Covetous Arang
I irritably stretched the slime clutched in my hand, smacking my lips.
"Is it really not edible... It looks so tasty..."
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed perfect as a gelatin substitute—or with some proper cooking, pretty damn useful.
As I muttered to myself with genuine regret, Cheon Yura quietly spoke up.
"Well... I've heard that in some places, they cook and eat monsters..."
"Really?!"
At Cheon Yura's words, my drooping white tiger ears perked straight up.
I snapped my head up, staring at her with sparkling eyes.
"Hey, Cheon Yura! What kinda nonsense are you telling the kid!"
Cha Eunwol freaked out and shoved Cheon Yura's shoulder.
She'd caught a glimpse of something unhinged in my eyes just now, and cold sweat trickled down her back.
That kid can make a face like that too...?
I wagged my tail vigorously behind me and scooted right up to Cheon Yura.
"Can I really eat it? No poison or anything?"
"Uh, um? Well... no poison, and it's not nutritious anyway... People just don't bother 'cause it's gross... But I heard it's technically edible..."
Cheon Yura couldn't dodge my wide-eyed, sparkling gaze and answered straight on.
...How am I supposed to lie to eyes like that?
"Yesss!"
I hugged the slime to my chest like a precious treasure, eyes gleaming.
For some reason, it had gone stiff and stopped moving, but whatever.
"So, can I take this with me?"
"Arang-ssi. Unfortunately, no."
Kim Hyunah's firm voice from behind halted my excitedly swishing tail.
"Why...?"
"Unless you have a Taming-related skill, taking live monsters out of the Tower without permission violates hunter regulations."
"Oh..."
True... It was a slime I wanted to take, but if it were some dangerous monster, it'd cause huge problems outside.
My ears drooped again at Hyunah-ssi’s words.
I'd been excited imagining baking bread with slime, but I couldn't become a criminal over it.
The slime in my arms seemed to sigh in relief, which pissed me off even more.
As I pouted in disappointment, Kim Hyunah quietly added,
"However, if it's not alive—in byproduct form—then it's legal to take. It's considered harvesting Tower resources."
"Aha!"
My tail started swishing vigorously again.
Makes sense—there are hunters with all sorts of production skills who need monster byproducts.
I immediately thrust the wriggling slime from my chest toward them with both hands.
"Then kill it for me, please."
"...Pardon?"
"If it's dead, I can take it, right? I don't know how to kill it, so do it for me."
Baek Arang requested the slime's execution with the most innocent smile.
Cha Eunwol and Cheon Yura averted their eyes at the bizarre disconnect.
"...She was cooing over how cute it was a second ago, and now she's asking to kill it without batting an eye... Logically it makes sense, but..."
"At least she's not saying 'aww, it's cute, let's spare it' like you were your first time in the Tower with slimes—"
"Say one more word... and I'll kill you, Cha Eunwol."
Kim Hyunah quickly composed her startled expression, smiled brightly, and approached me.
"Understood, Arang-ssi. Hand it over."
Kim Hyunah lightly extended a finger toward the slime I held out.
Pok.
"Kyung..."
Her fingertip precisely pierced the slime's core. It shuddered faintly before going limp, turning into a cold, jelly-like lump.
"I'll hold onto this for now. I'll bring it to the bakery room later."
"Yes, thank you!"
My mood skyrocketed at the thought of my new toy.
Nice... What should I make with it?
I was curious to try a new ingredient, but even more so about what effects bread made with it might have.
My newly unlocked Baker skill gave me a hunch that I could bake slime bread no problem.
"Hm-hmm, hehe."
I hummed a little tune, skipping lightly across the first-floor plains.
Any monsters that popped up got taken out before I could even flinch.
I dipped a finger in a small stream, admired the Tower's scenery—how long had I wandered?
At the edge of the open plains stood a massive stone door, towering out of nowhere.
The Door of Truth...?
Does opening that make me an alchemist or something?
"What's that door?"
I stopped and pointed at the huge door. Cheon Yura sidled up and tilted her chin.
"Oh, that. Entrance to the boss room with the first-floor boss."
"Boss room?"
"Yeah. Kill the guy in there, and the path to the second floor opens for the hunters who did it."
