A week after the unexpected meeting with Kim Yu-Rin.
First, from the fang she gave to him as a present, Sae-Jin was
able to create 4 batches of potions. One potion for strengthening
the constitution of its drinker, and the other three, healing and
regenerative effects. He'd stashed the former for himself when
he went out on a hunt, but the rest, he decided to sell them off.
He was already getting fed up with this living-in-a-cave
lifestyle, plus with the Energy Manipulation Stat now at 8,
which made it possible to maintain the Human Form for at least
80 minutes every day, Sae-Jin decided it was high time he
bought a house near the Gangwon Province. Of course, as
expected of a place called the "Paradise for the Monster-related
industry", the exorbitant land price here was second only to the
capital city, Seoul, ensuring that even if he started working to
his bones starting now, it'd still take a long, long while before
he could afford one. (Lit said "A Mecca for the Monster-related
industry. Changed for obvious reasons.)
Whatever the case may have been, currently Sae-Jin was
standing in front of a building called an "Alchemy House" that
reeked of a bitter aroma of the herbs and was filled with the
bubbling sounds of chemicals boiling in their pots.
While there were less than three Alchemy Houses existing in
any given large metropolis, these exceedingly rare organizations
where the only place where the administration of the verification
process, which assigned the grades as well as handled the
distribution of the potions created by the alchemists could be
done. But, even though it was true they were hard to find, for
someone like Sae-Jin who literally lived inside the borders of
Gangwon Province, seeking out one of these so-called homes of
an alchemist proved to be rather simple, with their continued
survival intrinsically linked to that of the Monsters' existences.
(Had to change quite a lot in this paragraph. This author sure
loves to torment me with indecipherable Spaghetti soup of
words...)
"Hmm..."
Even though he wore the robe supposedly favored by
alchemists, and had the hood pulled right up to match the outer
appearance, Sae-Jin's actions of curiously surveying the
surroundings easily revealed his status as a complete noob at
these sort of things.
"Is there something I can assist you with, perhaps?"
An employee came in closer and politely inquired after
noticing him meandering.
"...I'm here to sell some potions I've created. But I haven't
sold one before, nor have I any prior fame. Is it still possible?"
(전력lit. battle records. I mean, wut)
"Ah, yes, of course. Would you follow me this way, please?"
Didn't matter what territory or nation, the number of
alchemists were always much lower than of magicians, and
consequently, they were treated as one of the most valuable
human resources out there. And, even though there was this
whiff of a newbie coming off of Sae-Jin, his word and posture
were undoubtedly that of a real alchemist, so the male employee
made sure to remain courteous while guiding him.
Sae-Jin promptly found and sat down on the nearest office
chair, and nervously waited as he kept an eye on the watch but
soon enough, the male employee sat on the opposite side with a
document of some kind.
"This is the application form. The verification process will
commence after you write down the name of the potion and its
effects here. When the product's been verified to be free of any
side effects and its medicinal efficacy ascertained a grade will
be assigned according to its medicinal strengths, and
afterward, the potion can be sold on the market."
Potions brewed by the skilled hands of alchemists enjoyed a
far greater demand than the supply could ever meet. Those
commonly available 'emergency potions' sold in Monster
Stores, mass-manufactured with 10th grade Mana Stones,
couldn't even begin to compare in performance and overall
quality.
And the popularity enjoyed by the potions brewed by a well-
a known alchemist was such that potential buyers had to reserve
their share very much in advance in order to purchase one.
Strangely enough, it wasn't the alchemist's name that
garnered the attention, but the potions themselves instead. It
was because alchemists loved anonymity and believed hiding
one's true identity from the public was a matter of professional
virtue, so the only avenue available to truly flaunt their abilities
was through their potioncraft.
It was a given, then, the alchemists painstakingly chose
suitable names for their creations and didn't hesitate to pour
every fiber of their beings and every ounce of their talents into
bettering the potions they made.
Of course, the rumor on the street was, that for those famed
alchemists who had already achieved great acclaim and were
well known throughout the world, they could afford to just deal
directly with the Masters of the Knights Orders and the CEOs of
the corporate worlds.
"If you wish to keep your identity hidden, please check that
the box labeled Anonymous over here."
Sae-Jin unhurriedly jotted the words down on the application
form. For the potion's effects.... healing and regeneration.
All of a sudden, the body of the male employee trembled
noticeably from the shock as he took a sideways glance at the
contents Sae-Jin was writing down.
When Sae-Jin glared at him questioningly, the employee
scratched the back of his neck and sheepishly made an excuse.
