Chapter 55
Chapter 55
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 55
"Let's try this one first."
I pulled one pouch out of the bag. Each pouch was meticulously labeled with the plants and toxins it contained. Let's see here.
"'Plarotte's Flower Bud', harvestable from the 7th hierarchy plant-type demon beast Plarotte. It contains powerful mental stabilization components, but its even stronger toxicity induces sepsis."
An effect that would clearly kill or ruin anyone without poison resistance. Just as I was wondering why a botanical garden would even stock something like this,
I realized it was for guys like me, so I tore open the pouch without another word.
Plarotte's flower bud resembled the bud of an immature plant, giving off a pungent, medicinal stench unique to its kind.
Its aroma screamed outright, 'I've got poison, so don't eat me.' But I chewed it up without hesitation.
Juice-like as I swallowed, my eyes and throat burned in an instant.
"......Still okay so far."
The stinging in my eyes and throat wasn't pleasant, but I could feel the knife-sharp pain dulling.
Even the chronic agony that had tormented my body grew hazy, letting my brain devote itself fully to magic calculations. Just as the man had explained, the analgesic effect was impressive.
But the real problem started now.
Bubble bubblemy stomach began to boil.
Abdominal pain hit alongside ragged breathing. The toxic herb's effect was hitting my lungs.
[You have ingested 'Plarotte's Flower Bud'. Poison is flowing into your lungs!]
My complexion paled in an instant.
My already pallid face grew even whiter.
Yet even poisoned, I didn't panic.
[Analyzing 'Plarotte's Flower Bud' based on the hundred poisons recorded in Hundred Poisons Body.]
[Progress: 7.9%]
[Progress: 23.8%]
[Progress: 55.1%]
......
[Progress: 100%]
[Perfectly analyzed the invading 'Plarotte's Flower Bud' in your body!]
[Antibodies and resistance to 'Plarotte's Flower Bud' are now implemented in Hundred Poisons Body.]
This was it.
Exactly as I'd expected.
The Hundred Poisons Body, integrated into the skill Drug Resistance Body, could easily adapt to any toxin weaker than or equal to its base 'High Solitude'. The short time it took suggested even stronger poisons would be fine.
Still, to avoid potential side effects,
I shouldn't eat more than ten toxic herbs a day.
Any more, and all the fluids in my body might turn toxic. The realm of the perfect 'poison human' pursued by the Sacheon Dang Clan.
That level would be troublesome.
"I'll eat the toxic herbs like that, but for the ones with weak effects that aren't worth much if eaten, I'll dry them later and smoke them like cigarettes."
SipI wiped my mouth with the back of my hand as I thought.
As expected of toxic herbs, the taste was brutally harsh.
Too harsh to eat.
Processing them for absorption would be inefficient. Among the various toxic herbs I'd bought, the weaker ones could be dried and smoked like cigarettes.
All to fully reap the analgesic benefits from the botanical garden's stock.
"Pain and poison resistance are sorted. Next up, gear."
I needed proper equipment ASAP, before the next scenario or sudden quest popped up.
Not the cheap factory stuff, but top-tier artisan work.
And conveniently,
as the middle-aged man at the botanical garden had said,
there was someone perfect nearby.
* * *
The day after buying the toxic herbs.
It being Saturday, I threw on some casual clothes and left the academy grounds right away.
Today's destination wasn't far.
Right nearby.
Right next to the building where I'd bought the toxic herbs.
"......This is my first outing in ages. Kinda nervous. No one'll recognize me, right?"
"With a mask on, they probably won't. Ah, though if it were me, I'd recognize you even with the mask, TA-nim."
"Isn't the mask kinda pointless anyway? In this neighborhood, with your natural build and proportions, plus the same suit every dayit's obviously you, sir."
I'd grown used to the glares from students, TAs, and professors at Chilseong.
But getting those sharp looks from civilians felt a bit uncomfortable.
Honestly, it was unfair getting flak for stuff I didn't do.
I wanted to vent to the students at least, but with one of the victims right in front of me, I couldn't bring myself to say it.
What the hell did the original owner of this body get up to before possession?
As I glanced at Isabel, she sharpened her gaze upon sensing it.
"What're you looking at? Gonna call me ugly again?"
"......When did I ever say that?"
"At the Gucheonsega meeting two years ago. Want the exact date and what you said?"
"Sorry for bringing it up......"
Isabel, who openly hated me.
This dynamic had become familiar now.
Still, if she felt that way, she could've just not joined my group. No idea why she did and acts like this.
Maybe she plans to pay back what she got tenfold.
As my mind grew tangled, Seong Yeon-hwa squeezed between us.
With her usual halting speech and bright expression, she said,
"You two, stop fighting! It's a group outing today. But sir, why are we tagging along when you're getting gear?"
"Figured I'd get you each one while I'm at it."
"Whoa! For real?"
Seong Yeon-hwa jumped for joy at my words.
Clink clink the sword at her waist swung along with her.
