Chapter 68: Vivian la Classidus
Chapter 68: Vivian la Classidus
Just as Vivian said, it didn't take long to reach her workshop. After leaving the passage, we crawled a little further and another tunnel appeared. It looked quite different from the tunnels I'd seen so far. Once we passed through it and went deeper inside, the alchemist's workshop came into view.
The workshop was filled with countless things to see. Documents and records were scattered about, along with monster carcasses and glass bottles filled with liquids emitting strange smoke. And in one corner lay two cocoons, tightly wrapped in white thread. They seemed to be the two Users she had captured earlier.
Vivian asked me to wait a moment, then gently set me down on the floor. Ever since she'd begged for her life, Vivian had been careful with every single one of her actions. She then left me to look around the workshop and began to move about busily.
After rummaging around for a while, Vivian began to neatly stack things one by one in front of me. She was working so hard, I found myself thinking, She's really putting her back into this. Watching Vivian drop one last old, square box with a thud, I seriously debated whether I should actually let her live.
Vivian lifted a long leg to wipe the sweat from her face, then began to speak, cautiously studying my expression. From what I'd seen, she was a monster whose mood could change in an instant, so I had no idea when she might bare her fangs at me again. After steeling myself and raising my guard, I listened to what she had to say.
“Phew. That's everything. There's more, but I doubt you'd like any of it. Anyway, I brought out everything I thought would be useful by human standards. I really hope you like it.”
I shook my head as I watched her giggle. She was once a renowned alchemist; how could her intelligence have degenerated this much? No, before that, looking at the relationship between me and this monster, the roles were completely reversed. When you think about it, I was no different from an intruder or a thief, yet here she was, offering up her belongings on her own.
Then again, nothing is stronger than the will to live. Accepting the awkward situation, I picked up the large leather pouch on the far left. It was quite heavy, and the pouch bulged with small, distinct shapes, suggesting it was full. The quantity, at least, was acceptable. I immediately untied the string sealing the pouch, opened it, and peered inside. This was…
“These are… gemstones?”
“Yohohoho. Yep. Humans generally like gemstones, don't they? I had a time when I was human, and I really loved shiny things back then. Anyway, I picked out only the best quality ones. With just that one pouch, you won't have to worry about making a living for a while. What do you think? Don't you like them?”
“Hmm.”
Unable to shake her anxiety, Vivian kept glancing at my face as she spoke. Watching her passionately extol the value of the gems, I slowly nodded. Indeed. Vivian wasn't wrong. The value of the gemstones in the pouch was certainly incredible.
I swallowed hard and slowly nodded again. Inside the pouch was a handful of gemstones emitting a brilliant light. Just at a glance, I could see amethyst, aquamarine, diamond, emerald, ruby, opal, topaz, and more. You could tell just by looking at their lustrous sheen that they were of the highest quality.
In Hall Plain, gemstones were popular as ornaments, but Mages valued them even more because they provided many benefits related to their Classes. Kim Hanbyul—the Jewel Mage, a Secret Class—suddenly came to mind. Since her magic likely consumed gems, showing her this pouch would have helped her immensely.
But I immediately dismissed Hanbyul from my thoughts. She had kicked away her own good fortune. I understood her feelings, but if the future remained unchanged, the Golden Lion Clan’s dissolution was already certain.
As a satisfied smile spread across my face, Vivian's expression brightened.
“Good. I almost feel bad for taking these.”
“Ehehe. Oh, it's nothing. Nothing is more precious than life. And besides, I don't really have any use for them anyway.”
She's really obsessed with staying alive. In any case, I set the pouch of gems aside and picked up another leather pouch next to it. When I lifted it, the clinking sound suggested it was full of gold coins. This pouch was also stuffed. Looking inside, I saw gold coins gleaming with the clear, golden light I'd expected.
“Hmm. Gold coins. Looks to be about 200 Gold. Is this all the gold you have?”
I could estimate the amount by fiddling with the leather pouch and tossing it up and down in my hand. It wasn't a small amount, but the gemstones before were so incredible that I felt a little disappointed. Sensing my mood, Vivian flinched and fidgeted with her legs. Finally, she spoke in a dejected voice.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s exactly 204 Gold, 27 Silver, and 306 Bronze… I was never very greedy for coins, but I scraped together everything I had… Sob. That really is all of it. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve saved more… Please forgive me.”
Vivian, who had been on the verge of tears as she spoke, finally let a single tear fall. Startled, I hurriedly tried to console the spider before me.
“Ah, no. It's fine. Really, it's okay. There, there. Don't cry, lift your head.”
An intruder who came to rob the dungeon was consoling its master, while the master bowed her head and begged for forgiveness. Even for the Hall Plain, this was a truly rare sight. Having suddenly become the bad guy shaking her down, I broke into a cold sweat as I comforted Vivian.
At my words of comfort, Vivian nodded and then wiped her tears with one of her legs. …Ah. No matter how many times I see it, I just can't get used to it. As I neatly placed the pouch next to the gems, Vivian pointed to the next bag with a determined look on her face. It was three or four times larger than the gem and coin pouches, almost the size of a sack.