"Ah, my apologies. It's because regeneration is quite a rare
effect... to clarify, did you mean regenerative recovery of the
wounds, instead? Usually, a potion will be graded lower Mid-tier
even if the regenerative effects prove to be minor. And on top of
that, there is also a healing effect as well... Hahaha. As long as
there are no side effects, this potion will be graded as High,
surely? Many Knights Orders and hospitals were getting
concerned at the shortage of High-grade items lately... so this is
great news."
Sae-Jin lightly smirked at the employee. He knew there
wouldn't be any side effects with the potion. Since a word like
perfection was not nearly enough to describe the skills of an
Elite Goblin is capable of combining the ingredients and the
powder of the Sabre-tooth Tiger's fang down to a nanogram
accuracy.
"I've completed the form."
"Ah, thank you. Just in case, have you brought along a sample
of the potion?"
The employee asked Sae-Jin as he handed over the form.
"Well, rather than what you'd call a sample, I've got the
finished product here with me."
Sae-Jin produced a glass bottle containing the potion from the
robe's pocket. A clear blue light emitted from the liquid inside
and the small area around the bottle glowed softly as a result.
"..."
In that moment, the male employee became completely
speechless. After a lengthy deliberation brought on by the
indescribable beauty of the potion, the only thing he could do
was to swallow back his saliva, hard.
There was just no way a novice alchemist could concoct a
medicine that had both the effects of healing and regeneration.
But there could be no doubt as to what this clear blue liquid
emitting the brilliant glow was. Even without testing, even
without assigning it a grade, this could only be the "Healing and
Regeneration" potion.
".... This.... Please, wait a moment."
The male employee quickly recognized it as an item he was
not qualified to handle. A value of a potion with healing effects
was higher than other varieties of potions. Obviously, people
with jobs fighting back the tides of Monsters, Hunters and
Knights, as well as the civilians occupying regular positions,
would have found such potions quite a necessity.
"Sorry, but I don't have much time."
Unfortunately, he just couldn't afford to delay any longer, so
Sae-Jin stood up to leave. Seeing this, the employee went into a
full-on panic mode and he quickly grabbed Sae-Jin's shoulders
and made him sit back down.
"Wait, wait, wait a moment, please!!! Just one moment!! The
Manager will..."
The employee was desperate in his plea. In reality, the
Alchemy Houses were actually high-stress organizations dyed in
the colors of cutthroat competition and the pursuit of the
robust bottom lines.
To be in a better position to receive the "financial assistance",
the twenty-odd Alchemy Houses spread throughout the country
were engaged in a bloody war of results, and the matter of
which potion came out of which House located in which
province played the most important role in achieving the best
results. In the situation where a quality potion came up for sale,
then the House would occupy a more favorable position when
the inevitable petty squabbles should break out between the
Knights Orders and various other institutions that wanted the
potion for themselves.
That was why the employee was adamant about keeping Sae-
Jin here, but he was firm with his reply.
"You don't need more than a few drops for the verification
purposes, so I shall leave behind three. There shouldn't be a
problem for me to return at a later date after the testing process
is finished."
"Ye, yes, that is true, but... Wait, the stamp. Did you already
stamp your jijangs on the form?" (A jijangs is literally a finger
stamp. Can't think of an English equivalent and it's not really
leaving a fingerprint, so....)
The alchemists wishing to stay anonymous were specially
managed through their jijangs. So, while most employees didn't
know if the name nor the face of an alchemist, they could still
tell which potions were brewed by that particular person.
"Yes, I did. I saw the blue-colored number 30437 spreading
out on the form."
That number meant that his application was 30437th for this
particular Alchemy House. Seeing that there were less than 1000
variety of potions on the market, there was no real need to ask
just how many aspiring alchemists out there had to taste despair
during the grading and verification processes.
"Yes... in that case... please promise me to come and visit us
later on!! That you'll return to us!!"
The employee bowed down and shouted out aloud. It was loud
enough to reverberate around the interior and caused the
surrounding gazes to focus here, but to those familiar with how
the Alchemy Houses operated behind the scenes, it was only at
the level of yet another day at work.
"Ah, yes. Well, do you have a preparatory bottle for the
samples at hand?"
At his words, the employee hurriedly moved to find a sample
bottle and Sae-Jin left the Alchemy House after leaving behind
precisely three drops worth of his potion inside of that tiny little
glass bottle.
*
The downtown of the city was filled with all sorts of sounds.
Conversations from the passing traffic of people tumbled
around one another, mixed with the various noises of the city –
Sae-Jin found it hard to adjust after getting used to the stillness
of the mountains.
