Chapter : 5 The Alchemist of Florin (1)
“……”
After the final distillation process, a yellowish liquid slowly dripped down.
Rotem patiently watched until the amount reached about half a cup, then without hesitation, he picked it up and swallowed everything in one gulp.
Since he had not added even a single ingredient for taste or smell, he immediately gagged and twisted his face in disgust.
The Black Spirit, who had been watching the entire process from the side, carefully floated closer while showing its white teeth.
[How is it?]
“……Honestly, I don’t know.”
Rotem spoke with a sick expression as he placed the cup down.
“I followed the recipe exactly, but this ‘Elixir of Insight’ is supposed to sharpen the senses so you can find an opponent’s weakness.
I’m not an adventurer hunting monsters or a soldier fighting in battles, so how am I supposed to feel the effect?”
[Hmm, but the health recovery potions and stamina potions worked pretty quickly.]
“That’s because as long as the ingredients are good, their quality is guaranteed even without special extra processing.
And it’s easy to feel the effects immediately.
But the problem is these enhancement-type elixirs…
Even if I want to test the effects somehow, I can’t just grab random people and pick fights with them…”
[……]
One week.
A full week had passed since Rotem used the rest of his money after signing the workshop contract to buy countless materials and throw himself into all kinds of alchemy experiments.
During that week, aside from two or three hours of sleep, meals, and the ‘work’ needed for mushroom deliveries, Rotem spent every remaining moment in front of the alchemy tools.
It was his way of proving everything he had learned from alchemy books, recipes, and the knowledge he picked up while working in Florin Village.
Even to the Black Spirit, who needed neither rest nor sleep, it looked extremely harsh.
Several times during the week, it had to force Rotem to rest and eat properly so he would not collapse.
[That bidding method you talked about… can’t you just use recovery potions for it?]
At the Black Spirit’s question, Rotem slowly shook his head.
“Like I said earlier, recovery potions depend more on ingredient quality than the alchemist’s skill.
That means they aren’t enough to show my own strengths, and from the judges’ perspective, they’re hard to distinguish from others.
That’s why enhancement-type elixirs are important.
Their quality changes greatly depending on the alchemist’s skill and know-how, on top of the ingredients.
I need competitiveness there if I want to win bids.”
[So the problem is that the only way to properly test this elixir is to personally fight someone.]
“Exactly.”
The disgusting taste still seemed to linger in his mouth, and Rotem kept smacking his lips uncomfortably.
The Black Spirit watched him with a deeper grin.
Rotem could not even drink water carelessly because he feared it might weaken the effects on his body.
[What about asking someone else to drink it instead? Maybe a nearby hunter or something.]
“What kind of person would willingly drink an elixir made by some slave they barely know?
And even if someone did drink it, if something went wrong—and rumors spread that I was the one who made it—it could all end before I even properly begin.”
[Still, wouldn’t it be better to have as many test subjects as possible? Even if it works well on you, there’s no guarantee it’ll work the same on other races.]
“……”
It was a sharp point.
Most existing alchemy recipes were designed to produce stable effects for all races, even if that meant slightly lowering the overall strength.
Especially with sensitive substances like elixirs, the condition of ingredients, their quantity, and even tiny environmental changes could greatly affect the result.
That was why most formulas only became officially accepted after wide-scale testing proved both their safety and usefulness.
“Well, anyway. Before Mr. Tulkas comes the day after tomorrow, I need to at least finish basic effect testing somehow. Safety testing can come second.”
[You’re making more?]
The Black Spirit shook its head in disbelief while looking at the empty bottles scattered under the alchemy tools.
During the past week, Rotem had barely drunk any normal fluids.
He had replaced almost all hydration with the potions and elixirs he made himself while endlessly experimenting and practicing.
“Of course. First, I need to gather more mushrooms. Let’s go. We need to do some ‘work’ in the cave tonight.”
[……Ah, sure.]
Rotem grabbed his herb bag and axe before stepping out of the workshop.
The fresh forest air cleared his mind, which had been soaked with the smells of herbs and potions.
The effects of countless recovery potions had already erased all physical exhaustion, so his steps felt incredibly light as he walked down the village path.
Completely unaware of the pair of eyes hidden in the shadows,
carefully waiting for him to move.
[Hey, aren’t you overdoing it?]
“……”
[Dawn Grass, Flame Scale Flower… and what was this again? Clown Mushroom?]
“……”
[If we keep doing this much ‘work’ all at once, I’m gonna collapse first.]
“……”
The Black Spirit floated around him nonstop, talking endlessly, but Rotem gave almost no response at all.
