Episode 82
082: It’s Easier Than I Thought
[The proficiency of the ‘Magic Control’ skill has increased.]
[Your magic resonates with the guidance of the Grand Archmage Astrid, creating synergy.]
[The proficiency of the ‘Elemental Affinity’ skill has increased.]
[The elements resonate with ‘Tia’, creating synergy.]
[The ‘Magic Control’ skill has reached Lv. 2.]
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[The ‘Magic Control’ skill has reached Lv. 5.]
[The ‘Elemental Affinity’ skill has reached Lv. 5.]
“……!”
Astrid’s eyes widened as she watched the scene unfold.
Even for a fast-learning Otherworlder, it should have taken days, if not months, of dedicated training. Merely hunting monsters wouldn’t lead to true proficiency.
But Geumson seemed to be a different case.
“Wow! Master, this magic thing… it’s easier to handle than I thought?”
Astrid was utterly astonished, but she didn’t show it. She simply gave golden hand a light thwack on the head.
“Focus. Maic is fickle and loves to act up, so you must always be wary.”
While Astrid was instructing her cheeky disciple, the cabin door opened carefully after a soft knock. The figure that appeared was a pale-faced young child.
“Grand Archmage… I came because the medicine ran out. Cough, cough…”
The child, looking as if they might collapse at any moment, coughed weakly and held out a worn pouch to Astrid. The child was a resident of this floating island and one of the patients under Astrid’s care.
“Ah, Marie. Come in. The medicine… right, the medicine, I’m sure I…”
A flustered look crossed Astrid’s face as she began rummaging through the cabin. She opened and closed drawers, shuffled through piles of books, desperately searching for something.
“How strange… I’m sure I put it here…”
Seeing Astrid’s uncharacteristic panic, Golden Hand cautiously approached.
“Um… Master?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“If you give me the recipe, I’ll try making the medicine!”
This was an opportunity.
A chance to obtain a recipe from the Grand Archmage Astrid beyond just magic. Moreover, Golden Hand hadn’t had a chance to train the Alchemist skill recently. If things went well, it seemed possible to train two things at once.
Astrid seemed somewhat taken aback by golden hand’s bold offer but then shook her head. She couldn’t entrust a floating island patient to Geumson, who had no alchemical knowledge. That’s why she refused.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but acting hastily could end up creating poison for the patients. You’ve never studied alchemy…”
It was a natural concern from Astrid. But at the mention of alchemy, golden hand spoke up.
“Alchemy! I studied it. I learned from someone named Parakel…”
“Parakel?”
“Huh? Do you happen to know Sir Parakel?”
Astrid’s eyebrow twitched. A forgotten name, yet one that faintly surfaced from the depths of memory—an eccentric old man. That was the Parakel Astrid remembered.
“Don’t tell me… you mean that wandering alchemist who traveled the entire continent and couldn’t resist rare herbs if he saw them?”
“Yes, that’s right. I met him by chance not long ago and received some instruction from him.”
At Golden Hand’s reply, Astrid’s expression changed subtly. A faint smile played on her lips.
“So Parakel is still traveling the world, I see…”
For a moment, she seemed lost in memory, gazing into the distance. Parakel. He was one of the few masters from Astrid’s own era still alive. Though their paths differed, she acknowledged his skill as an alchemist.
“Very well. If you learned alchemy from Parakel… would you like to give it a try?”
Astrid finally gave her permission. She pulled out an old parchment scroll from her robe, along with meticulous medical records detailing Marie’s symptoms, and handed them to Geumson. The moment he received them, messages flashed before him.
[You have obtained Grand Archmage Astrid’s recipe: ‘High-Grade Universal Potion’.]
[Target: Marie]
[Condition: Chronic Exhaustion, Nervous System Damage, Heat Infiltration, Cold Infiltration….]
Geumson’s brow furrowed as he checked the messages. The symptoms listed in the records were each serious. This wasn’t a problem solvable by simply extracting one or two herbs. It was a precarious state where conflicting energies clashed within the body, gnawing away at the spark of life.
“It’s… quite complicated.”
“It is. That’s why ordinary antidotes or restoratives had no effect. We need a special medicine that can harmonize the raging energies inside that child’s body and revive the damaged nerves.”
Astrid led golden hand to her laboratory. A room filled with all manner of alchemical tools—impressive enough that most alchemists wouldn’t dare present their card. Moreover, not only were there fresh herbs, likely just harvested from the floating island’s garden, but also various rare materials she had personally collected.
