The Alchemists' Hierarchy

Seoha's story came to mind. The bizarre hierarchy among alchemists. Their insular way of rejecting any interference from outsiders.

"Balak!"

"Lady Maya. Please refrain from interfering in guild affairs."

Maya was not a member of the Alchemist Guild. Though she was the guild master's daughter, she held no authority over the guild members. Still, she shook off Jerome and stubbornly approached the young alchemist boy.

"Are you all right?"

"..."

The boy avoided Maya's gaze. He clearly didn't want her near him. Seeing this, Maya bit her lower lip.

"Lady Maya. We'll handle this ourselves, so please..."

Jerome finally succeeded in pulling her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away. Arin watched Maya with complicated eyes, then strode over to Balak.

Slap!

Arin struck Balak across the cheek. He didn't flinch, taking the blow without moving a muscle.

"We're both insolent, so let's call it even. Who do you think you're punishing right now?"

"I'm sorry, Lady Arin."

Arin shouted toward Maya. "I'll take care of things here, so you should head inside, sis."

Leaning on Jerome's shoulder as she left, Maya's back looked terribly lonely. Her shoulders trembled. We couldn't see her face, but I was certain she was crying.

Our party quietly followed after her.

Turning the corner of the guild building, an indescribable stench hit us. Stacks of boxes and jars filled with unidentified liquids. This was the factory where alchemists produced their primary reagent ingredients. A young girl was sweating profusely as she carried a bucket full of yellow liquid.

"What is that smell..."

"It does smell, doesn't it? It's urine."

Haneul stretched lazily and explained in a languid voice.

"Urine?"

"Well, I don't know much about alchemy, but I saw it all the time when I lived in Oricil. Those are apprentice alchemists. They learn the trade by doing the grunt work."

Maya stopped walking for a moment. Her gaze was locked on the girl carrying the urine bucket. I wondered what she was staring at so intently, then noticed other apprentices sitting behind the girl. They were clustered together, giggling and messing around, while the girl worked diligently all by herself.

Maya approached her.

"Joy."

They must have known each other for a while; Maya greeted her warmly. The girl looked up, startled, then quickly bowed her head.

"Lady Maya."

Maya glanced at the other apprentices. They ignored her gaze, huddled together and snickering. If Maya still belonged to the guild, this would have been unthinkable.

"Why are you working alone? Why aren't you doing it together?"

"... Well."

The girl fidgeted, unable to give a proper answer. Jerome, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward.

"You lot! What do you think you're doing! Anyone slacking off will get properly scolded later!"

"Sooorry~"

Only then did the apprentices sluggishly get up. But not a single one helped the girl. They pretended to wash dishes or sweep the floor.

"These brats really...!"

When Jerome raised his voice, the apprentices shot us annoyed looks instead. Like we should mind our own business. I didn't know who taught them, but they had zero manners.

That was when it happened.

"Huh?"

Roa, her expression hard as stone, walked over to the girl. The girl stared at her with wide eyes. In a chilling voice, Roa said, "Put that down."

"... Yes?"

The girl set the urine bucket down in a daze. Roa's glare had been too terrifying. Without hesitation, Roa kicked the bucket.

Clang!

"Kyaaak!"

Yellow urine splashed everywhere. The apprentices screamed and scattered. Roa had deliberately kicked the bucket toward them. Then, as if nothing had happened, she simply walked away.

I grabbed the stunned Maya and hurried out of the guild. Jerome muttered under his breath.

"Do you have any idea how much a bucket of urine costs?"

"Wow. The apprentices are ignoring you and you're worried about the urine?"

"Ignoring me? They just didn't listen for a second! I usually treat those kids so well!"

Maybe treating them too well was exactly why they ignored him. I was willing to bet that if Balak showed up and told them to die, they'd at least pretend to. Being nice all the time clearly wasn't enough.

"Sis, that was so cool just now!"

"... Be quiet."

"The way you kicked it and turned away so coldly! Ugh! It was seriously cool, right?"

When Haneul started chattering beside her, Roa yanked her hood over her head. She was incredibly embarrassed.

"Have you decided where to stay?"

"No, not yet..."

"Would you like to stay at my house while you're in Oricil?"

Maya offered kindly.

... She had a house. Rich people really were something else. There was no reason to turn down free lodging.

"Then we'll impose on you for a little while."

We stopped by the market to buy ingredients for dinner. Maya's house was a modest family home not far ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the alchemist district. The two-story building seemed far too large for a woman living alone.

"Excuse us."

Roa and Haneul shared a room, and I was given one of my own. Dinner was a home-cooked meal prepared by Maya. As I'd noticed before, she was an excellent cook. The food was incredibly delicious.

After the meal, Maya poured drinks for everyone. It was a comfortable evening.

"Don't you plan to return to the guild?" I asked. The mood felt right, and it seemed okay to ask something personal.

Maya quietly lowered her head. Jerome answered in her place.

"If Maya returns, the guild will become noisy."

"Because of the next master issue?"

"You know about it too. Well, you traveled with us, so I suppose you heard a few things."

Jerome explained.

"The Elixir Alchemical Artisan Union has one absolute rule. The secret technique, Magnum Opus, may only be learned by the guild master and the next master. In other words, any guild member who learns Magnum Opus is destined to become the next guild master."

Like any other class, alchemists had various skills. Maya's Potion Explosion, for example, was something any guild member could learn. But Magnum Opus was different. The special skill used to synthesize elixirs could only be taught to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the guild master and their chosen successor. That was the rule of the Alchemist Guild.

