Potion Hoard in Runen
Runen. The Alchemist Guild’s potion sales office. True to its roguelike nature, Dungeon Overseer featured every kind of potion imaginable. Healing potions that mended wounds, mana potions that restored vigor. Antidotes for poison, petrification, confusion, paralysis, bleeding, burns, frostbite, and shock. On top of that came offensive brews like Wildfire Potion and evaporation potions.
After a thousand hours in Dungeon Overseer, one truth stood out: potions were always the right call. Just having them in your bag felt reassuring. No matter how absurd or miserable the situation, tossing the right potion at the right moment solved eighty percent of problems. That was why the Alchemist class made such a solid support role.
“Hm?”
I strode confidently into the potion shop and pushed the door open.
“Hey. Business treating you well?”
“Y-you again!”
The alchemist behind the counter, Oden, recognized me and recoiled in shock. I wasn’t sure if he remembered, but he was the same guy who had stormed into our guild demanding we refuse Maya’s escort request. Running into him wasn’t surprising. Runen wasn’t a huge city; if I stayed here long enough, we were bound to cross paths again.
“The death-calling Necromancer!”
Oden jabbed a finger at me. Honestly, the nickname was starting to grow on me.
“Come on, no need to be so rude to a customer. I came to buy potions. Should I just leave?”
“...Customer?”
Oden looked bewildered. I pulled a slip of paper from my pocket and waved it. His eyes followed the fluttering sheet.
“I’m here to boost your sales a little.”
When I grinned, Oden snatched the paper. He stared at it and let out a low groan.
“This is... the Oricil Guild Master’s signature?”
“It’s a potion exchange voucher signed personally by Master Igon.”
His gaze turned sharp, clearly suspecting forgery. Fair enough. If someone walked in with an “unlimited potion voucher,” I’d be suspicious too.
“If this is fake...”
“Feel free to contact the guild if you’re worried.”
Oden glared at me for a while before slipping away. When he returned, his face was deathly pale. Things had clearly gone his way.
“...Confirmed. I’m to provide you with as many potions as you want.”
That settled it. With the Oricil Guild Master’s permission, I could now clean out Runen’s potion shop from ceiling to floor.
“Let’s see...”
I mentally reviewed the shopping list I’d prepared. Stripping the potion shop bare would let me brute-force my way through most crises with sheer volume. I scanned the display shelves. They mostly stocked fast-moving, practical potions: healing potions, antidotes, serenity potions, and the like. Nothing rare or expensive was on display. Not that I expected otherwise. They probably kept the good stuff hidden in the back for wealthy customers.
Recalling all thirty-eight potion types from Dungeon Overseer, I started sending Oden on errands.
“Let’s see. Strength potions, intelligence potions, agility potions... Those should be in the warehouse. Bring them all out.”
“...”
“Telekinesis potions, tough skin potions, and... foresight potions too. Fetch those as well.”
“...”
“What are you waiting for? Get moving.”
Oden tried to protest. “You expect me to carry all that by myself?”
“I can’t exactly go into the warehouse myself. I don’t want to get scolded by the other alchemists later.”
Oden trudged off to the warehouse looking thoroughly miserable. I didn’t feel particularly sorry for him. If it got too heavy, he could always chug a muscle enhancer or whatever they called it.
Potion crates piled up steadily. Passing customers shot me curious glances, clearly wondering what kind of lunatic was buying in bulk. Had they never seen someone stock up before?
“Huff... hah...”
Unfortunately for Oden, he was the only one manning the shop. Most customers bought one or two bottles and left. Even the cheapest antidote cost two hundred ron, and alchemists charged whatever they pleased. Unless you were drowning in money, buying by the crate was impossible. Yet here I was doing exactly that.
“Ah, good work.”
“Then... now...”
“Pack everything from here to there.”
“...”
I pointed at the red healing potions lining the wall. You could never have too many healing potions. Oden shot me a murderous glare but started packing them anyway.
More crates stacked up outside. I looked at the growing mountain and remarked, “Fewer than I expected.”
“...What?”
Oden stared at me like I was completely insane. Over thirty crates already sat outside. Ten crates stacked would reach my height, so the sheer volume was considerable. In terms of money, it was obscene. But I had to remember there were thirty-eight potion types in total. Buying less than one crate per type wasn’t exactly excessive. Runen was a low-level explorer city, so the warehouse stock wasn’t that deep to begin with. Healing potions were plentiful, but I couldn’t take everything. Other explorers needed them too. Besides, guild monopoly rules prevented resale, and hoarding critical potions would spark outrage from every explorer party and guild in the city. Better to know your limits. This amount was just right.
“Here. Thirty-four crates total! Sign it, Necromancer!”
I couldn’t help but admire Oden. Most convenience store part-timers would quit on the spot if told to haul thirty-four crates alone. His work ethic was impressive.
“Thanks for your hard work. Want a free potion for your trouble?”
“I don’t need it!”
Oden shouted like he never wanted to see another potion again. Free potions and he still refused.
“Here. Signed.”
