We Survived

[Ramus Tucker’s Introduction to Alchemy — Heroic Grade — Alchemist Only]

Heroic Grade?

Having an item like this in front of me, it wasn’t really all that surprising that I’d abandon the black-magic parrot.

Honestly, the stat increases weren’t much to write home about.

Just 1 mana and 1 intelligence.

And yet, when I thought about the fact that the item itself was Heroic Grade, I figured it must be packed with far more knowledge than I could imagine.

As Kim Hyunsung said, the status window doesn’t lie.

If that book had been judged to be a Heroic-grade item, then it would undoubtedly contain knowledge worthy of the rank.

“What do you think?”

“……”

What caught me off guard was how suddenly such an item had appeared.

Glancing at his face, it looked like he’d realized he’d made a mistake.

He was human, after all, so it was only natural for him to make errors, but even he seemed embarrassed that he’d fallen so completely for Park Deokgu’s half-joking provocation.

Of course, I had to admit there was something strangely moving about that soul-shaking cry of his, but for once, Kim Hyunsung actually looked a little cute.

“Where did you even get something like this?”

“It was in the box with the rest of the things back then. I didn’t think I’d have any use for it, but the timing seemed good, so….”

“Still, hyung does suit a black mage better….”

“It’s a Heroic-grade item, after all. I’m not an alchemist, so I couldn’t read it myself, but I’m sure it’ll be better than you expect. Considering it’s only one step below Legendary… this is probably the best use for it. More than anything, I don’t like the idea of letting something like this go to waste.”

“But still… a black mage… hyung….”

Even in this situation, Park Deokgu was still muttering about black mages.

It was a ridiculous excuse to begin with.

The ring they’d given us, and the bracelet Park Deokgu had been gifted, were probably just as unlikely to be found in this place.

The idea that a treasure chest had suddenly popped out somewhere was a little too forced.

Even if I were to be generous and accept that he’d somehow obtained it by chance, the notion that a book like this happened to be here still felt pretty unconvincing.

So he’s just going to brazen it out.

But looking at Kim Hyunsung’s face, it seemed he’d decided to pretend he didn’t hear anything.

I didn’t know whether he’d regressed with his inventory intact, or whether he was using some shop or another that still hadn’t been opened to us, but I was certain that leather bag of his contained more than I could possibly imagine.

If he had regressed with the inventory itself, then his mistake was at least understandable. But if it was the latter, then it meant he’d been taken in by Park Deokgu’s soul-shaking cry and bought the item on the spot.

However I looked at it, it was an alarming object.

Deciding there was no point in thinking about it any further, I nodded at once.

“To be honest, black mage was tempting too, but I think alchemist suits me better.”

Only then did Kim Hyunsung’s face finally brighten.

“That’s the right decision.”

“Thank you.”

After my body flashed blue for a moment, I could tell for sure that the class change had gone through.

All at once, basic alchemical knowledge poured into my head.

Not bad.

It was difficult, sure, but not to the point of being incomprehensible. When I smiled in satisfaction, I had the strange feeling that Kim Hyunsung’s expression toward me had shifted a little too.

It seemed my internal rating in his head had gone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up.

From a usable administrator to a alchemist worth cultivating — that had to be the change.

Not exactly bad news.

It meant I’d become that much more precious to him.

“Congratulations, Kiyoung.”

“Hng… it’s a shame, but if hyung has made his choice….”

“Congratulations, Oppa.”

“Thank you. And thank you too, Deokgu, Hayan. I’ll gratefully accept the gift, Hyunsung. I seem to be doing nothing but receiving lately.”

I was especially grateful to Park Deokgu.

“Not at all. If Kiyoung gets stronger, then we can say our whole party has gotten stronger, so it’s only natural. In fact, I’m the one who’s happier, since I got to help you.”

“I’ll live up to your expectations.”

Of course, now that things had come to this, I had to live up to those expectations no matter what.

The more Kim Hyunsung invested in me, the more results I needed to deliver if I wanted him to keep investing.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

In other words, I was stock now.

Kim Hyunsung had put money into Lee Kiyoung stock, and there was no doubt he was waiting for it to hit the upper limit.

Even if I crashed to the floor, he wouldn’t abandon me, but it was just as obvious that the size of his investment would shrink.

If I wanted to keep getting funded, I had to keep showing him that I was growing.

“You don’t have to go that far. Haha. For today, let’s just rest here. We’ve walked plenty, and since we haven’t found any proper place yet, I don’t think there’s anywhere suitable for camping down here.”

“Yes. We’ll do that. Deokgu.”

“Right, I’ll go do a quick cleanup around here.”

I gave a small nod.

It was basically sleeping rough, but even so, tidying up the area a little was the right thing to do.

There wasn’t much to it, but a passable sleeping spot came together in no time.

