The Alchemist City
The city of Oricil. The words “real exploration” made me reflexively think of the late-game dungeons from the game. Spriggan Fortress, the Eternal Battlefield, the Blessed Grand Cathedral, the Devil-Haunted Forest. By the time you tackled those endgame dungeons, your main party members were usually high enough level that you could just assemble a veteran explorer team and steamroll through. Simple.
But after rolling around in this world a few times, I’d learned that gathering reliable companions was anything but easy. A party member couldn’t be dead weight. They had to fill an important role and, above all, be someone I could actually trust. I had no idea what kind of people Yanggol would bring in, but I at least knew he was gathering Gold Badge rank explorers. If they were Gold Badge, they should be competent enough, right?
“You really trust me, huh?” Yanggol said with a wide grin.
“Even if I look like this, I’m pretty confident in my eye for people. The way I see it, you’re going to become famous. You might even end up as the greatest Necromancer of all.”
Of course, I was aiming for Level 10. In this world, Level 10 was more than enough to be called the best.
“Sounds good. Then let me prove my words. I’ll earn a Silver Badge within a year.”
Yanggol burst into hearty laughter at my declaration.
“Hahaha! I like that confidence! A Silver Badge in one year? That’s a challenge worth taking. Go for it!”
I talked with Yanggol a while longer. Most of it was about the exploration team and the overseer. He’d been sponsoring explorer teams for a long time and was apparently searching for some kind of treasure.
“Don’t try to find out too quickly. Once you get that Gold Badge, you’ll learn everything in due time.”
Yanggol promised he would keep an eye on Lord Doil’s movements for me. If anything happened, he’d contact me right away.
“Oh dear, I’ve kept a sick man tied up for too long. Work hard, Necromancer.”
“Take care.”
It was only after Yanggol left that I finally managed to fall asleep.
The next day, one of Yanggol’s servants came to the inn. After thinking it over, I’d decided to sell the equipment Seoryang had left behind.
“It’s kind of a shame,” Haneul said with a shrug.
Plate armor worn by knights had excellent defense. But the only classes that could actually fight properly in it were Ironclad, Raider, or maybe Slayer. If I wore it, the maintenance costs would be painful. Better to sell it and use the money to learn more magic.
“Shall we get going?”
After a few days’ stay, we left Jerad. Unlike when we arrived, hardly anyone paid us any attention on the way out. Only a few curious children watched our backs from a distance.
“Explorer sirs!”
A few members of the self-defense force came running up to us.
“Here. We brought you some packed lunches.”
“Thank you.”
Thanks to the bond we’d formed fighting together, we received a proper send-off from the guards. We walked slowly along the road. Maya didn’t rush the group. We took it easy, chatting, joking around, and strolling at a leisurely pace.
This kind of trip usually meant following whatever the person paying you wanted. Since our employer was relaxed, I ended up relaxing too. At night I sparred with Haneul and taught her swordsmanship. During the day, we simply walked. That pattern repeated.
“Whoa! Master, you’re so smart!”
“No, think about it a little more. If you thrust your sword here, will the tip of my blade reach your throat or not?”
To be honest, Haneul didn’t have much talent for swordsmanship.
“Can’t I just block with my shield?”
“If you use a shield, that’s not swordsmanship anymore. That’s shield arts.”
Still, she handled a shield pretty well. By the time we reached our destination, the only thing I’d really taught Haneul was how to block a sword with another sword. Since even that much would let her Ironclad traits shine, I decided to be satisfied with it.
“I want to use a two-handed sword though…”
Haneul had big dreams.
“Then become a Slayer.”
But in my opinion, Haneul should never pick up a two-handed sword. Maybe if she practiced with a tower shield instead. She was incredibly envious of my saw blade.
“Should we go to the Slayer Guild?”
“Don’t say that seriously. It sounds like you mean it.”
“I do mean it?”
The Slayer Guild and the Ironclad Guild were on terrible terms. If an Ironclad like Haneul wanted to become a Slayer, she’d have to go through a ridiculous amount of hardship.
“Why a two-handed sword anyway?”
Haneul looked away awkwardly.
“Well… my old knight used to wield two-handed weapons.”
If we earned a lot of money later, she might be able to learn it from the Ironclad Guild. There were Ironclads who used two-handed swords, after all. But it would take a very long time to reach that level.
On the fifth day of our walking journey, at lunchtime—
“I can see Oricil!”
With Roa’s bright voice, we finally arrived at our destination. The great city of alchemists. Oricil.
“There are so many people.”
We stood on the street for a moment, taking in the sight of Oricil. Runen, where the Explorer’s Guild was located, had been quite busy too, and with so many guilds there you could get pretty much anything. When there were lots of people and lots of goods, there were also lots of interesting things to see.
“You don’t seem very impressed?”
“Me? Then why aren’t you impressed?”
“Because this is where I first trained.”
It seemed Haneul had secretly hoped I’d be amazed by Oricil. But after rolling around as an explorer for two years, I’d already seen far too many things that would astonish normal people. The plaza and the market. Lining the most expensive street nearby were the guild buildings in a row. The most ostentatious one at first glance was obviously the Alchemist Guild.
