Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Homunculus
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After unintentionally peering into the abyss of that recipe and taking some mental damage...
"Humans suck!"
I was so shocked that a recipe like that even existed.
I even started doubting the entire species that created it.
"Why the hell would they do something like that with goblins...!!"
Ugh, the more I thought back on that situation, the more my head hurt.
I could instinctively tell.
If I kept dwelling on these negative thoughts, I'd end up just like them.
"Is this what mental corruption feels like...?"
It was like my mind was being ravaged, force-fed knowledge I never wanted to know.
This was the moment I understood why the protagonist in cosmic horror novels went insane after gazing into the abyss.
"Fuck... I didn't want to know..."
Right then, a new goal formed in my mind.
When I had the means later, I'd definitely brew a 'memory-erasing potion' to wipe that memory clean.
So for now, to escape this horrific situation, I decided to focus on making the homunculus.
"Anyway... it needs the corpse of a decent monster as the main ingredient, right?"
According to the alert window I'd seen earlier...
It was searching for a recipe for 'Cute Small Animal Homunculus (Growth Type)' using a 'main ingredient.'
That meant adding something to the base monster's corpse to create the homunculus.
"Wonder if the exchange has anything suitable...?"
To cut a long story short, nothing like that existed on the exchange.
A high-grade monster corpse with the appearance of a cute little animal?
No way something that convenient would...
It's not an animal, but there is something similar among bugs. Ever heard of pumpkin bees?
From floor 40 onward, these small monsters called 'Sonic Bumblebees' that look just like them start appearing. They're cute-looking, but their speed is insane, making them stronger than Battle Hornets in certain situations.
Thankfully, they're rare and there's a clear counter-strategy. Otherwise, 'that bastard' on floor 40 might've been this guy instead.
"...It exists?"
I struck out at the exchange.
Then I messaged Bug Hater in a 1:1 chat to collect the reward he'd promised yesterday.
And sure enough, while it wasn't a small animal but a small bug, he confirmed it existed.
"Pumpkin bee... that's the fluffy one, right?"
I'm not a big fan of bugs, but I remembered thinking pumpkin bee videos were kinda cute.
Head buried in a flower, butt covered in pollen, buzzing around grumpily.
It was the first video that made me think bugs could be cute.
Could I take that monster's corpse as the remaining reward? Preferably one that's intact.
Normally no, but the guild master said to accommodate the recipe provider as much as possible, so it should be fine.
Thanks to that recipe, we're gearing up to challenge the floor 50 rankings soon.
"Floor 50... that's pretty high up, isn't it?"
I'm still learning about the tower, but even I knew there weren't many Korean climbers who'd reached floor 50.
Whenever someone hit a new floor, the news, galleries, and SNS would blow up—you couldn't miss it.
"So Bug Hater's guild is a pretty big deal?"
This felt like I'd landed a better business connection than I thought.
If I nurtured this relationship, maybe I could turn them into my backers someday.
Hm, but what did he mean by 'normally no'?
Sonic Bumblebees are rare monsters since there aren't many of them, so stock is low.
An intact corpse... oh, there's a record of one selling for 500 million on the exchange.
...Pardon? 500 million for a single monster corpse?
It's not like it's filled with gold bars or anything—why so expensive?
...Why is it so expensive...?
Sonic Bumblebee materials make gear with a [Swiftness] effect that speeds up all physical actions.
It's useful for any class, so it trades higher than other monster corpses.
Oh, and we can supply them directly with some spares, so don't worry about the price—just ask comfortably.
Is it really okay to ask for something this pricey...?
It's a direct order from the guild master. He probably values the recipe we got more than that.
"Whoa, okay then."
I'd sold that recipe on a whim just to get some quick cash.
But apparently, it was way more valuable than I'd realized.
"Gotta be more careful selling recipes from now on..."
I hadn't thought much about it since I could snag them easily with a skill click.
But this ability of mine was clearly more incredible than I'd given it credit for.
So, throwing shame to the wind...
Sonic Bumblebee it is, then.
And... could you throw in a few mana stones at a fair price? I need some urgent cash...
No problem at all. Give me a sec!
"Ugh, embarrassing."
What can you do? I was flat broke right now.
I had no clue what else the homunculus recipe needed, so more money was always better.
My face burned for a bit after that slightly servile message.
But soon, Bug Hater sent a 1:1 trade request.
'Bug Hater' has requested a 1:1 trade.
[Intact Sonic Bumblebee Corpse]
[Little Hornet Mana Stone x5]
Mana stones go for about 5 million each on the exchange. This should cover your urgent needs, right?
This many???
Guild master's orders.
