Potion Completion 1

I couldn't make sense of what Seo Taeju was saying. I had no idea what he had to apologize for, but the part about granting me one request stuck in my ears like glue. It was like someone telling me they'd slap me if I didn't cry—in other words, exactly my situation right now.

I already wanted to experiment with a wider variety of herbs beyond those needed for potions, and here he was offering to make it happen. Not one to let good fortune slip away, I didn't hesitate.

"I'd like to work with more kinds of herbs."

Seo Taeju reacted with clear interest.

"Why? You're not a herb gatherer, are you? From your position, wouldn't money or rare potions be better? No boasting here, but our Origin Potion Workshop has rare potions you won't find anywhere else."

"Trimming Kercardia sparked my curiosity about other herbs. Call it curiosity or youthful whimsy—either way, right now I just want to handle more varieties."

It was the pure truth, without a shred of deceit. I just hadn't mentioned that one percent of it.

That's why Seo Taeju sensed the sincerity in my words.

"Haah... You would've made a perfect herb gatherer. Fine, I'll make it happen however you want. As long as your skills back it up, you can handle as many herbs as you like."

I cheered inwardly at his bold response.

Once things start going my way, they really roll.

But then he added one condition.

"In exchange, starting today, work without bag limits—do the maximum you can handle. Once you're done with this Kercardia batch, we'll move straight to the next herb."

I had nothing to lose.

"Yes, got it."

With business settled, Seo Taeju left the warehouse, saying he had something to attend to. Alone now, I reopened the notification window I'd closed earlier.

"One, two, three, four... eighteen."

I recounted from the start, suspecting I'd miscounted. No mistake—it was really eighteen notifications. While I'd been focused on the herbs, my Dexterity had shot up by 18.

Even more astonishing was the next one.

It hadn't been long since Dexterity appeared as my first special stat, and now here was the second. The effect was tailor-made for me.

Dexterity had started at 1 the day it unlocked, stayed quiet for a week, then jumped 18 today to hit 20. Focus, unlike that, came in at 3 right away.

Ah...!

Suddenly, Seo Taeju's words clicked. Why he'd apologized. Why he'd offered a favor.

Tch... It's a shame. Nah, I can raise Dexterity and Focus later, but opportunities like this don't come often.

If he hadn't interrupted, maybe Dexterity or Focus would've risen more—but that was it. Better to seize this chance to handle various herbs.

With everything settled, I dove back into trimming Kercardia.

*

"Uwaaaah—it's done!"

I shouted as I finished the last Kercardia. It had been two weeks since Seo Taeju's offer.

For those two weeks, I'd devoted 18 hours a day to Kercardia. I could've done more, but the warehouse was only open that long, so I couldn't.

Finally, the Kercardia batch was complete. The thought of touching new herbs made me cheer involuntarily.

The only regret? Dexterity and Focus hadn't budged. It felt like I'd hit the cap for what Kercardia could provide.

Still, this is plenty. Working other herbs will bring more chances. Wonder what it'll be this time? Ingredients for existing potions? Or something new?

Brimming with anticipation, Seo Taeju said,

"Head out for today. Come back tomorrow. Starting then, you'll handle a new herb—so look forward to it."

The promise of new herbs kept me tossing all night with excitement.

The next day.

"This one's called Dekman. Trickier than Kercardia, but you'll handle it easy. No worries."

Seo Taeju held up a flower the size of two or three adult fists.

"First, pull out the pistil like this. It might snap midway, so ease it halfway out, grip the middle, and yank. Once the root's out, real work begins."

He tossed the extracted pistil.

"Now, pluck the stamens one by one into the yellow jar."

Unlike the pistil, stamens came out smoothly. After removing a dozen or so, he moved to petals.

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

"Next, petals—but this is the real ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠test. Watch: Some pull clean out—toss those. The keepers stick with gooey residue. Into the jar."

The flower had at least 30-40 petals, but he stripped it fast.

"Once you're used to it, one tug tells you. You've seen it—test on ten stems."

I mimicked him, yanking the pistil clean on the first try. Seo Taeju shot a look like This guy's something, but I was too focused to notice.

Stamens popped out easily. Petals now.

First petal slid free like stamens—I tossed it, moved on.

So that's the feel.

The next tugged with stickiness—instant distinction. His words made perfect sense now. That subtle catch. Without Dexterity, I'd never have caught it so quick.

From there, smooth sailing. A light pull revealed everything. Not as fast as him, but I finished ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one stem briskly.

One, two, three... Ten done. Seo Taeju smiled faintly.

"You should've been a herb gatherer... Tch, good job. That's how. Once Dekman's done, next herb. Let's nail this too."

No sooner had he finished than I plunged into full Dekman trimming. Rewards danced in my mind.

How much will potion proficiency rise? New potions? Stats again?

No—save rewards for later. Focus on Dekman now. Focus.

Thoughts of rewards slowed my hands. Even pistils that yanked clean before snapped a few times.

This won't do. I cleared reward fantasies, zeroing in on Dekman. Low as 3 was, Focus helped me lock in fast.

Five days of pure focus later, the notification I'd craved appeared.

Gulp. My dry swallow echoed. If not for Seo Taeju across the way, my latent dance instincts might've turned the warehouse into a stage.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Short breaths later, I checked the Potion Shop.

Stamina Recovery Potion's new. Wait, proficiency gains are weird. Not just split evenly?

Healing rose 25%, Antidote only 5%. Strength 15%, Speed 25%. Mana Recovery? Zero.

Not what I'd expected. I'd thought proficiency scaled by herb count per potion divided by 100%.

Healing: 4 herbs total. Antidote: 6-7. But no—the rises suggested otherwise.

Proficiency based on herb ratio or importance in recipe?

Felt right. Another realization hit.

I knew too little about potions. Should've dug deeper after unlocking NPC abilities.

Too excited? Or oversimplified? The most crucial part, overlooked.

I started proper research—and was stunned.

"What? Potion-making's this brutal?"

True Potion Brewer class holders treated it like grueling labor. No quick skills; knowing ingredients didn't help other classes.

Process: Get class, receive basic recipes. Gather herbs per recipe, process, pour in mana via Potion Brewing skill at end.

Non-Brewers? Impossible.

Basic potions? Barely adequate. Brewers tweak endlessly: gram tweaks, hundreds of combos, degree-by-degree boiling temps.

Thus, Healing Potions varied by maker—and price. Cheap ones ~100k won; Korea's top, "Medic"'s, neared 1M—backordered, out of reach for most.

Brewers specialized too. Medic aced Healing, weak on buffs. "Bishop," attack buffs master, sucked at heals.

Perfected recipes? Guarded like state secrets. Workshops: fortress-level security.

Now it clicked.

Kercardia and Dekman are in public basic recipes. So mine are basics?

To be continued in the next chapter...

< The Hunter Who Awakened as an NPC >