Slime Sewer

The entrance to the dungeon was bustling from the morning. The 10th-grade dungeon 'Slime Sewer', which should have been deserted, was unexpectedly crowded with people for some reason. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Amid the thronging crowd, I quietly opened the system window.

"Never thought I'd get this like this."

I'd been too sleepy last night to check, but now that I looked at the achievement reward properly, there was an unexpected skill as a bonus. I had no idea what taboo I'd broken, but the reward was fantastic regardless. A blanket +1 to all physical stats was great enough, but the real prize was the Information Concealment skill.

"Talk about perfect timing."

It felt like the exact skill I needed had been handed to me on a platter, but I figured that was possible. No point dwelling on what's already happened. I immediately tested Information Concealment.

When I applied it to my status window, the line reading Unique Authority: Onahole Master (EX) vanished, replaced by Unique Ability: Cheonma Divine Art (S). I chuckled and toggled it again to display Unique Ability: None.

The Cheonma Divine Art I'd jokingly inserted was the unique ability of my role model, Hunter Han Se-ah. Its effect was straightforward: it allowed the user to master the martial art known as Cheonma Divine Art—the power to become the Heavenly Demon itself.

They said when Han Se-ah first awakened her unique ability, Cheonma Divine Art was a mere D-grade. People mocked it as unworthy of the name, given its low rank and power. But through relentless effort, she raised ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to S-grade and claimed a spot among the Ten Great Hunters of the New Daehan Republic. It was only possible because of her genius in mastering every martial technique up to 1st-grade.

As a kid, I'd trained with her as my idol, so I'd scribbled Cheonma Divine Art into my status window as a joke. Whether due to its effects or not, she maintained her youth like a reborn warrior and was still active on the front lines. Someday, I'd probably get to meet her for real.

I closed the status window and waited a bit. Soon, An Jeong-hwa came running from afar.

"Sorry I'm late!"

"It's fine. Even if you'd come early, we'd still be waiting."

Panting hard, An Jeong-hwa bowed deeply in greeting. She'd gotten thoroughly drunk last night and arrived a bit past our promised time. By the time I'd gotten there, people were already lining up to use the dungeon, so I'd grabbed our tickets and waited.

"Still, everyone must be thinking the same thing. I figured this place would be dead as usual, but look at the crowd."

"Yeah. Wasn't this supposed to be a total dud dungeon?"

"With Goblin's Tomb collapsed, this is the easiest alternative. No preemptive attackers, and it's one of the few that drops profitable materials besides mana stones."

The reason the once-deserted dud dungeon 'Slime Sewer' was now swarming was exactly as I'd said. After I'd fully cleared and collapsed Goblin's Tomb last time, this was the most manageable replacement among 10th-grade dungeons.

Even coming here, it left a bitter taste. Until I ranked up to 9th-grade hunter, Goblin's Tomb had been the go-to easy farm. Sure, I'd collapsed it myself—and gained Brina in the process, so no regrets—but I couldn't pick a 10th-grade dungeon carelessly for my promotion grind. After weighing options, this was the one.

Not because of the money factor I'd mentioned earlier, but because while searching for ways to leverage my authority Onahole Master, I'd ended up here.

"Number 77, Han Yeoul?"

"Right on time. Let's head in."

"Okay!"

Guided by the weary dungeon management staff first thing in the morning, we entered and began our briefing in the safety zone of the first room.

"Like Goblin's Tomb, the 10th-grade dungeon 'Slime Sewer' features non-aggressive monsters. Each one is way weaker than a goblin—no cores even at this rank, so they die if you just pop their outer membrane. But they cluster in groups of at least ten on ceilings or in corners, so watch for encirclement. Like all slimes, their fluids are mildly acidic, so avoid contact as much as possible—especially your face. Got the water?"

Dungeons were dangerous, 10th-grade or not. Even weak monsters had ways to kill humans, so knowing their traits and prepping countermeasures was essential. I'd messaged her the prep list via chat at dawn.

An Jeong-hwa pulled water bottles from her backpack as if it were obvious.

"Yep. Anything valuable besides mana stones?"

"Slime membranes, maybe? They're acid-resistant, great for coating armor or weapons. Goes for about 200,000 won per kg, but these small 10th-grade slimes yield maybe 10g each. You'd need 100 to hit 200,000 won. Not that lucrative, and harvesting's a pain."

"Aw, too bad."

"Still, duo-clearing should make decent cash. Don't sweat it."

I opened the door to the next room, watching her openly eye the money now.

Squish! Sizzle—

With a sound like ripping plastic, the dagger-slashed slime leaked fluids from the wound and collapsed.

"This dagger you gave me cuts like a dream."

Having cleared the room's slimes, An Jeong-hwa marveled at the blade.

"Love that it's acid-coated too—no repair costs. Makes sense why people splurge on good gear."

Slimes' mildly acidic fluids corroded weapons on contact. That durability drain was one reason 'Slime Sewer' was shunned—less profitable than Goblin's Tomb, and gear wore out fast. Plus, the sewer environment was oppressively humid, spiking discomfort just walking the halls.

"Ugh, it's so hot. Can't I take off some clothes?"

"Brush off those slime fluids on your outfit first."

"Eeeek."

I got the urge to strip in this muggy hell—she probably felt it worse in full-coverage gear. Hell, I wanted to too. But to avoid unnoticed fluid splashes on skin, acid-resistant clothing was mandatory.

"You never know when the next slime room hits. What if one drips from the ceiling like before?"

"Fine. Help me collect membranes?"

'Slime Sewer' was a maze dungeon—rooms divided by doors, but mostly endless corridors and chambers. Slimes could lurk anywhere, so relaxing even briefly was tough. Non-aggressive or not, you couldn't proceed without clearing every monster in the room, demanding constant vigilance. Weak foes meant tricky layout instead.

Wriggle—

"Hm?"

While harvesting membranes in acid-resistant gloves, one particularly resilient slime was still twitching—barely alive.

She's great in combat, but these details come with experience. Still green.

An Jeong-hwa had genius talent, but she was scatterbrained outside fights. Needed polishing. Confirming kills was Combat 101, but without proper training yet, I'd let this slide.

Convenient timing for what I wanted anyway.

I activated my authority in a whisper she wouldn't hear.

"Onaholization."

Gurgle—?!

The near-dead, faintly blue slime offered no resistance, shrinking rapidly into onahole form. Maybe due to its simple biology or lack of intelligence unlike Brina, it transformed instantly.

"Another dud."

Tsking, I slipped the slime onahole into my inventory before she noticed. It joined the pile already there.

Slimes left fluids after membrane harvest, and Onaholization worked on those too. Since then, I'd been secretly converting every corpse and stashing them.

Slime onaholes from dead slimes uniformly had only Kin Devouring—useless to me, and a dead giveaway if discovered. I'd hoped a live one with ego might yield something different, but no dice.

Why collect these worthless slime onaholes? Simple.

Maybe one in this bunch has a useful skill?

No high hopes for mere slimes, but who knows what skills monsters hide? Worst case, no loss—might as well hoard whatever I can.