Chapter 12 – Solo Start (3)

“I, It’s a bit shabby but…please come in.”

The pharmacist shuffled her feet. The store was messy like a tornado had passed through it.

“It’s really shabby but…”

She wasn’t over exaggerating.

There were broken glass bottles all over the floor. Shelves were on their backs, and the books had all fallen out. The dust floating around was a bonus.

It was a wreck.

-Wow.

Bae Hu-ryeong exclaimed.

–When I was alive, I used to hear that I was untidy, but this is way above my level. Their cleanliness sure is trustworthy. Hey, do you really want to eat the elixirs this lady makes?

“Um. Are you really going to order 20,000 Gold worth items from me…?”

Bae Hu-ryeong and the pharmacist asked me at the same time, like they had planned it.

I smiled bitterly.

“If you don’t believe me, should I pay in advance?”

“Y, You don’t need to go that f…”

She waved her hand around and paused.

“…No. Actually, if it’s possible, advance payment it is.”

Her face was completely red. She was embarrassed at herself for saying this. But this was how bad her situation was.

“Take as much as you need from my safe. I’ll tell Sangryun in advance.”

“As much as I need…”

She blankly mumbled.

“Yes. But my wealth isn’t limitless. I’ll be grateful if you keep it under 20,000 Gold.”

“W, What kind of medicine are you…?”

Was she scared because of the amount of money? She was happy, but also seemed anxious at the same time.

“Pardon me, but I can’t make drugs. Because of my beliefs, making drugs is really…If you came to order drugs, I, I’ll refuse…”

“Oho.”

I thought to myself.

‘She’s someone who fits the title of Alchemy Master well.’

There weren’t a lot of people who could refuse thousands of Gold that was right in front of them. Especially if they were about to go bankrupt. But she firmly said she wouldn’t make drugs.

This pharmacist looked weak outside but was actually quite strong inside.

“Haa. They’re definitely not drugs, so don’t worry.”

“Ah…t, then that’s a relief. Specifically, which medicines are you looking for?”

“Mm.”

I looked at Bae Hu-ryeong. His mouth had been shut since we entered the shop like he didn’t like something. He sighed after looking at me.

–Haa. Well, fine. She doesn’t look like a skilled child, but I’ll tell you the recipe.

He should’ve said it earlier if he was going to come out like this.

–Listen. Bunny pig’s liver and a balloon cat’s eyes, and the shedding of a desert worm…”

“I’ll let you know from now. Bunny pig’s liver, balloon cat’s eyes, and…”

I delivered Bae Hu-ryeong’s recipe to her.

“Ah. Please wait a moment! I, I’ll write it down!”

She frantically wrote it down. There were about 23 different materials. As the recipe got longer, her face turned more serious.

–Well. This is enough for the recipe. How it’s made depends on the skills of the pharmacist.

“This is enough for the recipe.”

“…”

She quietly looked at her notebook, biting the back of her hand.

“If these are combined…it’s something that intensifies reflexes. Not something that relaxes, but stimulates. No, I guess it’s more of an awakening.”

–Huh?

Bae Hu-ryeong looked at the pharmacist.

The pharmacist continued to speak.

“It’s an extremely complex combination. Ah, it might just be my mistake…but you would like these to be made not with dried or frozen materials, but with the most fresh materials, right?”

–Yes, that’s true but…

I nodded my head.

“That’s correct.”

“I knew it! Usually, there’s a minute amount of poison in the desert worm’s shedding. One of the ways to lessen this effect is to use the bunny pig’s liver, but this has to be…!

She excitedly spoke. The stuttering lady in front of me disappeared, and was replaced with a chatterbox. Yeah. There were people like this in the world.

‘Her method is wrong, but she’s a skilled person.’

Someone who ran into the subject that they liked at full speed and achieved great results. I didn’t dislike experts like this.

“In how many days can you have it ready?”

“Ah.”

The conversation that seemed like it had no end got cut off. She blinked like she came to attention. It was like she had fallen into her own little world when she was speaking.

“S, Sorry! I saw a pretty combination like this for the first time in a while and…!”

“It’s alright. So how long will it take?”

“If the money is enough…I, I can have it ready in 4 days. I would usually be able to get it to you faster, but I have to get new tools…”

4 days.

“I can wait that long.”

Before I regressed, it took about 1 year to be able to get medicine from this person. 4 days was nothing compared to that.

–Hey. I still can’t approve.

Bae Hu-ryeong continued to complain when we left the store.

-There’s a lot of people who only know how to speak like experts. Those kinds of people end up being drug dealers. Ugh. We’re gonna waste money!

“So where did you learn that recipe?”

-It’s a combination I made myself. The best elixir that I made after drinking countless poisons myself. It’s a precious elixir that you can’t drink in your world even if you want to!

I grinned.

“The pharmacist said it was an extremely high-level combination.”

-…

“She’s able to tell the true worth just with a glance, so just trust her. Even if she looks like that right now, she is going to be in the highest position of Alchemy Castle 10 years later.”

Bae Hu-ryeong shut his mouth.

-You just cursed me in your mind, huh?

“This ghost is trying to hurt an innocent person now.”

I pretended not to know what he was talking about. He was uselessly too quick for his own good.

4 days quickly passed.

During that time, the pharmacist continued to take away money from my safe. Someone came from Sangryung to ask if it was really alright, but I told them to let her be. Even if it cost a lot of money, if it was for medicine made by the Lord of Alchemy Castle, it was nothing.

–Zombie. Wanna bet?

“Geez, what this time.”

-That lady’s gonna run away with the money. I guarantee it. I don’t know about anything else, but my eyes can tell what kind of person someone is. That lady looks like a thief from birth. Quickly, commit suicide. Zombie! Kill yourself 4 times and return to 4 days ago!

