Chapter 24

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 24

Chapter Title: Tower of Life and Proof of Qualification

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A week had passed since Lee Do-ha's system equipment began circulating.

The hunter industry's landscape had flipped upside down, with hunting speeds skyrocketing, but as a backlash, an unexpected bottleneck had erupted.

"Damn it! We've got firepower to spare, but we're running out of mana!"

"Arrows are depleted too! Supplies can't keep up with the hunting pace!"

Improved combat endurance had caused their existing consumables to vanish in the blink of an eye.

To make matters worse, the potions on the market were abysmally poor in quality.

Even those labeled as "top-grade" and sold at exorbitant prices had actual efficiency below 60%, and supply shortages due to material scarcity made them even rarer.

Lee Do-ha's eyes darkened coldly as he monitored the situation from the command room.

"What's the point of great gear without fuel?"

With the engine upgraded, it was time to switch fuels. Without hesitation, Lee Do-ha opened a new tab in the system window.

At the same time, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in a rundown building in Seoul's Jongno district.

The Korean Pharmaceutical Association office was shrouded in suffocating silence.

"President... this month's deficit exceeds 2 billion won. Gate-sourced herb prices have risen again."

Association President Choi Sang-hoon closed the ledger with trembling hands. His face looked a decade older after just a few months.

The public accused the association of price gouging, claiming they diluted potions with sugar water, but the reality was a hellish nightmare.

"To neutralize an orc's deadly venom gland, we absolutely need blue flowers bathed in moonlight. But with those costing 5 million won per gram, the material cost alone for one potion is 4.8 million... Hunters complain even that's too expensive."

Choi Sang-hoon was a stubbornly honest pharmacist who'd walked this path for 30 years.

Temptations to cut costs with impurities or reduce effects for margins had shaken him countless times, but he'd endured.

He knew full well that his potions were hunters' lifelines, so he'd absorbed losses and emptied his savings to buy materials.

But now, he'd hit his limit.

The foraging team he'd sent for materials had been wiped out in a corrupted gate.

"It's over... My stubbornness means I can't even pay my staff their severance."

As he slumped over his desk, swallowing silent sobs, the wall screen flickered with static. A blue system message began broadcasting forcibly.

"Lee Do-ha...? Why is that blacksmith calling us?"

Wiping his teary eyes, Choi Sang-hoon stood on unsteady legs, thinking a ruined life might as well go all in.

At the entrance to Lee Do-ha's forge subspace.

Choi Sang-hoon and over 500 renowned pharmaceutical experts and obscure master alchemists from across the nation had gathered.

Their expressions were uniformly grim.

Most, like Choi Sang-hoon, were struggling artisans with skyrocketing material costs and financial woes, but genuine skill and conscience.

"Everyone's here."

Lee Do-ha stood before them and, skipping lengthy explanations, flung open the massive dimensional gate behind him.

"Seeing is believing. Come on in."

Choi Sang-hoon stepped forward first. His vision flashed white, then cleared, leaving him breathless.

"Th-this is..."

It was a world utterly unlike the forge's Zone 1.

Vast endless plains stretched out, dominated at their center by a colossal crystal tower piercing the heavens.

Guided by Lee Do-ha into the tower's vast laboratory interior, it was a utopia every pharmacist dreamed of.

"Don't worry about materials. Just think of what you need."

Skeptical at Lee Do-ha's assurance, Choi Sang-hoon reached out, visualizing a blue flower bathed in moonlight. A bizarre phenomenon unfolded.

Pop!

Blue petals floated from thin air, arranging themselves neatly on the workbench.

Flawless top-grade condition, no dirt, roots trimmed, leaves washed—the system had prepared them perfectly.

"Is this... a dream?"

A young researcher beside him collapsed, clutching the bench.

It was Dr. Kim, researching a cure for the rare mana petrification syndrome.

He'd known the treatment but couldn't obtain the key deep-sea pearl powder, watching countless children die before his eyes.

No money, no materials.

Those cursed shortages left him holding petrifying hands, uttering only apologies. Those memories flashed by.

But now, iridescent pearl powder filled a beaker in his hand—kilograms, not grams.

"Ah... Aaaah..."

Dr. Kim hugged the beaker, sobbing uncontrollably on the cold lab floor, unleashing a lifetime of regret.

If only this had existed... I could have saved them all.

Tears streamed from Choi Sang-hoon's eyes too.

Thirty years of deficits and temptations washed away.

Approaching quietly, Lee Do-ha drove the point home.

"Make the treatments you abandoned for lack of funds and the potions you diluted to save on materials to the absolute best, without restraint. That's the price I want."

