Chapter 51
I made a ring for Yu Jae-i to thank her for the favor.
I’d had a stone infused with World Tree mana worked into it, but because it had been made in a hurry, the ring’s performance wasn’t all that impressive. It only slightly increased the original property that let it attack magic, along with a small boost to raw power.
She seemed to want to add a few more effects, but I told her that was enough. The whole point of making the ring was to keep the passive that enhanced my physical abilities active.
After that, with the time left until night, I didn’t want to waste a single minute, so I headed over to the Crystal Workshop.
I got out of the car and knocked right away on the green iron door. There was a doorbell beside it, but I didn’t press it.
If my last experience was anything to go by, ringing the bell was a useless gesture either way.
“Hong Su-jeong! Hong Su-jeong!”
“…Yeah!”
It wasn’t until I’d called her name and kept knocking that Hong Su-jeong’s voice finally came from inside.
Then, just like before, the same scene played out all over again.
I heard a crash of toppling books, followed by an irritated voice snapping, “Aigoo, how annoying!”
It wasn’t as if I’d been the one who left the place like that.
And getting mad at the books wouldn’t change anything, either….
The rustling behind the iron door grew louder and louder, and then the door finally opened.
When Hong Su-jeong saw me, her mouth formed a small, round O in surprise. At the same time, she tilted her head in confusion.
“Oh, hello! What brings you here? I’m not even done with the inspection yet!”
“Not that. I came because I’ve got another favor to ask.”
“Another thing?”
“Yeah. Can I come in and talk?”
“Ah, yes! Of course!”
With that, Hong Su-jeong headed deeper into the building.
When I followed her in, I found the exact same sight I’d seen last time.
The hallway was a mess, cluttered with all kinds of books and potion-making tools. On top of that, the book piles I’d knocked over last time and the ones she’d knocked over this time were all strewn across the floor.
Hong Su-jeong casually shoved the obstacles aside in a heap and walked over them.
Maybe because this wasn’t her first time here, she moved with practiced ease and didn’t drop any books like last time.
“Do you have no intention of cleaning this place?”
“Ehehe, I should clean it up, yeah. It’s just that….”
She trailed off.
So she just couldn’t be bothered to clean, then.
I understood. I was the type who found cleaning a huge pain, too.
I usually set aside a day every few weeks and did it all at once.
Though Hong Su-jeong didn’t seem even that organized.
I spotted the chair made of stacked books she’d left in front of the worktable last time.
“That’s still here, too.”
“Ah, ahaha.”
As I sat down, Hong Su-jeong gave an awkward laugh.
I couldn’t see her eyes behind those thick lenses, but the way her head angled slightly away made it look like she was avoiding my gaze.
She took a seat and got straight to the point.
“What is it? I’m busy with the thing you commissioned.”
As she said that, she smiled with obvious happiness.
It wasn’t a complaint meant to blame me; she was genuinely grateful.
“I managed to get some more World Tree leaves.”
“Whoa, really?”
“Yeah.”
When I explained why I’d come, she clenched both fists with excitement, then held out her hands toward me, politely urging me to hand over the World Tree leaves.
I clicked the item in my mailbox and pressed the receive button so I could give them to her.
Slowly, the World Tree leaf emerged from my smartphone screen.
But then—
“Huh?”
“……!”
What came out of the screen wasn’t a conifer.
[Leaf of the Previous World Tree (ver. Deciduous)]
It was a broad deciduous leaf, stretched wide like an open hand.
Its overall size was closer to a parasol than a palm, though.
I tilted my head, startled.
“What the heck is this?”
I’d thought another conifer leaf would come out this time, too.
It had even produced a pinecone before.
I’d assumed the previous World Tree was entirely a conifer.
And yet here was a deciduous leaf.
Previous World Tree, were you from the polar regions or something?
“Woooow…!”
Still flustered, I hadn’t handed it over yet, so Hong Su-jeong came right up to me.
She pressed her face into the leaf in my hand, sniffing it and even licking it the way she had the first time she’d encountered one.
As I’d thought then, her method of identifying materials was really unusual.
“It’s really a World Tree leaf.”
“You thought I was lying?”
“No! Not that. Why is it a deciduous leaf?”
Exactly. I was wondering the same thing.
I’d never actually seen the previous World Tree myself, so I could only guess.