Clearly, the ghost couldn’t read people.

On lunchtime of the 4th day.

The pharmacist came to my room carrying the elixirs herself.

“S, Sorry. I wanted to give it to you faster, but it took longer than I thought…”

“It’s fine. You said you would make it in 4 days anyway. That’s good.”

The pharmacist bought 3 boxes of elixirs.

If I drank it 3 times per day, it would last for 30 days.

If we went to the store Bae Hu-ryeong wanted to go to, we would only get 2 days worth. This was an increase by 15 times.

‘And the effects are probably better.’

This was how you should spend money.

I subconsciously smiled.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“I, I know it’s weird asking this now. But why did you leave such an expensive order to me?”

She twisted her fingers.

“O, Of course, I’m confident in myself. Looking at the recipe, I think there’s only about 2 people in Babylon who can make this…But, people only treat me like a freak.”

“Hm.”

The reason why I left it to this person.

It was because this person was the genius of the century. The guild master of the Alchemy Castle. I had calculated to have some connection to the person who would grow to be the master of a large clan someday.

However.

‘That’s not all.’

Before I regressed to 4000 days before.

When the Flame Emperor had set fire to the slums. At the time, someone had arrived before anyone else to control the fire even though she was one of the highest rankers. Helping the people, Lord of Alchemy Castle had muttered.

-That Flame Emperor, I don’t like him.

-He gives me bad vibes or something…talking about someone’s back here isn’t nice,but I still think Saintess could meet someone better.

Someone who had seen Flame Emperor’s real self.

‘She probably just guessed it with her senses without any evidence.’

Even if that was the case, she had the outstanding ability of reading people.

She was skilled, nice enough to run immediately to help people in danger, and could read psychopaths. Wouldn’t it be a waste not to be close with this kind of person?

I opened my mouth.

“Because you seem nice.”

“What?”

“I helped you because you seemed nice. Well, you probably would’ve made it big even if I didn’t help you. But shouldn’t kind hunters like us help each other to grow?”

“…”

“We can’t let psychopaths be the only ones to succeed. That’s unfair. Store owner-nim and I should work harder.”

I said exactly what I felt without telling any lies. I couldn’t be more honest than this. Now, it depended on how the other person accepted my words. She stared at my face and spoke.

“…I see. Yes. Since we have to succeed first to change the world.”

It was a determined tone.

“Thank you, customer-nim! As you said, I’ll work harder too!”

Her fist was clenched.

“If you have anything more to order, contact me! I’ll always prioritize your orders!”

“I’ll be grateful for that.”

We both smiled at each other and turned away.

Unfortunately, my smile didn’t last for long.

-Hoho. I haven’t seen a hunter who called himself nice in a while. And I’ve never seen someone accept it like that. Hey, are you guys crazy? Tsk tsk tsk. You’re not in your right mind.

“…I know I said something embarrassing so let’s just start training.”

The next day.

We headed towards the hunting ground. I took a sleeping bag and plenty of elixirs in my backpack.

If there was something different than normal, it was that I was on the 3rd floor hunting ground and not the 2nd floor.

There were lots of monsters that were still too much for me to deal with. Orcs and goblin hordes hovered around. I looked at them from far away.

“What do I do from now?”

-Drink your elixir first.

I nodded my head.

I gulped down the elixir that was the tumbler I brought without any hesitation.

“Mm.”

The taste itself was normal.

It tasted good, like honey and lemon were added to it.

The moment I thought it was a relief that it tasted good.

“Hm….?!”

Thump.

My heart beat faster than normal.

At first, I thought I was hallucinating, but I wasn’t. Sweat dripped down my back. The most interesting fact was that…I could feel each and every drop of sweat on my back clearly.

‘What is this?’

Thump.

It wasn’t just the sweat. The touch of the air on my fingers and the feeling of the ground I was stepping on. When I blinked it felt like 30 seconds.

“This…is…”

-Effects of the elixir.

Only Bae Hu-ryeong’s voice felt the same amongst everything that felt different.

-It slows down what you feel. It’s easy if you think that it extends your time. I don’t want to admit it, but that lady is pretty good at making elixirs.

It was horrible.

I could feel each strand of hair moving on my body. I could even feel the veins in my ears twitching. If I didn’t know, I would think that I drank poison, and not an elixir.

-Can’t you feel it?

“What…are…you….talking…about?”

-The thing moving in your heart.

Thump.

There was something there. No, something was flowing. And it wasn’t blood.

It was softer and more frail than blood. But it definitely flowed in my entire body. It was slowly spreading from my heart. Something that I had never felt before.

-That’s Aura.

Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.

-All hunters in the Tower have Aura in their bodies. They just live not knowing it. How much you’re able to feel this Aura and control it is what determines victory.

Bae Hu-ryeong laughed.

The laughter lasted for 20 seconds. It was probably only a short second, but somehow, it felt like 20 seconds to me.

I felt tired, like I would fall over if I just let go.

-Usually, you get used to this feeling by quietly training by yourself.

Inside of it. Something big approached.

-But that’ll take too long.

Boom.

Footsteps.

Even the footsteps seemed long to me. When I lifted my head to see, a big orc was heading towards me.

-A talentless body like you has to suffer a bit.

This damned.

-Alright! If you don’t want to be hurt, use your Aura, Kim Zombie! You have to train with real things! You’re not gonna kick the bucket anyway, so what if you get a little hurt.

“This…ghost…really…!”

-Hm? I can’t hear what you’re saying because you’re a loser who can’t even use Aura.

He burst into laughter again.

–Are you in anguish? Kill yourself if you don’t like it. Oh, then your kill count increases from 4000. Then grandpops Marcus will hunt you over and over again, huh?

Ah.

My partner was really a bad bastard.