Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Slime Shenanigans
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With Yi Yu-hyeon's absence putting his mentoring duties on hold for the moment, Dun helped out with Rihaowel's item sales here and there.
This time, as he eyed the picture diary he had to submit to Auntie Lance, the two carefully drawn stick figures the princess had sketched jumped right out at him. He turned down her offer to summon a royal painter. Yesterday's entry was in stick-figure style—if today's suddenly looked like Michelangelo, he'd get scolded for sure.
Dun lay sprawled next to Rihaowel as she sold potions to the adventurers, pretending to scribble in his diary while practicing fine control over his strength.
Ding-a-ling—
A player battered from head to toe stumbled suddenly into the general store. Low-level players in particular frequented Rihaowel's shop a lot, so Dun recognized many familiar faces.
"Hey, shop kiddo."
"Hi."
A player who got trampled by weak monsters and dropped by the shop every day waved in greeting. Dun shook his head in reply instead of his hand.
"Got any poison antidote?"
"Oh, yeah. Hang on. Gaedung! That's not for eating!"
Rihaowel, spotting Gaedung by chance, yelled in a panic.
Gaedung, who had been squirming on Dun's back, was hungry and darting around the store, eyeing tasty-looking liquids.
Rihaowel swiftly snatched Gaedung mid-attempt to uncork a potion and plopped him back atop Dun's head.
"Dun, if you wanna raise a pet monster, train it properly. It'll ruin business if it eats everything in the shop."
Rihaowel grumbled, looking worn out from the long day.
Dun started to playfully retort but nodded upon noticing her dark circles.
"Kim Gaedung, on your knees. Hands up."
[...Why...?]
Gaedung, who had been gazing innocently at Dun, formed two arm-like appendages and raised them in the air. Ever since leveling up, he could move his body freely beyond just his spherical form.
He seemed slow to grasp the kneeling part, wriggling his body against the floor with grunts.
He didn't understand what he'd done wrong but followed orders anyway—that was Gaedung.
"Repeat after me. I won't~ eat~ the items~ in the general store~"
Dun turned Gaedung toward Rihaowel and drawled out the words. Gaedung mimicked him with a bewildered expression.
[In the general storeee... items... won't eat... themmm...]
"Bow your head and apologize. Say 'I'm sorry.'"
[Sorrr... y......]
Gaedung slammed his broad face into the floor.
"Straighter, or I'll hate you. Do it properly."
[Sor... sorrr... heuk... sorrr... heuk... I'm sorrrryyy... I was... wrrong...]
Gaedung pounded his face against the floor and began sobbing with plops.
"You committed a grave sin."
[Maa... maa...]
"Do my homework instead."
[Goooot it... gooooot it...]
Gaedung slithered over, grabbed a pencil in his gooey grip, and just doodled @ symbols.
[Dunn... hates... meee... world... endss...]
Rihaowel and the players watched Gaedung with twitching lips.
"Um, could you bag up a few of those potions for me?"
The player buying the expensive potion Gaedung had eyed set it down carefully in front of the still-weeping slime.
"Here, you can have this one. It's on me."
[Gaedung... eaaat...? Can't... eaaat... Dun... hates... hates...]
The player bit his lip, watching the slime still bawling its eyes out.
"Kiddo, mind letting Gaedung have it?"
"...It's okay if Mom says so?"
When Dun passed the buck on the player's question, Rihaowel shot him a glare.
"It's from a customer, so say thank you."
"You hear that? Say 'thank you' to the nice customer who gave you food. And no touching the display shelves next time."
Dun patted Gaedung's head. The slime nodded vigorously, tears pouring like chicken droppings.
[Thank... youuu... heuk...]
As Gaedung tearfully expressed his gratitude, the player clutched his chest with a creepy expression and left the store.
Time passed, and it was time to close up shop. Dun, Rihaowel, and Gaedung—who still clutched his heart—watched the last customer go, then hung the "Closed" sign outside.
