Better Soup than the Pot
This really did feel like one of those VS. games you see on internet forums: <Take 1 billion won> vs. <Take a 50% chance at 10 billion won>. What a miserable thing to have to think about.
Ho-yeong asked whether this decision could also be given a grace period, but unfortunately, that was impossible.
This offer must be decided within 2 minutes. If no decision is made within the time limit, the offer will be discarded.
“That’s not even enough time to cook cup ramen properly! You’re putting a choice inside a choice inside a choice. What is this, a Matryoshka doll? Damn it.”
Choices kept coming, fitting the chapter title, Endless Forks in the Road.
Play it safe, or go for the jackpot...
After a brief bout of indecision, Ho-yeong finally decided to accept the system’s offer.
“I’ll take it! High risk, super high return! If it works, the payoff will be huge.”
Bonus Quest Accepted!
📍 Location: Within 7 days, complete at least one advanced achievement.
🎁 Reward: Additional reward granted! The system was impressed by your guardian’s quick decision. A bonus reward will be added to the bonus quest!
A noisy effect rang out the moment he accepted the quest.
After the quest is completed, every time you achieve an additional advanced accomplishment within the time limit, extra effects will be granted to the skill tree you selected as your main one!
“Seriously? There isn’t some hidden penalty in there too, is there?”
This is literally a bonus. There are no trap conditions.
“Well, how about that. You’re generous for once. This is a properly functioning system. If the bonus quest deadline is seven days, it’ll be tight. Come to think of it, the sub-quest Respond to the Summons from the Capital also had a deadline of seven days. Same as this one?”
Even amid his surprise, Ho-yeong did the math first.
The capital quest comes first. If I fail that, it’ll massively affect gameplay. That quest also had some sort of speedrun bonus quest attached to it. If I reach the capital within three days, they said I’d get a legendary item as the reward. Either way, I need to move fast.
Ho-yeong had planned to ride a hogriphon, as he had when he first thought of it in Kihara territory, but...
“If you ride something that big so openly, won’t it get shot down? From below, you can’t really see the rider, only the hogriphon’s belly looming over you. And won’t it shake around a bit too much?”
Captain Kins voiced his concern. It was the opinion of a man who had just seen the hogriphon’s flight with his own eyes.
“Hmm. Fair point. Then let’s test it ourselves. All right, flap up high with everything you’ve got!”
Ho-yeong mounted one directly and flew upward.
Its strong wings let it take off from a standstill, and it could climb to a surprisingly high altitude.
“At this altitude, I don’t need to worry about arrows! Manual takeoff and landing work too, so this is pretty convenient. No need for a runway.”
The trial run was better than expected.
“And the bigger the body, the better the ride, I guess? Or should I say the better the mount? Either way, it’s steadier than I thought.”
If they added a well-made saddle, the riding comfort would probably improve even more.
“Then let’s test the most important part too: speed. Hoo. I didn’t realize this when I only watched them fly, but riding one myself makes the speed feel insane. If I use a movement-speed scroll on top of this, speedrunning should be totally doable.”
When he tested the flight-specialized one, it turned out to be unexpectedly fast.
“But now the problem is how to load the cargo.”
They weren’t just transporting people. They also had to move goods.
The smaller luggage wouldn’t be a problem, but the tribute to be offered to the king was large and heavy.
“What if we load the supplies into a big chest and weld on iron handles so the hogriphon can grab it with its talons?”
“Ah. Like an eagle snatching up prey and taking off?”
Following the suggestion of Yak, the mid-level soldier, they filled a chest with stones and tested it. Takeoff succeeded, but the hogriphon’s legs looked alarmingly shaky.
“The balance looks off somehow. Huh? Whoa? Aaagh! Everybody, get clear!”
- Crash.
The center of gravity was all wrong, and the attempt failed.
“Maybe we should just strap the load onto its back?”
- Hogru...hogu. (That’s impossible.)
This time, the hogriphon’s spine took the strain.
“Hmm. Then maybe we should sacrifice some speed and focus on transport capacity? Oh, it works, it works. It’s flying!”
When they loaded the goods onto the back of the large, powerful beast, it could fly, but the extra weight killed its speed.
- Raaani, rani. (I’d be much faster if I just ran.)
“Ha. Honestly, it’d be better to make a sled and hitch it to the mandragorani, like Rudolph.”
Ho-yeong muttered while looking at the mandragorani, then quickly had a new idea.
