Chapter 116

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 116

Chapter Title: Alchemy Shop

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Precious items are always hidden in secret places.

"Kid, get out of the way?! This is mine!"

"Auntie, you move. I grabbed it first."

Truly valuable stuff isn't put out on display for just anyone to buy. They hide it away carefully and sell it on the sly only to real customers. Or they never sell it at all and keep it for themselves.

'Here it is, right?'

I stopped dead in my tracks amid the quiet workshop, my leisurely footsteps halted by a faint presence humming from underfoot.

Then I took one step back right there and squatted down on the floor.

The floor was paved in a grid of palm-sized bricks. I used telekinesis to shove the ones in front of me aside, one by one.

Click. Click.

A massive safe came into view. I popped the lid, revealing all sorts of precious-looking goodies. A sly smile tugged at my lips.

'Honestly, who'd ever think to look for something stashed here.'

Everyone's fantasized about burying valuables underground somewhere at least once, but actually digging? Fat chance.

Not for these greenhorns, anyway—they were too busy flailing around, still clueless about the vibe.

Any second now, soldiers could come bursting in. Folks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scrambling to snatch whatever obvious junk they could in the panic didn't have the bandwidth for puzzles this tough.

You had to hit mid-Selection Process for enough experience to even consider spots like this. Right now? They'd drop dead and respawn a hundred times before succeeding.

'Let's see what we've got.'

I raised the lantern to peer inside the safe. The first thing that caught my eye was a sheet of old paper.

'A recipe, huh.'

Recipes are basically blueprints for crafting stuff.

Everything from gear to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠common consumables—they come in all varieties. But this was worlds apart from the basic crafting manual Han So-hee had snagged from the workshop.

'It's single-use.'

Items tagged [Recipe] aren't just instruction manuals. The recipe itself counts as a key ingredient.

It's infused with special mana, so you follow its instructions to craft, then use the recipe as the final component. Only then do you get the finished product we all imagine.

'That's why each recipe makes exactly one item.'

No wonder they cost a fortune. Especially for [Immortal Oil]... As someone who's plumbed the depths of this world, I knew its true worth better than anyone.

'[Immortal Oil] is one of the top consumables for corpse-handlers.'

Perfect for making jiangshi, or any necromancer who'd scored a decent body. It was a must-have.

Especially famous as a go-to tool for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Moween, the S-Rank necromancer among the shining 100 Heroes.

She'd tote around multiple [Subspace Backpacks] and [Subspace Pouches], stuff 'em full of corpses, then unleash thousands in battle to fight for her. The sheer spectacle was downright chilling.

No matter how many enemies swarmed, it was never an issue for her.

'That's why one of her nicknames is One-Woman Army.'

Unlike Shin Seo-yeon, she was one of the rare few who could solo farm hordes in her own way.

'If the chance comes, I'll craft it—or hawk the recipe to Moween.'

She'd pay top coin, no doubt.

"Not a bad start, huh?"

First pull, and it's already a gem.

Speak of the devil—the next item wasn't half bad either. I picked up a tiny perfume bottle about two finger-widths tall and grinned in satisfaction.

Naked Night.

Named for how one whiff sends you into heat—you strip naked and spend the whole night bucking your hips.

It's refined from delusionflowers, which bloom thick around succubus haunts.

'Delusionflowers thrive in dark spots without sunlight, feeding on waste from-type monsters.'

Given the right conditions, you could find them in caves or ocean trenches anywhere. But here, they probably came up from the sea.

'Any Trial sea's deep zones teem with mermaids and sirens.'

For the record, mermaids and sirens aren't the same. Like elves and dark elves, their abilities differ. But crucially, both are monsters—pure danger.

No way anyone dove down there themselves, so odds are the flowers hitched a ride on an anchor.

I'd harvested them that way myself once or twice.

'Aphrodisiacs have their uses. Especially in perfume form—versatile as hell.'

I stowed it in my inventory.

Then refocused on the safe.

