The items purchased from the dungeon supply store were delivered to my house. I heard that the delivery would be made within a day, so I decided to stay home for the day.
“Ara, do you want to sleep with grandma?”
“No.”
Ara, who had changed clothes at some point, shook her head and clung to my leg. Her drowsy appearance was adorable.
“She still likes you the most.”
“Haha.”
My father looked at me with envy and went into his room.
My mother, unable to give up, lingered and called Ara for a while before entering her room with a dejected expression.
Regardless, Ara, rubbing her sleepy eyes, toddled off to the bed first.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“Just a little longer.”
Seon-ah stood at the door, watching Ara with a mischievous expression. That kid looked a bit scary.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong .”
“Yes, Ara.”
“Our home is nice.”
Ara’s mumbling was both funny and cute.
In the end, Seon-ah, captivated by the scene, pushed me aside and tried to take over but was easily subdued.
“Since it’s close, let’s come more often.”
“Sure.”
Soon enough, Ara fell asleep, and I watched over her for a while before slowly closing my eyes.
* * *
The next morning, I checked the packages that had arrived in front of the house.
“Why did you buy so much?”
My mother looked surprised as she examined the dungeon supplies I bought. I borrowed a suitcase from the house and stuffed the items inside.
“Brother, are you going to explore a dungeon?”
“No, not exactly…”
Strictly speaking, exploring the Dungeon of Gluttony was similar to dungeon exploration, but it was a bit ambiguous.
According to Ara, it was a safe place, different from what we usually think of as a dungeon.
“I’ll invite you when I get the chance.”
“What are you talking about? Invite where?”
I ignored Jae-seong’s question and stood up. There was a lot of luggage, and it would have been impossible to carry it all at once if I wasn’t an awakened one.
Thankfully, the magic stone tent was compressed into a small size, making it easier to handle. Though it didn’t reduce the weight, it was compact enough to fit in a pocket.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Can’t you leave Ara here?”
“No, I’ll bring her next time.”
Without Ara, I couldn’t even enter the Dungeon of Gluttony. She acted as a kind of key and also served as my bodyguard. Besides, I couldn’t imagine life without her anymore.
“They say raising a son is useless; you’re so heartless.”
“I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, why don’t you look around for a place to set up the restaurant or something.”
“Got it.”
As I stepped out the door, my mother and Jae-seong followed. My father and Seon-ah had already left early in the morning.
“Goodbye! Bye-bye~!”
Ara waved her hands energetically.
My mother also stood at the door for a long time, waving back.
“Come again! Our home!”
“Yes, let’s come again. Did you like it that much?”
“I liked it! The Grand Lord is nice, and so are Jae-seong and Seon-ah! They are nice!”
Listening to Ara’s cheerful chatter like a radio, we soon returned to the dungeon.
As soon as I arrived, I put down my luggage and checked if there were any unusual occurrences.
“Everything okay?”
Squirm!
Poispois stepped forward as the representative to report. However, all it did was squirm around.
Before heading to the Dungeon of Gluttony, I checked the cooldown of my abilities that was gradually approaching.
‘Create a slime, perform liquid synthesis twice, then head out.’
There was no need to worry about creating slimes, as I did it regularly, and I used liquid synthesis every day for fruit juice once and slime synthesis once.
“It’s time to try the gacha again.”
Recently, my slime synthesis had been consistently combining two level 1 Rookies. Since the abilities of the already created slimes were fixed, synthesizing them further to increase their level didn’t have much meaning.
Of course, I could continue to grow the ones with farming abilities like Mark 2 or poison abilities like Poispois, but I didn’t feel the immediate need, so I kept producing new level 2 slimes.
‘So far, I have 9 level 2 slimes, and none of them have had useful abilities.’
Water spraying, body inflation, daydreaming, acrobatics, skin breathing, etc.
Excluding Mark 2 and Poispois, the abilities that emerged were rather ambiguous. However, I couldn’t stop synthesizing because there was always a chance of getting a useful ability like Mark 2 or Poispois.
“Ooh! A new Rookie!”
As soon as the cooldown ended, I summoned a new Rookie. Then I immediately synthesized it with an existing Rookie.
[Slime LV.1 and Slime LV.1 are being synthesized.]
[The merging slimes share all memories and experiences.]
[Slime LV.2 is completed.]
What will it be this time?
[Slime LV.2]
[An ordinary slime.]
[Capable of liquid synthesis.]
[Ability: Body Slam LV.1]
“Another unique one.”
Body Slam, huh… Just in case, I decided to test it out.
“Body slam me.”
Squirm!
The newly leveled-up slime nodded in agreement and prepared itself. Then, it crawled towards me at full speed.
Squirm- Squirm-
“…”
It was supposed to be full speed, but it was extremely slow.
After about 10 seconds, the slime finally arrived and poured out its passionate effort.
With this acceleration from full speed, I will now demonstrate the ultimate body slam!
It seemed to say.
Thud.
“…”
“…”
The slime bumped into my feet and looked up as if asking how it did. It was definitely a body slam, but aside from making my pant leg a bit wet, nothing else happened.
Is this really it? Ara and I were speechless as we looked at the slime.
Squirm! Squirm!
How was it? This is my ability, Body Slam! You must have felt an enormous shock, but as expected, our Great Lord doesn’t even blink!
“…It was quite a shock. In a different sense.”
Compared to the other slimes, this body slam slime had a strong personality and was rather cheerful.