“A sled? Come to think of it, that might work.”
“You’re not thinking of making the hogriphon pull a cart, are you? Connected by a rope?”
“Yeah, that. A cart.”
“Wouldn’t a cart dragged through the air still fail to gain much speed? Of course, with wheels it’s far better than loading it onto its back or clamping it with its feet, but still. And if the cart tips or gets lifted up somehow, that would be a disaster.”
Sicoop cautiously raised an objection. His point was sound, and Ho-yeong did not deny it.
“Right, you’re correct. That’s why I’m going to add a booster engine.”
“A booster? You mean a propulsion device? If you use acceleration scrolls and the like, speed will increase, but I imagine the cart would shake even more unstably.”
“No need to worry about that. That engine’s no ordinary thing.”
* * *
Ho-yeong’s new idea was a success.
“Wow. Amazing. I really feel like Santa Claus now!”
They tied a baggage cart securely to the hogriphon’s body with thick rope and had it take off. Of course, that was only the beginning.
“All right, push harder!”
- Minoho! (Understood!)
The minotaur-centaurs were pushing from behind the baggage cart.
“Wow. That’s incredibly fast.”
Of course, even if the cart had been pulled by minotaur-centaurs alone, the speed would have been considerable. Their lower bodies were giant horse bodies, so they were immensely sturdy.
But they also had two arms with the brute strength of bulls. Their bodies were basically built for pushing things.
“Run, run!”
“What sort of potion did you drink to come up with this?”
Lillian muttered as she watched the lord on the cart, waving his arms happily.
“A minotaur-centaur and a hogriphon working together to pull a cart. A flying carriage from legend that even Hariad rode on, the Pegasus chariot probably wouldn’t have stood out this much, would it, sister?”
“Those monsters are impressive enough, but the Byeonbangbaek controlling them is even more impressive, Rubia.”
The priests and priestesses were watching the monster-riding spectacle with expressions that were hard to describe.
“What do we even call that? Since the minotaur-centaurs are pulling it, should we call it a carriage or an ox cart? In that case, which side would be better to use acceleration spells on? The minotaur-centaurs have high magic resistance, so I imagine they’d benefit less.”
“Let’s just call it an ox cart, Sir Pierre. Magic resistance may be getting in the way, but those beasts have been converted, so I don’t think it matters much.”
“But Captain Sicoop, aren’t the minotaur-centaurs only the auxiliary power source, and the main power source the hogriphon?”
The mages were, as always, intensely academic.
“Whew. I really like this. Let’s keep it moving.”
After the trial run, Ho-yeong was thoroughly satisfied.
Thanks to the minotaur-centaurs holding the cart steady, there was no need to worry about shaking, and because the hogriphon was pulling it through the air, turning was easy too.
“I’ve lived for over two hundred years and heard ‘mad dog’ a lot... but looking at you, Jorey, I’m really curious what the old dwarves would say, I am.”
Berneval Luntin shook his head.
“Would you like to ride it too, Mr. Berneval?”
“No thanks. But do you even have time for this? Didn’t you say you had to go to the capital to meet the king or whatever?”
“Yes. That’s right. But to do that, I need to prepare the tribute to offer Her Majesty. I also told Peach to get things ready, so it’ll take some time.”
Berneval was looking at the baggage cart with great dissatisfaction.
“What in the world is this sorry excuse for a wagon? If you load dandanum on it, the whole thing’ll crack to pieces. And who are you bringing besides you and that little miss Peach? Did you say that Shrakhim fellow is coming too?”
“Yes. And Meyril as well, along with a few monsters.”
“You’re taking a lot with you. Then can this thing really do? It needs to be built properly. You said there was time left, didn’t you? We can get some strong lads to help too.”
“Oh? Are you going to modify it for us?”
“Ain’t this the road of the Byeonbangbaek? Our lord’s going to meet the royalty in the capital. You can’t go there riding something like an ox wagon, now can you?”
Even though this wasn’t weapon development, Berneval Luntin was full of enthusiasm.
“Cr... thank you very much.”
“What’s with the sudden thanks? Just tell those brats to go fetch the ironwood we’ve been using for traps.”
“Very well. You there, you heard the master, didn’t you? Work begins!”
The rough baggage cart transformed into a splendid two-story carriage.
* * *
In the plaza, they were in the middle of loading the tribute cargo.
Dandanum, which was too sturdy to be damaged, went on the bottom, and above it they placed sacks of adsorption soil and mandragorani horn leaves.
