Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Elixirs and Stage Escape
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Click.
"Here too."
Click.
Lee Seo-jun, who had been dutifully taking photos at my words, glanced at me.
He seemed like he had something to say, but his mouth was firmly shut.
"Got something to say?"
"......No. Any other spots to shoot?"
"Hmm...... over here."
Click.
"This should do it."
"Okay. Wow. But I never imagined we'd take down an A-Rank monster."
"Yeah."
I hadn't expected the rock to collapse so suddenly either.
Still, the results were good, so I was satisfied.
"Oh, right. Let's cut off this hide."
The hide of the giant black rock lizard was extremely tough and was widely used as material for armor. Plus, its rarity made it valuable—at least fifty million won, even if not top-tier.
"Oh, this hide is super expensive, right?"
"Yeah. At least fifty million won."
"......Jackpot."
Lee Seo-jun's mouth fell open.
Then he hurriedly started slicing off the hide with his sword.
After about five minutes of hide removal, Lee Seo-jun brushed the dust off his clothes and stood up. I did the same and collected the hide.
"All done. I'll hold onto this hide and let you know when I sell it."
"Got it. So, should we go write that report now? Head to a cafe right away?"
I shook my head at Lee Seo-jun's suggestion.
"Nah, I've got plans this evening."
"Plans? With who?"
I paused at Lee Seo-jun's question.
The person I was meeting was none other than Han Se-yeon. But being fully honest with Lee Seo-jun felt a bit much.
"Just someone I know."
"Hmm. Really? Now I'm curious."
I gave a wry smile instead of answering.
"Anyway, it's a secret, right?"
It was like he knew I had some grand secret but wouldn't pry.
I debated saying something but decided to just go along with it since it was indeed a secret.
"Yeah. Secret, so don't ask."
Afternoon. I changed into Kim Jin-woo's outfit and entered a famous coffee chain in Seoul, the meeting spot.
As I stepped inside, a familiar silhouette caught my eye.
She was wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask—suspicious as hell at first glance.
"Hello."
I greeted her and sat across from her.
"Nice to see you. It's been a while."
"But you know your current look is super suspicious, right?"
At my words, the woman in front of me lowered her sunglasses slightly.
Clear, transparent eyes met mine.
"Still, this draws less attention."
I gave a wry smile at her words.
Han Se-yeon.
Pretty much no one in Korea doesn't know her, so she wasn't wrong. And with her strikingly beautiful looks, she'd stand out more than other celebrities.
"First, let me hand over the goods."
Han Se-yeon grunted as she pulled a heavy case from under the table and set it on top.
"Making these was seriously tough."
Zap. Han Se-yeon glared at me.
I gave an awkward smile out of apology. Opening the bag revealed 100 bottles of mana elixir.
"Thanks for the hard work. You must've been busy."
"Oh, and as requested, I've mixed in mana elixirs with extended duration but reduced effect. The bottom four rows are those potions."
As she said, the potions in the bottom four rows were a different color.
[Amplified Mana Elixir 2 (C)
Type: Potion
Description: Upon consumption, mana recovery speed increases by 150% for 20 minutes. After the duration ends, mana exhaustion occurs for 10 minutes.]
Duration extended, side effect time drastically reduced. This was the potion I'd requested for magic training.
The mana elixir I was using now had great effects but issues with duration and side effect time, making it unsuitable for training.
The downside was the sharply reduced mana recovery boost, but since it was for training, I'd have to be satisfied.
Now, time for the reward.
I pulled the Sun-Moon Pharmaceutics Manual from my pocket.
Han Se-yeon glanced at the book and spoke.
"What's this?"
"A gift."
At the word "gift," Han Se-yeon looked intrigued. She took the book from me and started skimming the contents.
Her initially curious expression gradually hardened.
She looked at me with meaningful eyes and said.
"Where did you get this?"
"Can't say details."
She narrowed her eyes at my response, then nodded.
"......Yeah, that makes sense. No way you'd get this legitimately. Plus, it's famous for being stolen in the past."
