Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Light and Darkness, Pruning
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Light and darkness.
Two entities that seemed like they could mix, yet never truly did.
We used to ponder it as kids.
‘If those two fought, who would win?’
A primal question.
The ‘God Cup’ that began the moment the universe was born.
That’s why battles between light and darkness were always, always.
A staple in countless stories, captivating audiences everywhere.
Kwaaaaang!
And I think I’ve finally found the answer to that question.
Kwakwakwang!
“Hey…! I told you to go outside and do it!”
Though I never imagined it’d be like this.
Pupu-pung!
Seolbaek, transformed into mini-Myr form, unleashed a brilliant blue breath attack.
Normally, blue flames signified extreme heat, but Seolbaek’s were special.
‘Ahh, seriously…! I’m freezing to death.’
They were ice flames that plummeted the temperature of the entire factory.
Temperatures nearing absolute zero.
I’d once tested it by wearing Molrangtex, nearly fusing with it on the spot. That gave me a great data point: -100°C is the limit for Molrator and Molrangtex.
Fusaaaa…!
The breath, far too serious to call playful, engulfed the pitch-black form.
It was Kami.
Kami, who’d mimicked Seolbaek by sprouting six long tails.
A single emotion gleamed in its bright yellow eyes.
Joy. Or perhaps happiness.
Grrr!
Savoring the moment, Kami let out a rumbling purr before slipping—swoosh!—into the shadows.
Kiiing!
Once again, Seolbaek’s attack missed.
No matter how powerful the breath, what good is it if Kami has no intention of taking the hit?
Crack!
Oh. Not quite. It’s working.
A crack was forming in the special reinforced glass Ha Young had installed before.
“…Sigh.”
This always happened right after summoning Kami.
Seolbaek really disliked Kami.
It was like generational PTSD etched into its genes—daily fights broke out.
So strange.
Kitsune were prodigies of mana conversion, able to assimilate any monster’s mana.
Yet this chameleon-like creature just couldn’t mesh with Kami.
Myaong!
Kami, on the other hand, seemed utterly indifferent to Seolbaek’s tantrums, staying true to its original demeanor.
Or so it had seemed.
Kiiing!
Seolbaek dropped its transformation and tilted its head skyward.
Wooong. Mana rose from its six bristling tails, thick energy gathering near its mouth.
Pajijik…!
The ultimate technique of the six-tailed kitsune: Energy Orb. Otherwise known as Foxfire.
The mana was so condensed that just looking at it made my skin prickle.
Kiiing!
Seolbaek fired the Foxfire without hesitation.
Tsk. That one’s actually dangerous.
Won’t it punch a hole through the factory floor?
The Foxfire packed enough punch to inspire dread, but Kami didn’t budge.
The shadow it hid in showed no sign of movement.
Soon, the Foxfire plunged into the shadow.
So that was the goal from the start. Destroy it from the inside, huh.
Kiiing!
Seolbaek smirked triumphantly, brimming with pride.
But as expected, the attack was futile.
True darkness absorbs even light.
Seolbaek’s Foxfire vanished without resistance, swallowed whole by Kami.
Kiiing!
Seolbaek shuddered at the pathetic outcome.
Its record so far: roughly 0 wins, 78 losses.
Kami was just toying with it.
Truly cat-like.
Treating the inferior one like a plaything.
Thanks to that, I was convinced.
Darkness beats light.
Kiiing!
Of course, Seolbaek never accepted defeat.
Like its owner, it had fierce competitive spirit.
Letting out an angry cry, Seolbaek began transforming again.
Wait. That fist…
Is it trying to turn into a Titan?
Is this cute little punk seriously about to wreck the factory?
“Seolbaek!”
Even a magnanimous soul like me had to yell.
“Come here and stay put.”
Kiiing!
“Now! Or no dinner tonight.”
For pups, the ultimate joy was, naturally, mealtime.
Seolbaek was no different.
It adored meat—especially lately, after being fed only dragon meat, its tastes had grown refined.
Snatching a meal from such a glutton was terrifying punishment.
Kiiing…!
Seolbaek finally abandoned the transformation, bounding toward me like a captive. It hopped up, landing atop my head.
Kami, who’d been watching, peeked out from the shadows and—hop!—climbed onto Seolbaek’s back.