The famous sword gifted to the heir by Seong Yeon-hwa's father, head of the Jecheonseong Family.
Even carrying a sword anyone could tell was top-notch, she lit up hugely at the idea of me gifting her a weapon.
I couldn't bring myself to say a gift matching that sword would be tough.
Still, a gift's about the thought, not the money.
......Though that's what broke people usually say.
"Sir, for real? You're getting us gear too?!"
"Not full setsjust one piece each that you need."
"Aw, we wouldn't dream of more. One piece is plenty to be grateful for!"
Lee Ji cheered loudly, and the other students followed suit.
They were all elites at Chilseong Academy, but still students.
Player gear cost a fortune, and without steady ways to earn cash, the offer of even one piece each was music to their ears.
Lee Ji especially was jumping nonstop in delight.
But don't get the wrong idea.
Not every student was short on cash.
"How can we trust that? What if you're planning to scam us or saddle us with debt?"
Isabel spoke up in a curt tone.
Everyone's faces stiffened, but she wasn't wrong.
There was precedent.
Five years ago, a professor had offered weapons as gifts, only to scam the students for a huge payout and vanish.
He was caught days later, but the traumatized students couldn't focus and bombed their evaluations.
"No way. We're already catching enough hell as iswhat confidence would I have to add a criminal record on top?"
"You've got cheeks of steel, that's why."
"I don't need money anyway. What's the profit in scamming students?"
"True, that makes sense."
Scams are for the desperate.
Baek Seung-woo, head of the Heavenly Fox Baek Familyno matter how nominaldidn't need cash that badly.
Even if he did, noble pride would've stopped him.
He'd just take it outright if anything.
Baek Seung-woo wasn't the sneaky type.
Neither was I, possessing his body.
"Um...... Not that I doubt you, sir, but we can really trust this?"
"Jiya, want a smack?"
"Anyway, sir! So who're we going to?"
"An artisan you've probably heard of."
"Yeah, no worries there. The head of Heavenly Fox Baek Family only uses vetted goods."
Isabel nodded, acknowledging my eye for quality.
She might not trust my character, but she trusted my taste.
Even without that, bad smithies didn't last around herethey'd go bust on word of mouth.
'Makes sensethis is that kind of alley.'
The area around Chilseong Academy was packed with player gear shops and sundries, perfect for students and active players.
Lately, though, franchising was booming, hurting small shops.
Big examples: potions meant 'Cheonho Pharma', gear meant 'Hephaestus's Hammer'. Their global reach vacuumed up cash, squeezing out old forges.
Still, for custom work matching client tastes, some smiths stubbornly held on against the tide.
My destination was one such place.
'Supposed to be around here, right?'
Smithies lined the streets under countless signs.
The city buzzed with Chilseong students and out-of-town players commissioning weapons for payday.
Nothing here was what I wanted.
Finding my target forge in this crowd looked tough.
So I sharpened my gaze.
My red eyes shifted to purple, the world's colors turning monochromatic.
Amid the mana filling the air and the varied flows from people's hearts, pinpointing what I sought wasn't easy.
But I scanned left and right, hunting for a distinctive, alien hue.
The place I wanted was run by someone special, after all.
What kind of person runs the best smithy?
Duh, stupid question. Ask the smiths in the back, not me.
I've barely talked to those artisans. You, thoughyou've commissioned gear from tons of them, chatted them up. Friends with everyone, huh? Help me out here."
No.
Keep stonewalling, and I'll trail you waving my fox tail? Nah, bunny tail might be cuter...
Fine. Smithy owners? The fatter the jolly uncle or the wiser the old grandpa, the better the skillthat's the vibe.
There you go.
Eve had unilaterally dumped novel talk on me before.
But asking my advice? Rare.
Praised as Archmage and commanding armies, she knew far more than she didn't.
Even in dire odds like hell, her wild strategies had saved lives more than once.
In the military state, Eve symbolized wisdom and knowledge.
Her seeking advicefrom me or anyonewas countable on one hand.
'Except when getting novel tips from me.'
From smith personalities to swordplay depictions, soldier psyches thrown into beast-filled battlefields with just a blade.
Stuff no book could teachEve soaked up my stories and wove them into her novel.
That's how the smith I was off to meet was born.
He was like my brainchild, in a way.
'Nah, I didn't write it myselfjust answered Eve's questions. More like a plastic surgeon than parent.'
Taking Eve's draft, trimming with my anecdotes to sculpt one character.
Closer to surgeon and patient.
And if he matched my answers, he'd definitely be the 'patient'.
I slipped into a secluded alley.
No signs of life, but my eyes pointed here.
A signless forge barred by iron grating.
Convinced, I melted the grate with fire and stepped in.
"Hey, you're Gu Yaja, right?"
In the forge's corner, some old man lounged in a chair.
I called out his nickname on sight to confirm.
But he looked gaunt, eyes hollowlike a ruined addict on the verge of collapse.
"......Huh?"
Wrong place?