Suddenly, I Became a Slime

I only wanted to be bored for a single day. Then, wouldn’t every day after that not be boring?

Feeling so bored, I almost wished for death.

But then it hit me. How much time do I even have left as a jelly? To be honest, I didn’t have a clue about my lifespan even before I became a jelly.

Since becoming one, it’s become even harder to fathom.

When I think about death, I can’t help but wonder if I’ll even die.

I mean, sure, if my "important place" were shattered to pieces, I’d probably die. But my real question is: do I even have a natural lifespan?

What even is natural death, anyway?

Cells stop regenerating and deteriorate until they fail, isn’t that how it works? For natural death to happen, aging must occur first, right?

But do I even age?

But that’s just for humans and animals, isn’t it?

If I’m considered an animal, I guess I could have a lifespan, but… honestly, I doubt it.

If that were the case, wouldn’t my body have grown larger, even just slightly, without absorbing other jellies?

Of course, there might not be a direct correlation, but isn’t aging supposed to follow growth?

If this is all there is to my growth, that’s… kind of depressing.

I have no idea.

Being bored is making me think of the weirdest things.

I scattered the jelly squad in all directions and now had nothing to do. Sitting idly on the floor, I aimlessly observed my surroundings.

At first, exploring this post-apocalyptic scene was fascinating and fun, but staying in one place for about… thirty minutes made me sick of it.

Would a zombie or some monster make this more exciting? Half of me thought it might, but the other half just wanted nothing to happen.

If I had to choose between not being bored and peace, I’d pick peace. But this was way too boring.

Oh, how great it would be to use a smartphone right now.

Sure, in a situation like this, I’d probably only be able to play Minesweeper or something. But even that would be something! I’d even accept Sudoku or a word puzzle at this point.

More importantly, the jellies I scattered haven’t come back yet. It feels like enough time has passed, so why hasn’t even one of them returned?

It’s not like they were defeated or anything. I told them to come back if they found something… maybe they haven’t found anything.

And that could mean two things:

First, this seemingly endless apocalyptic space is just that. Massive.

It might really… be a whole other world.

If this world is as vast as Earth, it’s not surprising that they haven’t come back yet.

They’ll probably return eventually if they keep walking, but considering the speed of the jellies, that’s not a realistic timeframe to wait for.

Second, and more troubling… this vast space is truly empty.

I joked about this being an apocalyptic world, but it’s starting to feel like that might be the reality.

The world is wide, and the jellies are small. If I ventured far enough, I might eventually find something. But for now, it seems like there’s absolutely nothing nearby.

What is this place?

Looking around, I’m way past the point of thinking I’ve come down some stairs to an underground area.

This can’t be underground. The sky’s perfectly visible, albeit a dark one. Yet this isn’t Earth either. It’s far too barren.

Does that mean I opened a door to another world?

What happened here to leave it in such ruin?

As I deduced various possibilities based on the jellies’ lack of return, I felt an inexplicable unease. Not knowing its cause only made the feeling worse.

The knowledge pouch pointing beyond the door hung limply as always, swaying when I shook my head.

...What a useless thing.

From now on, I’ll call it the "fool’s fluff" instead of the knowledge pouch. If it has a problem with that, it should find something useful!

While mentally grumbling about the now-dubbed "fool’s fluff," a more concrete sense of dread began to creep over me.

I turned my gaze to the firmly closed door behind me. The same door I had entered without much thought.

Looking at the closed door brought back memories of scary stories I’d once read—stories about doors connecting to other worlds, parallel dimensions, or even doors that swapped entire universes.

They were fascinating to read about. But now, imagining such things might actually exist… It was horrifying.

Of course, I’m curious. Who wouldn’t be? But it’s far too risky to indulge that curiosity.

In hindsight, walking through that door might have been too careless. While I feel bored and at peace now, what if something, or someone, swapped places with me and entered my world?

Would that be… dangerous?

It’s hard to say.

I looked at my reflection, which was as harmless as ever. My image hardly evoked a sense of danger.

But when I recalled others’ reactions to me, a chilling thought bubbled up in my mind: “What if…?”

No. I have to go back.

I turned and grabbed the door handle to open it. It had opened easily before, so I applied the same force.

Click! Click! Click!

The handle clicked repeatedly, but the door wouldn’t budge.

I shivered. Was this some sort of cruel joke?

Click! Click! Click!

No matter how many times I tried, the handle just made a dull noise. It felt like encountering one of those locked doors in a video game.

Why wouldn’t it open? It didn’t even have a lock!

My boredom disappeared instantly. I’d wished for something interesting, but not like this. Not this kind of thrill!

Panicking, I banged on the door.

Thud! Thunk!

Thud! Thunk!

A perfectly ordinary door suddenly felt like an impenetrable bank vault.

Maybe it’s because my hands are too soft. I hardened them and slammed against the door with all my might.

Boom! Boom!

The sound of rushing air reverberated, transforming into a monstrous wail that echoed in all directions.

A chilling sense of familiarity washed over me.

As the truth dawned, I felt my jelly form shiver uncontrollably.

This sound… it was just like the scream that had brought me here.

Meanwhile.

A man yawned loudly, wiping the tears from his sleepy eyes as he stared down the seemingly endless staircase.

How long had it been since that blue jelly creature descended?

It’d been a while. Long enough that the man and his group suspected something might have happened to her.

However, the last place she’d reached was inaccessible for normal humans.

How had she gone so far so quickly? If she kept going down, there was no way to bring her back.

"Maybe she’ll give up and come back up."

His casual attitude betrayed a lack of concern.

Hwangbo Yul, troubled by the situation, wasn’t present.

No one at the scene seemed overly invested. The eerie scream, the very reason they called the jelly girl, had vanished, leaving the stairs seemingly harmless.

That noise had caused chaos before, driving those inside into madness. But without it, the stairs were just… stairs.

If the jelly girl resolved the problem but didn’t return, they could consider it a lucky resolution.

They didn’t want to think that far ahead, though. All they wished for was for the situation to end so they could return to normalcy.

"Hey, hasn’t the noise stopped?"

"Yeah… think the jelly thing fixed it? If so, she should come back up."

"Agreed."

They joked about her intelligence, wondering if she might still be heading downward instead of realizing the task was complete.

Just then, they heard something.

Thunk… Thunk… Thunk...

Something was coming up the stairs.

"Finally! Took her long enough, but it’s fine. Smart jelly."

They exchanged relieved smiles, each imagining a triumphant return. Maybe this time, they’d even shake her hand.

But soon, they noticed something strange.

Thunk... Thunk-thunk... Thunk-thunk...

The sound grew heavier. It didn’t resemble the cute, squishy noise from before. This was… ominous.

“Something’s not right.”

The man’s muttered words froze everyone in place. Weapons were drawn, their expressions growing tense.

“You, go to the control room and report—”

“Behind you!”

The man issuing commands turned to see his comrade’s pale face before something black and monstrous grabbed him.

“Aagh! Help!”

“Don’t just stand there—attack!”

But it was too late. The man was dragged through the dark doorway, disappearing completely.

He couldn't return, perhaps ever again.