The Elixir Farm
◈ Category: Elixir, Flower
◈ Description: A flower that grows by feeding on life force. By nature, it blooms only in the underworld.
A flower found growing from a corpse, and a Legendary+ elixir at that.
Instead of consuming it on the spot, I had come to Cheonji and planted it.
“Hehehe.”
I chuckled as I gazed down at the red flower I'd just planted — the red flower obtained from the Sky Fortress.
“Well then, shall we get started?”
I pulled the elixirs I'd been hoarding out of my inventory.
Why hadn't I swallowed them the moment I got my hands on them? Because I intended to cultivate elixirs artificially.
And for that purpose, I'd planted the Death Realm Flower.
If what I heard was right, this should work.
The Death Realm Flower grew by devouring the life force of corpses and the dead. But the reverse was also true — plant one in the ground, and it would pour its stored life force back into the soil.
My plan was to exploit that property and build a farm here in Cheonji.
“Let's get these in the ground, then.”
First, I planted the common-grade elixirs from my collection. If I'd started with the rares and botched it, the loss would have been devastating.
“Elixirs, elixirs, elixirs~”
Humming some strange rhythm, I tucked them into the soil one by one. This wasn't a simple matter of digging holes, either — for the flower-type elixirs I separated roots from stems, and for the seed-bearing ones I extracted and planted the seeds on their own.
“Grow up big and strong, now.”
After bidding the elixirs farewell, I stepped out of the gate. I'd left it open in my room, going back and forth as I pleased.
The reason I bothered to come out at all was simple: today, at long last, the Sword Demon and the Gray Witch were entering the country.
“Has my contractor shown up yet?”
“Cheongun, you holding up okay?”
The moment I'd introduced Cheongun to my family last night, Mom and Sunha had gone berserk and started wrestling each other over him. Judging by the state of things now, they'd been at it again today.
“I'm going to get some rest.”
“You've earned it.”
With that, Cheongun coiled himself around my neck and closed his eyes. Whatever anyone else said, this was clearly where he felt most comfortable.
Wearing him like a scarf, I headed into the living room.
“Ah, Oppa!”
“Shh.”
Sunha took one look at Cheongun wrapped around my neck and puffed up into a full sulk. Mom didn't say anything out loud, but she looked distinctly wistful too.
“Now do you get why I said he couldn't be the family pet?”
“I get it. Intensely.”
Dad had opposed it so fiercely when we were kids that we'd never been allowed to keep pets. Back then I couldn't understand why he dug his heels in so hard, but thanks to the Cheongun situation, it was now crystal clear.
The women of our household lose their minds over animals.
And last night was pure chaos, too.
Just remembering it gave me a headache. The two of them had fought tooth and nail over who got to sleep hugging Cheongun, raising hell until he finally emerged and declared he would sleep by himself — after which I had to endure both of their withering glares.
“Ah, it's starting.”
The plane doors opened, and the Gray Witch descended.
“What's the reason for your sudden visit to Korea?”
“You arrived at the same time as the Sword Demon — is there some connection between the two of you?”
“We ask that you answer the question.”
The instant she touched the tarmac, reporters swarmed her like wolves. The Gray Witch answered only with silence.
Looking at her like that, you'd think she was just a beautiful, capable woman.
The reality couldn't have been more different. A sadist who genuinely loved tormenting people. The most terrifying thing was how prim and demure she pretended to be the rest of the time.
“He's landed!”
Right on cue, the Sword Demon stepped off the plane as well.
The moment it became clear the Gray Witch wasn't going to say a word, the reporters switched targets without hesitation.
“What brings you to Korea on this visit?”
“Is there a reason you came together with the Gray Witch?”
“There are rumors the two of you are dating — would you care to comment?”
I clicked my tongue watching the reporters hurl question after question, driven by an ironclad determination to drag an answer out of them no matter what.
I'd better learn to run fast, so I never end up in that circus.
I would rather die than face that barrage. I knew from experience — I'd been through it before my regression. That kind of question assault gnaws away at your mind and body like nothing else. No human being should have to endure it.
“Reporters, if you could please step aside.”
Just then, Team Leader Woo Sang-shik appeared behind the press scrum. At his single utterance, the crowd of reporters split in two like the Red Sea before Moses.
“Then we'll escort you.”
“We're in your care.”
“Take good care of them.”
Upon awakening, every language except the tongues spoken inside gates — demonic and angelic — gets carved directly into your mind. The two hadn't been answering because they'd been locked in a silent war of nerves, and saw no need to waste breath on pointless questions.
“This way, please.”
Team Leader Woo loaded the two into a limousine and pulled away immediately. The reporters, robbed of their prey, looked crestfallen — but putting their professionalism on display, they carried right on with their broadcasts.
Poor Team Leader Woo.
Those two were oil and water — utterly incompatible. Even before my regression, they'd fought at the drop of a hat, and it was no exception when they'd been playing at being human.
By now they've probably already started.
I offered a silent prayer for Team Leader Woo's soul.
Just as Han Jin had predicted, a chill hung thick inside the limousine. Neither had opened their mouth to fight outright, but the auras radiating off the two of them were savage.
What business does Greed's dog have here?
