Sticky Sewer (1)

The beginning of the incident was slow and secretive.

At first, it was just a few missing items or the wallpaper becoming mushy—small and trivial problems.

However, this gradually escalated to the point where sticky masses clung to the entire rooms of the cadets, and furniture began to melt.
In the end, it started to flow throughout the entire building.

Sticky, weakly acidic mucus masses.
At first, everyone wondered, “Did some glue melt?” but as the forms increased and became clearer, the identity became evident.

[Slime].
The creatures most underestimated in fantasy worlds.

In [Gonis Archive Life], their status was not much different.

Due to their slow and fluid bodies, they were tricky monsters that were hard to slash.

Surprisingly, they were rare not only in dungeons but also in fields.
Habitat Conditions.
It was often because the factors for growth were quite stringent.

“Basically, the known conditions for the birth of slimes include a certain level of wastewater, a large space for breeding and mating, abnormally stagnant magical residues, and lastly, the existence of a leader or ‘boss’ to guide them.”

An old woman continued her explanation to about twenty men and women.

The old woman sighed deeply.

This was Professor Bong Mi-chun, the Academy’s longest-serving lecturer on , who turned 65 this year.

All of them were listening to the explanation late in the day.
They were professors who had rushed over upon hearing the .

Though everyone looked disheveled, not having had time to wash up properly, no one here was tactless enough to point it out.

“…As Senior Bong Mi-chun mentioned… Slimes are monsters that only appear under very specific conditions. Unless this place is an improperly affected , it doesn’t make sense for them to appear in such large numbers in the middle of the Academy, especially in a dormitory full of cadets.”

“That’s right~ Haah, what a disaster in the middle of the night… This will definitely disrupt our formal classes.”

“Disrupt? That can’t happen. We’ve already lost a month of classes due to the training period. We need to hurry and catch up with the curriculum to teach the cadets. Damn it, just talking about it makes me angry. If it weren’t for the incompetent government’s insistence on , we would have had more time!”

“Professor Yoon Sung-tae. Please calm down. No matter what, it’s clear that proceeding with a formal class is impossible when a monster has appeared right in the middle of campus. We must also consider the recent unfortunate incidents, don’t you think?”

The words of a female professor brought a chilling air to the room.

The unexplained disaster began to take a different turn.

“…Do you think the recent dormitory incident was also the work of the <Villains, Demons>?”

“There is a significant possibility. It’s unprecedented so far… If it’s the power they use, then perhaps…”

The voices offering opinions soon turned into harsh statements suggesting that the culprits should be exterminated by any means necessary.

It was evidence that everyone was unknowingly stressed and on edge.

Some of them have experienced losing loved ones to <Villains, Demons>.

As soon as any related clue appeared, a subtle anger began to ignite, like a fire catching on dry wood.

Eventually, Bong Mi-chun raised her hand, stepping out of the debate.

At the restraint of the senior-most member, she quietly closed her mouth.

“Everyone, calm down. Nothing has been clarified about the cause yet. Professor Sarang-mi, what did your [Magic Detection] analysis reveal?”

“…Ha, I have no excuse~ I have no idea~ I only know that it’s appearing through the sewage treatment facilities…”

“But?”

“I can’t trace the source at all. I think… maybe the base is in an unexpected place…”

Professor Sarang-mi, unparalleled in [Magic Detection] among the faculty.

She shook her head, saying she didn’t know the cause either.

Deep sighs escaped from here and there.

Thud.

Eventually, Peng Jin-ah, who had been silently observing, offered the simplest and most straightforward solution.

“…Let’s demolish it.”
“Professor Peng Jin-ah? What did you just say…?”
“I said, let’s demolish the entire dormitory building.”

A shocking statement.

However, they just stared at each other in surprise without raising any objections.

In fact, if they got rid of the entire facility, it would certainly vaporize the slimes and everything else in an instant.

Everyone had a look in their eyes that said, ‘There’s no better alternative.’

“…But the damage costs and the students’ complaints will be no joke… Everyone will have a hard time finding proper lodging and meals for a while…”

“We have to consider it. We can’t just leave the threat as it is.”

Sighs of gloom were exhaled here and there.

This included Peng Jin-ah, who had voiced her opinion.

She, too, had no particular solution.

‘…If only I knew the source of the problem…’

She would go in and handle it herself…

It was at that moment of frustration…

“…Hm?”

A message arrived on her phone set to silent mode.

The sender was none other than Yu Seha.

Peng Jin-ah, curious, soon became startled.

―Professor. Please wait just one day. I’ll try to solve this issue.

In the meantime, please persuade the others and handle the aftermath for me.

