Made in NPC 1

Having finished checking the number of magic patterns by adjusting their size, I decided to get serious about testing the mana ink by engraving a magic pattern. If my intelligence was lacking, I could always raise it somehow, and if that didn't work, I could just engrave overlapping patterns. So I made the magic patterns as small as possible.

To achieve my ultimate goal of fitting six twentieth-division Leap patterns on one side, I needed to manage twelve engravings of tenth-division Leap patterns. To that end, I shrank the Leap magic pattern to fit on the leather armor and pushed it in.

A faint line appeared on the leather armor, and I began drawing the magic pattern in earnest. It was much smaller than before, but since it was Copy Drawing, I figured it would be fine.

But things didn't go as I'd expected.

"Phew... messed up again."

It had only been a little over ten minutes since I started the engraving work, and this was already my seventh mistake. Without White Ink, I would've thrown the engraving pen across the room by now. And only then did I start to understand why the enchanters had such a strong reaction to my White Ink.

"Damn. This is taking way too long."

Thanks to the White Ink, I was making steady progress. But the speed was pathetically slow. At this rate, it'd take half a day just to draw one.

I need to raise my Dexterity. Too damn slow.

Until now, I hadn't really felt the lack of Dexterity. Processing herbs and leatherworking didn't require that much fine detail. That's why I hadn't noticed the deficiency before. Even when drawing magic patterns previously, Copy Drawing helped, and they were large anyway, so no issues.

But now that they were tiny, I realized my hands weren't golden—they were shit.

If it weren't for the White Ink, I'd have quit ages ago.

"Phew... finally done."

Drawing just one magic pattern had drained all my stamina. After double-checking for errors, I opened the Magic Pattern Shop to activate it.

I selected Leap and activated the magic pattern, and the activation notification appeared.

It was the expected result. A potion made with NPC abilities wouldn't fail to activate. Just as I thought I'd worried needlessly, another notification rang out.

I'd resolved not to be surprised by much anymore, and there hadn't been much to surprise me lately. But this time, I couldn't help it.

What the hell? Multiple manifestations? Amplification?

If it were just basic NPC enchanter abilities, I wouldn't have been this shocked. But multiple manifestations? Amplifying the ability as a result?

This meant that using abilities gained from NPC powers together would amplify their effects going forward. Sure, I didn't have other compatible abilities yet like in this case, but the unexpected bonus filled me with euphoria.

And the amplification effect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠itself was insane.

The mana cost is one thing, but the cooldown reduction is huge.

From experiments with magic patterns at the Enchanter Workshop—and what Kim Seungmin had taught me—the mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cost for using a pattern matched the intelligence permanently consumed when acquiring it. In other words, divisions times 2.5 mana was used.

Plus, each use applied a cooldown to the pattern, which was why people sometimes engraved multiples. The cooldown was divisions times 1 minute.

But on my engraved patterns, both the mana cost and cooldown were halved.

I could engrave more patterns than others right away, and one pattern gave the effect of two. With so few patterns, I could still be called the world's top enchanter without issue.

Of course. It wouldn't make sense to be the same as other enchanters. Made in NPC. Wait...?

As I marveled at the NPC abilities, a few questions popped up.

The leather armor, mana ink, and activation were all NPC-powered, so the amplification made sense. But what if I added another hunter's ability?

I tested immediately without hesitation.

First, I tried engraving on Ha Geonmin's leather armor with my mana ink—failure. Couldn't activate.

Leather armor has to be mine, huh. What about plate armor?

I engraved on the plate armor I'd bought for testing. It activated fine, but no special notification, and the effect was identical to a regular enchanter's.

Next, I used high-grade mana ink on my leather armor. Same result as before—no difference.

All three conditions have to match?

I was pretty sure about the rest without testing, but for mana ink verification, I needed one last test: whether my mana ink worked like high-grade for other enchanters, and the difference on my leather vs. plate armor.

Guess I have to ask after the White Ink auction.

Choi Deokhui was swamped prepping for the auction, so no point asking now. I'd have to wait.

In the meantime, the party returned from the dungeon, and I brought up the mana recovery potions.