“Then I’ll be back shortly.”
“Take your time!”
While Maya went to collect the payment we were owed, we decided to kill time by buying lunch at the market.
“Hey! Aren’t you a Necromancer?”
I ran into an auntie who was suspicious of me.
“I’m not a Necromancer.”
I lied through my teeth and kept eating. In Dungeon Overseer, traveling with a Necromancer often triggered events where you got into fights with villagers. After raising a Necromancer through about three playthroughs, you ended up learning every possible conflict and dispute in the game. A long tail gets stepped on, but hiding for one meal should be fine. My party members kept quiet about it too. Luckily, since I wasn’t from around here, no one was completely certain I was a Necromancer. My saw blade was sheathed. When someone asked what class I was, I just insisted I was a Slayer.
“Roa, have you ever tried fish noodle soup in Runen?”
Roa, who had just put noodles in her mouth, nodded with the strands still dangling from her lips.
“…Yes. It was really delicious there.”
I hadn’t noticed while eating it, but after trying other noodles, I finally understood why Seoha had made such a fuss. That place really was a hidden gem. Compared to the noodles we were eating now, it was heavenly. Haneul, who had been poking around in her bowl, grinned at me.
“Want to go somewhere else?”
“We already ordered. Where would we go?”
It was an evil smile.
“When Maya gets here, let’s ask her to buy us real food. We’ll pretend we haven’t eaten yet.”
It must have been really bad.
“Do you have no conscience?”
“Hehe. What about you, oppa?”
“I don’t.”
Haneul giggled.
“Me neither.”
Roa quietly chewed the tasteless noodles by herself. She was probably too embarrassed to ask Maya to buy them another meal. As expected of a young guardian with a working conscience.
That was what I was thinking when Roa suddenly set her chopsticks down with a clack.
“Let’s go.”
“Huh?”
“Unnie is coming. Hurry.”
For a moment, Roa’s blue eyes shimmered with golden light. Wait, why is her future sight activating here? No matter how much of a conscientious guardian she was, even she couldn’t resist free food. Thanks to Roa’s foresight, we quickly escaped the street stall.
“You all remember, right?” Haneul said solemnly. “We’re starving. We haven’t eaten a thing.”
Maya was approaching from afar. We waved at her with the most welcoming expressions we could manage, exactly as planned. So her mood would be even a little bit better.
“Maya!”
I could see Maya walking toward us from a distance. But she wasn’t alone—an older alchemist was with her. Maya came straight to us and spoke without hesitation.
“I’m sorry, but could you spare a moment? My father wants to meet all of you.”
If it was Maya’s father, that meant the Alchemist Guild Master. If he wanted to see us, it was probably best to meet him. At that moment, the alchemist standing beside Maya spoke.
“Nice to meet you. I’m the alchemist Jerome.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m the Necromancer Hajun.”
“So you’re the one who rescued the young lady from the dungeon. I truly thank you. You’ve done something truly great.”
The alchemist named Jerome suddenly pulled me into a tight hug and patted my back hard. Look, I get that you’re happy, but couldn’t you express that happiness with money instead?
“We can talk on the way. The master is waiting.”
“Um… what about lunch…”
“You can eat after we’re done.”
Before I knew it, Jerome had dragged us all the way to the Alchemist Guild. What the hell is going on?
You have arrived in Oricil, the City of Alchemists.
“When she was little, the young lady was very interested in dungeon exploration. I warned her many times how dangerous it was, but as she grew older she simply ignored everything I said.”
“Jerome. Why are you embarrassing me? Please stop.”
“Do you know why she became interested in dungeons? Her mother suffered from a rare illness. The young lady started thinking about how to cure it, and that naturally led her to ancient knowledge.”
“Jerome!”
Maya tried to stop him several times, but once the old man started talking, there was no shutting him up. Jerome had been looking after Maya ever since she first came to Oricil. That was why he was especially overjoyed by the news of her survival.
“Don’t stop me! The young lady needs to fix that habit of doing whatever she wants!”
“I get it, so please save it for later! What are you doing in front of guests!”
Jerome and Maya guided us into the Alchemist Guild. The moment the doors opened, dazzling golden light flashed everywhere. It really showed off the guild’s wealth. Since it was a guild formed by merchants, showy decorative items were scattered all over the place. Paintings covering entire walls, murals made of crushed gold leaf, glazed ceramics, and massive stone sculptures. It felt like if you accidentally broke one thing, you’d have to pay with your entire fortune in compensation.
“You’ve arrived. The master is waiting for you.”
A guild attendant led us to the reception room. When we pulled the gold-plated handle, a lavish reception room decorated with carpets and exotic ornaments came into view. A man sat in the seat of honor, waiting for us with a stern expression. He spoke to us in a dignified voice.
“Welcome. I am Master Igon.”
The master of the Alchemist Guild. The man who held enormous wealth stood before my eyes.
“I heard my daughter made a request. Here is your compensation.”
An attendant approached like a shadow and held out a pouch of money. Wait. This looks like more than the original request fee. Maya had promised 1300 ron. There were 2600 ron inside. Wow. The old man had exactly doubled it. I suddenly felt like I’d become rich.