Round 26

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I never thought it would be explained so blatantly.

“The Seven Deadly Sins…”

Demons known as the seven deadly sins, also called capital vices, originated from the Bible.

Somehow, monsters with the same concept as these biblical demons began appearing in dungeons.

The most famous of these was Mammon of Greed, who, despite the efforts of Kim Si-young, a renowned Awakener and Young-seong’s wife, and other top global Awakeners, could not be subdued.

“They said he looked oddly like a lower-level goblin.”

Then, there’s no reason a slime couldn’t be a sin too. Yes, it definitely could be, but…

Gobble Gobble!

Poooh, who was devouring boiled potatoes that had been cooked again, sensed someone looking at it and tilted its head with its blond hair swaying.

“This is delicious! More! I want more!”

I couldn’t tell how much this small body could hold. Moreover, these potatoes were supposed to be filling, yet it had already devoured more than 20.

“Isn’t your stomach full?”

“I am full! But still, I want more!”

Who would think that this was one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Gluttony? To an outsider, it just looked like a cute little girl with tiger ears.

‘If I cut the long hair, it might even look like a boy.’

Anyway, I checked Poooh’s status window again while it was busy eating potatoes. Specifically, I examined the abilities it possessed.

[Gluttony LV.??]

[Can eat anything.]

[Abilities grow depending on what is eaten.]

[Limits to fullness and growth disappear.]

??

What kind of bizarre ability is this?

Can eat anything and abilities grow based on the food eaten?

“Heh.”

And the phrase about the disappearance of the limits of fullness.

I could already hear my spine chilling.

“Are you feeling okay?”

As I made a strange noise, Poooh quickly turned to look at me.

“Are you feeling okay? Does something hurt?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell it to stop eating, not with the way it looked at me with those bright, innocent eyes and potato crumbs around its mouth.

Didn’t they say cuteness could save the world?

Poooh certainly had a face that made me believe that saying.

‘Let’s just see how it goes.’

It was still one of the Seven Deadly Sins, after all.

A monster like that which had wiped out numerous high-level Awakeners.

For now, it might look harmless, but with that Gluttony ability, it could grow into a powerful ally.

“What’s next? Breath?”

The other of its only two abilities.

Breath, usually reminding one of a dragon’s breath, I wondered what it would be like.

I immediately looked into the description of Breath.

[Breath LV.1]

Extracts only the destructive power of mana and releases it through breath.

“Hmm…”

Is that all the explanation?

It felt somewhat lacking, but I had gotten used to this system window by now.

Clink! Clink!

The pot of water had boiled.

Holding potatoes in both hands and eagerly devouring them, Poooh’s eyes sparkled as it called out to me.

“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong. Potatoes! The potatoes are done!”

“Alright.”

Whether it was the Seven Deadly Sins, Gluttony, or Breath, it was like family, a slime. And since it also looked human, I couldn’t help but grow fonder of it.

Just grow up healthy.

* * *

A week had passed since this unexpected addition to the family.

Thump! Thump!

“Wow Kyu-seong Kyu-seong! Look how much there is! Look!”

While envying Mark2, I gave it a straw hat I had brought from outside, which matched its cute appearance at a glance.

Now, the one who was no longer Pooh but had acquired the name ‘Ara’ finally let out a joyful shout as she dug up sweet potatoes, marking her first harvest.

“Oh, well done?”

“Praise me more! More!”

“Right, right. Our Ara has been working so hard, so the sweet potatoes have grown well and we’ve harvested a lot.”

As I patted her hat, she giggled adorably.

Squirm!

“Yes, you all worked hard too. I’m proud of everyone.”

Mark2 and the slimes squirmed as they diligently moved the harvested sweet potatoes. After moving the sweet potatoes to the storage, we were finally able to try the first one.

“First, we put the sweet potatoes in the steamer… and when it comes to sweet potatoes, we can’t forget about roasted sweet potatoes.”

Now familiar with the process, I quickly prepared the steamer and placed the sweet potatoes inside.

Now it was time for the roasted sweet potatoes.

I started a fire using the well-dried leaves I had prepared beforehand, along with the stems of the mostly harvested potatoes and carrots.

