Episode 317

“Are you mad, by any chance?”

Of course not… I am the Helm of Wisdom. My only purpose is to give wise answers to seekers. Such petty…

‘It seems angry.’

Lee Han thought to himself.

Usually, when someone talks that long, it was rare for them not to be angry.

Of course, the Helm of Wisdom was an artifact, but there was no law saying it couldn’t hold a grudge.

“Hm. Helm of Wisdom… Artifacts with a will like you, who can even answer questions once a month, must be quite valuable, right?”

I suppose you could say that.

The Helm of Wisdom answered, perking up.

It thought at last, this young student had realized its value.

The helmet’s purpose was to seek out and accumulate all knowledge in the world.

For that purpose, it didn’t care how much danger its owner faced.

To pursue that purpose, the owner needed to depend on the helmet and continually ask it questions…

But this arrogant student had thrown it into a pile of luggage and only picked it up much later.

Still, it seemed the student now recognized its value, so the helmet could forgive him.

“Thank you.”

Wait a minute… Why aren’t you asking any questions? Since you can ask once a month, it’s best to make the most of it, you know?

“No. It’s a hassle when I try to sell you.”

Wha…!

Lee Han carefully packed the helmet into a wooden box.

He was extremely pleased at the thought of exchanging it and the ring for silver coins.

• * *

Yoner sighed as she saw Lee Han walking toward her from a distance.

Her friend was headed for the valley of darkness, and there was nothing she could do to stop him. It was truly frustrating.

“I’m really warning you, okay? Don’t blame me later, whatever happens.”

Yoner repeated, sounding worried.

Yoanen Meikin’s Alchemy Workshop, located in the western guild district of Granden City.

Any alchemist who’s anyone knew it—the ruthless hell of alchemy workshops.

Not even a single mistake, not even one second of waste was allowed.

When Yoner was young, she had clung to her sister’s hem while visiting, been terrified, and cried her eyes out; she’d avoided coming here ever since.

“Yoner. All I’ll ever say to you later is thank you.”

“…Lee Han. I like silver coins too, but… I think life might not be all about silver coins.”

Yoner never imagined such a ridiculous, embarrassing thing would come out of her own mouth.

“Money isn’t everything. I know that too. But it makes things easier, doesn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

Their personalities were too similar for Yoner to disagree. While she was unintentionally agreeing, Lee Han opened the workshop door and went inside.

“Wait—”

Splat!

The first thing Lee Han saw upon entering was an alchemist dumping a potion on another alchemist’s face.

“You made garbage. Get out. You’re not needed.”

“W-what! Do you know where I’ve worked before, speaking to me like that?! At the Chungsong Guild and the Clasen Workshop…!!”

“I don’t care where you’ve worked. I only care about your skills now. And you’ve wasted more of my time with unnecessary talk.”

Before the words had even finished, a golem appeared. It grabbed the alchemist by both arms and tossed him out the workshop door.

The alchemist who gave the order didn’t say a word like ‘get back to work.’

The other alchemists in the workshop didn’t even glance over, all immersed in their own work.

“Is this Einrogard?”

“Told you so…”

Yoner said in a weak voice.

She was worried she might lose a friend before vacation was even over.

• * *

Yoanen adjusted her amethyst glasses with gloved hands to greet them.

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting. You’re a bit early.”

“I was so excited thinking I’d be able to work at this famous workshop, I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“……”

Yoner looked at Lee Han with a complicated expression.

She knew her friend was good at flattery, but this was a bit much…

With that level of flattery, Yoanen’s eyes softened behind her amethyst glasses.

“You’re just a lower-year student, but you’re already so enthusiastic… No wonder you’re so well known.”

“Thank you. But, if I may, what rumors are you referring to?”

“I heard you overwhelmingly defeated a mage from Baldrogard in a duel?”

“There’s a bit of misunderstanding in that rumor…”

“At the imperial residence, you subdued a basilisk.”

“That’s true, but even then…”

“And I heard you recently subjugated a wicked being from another world.”

‘Does this city have something like a professors’ bulletin board too?’

Lee Han shivered at how fast information spread in Granden City’s circles, just like among the professors at Einrogard.

Of course, reputation spreading wasn’t a bad thing.

But if it didn’t match your true ability, it could only be harmful.

What if people misunderstood and thought, ‘Oh, subjugating beings from another world or catching basilisks is your hobby’?

Lee Han had already experienced this at Einrogard once. He’d rather not go through it again.

“I didn’t subjugate any beings from another world? Must be a rumor gone wrong.”

Yoner backed Lee Han up, looking puzzled. Lee Han spoke bitterly.

“Actually, I did.”

“…When?!”

“After registering with the Adventurer Guild, with the White Tiger Tower guys. Those idiots picked a fight for no reason…”

“……”

Yoner gave up defending her friend.

At this point, it seemed less about bad luck and more like Lee Han brought it on himself.

“There’s no need to worry so much. The things that need doing in the workshop aren’t that dangerous.”

“You mean it?”

Yoner’s voice was full of anxiety.

She already felt like she was about 30 minutes away from losing her friend.

“Of course. Think about it, Yoner. The alchemists working in this workshop are all at least ten years experienced, highly skilled experts. No matter how talented, we can’t just assign a first-year student directly.”

“True.”

Yoner was swayed a little by her sister’s logic.

