Chapter 7
I dragged my exhausted body over and sat down on the floor.
I seemed to have used up way too much stamina just to take down that damn King Slime.
I slowly caught my breath and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
Ding.
[The first-clear bonus for ??? difficulty has been applied.]
[The reward grade has increased.]
A message appeared before my eyes, assuring me that all that blood, sweat, and toil hadn't been for nothing.
“Hell yeah! What do you think I went through all that hell for?”
I immediately got to my feet to see what this so-called reward was.
What delicious reward could possibly be waiting for me?
I could barely contain my excitement already.
Maybe the Tower had sensed my determination, because a new window appeared.
[You have acquired the 1st-floor tutorial rewards: King Slime's Crown, 1 kg of low-grade mana stones, and 2 King Slime Jellies.]
“Three kinds of rewards? Is this what makes an unknown difficulty so different? This is awesome!”
There were more than three rewards in all.
Life really is all about being one of the lucky ones. Guess I'm one of them.
There were so many rewards, you'd think I'd cleared a floor higher than the fifth.
Just looking at them brought a smile to my face, my grin nearly reaching my ears.
Just then.
A blue window appeared in the empty air, and...
Rattle—
Things that looked like rewards began pouring out in a cascade.
Small blue stones, something that looked like jelly, and even a crown.
They must have been the mana stones, King Slime Jelly, and crown the Tower had mentioned.
“Oh...!”
I immediately ran over to where the rewards had fallen and picked up one of the mana stones with my right hand.
A palm-sized mana stone glowing faintly blue.
Its beautiful appearance made me smile.
How much are mana stones going for right now...?
I couldn't say about the rest, but I had to check the mana stone prices, so I looked for my phone.
I'd heard a single high-grade mana stone could go for nearly 30 million won.
Even though these were low-grade, they were still worth a hefty sum.
“Ah... Right, I left my phone at home.”
I was dying to check the price right now, but I'd left my phone at home.
Maybe it was because I thought it might get in the way or break during a fight.
I found myself resenting my past self a little.
“Sigh, well, at least I got everything worth taking.”
I could check the prices at home while I got myself settled, so there was no rush.
I shoved the mana stones into my pocket, grabbed the jelly and crown, and left the Tower.
I headed home, cautiously looking around so no one would spot me, and...
Fortunately, I made it home without any trouble.
“Ugh, I'm so tired.”
It was one in the morning.
After an hour of fighting tooth and nail in the Tower, my body was completely wrecked.
As soon as I got home, I set the jelly and mana stones down on the floor and collapsed. The exhaustion drained out of me all at once.
There's no place like home, is there?
Maybe it was because I'd just taken down a slime, but when I flopped down at home, I melted like one myself.
But I quickly snapped out of it.
“No, I need to get it together. How much are mana stones going for right now...?”
The mana stones were practically waiting for me to sell them.
I grabbed hold of my consciousness just before I melted into sleep and sat down in front of the computer.
“Let's see. It said these were low-grade, right?”
I took out one of the mana stones I'd received for clearing the tutorial and set it beside the computer.
The mana stone had a brilliant blue glow.
Its beautiful appearance made me smile, and I immediately started looking up the market price.
I checked every site I could think of: the Association's official site, the Gallery, mana stone market sites, and more.
[Title: No time to explain, get in quick!]
[Photo of an upward-trending graph]
Today's price for low-grade mana stones.
I heard 200 g is going for over 4 million won!
Mana stones are going to hit 5 million won!
ㄴ lol, they announced that new low-grade mana stone processing technology, and now the price is really shooting up lol
ㄴ I can hear the brokers' phones blowing up from here.
ㄴ lmao, they're paying more than the Association. Can't blame anyone for taking the deal.
ㄴ Fuck, I sold all my mana stones last week, and the price has already gone up.
ㄴ (OP) lol, you'll be thinking about that a lot when you go to bed.
ㄴ It's gonna stress you out. I didn't sell mine, though lol
ㄴ You bastards....
“So it's around 4 million won per 200 grams? Hehe.”
It wasn't an exact price, but I still couldn't stop smiling.
It seemed like good timing, especially with all the talk that low-grade mana stones had gone up in price.
I had five mana stones in total.
Even if I kept two or three of them, I could still make at least 10 million won.
“Ohh...”
Just imagining that much money made my mouth water.
I was used to earning part-time pay from convenience store shifts, so the thought of that much money landing in my account was too exciting to contain.
“Whew... No, I need to calm down and figure out how to sell them first.”
I settled the excitement bubbling up inside me.
After looking through all those sites just now...
Naturally, you pretty much needed an ID and an Awakened Registration Card.
But I didn't have either one.
“So that leaves brokers or the dark web...”
Getting an ID and an Awakened Registration Card would take too long.
More than anything, I doubted anyone would believe my story in the first place.
In the end, I had no choice but to use a broker or the dark web.
