Chapter 18
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: 3. Baridegi's Domain (1)
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[The Mental Barrier Potion might be good for you to drink.]
"I see. That's great. Um, and yeah, just like you heard."
I shrugged lightly.
"Since I'm weak, I have to work even harder. So I can be less of a burden."
Yu Hee stared at me blankly for a moment.
Her eyes trembled just the tiniest bit.
But only for a fleeting instant.
The moment I brought up my weakness first, her vibe sharpened somewhere before suddenly snapping.
"Hari."
Hee said softly.
"Do you really think that?"
"Yeah."
I meant it from the heart.
"Everyone in the world knows I'm weak. So I figured if I could make some useful potions, at least I'd be helping out. I'm honestly thrilled that you like them."
The biggest reason was that I loved not getting dragged into dungeons.
But no one at this school would get that. Dungeons meant profit and honor—you had to go in.
No point saying it out loud.
'It'd just mess with my business.'
Hee stared at my face for a long time.
As if peering into something hidden behind my expression.
As if we'd been close friends who'd known each other forever.
'Even though it's really only been a few days.'
The realization hit me fresh—the mood right now was surprisingly nice.
Later, once Yoo Han-seong saved the world safely, if I had to sign a potion commission deal with someone, I'd love for it to be Yu Hee.
Pure fan heart.
"Hari."
Suddenly, Hee took my wrist in a light grip.
There was barely any strength, but it felt carefully deliberate.
"...This won't do."
"Huh?"
"Don't stay by yourself. Even during practice, you should set up some precautions."
Suddenly?
But I kept my response smooth on the surface.
"I'm fine on my own."
"I don't think you are."
Hee cut my words with a whisper.
"Why?"
"All I see is a future where you get taken advantage of..."
"Huh?"
She'd mumbled it way too quietly to catch.
Right then, Erich let out a sigh, and his constant grumbling went silent.
Now it should come through clear.
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing. Just a hunch. You really shouldn't be alone."
A hunch?
More importantly, we're not even that close, and here she was acting all protective...
She kept gently persuading me, long after draining her drink.
Even as I blankly cocked my head, lost in thought.
At the very least, draw a barrier at the lab door to keep interferers out.
The first thirty minutes, I listened in a happy daze.
After that, I just nodded on autopilot.
'I swear I read somewhere that Yu Hee was a torture expert. Is this her torture...?'
No, that wasn't it.
Only after I'd nodded three times did Yu Hee rise with a strangely refreshed look.
She even walked me to the old school building before I headed to the lab, dropping a peppy cheer as she left.
Surprisingly, two weeks into my nonstop grind.
I asked Erich, who'd gone quiet, only twinkling from his earring these days.
"Erich, what if I'm not actually a total klutz?"
What nonsense is that?
"No, seriously—my D-rank potion success rate's already climbed a ton?"
This wasn't normal F-rank speed. Hell, even healers of other ranks would gawk at this pace.
Probably 'cause Erich let me practice nonstop.
"Faster than I expected. Guess it's time for the real stuff."
Once my potion success rates stabilized, it'd be time to prep for my first dungeon.
Not just the Mental Barrier Potion, but a few special ones too.
"I need materials!"
Special potions? They'll cost a fortune, and you won't get fair pay for 'em.
"Still. Without 'em, you'll regret it even more in a pinch."
Hah.
I clenched my fist tight, ignoring Erich's odd sigh.
It was time to clear that dungeon.
In the original story, there was one dungeon even Yoo Han-seong didn't know about.
It always made me chuckle a little, thinking back.
That dungeon got discovered when one side character miraculously survived.
The sheer fact that only one made it out alive said it all.
And that lone survivor's words?
'He just documented the dungeon's forced choices—what kills you, what lets you live—then died.'
A peaceful death, like falling asleep.
As if he'd held off dying just long enough to share it.
Anyway, per that sage-like survivor, the dungeon only popped up on certain nights when the moon hung in twilight.
Not full dark, not with the sun fully set.
Only when light and shadow overlapped, refusing to yield—the door would open.
And come dawn, it'd drop three gold coins and vanish like nothing happened.
Always exactly three. The number never wavered, not once in ages.
So folks dubbed it the Lucky Dungeon.
Free gold, no entry required.
But the rumors persisted: go in, and you die.
No one came back.
Except that one guy.
And he'd prioritized warnings over wonders—what not to do.
'One path leads straight to hell. Another to a higher-rank dungeon's entrance. And one where you die asleep midway through the maze.'
Don't turn at the flute's melody. Don't surrender to the black, cozy fog.
He added that the dungeon didn't feel like it was taking anything.
More like it welcomed you with open arms.
Which made it way more dangerous.
The sole survivor wrapped it up like this:
'Only by staying sharp, praying your wish, and hunting the exit do you reach the reward room and escape.'
A warning.
And a hint.
In the original, Yoo Han-seong heard the tale in passing and moved on.
Too remote for him back then.
Yet oddly, the story detailed the rewards—what they were, why they seemed useless.
And right now, one matched my situation perfectly.
I'd prepped a Mental Resistance Potion against the soothing fog's lure.
E-rank, sure.
But the original explicitly noted: know the temptation's true nature, and the potion's effect craters.
I already knew.
What this dungeon used to reel people in.
To melt their resolve.
E-rank would do.
Still, for curveballs, I'd rigged one extra safeguard.
Before heading to the spawn spot, I chatted up my usual desk neighbor.
"Hey."
"...?"
"Jin Hari here. You're Si-hyeon, right? We've been desk buddies, but I'm just now saying hi."
After that, it was a tug-of-war: his sporadic annoyed replies versus my chatter.
Si-hyeon was the ultimate hermit loner in the original—right on script.
Good thing he'd grimace a few times while listening but never bolted.
I only pushed 'cause the original painted him neutral and tight-lipped.
And today, rewardingly, Si-hyeon was right here with me.
I pointed to the rope cinched at my waist.
"If I go in and don't pop out before dawn, could you yank this from outside?"
He hesitated a beat, then nodded.
"Isn't this a death-trap dungeon?"
"Yeah, but worth a shot. Something I want in there."
He drew a deep breath and looped the rope's end around his hand.
"No movement before dawn, I'll pull."
"Got it. Thanks!"
As the moon dimmed to twilight, the air shifted.
The dungeon's presence—no killing intent—slowly saturated the space.
No oppressive weight.
No monster roars.
Just the thinning veil between realities.
Black fog coalesced into an entrance.
Cozy-looking.
Invitingly warm.
All the more reason to stay sharp.
I downed the Mental Resistance Potion on the spot.
Checked my clearing mind.
And repeated my wish to myself.
'I want to become a great potion maker.'
My most direct goal for stepping inside.