Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 225
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 225
Wrong circle, wrong formula, and even incorrect alchemical tools!
With the failure factors so certain, it was only natural that a slime would be created even in the hands of a genius like Lion.
Bubble… bubble bubble…
The Dawn Dew began to boil.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t boiling.
The temperature hadn’t risen, after all.
But clearly, bubbles rose in the placid water that had only been lapping gently, and it undulated strangely.
Something like a palm would protrude and vanish, and at times it puckered like lips.
‘Ugh.’
It was quite repulsive.
It was enough to understand why alchemists were so horrified by slimes.
As the clear dew gradually took on the characteristic sticky viscosity of slimes, the bubbling sound grew duller.
At first it sounded like a stew boiling, then like thick syrup burbling.
Then, at the last, a bizarre noise like a few bubbles barely popping up through thick, muddy liquid reached his ears.
Kreee…
By the time the sound made you wonder how it could even make such a noise, the Dawn Dew… no, the ‘Slime Made from Dawn Dew’ revealed its hideous form.
[Alchemy failed.]
[※Caution※ A Dawn Dew Slime is being created.]
As soon as it obtained its own form, the thing immediately tried to attack Lion!
The moment its liquid hand stretched toward Lion!
Grab.
“This is just right.”
Lion caught the slime with one hand and examined it from all angles.
The feel of it in his hand was squishy, exactly like the toy slime that kids used to play with before his possession.
‘Come to think of it, they share the same name.’
He’d never realized it before.
Lion unconsciously kneaded the slime.
[‘Another Word for Failure is Slime’ achievement has been earned.]
[You have received 1,000 Shillings as a consolation prize.]
“Oh, Shillings.”
It might have been labeled a consolation prize, but it didn’t matter.
He had failed on purpose, after all.
“I can subdue a slime this small.”
Lion lowered his gaze to the slime.
The slime, no bigger than a fist, struggled to escape his grip, but unfortunately did not succeed.
Lion was too big for that…
The slime formed from gathered Dawn Dew was far too small.
With no other choice, the slime was destined to become Lion’s crafting tool.
“I’ll have to use this often from now on.”
Well, first things first—shaping this Blue Jade properly.
But before that…
Squish.
Lion felt a strange sense of déjà vu from the pleasantly clingy, squishy texture.
Strange, he’d never used a toy slime before, so why was it so familiar?
‘…Ah!’
He realized why it felt so familiar—it had a similar texture to the keyboard cleaner he used at his company before his possession!
‘Then I shouldn’t use it right away.’
Normally, you shouldn’t use a freshly opened cleaner right away; you need to knead it with your hands a bit.
Because at first it’s too damp and lacks viscosity, so when you try to wipe between the keys, pieces of the cleaner would just break off.
There were times when, instead of cleaning, the cleaner got stuck in the gaps and caused trouble.
‘Of course, right now I’m polishing a Blue Jade…’
Given the similar texture, the slime might just tear apart if I’m not careful.
Especially since the Blue Jade is still in raw stone form and has some pretty sharp edges.
“Let’s knead it a bit more.”
If others saw him kneading a slime, they’d be horrified, but Lion didn’t care.
If anything, it oddly felt like playing with a sensory toy.
‘No wonder enthusiasts would love this.’
He could see why slime had been popular with children and many adults before his possession.
After kneading it several more times like clay, the slime became a bit firmer, as expected.
It had shrunk a little due to evaporation, but it seemed enough to shape one Blue Jade.
“Alright, let’s get started.”
Lion picked up the Blue Jade sitting there by itself and began rubbing it with the slime.
Then the pebbles and dirt coating the Blue Jade were washed and ground away by the slime.
‘As expected, monsters are monsters.’
When he just kneaded it, it felt harmless, so he’d wondered if it would work, but its abrasive power was much stronger than he’d thought.
Well, that was why Freyania kept burning it with Salamander’s fire every time.
Of course, that wasn’t the case for Lion.
While the slime was changing, he had already firmly put on his gloves.
Rub-rub-rub.
Lion turned the Blue Jade this way and that, shaping it as best he could.
He didn’t need to facet it like a real gem to make the refraction pretty, but at least giving it a round shape seemed like a good idea.
“But it is a bit difficult.”
Even as he said that, a smile spread across Lion’s face.
For someone saying it was difficult, the work was progressing quite smoothly.
Lion rather liked this sensation—the act of sharpening his focus
in a situation that could easily fail and steering it to success.
In fact, if it hadn’t been for that, he wouldn’t have endured all those long years at the company before his possession.
Plop. Plop.
The more Lion immersed himself in the polishing work, the smaller the slime kept getting.
The murky water mixed with stones and debris dissolved and dripped onto the ground, forming muddy puddles.
Just when he thought that the Dawn Dew slime might be used up first at this rate…
“Phew!”
In Lion’s hand was a single bluish gem emitting a transparent luster.
[Aquamarine Crafted from Dawn Dew (Complete)]
One of the material list items, the Aquamarine, was complete!
Moreover, its shape was much better than he’d expected.
With not a single dent, the round shape looked quite plausible.
At the very least, it seemed perfect to use for dye after synthesis.