Even so, this is a bit much...
Look, to be blunt... it's like a bribe so you'll sell us any good recipes you find next time.
I just got lucky with that recipe, though?
Maybe, but our guild master is a quirky guy who doesn't believe in coincidences.
He probably thinks there's some reason you got that recipe.
"Huh, what's this...?"
Even so, investing this much in some nobody like me?
"...I like the sound of that."
I didn't know who this guild master was, but partnering with someone like that would be incredibly convenient in all sorts of ways.
Hope to do business again!
Trade completed.
Traded items will be stored in your storage for up to 30 days.
After wrapping up the trade... no, the one-sided gift barrage with Bug Hater,
I immediately summoned the Emerald Cauldron and registered the materials.
Registering 'Intact Sonic Bumblebee Corpse' as material.
"It does look cute like a pumpkin bee."
The fluffy fur definitely gave off strong cute vibes.
But it was still a monster—for a small bug, it was about the size of my fist, which surprised me a bit.
"Compared to goblins, it's a fairy, though."
With that thought that anything was better than goblins,
I activated the Synthesis skill to generate the recipe.
Searching for recipes for 'Cute Small Animal Homunculus (Growth Type)' using main ingredient 'Sonic Bumblebee'...
105 related recipes confirmed...
Optimizing recipe based on current dimension...
...Complete.
1 recipe for 'Cute Small Animal Homunculus (Growth Type)' generated.
Outputting recipe automatically.
*Ding-!*
Cute Small Animal Homunculus (Growth Type)
Required Materials:
- Intact Sonic Bumblebee Corpse
- Faded Spirit Core
- Beast-Type Monster Flesh
- Beast-Type Monster Bone
Required Tools:
- Emerald Cauldron
- Pure Flame
"Oh, just one this time?"
Probably because I registered the main ingredient first—the number of generated recipes dropped dramatically.
It was minor, but no more sore eyes from sifting through random junk recipes.
"Alright, time to buy the missing materials one by one."
I listed the mana stones on the exchange at 5 million each first.
Then, while waiting for them to sell, I browsed for the needed ingredients.
Faded Spirit Core was around 10 million, right?
That'd leave enough for beast-type monster materials.
Something in the 10 million range...
Materials from strong monsters that'd pair well with the Sonic Bumblebee...
"...Huh? This...?"
[Smashed Mountain Lord Flesh Lump] - 1,000,000 won
[Broken Mountain Lord Bone] - 1,000,000 won
Materials from a monster called 'Mountain Lord' listed at 1 million each.
I wondered if it was that tiger-like one, so I searched the gallery.
Tower of the Conqueror floor 40 has a massive named monster resembling a tiger called Mountain Lord.
They seemed to have focused solely on killing it, ignoring its material value.
After slaying it, they probably listed it because they hated to just toss it.
"Hm... materials from a floor 40 named monster...?"
This could work, right?
The recipe just said 'beast-type monster flesh and bone'—no 'intact' qualifier like the Sonic Bumblebee corpse.
"Worth a shot?"
If I could make a homunculus with this, it'd be a total jackpot.
I was seriously debating buying it when...
Sale of Little Hornet Mana Stone x5 completed.
"...Meant to be?"
With the mana stone sale money hitting my account right on cue,
I went with a 'fuck it, let's try' mindset and bought the materials without hesitation.
Life's all about scraping bottom or striking gold, right?
Purchased 'Faded Spirit Core'.
Purchased 'Smashed Mountain Lord Flesh Lump'.
Purchased 'Broken Mountain Lord Bone'.
Traded items will be stored in your storage for up to 30 days.
I pulled the impulsively bought materials from storage,
dumped them all into the summoned Emerald Cauldron,
"Eww, that's not a flesh lump—it's like mystery meat chunks."
Registering 'Faded Spirit Core' as material.
Registering 'Smashed Mountain Lord Flesh Lump' as material.
Registering 'Broken Mountain Lord Bone' as material.
I lit a fire under the cauldron with all materials registered.
"[Pure Flame]"
*Whoosh-!*
Synthesize 'Cute Small Animal Homunculus (Growth Type)'?
[YES][NO]
"It works even with different materials?"
I had no idea how the internal mechanics worked,
but I selected [YES] on the alert window and proceeded.
A moment later...
.
.
.
.
.
Synthesized 'Cute Small Animal Homunculus (Growth Type)'!
Cute Small Animal Homunculus (Growth Type) [F+]
A homunculus born from special materials, crafted by a master alchemist using supreme tools.
※ Currently unhatched.
※ Build affinity to hatch the egg.
"This is... an egg?"
Build affinity to hatch it?