But even among this jumble of sounds, there was this one
voice that attracted his ears especially so.
– Knight Kim Yu-Rin, there are only 2 weeks left until your
Highest Tier Knight ascension ceremony... How are you feeling
right now?
The sound was coming from a wrist-mounted hologram TV
displayed in the electronics store, the projection showing an
interview performed by a reporter with Kim Yu-Rin.
– Not too bad.
– ....Yes? Ah, haha. Ahahahaha. Is that so? Of course...
Hahaha. It wouldn't be bad at all, hahaha!!
The reporter could only just about diffuse the tricky situation
the uncomfortably short answer brought on with several
awkward laughter.
Sae-Jin smirked lightly as he watched. He knew why she acted
that way, after all – something about the phobia of being in
front of cameras or something like that.
– So, so then... let's proceed to the next question. Ah, yes,
after being voted No. 1 as the most beautiful Knight by the male
counterparts, can you please tell us how you feel....
The reporter forgot the rest of his question momentarily after
he got properly sucked in by the infinitely clear gazes of Yu-Rin
staring at his face. It might have been an ordinary gaze in truth,
but her beautiful face made it seem much more extraordinary
than it really was.
– Obviously, it's not bad, as well, no? Ah, no, wait, that's...
what was it again...?
The reporter finally managed to open his mouth and spouted
nonsense for a second or two, before his professional mentality
brought his game face back on and he quickly changed to
another question.
– Ah, that's right. Can Miss Yu-Rin enlighten us to what your
ideal man entails? It's just that, several hotly trending male
Knights have all chosen Miss Yu-Rin as their ideal partner, you
see.
– .... An ideal man..?
– Yes, yes.
Yu-Rin thought deeply for a moment, before breaking out in a
grin.
It was short but stunningly beautiful enough to dye not only
the projection but the entire grey street surrounding the store
with brightness. The reporter was lost for words again, while
Yu-Rin replied with that dazzling smile still on her face.
– I prefer a man that's like a Goblin.
– .... Yes? What do you mean by that...?
– Except that he'd have to be intelligent and kind. In other
words, a Goblin that's both kind and skilled.
– Ah...
The reporter ended up interpreting her words that sounded
unrealistic as something like 'no ideal man for me out there, or
such.
– Yes- yes, of course. Thank you for your candid replies. As
expected of the youngest ever Highest Tier Knight, the qualities
for your ideal partner are indeed very unique.
But Sae-Jin was different. He stood there staring at the image
of Kim Yu-Rin for a long while with a huge smile on his face,
before entering the shop properly.
"Welcome~."
"Ah, yeah, how much for that wrist hologram TV? Oh, wait,
will it work even deep inside a cave up in the mountains?"
*
While the employees of the Alchemy Houses were mostly the
"specialists" who gave up walking the paths of alchemy mid-
way, the roles of Managers could only be filled by the actual
alchemists. An alchemist had to register a minimum of three
potions in the bestseller list in order to either open up an
Alchemy House or to sit in the apprentice position of a Master.
The Dark Elf alchemist Hazeline, who rose to the Alchemy
House Manager's seat at a young age of 31, was currently making
an unreadable expression on her face as she examined the
sample potion left behind by the mysterious visitor earlier
today.
"...Hey, why am I even looking at this? Hell, this doesn't even
need to get verified, either. At the very least, it's a mid-grade.
And at most, a High grade. It's been a while since I saw a potion
this bright and clear. And like a schmuck, you sent away the guy
who brewed this by saying that you needed to test it?!"
"My apologies... I have no excuses."
"Oh well, at least, with him leaving the sample behind here,
the possibility of us doing business together is rather high, so no
need to apologize. Anyhow, what's it called?"
"Ah, that is... it's a little strange."
The male employee hesitantly checked the application form
Sae-Jin wrote, but in the end, stutteringly read aloud what was
written on the paper.
"A Goblin's Kindness. That's the name of the potion."
________________________________________________________________
(So, a confession time. The author keeps saying High, Mid,
Low and stuff like that while describing the tiers/rankings of
the Knights and Hunters, potions, and Monsters, but hasn't
really provided a context to go with them so far. I did a quick
Google and lo and behold, the word 고위 기사 used to describe
what Kim Yu-Rin's ranking was, which literally means
Highest/Superior Knight actually was the Korean TLed term
for the Protoss High Templar from the Starcraft games. Y'know,
that one Koreans all go mad over. So, uh.... should I rename all
of the Knight rankings to that of the Protoss system? What about
that of the Hunters? And Monsters? Hmm...)