Highest Price Buyer
...What the hell is going on? But since similar shit had happened way too many times already, figuring out why the hot spring had changed like that wasn't hard at all.
No need to think about it—the elixir I'd fed to Kkomangi was obviously the cause.
I just hadn't expected feeding an elixir to Kkomangi would alter the dungeon itself.
It wasn't even monster materials; it was a specially processed item made by humans. Who could've guessed it'd create an effect like this in the hot spring...
From what I'd heard about the effects others got from the hot spring, this glowing one—unbelievable as it was—had absorbed the effects of the elixir I'd eaten.
...Hmm, this throws my schedule a bit off.
I'd originally planned to include the hot spring Golden Ticket as a reward from a raid monster higher-tier than the upcoming Giant Slimes...
'Putting it as a low-tier boss reward is too valuable now.'
So what should I do?
Maybe slot it in as a reward for a mid-lower boss like the Giant Owl Bear?
As I pondered while staring at the glowing hot spring, Yeomje spoke up.
"So what exactly happened here, Dungeon Master?"
"...Seems like it happened because of an elixir I got by chance and fed to my slime."
"Hah...!! Getting an elixir in the shelter is shocking enough, but creating a hot spring with those powers too... Your abilities truly know no bounds."
Maybe because the hot spring had upgraded, Yeomje seemed especially thrilled.
"But now what do we do with this...? It's on a whole other level from the original hot spring. As you know, the next thing opening is the low-tier boss raid, and its rewards were supposed to be tickets for the new parks and this hot spring. But now the hot spring is leagues better than the others—what should we do?"
Among the giant variants of low-tier monsters like Rock Lizard, Mud Crab, and Giant Spider, the hot spring ticket had been slated for the trickiest boss.
Dragon Mask Padak spoke up after hearing me out.
"It's certainly true. If the rewards differ too much, people might complain. But since the variant bosses' special rewards are outstanding, maybe it won't be an issue?"
Just like he said, after learning about the special rewards from Giant Slime variants, I'd hunted variant bosses with Padak and the explorers to check them out once each.
The variant bosses' special rewards were incredible—perfect for my wish that explorers get stronger, all boosting combat power.
Even without strategy rewards as tickets, once people learned about those special rewards, they'd hunt them anyway...
This time, Granite Fist cautiously raised his hand to share his opinion.
"Uh... shouldn't we check if the other baths changed too? This isn't the only hot spring here, so to judge properly, we need to confirm the exact effects first."
He had a point, so we checked every bath in the hot spring dungeon once and came back.
"Hmm... The ones I checked don't glow. Didn't feel any elixir-like effects even dipping my hand in—just normal hot springs."
"Same for the baths my three brothers checked—no changes."
"This seat agrees."
Putting it all together, it seemed only one single bath had turned into an elixir bath.
And another discovery...
"Seems like if you scoop water out of the hot spring, it turns back into plain hot spring water."
Failed to copy the elixir.
"That's a shame..."
I'd hoped to do some elixir business...
In the shelter, herbs were hard to come by, so illness often turned dire.
Holy magic healed wounds but didn't cure sickness.
That's why a fair number of shelter deaths were from disease. How could commoners afford rare herbs in this environment?
There'd even been a story about a plague hitting one shelter hard.
'Well, the elixir I ate was more of a body-fortifying tonic than a cure-all, so maybe not super useful for illness anyway...'
It couldn't root out disease but would definitely aid recovery, so it was still disappointing.
"Hmmm... So the bath itself became special."
"Yeah, looks like it."
The elixir's effects seemed bound to the bath itself, not the water. At least the upside was that this elixir hot spring was one of the largest baths in the dungeon.
To explain the hot spring dungeon's layout...
It was made by renovating the glowing crystal cave Yeomje had been obsessed with finding.
Situated midway up the mountain, fairly high up, it was divided into inner cave baths and outer baths.
The inner baths had almost no installed lights, lit only by the glowing crystals, creating a otherworldly feel.
Yeomje had raved it was the pinnacle of natural indoor hot springs... The crystals' multicolored light outshone starlight, dreamlike and ethereal—he'd said it felt like soaking in a dream.
Sure enough, the vast construction made the cavern ceiling high, studded with radiant crystals everywhere. To me, it felt less like a night sky and more like a modern cityscape view.
For reference, I'd used my improved dungeon powers for the construction, stabilizing this huge space.
'Granite Fist said it'd have taken years otherwise.'
Anyway, the rest of the layout...
The outer baths had walls carved open for unobstructed views, so sitting there let you gaze at the scenery below—an absolute vista.
And this elixir bath was right there in the outer section...
"Hmm... This makes it even trickier."
If only one bath out of many had special effects, people would ignore the rest.
Even limiting entry with tickets, it'd overcrowd the elixir bath, making proper use impossible.
At this rate, the hot spring might be unmanageable even before raids.
Like the park, I'd planned Golden Tickets from raids and regular tickets trickled out via the market.
'Unlike the park, way fewer regular tickets.'
Otherwise, it'd be packed.
Just imagining it was nightmare fuel.
Plus, people needed motivation to get strong and hunt bosses, so fewer regular tickets fit my goals.
"Let's all think about it. How to handle this hot spring dungeon."
So the dwarf brothers, Yeomje, Dragon Mask Padak, and I put our heads together.
One idea that came up...
"For now... how about making more elixir baths? If we get other elixirs, maybe new ones appear?"
"Hmm, where do we get elixirs?"
"With the Dungeon Master's fame and wealth, someone might pull out a long-hoarded elixir."
"...This seat will contact some acquaintances too..."
"...No better ideas, so let's try like Yeomje said. Oh, Dragon Mask Padak, could you ask your contacts about potions too?"
His network might have some.
"Potions went out of production over ten years ago—harder to find than elixirs thanks to the monster wars... But I'll ask."
And the dwarves...
"...We're fugitives with no connections."
"True... Let's just enjoy the soak."
With that, we slipped into the glowing elixir bath.
'Tch... I posted looking for potions once before—no one had any. Wonder if elixirs are out there...'
*