I named it Bachi and scratched my head.
‘It’s a bit disappointing.’
I always felt some disappointment, but today it felt even stronger. Probably because Bachi’s antics had made me unconsciously hopeful.
“Oh well, I don’t care. Today, I’ll use both liquid synthesis attempts on slimes.”
When I muttered to myself, the Rookies, having heard the news, squirmed their way over.
As if they had predetermined their turns among themselves, the slimes lined up excitedly.
“You’ve even come up with a system. Alright then, let’s start with you two.”
I wondered if they might dislike being synthesized, but from the looks of it, they were eager to go first. I placed the two Rookies in my hand and used liquid synthesis again.
Swoosh!
The slimes merged instantly and became a level 2 slime.
“What is it this time?”
Before I knew it, Ara, with an intense gleam in her eyes like a gambling addict, asked about the result. I took a deep breath and checked.
[Slime LV.2]
[An ordinary slime.]
[Capable of liquid synthesis.]
[Ability: Space Expansion LV.1]
“Oh? Ohhh?”
What is this? Space Expansion? What kind of ability is that?
Surprised, I let out a yell, and Ara, climbing up my body in frustration, asked directly in my ear.
“What ability did it get?”
“Space Expansion!”
“Space Expansion? Is it something you eat?”
I needed to verify this ability properly. If it was what I thought it was…
“Show me your ability.”
Upon hearing the command, the space expansion slime started to swallow the nearby dungeon supplies.
“No, you can’t eat that! It’s not food!”
“Hold on, Ara. Let’s wait and see.”
The slime eventually swallowed all the items effortlessly and looked at me as if nothing had happened.
“Can you spit it back out?”
Squirm!
The slime, nodding as if it was a given, regurgitated all the items it had swallowed. They seemed a bit damp, but it confirmed everything.
“It’s a space expansion item!”
To be precise, it was a slime that functioned as a space expansion item. I never expected such an ability, and it felt like an unexpected gift.
‘I wonder how much it can hold.’
It wasn’t a small amount. Considering it had swallowed quite a few items without any issue, it seemed promising.
Moreover, this was just a level 2 slime. If I continued to synthesize and increase its level, the space would likely expand further.
“This is perfect. We can take it to the Dungeon of Gluttony.”
“What’s happening? What kind of ability is that?”
“It acts like a bag.”
“A bag?!”
Ara looked at the space expansion slime with a peculiar gaze. Was it the look of seeing a competitor?
‘She probably thinks the slime can eat a lot because of its recent behavior.’
Amused by her unnecessary worry, I smiled.
“Don’t worry, there will always be enough to eat. And even if there’s not, you’ll always come first.”
“As expected of Kyu-seong Kyu-seong!”
Relieved, Ara happily played with the space expansion slime, poking it gently.
“We should give it a name.”
“Can I name it?”
“Sure, go ahead, Ara.”
Ara was thrilled but then grew serious as she contemplated the perfect name.
“What name would you like to have?”
Squirm?
“You don’t care what it is? How can you say that? It’s your name!”
As I watched their peculiar conversation, I slowly got ready and checked the farm. Since I didn’t know how many days we would spend in the Dungeon of Gluttony, I made sure everything was in order.
‘I’m taking Mark 2 this time as well.’
Mark 2, Poispois, the space expansion slime, and Ara. It was going to be a small group.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong! I’ve decided on a name!”
“Oh? What is it?”
Since Ara had named it, I was curious to see what she came up with.
“Vegetable Stir-fry!”
“Vegetable Stir-fry?
…
Was I expecting too much?
Ara must have sensed my odd reaction because she started fidgeting and said,
“Th-then how about Sweet Potatoes?”
“Sweet Potatoes?”
“Ugh…”
Naming seemed difficult for Ara as her eyes began to spin.
“Let’s just go with Vegetable Stir-fry. It’s fine.”
“Oh! So it’s okay? Hehe! Vegetable Stir-fry!”
“Well, it’s…”
The name “Vegetable Stir-fry” felt a bit much. I decided to find a compromise.
“How about Bokkeum?”
“Bokkeum?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh! That’s good! Even if it’s not a vegetable, it can still be Bokkeum!”
Thus, the space expansion slime was named Bokkeum.
I could tell Ara put some thought into it and that it had a special meaning to her since food was very precious and important to her.
… At least, I hope that’s the case?
“Are we heading out now?”
“Yes. Thanks to Bokkeum, our luggage is lighter, so we can leave right away.”
I called Mark 2 and Poispois, informing them that we were going on a trip. We prepared food for the Dungeon of Gluttony and instructed Bokkeum to swallow our supplies.
‘This is so convenient! And it can move too?’
Bokkeum didn’t gain any weight after swallowing the luggage. I didn’t understand the principle behind it, but it was superior to most space expansion items.
With everything ready, we headed to the entrance of the Dungeon of Gluttony.
– The owner of the dungeon, Gluttony’s Gula, is being confirmed.
– Entry is permitted.
– Remaining magic: 7/10
I had glossed over it last time, but what does this “remaining magic” mean? I think it was 8 initially, and now it’s decreased.
Seeing the remaining magic drop didn’t seem like a good sign, but I had little information for now.
Let’s focus on exploring for now.
“This time, the goal is the Shiny Tree.”
“Ooh!”
We saw the barrier again and stepped into the Dungeon of Gluttony.
Cliche Novel 