Chapter 08
“Wouldn’t you know if you tasted it yourself?”
At my words, Cheonhwi bristled all over and said.
[Kyaaak! You dare tell this Venerable One to consume such a crude elixir?!]
“Consume? I mean appraise. Wouldn’t you be able to tell right away if you just tasted a little?”
[That’s the same thing, isn’t it?]
“No, of course it’s different. Someone as great as Cheonhwi-nim could analyze it. How could a lowly one like me possibly do it?”
At my words, Cheonhwi, who had been bristling, laid his fur flat and nodded slightly.
[It seems you are finally recognizing this Venerable One’s abilities.]
“How could I possibly fully comprehend Cheonhwi-nim’s abilities? You’re even greater.”
[Well, the extent that you can perceive is extremely limited, I suppose.]
“So please, show me that.”
[Even so, you want this Venerable One to taste such a trivial thing…]
*’If flattering him didn’t work, there’s only one option left.’*
“Could it be that you’re afraid you won’t be able to figure out the recipe?”
[Kyaaak! You bastard! What did you just say?!]
Cheonhwi bristled again, just like before.
The previous cuteness of a cotton ball puffing up was gone.
Instead, a chilling aura that seemed to freeze the surroundings washed over me.
*’He’s really angry now.’*
But I couldn’t back down.
This was the perfect opportunity to learn the recipe for a grade 4 potion.
*’Just a little more…’*
“If you think you can’t figure it out, just admit it.”
[Do you dare think this Venerable One could not figure that out?!]
“Then if I get it right now, can you analyze it immediately?”
[Of course! With just a single drop, I can discern everything.]
“Understood. I’ll go get it right away.”
[Today, I shall put an end to your distrust of this Venerable One.]
As I held Cheonhwi in my arms again, the ominous presence that had chilled the surroundings vanished.
*’Phew… I’m sweating cold sweat.’*
Calming my racing heart, I headed to a nearby guild to find one.
Leaving the market, I saw a bustling commercial district across the street.
There, a building glistening in the sunlight caught my eye.
*’Is that it?’*
I immediately walked toward that building.
*-Seureureuk.*
As I opened the door and entered the building,
people were moving busily.
“Where’s today’s Gate?”
“Pyeongtaek.”
“Ah… That’s so far.”
“Well, what can we do? If we’re at the bottom, we go where we’re told.”
*’Wow… It’s not much different from the Association branch office?’*
I never expected a small to medium-sized company like this to have such a nice guild building.
Putting aside my admiration,
I headed to the staff member waiting at the desk.
“I’d like to purchase a potion. Where should I go?”
“For potion purchases, please go to the second floor.”
“Thank you.”
Following the staff member’s guidance, I headed to the second floor.
“Number 52.”
“Number 53, please come to counter 3.”
“Will you buy this?”
“You’re only giving me this much?! That’s ridiculous!”
As I entered the second floor, I heard a noisy commotion.
*’The first floor was completely silent.’*
I took a number ticket and waited for my turn.
Before long, my turn came, and I headed to the counter.
“How may I help you?”
“I’d like to purchase one grade 4 recovery potion.”
“One moment, please.”
The employee turned around, took something from a box, and placed it on the counter.
“Here is your grade 4 recovery potion.”
Unlike the crude and clunky grade 5 potion bottles,
a refined and neat potion bottle caught my eye.
The stopper was even sealed with green beeswax.
What caught my attention the most was the liquid inside the bottle.
*’Wow! It’s a deep, rich green!’*
It was different from the grade 5 potions, which just seemed like simple green.
It was a deep green, so rich it felt weighty.
[Is that the grade 4 elixir you spoke of?]
At Cheonhwi’s question, I nodded slightly in affirmation.
“How much is it?”
“900,000 won.”
It was almost half of my total assets.
But what could I do? I had to buy it.
If only I could feed it to Cheonhwi and figure out the recipe.
“Yes. One moment.”
I pulled out the money I’d received from the Association from my pocket and began counting.
“One. Two. Three…”
*’This is an investment. An investment. A very good investment.’*
I kept repeating that to myself as I counted.
Otherwise, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to hand it over.
“Here’s 900,000 won.”
