Chapter 56: Episode 56

It wasn’t until much later that I heard the Calam guild had vanished without a trace. The entire organization, gone. The official investigation concluded it was likely an accident in an unreported dungeon, but no one knew for sure.

’The timing… She didn’t actually have them wiped out, did she?’

The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. Our relationship wasn’t strong enough for her to eliminate an entire guild on my behalf. Either that, or she was even more unhinged than I imagined.

In any case, with Calam gone, a major weight was off my shoulders. The online communities were celebrating.

—Good riddance to those bastards.

—So satisfying.

—Who’s the hero that took out Calam?

The press was suspiciously quiet about the whole affair, as if under a gag order. Seojin returned to work at the Magic Tower, and things for me went back to normal. Our lives returned to normal.

The semi-finals and finals of the early graduation tournament were still scheduled, but I formally withdrew, citing injuries from my duel with Hong Yeon. It was a lie, of course. There was no prize money for first place, and I had no need to impress any scouts. My only goal had been to earn an official hunter license so I could enter dungeons freely. The whole process, from the end of the tournament to receiving my rank-5 license, would take about two months. All I had to do now was wait.

And so, today…

“To Yusin becoming an official hunter! Cheers!”

For the first time in a while, we were all gathered at the Magic Tower for a small party. Everyone had brought takeout and drinks, spreading them across the main table.

“Should I start calling you Hunter Kim now?” Bora asked, poking me in the ribs.

I shook my head. “The tournament isn’t even over. It’ll be a few more months before I get the actual license.”

“Still! You’re not a student anymore. You’re entering the world of the pros! I’m so jealous.”

“Congratulations, Tower Master,” Seojin added.

“Yummy. Yusin, what’s an official?” Eunsol mumbled around a mouthful of food.

The party continued in a lively chaos. Seojin, his face flushed from the alcohol, was launching into a bizarre philosophical treatise on the merits of commoner food. Bora was patiently teaching Ea the proper way to eat, demonstrating how to dip a glass noodle dumpling into the spicy ’tteokbokki’ sauce. Eunsol sat happily with a slice of pizza in one hand and a piece of fried chicken in the other, alternating bites.

As everyone grew full and the festive mood began to mellow, I clapped my hands to get their attention. “Alright, everyone. Since we’re all here, how about we go over our recent progress?”

“I’ll start,” Seojin said immediately, as if he’d been waiting. He opened his laptop. “First, the best news. The ’Zombie Hunting Ground’ in Paju that we acquired has successfully passed the Association’s review, and we’ve obtained the official operating license.”

“Awesome! A round of applause, everyone!” Bora cheered, waving her arms to hype up the room. Ea and Eunsol clapped along.

“We focused on viral marketing for the promotion, and it was highly effective,” Seojin continued. “Word spread like wildfire through the player communities. We’ve been flooded with calls and emails. In fact, we’re already booked solid for the next three months.”

“Wow, three months?” Bora’s eyes went wide.

“I’m looking forward to next month’s profits.”

“A lot of businesses are looking to set up shop nearby, so the income from security deposits should be substantial as well,” Seojin added.

The fact that the Magic Tower now had a steady stream of revenue was a massive development. With our foundation secure, we could gradually begin to expand our operations.

“So, how is the potion distribution coming along?” I asked.

“It’s proceeding smoothly,” he reported. “We’ve shut down the dummy factory in Seocho that Calam discovered, and we’re preparing a new one by leasing a facility on the Association’s research grounds.”

Seojin was already drafting a new strategy, making full use of the resources I’d secured from the Association President.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” I said, dipping a piece of blood sausage in the spicy tteokbokki sauce and feeding it to Eunsol. “How are we going to move the potions from the Magic Tower to the dummy factory? Do you have a plan for that?”

“Yes. I originally planned to use vehicles, but I’ve since revised the strategy. We’ll be using the first-floor administrator’s subspace ability.”

“That’s right! We already tested it!” Bora chimed in, opening her palm to reveal a shimmering green subspace. “As you know, I can move things in and out of the first-floor warehouse whenever I want. So, every morning, I’ll go to the dummy factory, bring the potion ingredients here, and then take the finished potions back to the factory!”