The sacks filled with adsorption soil were very soft, making them ideal for wrapping fragile goods like mana soil beads. Using mandragorani fur as cushioning material between the layers was another thing they made sure not to forget.
“Everyone, repeat after me: safe transport!”
“Safe transport!”
“Good. Even if delivery is as fast as a missile, it’s all useless if the goods get ruined.”
With the experience he had gained from working in a logistics center for years, Ho-yeong was taking every precaution with the cargo.
“Now the mana water and doom tree sap are the problem... where should we put those? It said they’ll evaporate quickly if stored carelessly. Should I just not bring them? No, both are top-grade, so maybe I can score points by offering them to the queen-noona.”
They were difficult liquids to carry, and especially volatile ones at that.
“Let’s see, maybe I should read the help text. Doom tree sap dries out rapidly when exposed to the outside, so immediately after collection you should either mix it with troll blood to maintain viscosity or transport the whole tree? Damn it, there’s only one of them. How am I supposed to uproot that?”
Many had tried to replant doom trees, but because they rarely thrived unless moved along with the place where they had first taken root, the attempts often failed. In the Tamer Territory, it was easier to cultivate them thanks to Meyril, who could control the weather.
“Mana water is highly susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity, so be careful? Ugh, this is more troublesome than shipping hazardous materials.”
Ho-yeong grumbled while reading the help text Daliha had brought up.
“Doesn’t anyone have a kimchi refrigerator? Or at least one of those pottery jars used for making jang. That’d be perfect for storing potions too. Huh? A jar?”
Soon, he came up with a brilliant solution.
“All forge staff, gather up! Sicoop and Meyril too!”
It was a jar modeled after a kimchi jar.
(1) Shape the mana soil in clay form into a jar.
(2) Apply Tamer Territory’s special glaze, made by mixing crushed dandanum into ash water from burned ironwood, then dry and fire it.
(3) Enchant the finished jar and its lid to prevent evaporation and temperature change.
When they tried storing mana water and sap in the jars, it worked.
“Mana leakage is barely detectable! The doom tree sap is also in excellent preservation state.”
Pierre, who was skilled at sensing mana, certified the performance.
“Remarkable. Even with an anti-volatility spell applied, air still passes in and out? And yet the mana and sap don’t evaporate! This air-circulation structure is truly mysterious. It expels only the impurities generated during transport while preventing the pure essence from leaking. And what about this powerful temperature and humidity control? You did cast a temperature-and-humidity spell, but that should only be helping, not creating this effect on its own. Is this some intrinsic property of the vessel?”
He was so excited that he was practically shouting.
“Not only that, but the mana and sap inside the jar are gradually condensing! It’s slight, but the signs are clear. If this continues, high-density and high-purity refinement will happen at the same time. You could use it as a mana potion without any separate purification process. This is a truly extraordinary discovery!”
“Uh... so that means it worked, right? Sicoop, can you translate that for me?”
Sicoop translated it into plain language.
“For example, let us say Your Lordship is making wine. But if you simply toss grape clusters into an aging barrel, what do you suppose happens? Without rinsing or crushing the grapes, I mean.”
“Hmm... they’d rot, I guess?”
“Exactly. Or they’d turn to vinegar. But if you place the grapes in the vessel Your Lordship made, the story changes. The dust on the skins disappears on its own, the grapes peel themselves, and they mature all by themselves. Into top-class wine, no less!”
“Got it. The barrel is the jar, and the grapes are the mana water. If that’s really true, then that’s a huge win.”
It had been a jar made for preservation, but now it also came with the effect of aging.
“The idea of mana soil mixed with adsorption soil and mana water being made into a solid was already impressive, but to use that mana soil to create a preservation vessel like this is truly amazing. This is, in a very real sense, a jar of hope.”
“Well, I didn’t do it alone. This is all thanks to the people of our territory.”
At Pierre’s lavish praise, Ho-yeong gave the credit to everyone else.
“The soldiers worked hard cutting down that tough ironwood, Sicoop handled the mana soil beautifully and shaped it into the jar, Berneval and the forge workers fired it into something sturdy, and Meyril cast her magic wonderfully at the end. And we only learned about all these effects because Pierre told us.”
As the territory residents gathered in the plaza saw their edification rates climbing rapidly, an unexpected message also popped up.
Advanced Achievement Potion Magician Acquired!
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