy Center let out a sigh.

The atmosphere at the Seoul Central Alchemy Center is very bad right now.

Not long ago, they had too much work; now there’s so little that morale is low.

As a public official, he doesn’t have to worry about the workplace going bankrupt, but whether he’ll be able to stay there is another matter.

As the number of products made by Alchemy Slime increased, it became impossible to handle with the existing staff. Overtime and weekend shifts piled up, and they were always on edge, waiting for problems to erupt.

If it had just been a short-term issue, they could have solved it by burning through the current staff.

But it was clear this would be ongoing, so upper management decided to hire more people.

Safety inspections for alchemy products are important work, so you can’t just assign anyone to it.

They hired mainly full-time staff, not contract workers.

They hurriedly expanded the staff and the inspection labs.

But when Alchemy Slime was promoted to Grade A, the number of alchemy products needing safety inspection dropped drastically.

There’s still more work than before Alchemy Slime appeared.

A year ago, the level of alchemy in Korea rose significantly as licenses for various alchemy potions, which were once out of reach, were acquired.

Since there are techniques to learn and manufacturing methods to earn money with in Korea, the number of alchemists staying instead of leaving overseas has increased.

They even managed to lure back alchemists who had gone abroad.

So, while the workload has increased compared to the past, it has drastically decreased compared to when Alchemy Slime was a Grade B alchemist.

Many personnel and facilities became useless.

Facilities were repurposed for other uses, and personnel were reassigned.

The problem was those personnel reassignments.

Days continued where no one knew who would be sent where or when.

Being assigned to a local government office was bewildering but still better.

They started assigning people to highly avoided departments like Environmental Services, Transportation Administration, and Disaster Safety.

When there was a lot of work, they overworked the staff, but as soon as the workload lessened even slightly, they carried out personnel reassignments that were no different from demotions.

The commission earned from selling <Slime> is enormous, so wouldn’t it be great if they created and operated a new department to support alchemy with that money?

But in reality, they sent people to places that were essentially equivalent to being told to quit.

If this isn’t abandoning someone after using them, then what is?

Lee Mingyu, holding a resignation letter close, kept browsing job recruitment sites.

He never really liked this job to begin with, and now he felt even more disillusioned.

If he were assigned to a strange place, he planned to submit his resignation immediately.

Of course, that was just a thought; considering the life of a job seeker, whether he would actually act on it…

Lee Mingyu’s eyes stopped on a logo modeled after a Penguin Slime.

[AlchemySlime Company.

Recruitment Notice.]

His fingers moved as if enchanted.

The content was quite sparse.

There were no flashy graphs or photos.

Just very simply written content, that was all.

Even among that, the core could be summed up in four lines.

-We are looking for people to work together at Slime Land, a theme park full of dreams, tentacles, hope, and slime.

-Preference for those who love <Slime>.

-Unlimited supply of <Slime>.

-0000 positions.

Alchemy Slime officially acknowledged building a theme park.

According to what is currently known, only a small number of people work at AlchemySlime Company.

It would be impossible to operate a theme park with that number of staff.

As such, they must be lacking personnel in various fields.

No matter what kind of work someone has done before, there would be a role for them.

Moreover, the number of positions to be filled is in the four digits.

The chances of being hired seem quite high, don’t they?

However, the job application test was a concern.

The job application test previously conducted by AlchemySlime Company became a legend.

That test where they gave the theme of <Slime> and checked how much one could write about it.

That test, said to be dozens of times more painful than a school writing contest, drove most challengers into mental panic.

You can never pass if you challenge it with a half-hearted attitude.

‘What am I even…’

At the moment Lee Mingyu was about to close the window.

Kim Hangyeol, the mad dog of the safety inspection team, suddenly stood up from his seat.

“I’m submitting my resignation letter and going to AlchemySlime Company. If anyone else is thinking the same, do it.”

“Officer Kim Hangyeol, you don’t even know if you’ll pass or fail, and you’re talking about a resignation letter…”

“It says here preference for those who love <Slime>! Who loves <Slime> more than us? Who, I ask you!”

“There are so many people who like <Slime>. Plus, there’s the job application test.”

“Who else has touched <Slime> for longer, handled it more, and felt it more than us? And after all that, you can’t even write a few words about <Slime>? What have you been thinking about while working here!”

Lee Mingyu realized he had a lot to write about regarding <Slime>.

Lee Mingyu had written about <Slime> before anyone else.

The shock he felt when he used <Insole Slime> made by a Grade F alchemist, under Kim Hangyeol’s coercion.

The memory of selling out <Insole Slime> even before it was listed in the Alchemy Shop.

The small sense of superiority from being able to touch new <Slime> faster than anyone else.

The memory of secretly rolling in the snowfield, returning to childlike innocence while wearing <Raincoat Slime> after a long time.

The memories with <Slime> were indeed numerous.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that every moment of work over the past nine months was spent looking at <Slime>.

Compared to ordinary people, he would have much more to talk about.

“I can’t keep working while feeling annoyed about not knowing when or where I’ll be kicked out to. Don’t you guys feel the same?”

At Kim Hangyeol’s words, the staff of the safety inspection team gained courage.

Some from the inner pocket of their chest.

Some from inside their bags.

Some from their desk drawers.

Everyone pulled out their resignation letters.

‘Hey, you too?’

‘Yeah, me too.’

Realizing that everyone had already written their resignation letters, they laughed and stood up from their seats.

–

[Demotion to unrelated positions just because work decreased. Public official personnel issues.]

The fact that an entire team submitted resignation letters became known to reporters, and this incident gained attention and made the news.

Seeing this news, other staff at the Alchemy Center also began submitting resignation letters one after another.

As the situation escalated, the Alchemy Center tried to appease or threaten the safety inspection team staff.

But they couldn’t persuade those who were already disillusioned and united by the determination to be hired by AlchemySlime Company.

And most of them succeeded in joining AlchemySlime Company.

***

Not only former Alchemy Center staff but also various other people gathered.

Thanks to that, most of the vacant positions were filled.

Hans will likely fill the remaining spots well.

With this, the staffing side is roughly resolved.

Shall we start getting serious about facility construction?