But since I’d been given both kinds of leaves, conifer and deciduous, maybe the World Tree could change its shape however it pleased.
“The one you brought last time was a conifer, right?”
“It was.”
“No way… there are two World Trees…!”
Hong Su-jeong couldn’t even finish the sentence.
She stared at me with both eyes wide.
She seemed to be misunderstanding something, but it felt a little awkward to explain that she was wrong.
I’d have to explain how I’d gotten two different kinds of leaves, after all.
So I decided to brush it off.
“I’d rather not answer that.”
“Ah, r-right! That makes sense!”
Visibly flustered, Hong Su-jeong agreed with me at once.
She looked as if she was fretting that I might just turn around and leave with it.
I’d already asked her to take on the commission, so I had no intention of taking it back with me.
“…….”
“Ehehe….”
With an awkward laugh, Hong Su-jeong set the World Tree leaf on the worktable and began appraising it.
I could understand why she was so on edge. From the moment I brought her a World Tree leaf, I’d effectively taken a position of leverage over potion makers like her.
Just having used it personally would raise her standing as a potion maker and give her experience working with a rare material.
Although, Hong Su-jeong seemed interested in it for the material itself, regardless of status or experience.
A few minutes later, when she finished appraising it, she said, “It’s similar to the conifer one, but there’s definitely a difference.”
“A definite difference?”
“Yeah. The World Tree leaf you brought last time restored stamina, right? That’s why I suggested making a healing potion.”
“Right.”
“But this one seems much better at restoring mana than stamina.”
So the conifer was for healing potions, and the deciduous one was for mana potions?
Then this leaf should be used to make mana potions.
If the situation called for making potions rather than cosmetics, anyway.
“How’s the potion market these days?”
“Still the same. High-grade potions just aren’t coming out. I thought it was only Korea, but Japan doesn’t look good either.”
“What about the U.S. and China?”
“They’ve been affected too, but not as badly as Korea.”
So the healing potion problem wasn’t limited to Korea.
The whole world was quietly suffering over healing potions without anyone noticing.
There were so many countries obsessed with healing potions—how could that even happen?
More importantly, why wasn’t this making the news?
“High-grade healing potions were always only sold in small quantities.”
When I asked the question, she answered immediately.
“People who weren’t directly involved, like me or A-class hunters, probably never felt the impact all that much.”
“Ah….”
What she said sounded right.
Since I wasn’t one of those involved, I’d had no idea until now.
And Do-hee’s existence had probably helped keep me from noticing it, too.
There were a lot of healers in Baekwooncheon who’d joined because they were smitten with Do-hee.
And because there were so many healers, there was no need to buy healing potions, which meant potions were basically irrelevant to Baekwooncheon.
“Speaking of A-class hunters, have you heard that these days they’re going into gates carrying mid-grade healing potions?”
“Is it really that bad?”
“Yeah. It probably won’t be long before it hits the news. Something like A-class hunters are hoarding mid-grade potions.”
“Uh, isn’t that the wrong angle?”
“It’s sensational.”
“…….”
It was so reasonable that I had nothing to say.
People loving sensational topics was one of those truths that transcended time and place.
Hong Su-jeong clapped her hands as if to lighten the mood and said, “Oh, right. Do you want to taste it?”
“Taste it?”
“Yeah, the healing potion made from World Tree leaves.”
“It’s already done?”
It had only been a day since I’d asked her to take it on.
Had she already made the healing potion?
Hong Su-jeong shook her head.
“No. I wouldn’t say it’s finished.”
“Then what?”
“I’ve sort of set a guideline? Something like that.”
So, a prototype.
Of course, that was still impressive.
After all, she’d managed to make something usable in just one day.
A healing potion made from World Tree leaves.
Now that was something I was looking forward to.
“Sure. I’m curious what it tastes like.”
“Okay, just a second. I’ll go get a cup.”
And with that, Hong Su-jeong left the workshop.
Just hearing that she was going to get a cup made a strange uneasiness creep up my spine.
I looked around the workshop.
It was a hopeless tangle of books thicker than my forearm and assorted tools scattered everywhere.
She had done the dishes properly, right?
Fortunately, when she came back to the workshop, she was carrying two paper cups.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m just nervous about what it’ll taste like.”
“Why would you be nervous about the taste?”