“Th-this one! You'll really like this one!”
“O-oh. Okay, okay. I'll look now. Thanks, really.”
“Yep. Hurry and look. Hehe.”
Vivian started to untie the bag for me, but then looked at her own legs and pouted. She slid the bag over to me. I opened it easily and checked the contents. Seeing how confident she was, I grew curious about what was inside.
Inside were numerous glass bottles holding liquids of many colors, probably potions Vivian had made herself. Looking over the neatly arranged bottles, I immediately activated Third Eye. As I stared into the bag, I heard Vivian clear her throat.
“Ahem. You see those potions? Ahem! As for what kinds there are…”
“There are some High-grade Healing Potions… Hmm. No top-grade ones, though. A shame. I see some Mana Recovery Potions, too… Poison. This could be useful. Antidote Potion. Mm. If there's poison, there has to be an antidote. Oh? Is this an Explosive Potion? This is good. And… Huh. This is an aphrodisiac?”
As I murmured the information revealed by Third Eye, Vivian abruptly fell silent. I looked up at the strange gaze directed at me and found the spider staring in disbelief. Why is she looking at me like that? Still, she had offered several useful items, so my mood had softened considerably. I addressed her gently.
“What is it?”
“Are you… by any chance, an alchemist? Weren't you a swordsman?”
“Hm? Yeah. I'm not an alchemist. Why do you ask?”
“Huh? Ah, no. I mean… It's nothing. Yep. Nothing at all…”
I tilted my head as she squeezed her eyes shut. Ah. Could it be… that she lost her nerve because I beat her to the punch just as she was about to proudly explain everything? Feeling a pang of guilt, I smacked my lips. I gave one of her legs a pat of encouragement and then took stock of the three pouches I'd received so far.
The gold coins didn't mean much anyway, since I already had 1,000 Gold on me as spare funds. But the pouch of gems and the set of potions were a huge jackpot. I could save the gems and give them to a talented mage I recruit later, or use them to craft various weapons. The potions needed no explanation. As long as I was in the Hall Plain, there would be endless opportunities to use them. With a pleased heart, I reached for the last remaining item: the old box. The fact that it was a box this time, not a pouch, filled me with pleasant anticipation.
As I pulled the old box in front of me, Vivian's eyes sparkled. She seemed a little anxious, but the emotion that showed through this time could be seen as pride. After exchanging a brief glance with her, I immediately opened the box. And. Inside was a single, old book. This was…
『Congratulations. You have discovered a Rare Class. After reading and acquiring this book, you may change your Class to Chimera Alchemist.』
A message floated in the air. But before I could even finish reading it, another message appeared.
『Chimera Alchemist is an advanced Mage Class. It allows the creation of chimeras and, when linked with a summoning circle, the summoning of beings from other dimensions. Inheritance is recommended for a Mage specializing in magic circles or a User trained in summoning.』
『User Kim Soohyun’s current Class is Sword Specialist, a top-tier Secret Class of the Swordsman line. You may acquire the book, but an assessment of your Unique, Special, and Latent Abilities indicates that its efficiency would fall to 70% or less. Your 96 points in Magic Power can recover 20% of the lost efficiency. Acquisition is nevertheless not recommended.』
“Oh…”
“That book is a compilation of the essence of all the alchemy I've learned, from my time as an alchemist to the process of how I became like this. Any mage who sees it will be drooling, I tell you.”
“…”
“Umm… you don't like it?”
Vivian spoke quietly while I stared into empty space. I quickly shook my head and picked up the book with a trembling hand. Rare and Secret Classes that I had never found despite all my searching during the first run were appearing one after another. Futility and overwhelming excitement washed through me at once.
Chimera Alchemist had never appeared during the first run. From what I remembered hearing, the expedition had failed to kill the Dungeon Master and allowed her to escape. Vivian must have taken this book with her. I would not know everything for certain until someone acquired the book, but its status as a Rare Class alone made it an enormous prize. My frustration and hardship seemed to melt away as I spoke excitedly.
“No. I love it. More than the gems, more than the potions, I like this book the most. A book containing the essence of an alchemist. This will be incredibly useful.”
“R-really? Hehe. What a strange male. Hehehe. To like it that much.”
Pleased that the path she had walked and her achievements were being acknowledged, Vivian squirmed and showed a shy expression. I let out a small laugh and carefully put the book away. Even if I had to throw everything else away, I was determined to take this book with me. Not that I had any intention of throwing the other things away, of course. Seeing this, Vivian continued in a sweet, coaxing voice.
“Anyway. You're satisfied then, right? You're going to let me live, right?”
I was about to answer “Yes,” but I kept my mouth shut. Honestly, at this point, I didn't particularly feel like killing her. This was more than enough, but I still felt like there was something more I could get out of her. As I pondered what that could be, I snapped my fingers with a click! I'd felt like something was left unresolved, and it turned out there was one more thing I needed to get.