My small stomach filled up quickly and digested just as fast, so I felt hungry at any time.
The baby had lived many lives and had many memories.
I thought it was best to act on instinct rather than hold back during such a young age, especially when it came to eating and sleeping.
âWaaah waaah.â
Seo Eun-hye mixed formula with warm water and brought it over.
âOur Seo Jun, are you very hungry?â
Seo Eun-hye alternated between feeding 7-month-old Seo Jun baby food and formula. To the baby, the formula still tasted better.
Squish squishâ
While holding the bottle and drinking, I got lost in thought.
The baby had decided to become an actor. No, more than an actor, a superstar.
Fortunately, this world was similar to the first life. From the baby's limited perspective, confined to a small house, it seemed so.
The TV that the parents watched showed news and variety shows, similar to the first life, but the faces of the celebrities were new.
Of course, the baby's knowledge of the first life was limited to what he had read in books, so it could be that this world was similar but the baby just couldn't recognize it.
âWell, it doesnât really matter.â
Lying on the white, fluffy blanket, the baby sucked on the formula.
It was delicious. The small feet stretched and retracted.
Seo Eun-hye, knowing that this was what the baby did when satisfied, smiled and gently stroked the baby's small feet.
Tickled by her touch, the baby wiggled its feet in the air.
When the bottle was empty, the baby's small stomach was already full.
Seo Eun-hye lifted the baby and patted its back. Seo Jun rested his cheek on her shoulder.
Burp!
âOur Seo Jun, you ate so well, didnât you? Ahahaha.â
Seo Eun-hye burst into laughter at the baby's burp. Seo Jun also giggled.
* * *
Seo Jun thought, what is needed to become an actor, no, a superstar?
With this body, which couldn't even stand on its own, the only door that could be opened was the small blue door from the slime life.
Inside this door were only the memories of the slime life and the fairy life, which were as small as an adult's palm.
Such monsters usually had short lifespans, dying early or quickly like shrimp caught in a whale's battle.
âWould that be helpful?â
Seo Jun recalled his time as a small slime.
He lived near a dragon's lair. While searching for food near the dragon's lair, the half-asleep dragon's breathâprobably a yawnâkilled the slime. It had only been three days since he was born.
Shaking his head at this past that made him want to sigh, Seo Jun decided to enter the library.
He pressed the blue door with his palm, and it slowly opened. Small two-tier bookshelves lined up.
Most of the books were thin and small, like picture books for babies. There were few books with text, and the shelves were filled with books illustrated like fairy tales.
The bookshelves were organized by monster type. He had been reborn as a slime multiple times and as a fairy multiple times. Sometimes the types were the same, sometimes different. He couldn't remember all of them.
The baby took out [Slime 1] from the front and spread it on the floor, sitting in front of it. It was a large illustrated book.
There were pictures of a green slime melting its prey and extending tentacles to hit a tree.
With the slime's intelligence, that was all it could record.
âSlime melts with acid and extends long tentacles...â
It matched what the baby was thinking. The slime had a shape like a water droplet and could change its form according to a pattern. Other than that, it seemed useless. After all, it was a monster that even a child could catch.
He opened [Fairy 1].
A flower bloomed, and inside it, a small fairy resembling a flower was drawn. There were pictures of the fairy flying around and a picture of the fairy sleeping as the flower withered on the last page.
Seeing the pictures, he recalled the fairy.
In [Fairy 1], the fairy was a mischievous flower fairy. This fairy was born from a flower, had the scent of a flower, and died when the flower died.
It had a beautiful appearance like a flower and no special skills. It was a fairy that lived a happy life and died like a dayfly.
âThe appearance might be helpful...â
To use the fairy's skills, a base flower was needed. By finding a beautiful flower and registering the skill, the fairy would have a similar appearance to the flower.
The problem was:
âIf the flower dies, it's over.â
No matter how long it lived, it would die from lack of water, too much water, wind breaking the stem, or being stepped on. Flowers were fragile creatures.
The baby quickly closed the book.
He slowly checked the books on the shelves.
âMaybe because this is the first life to become a superstar... I donât know what I need.â
The uncertain future brought a sense of anticipation. The baby slowly moved around the bookshelves, checking the contents of the books.
âThis one is not good... This one seems good!â
Seo Jun chose two abilities.
[Slime's Digestive Ability] from [Slime 3] and [Fairy's Sparkle] from [Fairy 15].
[Slime's Digestive Ability - Lowest Tier]
Digests anything. Converts excessive nutrients from digested objects into necessary nutrients for the body.
