Legendary {Large Red Slime}

Ki Shin recalled a person he was friends with him the past. He was one of his closest friends in junior high. They would hang out all the time, and even chat over the phone about random things. One could even say that they were best friends for a long time, however, because of them going to different schools in different places, they slowly lost contact.

Back then, this handsome man in front of him was anything but… handsome! He was actually not very good looking, and also sported a messy hairstyle. He was chubbier then, and he had no tattoo.

"J-Jun Yi? I-is that you?" He couldn't help but stammer. They had lost contact for more than ten years, but they were the best of friends before that.

"Haha, so you finally remember me?" The handsome man walked towards Ki Shin with a bright smile. His pearly white teeth shined slightly, his blond hair flying in the air. The small black earring on his left ear also shimmered in the early morning sun.

Ki Shin was smiling brightly, however, he then became somewhat awkward. He was able to talk to Jun Yi in the past without any barriers, but after everything that happened around him and his personality becoming shyer, he felt a little distant from Jun Yi.

The latter walked over and patted Ki Shin on his shoulder. He was a little smaller than Ki Shin, however he seemed to have a similarly refined body. Both men stood together, both with their own charm. One looked like a prince charming who was raised with a silver spoon, while the other had a more demonic charm hiding underneath the stress of life.

"Ki Shin, how long has it been? Ten, no, Twelve Years? Wow, look at you! You have become better looking with time. You're not like the freak from before." Jun Yi laughed lightly as he looked at his old friend. He noticed that his friend was covered in dirt, and was walking on the side of the road, however, he didn't ask too much about that since he didn't want to be rude.

"What do you mean freak? If anything, you were the freak, I was actually quite popular, but it seems like you're going to be the girls' favourite now. Look at you, tattoo, wearing, fancy clothes? You look quite good." Ki Shin praised with honesty. He really did find his friend's transformation to be astonishing and wonderful. He always felt that his friend's luck with ladies would be very bad unless he could find a way to either become better looking, or do something astonishing with his life, and it seemed like he was able to accomplish both.

Both of the men smiled at each other and couldn't help but burst in laughter. "This brings back so many memories, man. How have you been?" Jun Yi couldn't help but hug Ki Shin, who returned the gesture.

"I have been quite well. Although work is busy and all, I am doing well." Although Ki Shin wasn't wealthy or anything like that, he also wasn't poor. He had to work harder than most people but he enjoyed his life so far, and felt that he was living quite well in comparison to people who had nothing at all.

"Well, that is great to hear them. How are your parents doing? Back then, they treated me really well, almost like their own child." When he mentioned Ki Shin's parent's, Jun Yi's face was filled with smiles and his eyes contained a particular sparkle, however that facial expression froze when he saw the gloominess on Ki Shin's face.

"They, well… they kind of passed away a couple years back." Ki Shin rubbed the back of his head with painful expression on his face.

"W-what? How… when… w-what?" Jun Yi was extremely shocked. He couldn't help but begin to stumble on his words. Ki Shin and Jun Yi were still quite young, and so Ki Shin's parents' passing was a shocking event. "Sorry, I just can't believe something like that happened."

Jun Yi noticed that Ki Shin's face was a little pale, so he quickly apologized. The shock he was feeling was so great, so he could only imagine the shock that Ki Shin was going through.

"That's fine. It was very unexpected, but luckily I have been able to get things together and move on from that." Ki Shin laughed and patted Jun Yi's shoulder. "Well, you can go and do what you needed to, I need to go home and rest. I am extremely busy after all."

As Ki Shin turned around, he felt something grab his shoulder. He looked back and saw Jun Yi's hand. "Ki Shin, get in my car. I will drop you off, and I am not taking a no for an answer." Jun Yi then immediately pulled Ki Shin into his car.

Of course, Ki Shin did try to struggle a little, but due to his friend's persistence, he just went with it. It was better to be dropped off than to walk because he still had quite far to go, and was extremely tired.