[Marina Petals]
[Powdered Lava Lizard Scales]
[Frost Spirit’s Breath]
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Geumson spread the materials on the workbench and meticulously read through the recipe again. It detailed the mixing ratios, the order of addition, and even the precise temperature changes required. However.
‘Reading about it and doing it yourself are different things.’
Geumson opened all his senses toward the materials Astrid had prepared.
‘Intuition of Resolve, Insight of the Flow.’
Instantly, his vision changed. The physical structures and the flow of magic within them began to appear in detail before his eyes. Simultaneously, golden hands set to work.
[‘Divine Dexterity’ maximizes the precision of potion crafting.]
[The Precision stat assists in refinement.]
[The Concentration stat assists in accuracy.]
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As golden hands began his work, his skills started to synergize in earnest. Even Astrid seemed surprised by the sight but forced herself to remain silent.
‘Sun’s Right Hand!’
Pure solar flames, shimmering like a heat haze, rose from his palm. They gently enveloped the distiller. And the skill he used next.
‘Extraction!’
[The ‘Extraction’ skill is activated.]
[‘Pure Purification Energy’ is extracted from ‘Marina Petals’.]
[‘Pure Flame Energy’ is extracted from ‘Powdered Lava Lizard Scales’.]
[‘Pure Frost Energy’ is extracted from ‘Frost Spirit’s Breath’.]
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[The ‘Extraction’ skill has reached Lv. 2.]
[The ‘Extraction’ skill has reached Lv. 3.]
As the golden, crimson, and azure liquids mixed, they appeared highly unstable. But Golden Hand didn’t panic. Using Insight of the Flow, he employed the skills he had learned from Astrid.
‘Magic Control, Elemental Affinity!’
[‘Magic Control’ is used to stabilize the unstable magic.]
[‘Elemental Affinity’ is used to harmonize the energies of the materials.]
[The ‘Magic Control’ skill has reached Lv. 6.]
[The ‘Elemental Affinity’ skill has reached Lv. 6.]
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Bubble, bubble—
The various energies began to boil together, merging into one. The heat from Sun’s Right Hand controlled the precise temperature. And at the exact moment the energies fused into a single stream, transforming into a clear orange liquid, he added a single, precise drop of another liquid.
Plink—
[Parakel’s ‘Fairy’s Tear’ stabilizes the potion.]
Instantly, the boiling liquid calmed as if it had been lying. The orange liquid transformed in a flash into a clear, transparent azure. Light burst forth simultaneously, accompanied by messages.
[Crafting successful.]
[Due to the effect of ‘Sun’s Right Hand’, ‘Solar Flame’ is manifested, imbuing it with ‘Divine Power’.]
[A Great Success has been achieved!]
[The grade has been raised by one tier!]
[The ‘Divine Dexterity’ skill has reached Lv. 9.]
[Supreme Universal Potion]
Grade: Legendary
Creator: Golden Hand
Effect: Immediately removes all types of status ailments and rapidly recovers damaged bodies. The effect of Divine Power grants sustained healing.
“……!”
Astrid shot up from her seat. She couldn’t believe her eyes. A potion that had transcended the limits of the recipe, even imbued with a sacred energy. It had already stepped one foot into the realm of divine elixirs.
“Th-this… did you really make this?”
Geumson scratched his head sheepishly and handed her the vial containing the elixir.
“For now… let’s have Marie take it.”
With trembling hands, Astrid took the vial and immediately gave it to Marie. Instantly, color began to return to Marie’s pale cheeks, warmth spread through her ice-cold body, and her incessant coughing gradually subsided.
“Parakel… taught you well. Or perhaps you’re just that exceptional.”
“You flatter me. Is Marie going to be okay now?”
“Look for yourself. With this efficacy… it should work on the other patients on this island as well.”
Astrid couldn’t hide her admiration. Following the original recipe would have only slowly alleviated the symptoms. But the elixir golden hand created had pulled out the root of the illness in one go. However, contrary to the result, Astrid looked at Geumson with worried eyes.
‘A child with so much talent… but that means your shoulders will be heavy, golden hand.’
Astrid had seen golden hand memories. His talent was clearly a blessing, but that made him seem all the more pitiable.
Yet, unlike Astrid’s concerned gaze, Geumson was instead brimming with vitality. Because it seemed he could now help the patients who had been on his mind since he first arrived on the floating island.
“Master, are you perhaps short on herbs for the other patients? I’ll go gather some.”
“……Would you?”
