Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Mages' Mage (10)
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A bright morning in the elven village.
True to form as a mage, Aldrich had risen at his usual precise hour, lamenting the lack of respect for elders among all these companions as he stirred the iron cauldron. He was far removed from anything like cooking, but what was bubbling away now wasn't food.
“Ugh... How much ground Blayvin root from the genitals do I need to add here? I can't remember. Should've studied alchemy more if I'd known it'd come to this.”
Black magic wasn't an art where you could just cast spells like a regular mage and make a name for yourself.
Take the pinnacle of black magic, undead summoning—even to create stronger undead, you had to preserve corpses and inject them with various strengthening agents. To summon a death knight, you needed blacksmith-level knowledge of armor construction, down to picturing every tiny rivet in your mind's eye. And since you couldn't just stroll into the market to buy materials, you had to haggle in black markets or grow and harvest them yourself, which meant knowing your herbs inside out...
Off the top of his head, that involved alchemy, metalworking, herbology, medicine, and more. There were dozens of side disciplines you had to pick up. No wonder people slaved away learning black magic when it would've been far easier—and more lucrative and socially acceptable—to become an alchemist or herbalist instead.
‘There's a reason fringe arts stay fringe.’
Of course, if you had mountains of money to throw at it, that was one thing. But how much cash could a bunch of shadowy black mages really have? No surprise they ended up cozying with evil forces. If you didn't want to spend your days plowing fields, foraging herbs in the hills, and stirring giant cauldrons from dawn to dusk with no time for actual magic research, you had to do whatever paid.
Those who learned curses or decay magic often started with wicked mindsets and turned to crime right away. But most began as survival criminals and gradually sank deeper into depravity.
Back when Aldrich was an apprentice black mage, he'd had to memorize herbology and alchemy until his head split open—stuff totally unrelated to the soul magic he pursued. He had to at least meet his master's standards for reagents.
Boil, boil—pop!
Lost in nostalgic reminiscence as he stirred, the reagent finally completed.
“Grrk. It's done. Whoa, looks like it is.”
“Heh heh heh. Well done. See how the bubbles rise soft and smooth, then burst sticky? That's the perfect viscosity—spot on.”
Notum. His disciple, still a source of pride and surely one for the rest of his life.
As a soul mage, Aldrich didn't need thirty apprentices working twelve-hour shifts like his old master to grow herbs and brew reagents. He'd vowed never to teach his own disciple such cursed drudgery.
But his disciple was special, so he'd changed his mind, figuring this knowledge would help.
Aldrich carefully lifted the thick reagent into a small bowl. Grayish-white liquid that felt merely lukewarm, despite boiling furiously moments ago.
“Hmm. Concentration's good, scent's right... but the color's off. I'm no expert here, so it's a bit worrying. Notum, as I've told you time and again, safety is paramount in alchemy. If you're not absolutely sure about what you've made, toss it without hesitation.”
With that, Aldrich turned from Ottoman toward the professor.
“Grrooo... Ghostly old master? Weren't we tossing that? Why give it to...?”
“Mages must know how to economize materials too. Here, Professor—snap out of it a moment.”
Slap, slap!
“Huh...?”
“Hey! I said snap out of it!”
“Gah! Uh, yeah! What is it?”
The professor had woken up ages ago but had been sitting blankly on the bed. He jolted at Aldrich's shout right in his ear.
“Drink this.”
“Wh-what... is this...?”
“Clears the mind. Brewed it at dawn.”
“Th-thanks... Damn elves, if that tea had actual ingredients, they should've warned me...”
“I doubt it was malicious. Your friends couldn't get over the shock of first meeting you—trailing you around with anxious faces for a full day. To them, you were just a 'poor human struggling with anger issues,' so they probably wanted to offer something calming.”
“No wonder it tasted like concentrated leaf juice... Ugh, down the hatch.”
His body awake but mind foggy like half-asleep, the professor gulped down the grayish-white reagent Aldrich handed him.
Gulp—glug.
Thud.
A thick mint scent hit as it slid down his throat. Viscous yet smooth like oil, and the moment it passed, the hazy cloud over his mind whooshed away like morning mist in a cool breeze.
“Whoa! This stuff's amazing! Next time I drink, it'll kill hangovers too—”
Whoosh!
“Hangover, uh... Wait, my stomach... Cough!”
Whoosh!
“A-Aldrich? Something's wrong... Is this normal—cough, cough!”
Whooooosh!
Gurgle!
The thick liquid churned in his gut, the mind-clearing mist turning to icy frost that battered body and soul.
“Hm? Too much, looks like. Notum! Toss two Cadenza berries into the cauldron. When a failed potion leans too far one way, add the opposite attribute to neutralize it.”
“Grrooo... That okay? Big little human's steaming from mouth.”
“Oh? Oh yeah. He'll be fine. His stomach'll feel chilled, but as a water mage, no big worry. Those types handle cold well. I've seen one bounce back with an arrow in his skull. Hmm, yes—pale milky. Perfect shade. Here, Ottoman. Try this. It'll help you...”
“Cough, cough! You bastard black mage... Notum, h-help... So cold...”
As Aldrich carefully fed Ottoman the reagent and watched his eyes sharpen, Notum mulled over her master's lesson.
“Grrooo... Opposite attribute... neutralizes...”
Gurgle rumble!
Notum heard the professor's stomach roil and pulled out one of the small berries she'd just added, splitting it.
“Cadenza. Eat. Neutralizes cold.”
“Th-thanks...”
A spicy, pungent aroma brushed his chilled lips.