Besides, they said brokers paid more than the Association.
In my situation, getting paid well without really needing an ID? It didn't get much better than that.
“The dark web makes me a little uneasy, though...”
The dark web still gave me a bad feeling.
In the end, using a broker seemed like my only option.
People on the Gallery had said brokers paid well, too.
With a smile that reeked of capitalism, I looked away from the computer.
I still hadn't finished checking all the Tower rewards.
I shook my dizzy head and turned around. The rewards I'd brought home and set aside came into view.
The King Slime's Crown and the jelly, too.
I'd managed to bring everything back without leaving anything behind.
“Let's appraise them first.”
I started lining up the rewards one by one in front of me so I could appraise them.
From left to right, I laid out the King Slime's Crown, the jelly, and the mana stones.
Just looking at them made my dopamine levels rise. I was already happy.
“Hehe. Let's start with the crown.”
Of the three, I picked up the crown I was most curious about.
What was I even supposed to do with this crown?
I turned it around and examined it, but couldn't figure it out, so I decided to use Appraisal Eye.
‘Appraise.’
Ding.
It really was hard to beat a skill this convenient.
I didn't have to pay extra for help from an expert, either.
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King Slime's Crown.
Form: Artifact.
King Squishy~
Effect: Increases the mana efficiency of all skills and magic by 50%.
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“Whoa! That's incredible!”
I hadn't expected much, but it was far better than I'd imagined.
Not 10%, but a whole 50%. Even someone as clueless about mana-based abilities as me could tell that was amazing.
Of course, I had no idea how good it was compared to the average artifact.
But I could find that out by bragging about it on the Gallery.
“All right, you're next!”
I carefully set the crown aside with both hands.
Then I picked up the jelly beside it and used Appraisal Eye.
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King Slime Jelly.
Squish-squish~
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“What, that's it?”
I was pretty taken aback.
The whole description was just squishy squishy?
Just how squishy was it, if that was the only thing the description could say?
I was so dumbfounded my head started aching.
Just then.
[A quest related to King Slime Jelly has been generated.]
[Will you accept?]
[Y/N]
“Thank god. I was about to cry if that was all there was to it.”
I couldn't have been more relieved.
A quest related to King Slime Jelly had appeared.
“Hell yeah, I'm accepting.”
Without a second thought, I pressed the Y button, and...
A quest window appeared before my eyes.
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Quest
1. Make King Slime Butter Mochi. (Incomplete.)
- Acquire 5 Free Stat Points and 5 Shop Points.
Deadline: Within two days.
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“M-make what? More importantly, 5 points?!”
The quest offered a much bigger reward than I'd expected.
I had no idea why it was butter mochi, or if the damn Status Window was trying to follow some kind of trend.
But all I could see right now were the rewards: stat points and Shop Points.
What on earth was this dish that it deserved such a huge reward?
I didn't know why, but this was a quest I absolutely couldn't afford to miss.
Just then.
[Recipe unlocked: King Slime Butter Mochi.]
“Oh, so this is the recipe?”
The quest window changed, and a message appeared saying the recipe had been unlocked.
As soon as I saw the message, I checked the Recipe Window.
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[Recipes]
[Goblin Head Smoothie]
NEW! [King Slime Butter Mochi]
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The new recipe that had appeared beneath Goblin Head Smoothie caught my eye.
King Slime Butter Mochi.
I had no idea how to make something with a name like that, so I immediately tapped the recipe.
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NEW! King Slime Butter Mochi.
Effect - Permanently increases the user's Mana by 5.
Instant Preparation.
Manual Preparation. [Display Recipe.]
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“What...?!”
Honestly, I hadn't expected it to be anything special.
But the effect of the food in the recipe was truly amazing.
Amazing enough to leave me speechless.
“Whoa... T-this absolutely can't be made with Instant Preparation...!”
The effect was beyond anything I could have imagined.
And I was supposed to use Instant Preparation, which cut the effect by 50%?
I'd deserve to be immortalized on the Gallery as a sucker of the day.
Show me the recipe already!
I pulled myself together with everything I had and pressed the Display Recipe button.
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King Slime Butter Mochi.
1. Beat 1 egg, then add milk (200 ml), melted butter (30 g), and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. (Amounts may be adjusted.)
2. Sift the salt, tapioca starch (20 g), and glutinous rice flour (170 g) into the egg mixture and combine. (Amounts may be adjusted.)
3. Add the King Slime Jelly, blended with 1 low-grade mana stone (about 200 g), to the well-mixed batter, then mix well again.
4. Strain the batter through a sieve, then pipe it into molds using a piping bag.
5. Bake the batter in the molds in an oven or air fryer for 30 minutes.
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“Mana stones... I need to sell them fast.”
I needed far more things than I'd expected.
Everything from a sieve and whisk to a piping bag, an air fryer, and a blender.
I didn't have any of it at home.
I had no choice but to sell some of the mana stones, one way or another.