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Ki Shin told him his address, but after that, both of the men silently sat in the car. Although it wasn't a stifling silence, it wasn't amiable either.

"So, Ki Shin, what have you been up to lately? Do you have a wife, kids?" Jun Yi tried to disperse the somewhat tense atmosphere with casual talk.

"Nothing really. I work at a construction site, which is alright. I don't even have a girlfriend, let alone a wife or kids. Hehe." Ki Shin smiled lightly as he spoke.

"What? How could you not have a girlfriend? Weren't you actually somewhat popular in the past? I remember that girl in our first year of junior high, what was her name…?"

"Nen Soku." Ki Shin replied almost automatically. Jun Yi turned to look at Ki Shin's face, which was slowly becoming a little red. He smiled lightly before speaking. "Look at you. Although she was quite pretty, I can't believe you still remember her name. I still don't know why you declined her."

"I was looking for the right---"

"The right girl who you could spend the rest of your life with. Yeah, yeah, I know. I think I heard that phrase more than a thousand times back then." Jun Yi jokingly mocked Ki Shin.

They looked at each other and began to laugh. "You really still remember so far back? Those were some days, right?" Ki Shin began to reminisce the good old days.

The car was filled with small chatter. Both Ki Shin and Jun Yi began to act like they did back when they were kids. There was no longer that large barrier that Ki Shin felt before, continually decreasing as they continued to chat.

"Oh yea, I had a question for you, Shin." Ki Shin raised his eyebrow and looked at Jun Yi questionably.

"What is it?" So far, all they spoke about was the past, only occasionally mentioning current affairs.

"Well, you know that game, Universe? I got it about a year ago and have been quite into it. Do you have it too?" Ki Shin wasn't too surprised that Jun Yi asked such a question, and also wasn't surprised that he had the game as well.

Universe was a part of most people's lives now. Almost everyone played it. Even the poor would be able to access the game, albeit from public places, giving them a limited play time.

"Yeah, I got the game yesterday." He didn't need to hide the fact that he got the game, so he replied honestly.

"That's great! I have been playing with my friends since it came out. Since you have it too, why don't you come and party with us sometimes? I can also take you to some really good farming places and we can get lots of loot and experience." The second Universe was brought up, Jun Yi's eyes brightened up like stars. Ki Shin couldn't help but smile lightly.

He nodded his head, and pulled out a pen and paper from his vest. He had to carry a pen and paper at all times to note things down during his work. Sometimes things would break, or they would be lacking some materials so he would note them down and pass them on to the managers, or site managers.

"This is my in-game name. I am only level 2 at the moment, and have already… died." When he mentioned his death, Ki Shin couldn't help but turn slightly red. It was common for people to die in the game, but it wasn't so common seeing low level players die in the beginner areas. The monsters were just too low leveled, and healing happened fast enough to prevent death, however Ki Shin still died.

Jun Yi looked at Ki Shin with wide eyes. His face then slowly became a little red, and he quickly closed his mouth. His cheeks began to puff in and out over and over again. "Haha! You already died?! What the heck! Haha!" Holding in his laughter was too difficult, so he just let it out, and began to laugh wildly.

Ki Shin scratched his head, not knowing how to defend himself. Who would have known that the slime he faced would be so high leveled. Usually, people would meet monsters around level 1 or 2, but he just had to meet a high leveled monster.

"Sorry, sorry. I just couldn't help it. Haha! How did you die? I need to know. Did you hit your head on a tree? Did you get attacked by a pack of wolves? Or did you happen to meet the legendary {Large Red Slime} and get trampled?" As he spoke, Ki Shin couldn't help but gasp.

"L-legendary? The {Large Red Slime} is a legendary?" He felt like he was on cloud nine. What was a legendary monster? They were one of the rarest mobs. Some only had a one in one million chance of appearing, while others would only appear once during a special event. These mobs were one of the most rare and difficult to kill. Plus their loot was usually very good.