"Master Igon has two candidates to pass the skill to—Maya and Arin."

"I get the picture. With Maya expelled, Arin is the only candidate left. But if Maya returns and continues participating in guild activities..."

"The factional fighting among the alchemists will get much worse."

Jerome's voice was bitter.

"Originally, not many alchemists supported Maya. Arin has always been very active in guild affairs, while Maya focused more on other matters than guild work."

"Then you, Jerome..."

"Isn't it rather embarrassing for an alchemist of my caliber to pick sides over who becomes the next master? I simply act according to my conscience."

Roa spoke softly. "But... it felt like the alchemists who sided with Maya were being discriminated against."

I agreed. A few alchemists had seemed strangely ostracized—all of them people Maya knew.

"That... I'll have to do something about it."

He said the words, but Jerome's voice lacked confidence. He knew his own influence was negligible compared to the other mid-ranking alchemists.

At that moment, Maya filled her glass to the brim and drank it down in one go.

"I don't want to fight with my sister."

Those were her true feelings.

"But I also don't want other alchemists to suffer because of me."

"Then what will you do?"

Maya quietly went up to the second-floor study and brought back a book. It was obviously thick and incredibly difficult.

Everyone's attention turned to it. Roa frowned.

"It's written in ancient language."

"Yes. It's a record of alchemy from an ancient kingdom."

I'd expected an alchemy book to have interesting content, but there were almost no illustrations—just dense lines of text. And the sentences were extremely difficult to read.

"What exactly is all this?"

"It's the secret to creating elixirs. Magnum Opus doesn't refer to just one specific method. There are four approaches in total."

Maya spoke enthusiastically, clearly excited.

"The four methods are blackening, whitening, yellowing, and reddening. Oricil uses the blackening approach. I've heard other guilds use whitening or yellowing. The reddening method has been lost."

"Then what does this book say?"

"I haven't translated everything, but I believe it explains the stages of yellowing. I skipped over the ancient words I didn't know, so I don't have the full details."

In Dungeon Overseer, there was a concept of lower and upper skills. Levels one through five were lower skills that anyone could learn by paying the guild. But from level six onward, you had to farm skill books in dungeons to obtain upper skills. Classes that relied heavily on specific skills often needed to be carried by others.

Magnum Opus—the name of the alchemist's upper skill unlock quest—could be obtained through events in four different ways. Only the strategy dungeon changed; the end result was the same.

"So you're going to learn Magnum Opus from this book, sis?"

"... Yes. I'm not affiliated with the guild anymore anyway. If I learn Magnum Opus and become a master alchemist, maybe I can do something to help the alchemists of Oricil."

Maya's ambition was admirable, but honestly, whether it was realistic remained to be seen. Even with the book, self-teaching Magnum Opus wouldn't be easy. Setting aside the need to understand this book full of abstract nonsense, she would have to conduct proper experiments and actually synthesize an elixir. In the game, creating elixirs had required high-grade gemstones.

"This is tough. I can't understand a single word."

"Of course not. It's written in ancient language..."

Maya muttered, then our eyes met.

... Wait.

"Hajun?"

"Uh..."

I slowly read the alchemy book aloud.

Shibal, what the hell is this even saying?

When I recited the passage, everyone stared at me blankly. Haneul spoke in an entranced voice.

"Oppa, you're really smart."

Roa was shocked by my actions, while Maya and Jerome became wildly excited.

"Ah, no matter what, reading ancient language out loud! What if you bring a curse upon yourself...!"

"Hajun! You can read ancient language?"

Of course I couldn't actually read ancient language. The system simply translated it automatically. But since I could read it, I answered accordingly.

"Yes. I know enough."

"Oh my... You must have studied so much!"

Maya swallowed hard. Haneul asked from the side.

"Is it that impressive?"

"Of course! Only academy professors or guild masters can handle ancient language at Hajun's level!"

"Huh. Then why does someone with a brain like that struggle so much in dungeons?"

"..."

She had a point. Why was I even doing this?

The highly excited Maya shot up from her seat.

"Miss! Please be careful!"

She had drunk quite a lot earlier and could barely keep her balance. But with remarkable tenacity, Maya grabbed the book and then seized my collar.

"Come with me for a moment!"

She didn't need to grab my collar...

Maya dragged me straight up to the second floor. The moment we reached the study, she thrust paper and a pen into my hands.

"You can translate this book, can't you?"

"Yes."

"Please write down just a few pages. I'm begging you!"

It wasn't difficult, but it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was tedious. Still, for Maya's sake, I took the pen. She had only asked for a few pages, so it shouldn't take long.

Maya pulled various items from the bookshelf and began reading them frantically. It looked like she'd gained some kind of inspiration.

"Um... miss."

"I'm sorry, but I'm busy right now. We'll talk later."

With that, the drinking party fizzled out. Jerome returned to his own home, while Roa and Haneul played together for a while before heading off to bed.

I spent about two hours focused on the translation.

Thud!

Something fell over beside me. It was Maya. She'd rolled off her chair, her face flushed red.

Tsk. I told her to drink in moderation.

I stood up to move her to the bedroom.

"... Huh?"

But Maya's condition seemed strange.

"Maya?"

She lay there with a flushed face, hand pressed to her chest as if in pain, letting out soft moans.

"Haa... haak!"

Was this serious? I should call the others...

"Hajun..."

"What is it?"

"Just for a little while... please stay by my side. I'm begging you."

"..."