Snooze, snooze…
When we returned to the dungeon, we saw Frey still sleeping on top of Woofy’s belly. As a result, Woofy couldn’t do anything but continue chewing on its toy bone.
“Frey is still sleeping, huh?”
“Frey is quite the sleepyhead.”
The other fairies who had enjoyed the hot springs with us and followed us here had all left at some point, leaving Frey alone, peacefully asleep. Whether it was cute or just silly, it was hard to tell…
Not wanting to wake her up, I waited quietly beside her until Frey started to stir and wake up.
“Just a little more…”
Even though no one had woken her, Frey mumbled in her sleep. Eventually, she groggily opened her eyes, still half-asleep.
“Where am I? Who am I?”
“Did you sleep well, Frey?”
“Oh, Grand Lord…”
Upon seeing me, Frey tried to respond but quickly started nodding off again. Ara, seeing this, lay down next to Frey.
“Huh? Lord Ara?”
“Frey, it’s time to wake up.”
“Huh? Just a moment…”
Still not fully awake, Frey quickly checked her surroundings and then, startled, got up in a hurry.
“This isn’t a dream?!”
“It’s not a dream!”
Frey, now fully awake, flapped her wings energetically. However, it seemed she was still too sleepy to fly properly, as she wobbled in the air. Seeing this, Ara quickly grabbed Frey and placed her on her head.
“How does that feel?”
“Thank you so much!”
Now more awake, Frey looked at me and Seon-ah with an embarrassed expression and scratched her head.
“I’m so sorry. I got too comfortable and ended up being rude. My apologies. Hehe.”
“It’s okay. But I have to admit, Woofy is so soft and warm, it felt really nice to sleep on.”
I felt a little bad for Woofy, but it really was comfortable. I had a feeling I might be using him as a pillow more often in the future.
“Frey, I’m sorry to ask this right after you’ve woken up, but you mentioned something about the World Tree before going to sleep. Can we go check on that now?”
“Of course! Let’s go right away!”
Unlike Ara, Frey became fully alert as soon as she woke up.
Soon, we mounted Purr and Woofy and headed straight for the World Tree.
When we arrived at the village, Frey flew up and placed her hands on the World Tree, closing her eyes.
“Ah, ah. Can you hear me?”
Frey’s tone changed, becoming more formal. Although we couldn’t hear any sound, the rustling leaves made it seem as if the tree was responding.
“Oooh.”
Impressed by the scene, I noticed that Frey’s wings seemed to flap even more energetically.
“I have brought the Grand Lord. Now, greet him.”
Swaaash—
Several leaves fluttered down from the tree. Given the size of the tree, each leaf was about the size of Ara’s face.
“Is this the tree’s way of greeting us?”
“That’s correct, Grand Lord. Ah, the World Tree has something it wants to ask you.”
“Oh? Go ahead.”
Communicating with a tree was a first for me. Life really does have its surprises.
“The tree has formed a bud, but it’s struggling to bloom on its own. Could you possibly help?”
“Oh, is that what the World Tree is saying?”
“Yes, that’s the general idea.”
A flower, huh? Frey had been eager to see the tree bloom, but it seemed it wasn’t going to be easy.
“How can I help?”
“This place is the Dungeon of Gluttony, a place like the origin of slimes. And as someone who grew up here, I too have been influenced by them.”
“Mmm.”
“Most slimes are good at taking care of plants, but we need a particularly skilled slime. We need the abilities of that slime.”
“Oh, do you mean Mark2?”
Mark2 was currently managing the Slime Village, the Meluca Flower Field, and the Goblin Village. He was essentially in charge of all the farms in the dungeon. He had a lot on his plate.
“I wonder where Mark2 is right now.”
“It so happens he’s at the Meluca Flower Field!”
“Oh, really?”
He’s close by. That’s convenient. I told the others to wait for a bit, and then quickly rode Purr to the Meluca Flower Field.
“Wow, it’s already grown so much!”
The flower field was filled with lush, green Meluca plants. Although they were still young and had not yet formed buds, there were so many of them that it was quite a sight to behold.
And then, we saw a few slimes and Mark2 leisurely passing through.
“Mark2!”
Squirm!
Mark2 happily greeted me as he approached. He then eagerly crawled towards me and proudly lifted his head.
“Wow, Mark2, you’ve worked really hard. You’ve been through a lot.”
Squirm-
Mark2 looked a bit embarrassed, as if to say it was nothing, and it made him look even more adorable than usual.
“Mark2, do you have some time right now?”
Squirm!
“It seems like the World Tree is looking for you.”
Mark2 nodded enthusiastically, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as I picked him up.
“Let’s go!”
Hiiing.
Squirm!
We waved goodbye to the other slimes and headed back to the fairy village.
“You’ve come, Mark2.”
Ara greeted Mark2 with a solemn expression. Mark2 also lifted his head confidently and greeted Ara.
Squirm!
“Indeed, Mark2 was the one we needed.”
Wobble-?
“I believe Mark2 will do a great job!”
What are they talking about?
While the cute little ones were having their serious conversation, I attempted to communicate with the World Tree again through Frey.
“I’ve brought Mark2.”
“The World Tree is asking if you can attach Apostle Mark2 to it.”
“Attach him?”
Not entirely sure what it meant, I lifted Mark2 and brought him close to the World Tree. Then, Mark2 began to wiggle and do something.
“Huh? Mark2?”
His movements didn’t look normal, and a memory flashed in my mind.
It reminded me of when Poispois absorbed Mammon’s poison. Poispois had exhibited strange behavior at that time, and there was an indication on his status screen that said he was ‘awakening an unknown potential.’
“Hey, is Mark2 going to be okay?”