"Yea, don't you know about the legendary {Large Red Slime}? Although it is the weakest legendary, it is actually one of the most rare and most wanted. Anyone who gets it will usually get two to three drops. The drops have a fifty percent chance droppage of the level 5 Slime Core, which is extremely useful, so much so that many would kill to get it. Not only is this level 5 Slime Core very useful, it is also different from a normal level 5 Slime Core…" The more Jun Yi spoke, the dizzier Ki Shin got.

Jackpot. Goldmine. Godsent. Heavenly. Praise the Lords. This was everything that ran through his mind. He just thought that the level 5 Slime Core was good because of the high level and how much he could sell it for, but it seemed like there was a secret behind it. If he could find a blacksmith and have him inspect the Slime Core, he had the chance of getting a very rare type of Slime Core.

{Slime Core of the King}. This was a high tiered slime core which could be used for many high leveled items. The number of things it could do was so numerous that Ki Shin began to drool at the thought.

"Ki Shin, do you know what the most valuable item from the {Large Red Slime} is?" This question was like a bolt of lightning in Ki Shin's head.

'D-don't tell me that the Slime Fishing Rod is that valuable item?' He kept this thought in his mind and didn't speak it out loud. He just shook his head, indicating his lack of knowledge.

"You really are a noob." Ki Shin smiled weakly. "Well, the most important item from the {Large Red Slime} is a fishing rod. The Slime Fishing Rod."

I'm rich. I'm a tycoon. I am the lord of Universe. My luck is the best. Ki Shin praised himself and thanked the world for the greatest gift he could ever receive. He began to feel that his first death was actually worth it now.

"What's so good about this fishing rod? Isn't it like any other fishing rod?" Ki Shin decided not to mention him getting anything from the {Large Red Slime}, ultimately deciding not to even mention ever meeting such a legend.

"Pfft, Ki Shin, did you not even read a little bit about the game?" Ki Shin shook his head. He really didn't know anything, which was why he was asking. "Then let the master explain. The Slime Fishing Rod is a normal fishing rod, yes, however it also has a magical property. It can upgrade as you fish and get you better fish, but the upgrading system is not normal. It does not have a limit. It can upgrade to Legendary level if you work on it for enough time." Ki Shin felt blissful after hearing such a thing, but even that much was somewhat disappointing to him. Although having a legendary fishing rod would be great, how much time would it take him?

Seeing the bliss and disappointment on Ki Shin's face, Jun Yi was confused. "I haven't finished yet. I don't know why you look so happy and sad at the same time, but there is more to this fishing rod. If you use the {Slime Core of the King} on this fishing rod, then you will have the ability to transform the fishing rod into a pet slime who will fight and fish for you."

*COUGH COUGH*

"Hey, are you alright?" Ki Shin's sudden coughing fit concerned Jun Yi. He could only see that Ki Shin's face was extremely pale, it was like all his blood stopped running.

'P-pet slime? Someone who will fish AND fight for me? Is this what others call Heaven's gift?' Ki Shin was getting extremely excited. He couldn't help but look forward to when he logged back in.

"Wait, if let's say you get this slime, wouldn't people be able to steal it? Like, if someone pk'ed you, then wouldn't you drop such a godly pet?" This was his major concern. He had already died once, and his skills in the game were not high. Although he was going to pursue the path of evil player in the game, he did not want to lose such an amazing item and pet.

"That's one of the greatest qualities of this item. This pet/item is player bound. Meaning, even if you die in the game, you will not drop the pet. It will always be yours, unless you release it yourself." Jun Yi sighed when he spoke. Everyone would want to have such a great pet. Slimes were extremely weak, but once they got stronger, they had many great qualities and uses.

Ki Shin was silent after the conversation. Jun Yi noticed this silence, but didn't say anything, and decided to talk about his experience in the game. Slowly, they approached Ki Shin's house.