“Oh, if that works, it’s far better than driving back and forth. Can you move a large enough volume?”

“It would be difficult to move enough to fill the entire warehouse at once, but for now, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

It was an excellent method. We could produce the potions within the Association’s facility without ever bringing an outsider into the Magic Tower. Even if an industry spy managed to infiltrate the grounds, they would never uncover our manufacturing secrets.

“That concludes my report, Tower Master.”

“Good work. Bora, you’re up.”

“You bet!” she chirped, pulling out her smartphone and opening a notes app. “First, here’s a list of the potions I’ve successfully brewed.”

She ran down the list, reporting that she could create intermediate Red and Blue Elixirs with a ninety-percent success rate and could also mass-produce potions that granted resistance to heat, cold, and poison.

“Oh! And there’s this, too!” Bora rummaged through her bag and pulled out a vial. “Ta-da! I call it the Confession Potion!”

The name was certainly on the nose. “Don’t tell me it’s a potion that actually makes you confess your secrets.”

“Bingo! You got it!”

’…Seriously? Is it even possible to create something straight out of a romance novel?’

“But the effect is minimal if you just drink it normally! It has to be enchanted by me, and the target has to drink it at the exact moment they’re tormented by guilt. They also have to be conscientious enough to feel remorse in the first place, and it mostly works on civilians, not players. Players have a natural magic resistance, so it’s not very effective on them. Also…”

The more she talked, the more conditions there seemed to be. Sensing my skepticism, Bora gave a sheepish smile. “It actually works by amplifying the target’s guilt to make them confess. Hehe.”

So it wasn’t a simple truth serum. Of course a potion that convenient couldn’t exist.

“Still, developing a potion that affects human psychology is a huge achievement. I’m sure we’ll find a use for it someday.”

“I knew you’d understand!” she said, pressing the potion to her cheek and winking. She was such a little devil. “While we’re at it, I’ll report on the others. This one’s a Courage Potion, and this is a Composure Potion…”

She pulled vial after vial from her bag, explaining each one. It was all somehow incredible, yet utterly useless.

Eunsol, who had been nibbling on pig’s trotters, suddenly asked, “Hey, Bora! Is there a love potion?”

I didn’t miss the way Bora flinched.

“Oh, so there is one. Why didn’t you mention it?”

“Ahaha… Well, you see…”

“You weren’t planning on slipping it into someone’s drink, were you?”

Sweating bullets, she waved her hands frantically. “N-No, it’s not actually a love potion!”

“Then what is it?”

She scratched her head, embarrassed, and pulled out a pink-hued potion. “A lust potion…”

“Pfft!”

I involuntarily spat out my beer. Eunsol’s eyes went wide as she tugged on my sleeve. “Yusin, what’s lust?”

’…You’re about ten years too young for that conversation.’

Just then, Ea, who had been cleaning up behind us, answered with a deadpan expression. “Lust is the phenomenon of feeling sexual desire for the body of the opposite sex, which occurs when a male and female engage in physical contact—Mmph!”

Bora scrambled to cover Ea’s mouth, her face beet red as she sighed. “This is exactly why I wasn’t going to mention it here.”

’…Yeah. You were right about that.’

I smacked the back of Seojin’s head as he stared, dumbfounded, between Ea and the lust potion.

“Alright, Eunsol, you’re next,” I said.

“Okay!”

Eunsol shot up from her seat and trotted over to a white cloth covering something in the corner. I’d been pretending not to notice, but it was clearly her creation.

“I will now begin my presentation!” she announced, yanking the cloth with all her might. Or rather, she tried to. She was too small and the cloth was too big, causing her to stumble on the first attempt. “Ta-da!” she tried again, adding her own sound effect, but this time she tripped and fell flat. Adorable. She was probably trying to recreate a scene from her favorite show, ’Purong Purong Pupipi’, but it wasn’t going as planned.

Finally, Ea stepped in. As Eunsol pulled at the cloth, Ea waved a hand, and the fabric fluttered all the way up to the ceiling.