Gulp.
.
.
.
.
.
“Ottoman. Feeling better?”
“Mm. Much clearer. Thanks, Aldrich. But what's with the professor... rolling on the floor like that?”
“Oh, nothing much. Apprentices never shirk hard tasks for their masters. He was just fulfilling his duties as your student.”
Ottoman's eyes, emerging from long stupor, fell on the professor writhing on the wooden floor with beastly groans—and Notum alternately stuffing small roots and berries into his mouth while scratching her head.
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“...”
“Grrok.”
“...Get lost.”
“Grrok. No malice.”
“That's scarier—get lost, you.”
The professor grumbled, smearing soft tree sap (Idrasil had brought it with a look of utter disdain at the commotion) on his swollen lips.
When had such a pure, kind soul like Notum turned so 'mage-like'?
If he thought about it, three out of their six—including himself, Aldrich, and Ottoman—were mages. Dragging her into this nightmare party was bound to corrupt her. It pained him to think he'd tossed this era's top hero unit into a mage tar pit.
Thanks to Aldrich's morning ruckus, his guts had frozen and thawed repeatedly, but it had snapped him out of the elves' smiling sedative haze into clear wakefulness.
“Let's see. Videos go up daily, so they should've seen my message from yesterday.”
First thing on his mind once alert. How well had his slothful Human Tree Sloth chatroom buddies lived up to expectations?
Heart pounding, the professor tapped his account notifications.
Ding-!
[You have '14' messages from approved players.]
[Speed Wagon: It's me. First, I sorted and prepped the data you asked for—only what's usable in your current situation/environment. Files too big for PM, so I posted to community. Check there. Same method for more. And, uh... got lucky with some help. Lots of data—recommend sorting by category. Uh... hang in there. Always watching.]
First, Dana's message—warming just to see. Sure, she'd lost her info network from the last incident, but pro intel trader experience doesn't vanish. Honestly, her solo compile outvalued the whole chatroom scraps combined.
Huh, nose tingling. Like getting a girlfriend's letter at boot camp.
Next.
[Deer Drug Please: Knew you always find wild breakthroughs... but this? God-tier. Dana deserves 10/10,000,000.]
'Huh?'
Next message: pure fluff. What nonsense. Haven't done shit yet—what'd I nail? Dana what?
Next.
[Heung An Mandu: Thanks. Just realized—have I been blind all this time?]
Trash.
[Highway Nacho Man: I underestimated the grand hero! No idea how you convinced her, but thanks for swaying that wallflower! As expected of the era's mightiest 'tongue'!]
Same vibe. All 47-room messages: thanks, light and salt of the age. Subject missing.
Uneasy. Bad feeling brewing.
Ding-!
[Jokasss: What have you done, you fool.]
Cryptic as hell.
'What? Did I spam nonsense on community during those two lost months? What's got everyone freaking...?'
Anxiety rising from the baffling text, the professor sought Dana's data on the community boards.
The answer lay there.
* [Blueline Mountains & Empire Eastern Regions攻略 Data (42GB)]
No video thumbnail—just text and images crammed to 42GB. Even if the whole chatroom mobbed his vid, impossible volume.
And...
* Trending Hot! [Sickly Beauty Dana~♥'s GG Official攻略 Guide-Making Stream!]
.
.
.
.
.
“Wha-wha...”
“Grro?”
“Ugh-wha-wha...”
“Big little human?”
“N-Notum? That morning potion have hallucinogens or what?”
“Grrok? No.”
“Really? Why'm I seeing ghosts then.”
Weird. The Dana he knew was gentle, introverted, hated going out.
Why was her face in the live stream list? Dream? Elves' concentrate drilled to marrow?
[Rank 27: Speed Wagon]
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Nightbini: No way.
lepolo3397: Intel dealer Speed Wagon's an ice queen? Post-apoc world's legendary.
Gorgon33: 2yr alchemy player here. [file: Blueline Leylines & Mana-Based Plants Relations] Attached.
Speed Wagon: Thanks for data.
Deer Drug Please: Ooooh... My goddess... 5yr rice bucket like this, this... Aaaah, Dana, auntie's heart can't take...
Nurungji Special Set: Hm. Saw title, thought some noob making攻略—turns out Speed Wagon. Official-worthy. 'Last Nerd' alliance endorses. Sending our compiles.
Speed Wagon: Thanks for data.
Pigeon: Got Blueline undead named攻略 scraped. [+attachment]
Speed Wagon: Thanks for data.
Jaminis: Blueline & adjacent Empire? Got regional inns, bard ranks? Empire bards' unique volume techniques—collected 'em.
Speed Wagon: Thanks for data.
Stone Norris: Dome bot stream? No talk, just scribbles, replies only 'Thanks for data'?
Speed Wagon: Not a robot.
Stone Norris: Uh... that makes it sketchier.
nous77: Super sus! Click image with bus—check!
Praying Mantis Iron: No world has such perfect woman anymore!
OvertheRain: Explain!
Ami Nine: Explain!
=========
Rustle—
“Not robot... real person.”
As chat exploded, Dana peeked from buried papers, small lips moving.
It was her. Dana, streaming publicly. Not anonymous game stream—full interaction like that Rabbit guy.
“What the... what happened out there? That data I asked for... Dana?”
“Grrok. Ghostly old master. Come see. Big little human's face corpse-pale.”
“Hmm. Ominous. Potion's worn off though?”
As the professor gaped realizing his little message had snowballed into chaos, the party just puzzled over his sudden pallor.
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