Palpitations
The workers stared in bewilderment at the slime-laden trees in the orchard.
They'd assumed an orchard meant trees heavy with fruit—what the hell was this?
No fruit leaning against the trunks, just slimes dangling like ornaments.
The staff member watching their reactions inwardly sympathized.
'Well... I reacted the same way at first. I get it.'
Everyone who stepped into the orchard for the first time had a similar response.
They'd be even more shocked if they knew where the fruit actually came from...
The orchard workers bombarded the staff with questions, desperate for answers.
"What the hell is this...? Monster trees? I never heard about this!! You said it wasn't dangerous!!"
"Um, ma'am... sorry, but I don't have any combat skills, so a monster-filled environment is a bit..."
"And what's with those trees anyway? Did the Dungeon Master make some new variant? Where's the fruit?"
As the clamor grew louder, the staff member shouted to get their attention.
"Attention!!! I know you're all confused, but please hear the job briefing first. It'll clear up most of your questions."
The workers had a ton of burning questions, but they decided to listen—for now. They didn't want to piss off the staff and lose this hard-won gig.
With eyes on her, the guide explained the tasks.
The work itself was straightforward enough for even the workers to grasp immediately.
But understanding the harvesting process didn't mean they got the trees.
Knowing that, the staff patiently fielded their confused queries.
"...So you're saying those slimes have fruit inside them, like variant inner cores?"
"......Yes."
"And the slimes don't move when they're hanging like fruit, so we kill them then?"
"Exactly. The materials and fruit from the fallen slimes get collected by the folks waiting below."
One person plucks slimes from above, another collects below.
Orchard teams basically operated in pairs.
"But isn't it dangerous? What if an accident happens?"
"Explorer vets will handle patrols, so no need to worry. Priests are on standby too—no one's dying to slimes."
"Hmm... alright then..."
The questions tapered off.
Everyone seemed to have a basic grasp now.
"Got it? Any more questions?"
The staff checked one last time.
If not, they'd just trial-and-error the harvesting to optimize routes.
Then one worker shot up his hand.
"One last question, ma'am. So why do slimes grow on trees?"
It was the question on everyone's mind.
All eyes turned to the staff, eager for the reason...
"Well... I don't really know either..."
"“......”"
Of course, she had no clue.
*
In the dim corner of a one-room apartment, an elf youth managed the gallery with a blank expression.
Cuz from now on, every time the wait exceeds 24 hours, I'll smash my head super hard to scramble my brains into a total mess! If you forget you were waiting, doesn't that mean you weren't waiting? If I erase the memory before the day ends, the park appears in just one day??? Wait one night and the park's here! Thinking about it is already so exciting~!!!
Insane lololol
Gallery's turning into an asylum lately?
Ooh... sounds good? Gonna try lol
ㄴ Crazy bastard lol good im in
ㄴ OP) Wtf is this? Where am I?
ㄴ ?
DungeonBung... pls open soon... the kids can't hold out!!!!
Padak Among Padaks.
The pinnacle of gallery moderation skills.
High-Performance Eraser.
His modding prowess was no joke.
But lately, with more on his mind, he spaced out often.
Mod call bells rang, shitposts flooded the gallery, but Goseongji didn't react.
Normally, he'd nuke those in a second.
Yet his gaze, fixed on the gallery, seemed elsewhere.
"Something... feels missing..."
He'd lived a dry, emotionless life, but that park event days ago changed something.
That palpitation he'd felt there?
It restarted the heart that had long stopped beating in his soul.
His actual heart never stopped, but... a heart of the heart, maybe? That's what throbbed.
Goseongji recalled a post he'd seen while modding.
(Dolphin walking on two legs cheering gif)
The post encouraged readers to remember childhood palpitations.
"Childhood palpitation..."
That park thrill had indeed awakened fragments of emotions Goseongji thought lost forever.
And the final memory with the starry nightscape—his mother.
She'd wanted him to be better.
Not rotting in a room all day wiping shitposts.
Could he face her proudly now?
— Eldelurk, I support your dreams.
"......"
He resolved himself.
No more living like this.
At least try for a life beyond shitpost eraser.
*
Magic Tower's top floor, the tower master's room.
Evangeline, lounging naked on her dark bed, heard unexpected news from an unlikely source.
"Hah... he's dead set."
...No words for it.
She'd wanted to give him breaks, but without him, other Padaks whined, so she delayed.
One-in-a-century talent—his absence hit hard.
"Yeah, time to let him go... he earned it."
The fallout's on her and the others.
And so Goseongji became the shelter dungeon specialist broadcaster.
"Sheesh... guy seemed unchangeable, but what makes his dungeons so special..."
Goseongji's sudden shift was baffling, but proof good changes brewed in the shelter.
Not all changes were good, though.
The longer the wait for new dungeons, the weirder people got.
Orchard workers' posts started flooding the chaotic gallery.