Round 225

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We returned to the village and found the Slime fragment.

The fragment was in Ara’s personal storage, the same building where Nununi was once displayed.

“It’s Crybaby.”

Ara shouted while holding the mechanical device containing the fragment.

I had been curious for a long time—why call it Crybaby? Ara talked as if they were old acquaintances…

“Ara, why is it called Crybaby?”

“Because it cries often.”

“It cries often?”

Ara took the fragment out of the device and then handed it to me, shouting again.

“It cries!”

How?

I carefully examined the fragment, but all I could see was a round piece, just sitting still.

Is it… crying?

“It’s originally Crybaby, so it’s fine. You don’t have to worry too much.”

“Ah, right.”

I figured we’d know more once we took it with us.

I had a hunch, but I was starting to expect that something might happen if we brought the fragment to the shell.

We returned to the mine with the fragment in hand.

I saw Seon-ah and the kids waiting at the entrance.

“Let’s go.”

We went back into the joint chamber, hearts pounding, and stood in front of the shell.

So, now what are we supposed to do?

…

What’s going on?

Why is nothing happening?

We all stared blankly at Ara, tilting our heads in confusion.

-Why isn’t anything happening?

Mammon, unable to bear it any longer, asked.

Ara tilted her head in response.

“What are we supposed to do?”

-Why are you asking us? You were the one who said to bring the fragment!

“Yes!”

Ara smiled brightly, showing Mammon the fragment in her hand.

“This is the crybaby. I wanted to show it to you all.”

-What?

“I just wanted to show it. I thought you might be interested!”

We all fell silent.

No, actually, it was us who had given meaning to Ara’s actions.

Yeah, maybe she just wanted to share it with us. We were the ones who jumped to conclusions, thinking there was more to it.

Still, I felt a little unsatisfied.

I subtly asked Ara.

“Ara, do you think something might happen if this crybaby merges with that giant slime?”

“Oh? Oh! Could that really happen?!”

“Ah, not necessarily, but maybe…”

“Let’s try it! You’re so clever, Kyu-seong Kyu-seong !”

Apparently, Ara was the only one who hadn’t thought of what we were all imagining. She really is pure.

We decided to place the slime fragment close to the shell.

Then, immediately, a reaction began.

I didn’t expect anything, but it responded right away.

Woooong—.

“Something’s happening!”

“Wow! Crybaby likes it!”

Whoa, is this really happening?

As the fragment got closer to the shell, it started to glow, and when it moved away, the glow faded.

But other than the light, nothing else seemed to happen.

-What if we try putting it inside?

Ras, watching from the side, made a suggestion, and it sounded plausible.

If this fragment became the core of the slime, wouldn’t this enormous shell become a body?

The problem was how to get the fragment inside the shell.

“…..”

The shell was incredibly tough.

It was like steel-reinforced rubber.

Inserting the fragment into it seemed impossible with normal strength or abilities.

But who are we?

‘Three of the Seven Deadly Sins are here! And we even have the Fairy Queen!’

Three level 9 dungeon bosses!

If we can’t solve something as simple as this with such talents, that would be a problem.

“Okay, kids. We need to try to put this in. Who wants to go first?”

“I’ll do it!”

-I will give it a try!

-I shall do it.

-I, uh, I’ll sit this one out. Hehe…

Except for Frey, the other three raised their hands enthusiastically.

Since Ara had brought the fragment, she would go first, and the other two decided their turns with rock-paper-scissors.

-Ah!

-Hehehe.

Ras won.

After confirming the result, we checked Ara’s preparations.

Ara handed me the slime fragment and then energetically warmed up.

“One, two!”

Ara stretched thoroughly, loosening her body.

And Seon-ah was, of course, recording it all.

Once she was fully ready, Ara took a deep breath.

What will she do, I wondered?

‘I’m holding the fragment though…?’

As I pondered, blue light shot out from Ara’s mouth.

Kwooooooom—-!!!

“Is that… a breath attack?!”

She warmed up just moments ago, only to suddenly shoot a breath attack!

I thought she’d use her fists.

But maybe that’s not so strange.

Either way, the breath was fired, and now we just had to check the result.

As the thick smoke cleared, we saw the scene.

Oh! There was a hole in the shell!

“Ooooh!”

“Brother! Isn’t now the time to put it in?”

At Seon-ah’s words, I hurriedly ran over to try and insert the fragment into the hole.

But the shell’s recovery speed was beyond imagination.

Pop!

The shell quickly returned to its original state, as if the hole had never existed.

It bounced back smoothly.

“Ahh, sorry.”

“It’s fine! There are still more turns left!”

Ara smiled and grabbed my sleeve as if to reassure me.

At the same time, Mammon and Ras, who were waiting behind, also comforted me.

-It’s actually a good thing! Now we get a chance to shine!

-I shall show you my strength.

Next up was Ras.

Just like Ara, Ras exaggeratedly warmed up and gathered his energy.

-Hiiya!

A cute little battle cry.

The tiny voice echoed through the chamber.

Then, with a series of bouncy steps, Ras sprinted toward the shell.

Boom—–!!

Despite the adorable footsteps, an enormous roar filled the air, enough to make me worry the mine would collapse.

Surely Ras’s immense strength would yield some results, right?

I quickly prepared to insert the fragment and moved closer.

“Huh?”

