Chapter 5: Spiritual Herbs (4)
"Personal trade completed."
A brilliant light gathered before Kim Jeonghwan's eyes.
The Lunadria he'd just traded for had been delivered.
"Ahh."
The moment he held it in his hand, a gasp escaped his lips.
He knew instinctively. This was the real deal.
'I can do this.'
Kim Jeonghwan dove straight into his experiment.
The roadblock that had stumped him unraveled smoothly.
In the stage where mana fusion had been impossible, adding this Lunadria propelled him effortlessly to the next step.
'It works. This really works.'
Kim Jeonghwan lost track of time, immersing himself in potion crafting.
A while later.
"Waaahhh!"
A childish wail leaked from Kim Jeonghwan's mouth.
"Success... I did it...!"
It was the moment he clawed his way back from the brink of a cliff.
"Thank you... Thank you so much..."
To the one who'd bestowed such immense grace upon him, Madoje.
He resolved to send the very first completed product as a token of gratitude, right after finishing the inaugural batch of High-Concentration Mana Ampoules.
48,000 Coins received.
[A] Advanced Mana Potion x70 received.
I scratched my head as I looked at the coins and mana potions transferred to me.
A little earlier.
Kim had insisted on taking only the 5,000 coins he'd first mentioned.
Kim was firm.
I tried a few more times, but he wouldn't budge, saying no one could be so shameless.
Yeah, that's just how he is.
Money shortage, maybe.
Or trouble exchanging coins.
Running an orphanage is tough, so probably the former, or both.
Brilliant move.
Buying his mana potions effectively funnels money back to him.
"Ugh, even this feels burdensome."
48,000 coins is 480 million won.
Pulled from investment funds, probably.
No wonder it's a burden to accept more.
'This could've put out the orphanage's urgent fires.'
I can guess why orphanage costs are so high.
'He mentioned property taxes being steep.'
I'd overheard him once.
Likely the cause of his cash crunch.
"Alright."
Since it's come to this.
I'll put these 48,000 coins to good use.
And grow even faster.
'Soon as I leave here, buy them a building.'
That'll ease my mind and make Kim and the kids happy.
"Good. One more reason to grow quick."
So.
No dawdling—time to buy what I mentioned earlier.
Now I've got 98,000 coins in ammo.
Insane capital for a typical Level 2 superhuman.
Now I can snag top-tier versions of everything I wanted.
'Access Superhuman Net.'
Time for some fun shopping.
While Seojun was lost in shopping bliss.
The Superhuman Net erupted once more.
All because of the Lunadria he'd first sold at auction.
A buyer saying 55,000 coins was worth every bit for the taste?
That poured fuel on the fire of the already blazing 55,555-coin sale.
The theory that Seojun's Lunadria came from high up the Abyss Tower started solidifying.
The Abyss Tower.
What was that place?
A dungeon so mythical its very existence bordered on legend.
Countless superhumans had entered, only to vanish silently before fathoming its depths.
Time and space twisted there—common sense didn't apply.
Even conquering the top floor? Deemed impossible.
Thus.
Madoje began being seen as a hidden expert rivaling the Ten Heavens, conquering high floors of the Abyss Tower.
I finished shopping.
That's my haul of farming and gathering tools.
All top-shelf A-grades.
This is flexing.
And then.
Next up: an S-grade basic mana circulation method.
This one lets you circulate mana stably from the start.
Bonus: it fuses seamlessly with future methods.
How much? A whopping 50,000 coins.
Equal to one Lunadria sale.
No rich kid or fancy clan could start like this.
'[S] Rachel's Basic Mana Circulation Method' acquired.
Learned the mana method right away and gave it a whirl.
Vwoooom!
Deep breaths brought the mana flow into focus.
The faint energy at first grew clearer inside me.
'Ah!'
As I breathed and roused the mana, it flowed to my fingertips and toes.
I couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
Mana spread through me like warm, gentle light in waves.
A refreshing lift, like sweeping away old cobwebs.
Vwoooom!
Circulating through my body, the mana gathered in my dantian.
A glowing orb formed.
In this, I gained control over the flow—like commanding waves—wielding energy freely.
Finishing the cycle, my palms warmed as mana returned to my dantian.
Like a weary traveler home after a long journey—pure comfort.
Mana stabilized.
All residual mana from Lunadria absorbed.
Level up.
'Another level up?'
Shot straight to Level 4.
Is leveling this easy?
Quick Superhuman Net search.
— Depends on talent/environment, but average 1-2 years?
— That long?
— Yeah. Leveling 1 per month is tough.
— Brutal...
— And it gets worse post-10 lol.
An old question thread.
Average to Level 4 post-awakening: 3-4 months minimum, up to half a year.
"I hit it in one day. For real?"
Tried posting anonymously, just in case.
"Heh."
Confirmed.
I'm the outlier.
Why?
Innate genius?
'Nah.'
I glanced at the Dragon's Egg, then the Lunadria.
My EX-grade trait.
And the special spirit herb from the Dragon's Lair.
Those two meshed for this result.
"Haha."
My lips curled up.
Confidence swelled: I could surpass Arthur Bennett, become a grand archmage.
"By the time I leave the lair, I'll be there."
Grow to my limit here, emerge, and the world sees new skies.
Me.
Madoje, the transcendent grand archmage who tames dragons!
As I basked in rosy futures, high on euphoria.
A mental voice pierced my ears.
『Kyuuuung... Hungry...』
The Dragon's Egg had woken.
"Oh! Right, my lucky charm. Let's eat."
I grabbed a mana potion from Kim and rushed to the egg.
Glug glug glug!
Pouring carefully over the Dragon's Egg.
Vwoooong!
The egg and potion glowed, absorbing the liquid.
Then.
『Kyuuuwong. Tasty...』
A joyful cry from the egg.
"Phew, likes it."
Worried it might hate mana potions.
Good reaction, though.
Can keep getting them from Kim.
Wonder if he's sorted his issue.
Wanna ask, but knowing him, he'll message first if all good. Wait patiently.
『Kyuuuuwong...』
Its voice grew drowsy.
Drained a full bottle—stuffed, looks like.
"Seeing real-time growth makes feeding it so satisfying."
Bigger than before.
Shell color deeper too.
Our lucky charm, thriving.
"Time to name you. What fits?"
Calling it "guy" feels too distant now.
'Lucky? Boom?'
Pondered, decided to ask when it wakes next.
"Alright then."
Grabbed my new farming tools.
"Clear Water Herb first."
Water's priority.
If water counted as an item, I'd buy from the exchange.
Can't—so annoying.
Lunadria had moisture, staved off dehydration, but can't last forever.
"Lucky Clear Water Herb grows fast."
Moist leaves in days, they say.
Nail farming, crisis averted.
Used steel shovel, silver hoe, magic plow, seed planter—planted all 300 Clear Water Herb seeds in a flash.
Perfect.
Dice rolled.
Just wait.
'But first, check something.'
Pulled out gathering tools.
Spring water and moss.
Resources like Lunadria with names?
[A] Mystical Gathering Leather Gloves equipped.
[A] Moss Collection Tweezers used.
[A] Essence Collector used.
Gathered moss and essence with tools.
Results.
A-Grade
A-Grade
"...!"
My eyes bulged.
Jackpot beyond imagination.