Feeling like the long tutorial was finally nearing its end, I gave a slight nod to myself.

The survival quest still hadn’t been completed, but given that Kim Hyunsung didn’t look especially anxious, it was fair to say the dungeon clear was essentially in its final stage.

Whether it was finding the entrance or dealing with the dungeon’s master, this party would get through it without too much trouble.

When I turned my head, their figures came into view.

Seeing Jung Hayan nodding off and Park Deokgu already snoring loud enough to shake the dungeon made me laugh.

Even though I knew I was supposed to sleep for tomorrow’s sake, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

No, to be precise, I couldn’t sleep.

Alchemy.

I had to sort out the new knowledge I’d gained.

For now, it wasn’t something I could put to use immediately.

To do real alchemy, I’d need a whole set of equipment.

And there wasn’t even a catalyst here that could be used for alchemical magic.

Still, it was only natural ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that I study in advance. Since even整理ing basic alchemical knowledge would take time, I decided not to open Ramus Tucker’s Introduction to Alchemy just yet.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“I can’t seem to fall asleep.”

To survive, I had to level myself up.

It was only fitting to describe it as the passion born from training myself, of course, but more than that, it was a mindset that refused to settle for staying in one place.

Potion refinement, the basic principles of homunculi, the relationship between alchemical catalysts and mana — none of it was simple.

I could feel Kim Hyunsung staring at me, but naturally, I didn’t pay the gaze any mind.

In fact, I wanted him to keep watching.

I’m working hard, investor-san.

Simply showing him this was already a gain.

By the time Kim Hyunsung nodded with a satisfied look on his face, I was even more satisfied than he was.

When enough time had passed, morning had already come.

I hadn’t slept a wink, but I didn’t regret it.

The party members slowly got to their feet, and I saw them chatting casually as they set off once again.

The atmosphere wasn’t gloomy so much as relaxed.

Along the way, Kim Hyunsung cracked jokes now and then, and Park Deokgu laughed so hard at them it sounded like he was about to bring the dungeon down around our ears.

Kim Hyunsung looked as though he’d found a little breathing room.

And the others probably sensed that shift in him too, little by little.

So there isn’t a dungeon boss.

Probably not.

I kept my guard up enough to watch the surroundings carefully, but nobody looked like they were about to go into a life-or-death battle.

They seemed a little lighter, maybe even a bit worried about what came next, but to put it more accurately, it felt like they thought the real thing was only just beginning.

It’s the beginning.

It wasn’t over.

This was where it started.

As if all the wandering from the very beginning had been a lie, this party centered around Kim Hyunsung gradually found its way out of that hellish place.

There were a few fights along the way, but nothing worth getting tense over.

After walking for quite a while, we finally saw an entrance ahead that looked a little different from everything around it.

“I just hope some monster doesn’t come bursting out.”

“We’ll go in after we’ve finished battle preparations.”

“Hey, let me take the lead.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

The large door opened, and a familiar voice reached my ears.

When the door opened and I looked around, there wasn’t any monster in sight.

What met my eyes was a place that looked like some sort of temple.

There was a strange magic circle in the center, and another door on the opposite side.

Park Deokgu hurried over and tried pushing the door, but as expected, it wouldn’t budge.

“Looks like the door won’t open.”

“There’s probably some condition attached to it. Which means getting out of here must be the clear condition.”

It was right then that I realized the situation had changed a little.

Unlike me, Park Deokgu, and Jung Hayan, who were all hesitating a bit, Kim Hyunsung slowly raised a hand as though he were looking at something he knew very well.

When he gently sent mana into the magic circle at the center, it began to shine.

The sight of everyone staring blankly at it was almost comical.

“Mana… that was it.”

There hadn’t been any grand riddle required for the clear.

The answer was mana itself, a medium completely apart from the world we came from.

“Hyung.”

“I know.”

Kim Hyunsung clenched his fist, his expression one of quiet triumph.

He didn’t show his feelings very openly, but his face genuinely looked happy.

At first glance he might have looked as though he were crying, but it was nothing like that.

Unlike his shoulders, which trembled intermittently, his face radiated an enormous sense of accomplishment, so I was sure my read on him was right.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

For an ending that took place in such a miserable place, it was a lovely sight.

The lights bursting from the ground rose toward the high ceiling, and the light above the ceiling filled the entire place.

Seeing the door on the opposite side slowly opening, I knew for sure we were finally leaving this godawful place.

Sunlight poured down, utterly different from any artificial light.

Sunlight.

What came into view wasn’t a landscape, but people holding armor and weapons. A woman who seemed to be their representative quietly approached us.

“Congratulations on surviving the tutorial. I’m Lee Sanghee, the person in charge of this tutorial dungeon.”

We had survived.

That was the moment it truly hit me.