But contrary to expectations, Ras remained frozen in his punching stance against the shell, which showed no signs of damage.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

“Ras, did… did it hurt?”

–The great one does not cry. The great one is not hurt.

You’re crying. You’re hurt.

While I was trying to figure out how to console Ras without hurting his pride, Seon-ah rushed over with exaggerated concern.

“Ras! It hurt, didn’t it? Oh, poor thing! Let me blow on it. Come here.”

In the end, Ras, who had been holding back, let the tears fall.

His unbearable cuteness made my heart clench, and I struggled to breathe steadily.

-Ras! Are you okay?

“Ras! Did it hurt?”

-Oh no! You didn’t get injured, did you?

Ara, Mammon, and Frey rushed over with worried faces.

Ras, embarrassed, buried his face in Seon-ah’s arms.

-The great one is not hurt! Nor did I cry! There was just too much dust, and it got into my eyes!

“Yes, our brave Ras is fine. It was just a little dust, no big deal.”

I supported Ras’s claim and winked at the others. Catching on, Mammon nodded vigorously in agreement.

-Yes, that’s right! Our brave Ras only got some dust in his eyes!

Mammon… It’s nice you want to help, but I can tell how flustered you are. Dust in the eyes? Really?

“Ooh, as expected of Ras! So cool. I will follow your example!”

Our pure-hearted Ara, of course, believed it and looked at Ras with even greater admiration.

Frey, watching the whole scene, had a somewhat ambiguous expression, not knowing how to react.

“Ahem. So, is it Mammon’s turn now?”

-Um… can I forfeit?

“Huh?”

-Well, seeing Ara and Ras fail… I’m a little nervous. Hehe.

Mammon scratched his head, looking sheepish, and I couldn’t help but find him endearing.

I patted his head and suggested,

“Then how about the three of you try together?”

-Oh?

“Together?”

Ras, who had been burying his face in Seon-ah’s arms, lifted his head slightly and looked at me.

“Ara will shoot her breath, and Ras will use his strength to hold the hole open. Mammon, you’ll…”

-I will cheer alongside Frey!

-I’m really good at cheering!

Yeah, I know how the fairies cheer.

But honestly, I’m not sure how good it actually is. 

It’s just cute.

The kids accepted my suggestion and began preparing again.

Ras, wiping his tears away, was too adorable, but I tried not to show it as I prepared to insert the fragment.

“Let’s do this!”

Ara took a deep breath again.

Soon, the same blue beam of light as before shot out.

Kwooooooom—-!!!

At the same time, Ras sprinted forward.

He reached the shell before the dust even settled, and I followed closely behind.

“Perfect!”

Ras held the hole firmly, making sure it didn’t close.

I quickly inserted the fragment inside and pulled my hand back. That was intense!

As soon as I pulled my hand out, Ras jumped back as well.

The hole immediately began to close, but fortunately, the fragment had already settled inside.

‘What if… nothing happens? How will we get it back out?’

I was a bit worried, but we decided to wait and see.

The fragment, which had started glowing the moment it touched the shell, was now emitting a steady light.

The light gradually intensified, filling the entire interior of the Shell of Gluttony.

Ding!

“Huh?”

I heard a familiar notification sound in my ears.

Then a message window appeared, blocking my view.

[‘Shell of Gluttony’ has detected an ‘Unknown Slime Fragment.’]

[The ‘Unknown Slime Fragment’ is recognized as the ‘Core of the Slime.’]

[The Forgotten Slime is beginning to stir.]

“Ooooh?!”

“What? What happened?” 

Seon-ah asked urgently.

The other kids also looked up at me with curious expressions.

“It says the crybaby has become the slime core. And the Forgotten Slime is starting to move?”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, I’m not sure… maybe it means the slime is coming to life?”

The fragment, now the core of the slime, started pulsing like a heart. 

The colorless shell, which had been still until now, began to regain its color, as if blood was flowing through it.

“Blue.”

The shell was beginning to glow blue.

It had originally been a translucent gray, so this was fascinating.

“So, do we just wait now?”

“It might take a bit of time.”

“Really? Then what should we do?”

“We should ask the kids to keep an eye on it. Tell them to let us know if anything changes.”

“Right…”

But then, who owns this shell in the end?

I glanced at Ara suspiciously.

Sensing my gaze, Ara looked back at me and gave a bright, innocent smile.

“Hehe.”

“Ahem.”

I guess it doesn’t matter. What’s important is that it worked. 

Let’s keep watching for now.

***

After wrapping up the business at the mine, I started catching up on tasks I had been putting off for a few days.

Managing the farm, the storage, the village, checking the World Tree, the fairy village, visiting Meluca’s fields, and returning to the Pururuk Forest…

It had only been a few days, but I felt like a lot had piled up.

Of course, everything runs smoothly without me, but I feel better when I check on things regularly.

I made sure everything was in order and verified that there were no issues.

“Phew!”

“Brother, shouldn’t you check outside?”

“Outside?”

“There might’ve been a message.”

“Oh, right.”

Could something have happened in just one day?

Still, just in case, I should go outside and check for any messages.

I stepped outside with Ara.

Suddenly, my phone started buzzing.

“What the…?”

When I checked the messages, I saw texts from the guild and the Awakening Headquarters.

Among them was something unexpected.

“America?”

They were looking for me… from America?

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