Looks like Han Se-yeon knew a lot about this book.
Well, as a pharmacist, she'd naturally be interested.
Han Se-yeon continued.
"This book's value is pretty high. Some of the Sun-Moon Sect's medicines it describes contain special techniques that still haven't been fully uncovered."
She checked the contents again as she spoke.
"Hmm...... Doesn't look forged at all."
"So, like the gift?"
At my question, Han Se-yeon pondered with a troubled face.
"More scary than likable, honestly. A legendary item whispered about among pharmacists suddenly in my hands."
Han Se-yeon set the book down with a serious expression.
"You don't have to take it."
I reached for the book to take it back. Then Han Se-yeon swiftly snatched it and hugged it to her chest.
"No. That's that, and this is this."
Han Se-yeon smiled brightly. Greed shone in her eyes. I'd momentarily forgotten—the Han family greed running through her veins.
"I'll take good care of it and make good use of it."
Caught off guard by the sudden shift, I nodded.
Han Se-yeon looked at me satisfied and spoke.
"But seriously, what do you do for a living to get something like this?"
"Told you earlier. Secret."
"So many secrets......
Han Se-yeon pouted. I chuckled quietly.
"Oh, and keep today's business secret too. You know what I mean?"
It wasn't obtained fair and square, so keep your mouth shut. Han Se-yeon caught the meaning and smiled.
"Got it. And if I develop new drugs with the techniques in this book, I'll call them Han Pharma originals. No one will notice anyway."
I nodded contentedly. As expected—one word and she gets ten.
Jang Ye continued investigating rumors from inside the barrier back then. But unlike before, she refrained from asking people around directly for info.
With her high recognition at school, her suspicious behavior might spark rumors.
"......I just wanna ask Lee Seo-jun straight up."
But according to info from the Ten Demon Society, Lee Seo-jun had already sensed something off about the incident from his talk with Seong-jin.
Asking him outright would definitely raise suspicion.
Now that she'd decided to kill him, she had to avoid anything that'd make him suspicious.
That's why she hadn't asked Shin Young-jun or Lee Hyun-joo yet, the ones closest to Lee Seo-jun.
Of course, she wouldn't avoid Shin Young-jun and Lee Hyun-joo forever.
She'd ask them about the incident on the day of Monster Field Survival, when she'd decided to kill Lee Seo-jun.
"But I'm a bit uneasy."
Jang Ye suddenly thought of Kim Sun-woo.
Frustrated with the stalled investigation, she'd asked Kim Sun-woo about that day in a fit of anger.
As far as she knew, excluding Shin Young-jun and Lee Hyun-joo, Kim Sun-woo was closest to Lee Seo-jun.
She worried a bit if asking him was pointless, but soon dismissed it.
The Kim Sun-woo she'd seen didn't seem the type to spout nonsense.
"......Hmm. But they say Kim Sun-woo is suspicious too."
Jang Ye glanced at a news article photo of Kim Jin-woo online.
They looked alike.
Even with beard and glasses covering his face, the resemblance was uncanny. Especially the eyes—they were identical.
Honestly, even twins wouldn't look this alike.
"......Is this just coincidence?"
But the conclusion from before stood.
Kim Sun-woo had no connection to Kim Jin-woo. Checking Kim Sun-woo's personal records showed no links whatsoever.
Though there were a few odd points.
Her head hurt from overthinking, so she stood up.
She opened a drawer in the room and gripped the glowing red stone, the bloodstone.
After days of absorption, it had shrunk noticeably from its original size. Now about the length of a finger joint.
Injecting mana, the bloodstone glowed red, and the mana inside began accumulating in her body.
Thus, after a long time, the second midterm exams began.
The midterms lasted a week, like before.
Schedule-wise: Monday to Wednesday for theory and practical exams, then Thursday to Friday for the 2-day, 1-night Monster Field Survival.
Naturally, Monster Field Survival held the biggest weight in scoring.
Perfect for evaluating comprehensive abilities in a 2-day wilderness test.