One day earlier.

The cadets who had been urgently evacuated from the dormitory, now a breeding ground for slimes, were each assigned temporary accommodations.

They were waiting for the Academy’s response.

“…What kind of disaster is this?”

I was also dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.

I was simply bewildered.
I wasn’t confused.

It wasn’t like I didn’t know what was happening right now.

[Gonis Archive Life] was a subculture game where you select and nurture dozens of characters.

Because of this, various events and incidents occurred probabilistically in the main setting, the .

The incident happening right now.

This incident, commonly referred to as the , was an encounter-type disaster that occurred to some characters.

Anyway, identifying who caused it was not important at all.

Knowing wouldn’t help solve the problem anyway.

“Of all things, why this?”

The incident had quite a ridiculous premise, where monsters, exponentially increasing for unknown reasons, would attack.

Here, it was also one of the events that most supervisors hated the most.
The reason was inside the .
Because everyone had to encounter ‘those things’ that they dreaded.

‘…Ugh, damn…’

Just thinking about it gave me chills.

Anyway, strictly speaking, the was an event with good rewards compared to its difficulty.

It was a dungeon that was just in the lower ranks of Grade C.
The entry condition was limited to two strikers. No more than that.
The rewards here were highly random, but always quite decent.

The offered confirmed stat bonuses to the first conquerors.

This alone made it valuable.

Therefore, with my personality, which gets excited over opportunities and hidden pieces, it was a place I had to clear no matter what.

But…
No, I’ll be honest.

‘I don’t want to clear it.’

I really hated it.
Meeting ‘that thing’ again.

The place where I first apologized to viewers during a broadcast and gave up midway.

Therefore, I pondered for quite a long time.

‘…Should I tell the others?’

There was no need for me to go in personally.

But I immediately dismissed that idea.

[Dormitory Terror] wasn’t too difficult, but it was a dungeon with high risks if tackled recklessly.

‘Even if I tell them the strategy, the order of monster appearances… There’s no guarantee there won’t be unexpected variables.’

In other words, if it had to be cleared, I was essential.

After much deliberation, I finally came to a conclusion.

‘…Alright.’

Let’s just pass on this one.

Anyway, if the dormitory were completely destroyed, the hidden ‘undiscovered dungeon’ would lose its source and disappear.

Of course, no one knows if this is really true.

The story after the dormitory’s destruction wasn’t even mentioned in ‘GAL’.

‘In my case, I actually passed it over like that…’

Anyway, I thought I should just ignore it until the new dormitory was built, even if it was inconvenient.

However, in the late evening, I encountered Ma Hana.

The moment I saw her gloomy face, I changed my mind.

“…Insane, then the dormitory where Ma Hana and I are staying now…”
“Yeah… it’s the dormitory my dad attended.”

It was a setting I never expected.
I knew from Ma Hana that he was a senior who graduated from the …

Tears welled up in Ma Hana’s eyes as she hung her head low.
Her cute cat ears and tail drooped in sync with her sad mood.

“…Of course, I don’t know which room he used, but… still, I was happy to think there were traces of my dad in this building…”

But demolition…
To think its fate was to disappear after being eaten by slimes…

“…It’s so sad. Isn’t there any way…?”
“Meowi. I’ll solve it for you.”
“…Meow?”

This changes everything.
My lovely Meowi.
My favorite character is feeling sad?
And now, with tears in her eyes?

‘As a supervisor, it’s something I can never allow.’

The pain I endured was nothing compared to Meowi’s tears.

With a resigned heart, I stood up from my seat.

“Don’t worry. Just trust me.”

I’ll solve it by tomorrow morning.

“…Meow?”

I gently stroked Meowi’s head, who looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Meow~”
“…First of all…”

It seemed I needed to gather party members for this dungeon raid.

One hour later.

“Please, Bora Bora.”

“…Excuse me, Yu Seha. You came so suddenly… do you even know what time it is? And I’m not Bora Bora…”

“Please, crushed ice.”

“…Just call me or Moon Bora instead…”

In front of me stood Moon Bora, draped in a see-through cardigan, looking incredulous.

I knew it wasn’t polite, but I had no choice.

‘No one fits this job better than Moon Bora.’

Additionally, it had to be now, at this time of day.

The place where those guys gather opens at dawn.

If we waited until tomorrow, there was no guarantee the dormitory would hold up.

“…Sigh.“

Moon Bora, who had been sighing, flung open the door to the emergency accommodation.

“Come inside for now. If we talk out here, the dorm supervisor might give us demerits.”

I’ll make my decision after hearing what you have to say.