Come to think of it, no matter how talented Lee Han was, he hadn’t yet learned all the intricate secrets of alchemy.

Lee Han, listening from the side, whispered quietly to Yoner.

“Mm. Yoner. I don’t really want to say this, but you can work anyone, even if they’re not at the level.”

Just as Professor Verdus did, even if Lee Han’s magic wasn’t fully up to standard, he had a specialty.

A mana reserve so vast it couldn’t be measured.

“So…”

“By the way, Yoner, could you deliver this letter to Mrs. Onette? She’d be so glad to see you after so long.”

Yoanen interrupted and handed a letter to Yoner.

Receiving the letter, Yoner glanced at Lee Han with a mix of anxiety and concern. It was the look of someone who felt her friend might die the moment she looked away.

“Go ahead. I’ll be fine.”

“…Seriously, be careful. Lee Han, remember what I said.”

As Yoner closed the door and left, Yoanen asked curiously,

“May I ask what my little sister said earlier?”

“She said life might not be all about silver coins.”

“There’s no way she’d say that.”

Lee Han was taken aback by her unwavering trust in her sister.

“Well, anyway… Since my sister’s gone, shall we get started?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go.”

Yoanen rose from her chair and led Lee Han down the corridor of the workshop.

The mixture of complex fragrances everywhere really confirmed this was an alchemist’s workshop.

“Do you know where this is?”

“Is this Lady Meikin’s lab?”

“Correct.”

Yoanen swung her staff, summoning ingredients from the shelves.

Water filled the cauldron, and on top of it, the herbs were chopped. When the fire was stoked under the cauldron, heat rose up.

“The potion we’ll be making is the -Dovruk’s Soul Reincarnation Potion-. Are you familiar with it?”

“I know what kind of potion it is.”

Professor Thunderstep was mischievous, but unlike certain crazy vampire professors, he didn’t threaten students to immediately make potions they couldn’t possibly make.

In that sense, -Dovruk’s Soul Reincarnation Potion- was a difficult potion that Lee Han couldn’t yet create at his current level.

There were a few spells he didn’t know yet, and the ingredients and methods far more complex…

“Even just knowing about it is impressive. Today, all you need to do is process and add the potion’s key ingredient—Drapila. In short, you’ll be playing the role of my assistant.”

It sounded simple, but Lee Han wasn’t careless.

Things in this world weren’t so easy that you could earn silver coins so simply.

“Is there anything I should pay attention to when adding it?”

Yoanen’s eyes sparkled at Lee Han’s question.

As expected of Einrogard’s top student, he understood things without them having to be explained.

“Prepare it just as in the picture. Do you know the -Essence Amplification- spell? I don’t think you’ve learned it yet.”

“If you teach me, I’ll learn.”

“I have other things today, so please learn it within 30 minutes.”

Yoanen began to show her subtle madness.

If Yoner were here, she’d have begged, ‘Please come to your senses, that’s my friend!’

What kind of wizard learns a brand-new spell in 30 minutes?

“All right.”

But Lee Han wasn’t fazed or surprised at all.

He’d already met much crazier people at Einrogard.

Yoanen quickly explained the staff movement, incantation, and flow of magic.

“Think of it as an extension of the -Component Separation- spell.”

“I understand.”

“Give it a try.”

Lee Han swung his staff—and succeeded in one try.

Yoanen was impressed.

She’d expected thirty minutes, but he succeeded instantly.

A sense of excitement at finally getting a capable helper rose within her.

“Excellent.”

“Thank you.”

“Then try extracting Drapila’s liquid essence and amplifying it.”

It sounded simple, but it was anything but.

Drapila was a plant with liquid essence firmly locked in its roots, and even extracting it was exceedingly difficult.

If too much force was applied, the root would break apart into a messy slush before the liquid even came out.

To accomplish this, not only superb mana control but also a deep understanding of and experience with the water element was necessary.

Squelch!

With a sound like squeezing a cloth, the essence was extracted from inside the Drapila.

Any other alchemists in the workshop would have been shocked.

No matter how skilled, for a first-year student to already do this…

However, Yoanen shook her head.

“There are impurities in the essence. I’ll need you to do it again.”

Here was the genuine touch of madness Yoner feared.

Even if you reached 99, she pointed out the one missing to reach 100 and told you to start over—a perfectionist nature.

Had other alchemists been present, they’d have said, ‘Lady Meikin, this is why you can’t keep assistants, please settle down!’ But unfortunately, there was no one else here.

“All right.”

Lee Han extracted the liquid again. Yoanen said, disappointed,

“There was a little waste in your extraction. I’ll need you to do it again.”

“Yes.”

“There was a problem in the amplification. There was some distortion, so please do it again.”

“No problem.”

Normally, after succeeding at such a difficult process, being told to start over for trivial reasons would make someone grit their teeth the second time and run out the door on the third.

But unfortunately, at the moment, there wasn’t a single sane person in this lab.

“How about this one?”

“It’s almost done. Just one more time…”

“Yes.”

• * *

Yoner burst through the door, panting.

“I’m back! Nothing happened, right?!”

“Not really.”

“We were working just fine.”

Lee Han and Yoanen greeted Yoner with serene smiles that seemed to say, ‘Why are you making such a fuss?’

Those unsettling smiles somehow sent chills down Yoner’s spine.