Slime Chocolate Pudding – A Horrifically Cruel Masterpiece

Slimes are a famous ingredient. As soon as we got out of the Tower, the guild leader, Cheon Yura, and Kim Hyunah scattered in their own directions, each with their business to attend to.

Haa… This place really feels like home now.

For some reason, stepping into the bakery room filled me with a cozy feeling, like I was back in my own apartment.

Maybe next time I should decorate it a bit, call it my workshop or something.

I stood in front of the counter and plopped down the slime that Kim Hyunah had neatly packaged for me.

Inside the transparent wrapping, the bluish remnants of the slime were clumped together.

Looking at it like this… it does make me feel a little guilty.

I shoved those guilty feelings down as deep as possible, peeled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off the wrap, and placed the slime on the cutting board.

Now… how do I cook this thing?

I poked the now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slightly stiffened dead slime with my finger.

It even gets rigor mortis. Wild.

Squelch.

"Oh…"

Alive, it felt like touching water, but now that it was dead, it had a texture like pudding.

Soft and squishy, with a cool, refreshing sensation at my fingertips—it was surprisingly pleasant.

An addictive texture that made me want to keep touching it.

I could make a waterbed out of slime…

"Hmm… At least it seems edible…"

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glared at the slime and opened the old cookbook I'd grabbed earlier.

After wiping off the dust, it finally looked like a proper book.

I carefully turned the pages so they wouldn't tear and found the page with the slime illustration.

The text was still total gibberish.

"Hmm…"

I decided to guess the recipe by studying the picture and the length of the text next to it.

Let's just give it a shot. Slimes aren't some rare monster—if I ask the guild leader or Hyunah, they'll catch me more.

From the picture… it looks like grilling or stir-frying? And since the text is this short, the process probably isn't complicated.

It's not like Chinese where one character equals a whole sentence, right?

"Hmm… Gotta evaporate the moisture first, I bet."

I set the book down and grabbed a frying pan.

I chopped off a chunk of the slime blob and tossed it in, then turned on medium heat.

Sizzle—.

As the heat hit the slime, it started sizzling and slowly shrinking.

The bluish color was turning transparent as it heated up.

"Oh, no weird smell. Good."

I'd been worried about a funky odor, but luckily, there was none.

When the slime had shrunk to about half its size, I turned off the heat and transferred it back to the cutting board.

I poked it with my finger—much firmer and chewier now that the moisture was gone.

I picked up the kitchen knife and diced the dehydrated slime into small cubes.

Slice, slice.

The knife cut through with a satisfying crispness.

Feels just like cutting tofu.

I dumped the small slime pieces straight into the blender.

Vrrr!!

The blender whirred loudly, grinding the slime into a fine paste.

Gelatin's usually melted, but this is slime, so grinding it works.

"Hmm… Base is perfect now."

I poured milk and heavy cream into a pot, then added the finely ground slime.

I threw in proper chocolate with cocoa butter—not cheap palm oil junk—plus sugar and a vanilla bean.

Baek Arang, you did it. Vanilla beans for days.

They used to be ridiculously expensive, so I'd always used artificial flavoring, but now price doesn't matter… This is living.

I lit the fire and stirred slowly, and soon the bakery filled with a sweet, subtle vanilla aroma.

Bubble bubble.

The slime mixed with the chocolate, somehow thickening into a perfect consistency.

Just like real gelatin…

I turned off the heat, let it cool a bit, and carefully poured it into a pretty glass mold.

"Just gotta chill it now."

I gently slid the mold deep into the fridge.

Wonder what effect this'll have… Maybe I should write a book compiling the effects and tastes of all the breads I've made.

Lost in random thoughts while browsing Nobelpia, time flew by.

Brimming with anticipation, I carefully opened the fridge door.

Inside the chilled glass mold, a glossy, perfectly formed pudding gleamed.

I brought the mold to the counter, flipped it over, and tapped it onto a plate.

Plop.

With a perfect jiggle, the chocolate slime pudding settled on the plate.

"Whoa…"

I let out a gasp of admiration and pressed the surface with my finger.

Boing, boing.

The delightful bounce pushing back against my finger.

This is it. This is pudding. Japanese stuff's got nothing on this.

"Why 'horrifically cruel'…?"

Thinking back on the process, it kinda made sense, but I decided to ignore it.

Whatever… Winners write the history.

I stared at the skill window, then gently shook the plate.

Jiggle, jiggle.

The pudding wobbled delightfully, like a living slime.

I poked the surface playfully with my finger, then picked up a spoon.

"Alright, the real test is the taste."

If it doesn't taste good, even great effects make it a failure for me.

I carefully scooped into the pudding with the spoon tip.

Slice, but chewy, sticking to the spoon.

The soft, squishy texture traveled from the spoon to my hand.

I brought the heaping spoonful of dark chocolate pudding to my mouth.

Honestly, first time eating a monster, so I was a bit nervous inside.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shoved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it in.

"……!"

The moment it hit my mouth, it bounced off my teeth with a jiggle, then melted like cotton candy on my tongue.

"Huh…?"

A rich, luxurious chocolate sweetness filled every corner of my mouth.

No fishy taste or gross texture—just a pleasant blend of subtle vanilla and chocolate.

Gulp.

As it slid down my throat, the smooth glide left vanilla and cocoa lingering pleasantly in my nose and mouth.

"Grrr…"

A purr escaped me unwittingly, and my tail, tucked in my pants, popped out and swished rapidly.

I made this, but… it's insane. Were all the puddings I've ever eaten just relics of a bygone era?

The signature desserts from hotels I'd tried now tasted like cheap mass-produced junk.

As I sat there dazed with the spoon in my mouth, a massive status window popped up in front of me.

"Grudge…? What's Liquefaction?"

I set down the spoon in my mouth and stared blankly at the status window.

"Liquefaction… What even is this?"

Not some straightforward buff like defense up or fatigue reduction—instead, a brand-new skill popped out.

"Liquefaction skill? Does my body actually turn into liquid like water?"

I tilted my head and clenched and unclenched my fist.

Visually, nothing had changed. No softening or transparency.

"What, no change at all?"

As I cocked my head, my tail—Baek Arang's tail—knocked the cutting board on the counter.

The kitchen knife balanced on the edge got pushed by my tail and fell.

"Ack…!"

The knife plummeted straight down, its sharp tip aimed right at the top of my bare foot.

No time to dodge.

Stab!

"GyaAhhh!!"

I screamed, bracing for agony, and squeezed my eyes shut.

Imagining my foot pierced, goosebumps exploded across my body.

…Did it get cut?

I collapsed to the floor, trembling, waiting for the pain.

"……Huh?"

Time passed, but no pain came.

Not even a tingle. I cautiously opened my eyes and released my clenched ears.

"Gasp…"

A massive kitchen knife was still stabbed vertically into the top of my foot.

But no blood sprayed, no flesh tore.

Like stabbing a puddle, the skin around the blade had turned into rippling blue liquid, softly enveloping it.

"W-what is this…?" Did I eat the Devil Fruit or something?

With shaking hands, I gripped the knife handle on my foot.

I carefully pulled it upward.

Schlurp—.

It slid out smoothly, without resistance.

The hole in my foot filled instantly, like water pooling in a puddle, jiggling as it sealed.

I'm a natural element, huh.

No trace of injury anywhere.

"…So this is Liquefaction."

I stared wide-eyed, alternating between my foot and the knife.

Seems like I made another weirdo item.

…At this rate, I might bake something that causes TS later.