*-Ttararak.*
“It’s correct. Goodbye.”
After paying, I took the grade 4 potion and headed outside.
As soon as I left the building,
I quickly moved to find a secluded spot.
Arriving behind a building,
I carefully placed Cheonhwi on the ground.
“This should be fine.”
[Hurry and show it to me. This Venerable One will dissect the principles of this crude elixir.]
“Yes.”
I immediately tore off the beeswax and opened the stopper.
*-Tdadadak.*
*-Bbok.*
As I opened the stopper, the bitter smell of various herbs stung my nose.
*’It’s quite potent.’*
I carefully let a single drop fall onto Cheonhwi’s outstretched tongue.
*-Tok.*
[Kyaaak! Ptooey!]
Cheonhwi immediately spat on the ground and wiped his tongue with his blunt front paw.
[Aack! Is this swill truly an elixir?!]
*-Tok. Tok.*
“Swill? It might be a lower-quality Green Label potion, but it still costs 900,000 won.”
[Ptooey! Lower quality? This is swill made from spoiled ingredients!]
Made from spoiled ingredients?
No matter how low-quality the Green Label,
it was still a grade 4 potion.
“You say this was made with spoiled ingredients? You didn’t say that when I was making grade 5 potions.”
[I mean it was literally made from spoiled ingredients that should have been thrown away. Ptooey. At least you used proper ingredients, didn’t you?]
“…What do you mean by that?”
[Exactly what I said. Rotten astragalus root, moldy jujubes – it’s made from complete trash.]
Rotten and moldy.
How could such things be put into a potion?
“Could it be that those poor-quality ingredients have some effect?”
[There’s no way. It’s just that they put that filth in to save a little money.]
*’So that’s why Green Label products are low quality – because they’re made with ingredients that should have been discarded?’*
[Do not even dream of making elixirs with such materials. This is an inhumane act that even a demon would not commit.]
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind. So, have you finished analyzing the recipe?”
At my question, Cheonhwi sat up straight with a confident air.
[What do you take this Venerable One for? Of course I’ve finished.]
Even as he struck that proud pose,
it seemed his tongue still felt uncomfortable,
as he lifted his front paw to wipe it.
*-Tok. Tok.*
How could he act just like a cat that had eaten something bad?
And yet, he’d figured out the recipe from just a single drop.
*’I should praise him first, right?’*
“Really? As expected of Cheonhwi-nim. That’s incredible. To figure that out from just one drop.”
[Ptooey. Do you now understand this Venerable One’s abilities?]
“Yes. Truly incredible.”
[Ahem. Yes. Worship this Venerable One.]
“I worship you, Cheonhwi-nim. Will you now grant this humble one your grace?”
[I shall grant wisdom to your foolish self.]
“Thank you.”
[Astragalus root, jujubes, cinnamon. No, just head back to the old woman’s herb shop from earlier. This Venerable One will select them himself.]
“You’ll do that? Then I’d be grateful.”
[Move quickly.]
And so, I held Cheonhwi in my arms and headed back to the market.
—
*–*
“Oh my. The young man with his honored guest is back?”
“I’m sorry about earlier.”
“It’s fine. So, do you want to see what you were looking at earlier?”
At the old woman’s question, I glanced at Cheonhwi.
Seeming to understand my intent,
he raised his front paw and pointed to an ingredient.
[First, that astragalus root, and the cinnamon next to it, the jujubes, and we also need some Angelica root.]
“Please give me some astragalus root, cinnamon, jujubes, and Angelica root.”
“How much do you need?”
[Three roots of the astragalus from that corner will be sufficient. For the Angelica, two roots – one from the top and one from the bottom.]
What a detailed order.
To measure out such precise amounts from just a single drop.
*’No wonder I trust him.’*
“Three roots of the astragalus from that corner over there. And for the Angelica…”
Following Cheonhwi’s instructions, I selected the ingredients one by one.
The old woman, who had been packing the herbs, suddenly laughed in disbelief.
“Hehe. Are you making that… what is it, potion stuff too?”
Surprised by the sudden question, I nodded and answered.
“Yes. I’m an alchemist who makes potions. How did you know?”