That's my question to ask, I'm afraid. What brings Lust's doll all the way to Korea?
Excuse me?
Pardon?
The two were waging their battle through secret conversation via mana, so subtle that even Team Leader Woo Sang-shik, for all his abilities, could never have detected it.
“You know, our Team Leader Woo just keeps getting more impressive every time I see him.”
“You flatter me.”
“Fufu.”
Woo Sang-shik had first crossed paths with Grace while accompanying the Association President. She'd noticed him then and there.
I want that man. Badly.
An A-rank holding his ground against the pressure of an S-rank — two of them, no less, both demons — while speaking with perfect composure. Of course she coveted him. The same went for the Sword Demon.
Lust would adore this one.
Face and power. Both matched the conditions Lust had laid out. If it came to it, she'd already marked him as a candidate to replace that man, Han Jin.
“Setting that aside — where is the Association President?”
“The Association President is waiting at your destination.”
“I'm more interested in you than in him, actually.”
At remarks like that, Grace would slip in a sly advance. But she couldn't crack Team Leader Woo's iron wall.
“I'm grateful for your kind regard. However, I'm afraid I fall somewhat short of what befits a guest of the nation.”
At his artful deflection, Grace simply smiled brightly and withdrew with practiced ease.
The delicious things are savored last, after all.
And so the limousine pressed on toward its destination. Riding along, Team Leader Woo felt a wave of private relief.
Thank God I took that stomach medicine.
Once I confirmed the news of their arrival, I retreated straight back to Cheonji. If I stayed outside and got caught by either of them through some careless slip, I'd be reduced to boneless fried chicken on the spot.
Not happening. Hard pass.
Back through the gate, I headed immediately for the plot where the Death Realm Flower and the elixirs were planted. I wasn't expecting results right away — but at the very least, I could help things along until they came.
Aid the earth's power.
Using the power of the earth, I raised a kind of barrier to keep the life force flowing through the soil from leaking off into strange places.
“Whew.”
Once the life-force-suppressing wall stood, I began helping the energy disperse evenly throughout the enclosed space.
This is harder than I thought.
The life force pouring out of the Death Realm Flower wasn't spreading into the soil — it was streaming straight toward the elixirs. Suppressing and redirecting it was trickier than I'd anticipated.
“Contractor….”
Cheongun fluttered anxiously around me as I worked, sweat dripping, worried sick. But without an earth attribute, there was nothing he could do at this stage.
Cheongun's role comes next.
He'd be needed to regulate the overflow once the life force saturated the land — control that would come through water. Until then, creating the richly fertile ground was my job.
The Ring of the Earth is coming to your aid.
Oh.
The Ring of the Earth, silent until now, sprang into action. With it helping, controlling the life force became far more manageable.
The Ring of the Earth apologizes for sleeping in so late.
Don't worry about it.
Sleeping through the fight where it was actually needed had rubbed me the wrong way, sure — but better late than never.
Let's give this another shot.
Channeling through the Ring of the Earth, I pushed the life force to spread as far and wide as it would go. A third of the elixirs I'd already planted had absorbed far too much and died.
My precious elixirs.
Blinking back tears (allegedly), I set to work with the power of the earth, building the elixir farm for real this time.
“So — where is he?”
“Whatever could you mean?”
“Quit stalling.”
While Han Jin battled away at building his elixir farm, the Association President was smoothly playing host to the two distinguished guests.
“The third person. The one who killed the King. Tell us about him.”
“I'd appreciate it if you answered quickly.”
Faced with their questions, the Association President just grinned his sly grin and let them slide right past him.
No telling where they got their intel, but they're definitely here looking for Han Jin.
Their goal was almost certainly to recruit him. Not knowing that both were demons, the President could hardly think otherwise. Which, technically, recruitment was exactly what it was.
“The ones who took down Envy were none other than our own Team Leader Woo Sang-shik and Guildmaster Han Min-joon of the Geumgang Guild, you see?”
“Don't make me laugh.”
“Hilarious. Truly.”
As the conversation ground on, the two began shedding their courtesy layer by layer. Some fear of losing face to the other had them both on edge, rushing things.
Whatever the reason, they're both getting impatient.
And in a negotiation like this, the one who keeps his reason firmly in hand holds every advantage.
“Whatever the two of you may have heard, it was those two who captured Envy. That is my answer.”
“Ha.”
At the President's repeated non-answers, the Sword Demon was the first to let his mana off the leash.
“Do I look like I'm playing games with you?”
Their reactions to his aura couldn't have been more different.
Now he's genuinely angry.
If the Sword Demon wanted to throw his weight around, that was fine by Grace. She'd polish her image by contrast — and, per Greed's instructions, she might even get her opening to make contact with that human, Han Jin. So she made no move to stop him.
He's frightened.
When the President showed no reaction at all, that was the Sword Demon's conclusion. An S-rank, Japan's official rank three, world rank one hundred. A man like that, baring his fury — any ordinary awakener would have gone white with terror.
But the Sword Demon had overlooked one thing.
Bang Hak-shik was a first-generation awakener — a survivor of the Great Cataclysm.
“Are you, of all people, playing games with me?”
With those words, Bang Hak-shik released the Battle Aura he'd kept packed away, iron-tight, inside his body.