…!
“No. Stay still.”
Seolbaek tried to resist but quickly gave up.
They could coexist like this, yet it always threw a fit.
“You two play so entertainingly. Looks like you could go all day without getting bored.”
Ha Young burst out laughing as she watched.
They were cute, sure. The problem was worrying they’d trash the factory.
“I just don’t get why they fight.”
“Kids grow up fighting. It’s like their way of showing love, right?”
“They love each other too much—that’s the issue.”
What fiery love.
I got the heat part, so from now on, take it outside?
Anyway, the commotion settled.
Tok! Tak!
I refocused on harvesting slime balls.
Tok! Tak!
It was less harvesting, more like pruning.
Kami’s tentacles? Branches? Whatever those long things were, the slime balls impaled on them had grown prolifically.
But the growth direction… the ‘growth’ pattern was a bit off from my expectations.
I’d pictured slime balls gradually expanding into full pudding slimes.
Reality was grape-like clusters.
Bunches of similarly sized cores—slime balls—hanging like grapes.
Well, if each were a full slime ball, I’d have been thrilled.
Just pluck ’em and make Molrators.
Tak.
“Saebyeok, we just toss these too?”
Ha Young dangled a fairly large slime ball.
“Wanna poke it with your finger?”
“Okay.”
Pok… Pop!
“…It popped?”
“Yep, toss it.”
Most slime balls were like the one in Ha Young’s hand.
Underripe, lacking nutrition.
Like fruit that hadn’t fully matured.
So I’d asked about it.
[DragonRaiserASAP: Bro what is this???]
[BreedingGod: ??????]
[DragonRaiserASAP: (photo)]
[DragonRaiserASAP: This ain’t what you said]
[BreedingGod: Wut]
[BreedingGod: Nice grapes. Send a box. Those babies are plump]
[DragonRaiserASAP: lmao]
[DragonRaiserASAP: Did exactly what you said for slime breeding and this happened]
[DragonRaiserASAP: You ruined my breeding take responsibility]
[BreedingGod: Nah didn’t follow my instructions exactly so not my fault gtfo]
[DragonRaiserASAP: ?? BS for real;;]
But that was the end of our chat.
No replies no matter how many messages I sent.
Typical BreedingGod, master of push-pull.
Daring to leave me hanging?
Said he was off to a US gate hunting new breeding monsters, right?
Just come back to Korea—I’ll give you a proper scolding.
Anyway, I mulled over BreedingGod’s tip.
‘Think nutrition and grow those cores.’
Pondering deeply to find answers.
Maybe the solution was in the problem itself.
Hang on. This is weird.
Why do I have to divine the intent like some exam proctor?
I’m no test-taker in a psych war with evaluators.
Just explain it straight.
Irritation flared toward BreedingGod again, but I found the answer.
His ‘grape’ comment was the hint.
Tok! Tok!
Take trendy Shine Muscat grapes, whose flavor faded after the hype.
Those had tons of seeds originally, from what I saw.
Videos showed hundreds per bunch.
Classic nutrition error.
Spreading limited nutrients across too many cores.
Basically mutual destruction. Needed rational distribution.
Same with exam prep—cover everything and you fail.
All-in on your strengths is efficient.
Tok! Tok!
Channeling a Shine Muscat farmer, I began pruning the weak slime balls.
Prune once a day.
Slime ball growth: 7 days fast, up to 2 weeks slow.
This was the 5th round already, so harvest time neared.
“But Saebyeok, we just throw out the weak ones? Feels wasteful.”
“Nah, I’m saving them. Maybe make merch later.”
“Thrifty.”
“Everything looks like money now.”
Total occupational hazard.
The world’s all cash to me.
Someone steal this capitalist scout vision already.
And per the scout, the sturdy cores were worth a whopping.
[500,000,000]
500 million won.
Once they mature into pudding slimes, that’s like 100 Molrators.
Pump more nutrition, 5 billion or 50 billion’s no dream. Over a week till harvest.
Mass-produce Molrators and… whoa!
Skyscrapers funded in no time!
…Or so I thought.
**
“Eh?”
Faced with the first completed breeding result—a newly grown pudding slime—I let out a dumb exclamation.
Porong!
What’s that black lump?