“Well. A while ago, a young lady bought herbs just like you, selecting them carefully.”
“Why is that?”
“Usually people just buy by weight. So I asked, and she said she was making that potion stuff.”
[Hoho. So there is one who imitates true alchemy.]
What did he mean by true alchemy?
Selecting roots and buying them was considered imitation?
*’Isn’t it just buying what looks good?’*
“Is that so?”
“She was a pretty young thing. My, my. You must be busy, and I’m rambling on. Will this be enough?”
[That will suffice.]
“Yes. Just give me that.”
“Here. The astragalus is…”
The old woman began weighing each ingredient and checking the price.
“That’ll be 80,000 won.”
I had invested 900,000 won to learn the grade 4 potion recipe.
*’The ingredients only cost 80,000 won?!’*
“Here you go.”
“Come again.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
After leaving the shop, I walked along and asked Cheonhwi.
“We’ve bought all the ingredients, right?”
[No. There’s a separate core ingredient for that swill.]
“Huh?! There’s more?”
[Don’t you have that stone you received from that pathetic one?]
Pathetic one.
*’Is he talking about Choi Jin-ho? Something I received…’*
The only things I got from him were the envelope of money and a grade 7 magic stone.
“You mean the grade 7 magic stone?”
[Whatever you call it. I will need three of those stones.]
Even a magic stone was needed.
I had expected to make several times the profit with just these ingredients,
but as expected.
*’Well, even grade 5 potions required grade 9 magic stones, so grade 4 would naturally need them too.’*
It was an unexpected expense.
But it didn’t matter.
*’Grade 7 magic stones are 100,000 won each. So three would be 300,000 won, and the herbs were 80,000 won.’*
The material cost would be nearly 400,000 won,
but the price of a grade 4 potion was double that.
“Then I’ll buy the magic stones too and head home.”
—
*-Kkiiik.*
The iron door screamed.
A musty, moldy smell and cold air greeted us.
Sniffing it, Cheonhwi shook his head.
“Sniff. Sniff. I just can’t get used to this stench.”
Despite his dignified tone, his nose twitched slightly.
*’That sight is harder to get used to.’*
*-Poljjak.*
*-Tadadak.*
*-Pok.*
He jumped out of my arms, dashed over, and threw himself into the blanket.
“Hurry and light some firewood today. My paws are going to freeze to the floor.”
Seeing him, I unconsciously shook my head.
*’So much for dignity.’*
“You there! How dare you ignore this Venerable One’s words?!”
“I don’t have the money, so I can’t.”
“Aish. You miser.”
Leaving the grumbling Cheonhwi behind,
I placed the purchased ingredients on the floor.
*-Tuuk.*
“Enough with the complaints. Can you teach me the method now?”
*-Saaak.*
“Lick. First, lightly wash the herbs under running water.”
Doing his cat-like washing, Cheonhwi spoke casually.
Would anyone seeing that think there was a person inside?
No matter how you looked at it, he was just a cat.
*’Sigh. I really feel like a butler.’*
I took out the herbs, washed them lightly, and patted them dry.
“I’m done.”
“Then, remove the turbid energy from those stones.”
Removing the turbid energy from magic stones.
*’Isn’t this hardly any different from making a grade 5 potion?’*
I had expected a special method for a grade 4 potion,
but it wasn’t much different from grade 5.
*’Is the ingredient quality more important?’*
I held the grade 7 magic stone in my hand and activated the skill.
“Refine.”
Magic traveled through my hand and seeped into the magic stone.
And then I felt the magic.
*’What? It’s completely different!’*
The grade 9 magic stone had magic dispersed like a fine mist.
But with this grade 7 stone, I could clearly feel small, distinct granules.
*’The magic is clustered in such large granules?’*
The difficulty in refining had been gathering the scattered magic.
If it was already clustered this large, it should naturally be easier.
*’This smells like money. A very strong smell!’*
I immediately tried to gather those granules of magic into one place.
*-Kkagagak.*
As if the magic refused to move,
it only trembled in place.
“What?!”
I focused my mind again and tried to move the magic.
A tug-of-war began with the barely moving magic.
*’You son of a… Fine. Let’s see who wins, you or me!’*