“Ta-da!”

“Woooooow!” we all exclaimed.

As expected, it was a golem. We all feigned surprise, clapping and cheering like proud parents at a school talent show.

“This is a golem that makes potions!”

“Whoa, it’s already finished?”

“Yep! I’ll show you!” Eunsol closed her eyes and stretched out her right hand. Guided by her Remote Control ability, the golem stirred and walked toward the cauldron. We all gathered around with our drinks and snacks, waiting for the historic moment to unfold.

“I’m more nervous now than when NASA announces a major discovery,” Seojin muttered.

Beside him, Bora shot him a glare. “Why would that make you nervous?”

“If you don’t understand, let’s just say it’s like waiting for an EXIO comeback announcement.”

“Hey! Did you just call me stupid?”

The response came from an unexpected source. Ea’s eyes sparkled as she interjected, “Affirmative. EXIO is a truly excellent boy group.”

Seojin’s face lit up. “You like EXIO too, Ea?”

“Yes.”

Having stumbled upon a common interest, Seojin smirked and pulled out his smartphone. I saw him type into his notes: ’Research EXIO. Top priority.’

“Okay, I’m starting!” Having finished the detailed setup, Eunsol stepped back. Lights on the golem’s body flickered on, and it began to move with a creak, manipulating the magic circle on the cauldron all by itself.

“…Whoa!” Everyone’s eyes widened.

I looked at Eunsol. “You’re not controlling it, are you?”

“Nope! I’m not using my ability!” she said, swinging her arms back and forth.

Next, I looked at Ea. She just shrugged and shook her head. The golem was truly moving on its own. It filled the cauldron with water and lit the fire. The sight of it stirring the massive ladle once the water began to boil was so incredible it gave me goosebumps.

“Oh my gosh!” Bora clapped, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“A genius is a genius, after all,” Seojin remarked.

But just as things were going well, an accident occurred. The liquid sizzled and splattered everywhere.

“Ugh! I think the golem added too much of one ingredient!” Bora explained.

“So what’s the fix?”

“Lower the temperature and add more water.”

The situation required an adaptive response, but the golem could only follow its rigid programming. When it added the ground herbs before the contents were fully mixed, the liquid bubbled up violently and overflowed.

“Aaaah!”

The contents of the cauldron sprayed everywhere, making a mess of the walls and floor. Seojin quickly ran over and extinguished the flame. As everyone breathed a sigh of relief, fat tears began to roll down Eunsol’s cheeks.

“…Eunsol.”

“I’m sorry, Yusin. I wanted to be helpful… You even got me the ingredients…”

My chest clenched. This Over-immersion ability had been a real pain lately, making me feel overly invested in every little thing. I forced myself to regain my composure. “You did great, Eunsol. It’s only been a week since we decided to make a potion golem. We wouldn’t have even gotten this far without you.”

I meant every word. Seojin chimed in from the side. “This could become one of the most important processes in the Magic Tower. Trial and error is only natural. Now we just need to figure out how to control the variables.”

Bora knelt and stroked Eunsol’s hair. “I think the water temperature was the problem. It won’t be hard if we just create a manual based on my movements. I’ll help you however I can!”

Comforted by everyone, Eunsol stopped crying and nodded. Once she had calmed down, we returned to the lobby and resumed the party. Exhausted after her crying spell, Eunsol lay down on the sofa and began to doze off. Ea gently covered her with a warm blanket. The rest of the night was for the adults. Getting into the spirit of things for the first time in a while, we finished the soju and ended up opening a bottle of expensive liquor I’d been saving.

“Yeeeaaah. This is nice,” Bora slurred, laughing as she perched on the edge of the lobby counter, tipsy and flushed.

“You’ve had a lot to drink.”

“I’m totally fine! One hundred percent sober!”

Definitely drunk. Bora fell silent, her gaze wandering across the brilliant golden lobby, the table cluttered with leftovers, the magic cauldron stained with potion residue. Her eyes finally landed on me.

“It feels like a dream.”

* * *

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