* * *

"Pardon? A potion that boosts mana recovery speed? I-is that even possible? Even for you, Guild Master, how...?"

"Whoa! I swore I wouldn't be surprised anymore, but seriously, bro."

"Suho, can't you just come clean now? I'll understand even if you're a monster. You're not human, right? Ow! Why hit me?"

"Come here. Let's just sew that mouth shut. Sorry, Guild Master."

"Honestly, the Guild Master is kinda ridiculous. Makes potions, does leatherworking. Enchants that armor too. And that's not all? What about quests? I won't be surprised no matter what you do next. Hell..."

Bang Taegeuk was shocked, Jeonghun chimed in, and Taehee nodded at Taeju's words. Meanwhile, Geonmin was lost in her own world, and Yeji stared at me with her usual wide-eyed rabbit surprise.

I calmed the shocked guild members and continued.

"Like before, I don't know exactly how effective it'll be. So I'm asking you all to test it."

"Leave it to me, Guild Master."

"This is so exciting. Just imagining faster mana recovery... whoa..."

Bang Taegeuk thumped his chest reliably, and Jeonghun let out a thrilled cheer at the mere thought.

While they headed to the dungeon to test the mana recovery potion, I worked on herbs with Taeju to build up my lacking intelligence.

* * *

The guild members returned to the guild half a day later. Since it was a short dungeon for testing, it didn't take long. Their flushed faces told me immediately it worked.

The question was, how well?

"S-Suho bro. I love you! This is insane."

"The best choice of my life was joining Support Guild on your suggestion. Thank you so much for picking me."

Not just Jeonghun and Bang Taegeuk—even Yeji bowed her head in thanks.

"Glad it worked. How effective exactly?"

"Cut in half. From full depletion, mana recovered completely in 1 hour 30 minutes."

I clenched my fist lightly at Bang Taegeuk's words.

Yes! It works on other hunters too.

The mana recovery potion doubled recovery speed. Normally, full mana depletion took 3 hours for regular hunters, 2 for mages.

Recovery was percentage-based: about 1.1% every 2 minutes for regulars. The potion made it 1.1% per minute.

For a hunter with 1,000 mana, that was 5.5 to 11 per minute—small difference at first glance. But over 10 minutes, 55 to 110, enough for 2-3 extra skills. And waiting time halved was revolutionary.

Per Bang Taegeuk, dungeon time was 1 hour hunting to 5+ hours waiting for mana. Worse for weaker teams.

But one thing bugged me.

Is this worth getting this hyped?

I knew my mana recovery potion was great—nonexistent before, NPC-exclusive like the healing potion. Priceless value.

But unlike buffs or leather armor boosting combat, it just doubled recovery speed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Not game-changing on its own.

Yet their reaction was even hotter than before. So I asked Bang Taegeuk.

"I don't get it. Is mana recovery potion really that big a deal?"

"Of course. An incredible potion. If your miracle potion for civilians was a miracle, this is one for hunters. If revealed, hunters worldwide would swarm."

I was stunned.

"What? No way. Just faster recovery—really that much?"

I didn't grasp the implications, so it was natural. But they looked at me with exasperated eyes—Bang Taegeuk, Jeonghun, Yeji.

"Bro, you're amazing in every way. How don't you know what your own potion means?"

"What the hell am I missing?"

I shot back at Jeonghun, and Bang Taegeuk took over.

"Makes sense—you don't enter dungeons, so you wouldn't know. Never cleared one either, right?"

I nodded, and he explained the potion's massive power slowly, like he got it.

"Dungeon clears hinge on time. The Big Five failed SS-rank not because monsters were too strong. We say 'clear' instead of 'hunt' or 'raid' for time reasons."

"I see."

"Upon entry, hunters gradually overload—called mana poisoning in our terms."

"It varies by dungeon level and hunter ability, but after a while, poisoning worsens, stats drop. So we clear within that window, optimizing hunts constantly."

Ah! I had no clue. Truly zero. Crucial info every hunter knew. They assumed I did too.

But as an NPC who couldn't enter, I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no interest in dungeon internals. So I'd just learned this vital fact.

To be continued in the next chapter...