Blanket, Laundry Line, Magnifying Glasses

The blanket fell precisely over the slime, completely covering it.

Ian quickly approached, gathered the blanket as if it were a sack, then tightly tied the ends of the blanket with the laundry line.

As expected, the slime could not escape from the synthetic fiber blanket.

The Earth-style slime hunting method worked very effectively.

Of course, it was also because Ian had immobilized the slime with his technique.

But since Earthlings wouldn't know that, only the presentation had to look convincing.

Having tied all the ends of the blanket, Ian waved one hand like a mage who had just completed his show.

"Uh? He caught it!"

"That's it?"

"Wow! He just calmly went up and caught it."

"Heavens. He caught the monster that caused a fuss even in Seoul with just a blanket and laundry line?"

"Ahn Bin, you're incredible!"

The villagers showered them with praise. Ian, too, praised Ahn Bin in his heart.

[... Regarding this sleeping bag product, I must say, the outer fabric is made with very fine synthetic fibers.]

A moment ago, Ahn Bin's voice, rescued from memory, seemed to echo in his ears.

It was somewhere that felt like a busy event hall filled with people.

[Its molecular structure is dense, so it's very tough. It will never tear, even for outdoor activities. It's also highly pest-resistant. But it catches fire easily, so be careful with that...]

There, Ahn Bin had been sweating profusely doing sales. It was clear that, due to his difficulty with social interactions, sales was a tough ordeal for him.

'Ahn Bin, you did well. This praise belongs to you, not to me.'

Thus, Ian passed the credit. It was Ian's body that everyone was cheering and looking at with respect, so there was nothing to lose.

Right then, the slime started to squirm.

"Oh! It's moving!"

"Ahn Bin, be careful!"

"It's okay. It won't be able to get out."

Ian replied. He had allowed the slime to move a little for dramatic effect.

But the men, unaware of this, praised Ian's courage.

"Amazing! He's not scared at all!"

Haeyeon, who had tossed Ian the blanket and the laundry line before watching silently, stepped it up a notch.

'Wow! He's so cool. He's literally shining! That's what a hero is, right? And how is he also so good-looking?'

Hearts appeared in Haeyeon's eyes.

"They say it swallows people whole—it's huge."

"But strangely, it can't get out of the blanket?"

"They say it eats anything, but not the blanket?"

"It's tied up so tight, it can't even open its mouth."

"Is it really stuck for good? Is it finally safe now?"

The men, who had formed a formation but stayed back, slowly began to approach Ian, chatting.

However, their hesitant steps betrayed their lingering unease.

"Don't come too close. It's only been contained. Now we need to kill it."

Ian gave them an excuse for hesitation.

The men stopped in their tracks.

"Oh, so now we have to kill it."

"But we're not supposed to cut it open, right? How do we kill it?"

"I saw on the internet that this monster has to be burned with sunlight."

Ian blamed the internet again.

"With sunlight?"

"Does anyone have something like a magnifying glass?"

Ian turned around and asked, and a man rummaged in his pocket and took out some magnifying glasses.

"Will these work?"

"Eh, can magnifying glasses do the trick?"

"Why not? Magnifying glasses are still magnifying glasses!"

Ian almost burst out laughing. He hadn't expected someone to take out magnifying glasses instead of a normal one.

But that's fine, too.

Anyway, the magnifying glass was just for show.

"Yes. Please give me that. The lenses will probably be ruined. Are you all right with that?"

"Of course! If it helps catch the monster, I'll contribute anything."

When Ian smiled brightly, the man proudly handed him the magnifying glasses.

Ian also grabbed the sickle the man had in his other hand.

"I'll borrow this too, just for a moment."

"Oh, sure."

First, Ian took out the lenses of the magnifying glasses, then ground the glass against the blade of the sickle. It was more for effect, but he really was focusing the lens.

After checking the glasses he had ground, Ian nodded, looked up once at the sun, and took his position.

It was time to begin the finale of the slime hunting show.

All the men gathered around Ian and swallowed nervously as they watched.

"Everyone, please step back a bit."

He said so for a more dramatic effect.

The people withdrew into a circle with the slime at the center.

There, amid the wild bush, wrapped tightly in a synthetic fiber blanket, was the slime, and Ian stood ready with his solar light-concentrating device, made from the magnifying glasses.

The stage was set.

Ian took a deep breath and gathered the energy of Praeri.

He didn't have much left, but it was enough to finish off a single slime.

First, he held the magnifying glass up to the proper height. The glass flashed.

'Oh sunlight, to this point!'

He pictured sunlight traveling from afar, focusing to a single point. The energy responded, swirling.

'Slime, now I shall take your life. What belongs to nature, returns to nature!'

He visualized the sun's focused light burning away the essence of the slime through the magnifying glass, while gently pouring out his mystical power.

His technique activated. Chains of transparent energy shimmered silver, tightly binding the slime.

But only Ian could see the silver chains.

To the watching people, at first it looked as though nothing was happening.

Suddenly, gray smoke began to rise from the bundle covered in the blanket.

Soon, flames appeared. What began as a tiny spark quickly turned into a blazing fire.

Strangely, only the blanket burned—none of the surrounding grass caught fire.

That was Ian's power at work, controlling the fire, but the villagers didn't know that.

"Uh-oh? The whole bush isn't going to catch fire, is it?"

"No, look. It isn't spreading outside the blanket. He must have focused it perfectly."

"Incredible. Ahn Bin, you're not just brave, but also very smart!"

"You're the best! Young return-to-farmer!"

"Burn! Burn up the monster!"

"Die, monster!"

The village men, amazed, started clapping in excitement.

