Reeling in the Bomb Slime Secret
That evening after getting off work, Hanbit trudged home and collapsed into the chair at his desk.
“Days feel way too long.”
Most of what he'd done at the office today was snooping around. The problem was, even glancing at the blueprints in progress or overhearing conversations packed with jargon, he could barely make sense of any of it. At least his senior, Lee Minho, had slipped him some organized notes on the sly, so it wasn't a total waste.
“What the hell, so many?”
He'd been swamped since morning, so he was only now checking his smartphone. Messages from Juyeonu had piled up—over a hundred, easy. Hanbit gave up reading them and hurried through a shower and dinner instead.
「Logging in now.」
After firing off the text, he shut his bedroom door and headed for the bed. Still awkward with the gear, he lay back comfortably and powered it on.
“Oh, there we go.”
The loading screen ended in a flash, and his vision shifted. The sensations inside the game still felt like magic every time.
“Hyung!”
Juyeonu, who'd logged in ahead of him, rushed over with a shout, his face looking seriously urgent.
“Sorry, man. Didn't see a single one of your messages. Today was insane.”
“That's fine—just check the viewer count first!”
“Viewers? You already went live?”
-Oh, this is Black Dragon?
-When's the hidden skill reveal?
-How'd you clear the Atsbel quest?
-Bomb slime thing—explain pls.
-Push the main quest already, I'm dizzy ;_;
-Take a seat. This is your average noob stream.
The number at the bottom of the chat window read 5,512. With more viewers came a flood of messages scrolling by at warp speed. So many people drawn by the hype, all bursting with questions—it was electric.
“What the...? How'd it blow up like this?”
“Community posts went nuts all day. We ignored the troll bait, but the hidden skill and Atsbel quest really hooked 'em.”
“Hidden skill? It was just on the recommendation list.”
“The existence of it is OP! No one knows what it does! Just the icon's got everyone losing their minds!”
“...For real?”
Hanbit blinked in surprise at the unexpected windfall. Showing off a recommended skill and grabbing one quest, and this was the reaction? And he hadn't even cleared it yet.
-Agreed
-All icons I've never seen. lol
-So how do you clear Atsbel's quest?
-What's with the bomb slime?
-Can't even get it 'cause of that trash Julio.
-Total garbage.
‘It's hitting hard, huh?’
For starters in Edlen, Julio was the friendly NPC, and Atsbel was the thief. Hanbit had flipped that textbook script on its head. In the end, players had gotten scammed by Julio too.
‘Even in this world, he's a public nuisance.’
Even if someone like him exposed it, victims were everywhere. Shaking his head at the pathetic mess, Hanbit pulled up the quest window again.
[Quest]
Atsbel's got a big problem weighing on her. Her mother's sick—find a way to cure it.
Maybe something around Edlen will do the trick?
Goal: Obtain the proper cure.
Reward: 2,000 gold, Atsbel's Fireball spellbook (1-rank Hero), 3 stat points, 500 EXP
Simple and straightforward goal, but tracking down the medicine info was no joke. Hanbit knew that all too well—that's why he'd dropped the hint yesterday.
“No one's cleared the quest yet, right?”
“That's why I kept messaging. Though most folks called it a troll.”
-Yeah, wasn't buying it.
-Obvious fake. lol
-Don't mess with bomb slimes for nothing.
-Spill the truth already.
The cure info hadn't fully convinced everyone, just as Hanbit expected. Still, he had a sliver of hope.
“Any weird attempts worth noting?”
“Weird attempts?”
“Plenty of creative types out there. Figured someone twisted it somehow.”
“...You gonna twist a monster hunt?”
[속마음빌런 donated 1,000 won.]
[Roper: What the hell's this guy on about?]
-Fr, what even?
-All that info's BS anyway.
-Stalling tactic. lol
-If Black Dragon wants to bail, +1.
Folks were leaning hard into “it's all fake.” Hanbit grinned like it was the best show ever.
“Guess I'll just show you how I get it, then.”
***
Hanbit made a beeline for Edlen's main gate by the walls. As the crowds thickened, Juyeonu sidled up close.
“Hyung, this might get annoying.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Check that out.”
He nodded toward a cluster of people deep in heated debate, split into groups.
“This quest's like headbutting concrete, right?”
