“Yes… Huh? Me?”
Yeon-hee, caught off guard by Yeon-su’s enthusiasm, unintentionally gave a foolish reply and looked at me.
‘What do I do if she looks at me like that…?’
Of course, Yeon-su, who was perceptive, wouldn’t let that slip.
“I found you! It’s definitely you, Il-wol! You sly little rascal!”
Yeon-su, eyes sparkling, moved closer and draped her arm over my shoulder.
Her strength was so overwhelming that I felt like I was bound by a hundred binding spells and couldn’t move at all.
‘Oh man, it feels like my shoulder might break. But how did she figure it out? The only one who knows I have the recipe is Yeon-hee.’
“Hehe, is that a look of surprise?”
I had no idea she had the ability to read monster-like expressions.
‘I’ve never had that kind of expression. And would you ease up a bit on my arm?’
“With the Orc Legion, Kadinite, and Killbard all in play, I really have no clue what’s going on.”
“Ugh… my head is spinning. Is this a dream?”
The companions were completely confused by the sudden changes, and Yeon-su, perhaps realizing she acted a bit hastily, began to explain the situation.
“Well… There’s a hunter in the guild who can show us the way.”
“A guide…?”
“Is it like a prophet or something?”
“Not quite that level, but it’s a bit similar, right? Sometimes they seem even more capable.”
‘Show us the way… Is she referring to the old woman I met recently? I didn’t think there’d be someone like that in the guild. With how ridiculous it is to think one can cross to another dimension and stop a blue-eyed monster, there had to be some reason it came up.’
But as I listened to Yeon-su now, it seemed she was saying she’d seen a breakthrough for the guild’s activities.
‘Hmm… Is it possible that this ridiculous plan could work? I may have to meet Maeng Seong-yong soon.’
“One of the trustworthy people I mentioned is her. Of course, the guild doesn’t know how close we are, so I’m being careful. Anyway, she said if you’re eager to find a clue about what you truly want, you should come find you guys. So I thought I’d give it a try, and it worked out perfectly.”
“……….”
Both Yeon-hee and I were taken aback.
I had an expectation of her progress in conveying the potential future threat to Yeon-su, but I never anticipated she’d be this proactive.
“Yeon-hee, I know what you’re worrying about. But with the world collapsing around us, how about trusting us a little more? You know it’s essential to take preemptive measures in a rapidly changing world, right?”
“……….”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“I trust you. I really do…”
‘By that reasoning, I would have revealed all my shape-shifting abilities. Even if you’re you, I still have to be cautious.’
Trusting Yeon-su, I still found the other person accompanying her to be an unknown variable.
So, it would be best to maintain some distance while still accepting her request.
Anyway, I was preparing to supply the potion, so it was something I hoped for.
‘Well…’
I pulled out the potion I had made from the space I created earlier.
A small pill that radiated a clear blue light like fresh snow.
It was beautiful, nearly like an unrefined gemstone, enough to capture the attention of everyone around.
‘It looks completely different from what I made in Ilseom. I crafted it, but it’s truly amazing.’
The Alchemist’s Potion of Death
– Increases physical ability, concentration, magic power, and resistance to status abnormalities for a limited time.
– Duration and increase effects depend on the potential of the being consuming it.
– After the effects wear off, various forms of side effects may occur. The side effects also depend on the potential of the being consuming it.
‘I’m an alchemist now… I just got one skill, after all.’
Anyway, it seemed this had added some different effects compared to what was developed by Ilseom, but there were parts that raised questions as well.
‘The descriptions of effects and side effects are vague. The idea that everything is determined by potential feels hard to grasp…’
While I pondered over it momentarily, the eyes of my companions, including Kang Yeon-su, widened at the mysterious pill pulled from the space.
“What, what’s that? It feels like something unusual is in this pill… Could it be this?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
“You, you already made the potion?! How on earth did you get the recipe? Did you seriously make this?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
“Wow… Haha? How did you already make it? Did that prophet Yeon-hee mentioned tell you to prepare it in advance?”
“Huh? Ah… did that happen? Haha…”
Kang Yeon-su looked back and forth between the pill and my face as if she couldn’t believe it and grabbed her head.
“Wait a moment. Huh… Can I touch the potion for a bit?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
Kang Yeon-su carefully reached her hand towards the pill.
It wasn’t just simple curiosity. She probably wanted to confirm the information about the potion through the system message.
“Huh? An Alchemist of Death…? Is this hinting at Il-wol… Does such an item really exist?”
As they heard Kang Yeon-su’s reaction, all the companions started to reach for the pill too.
“Wow— An Alchemist? That’s amazing… How many professions do you have?”
“You really made a potion? Didn’t you say your guild had been researching it for over ten years?”
“Huh? Hmm… From what I heard, the effects seem to be better than what I initially thought. I knew there would be permanent side effects depending on how it is taken, but this…”
‘Is it really supposed to have side effects? Hyeon Joong-seob took three at once, though?’
“A permanent side effect, that sounds a bit severe, doesn’t it?”
“I found out because I talked with the colleagues I hadn’t spoken to for a few days. Apparently, if you take it a certain number of times, it decreases your health by 1 or something like that. My colleagues also heard it by chance, so they’re not quite certain.”
‘Ah… If that’s the case, then perhaps it’s not too concerning. For someone as strong as Hyeon Joong-seob, losing a health point would be manageable, especially given it was such a crucial moment for establishing his ground.’
