Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Cauldron, Throw Everything In
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Hiss…!
Was that puffy thing really a lapwing?
Even advertising balloons, which you hardly see these days, weren't that inflated.
“…….”
For a brief moment, an instinctive curiosity about what might happen if I poked it with a needle dominated my brain.
Sizzle…!
But as its gray wings began to glow red-hot, I realized it had reached its limit.
Any second now, it would spit out the superheated orb just like the guidebook said.
Or maybe not an orb, but a bomb.
The heat leaking from between its beak was on a level I'd never experienced before.
To top it off, the thing and I were staring right at each other.
If things stayed like this, I might end up as this year's Darwin Award winner.
“Over there!”
So I quickly pointed at another victim.
The unlucky target was the steel door.
Yeah, the one that got smashed to bits by the wild boar a few months back.
Why the steel door, you ask?
It just seemed like it'd hold up the best. If I told it to shoot the wall and it punched a hole through, that'd be a problem.
Whoosh!
The lapwing's cute little eyes locked onto the target. Then it opened its beak wide—
Bang!
The maximally compressed air exploded with a deafening crack.
Boom!
The superheated iron orb slammed into the steel door, scattering intense heat throughout the factory.
No, it punched right through.
Whoosh!
...Whoa, fire!
Faint flames flickered around the steel door. I grabbed an extinguisher—I'd placed them all over the building just in case—and sprayed furiously.
Sizzle!
Creak!
With Snowy blasting cold mana from the side, the flames died down faster than expected.
“…Phew.”
Balloon lapwing... way more dangerous than it looks.
No wonder it ranked second.
Purrr!
It flapped its wings vigorously again, landing right on my shoulder.
Then it started rubbing its round head against the back of my neck.
Like it was saying, “Did I do good?” and begging for praise.
I gently stroked its puffy head.
“Okay. Firepower passes.”
**
[Live] Isn't this guy a bomb instead of a balloon? [OP: WannabeDragonBreeder]
(Balloon lapwing photo)
Fed this guy a mana stone and nearly died.
Should I rename him to Bomb...?
- lololololololol
ㄴ(OP): I nearly died and you're laughing?!
-BirdSeller: Nice quality one you got. The puffier it gets, the better it is. Where'd you buy it? I wanna wholesale some too.
ㄴCalling a bird “quality goods” feels off...
ㄴYou demon! Get out of Clean Half Gallery right now!
-Don't do weird stuff, just get a slime ball? Resale shop. Even adults wanna play with those.
ㄴ(OP): Haha sure
ㄴYou little shit
-
Ding!
[Your purchase (Alchemy Cauldron (Premium Model)) has been delivered.]
“…Already?”
I’d ordered it right after lunch, and it was here?
[16:48]
...Oh.
Nope. Time just flew by.
Gal-ing really eats up time. Is there anything that kills it faster?
Heart pounding, I headed outside. The anticipation's always highest right before unboxing.
“…It took a beating.”
The scorched, hole-punched steel door was practically screaming for a replacement.
Creak!
It still opened fine, so maybe it's okay as is?
The hole wasn't that big, and it wasn't bent or anything.
“Ooh.”
A massive box sat right in front of the steel door. About the size of a washing machine.
Shake shake!
I dusted off my hands and squatted down. Seemed liftable?
Real men can't resist a challenge like this.
“Hup…!”
I summoned every ounce of strength from my milk-drinking days. Gritted my teeth, gave it my all, but no dice—
“…Here we gooo!”
I even yelled a kiai, but still nothing.
Man, it's heavy as hell.
Even for a cauldron, this is ridiculous!
“Ugh.”
Okay, giving up.
Not running away in shame. Knowing when to retreat is true manhood.
No way I could carry this alone, even if I beat it to death.
Annoying, but I'd have to grab a Molang Trolley from the rooftop room.
As I turned to head back inside—
Woo-ee!
Mini had appeared out of nowhere, standing by the box with its hand raised high.
“…You wanna give it a try?”
Woo-ee!
“Nice spirit. Go for it, Agent Mini!”
Woo-ee!
Mini charged at the box with a spirited shout.
It somehow wedged its thick fingers under the box and started heaving.
Wooo-ee…!
Oh, definitely golem material—the box lifted ever so slightly.
But that was it.
“…No chance, huh?”