"Kim Gaedung, you're a great actor."
[Dun... hates... me... said it... ten times...]
Helping with Rihaowel's sales went something like that. Gaedung, clutching the premium potion the player had given him, diligently returned it to its spot on the display shelf.
"Mom doesn't like that method."
"Put down the money you're counting first, then talk. Zero credibility."
Dun scooped up Gaedung, who had worked hard bawling all day. He was thoroughly blue.
"How could I hate you? You rake in the cash like this."
[Hehe... I like... you too... only me... reliess...]
Dun hugged the pink-tinged Gaedung and grinned wickedly, lips pulled to his ears. Rihaowel laughed in exasperation.
* * *
After his evening bath, steam rose gently from Dun's body. Back in his room, he opened the window to let in cool air and ventilate.
"Skill window."
Lately, he'd been too busy raising others to focus on self-improvement. Opening his skill window after ages, Dun stroked his chin.
[Monster Domination lv.4]
"...Oh, right. Been neglecting this skill."
All of Dun's current stats were maxed out. Except for this weird one spat out by Lycullin.
It leveled quickly at first, but slowed down later—an unusual occurrence for him.
Normally, skills shot up fast thanks to his base stats, but being a legendary skill, its level-up speed differed from regular ones.
Plus, to raise its level, he needed frequent casts, but each use stuck monsters to him, which was a hassle.
One trailing monster was plenty—Gaedung.
"Gaedung. You asleep, Gaedung?"
Fresh from a warm bath, Gaedung was drowsy, nestled on Dun's knee with eyes closed, softly jiggling.
Seemed like it. Dun carefully placed him into his glass fruit-bowl bed. Gaedung's body looked so taut and jiggly that Dun gave it a smack.
Smack!
It made a satisfying sound.
Gaedung slowly blinked awake, then shut his eyes again.
Watching him go from bawling to peacefully sleeping brought an involuntary chuckle.
"Time to plan picking up the Lycus pack soon."
Dun slipped under the fluffy covers, thinking of the Lycus herd left behind in Yoharaum. Raising a slime had sparked a desire to try other monsters too.
Originally, he'd only planned to take the boss monster Lycullin, but he quite liked the Lycus too.
If he mastered this Domination skill, he wouldn't have to worry about his low-HP body anymore. He could just boss monsters around.
The sufficiently loyal Lycus could serve as personal mounts, and flying monsters as airships.
Seemed like a good idea to visit the Lycus soon.
The baby Lycus chirps of 'Tweet tweet!' calling for him echoed in his ears now and then.
"Ah, it'd be great if I could rope in Seol Do-yun too."
What a talented kid. Dun hated working with him, but he was always the first who came to mind when needing the right person for a job.
Sure, the guy was a bit dim, but undeniably competent. If he'd been around, he'd have efficiently figured out the best ways and spots to raise monsters.
Not just smart— a pathological efficiency nut and perfectionist.
Whether leveling up, clearing dungeons, or making money, he'd map out dozens of variables and optimize to the extreme.
He always hit his goals, and as a money-obsessed freak, by the time Dun died, he'd amassed land and buildings in his own name. Even moved into a ridiculously spacious luxury apartment for one person.
Dun vaguely recalled mocking him: "What, playing Great Gatsby solo?"
Talent aside, he was scarily cold and ruthless at his core.
Dun pictured his face from their last meeting before death.
Pale skin, mocking smirk.
"Why not quit hunting and do the normals' Olympics? Ski jumping or something."
"Fuck off and die."
The middle finger and "die" came from that bastard, but Dun was the one who actually croaked.
No regrets about his past life or dying—not a single one. If there was any lingering attachment, it was not getting to kick that obnoxious kid's ass hard enough.
The sly weasel he'd become as an adult might be impossible to lord over like a dog, but the young, innocent baby Seol Do-yun? Possible.
Imagining a crack in that default-sneer face somehow digested the meal that had been sitting undigested.
No need for digestive aids.