“But it says this potion also has side effects?”
“Well… The description doesn’t reveal what kind of side effects might arise. But based on my experience, such vague descriptions are usually warnings disguised as advice.”
“Huh? Advice?”
At Yeon-hee’s question, Yeon-su stroked her chin thoughtfully and continued.
“Sometimes, these friendly messages pop up…”
“Friendly…? From the system?”
“Yeah. So, it’s probably a reminder not to overuse it. Giving those who want to take the potion a chance to think again, you know? Since it’s ambiguous with the word potential, it makes people cautious. It’s more of a suggestion than a straightforward disclaimer that says, ‘taking it multiple times will decrease your stat by 1’.”
“Ah…”
“Of course, there will inevitably be problems from overconsumption, but it’s certainly much safer than the previous ones. I’m beginning to think there won’t be any permanent damage.”
“Ohho… Amazing. Il-wol!”
“And the vague effects might be a reflection of the creator’s mindset. Maybe they weren’t completely sure while making it. Generally, you’d tend to fail with that kind of attitude, but perhaps there’s some ability that compensates?”
“Clap…”
‘That makes sense… I think I also thought that I had no idea what kind of result my creation would yield. But didn’t she have such great insight? Hmm… The image in my memory wasn’t quite like this.’
Of course, Yeon-su’s words had no objective grounding.
But her opinion, filled with the intuition of someone who hasn’t taken a day off from being a hunter since her late teens, was enough to persuade us.
“Could I try taking it?”
Yeon-su went a step further, wanting to be the one to test it.
Nodding my head, she consumed the enhanced potion without hesitation.
With a snap-
“Whoa?! Cold! Is this potion supposed to be this cold?”
“I didn’t hear that part!”
“Oh? Is it that Il-wol made it has some different properties? This feels electrifying!”
A pale blue chill started to visibly arise from Kang Yeon-su’s body.
‘It feels excessively cold. Is it because of the Frost Enamel? I’ll have to adjust it a bit.’
Since it had the trait to match closely to the outcomes I was aiming for, it should definitely be adjustable.
If it were any other hunter, they would be frozen enough to be in a status abnormality, but since it’s Yeon-su, she can just laugh it off; it’d be a problem if anyone else were to experience this kind of chill during a battle, so I need to fix this fast.
“Ahhh- now it’s warming up! I’ll start moving soon.”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
Yeon-su briefly bounced in place, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared from my line of sight.
A point that was becoming smaller beyond the cafe reached the very end of my senses in no time. She was incredibly fast; it wasn’t like the Yeon-su I had seen before.
“Wow… That’s insane.”
“Where did she go?”
“She flew over there.”
Only Ah-rin among our companions was able to track Yeon-su’s movements with her remarkable speed.
I could roughly gauge how much her abilities had changed and realized that the effects of the potion were more impressive than I anticipated.
‘For someone like Yeon-su, maybe that level of effectiveness is expected, but… Is it around a 30% increase? Is that really what I achieved with this first try? That’s insane.’
With added effects like mental fortitude and resistance to status abnormalities, the value of this potion could be beyond imagination.
‘How much would it sell for? Even at an absurd price, there would be plenty of buyers.’
For quick escape from an immediate threat, nothing could rival this item.
Yet, I had no intention of selling it.
Swish─!
“……….”
Came back to us, visibly excited, gliding along like she was soaring, Yeon-su.
The look in her eyes as she gazed at me was filled with a joy as if she had discovered a legendary treasure, making me instinctively take a step back.
“Yeon-hee…”
“Yes?”
“Il-wol is a true revolution…”
“Huh…?!”
Yeon-hee hurriedly moved in front of me, blocking Yeon-su’s view.
“I feel like I’ve witnessed a legendary golden goblin firsthand. We must protect this at our guild’s level. Of course, I’m not saying I’ll disclose any secrets, but some preparation is needed.”
“T-that’s… Il-wol isn’t a golden goblin or anything.”
“Hehehe… hehehehe…”
At Yeon-su’s ambiguous laughter, my companions instinctively wrapped their arms around each other, while Yeon-su seemed to regain her senses and began to pull Yeon-hee and me aside to ask a few things.
“Are you really going to tell me the recipe?”
Yeon-su was utterly stunned by our willingness to disclose all information.
“Yes. Not immediately, but I plan to tell you soon. For now, I’d like you to help me gather the materials.”
“You really do intend to save the world.”
“It’s true…”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
I had pondered for a long time since I obtained the recipe for Killbard.
I had considered monopolizing the potion for various benefits.
But that’s a narrow-minded perspective.
‘To give people time to adapt, I need to distribute the potion as quickly as possible. It would be inefficient to limit distribution to just a few channels.’
Ultimately, the purpose of the potion was to raise the power of hunters in our world.
It needed to be spread across the globe swiftly.
I have to make sure we can deal with the commander of the Orc Legion, ‘Por,’ while repelling any invading lower-ranked commanders from other countries is a feat we simply can’t manage alone.
‘After all, monopolizing production won’t yield much by myself anyway. This is definitely the right way.’
One concern is that the products I produce may show significant differences from those produced by other alchemists, or that other alchemists may not be able to produce them at all.
‘It took Ilseom a long time, so I can’t completely dismiss the possibility. I hope that doesn’t happen. I don’t have infinite time to make potions…’
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