Suddenly, I Became a Slime

The sight of countless brown toads charging toward me was… something I’d never want to witness again, even for money.

It felt like being in a zombie apocalypse movie, not as an extra—but as the protagonist.

…If I just stood there, though, I’d end up as an actual extra.

I had to do something.

First, I stuffed the precious item I obtained from dismantling the giant toad into my body. Since I hadn’t decided what to do with it, I didn’t dissolve it.

A part of me wondered if consuming it might grant me control over the smaller toads… but after gaining the ability to control Kim Cheonsu remotely like a TV remote, I was reluctant to eat anomalies.

Sure, gaining abilities was exciting and intriguing.

But facing the problems caused by those abilities made it hard to feel purely happy about them.

If I casually thought about wanting to die, wouldn’t that impulse transfer to someone else?

So, I hesitated to consume anomalies.

If only they made it clear what kind of ability I’d gain, I might reconsider. At least then, I could make a choice.

Right now, it felt like gambling on a random ability draw.

If I ate the precious item from the toad, I might gain control over the smaller toads. Or nothing might happen at all. The swamp could even vanish, taking the toads with it.

Alternatively… an unexpected and bizarre ability might manifest, causing trouble for Han Seori and Kim Cheonsu.

…And Yang Hana, too.

She wouldn’t get mad just because she wasn’t the first to come to mind, right? Not that she’d know what I was thinking anyway.

In any case.

Since I decided not to absorb the precious item yet, I had two immediate options.

One: Fight the toads like I did the big one.

Two: Flee and avoid them.

The choice was obvious. This wasn’t the swamp where I had wandered aimlessly before. Now, I was stuck in an unfamiliar area within the muddy terrain.

…And even worse.

The knowledge pouch wasn’t helping me this time. It just spun like a helicopter, as if it wanted to turn me into one.

So.

Fighting seemed like the most practical option.

After a brief moment of thought, I extended sharp tendrils in all directions, just as I had inside the big toad’s body.

Some of the advancing toads were pierced, though the wounds weren’t fatal. Fine, I’d just make them fatal.

With my tendrils still embedded in their bodies, I spun around vigorously.

Like the knowledge pouch spinning above my head.

The scene looked like an umbrella frame spinning in the wind, with toads dangling from its ends. A bit grotesque, honestly.

I’d heard of birds that skewer prey on branches.

…This felt similar.

The difference was that when I spun faster, the toads were sliced apart like diced vegetables. Having diced the larger toad earlier, the smaller ones didn’t stand a chance against my attacks.

I felt confident I could take them all out at this rate.

Spinning and attacking like I was dancing, I wondered how long I’d been at it when I noticed a problem.

No matter how much I spun, the toads kept coming.

It felt as though the vast swamp I had roamed earlier had entirely transformed into these toads.

The only silver lining was that my jelly didn’t rust or dull like other weapons.

I wanted to shout, “I can do this all day!” But watching the endless procession of toads, even my jelly felt like it might turn pale.

It reminded me of a game mission where you had to survive for 30 minutes against endless waves of enemies. I imagined the character in the game felt like this, endlessly fighting while instructions from above simply said, “Hold out.”

At least in the game, there was a time limit. My situation felt far more pitiful.

Then.

I realized my spinning body was slowing down.

With my 360-degree vision, it took me a moment to notice. When I extended a tendril to investigate, I saw it trapped under layers of jelly toads.

…My jelly hadn’t dulled, but it seemed overwhelmed by sheer mass.

Piles of jelly toads had accumulated, forming mounds around me. On top of these mounds stood more toads, ready to leap down.

And they began to fall.

The sight of toads raining from the sky was… surreal. I’d heard of places where fish fell from the sky, but this?

…Guess I don’t need to leave the country for such experiences.

Even as I struggled to free my tendrils, the ones trapped beneath the jelly toads showed no sign of budging.

It seemed like something beyond sheer weight was holding them down.

Then.

Splat!

A toad landed squarely on my face. That was just the start.

Splat! Splat!

The squishy sound of bodies hitting me filled the air.

This wasn’t a drizzle soaking my clothes without notice—it was a downpour.

Though the barrage of toads shook my balance, the anchored tendrils kept me upright.

However, that was the only silver lining.

The toads gripping my tendrils seemed to harden, creating a solid wall. More toads continued pouring into this jelly well, raising its level.

Like water filling a well.

The toads’ jelly bodies gradually submerged my legs. At this rate, I’d end up encased in jelly like a fossil or amber.

To prevent that.

I hardened my hands and slashed at the falling toads while cutting off my trapped tendrils.

Chunks of severed jelly dissolved into the mass below, where they were quickly consumed by the toads.

…So, my connection was the only thing holding them together.

I felt foolish for being so exuberant earlier.

Realizing the gravity of my situation, I began pushing through the jelly walls. Unlike before, I didn’t swing my tendrils wildly but focused on deflecting the toads falling on me.

This was a lesson in not letting my guard down.

…Had I declared victory too soon?

Every step I took, the jelly clung to my ankles like zombie hands reaching from graves.

Hardening my feet helped slightly, but it also made movement more cumbersome due to the added weight.

Splat!

By the time I reached the wall, the toads had piled up to my waist.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that the entire swamp might have been made of these toads.

If that were true, shouldn’t the knowledge pouch have reacted? Then again, maybe I shouldn’t overestimate it either.

Finally reaching the wall, I began tearing through it. The hardened toad bodies resisted, but not enough to stop me from forcing pieces into my own body.

The resistance felt like trying to mix oil and water. It was faint but manageable.

Still didn’t taste good.

I considered throwing the pieces back, but that might just raise the jelly level further.

So, I chewed through the hardened jelly, slowly making progress.

It seemed the toads had learned or instinctively defended themselves against being consumed. For now, this was my only way forward.

Though infiltrating the big toad had been the right move, dismantling it so easily had made me complacent.

The toads filled the jelly well faster than I could dismantle the wall.

The jelly had risen to my chest, pulsing rhythmically like a living organ. The pressure closing in from all sides was palpable.

While I didn’t breathe like humans, being completely trapped would still be a problem.

I might never escape.

The toads couldn’t consume me, but I might remain stuck here until someone came to rescue me… or forever.

…I didn’t like that idea.

What should I do?

Would covering myself in spikes like a hedgehog work?

I lacked creativity.

Even now, I don't fully understand how to use my body.

With little time left before being completely engulfed, I glanced at the big toad’s precious item inside me.

Resolving myself, I made a decision.

…The only way to resolve this.

Was to consume it.

And so, with no idea what might happen next, I began dissolving the item stored in my body.

Feeling the toads’ frantic movements confirmed that I was on the right track.

…Probably.

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