'He's so cool! This mountain village, which only had old men, finally has a shining gem!'

Haeyeon was full of admiration inside.

But she wasn't just marveling—Haeyeon was holding her cell phone.

She couldn't just let the exploits of this heroic figure slip by.

She had to record a video and share it with the world.

'He looks amazing on camera, too.'

Haeyeon thought as she looked at Ian through her phone.

Ian stood still, watching the flames burn.

'Farewell. Next time, be born in Praeri—a place like heaven. Ah, you were born there in the first place... Well then, may you find eternal rest.'

He was wishing peace for the slime's soul.

Even though it died unexpectedly after wandering to Earth, it was still a creature of Praeri, so Ian paid his respects.

Gradually, the flames died down. The blanket and laundry line vanished, leaving only a black lump, the remains of the burnt synthetic fiber.

The slime had disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.

That was how slimes are—they're nothing more than holes of darkness even when alive.

But had the slime truly left nothing behind?

No, that wasn't the case.

When the flames were completely out, Ian bent over and picked up the remaining black lump.

"Oh, be careful! Aren't you burned?"

"It's over? It's really dead, right?"

The men crept back toward Ian.

"Yes. It's all done."

Ian answered with a smile.

The black lump he picked up was not just leftover debris.

Slimes leave no trace when they die, but they do leave a core.

A core concentrated with Praeri energy.

It had no form. It was made purely of energy, invisible to human eyes, but Ian could sense it distinctly.

In Praeri, there would be no reason to absorb a slime's core, but here, even a little energy was precious.

Ian absorbed the core. Praeri energy filled his body abundantly.

"Well done! You did it!"

"Success! The monster is dead!"

"Our village took down a monster even Seoul couldn't handle!"

"It's true! Our Macheongri is the best! Ahn Bin is the best!"

"Come here, you amazing...!"

People cheered, this time grabbing Ian, hugging him, patting his shoulders, and ruffling his hair.

Such wild praise was a first for Ian. He was dumbfounded by the flood of compliments.

Humans, it seemed, expressed emotions much more openly than the Praerians.

In Praeri, as a highly regarded lord and master of a great farm, Ian had grown used to receiving people's cheers, but those were orderly shouts and polite applause.

They were never so wild that his hair would get messed up.

"Really amazing. Thank you."

"Well done! Let's all go eat, now."

"Let's all go to the restaurant. We need a bowl of hangover soup each."

"Yes, let's go."

"Ahn Bin, this way."

The men took Ian by the arms and began walking toward the village.

As they passed in front of the village hall, a few people burst out from inside—the village chief, the women's association president, and others—having overheard the talk outside.

"There they are!"

"How did it go?"

"We caught it! The hunt was perfect!"

One of the group replied, and the village chief, looking astonished, asked again.

"Really? You caught it?"

"How did you catch a monster?"

The women's association president also looked around the group in disbelief.

"Ahn Bin caught it!"

"What? Ahn Bin did?"

The village chief shouted in surprise.

"Yes, everyone helped, but really, Ahn Bin did almost everything. He already looked up how to catch monsters on the internet in advance."

Haeyeon's father, who was at the front, spoke up.

"Oh, really? Well done, well done!"

The village chief praised with a loud voice, embarrassed at his earlier doubt so he praised even more heartily.

But honestly, it was still hard to believe.

'I knew he changed a bit after the accident, but this much? He caught a monster on his own?'

He had always tried to avoid village chores, so seeing this timid young man catch a monster was shocking.

The village chief looked at Ian with new light. Having young people in the village really was good.

'Especially in these strange times, young people are precious.'

A village full of only the elderly is hopeless. How could they catch monsters then? Luckily, macheongri still had quite a few middle-aged folks, so they managed to go monster hunting.

But in the end, the one who succeeded in the hunt was, as expected, a young man.

'A precious youth—I must treat him well.'

The village chief approached Ian and seized his hand.

"You have saved our village. Thank you. You are now the hero of Macheongri!"

Seeing this, the women's association president quickly followed suit and grabbed Ian's hand.

She understood why the leader acted as he did. They absolutely had to make this young return-to-farmer feel like part of the village family.

Traditionally, it was more the president's job than the leader's to make people feel welcome.

"With a young man in the village, we all benefit. Thank you so much."

"I just did what I had to. We should protect our village."

Such an expected, upstanding response made both their faces light up.

The women's association president not only held Ian's hand, but also stroked his arm and even his face.

"You know, you're also very handsome."

Bombarded with praise and all these hands petting him, Ian was completely flustered.

"Let's all go to the restaurant first. We can sit down and talk there!"

Suddenly, Haeyeon shouted. Only then could Ian free himself from all the hands.

"Right, right. You all need to eat. You did something big today."

The women's association president practically led the way, seeming energized at the thought of feeding everyone.

'Country grandmas really are so warm.'

Maybe there would be a feast, Ian found himself hoping.

Suddenly, his heart fluttered.

But it wasn't only from anticipation of food; there was no food in front of him right now.

It was probably from today's success and all the villagers' praise.

'How do you feel, Ahn Bin? Feels pretty good today, right? Everyone is praising you, cheering you! Return-to-farming is a success. You are now a true member of this village!'

Ian spoke to Ahn Bin in his heart.

His heart thumped even harder in reply. Ahn Bin was clearly happy.

Ian remembered, from Ahn Bin's memories, how tough it'd been facing rural jeering and exclusion.

But all that felt like a distant memory now. Settling as a return-to-farmer was no longer a problem.

Look at the villagers now, surrounding and walking with Ian.

Ian wholeheartedly rejoiced in Ahn Bin's success as a return-to-farmer.

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