Jackpot! Mana Recovery Jelly
After the mana condensation jelly gate break incident wrapped up.
"Ugh... I'm seriously gonna die."
I got home and collapsed without a fight. I sprawled out flat on the floor right from the entryway. Felt just like I'd turned into a slime. My eyes were starting to droop heavy—hell, maybe I had actually become a slime. Snap!
"Ow! No, gotta snap out of it."
I barely yanked my mind back from the brink. Was this the kind of bone-deep fatigue you got from mana depletion? That sweet, irresistible pull felt downright scary now.
"...Gotta fix this mana shortage first."
Even after shaking myself alert, the dizziness and System warnings showed no sign of letting up. If I'd known it'd be this bad, I'd have been way more careful with my skills...
"...But damn, it was cool, right?"
Yeah, it was cool, so we're good. I'd half-expected something like this anyway. And hey, it showed me exactly what I was lacking. Good shit's good shit.
"Alright then... time to deal with this damn mana issue."
I pulled up the shop window right in front of me. Why the shop? Because it could fill exactly what I was missing—and if I played it right, solve my mana problem in a flash.
"Huh... nearly died for not using 'em, but now they've come back to save my ass. Weird feeling."
Staring at those points left in the shop felt strange. Back during the hidden boss, my dumb overconfidence kept me from spending any and I almost bit it. Now? That hoarding paid off big time.
"Eh, whatever. Think about it later."
I rubbed my throbbing head and reached for the recipe gacha. My plan: borrow the power of recipes to fix this dizziness.
"Wait, no guarantee it'll even give me what I want..."
Then doubt crept in. What if it didn't spit out what I needed? My hand froze.
"Pfft, no biggie either way."
If it flops, oh well. Win-win regardless. No point agonizing. I mashed the recipe gacha button like it was nothing.
"Please, just once...! I still gotta gacha skills too!"
I clasped my hands and prayed to whatever god was listening. Please, just once...
And then.
"You—fucking piece of shit!"
[FAIL] [FAIL] [FAIL]
What greeted me was three fat [FAIL]s lined up in the blue slot machine window. It could even roll fails? Rage nuked my brain—dizziness be damned. No wonder they never show the odds. Sneaky bastards.
"Hoo... nah, still got plenty of points left."
I reined myself in and hovered over the button again. No way it'd fail twice. They'd have to be insane.
With shaky faith, I hit gacha.
And the result?
[FAIL] [FAIL] [FAIL]
"Ah, fucking vertigo—"
Three straight fails. A masterpiece.
"Where the hell do you live? I'm about to normalize your ass...?!"
Three strikes and you're out? This was strike three. Rage and adrenaline drowned the dizziness—maybe this was the real cure. But I couldn't stop.
"...Fuck."
Pointless hope kept me going: Next one's gotta be it.
"Normalize for real, please."
Seven points left. I swallowed my fury, glared at the System window, and hit gacha.
Whirr—
The slot machine spun fast. Gulp. Why was my heart pounding like this? Still needed skill gacha too. This was torture.
After an eternity.
What greeted me.
[7] [7] [7]
"It hit! Yesssss!"
So gorgeous it could blind you. A jackpot. What goodies this time? Heart racing, I waited for the next message.
"Ooh...! Jackpot delivers!"
It washed away all those fails like nothing. The shimmering message window before my eyes—this was human victory. Two recipes: Mana Condensation Jelly and Scorpion Barbecue Sauce. So filling just looking at 'em, I grinned ear to ear.
"Wonder what effects they've got~?"
What buffs were waiting? Bursting with anticipation, I pulled up the recipe details.
◈ Effect: Restores 50% of user's mana.
◈ Instant Cook / Manual Cook
"Nice, luck's on my side."
Exactly what I needed. Perfect timing—wanted to plant a kiss on it.
"Next up!"
◈ Effect: Potent poison that melts skin.
◈ Instant Cook / Manual Cook
"C...ooking?"
Did this even count as cooking? Sketchy effect—super strong poison. Great for fights, but this was beyond chef territory now.
"Eh, it'll work out."
I tabled the scorpion recipe and went back to mana jelly. Dopamine and adrenaline fading, mana symptoms reared up again. Shiver shiver— Finally time to say bye to this shaky hell.
I gripped my trembling hand and loaded the Mana Condensation Jelly recipe.
Mana Condensation Jelly
1. Pour any juice (200mL) into a pot on the stove, sprinkle sugar, and warm slightly.
2. Slice slime jelly thinly and soak in water.
3. Squeeze water from soaked jelly, add to warmed juice, and stir until fully dissolved.
4. Pour into a mold or similar container and chill in the fridge to set.
"Yeah... classic jelly recipe."
Dead simple. The problem? Shiver shiver shiver— My hands and arms were half-crippled right now.
"Argh—this burn, can't you chill for one sec?!"
Trembling like mad, even gripping the knife was a chore. One slip and I'd be cooking fingers instead of jelly. But no choice—delay and who knows how long these side effects would drag on.
"I can do this all day."
I gritted my teeth and got moving.
"Pretty sure there's leftover Coolpis from last time..."
Rummaging the fridge, familiar pink caught my eye.
"Found it."
Luckily, tons left in the big pack—way more than 200mL. Dumped it straight into the pot.
Click. Click. Click.Whoosh—
Thank god for that ATM deposit; the burner lit right up.
"What's next?"
Smooth sailing so far. But now...
"Slime jelly, huh..."
I scanned the room. Anything to sub for slime jelly? Nope. Place looked like a Wild West ghost town tumbleweed short of it. Losing my mind without the key ingredient.
Then it hit me.
"Oh yeah, you were here."
Memory flash: that king slime jelly I'd slaved for last time, then chucked in the corner from exhaustion.
"Chicken it is if no pheasant."
Even better—higher quality slime. Plopped it on the cutting board and started slicing thin.
Admiring the neatly fanning slices...
Slip—
"Whoa—! Shit, you scared me."
Chills down my spine. Tremors spiked, knife slipped control.
"This mana seaweed state nearly killed me...!"
Stopped a hair—1cm—from my finger.
"Hurry... I'm legit dying..."
Chopped rough slices, tossed in water. Sigh of relief.
"Is this cooking or survival?"
Mixed soaked jelly into Coolpis. Shoved the trembling mess into the fridge with shaky hands.
Now, the waiting game.
"Aigoo, air raid siren! Waiting's gonna kill me..."
Like staring down cup ramen—pure agony. Worse in this near-death state.
Finally survived hell-time and pulled the jelly.
"Man, I've been through a lot."
Shoved it straight in my mouth. Feelings? Luxury I couldn't afford after that ordeal.
Visual was its usual garbage—but not goblin-head-smoothie bad. Just jammed it in. True parental love.
"Ugh, finally feeling alive."
Swallowed it all; something filled me up inside. Dizziness and shakes started fading.
Leaning on the wall, catching my breath in my stabilized body.
"My victory, you bastards...!"
Full revival from mana seaweed hell.