The guild leader approached from my other side, grinning fiercely.
"What, little one? Wanna peek at the boss?"
A boss room I'd only heard about in stories... First floor, so probably nothing too fancy, but I was curious what it'd be.
Hopefully... something that looked tasty.
I nodded without hesitation.
"Yes! I wanna see."
"Alright, let's go. A first-floor boss is no big deal anyway."
We headed straight for the massive stone door.
The guild leader pushed it lightly, and it groaned open with a heavy rumble, letting in a rush of cool air.
Ugh... Moldy smell. That's why ventilation matters.
I wrinkled my nose at the dust and mold, pinching it shut.
Unlike the plains, the room inside was a dim cave.
In the center stood a goblin warrior—three times bigger than the ones on the plains—gripping a vicious greatsword.
"That's the first-floor boss, Goblin Warrior."
Kim Hyunah-ssi sidled close and whispered an explanation.
"Grrraaah...!"
As we entered, the Goblin Warrior whipped its head around.
Its bloodshot eyes scanned us, then locked on me.
What the—why's it staring at just me?
It bared its yellowed, blood-crusted fangs in a utterly creepy grin.
"Grr... meat."
"Eek...!"
Ugly... gross!
That hideous, nauseating grin sent chills racing over my skin.
I dove behind Kim Hyunah-ssi, clutching her clothes and burying my face in her back.
The guild leader snickered and patted my shoulder.
...I hate that thing for real.
"Our little one's popular, huh? Getting flirted with by a Goblin Warrior."
"Ugh, I hate it... It's so ugly and gross! Kill it quick, please!"
As I whimpered, clinging to Kim Hyunah-ssi's waist, Cheon Yura chuckled up front.
"If our Arang wants it dead, we kill it."
Cheon Yura casually raised her hand.
Crackle.
Blue lightning sparked menacingly from her fingertips.
"Raaawr!!"
The Goblin Warrior raised its greatsword with a roar and charged us.
BOOM!!
A massive bolt from Cheon Yura's hand lit the boss room like midday.
Where the lightning swept, only a bit of black ash remained—no trace of the drooling, grotesque goblin that had charged moments ago.
"Whoa..."
I peeked from behind Kim Hyunah-ssi, mouth agape.
It just zap and died.
...Better not piss her off.
As I stared in awe, Cheon Yura brushed back her bangs with an annoying smirk.
"What, that surprised you? We're upper-floor climbers anyway."
"You're bragging over some weakling while treating me like the weak link."
Ignoring Cha Eunwol, Cheon Yura patted my head.
Meanwhile, Kim Hyunah, checking for drops amid the ash, picked something up.
"This dropped."
Kim Hyunah-ssi brought over a worn ring with a faint silver sheen.
The guild leader glanced at it and raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Oho, pretty rare for the first floor."
"What's it do?"
I tilted my head curiously. Cheon Yura eyed the ring and shrugged.
"Nothin' special. Wear it, and your luck goes up a bit. Beginner纪念 item."
A luck-boosting ring... If I wore a bunch and scratched lotto tickets, first prize?
"Won't stack, so no stacking 'em for lotto dreams."
"Gasp..."
"...So honest."
Sharp... Everyone thinks it once.
Kim Hyunah-ssi polished the ring and held it out to me.
"Arang-ssi. Here."
"Huh? Can I really have it? It's an item..."
I hesitated, but Cheon Yura waved it off with a smirk.
"Just take it. We don't use crap like that. Souvenir for your first Tower trip."
"Thank you."
No need to refuse.
I carefully took the ring from Kim Hyunah-ssi’s hand.
The cool metal felt nice.
Where to wear it... Index might snag on dough...
I thought it over, then slid it onto my left ring finger.
Figured it'd be loose, but it auto-resized perfectly.
"Ooh... comfy."
The moment Baek Arang slipped the ring onto her ring finger, a strange silence fell over the boss room.
"......She's doing that on purpose, right."
"...Gonna make a lotta people cry when she grows up."
"......This is permission, right...? Soon..."
The three women's gazes locked onto the ring on Baek Arang's left ring finger, unmoving.