“Only info we got is from that Black Dragon guy. No one's cleared it in a whole day.”
“Why trust some noob's nonsense? What're you gonna get from bomb slimes?”
Tons of players had rushed here after the stream and community posts. From the chat, plenty hadn't learned fire magic either.
“Yo, isn't that Rainzer?”
“Rainzer? Bullshit.”
“Wait, for real!”
The noisy crowd's eyes snapped to the entrance. Dozens were streaming into the city.
-Real Rainzer?
-Wtf. lol Why's a pioneer here?
-For Atsbel quest?
-That's worth it?
-Lol noob.
“...Rainzer for real? Hyung, even the pioneer's here.”
Juyeonu whipped his head around from the chat, stunned. First time Hanbit had heard the term.
“Pioneer's what?”
“Top 10,000 rankers. System ranks 'em officially by level and story progress combined.”
“Ten thousand? That's a ton.”
“Out of 300 million worldwide? Super elite. Korea's got under 500.”
Juyeonu shook his head firmly. On a global scale, yeah, it hit different. He'd seen articles about tens of millions concurrent too.
“Guy like that skipped magic?”
“Probably ditched it for proficiency grind. Focused on mains to blast through story.”
Leading the pack was a guy decked in flashy gear. The golden bow slung on his back screamed high-end.
‘Golden Bird's Bow.’
Hanbit knew that heroic eagle etched into the limbs—solid work from a decent artisan.
“He hasn't cleared it either, right?”
“Just hit Edlen probably. Pioneers are slammed. Lots tied to corps.”
“Corps?”
“Contracts with companies gunning for RP clears. Full backing, but they grind story like maniacs.”
-Clearing = life changer.
-One-shot jackpot.
-Pioneers get paid top dollar.
-He's way above ;
With the devs dangling RP ownership as the prize, pioneers were priceless. No wonder this one's visit stirred shit up.
Thud, thud—
Rainzer's crew marched down the main road into the city, ignoring the stares like pros.
“Hey, Black Dragon's here too?”
“Stream off? He said he'd show the clear earlier.”
“What a cocky bastard.”
Once they were gone, eyes shifted to Hanbit. Plenty of viewers were rivals sniffing for info.
“Wanna tail him?”
“Nah, total fake. Finding the quest was dumb luck. Don't waste time—follow them.”
“Yeah, noob talk.”
Most players shrugged off with distrust and bailed. The rest were busy scheming among themselves. No real tails on Hanbit.
“Not so bad, huh?”
“...Yeah.”
Juyeonu scratched his head as players thinned out. A few might follow, but no biggie.
Glancing around, Hanbit said, “Let's move.”
“Right, forest bound?”
“Nah. Ocean. Need a fishing rod.”
“...Fishing rod?”
-Ocean?
-What about bomb slimes?
-Fishing's life content, right? Why?
-Fishing's boring af;
Everyone was baffled. Hanbit was the one who'd said bomb slimes held the cure. Fishing out of nowhere? No wonder.
[Julio donated 1,000 won.]
[Don't fall for it, folks. This guy's bashing heads with that rod.]
-GTFO.
-Back to jail.
-20-year sentence.
-Can't get Atsbel quest 'cause of that trash.
-Piece of shit.
-Go bald in prison.
“Pfft.”
The fake Julio was getting roasted alive. Hanbit couldn't help but crack up. That scum deserved every bit.
“Hyung, so the rod? You know bomb slimes aren't in the ocean, right?”
“Oh really? Not in the ocean?”
“Hyung!”
Juyeonu's face crumpled half in tears at the teasing. If the slime info was fake, the stream was toast.
Reading the panic, Hanbit stretched lazily. “Kidding, kidding. Grab the rod, then forest.”
“...You're not using it as a weapon, right? Even for entertainment, we gotta clear. You've got that level 1 sword—please use it.”
“Thing is...”
Hanbit peeked at chat, then leaned in close to whisper, “It's weapon-adjacent. Gotta fish for the bomb slime.”
“What?”
-Whispering now?
-Official viewer exclusion stream. ㅠㅠ
Viewers griped at the muffled words. The quest's core was the bomb slime secret, but no way was he spilling. If he did, it'd be cleared already. Plus, stringing them along was kinda fun.
Grinning, Hanbit started walking. “C'mon. Harbor.”