Eliminates all components that cause abnormal conditions.
Although it won't have a dramatic effect like a complete transformation, it will be very helpful for a growing baby. Moreover, when used with [Elf's Basic Breathing], it will definitely create a good synergy.
[Fairy's Sparkle - Lowest Tier]
Sparkle produced from a fairy's wings.
By sparkling, it can attract the attention of those who can see fairies.
When sparkling and moving, some of those who can see fairies will follow.
[Fairy's Sparkle] was a bit of a gamble, but he thought it would be good to be popular among peers.
âIf a baby is popular among other babies, wonât the parents think they should become an entertainer?â
It's about laying the groundwork in advance.
[Slime's Digestive Ability] appeared as a green, round bead. Seo Jun held the bead with both hands and placed it on his stomach.
Spark!
The bead, [Slime's Digestive Ability], passed through the stomach and settled in the baby's small stomach.
A blue pattern appeared on Seo Jun's plump stomach. The bead-like pattern was visible only to Seo Jun.
[Fairy's Sparkle] appeared as a small leaf wand that fairies carry. Seo Jun placed the wand on his right index finger.
In his current baby body, the only parts he could move were his arms, legs, and small fingers. He thought that moving his legs and arms every time he used the sparkle might look a bit strange.
Spark!
The wand was registered.
âOh, here...â
He intended to register it on his index finger, but it seemed that the finger had less capacity than [Fairy's Sparkle - Lowest Tier], so the pattern was engraved on his palm. It was a green pattern.
The baby clenched his hand.
Squish squish.
â...It doesnât matter, right.â
When the small fingers were clenched, the green wand pattern disappeared, and when they were spread, it reappeared.
Squish squish.
The baby's instinct found the appearance and disappearance of the wand pattern amusing, and he got lost in the repetitive motion of clenching and spreading his tiny hands.
Squish squish.
* * *
âSeo Jun really eats well.â
The mother of a 7-month-old girl, Ji Yoon, said.
Ji Yoon, also born in March, alternated between baby food and formula like Seo Jun, but recently her daughter wouldn't eat at all.
She would shake her head when the bottle was offered and spit out the spoon with baby food.
Seo Eun-hye brought fruit from the kitchen.
On this Saturday afternoon, with everyone resting, Seo Jun's father, who had a busy job, went to work, and the mother invited friends over.
It was a gathering of mothers with babies of similar age in the apartment complex where Seo Jun lived. In one corner of the living room, five babies were gathered.
Seo Jun, who had just finished his formula, and Ji Yoon, who wouldn't eat, along with twin brother Park Ji-ho and twin sister Park Ji-woo, and Mina Owen, whose father was American.
All the babies were between 7 and 9 months old.
The babies ignored Seo Jun's toys and played with their own. Seo Jun took out his toys and played. For him, who was half instinct and half reason, playing with toys was very interesting.
Ji Yoon's mother sighed deeply. The other mothers felt the same. If the baby was hungry enough to cry, it would be nice if they ate, but since they weren't sick and wouldn't eat, it was frustrating.
Seo Eun-hye, peeling an apple, said,
âIt will get better gradually. They said thereâs no illness.â
Worried that her daughter wouldn't eat, Ji Yoon's mother even went to the hospital. Everyone was worried, but fortunately, there was nothing serious. They said Ji Yoon just wasn't eating.
âIf theyâre like this as babies, how much will they suffer when they grow up...â
The twin mother's words made everyone sigh. Only Seo Eun-hye, who didn't know about tantrums, smiled awkwardly.
After that, the mothers continued their conversation. They talked about sending their children to kindergarten, the fierce competition for nearby kindergartens, and recommended ingredients for healthy baby food.
The baby, who was playing with toys like the others, was hungry. Thinking about his good appetite, Seo Jun burst into tears.
âWaaah waaah.â
âOh, itâs already time to eat?â
Seo Eun-hye was startled and looked at the clock. Time had passed quickly. As Seo Jun cried, the other babies started to cry one by one.
Waaah! Waaah!
The living room was filled with the cries of the babies. The mothers hurriedly took out formula from their bags.
Seeing this, Seo Jun stopped crying as if he had never cried. There was no need to cry and waste energy when his mother would bring the formula soon.
But ordinary babies, who only thought about eating, pooping, sleeping, and playing, continued to cry.
âDid I cry for nothing?â
The sharp cries hurt the baby's delicate ears.
But if he didnât cry, he wouldnât get food.
Seo Jun shrugged. His small shoulders and large head made the movement barely noticeable.