There was more hidden treasure inside.

First off, mana stones. Mana-infused rocks are rare no matter the era or region.

'Sweet, got Rang's chow secured.'

...Huh, coins too?

Each commemorative coin is engraved with ancient temples, heroes' weapons, appearances, and such. The 111th-year minting fetches the highest price.

That year's coins supposedly have spiritual effects from their magic circle ratios and constellation alignments.

'Total bullshit.'

Just hype to jack up the price.

Doesn't mean they're worthless, though.

Hype or not, fanatics obsess over them and pay premium anyway.

'Nobles lose their minds over relics and symbols like this.'

Same story in other Trials.

In any region, anyone with cash wants a [Birth of the Gods 111] for their collection.

Handy for quick money or buying favor wherever you go.

'Useless for players who smash through most Trials with brute force, though.'

Plus, they go for pocket change even at Rest Area shops.

'Five of 'em? Might come in handy somewhere.'

I pocketed them in my inventory, took a deep breath, then eyed the safe's bottom—the last prize buried beneath.

Intriguingly, the massive safe's floor was glass, with droplets of water densely clinging below, misty.

Scraaape.

I lifted the glass panel out. There, in the safe's deepest recess, secretly stored: cute blue-and-purple grasses.

'It really exists.'

One reason I'd picked this Trial was staring me in the face. A herb unique to this region alone, across all Trials.

Normally, you'd have to brave the palm forest interior, thick with toxic plants, to snag it.

Players can chat with the various humans and races they meet in the Selection Process.

God's design or whatever—it auto-translates speech and hearing seamlessly.

One catch, though.

That slick feature doesn't work between players. Earthlings from different countries can't understand each other.

'You can't grasp the hassle unless you've lived it.'

Picture a 40-man party with dozens of languages mixed in. Not your average headache.

Once humanity clocked the issue, they captured and tamed core translation races for interpreters. Fairies blew up in popularity back then.

'Led to the hilarious sight of everyone toting a fairy on their shoulder.'

But dragging a translator everywhere gets old fast. Especially fairies—they'd keel over in harsh spots like demon realms.

'This grass, though? Eat it, and you permanently master that language fluently.'

In my first round, I never touched one.

They unlock mid-Selection Process at alchemy shops—for over a million points each.

'But right now, no one knows their value.'

Even reading the description, folks would dismiss it as trash. Why bother when you already chat with locals fine?

They'd chuck it in the dump even if handed over as "good stuff." But later, teaming up across nationalities? It'll shine.

'Not many, though.'

I swept what few there were into my inventory. The moment I grabbed the last one—

"Wh-what?!"

I looked up. Shin Seo-yeon and the women had gathered around the now-empty safe, peering down. As I plucked the last items from under the stone floor and stood, their eyes lit up like stars.

"Min-jun, you're amazing! How'd you even find a spot like this?"

"Oppa, this must be your calling."

"You truly... never cease to amaze me."

Fair enough—spotting a hiding place perfectly concealed under bricks that fast? Impressive.

Shin Seo-yeon eyed me greedily.

"Dickhead, you sneaky bastard, hogging all the secret stashes? If it's good, we share, right?"

"I was gonna share."

"Oh, then hand it over—!"

"But you said each to their own."

She froze.

"Well, that's..."

"I said let's split up 'cause there might be stuff like this, and you all said no."

"That was because..."

She trailed off, fumbling for words, then pouted.

"Auntie, gaslighting fail again?"

"...Shut up."

Stung by my find, maybe? Shin Seo-yeon started tapping walls and floors everywhere.

Too bad. Each alchemy shop has just one hidden spot.

'Speaking of, who knew [Linguamancer's Rebirth] would cap at 24? Gotta raid every alchemy shop now.'

Least cover the big countries' languages. Even without that, stocking up means profit down the line.

'...Problem is figuring out what's where in this massive city.'

Picking out just the alchemy shops from countless stores? Days, maybe weeks.

But I wasn't worried.

There were ways.