Thirty-four crates of potions now belonged to me. Arin was probably going to curse me when she saw the bill. Oden, finally finished, trembled as he retreated into the shop.
“Oden!”
“What now?!”
“Deliver everything to the Necromancer Guild before dinner!”
“...What?”
“Fighting!”
With this, I wouldn’t have to worry about potions for a while. I finally understood what it meant to feel full without eating. Whistling, I headed back to the guild.
#
The moment I arrived, I went to see the guild master. The usual oppressive chill lingered in the air. Chad poked his head out and cackled.
“Hajun’s here?”
“Yes. I’m back.”
Killing the cockatrice had given me a massive amount of experience. My level had risen by one. I was already level 4.
Finally, level 4. I could almost cry from the emotion. Reaching this point had taken so much effort. Every crisis overcome, every drop of experience earned through hardship. Roughly speaking, levels 1–3 were the early game, 4–6 the mid game, and 7–10 the late game. Considering orc warriors sat around level 4–5, the scale made sense. Level 4 still had a long way to go, but I was far stronger than before.
A level 4 Necromancer. Up until now I’d only learned underwhelming spells like Animate Skeleton and Poison Arrow. From here, I would begin learning genuinely powerful necromancy. At this stage, a Necromancer’s combat ability became comparable to other classes. Reach level 8 or 9? Then a Necromancer wasn’t just strong. They were a god.
...Anyway, I found a new spell in the guild library.
Spell: Flesh Golem Summon
This spell strips flesh from corpses around the caster and animates it. The moving flesh clumps together into a golem that obeys the caster’s commands. The more corpses available, the stronger the Flesh Golem becomes. Greater skill results in larger, more powerful golems that last longer. The Flesh Golem decays the moment the spell ends.
Classification: <Magic> <Intermediate Necromancy>
You have begun reading the Book of Desecrating the Dead.
This book contains information on the spell Flesh Golem Summon.
You can memorize and use it.
Would you like to begin memorization?
You have begun memorizing Flesh Golem Summon.
Time remaining until complete memorization: 33 hours
Learning the spell had cost three thousand ron. Intermediate magic demanded serious coin. Three thousand ron was enough to buy a decent set of plate armor with some left over. No wonder mages wandered around in nothing but robes. Between buying armor and learning spells, money was always tight.
“Leaving already?”
“I’ll be back after running a quick errand.”
While the spell finished memorizing, I visited the blacksmith Docheol to have my equipment repaired. He clicked his tongue the moment he saw my gear.
“What in the world have you been doing to get your equipment in this state?”
I’d used it pretty roughly.
“This saw blade still cuts well, though.”
“Kid, who do you think made it?”
His craftsmanship was undeniable. The weapon had carried me through countless battles. Docheol examined the blade carefully.
“Come by tomorrow morning. I’ll have it looking brand new.”
I left all my equipment with him. New spell learned, gear being repaired. I returned to the guild.
#
The usually quiet Necromancer Guild. With nothing else to do, I sat at the lawn table and began planning my next expedition. The trip to Oricil had netted me a fortune in money and supplies. Now it was time to dive into dungeons and collect artifacts.
Dungeon Overseer contained many artifacts. Item grades were divided into Normal, Magic, Rare, Artifact, and Unique. Everything except Artifacts appeared randomly. In other words, Artifacts were fixed, special items that always appeared in specific locations. I had memorized every artifact and the dungeon it appeared in.
I had money and potions. My level was finally climbing. It was time to raid dungeons and gather artifacts.
While I was deep in planning, someone called my name.
“Hajun!”
“Seoha noona.”
“You haven’t eaten yet, right? Let’s have lunch together.”
Seoha noona, also free, joined me for lunch. The menu was the usual fish-broth noodles, followed by a few tangerines for dessert. In the past month, Seoha noona had truly become a proper member of the Necromancer Guild. After finishing her dissection training, she had finally begun learning the Raise Corpse spell.
“Sounds fun.”
“More fun than dissection, but... I’m not sure yet~”
She gazed at the sky and grumbled about various things. How she didn’t see what made skeletons better than golems. How she sometimes missed the Alchemist Guild. While listening, I wondered how Maya was doing.
“Hajun.”
“Yes?”
“You were spacing out just now, weren’t you?”
“...”
“You were thinking about a girl, right?”
“...No, I wasn’t.”
Seoha noona suddenly started vigorously ruffling my hair. Or rather, messing it up so thoroughly it would be a pain to fix later.
“I’m really disappointed. I talk to you for a bit and you start daydreaming. So I’m that easy to ignore now?”
“No, that’s not it...”
“Spill! Who were you thinking about?”
“...”
Seoha noona’s intuition could be terrifying at times. Was that a woman’s sixth sense? I couldn’t understand how her instincts were so sharp. Just as she was about to start properly tormenting me—
“Hm?”
Seoha noona suddenly stopped and turned her head toward something.
“What is it?”
“I heard something.”
I couldn’t hear anything. But she focused intently, as if seeing something invisible. What could she possibly be hearing?
Right then, just as she said, the distant sound of a carriage reached my ears.