“Now, as the fire starts to catch, we add the charcoal…”

I had bought the charcoal from outside.

I heated the charcoal, let it catch properly, and then crushed it finely.

“Kyu-seon Kyu-seong. Is it okay to break it?”

“Yes. Just make it into powder and keep only the embers.”

“I want to try it!”

“Okay. Be careful and don’t hurt yourself.”

Since there was nothing else to do, I watched Ara breaking the charcoal into pieces.

Ara occasionally failed to control her strength, causing sparks to fly, but she didn’t mind and continued to crush the charcoal finely.

“This is fun!”

“Hey? Look at your face. Hahaha!”

Ara, who had touched her face a few times because it felt itchy from the sparks, was laughing with soot smeared on her face.

“What happened! What happened!”

“Go look in the pond. Haha. Wash it off while you’re at it.”

“Got it!”

Thump, thump, thump!

Ara quickly ran to the pond and looked at her reflection with a surprised face.

“What is this! Am I sick?”

“It’s just soot. Your hands must be black too.”

“Gasp! That’s right! My hands are black too!”

Ara, having smeared soot here and there on her hands, ran back to me, smiling broadly.

“Kyu-seon Kyu-seong!”

“Huh?”

Her small hands reached toward me as I squatted down to make the roasted sweet potatoes. The touch on my face was soft.

“Hehe! Now you look just like me!”

“Oh really?”

In retaliation, I also touched the finely crushed charcoal and smeared it on my hand.

“Come here.”

“Hehe! Kyu-seon Kyu-seong is slower than me!”

Since the sweet potatoes were already in the steamer, all that was left was to wait, so I chased after Ara enthusiastically.

‘She is really fast, isn’t she?’

Although it seemed like a play between an adult and a child, Ara’s speed was genuinely fast. At first, I didn’t realize she was this quick, but I could see her physical abilities growing over time.

‘Is it because of Gluttony?’

Ara constantly ate my crops.

Thanks to that, there were hardly any surplus products left, but she seemed to have grown accordingly.

‘It’s not just ordinary food after all.’

If I just wanted to fill her stomach, I could easily get food from outside. But I specifically fed her valuable crops because of her Gluttony ability.

An ability that grows based on what is eaten.

Naturally, if she ate my crops, which had the effects of items, it was obvious that Ara’s specs would grow tremendously.

It didn’t seem very efficient, but eventually, as this accumulated, Ara would become an overpowered slime.

‘Then, eventually, we could complete the quest!’

The quest to hunt monsters with a slime could be cleared using Ara. It all rolled together smoothly, like gears meshing from farming onward.

“Kyu-seon Kyu-seong?”

“Huh? Oh! Sorry, I was just lost in thought.”

I suddenly found myself drooling with a silly expression. I wiped off the drool and scratched my head.

“Of course, Kyu-seon Kyu-seong is also looking forward to the sweet potatoes!”

“Of course! They’ll probably be delicious!”

At this point, I should check the information on the sweet potatoes we harvested earlier.

[Enchanted Sweet Potato LV.1]

[It contains faint magical power.]

[When consumed, it slightly enhances physical abilities for 3 minutes depending on the amount of mana possessed and permanently increases a small amount of health stats.]

It was a very healthy sweet potato.

I was happy that each crop had different effects.

“Kyu-seon Kyu-seong. It smells good! It must be delicious!” I casually flipped the roasted sweet potato in the embers and patted Ara’s hat as she bounced around in front of the steamer.

“Shall we take a look?”

Pop! Pop!

Suddenly, the slimes gathered around, visibly excited. When I opened the steamer, purple sweet potatoes that seemed well-cooked appeared.

‘Potatoes and sweet potatoes don’t change their appearance.’

Perhaps it’s still at the level of being imbued with magic. Once they become magic potatoes or magic sweet potatoes, they might change like carrots or cherry tomatoes.

“Ta-da.”

I carefully peeled the skin off the steamed sweet potato.

Then, a golden hue emerged, casting light around.

No, it wasn’t just a metaphor or an exaggeration—golden light literally burst forth.