[Inside the Tower of Life]

Once full production began, the space transcended mere labor into an artistic realm.

With a wave of Choi Sang-hoon's hand, materials danced through the air, blending seamlessly.

Temperature, humidity, ratios—all perfectly tuned by the system without a 0.001% error.

"Haha... Hahaha! Yes, this is what brewing feels like!"

Choi Sang-hoon laughed like a man possessed.

Tasks that took half a day for prep were handled in one second, letting him focus purely on formulation.

Ten-hour jobs shortened to ten minutes—a magical efficiency.

Dr. Kim, eyes bloodshot, churned out petrification cures like a madman.

"I'll save them all... No one dies anymore...!"

Transcendent products emerged from their hands.

This marked the dawn of an unprecedented golden age for Korea's potion industry.

Days later, at Wiz Guild headquarters.

"Guild Leader! Magic-user exclusive potions are out at Lee Do-ha's shop!"

Despite the vice-leader's report, ranking 1st mage Kim O-jun responded indifferently.

Thanks to the [Infinite Staff] Lee Do-ha made, he already lived without mana worries.

"Potions? What use are they to me? I'm already infinite."

Kim O-jun raised his staff and barked at the guild members.

"But you're not! How long do you plan to hide behind me, dodging sparks?"

The guild members bowed their heads.

Wiz Guild held the top spot thanks to Kim O-jun's overwhelming firepower, but it was mocked as a one-man show.

Regular members ran out of mana after a few skills, retreating to watch.

"You won't improve just spamming spells from the backline! Relying on me will lead to ruin someday. Prove yourselves in real combat!"

The guild members' eyes changed at Kim O-jun's roar.

They were hunters too; they couldn't ride the bus forever.

"Grab the potions. Everyone's in real combat starting today."

C-grade raid: Nest of Flames.

The boss monster [Lava Golem] rampaged, turning the battlefield into an inferno of chaos.

"Firepower! Focus fire! This is the window!"

The raid leader's desperate cry.

The golem's core was exposed for just 30 seconds.

Normally, mages would hesitate to conserve mana or due to cooldowns, but Wiz Guild B-grade mage Park Min-woo touched the [Sage's Breath] ampoule on his chest.

"Let's go...!"

Click—Hiss!

Blue mana surged from the socket, racing through his veins straight to his brain.

An exhilarating sensation as his mana circuits swelled, screaming.

Blue light gleamed from Park Min-woo's eyes.

In this moment, mana depletion fears were gone.

Just endless barrage mode—fire away.

"Fireball! Ice Spear! Thunderbolt!"

Kaboom! Thud thud!

Chanting was a luxury.

Magic poured like machine-gun fire with every gesture, sweeping the field.

The socket refilled mana instantly, eliminating delays. It was less spellcasting, more aerial bombardment.

"Whoa... insane..."

Party members gaped.

One man out-DPSing the entire party.

Park Min-woo laughed maniacally.

The rush of unleashing spells freely, something he'd never felt since awakening as a mage. Farewell to stingy, calculating fights.

"Dieee!"

His final blow reduced the massive golem to ashes.

"Haa... haa..."

Battle over, Park Min-woo slumped, staring at his hands.

Mana still overflowed.

As Guild Leader Kim O-jun said, with gear support, true skill emerged.

Meanwhile, at a hunter market kiosk.

Hunters' joys and sorrows diverged sharply upon hitting purchase.

"What? Qualifications? What did I do wrong? I didn't trash-talk or troll!"

The hunter yelled indignantly.

Since Lee Do-ha's system, overt toxicity like insults or pad-dipping vanished due to instant blacklisting.

He'd behaved outwardly, but the system saw through his ugly heart.

"N-no... that was just to save mana..."

His excuse fell on the coldly extinguished kiosk.

Not outright crimes or curses, but slacking and freeloading.

The system ruthlessly filtered mediocrity and parasitism.

No top-tier potions for the uncommitted—a harsh decree.

At the forge command room.

Lee Do-ha smiled at the real-time graph of purifying hunter manners scores.

"I don't need money."

What he sought wasn't mere sales, but a healthy ecosystem where hunters helped, cared, and gave their all.

"Potions solve mana and stamina."

But Lee Do-ha's gaze turned to another lack.

On screens, post-battle hunters huddled in corners, gnawing bloody-handed energy bars or dry-swallowing stale bread.

"Even great gear and potions mean nothing if people burn out."

They say Koreans run on rice power.

No S-grade hunter gets energized eating from a dumpster.

"Time to fix the most primal issue."

Lee Do-ha's finger tapped a new project folder.