“Good. Next…”
From here on, it was fairly easy.
He took out the diamond that he had placed among the previously gathered fresh sprouts and checked its condition.
When first taken out, it looked like an ordinary diamond, but when held up to the morning sunlight just beginning to rise…
Sparkle!
Various shades of green scattered like seeing a forest in clear, sunny weather.
[Diamond Dyed with Fresh Tree Sprouts (Complete)]
Lion first placed the two gems into the alchemy cauldron, then went to the cottage’s front yard and took something out of his inventory.
Thud!
It was a huge barrel of pomegranate wine bought from Buck’s father.
Lion turned the barrel so that the cork fixed to its side faced upward, stood it up, and took out a hammer.
“Alright, stay calm.”
Then he swung the hammer up and struck the area around the barrel’s cork with a series of heavy blows.
Carefully controlling his strength so he wouldn’t damage the wood, he kept striking it hard.
Pop!
The cork sealing the barrel shot free, opening the lid.
“Hmm. The aroma is still good.”
As soon as the lid opened, a wonderful fragrance spread from the few drops of pomegranate wine that splashed out.
Maybe because the scent of the oak barrel came with it, the flavor seemed deeper.
After fully enjoying the aroma, Lion pushed a long pair of tongs deep inside the barrel and fished something out.
It was the pomegranate petals that had been added when making the pomegranate wine.
The petals he retrieved were steeped in the alcohol and so delicate they seemed ready to crumble at any moment.
Lion carefully wrapped the ruby with those petals.
The original recipe didn’t go into such detail…
But since he was making it, he thought it would be good to use every part corresponding to ‘crimson pomegranate.’
Lion dropped the tightly wrapped ruby into the barrel with a plunk and covered it again with the cork stopper.
Originally, it would take at least a few days to pickle the ruby.
“But I don’t have time.”
He was scheduled to go to the imperial capital within a few days. And since he had agreed to part ways with Marquis Bydantis at the capital, he had to finish everything from preparation to completion within a few days.
Fortunately, Lion had a useful skill.
“Fermentation Acceleration.”
Lion ran his hand over the tightly closed barrel and used the skill.
After standing guard over the barrel for a little over an hour, Lion pulled out the cork stopper again as he had done earlier, poked around in the wine barrel with the long tongs, and retrieved the ruby, grinning widely.
“No need to check.”
[Ruby Steeped in Crimson Pomegranate Wine (Complete)]
The system window already announced completion.
Lion peeled off the pomegranate petals and checked the contents.
The ruby, which originally had an intense red color, was now giving off an even deeper, more brilliant crimson.
“Good. Now that it’s all done.”
Now all he had to do was synthesize these materials.
Lion wiped the thoroughly steeped, luscious ruby with a towel, tossed it into the alchemy cauldron, and closed the lid.
Then he firmly held the lid down with both hands.
Surely, as the three gems merged and turned into pigment, a strong force would be emitted.
Vwwwom.
Already, the gems resonated with one another, releasing power.
A subtle vibration could be felt at his fingertips holding the lid shut.
And whenever the lid lifted slightly as the contained force pushed against it, brilliant light leaked out.
‘The power… is no joke.’
Lion was a bit taken aback.
It was stronger than he’d anticipated when inferring the recipe.
Had his strength declined recently? But no.
Compared to before, his stamina had increased, not decreased.
‘But it’s this strong?’
Clang, clang-clang-clang!
Not just the lid, but the cauldron itself rattled from the powerful force.
Inside, there were even popping sounds as if firecrackers were going off.
Sharp sounds like something scraping the inside of the cauldron could also be heard, as though the three gems were struggling to merge.
Lion recognized this phenomenon.
This was…
‘This looks like something better than I thought is about to come out.’
Sometimes, when a result a tier higher than what Lion had planned was about to emerge, this kind of phenomenon occurred.
The Fish Pill had been a prime example.
A smile naturally spread across Lion’s lips.
An unexpected good outcome was always something to look forward to.
And to bring that result to fruition intact, he had to do his best.
Lion pressed down on the lid with all his might and held on.
At first he only held it with his hands, but then he practically climbed on top of the lid to hold it down.
Beads of sweat formed and dripped from his forehead.
And the moment that droplet of sweat plopped onto the lid…
Bwoom!
Lion’s body, which had been riding atop the lid, was launched into the air!
Together with the lid!
In Lion’s vision, along with the blue sky, something shining like an aurora appeared.
[Due to Artisan’s Touch, the processed item’s value greatly increases!]
Along with the notification that Artisan’s Touch had succeeded…
Flop!
“Ack!”
And he landed flat on his face onto the soft grass, looking utterly undignified.
Fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured, so he was able to spring up and head to the cauldron.
Peek.
Lion very carefully peered inside the cauldron.
And there…
Three lumps of gemstone in a form he had never seen before were sitting there, emitting an aurora-like light.
“Huh…?”
It looked quite different from the ‘gem pigment’ he had originally planned.
I mean, if it’s pigment, it should obviously be in powder form.
But what was inside the cauldron was, no matter who looked…
“…they’re gems, aren’t they?”