Anyway, I aced various exams successfully from Monday to Wednesday morning.
Physical tests, mana control evaluations, written exams—thanks to my improved mana skills over weeks, I scored top ranks in most.
"Alright! Now, we'll begin the 2-Person Stage Escape Exam."
And Wednesday, 2 PM.
Fifty students gathered in front of the artificial tower next to the school’s back mountain.
Today's exam: Stage Escape Competition.
A test designed to escape special stages that appear in towers or dungeons.
The unique part: team play, not solo.
"Teams are random. There are rank adjustment points, so no worries even if paired with someone way higher-ranked. Scoring based on escape speed and your final ranking."
The explaining teacher looked around at us, then spoke again.
"Now, announcing teams."
Wonder who I'll get. Hope it's someone skilled.
"Team 1: Lee Seo-jun, Jeong Tae-hoon."
Lee Seo-jun got paired with some extra I didn't know.
"Team 2: Yoo Ah-ra, Kim Sun-woo."
Yoo Ah-ra...... me?
A pure white space.
In a small circular room littered with unidentified tools and models.
This was the first stage of the Stage Escape Exam.
Yoo Ah-ra and I looked around, assessing the situation.
"Kinda cramped. And plain with the all-white room."
"Yeah."
"By the way, didn't expect to team up with you."
Yoo Ah-ra glanced at me and said.
"Why? Not happy?"
"No, actually think it's a good matchup."
I smiled slightly at her words. I was pleased to be with Yoo Ah-ra too. Her skills aside, I respected her drive for first place.
To boost her confidence, I said one thing.
"You've never beaten Lee Seo-jun in an exam, right?"
Did I hit her sore spot? Yoo Ah-ra narrowed her eyes immediately.
"What? What'd you just say?"
"Look forward to it. Today, I'll make you beat Lee Seo-jun for the first time."
"You're funny. What makes you so confident?"
Yoo Ah-ra said curtly.
"Stage escapes are my specialty, believe it or not."
She glared at my response, then snorted.
"I'll watch if you can back up that confidence."
"Yeah, don't be shocked."
"Hmm. So, what first?"
At Yoo Ah-ra's question, I scanned the surroundings.
"Find the exit first."
Stage Escape Exam is like an escape room cafe. Find the exit, gather clues to escape.
I looked around for clues. The walls had various patterns and odd items whose purpose I couldn't guess.
Memories from before regression started surfacing faintly. So the exit is......
"Isn't this it?"
Then Yoo Ah-ra pointed at something. At her fingertip was an incomplete magic circle.
"Yeah, that's it. Magic circle."
Past memories flooded back vividly.
Complete this magic circle to escape the stage.
Of course, this circle can't be completed with Outsider's Grace. That only helps with deciphering or solving, not creating.
"Find clues to complete this magic circle."
"You talk like you've done this before."
"It's obvious at a glance."
Yoo Ah-ra eyed me suspiciously but nodded.
"Hmm...... okay? Clues, huh."
And so Yoo Ah-ra and I began hunting for stage escape clues.
Truth is, while Outsider's Grace couldn't complete the circle, other special tools were all visible, so clues came quick.
"Found one."
I picked up a blue glowing orb from the floor.
Pressing the glowing part and injecting mana made part of the magic circle float up.
"Oh."
Yoo Ah-ra looked at me with wonder.
"Input this into the exit magic circle."
"Okay."
Yoo Ah-ra looked at the circle, then used mana to draw it exactly on the exit circle. It fit perfectly. Part of the circle restored.
Good start.
"Let's find the rest quick."
I thoroughly checked everywhere. With Outsider's Grace, glowing items were obvious—I grabbed and checked them right away.
"Got another."
"Already?"
"Yeah. See the hole in this wall? Put the orb there."
Yoo Ah-ra hesitated briefly, then inserted the orb.
Flash!
"Whoa? Wait, really?"
Yoo Ah-ra looked shocked at the magic circle part that appeared on the wall.
"How'd you know to put it here?"