He simply continued identifying herbs and mushrooms and placing them into his bag.
Normally, he would chat with the Black Spirit while gathering only what he needed before immediately heading toward the cave for their ‘work.’
But for some reason, Rotem was acting as if the Black Spirit did not even exist, focusing only on gathering.
And before long, the Black Spirit figured out why.
[Ah, is it because of that brat secretly following us right now?]
“……”
[It’s that girl who keeps coming to pick fights with you. What was her name again? Ju… Ju…]
“Juno.”
Without barely moving his lips, Rotem answered in a tiny voice only the Black Spirit could hear.
The Black Spirit’s grin widened as it looked past the shadows of the thick forest.
Dense trees and waist-high grass made it difficult to spot the shadows of any living creature.
And between them, there was the obvious gaze of a Shai girl.
[So she’s trying to steal the mushroom colony you found? She’s so obvious that it’s almost cute.]
“I’m just going to keep wandering around gathering herbs until she gives up. So even if it gets boring, endure it.”
Right now, the giant youth looked exactly like a hardworking laborer honestly gathering herbs and mushrooms.
The Black Spirit laughed openly as it turned back toward Rotem.
[Still, impressive that you noticed her. She was trying pretty hard to hide her presence.]
“Maybe it’s because of all the elixirs I drank earlier. My senses feel really sharp.”
[Really? You don’t look any different.]
“That’s because instead of using those sharp senses to swing an axe, I’m using them to find herbs.”
Rotem let out a short sigh.
But the Black Spirit did not give up its grin.
[Still, that means your elixir actually works, doesn’t it?]
“Testing the effects by gathering herbs and mushrooms feels a little…”
Rotem’s hand stopped while brushing dirt off a mushroom.
His senses were focused deep into the forest far away, and the Black Spirit’s red eyes were now staring in the same direction.
[Hmm… looks like she gave up?]
“Well, we’ve been wandering through the mountains gathering herbs and mushrooms for hours.”
After noticing the girl following him, Rotem intentionally chose rough mountain paths while continuing to gather materials.
For Rotem, who was born a Giant and used to physical labor, the climb was not difficult.
But for the Shai girl blindly following him, it must have been exhausting.
[So now we’re heading to the cave?]
“Yeah. Thanks to all this, we’ll probably end up doing a lot of ‘work’ today.”
[……Don’t tell me you’re actually planning to use all of this?]
“It’d be a waste not to after gathering it all. Besides, it’s best to practice with top-quality ingredients.”
[……]
Ignoring the Black Spirit’s gloomy reaction, Rotem lightly made his way down the slope.
“Ugh, it suddenly started pouring.”
Because he had sprinted down the mountain to avoid the sudden rain, by the time Rotem reached the cave entrance, he was completely out of breath.
“Still, I got here way faster than expected.”
[……The more I think about it, your elixir effects seem insanely good.]
“Forget that and let’s finish the work quickly and head back. I wasted too much time shaking her off. The sun’s going down soon.”
The cave was damp and filled with an ominous atmosphere.
Rotem knew very well what appeared there at night, so there was clear urgency in the way he hurried toward the work rock.
“Start processing these first. I’ll go deeper inside and gather some truffles.”
[Hey, wait. You seriously expect me to do all this?]
Leaving behind the shadow’s desperate complaints, Rotem skillfully moved deeper into the cave.
After exploring Caphras Cave so many times, he had reached the point where he could move through most areas even without light.
In Florin Village, the cave was treated almost like a forbidden place, but even before meeting the Black Spirit, Rotem never understood why it was considered so dangerous.
Of course, he once faced a huge crisis after encountering an adventurer consumed by something.
But in his mind, couldn’t people simply avoid entering at night when such monsters appeared?
However, that assumption was wrong.
First of all, what Rotem encountered before was not a monster that only appeared at night, but an actual adventurer who had been consumed by something.
And the reason Chief Valentine and the villagers warned everyone about the cave was not because of the consumed adventurers themselves,
but because of the ‘something’ that consumed them.
In other words, Rotem had underestimated two dangers inside the cave.
For unknown reasons, he simply had unusually high resistance against the cave’s ominous energy, while ordinary people would suffer mentally and physically just from approaching it.
And for equally unknown reasons, the ‘consumed ones’ no longer approached him anymore—even though they were always hiding within the cave.
“Kyaaaaah—!”
A sharp scream echoed throughout the cave walls.
The sound was so loud and clear that before he even realized it, Rotem had already thrown aside his mushrooms and bag and was sprinting toward the cave entrance where the scream came from.