Wooo-eeee…!
Mini poured everything into it, its chest Moonstone glowing bright, but the box showed zero mercy.
If even Mini couldn't lift it, how heavy was this thing? It could handle up to 200kg easy.
Woo-ee…!
“Give it up clean. You'll hurt yourself.”
Thud!
In the end, Mini managed a whopping 5cm lift.
“Mini, mind grabbing a Molang Trolley while you're at it?”
Woo-ee!
Mini dashed inside on its new mission.
I figured I'd enjoy a bit of autumn sun in the meantime—
Rumble!
Mini was back in a flash. Not with a trolley, but with ten other golems in tow.
Woo-ee!
Under Mini's command, the golems swarmed the box.
“Well, well.”
Their Moonstones lit up in sync, like they were linked byカラ.
Wooo-eee!
The ridiculously heavy box floated effortlessly into the air.
Such prideful bunch.
They'd trip or drop it, then cling to me crying—that was one of their signature moves.
But they're cute, so I let it slide.
Woo-ee!
“Yeah, yeah. Take it to where your sheds are?”
Like they had trueカラor hive mind sync, the golems marched in perfect step and delivered it flawlessly.
“Sweet!”
I ripped open the box right away.
Inside was the cauldron and a long transparent rod.
Skipped the manual.
I'd skimmed it at purchase—no need to reread.
“Ooh….”
The rod hummed with subtle mana.
Supposedly made of ultra-low heat conductor material. For stirring the cauldron.
Pretty sturdy—could double as a switch for scolding pubescent golems.
“What's this, a cauldron? What're you up to now?”
A voice from behind. Ha Young, naturally.
She'd probably just finished processing mana stones. Stretching out the kinks.
“Told you, making armor from the sheds. That's the plan.”
“Alchemists use these. Heard they're crazy expensive.”
“Yeah. Pretty pricey.”
“How much?”
“Ten million won...? Around there.”
“Insane.”
Ha Young gave a wry smile, tapped the cauldron a few times, then continued.
“You do alchemy too, Dawn?”
“Nope. Can't.”
“Then why buy this pricey thing…?”
“Gonna melt the sheds down.”
“Ah… Processing it that way.”
She nodded, getting it perfectly.
“Not bad.”
Coming from a processing master like her, it boosted my confidence.
“Spare a B-rank mana stone?”
“Here. Picked the best one I processed today, just in case.”
Ooh, solid one.
Felt hefty. Like solid bone if it were human.
I tossed the mana stone to Puffy... er, the balloon lapwing.
Purrr!
Puffy gulped it down and started inflating again.
“…What? It won't explode, right?”
“Nah. But stand back, it's risky.”
Ha Young backed up ten steps, even hiding behind a pudding slime.
...No need to go that far.
Sizzle!
Puffy puffed up at its own pace.
To avoid innocent casualties this time, I gave it a precise target upfront.
The small hole in the cauldron.
Just mana stone-sized, meant for heating it up.
Normal alchemists had skills to generate heat directly from stones, but...
I didn't, so Puffy would handle it.
Sizz…!
Puffy hit max puff.
To spare it more pain, I gave the order.
“Fire!”
Pop!
Compressed air burst with a hot shockwave, and the mana stone shot out with ferocious momentum—
Plop!
It slotted into the cauldron with a satisfying *click*, just like that villain gauntlet from some hero movie getting its gem.
Purple electricity coursed over the cauldron once.
“Hot…!”
The interior temperature skyrocketed.
And that was the starting gun for the experiment.
“Mind helping?”
“Y-Yeah. Sure.”
I shoved sheds into the cauldron, and Ha Young poured in the mixer I'd set aside.
The mixer helped liquidize and blend materials—guilds raved about it.
Safety-tested, no reason not to use it.
“But… you know the ratios?”
“Nope. For first tries, chuck it all in.”
“That… works?”
“Yep.”
Invention's just recombining what's there into something new.
Styles vary, but I like max materials first, then refine down.
“Melt…! Melt…!”
Stirring the rod like a real alchemist chanting—
Bubble bubble…!
The sheds softened bit by bit in the boiling mixer.
Perfect timing.
Plop! Plop!
I tossed in several slime balls too.
And finally,
To feel a bit like an alchemist,
“Go go gooo!”
I channeled a bit of my mana through the rod.