Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Unexpected News
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ We had a bland soybean paste soup without tofu or any decent vegetables, mixing it with rice. But for Juha and Eunha's sake, I pulled out a ton of side dishes, and the two of them widened their eyes and wolfed down several bowls.
It was satisfying to watch them eat so well, so I kept encouraging them... until they started saying they felt like throwing up. Still, it felt pretty rewarding.
The Japanese folks, though, seemed unused to picking at their food like that.
"How's the taste?"
I asked Hayato, who was silently chewing his rice. Hotaro, sitting next to him, quickly translated for me.
"Uh... He says it's delicious. B-but a little spicy..."
"Yeah? Can't be helped. If it's too spicy for them, there's nothing we can do. They'll just have to get used to it. By the way, Hotaro, your Korean's getting better every day, huh?"
"Hehe. Thank you! I'm always working hard!"
I nodded and picked at my teeth with a toothpick. Then Ha Jin-seong brought over a man and a woman.
"Bro. These two speak Japanese."
"Really?"
"Yeah. This one's mom is Japanese. And this one lived in Japan for about five years working there. Both are near-native level. They speak Korean well too."
"Whoa... Jin-seong, you really deliver when given a task. Good work."
"Hahaha. No big deal. I'll go grab lunch now!"
"Yeah. Good job. Go eat."
Ha Jin-seong bowed his head and hurried off to get his meal.
"You two eaten?"
"Uh... Yes! We have!"
"Me too!"
Both of them stood rigidly at attention. They knew full well I was the leader of this group—and a madman who sacrificed people on a whim.
"What do you usually do?"
"I mainly patrol around the buildings!"
"I-I mostly do laundry and odd jobs..."
The guy was an Awakened, the woman a non-Awakened.
"Alright, you're off those duties now. Take care of these people, got it?"
"Yes! Loud and clear!"
"Yes!"
"There are eight Japanese people here total. Help them pick up some basic Korean conversation as fast as possible. Hotaro can manage a bit, but the other seven struggle even with that."
"Yes! We'll do our best!"
"M-me too!!"
"Good. Take care of it."
I skipped Hiiro. He wasn't even at the meal site. Since I planned to kill him today or tomorrow anyway, feeding him felt like a waste, so I'd ordered him to stay on the rooftop and left him there.
Sora, his stepsister, didn't look the least bit sorry watching him suffer—in fact, she seemed thrilled. Must be a lot of resentment there. The other Japanese didn't seem to care much about Hiiro getting abused by me either.
They'd probably cut him loose quick since he wasn't helping their survival. Even fellow countrymen got ditched without hesitation. And honestly, that was smart. No point defending a dead man walking and getting burned yourself.
"Noona, grab that dragon head for me. And the flask with the spores."
"Huh? Flask? Oh, that. One sec."
Hee-sun Noona, sipping coffee, pulled out the black-horned dragon's head and the triangular flask with the parasitic spores. The head was still in pristine condition from my inventory— no decay, fresh blood dripping, perfect shape.
"I'm heading to the alchemist. Everyone eat up and rest."
"Okay! See you~"
"Yessir!"
I waved off their goodbyes and headed down to the second floor of the mart.
On the way, I ran into Dullahan Gu Gyohan and Lich Son Ha-eun and exchanged greetings. The Dullahan was still complaining about his throat being dry, and Son Ha-eun's skin had peeled off completely, leaving just bones. Wanted to chat more, but they had patrols soon, so I sent them off. Can't skip daily duties.
I made my way back to the alchemist's spot.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The black-horned dragon's head from Dragon Slayer Zeke was premium material for all sorts of items. But with no crafting skills myself, I decided to hand it to our group's best bet for handling it: the alchemist.
His workshop-like space had Hwang Su-min scribbling in a notebook alone. Next to her, Alcid-infected Yoon Ha-jun—wearing a beanie—stirred a pot. So that's where he'd been put to work.
"Ah, you're here."
"Hey, Su-min. Doing good? What've you been up to?"
"Eh, just tending to the old man. You?"
"Same old grind. Where's the alchemist?"
"Well... Think the coffee this morning didn't sit right. He's got the runs."
"Seriously? An alchemist gets tummy trouble from bad food? Figures. He's probably glued to the toilet."
"Yeah. Been in and out nonstop. Oh, right, Master."
"Yeah?"
"I think my class is changing."
"What? For real?"
"Yeah. Got a notice last night—official disciple of the alchemist. Once he acknowledges me, it changes from Mage to Witch. Seems like an advanced female Mage class. Feels like an upgrade from the base job."
I'd hoped for some class evolution when I assigned her to help him, but Witch? Not even Alchemist?
'A female Mage learning alchemy from an alchemist mentor... turns into a Witch...'
This felt like a hidden game mechanic. Eun-ji evolved via Oni's seal, but that was an in-game event.
This was totally undocumented. Without Hwang Su-min, we'd have missed it entirely. Sure, I bought the alchemist from the slave trader at a premium, but still—a huge discovery.
'High-rank starters like Cultist probably don't need it, but common ones like Warrior or Archer evolve with specific conditions...'
And crucially, almost no one else knew this.
"Su-min."
"Yes?"
"Wanna be one of my women?"
Half-joking. She wasn't strikingly pretty, but diligent, now a Witch, single—seemed like the quiet, supportive type. More playful invitation than confession.