“What is this…?!”

As I showed my surprise, Ara reached out her hand and, seemingly not too hot, took a bite immediately.

“Mmm!!!”

Shiver!

Ara expressed the deliciousness with her whole body, closing her eyes to savor the aftertaste. Then, suddenly, she offered me the sweet potato she had bitten into.

“Kyu-seon Kyu-seong!”

“Huh? Oh.”

I naturally leaned in.

And took a bite.

“Mmm?!”

Sweetness? No, such a simple word was insufficient to describe it.

Amid the sweetness and nuttiness, the rich flavor of the sweet potato seemed to dance around in my mouth, demanding attention.

I wanted to open my mouth to express how it tasted, but it felt as if glue was holding it shut. I just wanted to savor the flavor longer, unknowingly closing my eyes to enjoy it.

“Mark2! Poispois! Share it with everyone!”

Hearing Ara’s voice brought me back to reality.

Understanding Ara’s reaction, I was slightly moved by her nonchalant sharing.

It was admirable how such a little one already knew to look after others.

“We have more sweet potatoes, so no need to just have one. Here.”

I struggled to swallow the saliva that had filled my mouth as I distributed more sweet potatoes. Then, for the gluttonous Ara, I placed more sweet potatoes in the steamer and checked on the roasted ones.

“Shall we take them out now?”

Honestly, I prefer roasted sweet potatoes. Therefore, my expectations were now sky-high.

Roasted sweet potatoes are so delicious, but what about these?

Crackle-

As I brushed away the ashes, sweet potatoes wrapped in foil revealed themselves. Perhaps because it was the first time cooking them this way, Ara’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Using a shovel, I took out the sweet potatoes and, wearing gloves, peeled off the foil. The aroma was even stronger than when we took out the steamed ones.

“Ah.”

“It’s delicious! Delicious, isn’t it!”

Just by smelling them, Ara was already excited and jumped up and down on the spot. Indeed, the scent of the ones roasted on the fire was much more intense.

Whoosh-

“Wow.”

Fortunately, it was perfectly roasted without any burnt parts. As I gently peeled off the skin while wearing gloves, the same golden light burst forth.

It was as if it resembled Ara’s hair.

“Kyu-seon Kyu-seong!”

“Wait a moment. Here, is it not too hot?”

Ara took the sweet potato from me and quickly popped it into her mouth without answering. Unlike earlier, she started squirming happily.

“Is it good?”

“Yes!”

A simple answer. As expected, to really know the taste, I had to try it myself.

“Let’s eat. Mmm.”

As I bit into the sweet potato, its moist yet soft texture overwhelmed my mouth. Then, it immediately delivered a one-two punch of intense sweetness and savory flavor.

“Wow…”

If I had eaten this before the steamed sweet potato, I might have passed out from the deliciousness. Thankfully, having prepared myself in advance, I was only moderately shocked.

Wobble! Wobble!

“Ah! Sorry, sorry.”

I quickly snapped back to reality and began distributing the roasted sweet potatoes to the slimes, who were twisting their bodies as if asking for their share.

Fortunately, roasted sweet potatoes didn’t need to be confined to a limited space like a steamer or pot, so I had made a large batch, which meant no extra work was necessary.

“Kyu-seon Kyu-seong. I like this one better! This suits my taste more!”

“Indeed. I also prefer the roasted sweet potatoes.”

“But I can’t give up steamed sweet potatoes either! Both are good! I’ll eat both!”

Just pick one, just one.

I patted Ara’s head as she waved it around like she was making a proclamation, holding a steamed and a roasted sweet potato in each hand.

Cuteness indeed saves the world. Why is she so adorable?

Then, a noise came from the upstairs, which should have been empty.

“Huh?”

“Is it an intruder! It’s an intruder!”

Ara seemed to have heard the same noise as I did, pointing her half-eaten sweet potato like a weapon towards the stairs.

“Bro! I’m here.”

“Ah, Jae-seong?”

I was surprised.

It was about time for Jae-seong to return.

But it wasn’t just one voice I heard.

“Bro, I’m here too!”

“Seon-ah?”

The siblings had both come to the dungeon.

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