“Well, let’s wait and see.”
I wasn’t too worried. If it was something dangerous, we would have been warned beforehand.
And just as I expected, Mark2 soon calmed down and tilted his head.
Squirm?
As if nothing had happened.
[Mark2 (Slime) LV.5]
[A peculiar slime]
[He is Lee Kyu-seong’s familiar]
[Capable of liquid synthesis]
[Currently awakening an unknown potential]
[Ability: Farming LV.5]
“Oh, just as I thought.”
When I checked, a new line saying ‘awakening an unknown potential’ had been added, just like with Poispois.
I was curious, though—how long would this ‘awakening’ take? Even with Poispois, after absorbing Mammon’s poison, there hadn’t been any noticeable changes for a long time.
“Is synthesis the answer…?”
Level 6.
Maybe it’s time to level up.
Even while working hard, I’ve been using liquid synthesis and slime summoning compulsively. Especially with liquid synthesis, since there hasn’t been much need for fruit juice lately, I’ve been investing more into synthesizing slimes.
Thanks to that, if I wanted, I could easily raise a Level 5 slime to Level 6 within a few days.
There was also a quest to create five Level 5 slimes, so it seemed like a good opportunity to complete that as well.
‘But this wasn’t the main reason for bringing Mark2 here.’
I waited for the World Tree’s response.
With his eyes closed, Frey was communicating with the World Tree in a mysterious manner.
Wasn’t Mark2 supposed to help the tree bloom?
“It’s done, Grand Lord.”
“Huh? Done? What is?”
“The World Tree has left a seed with Apostle Mark2. Now, Mark2 has the potential to become the World Tree’s slime.”
“Oh?! Really?”
Wow, so that’s what the ‘unknown potential’ was about? It sounded quite impressive. A slime of the World Tree…
“In the future, as Apostle Mark2 grows, he will naturally gain extensive knowledge about the World Tree.”
“I see. Then I should synthesize him to level him up.”
To help the World Tree bloom, Mark2 would need to be synthesized. It’s a win-win situation.
After dropping Frey off in the village, I returned to the Slime Village. There was no time to waste; I still had some liquid synthesis to do today.
“Level 4 slimes, gather up!”
I called the slimes to gather. The ones who were playing enthusiastically came squirming over in response to my call.
“Why are you guys here? Not that it matters.”
Hehe.
When I called for the slimes, a bunch of squirming slimes tagged along, just like a “buy one, get one free” deal. This sight made Ara and Seon-ah burst into laughter. While I watched the adorable scene, the slimes I had been waiting for gathered.
There were currently 13 Level 4 slimes—a considerable number. If you’re wondering why I hadn’t upgraded them to Level 5 yet, it was because I was hesitant. After all, once they reach Level 5, it feels a bit wasteful to synthesize them.
“Raise your hand!”
“Alright, who wants to be the first to reach Level 5?”
Squirm!
Wobble-wobble~!
Squuuirm!!
Chaos ensued as all the slimes eagerly presented their nonexistent hands and feet, each wanting to be the one to level up. As I found myself in a dilemma, Ara stepped in to organize the situation.
“First come, first served!”
Squirm!
A slime that happened to be closest to Ara quickly stepped forward. Another one followed suit, and just like that, the decision was made in an instant.
“Alright, you two will become Level 5 first, and the rest will have their turn later. Just wait a little longer.”
Not only Mark2, but also Poispois and Bokkeum needed to be upgraded to Level 6. Plus, if I happened to get a useful Level 5 slime, it would be a waste to use it for synthesis just to make a Level 6 slime.
In the end, slime synthesis would have to continue without pause.
“These ones are Gale Slime and Ultrasonic Slime.”
The Gale Slime can blow wind from its mouth and is relatively fast. The Ultrasonic Slime emits ultrasonic waves, but to be honest, I wasn’t sure what use that would be.
“Liquid Synthesis!”
When I synthesized the two, they squirmed and merged into one. Soon after, the new form started taking shape, and a choice appeared before me.
[Choose an ability to inherit.]
[Gale]
[Ultrasonic]
Hmm, I suppose Gale would be the better choice. Although it didn’t really matter since this slime was going to become Mark2 anyway. Just in case, I selected Gale, and soon a green slime with a pair of small wing-like decorations on its head was born.
[Gale (Slime) LV.5]
[A peculiar slime. He is Lee Kyu-seong’s familiar]
[Capable of liquid synthesis]
[Ability: Gale LV.4, Solar Power LV.1]
Oh, it gained a new ability this time too. Solar Power? What kind of ability is that?
“Gale, what’s Solar Power?”
Squirm.
As soon as I asked, Gale struck a pose and started emitting light.
Oh? Could this be…
“…Perfect for growing peppers.”
I never expected to gain such an ability. While I was already using machinery to grow peppers, having Gale around would make the process much smoother. Moreover, the machine uses magic stones, and while it’s worth using given the value of the peppers, it’s better to avoid it if possible.
‘Well, I was planning for this slime to become Mark2, but things turned out differently.’
Synthesis, or rather, slime fusion, is always unpredictable and exciting.
So it seems I’ll need to create a new Level 5 slime to reach Mark2’s Level 60.
[Quest Completed]
[Awakening Quest: Foster Growth]
[Grow your slimes]
[Level 5 or higher slimes: 5/5]
At the same time, the Awakening Quest for the Slime Grand Lord was also completed.
Cliche Novel 
Why does it seem like he doesn’t feel like the quests are urgent or important? Besides his first quest to make a potion from stuff he grew, it didn’t seem like he worked towards any of them and is just muddling around instead of finishing the quests he could have finished fairly quickly. I get the goblin one was put off for plot reason but this could have been done way sooner right?
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