"Uh... W-well..."
But she looked unenthused.
Why? A woman... turning me down?
Possible, sure, but I hadn't been rejected lately. Shocking, but not dramatic—no slap-and-fall-in-love chaebol heir vibes. Just curious.
"If you change your mind, say so. A Witch... I could hold you."
"N-no thanks. You have plenty of women. I... uh... I like small, cute guys. You're too big."
Not just preference—a straight no. Can't argue taste. Still, as an original-ish member, I wanted to hook her up.
"Fair enough. Next time I find one like that, I'll grab him for you."
"H-huh? Really...?"
She flustered but nodded, not hating the idea of a custom slave servant.
"Guess I'll hunt down the old man... Huh?"
Heading out to harass him in the bathroom, I caught Yoon Ha-jun—the Alcid carrier—sneakily dropping something into the pot, head bowed like hiding from me.
Looking closer, he was vomiting small eggs.
"You crazy bastard!! Those... larvae? You shit. I told you to report before spawning any."
"M-Master! Wait!! Th-this... Y-yeah! Unfertilized eggs!!"
"Unfertilized my ass!! I know you're some hermaphrodite laying your own spawn—where do you get off lying! Always bullshitting!"
I smacked the back of his head hard.
"Kieeeek!!! I-it's true!! Believe me!! I can't disobey your orders anyway!! Ow!! Hurts!!"
"Can't disobey...? Right, even a superpowered freak like you can't ignore my commands. So they really unfertilized?"
"Y-yes... I kept telling you..."
"...Sorry. So what're they for?"
"H-Hellas... said to make a telepathy potion with them..."
"Telepathy potion?"
"Y-yeah, I don't know details... Just following orders..."
"Hm. He's got plans. Keep at it."
"O-okay..."
The bug-man cowered after a few hits; wanted to squash him, but held back. Alchemist Hellas was experimenting with his unfertilized eggs—can't ruin that on impulse.
Smacking my lips, I left the workshop for the bathroom. Right then, Hellas emerged.
"Ah... You're here?"
"Heard coffee wrecked you."
"Ah, yes. Better now. Took some medicine. Need something...? Huh? Master. That in your hand..."
"This? Recognize it?"
"H-how... A black-horned dragon head... here..."
The alchemist nailed it instantly.
"N-no way... You hunted it yourself?"
"Nah. Picked it up."
"W-what hellhole did you crawl through... to find a dragon head? Incredible..."
I handed it over for him to craft with.
But frail old Hellas couldn't lift it—nearly crushed. I hauled it back to the workshop myself.
"What can you make?"
"Well, dragon head... Permanent mana boost potion... Short-range teleport scroll... Dragon's Breath scroll... Ego Sword... or Ego Grimoire... And more..."
The list of insane items left me chuckling in disbelief.
"Heh..."
"Of course, needs other materials, but this world's resources are plentiful. Plenty of workers too. With time and stuff, some fun results."
"Yeah. Tell Su-min, she'll get Ha Jin-seong to prioritize you. Full support."
Invest heavy in mad scientists—they might build time machines. This half-crazy alchemist would deliver big if backed. Absent-minded and clumsy at times, but brilliant underneath. So I showed him the flask too, just in case.
"Hey, old man. Anything with this?"
He recoiled in horror at the parasitic spore flask, half-delirious, screaming.
"Hieeek!! Th-that... Oh god... Why is that ancient monster here..."
"You know what it is?"
"Aigoo... Can't even say it. The Civilization Destroyer. Aigoo... Facing it again before I die... Fate..."
He waved it off frantically—couldn't or wouldn't handle it.
His tone suggested he'd tried once and nearly doomed the world... Was that why he was enslaved?
No gains; I left. Better for mushroom humans.
Outside the mart, I grabbed a random zombie, tentacled its head, dragged the corpse to an empty warehouse, and dumped it in a corner.
"Alright, let's see..."
I jammed the triangular flask into the zombie's throat, stepped back, and chucked a roadside stone at it.
Crack!!
The flask shattered, spewing swirling green spores onto the corpse. They latched on, and the body began melting, a foul stench spreading.
Leave it; three mushrooms will grow. Remove the red one fast, let the other two mature into mushroom humans. My slave race.
"Perfect..."
I ordered slaves to watch the corpse 24/7 in shifts, then headed rooftop.
During lunch, Ye-won-i told me the egg hatched; she'd show me up top. The mystery egg from the black market poacher, entrusted to Unholy Queen and Beast Tamer Ye-won-i before the forest trip.
"Ah, oppa...!"
"Yeah, Ye-won. Where is it?"
"H-here..."
She showed me a plastic cage.
"Whoa... What is this...?"
Not what I expected.
The tiny red salamander-like hatchling looked frail, worm or snake-ish, squishy enough to pop.
"Oppa, it's a hatchling."
"Hatchling...? Wait... Where've I... Oh... Shit..."
The red reptile hatched after six days under Unholy Queen Ye-won-i...
A baby dragon. Red hatchling from the Apocalypse...
We're screwed.
If Dragon Slayer finds out... I'm toast.
What if he kills me over raising a dragon baby...?
No way I beat him now, dead or alive...
'Even summoning Kyseria and Aynax... My low level means penalties... Damn...'
Joy at the dragon drowned in terror of Dragon Slayer ripping me apart.
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