Hong Su-jeong set the cups on the worktable and walked over to the ice box.
She reached into it and pulled out a clear glass bottle.
Healing potions were usually red, but the liquid inside this bottle was transparent.
Was that because it was a prototype?
“I can try it too, right?”
“Go ahead.”
As soon as Hong Su-jeong opened the cap, a chill rolled out.
She poured it into the paper cups in a thin stream.
Then she handed me one with the transparent potion filled halfway.
“Here you go.”
The cup in my hand sent a cool sensation through my fingers.
She poured herself about half a cup as well.
The glass bottle, now about two-thirds empty, was tucked back into the ice box.
The whole motion was so smooth and efficient it looked like she was operating factory machinery.
I held out my cup to her.
“Hmm? Oh! You want to toast?”
“Yeah.”
“Someone looking at us would think this was alcohol. Cheers!”
She tapped her cup against mine and drank the potion.
I immediately tipped mine back and poured it all into my mouth, too.
There was no doubt this was the first time I’d tasted it, but the flavor was strangely familiar.
I think the first time I’d tasted something like it was during my alternative service days.
We were resting after training, and they’d given us a drink like this.
A beverage with a distinct scent that reminded me of pine resin….
That was it.
The healing potion tasted like—
“This is, uh, kind of like Solxnoon?”
It tasted like Solxnoon.
Hmm, this might be pretty polarizing.
I stared at Hong Su-jeong.
She tilted her head, looking less like she disliked the flavor and more like she was flustered by a taste she’d never experienced before.
I’d had the exact same reaction the first time, too.
I hadn’t hated it, though it did feel cool and refreshing.
Hong Su-jeong set her cup down and asked, “Um, would it be better to change the taste?”
“I’m not sure. Do we really need to change it?”
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
“…Okay.”
Hong Su-jeong nodded.
What was that?
I had the strange feeling that a bit of her goodwill toward me had just vanished.
“Anyway. You’re making a mana potion out of this leaf?”
“Yes, please.”
“Got it!”
She answered brightly, then stared at me intently.
Man, what was I supposed to do about this cheerful little pest of a friend?
“There’s still one more thing.”
“Oh, really?”
I stepped back from the worktable to make some space.
Then I stretched out my left hand and muttered about a pinecone.
From my palm, a pinecone larger than my own body was summoned.
“Kyaaah!”
“W-what is it?”
I jumped and stared at her.
She was flailing both hands exactly as she had when she screamed.
She wasn’t scared.
She looked overwhelmed with excitement.
“World Tree! This is World Tree too!”
“Yeah, it is.”
“You, what on earth are you?”
She grinned from ear to ear and hurried over to the worktable.
Then she circled around the pinecone, inspecting it from every angle.
“Can I take a look?”
“Yeah, that’s why I brought it.”
“Thank you!”
Once I gave her permission, Hong Su-jeong studied the pinecone in detail.
Sniffing it with her nose pressed right against it was just the beginning.
She rubbed it, tapped it, and even put her ear to it to listen for sounds inside.
With a happy smile, she said, “I think appraising this is going to take some time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The outer shell is as hard as a Geisusan tortoise shell, so I’ll need thorough preparations if I want to look inside.”
“...How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Hmm. If it goes quickly, about three days. If it takes longer, maybe four.”
That wouldn’t work.
I needed the pinecone right now.
“I’ll bring it back next time.”
“Huh? No, why!”
Hong Su-jeong barked out the words before clapping both hands over her mouth, realizing she’d spoken too loudly.
“Ah, no, sorry. I wasn’t trying to get mad….”
“Don’t worry. I’m not taking it somewhere else.”
“Ah….”
Thinking I’d seen through her, she blushed faintly.
She waved a hand in front of her face, trying to cool her reddening cheeks.
“Then why are you taking it away?”
“There’s somewhere I need to use it.”
“What? Use it? This? But you haven’t even had it appraised?”
Hong Su-jeong looked flustered, and I gave her a small grin.
I could understand why she didn’t get it. I was saying I was going to use it without even having it appraised.
She had told me exactly what I wanted to know: that the outer shell was as hard as a Geisusan tortoise shell.
“I’m going to throw it.”
“Throw it?”
“Yeah.”
“……??”
Very fast, with a spin added in.
At Saessak’s request.