The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

65. Elixir (1)

[The Leech Beast is dead.]

I frowned as I looked at the message from Professor Elisha.

‘The Leech Beast is dead?’

The Leech Beast was a crucial clue in tracking down Jackal.

Professor Elisha had personally kept the beast in a life-support device to ensure it wouldn’t die, and now it was dead overnight.

[Did someone break in and kill it?]

[No, it just suddenly exploded and died.]

Suddenly, it exploded and died.

‘Looks like Jackal had a hand in this.’

I clicked my tongue and replied to Professor Elisha.

[It’s Jackal’s doing.]

[I think so too.]

Whatever the reason.

With the only clue, the leech’s minion, dead, further pursuit was impossible.

‘Well, I’ve already found out most of the information I could anyway.’

Rather, with the sudden death of the leech’s minion, I gained new information that Jackal could kill his minions from a distance, so it wasn’t a loss.

[Then, unless we have other clues, we’ll have to wait for him to make a move.]

[That’s right.]

[Understood. I’ll contact you again later.]

Just as I was about to close the message window.

[Wait.]

[c( ‘o’)っ]

Professor Elisha sent a special character emoticon that’s been popular among the candidates recently.

‘What, even using emoticons?’

Candidates use them often, but it’s rare to see older heroes like Professor Elisha use them….

[What is this? Suddenly feeling very unpleasant….]

No.

What’s with the performance of the Blessing of Insight?

[Candidate Dale. Are you perhaps having disrespectful thoughts right now?]

[I swear on my parents’ names, I’ve never had such thoughts.]

[Hmm… But aren’t you from an orphanage?]

[Are you insulting me by saying I’m an orphan who doesn’t even know my parents’ names?]

[Ah, no. That’s not what I meant….]

Even through the text, I could sense Professor Elisha’s flustered state.

I didn’t back down and pressed her further.

[The narrow-minded thought that orphans wouldn’t even know their parents’ names is an insult to the tens of thousands of orphans, including myself!]

[I’m sorry, Cadet Dale. I was short-sighted.]

[It’s alright.]

[As a token of my apology, could you tell me your parents’ names?]

[So, what were you going to say earlier?]

[…Cadet Dale.]

For some reason, it seemed like Professor Elisha was letting out a deep sigh beyond the message window.

[Let’s get back to the main topic.]

[Yes.]

[A magic stone was found in the crocodile beast.]

A magic stone.

A type of magical crystal found inside beasts, used in various things like artifacts, magical tools, and elixirs.

Even the Hero Watch that Professor Elisha and I were using to exchange messages contained a magic stone.

‘Of course, the magic stones used in everyday items like this are mostly low-grade.’

Low-grade magic stones could be mass-produced without having to hunt beasts, so they were mainly used in everyday magical tools like the Hero Watch.

But the ones that could be produced were only up to low to mid-grade.

For higher-grade magic stones, you had to hunt beasts directly, so the price of high-grade magic stones skyrocketed.

‘Just because you hunt a beast doesn’t mean you’ll always get one.’

Moreover, the more ‘eyes’ a beast had, the higher the grade of the magic stone, but the lower the chance of finding one.

In other words.

The fact that a magic stone was found in an eight-eyed beast was quite promising news.

[What grade is it?]

[They said it’s high-grade, close to top-grade.]

[High-grade is high-grade, what’s this “close to top-grade”?]

[The amount of magic contained in the stone is comparable to top-grade, but the purity and quality are lower, so it’s classified as high-grade.]

[Oh.]

Still, the amount of magic is comparable to top-grade, huh.

[How much would it sell for?]

[Well, at least 5 million gold.]

5 million gold.

Converted to the old Republic’s currency value, it was a fortune exceeding 5 billion.

“No, with that amount of money, you could buy a house in the center of Valhalla City, couldn’t you?”

It was too large an amount to ignore.

“The problem is, I don’t have the authority to dispose of the monster’s corpse.”

As a candidate without an official hero certification, he didn’t have the right to dispose of the monster’s corpse and allocate the spoils.

Moreover, the crocodile monster was Jackal’s familiar.

It was awkward to claim a share under the pretext of being a ‘subject of investigation.’

“Ugh.”

Unable to shake off his lingering regret, he swallowed his sigh.

At that moment, a new message arrived from Professor Elisha, accompanied by a clear bell sound.

[The disposal of this magic stone will be entrusted to Candidate Dale.]

What?

[Do you mean you will hand over the magic stone to me?]

[Yes.]

[But that’s…]

[Didn’t Candidate Dale kill the crocodile monster? Even if you don’t have an official hero certification yet, I can’t arbitrarily dispose of your belongings.]

“Ah.”

Yes.

This is what a true educator is!

‘If it were Professor Lucas, he would have given it to me but made a big fuss about it, annoying me.’

As expected, Professor Elisha, with her abundant life experience, had a different skill in handling people!

[…Are you perhaps.]

[If that’s your intention, Professor, I have no choice. I’ll take it and use it well.]

[……]

[૮(⇀‸↼‵‵)ა]

From noble mtl dot com

Professor Elisha sent an emoji with a sullen expression, as if feeling uneasy.

But even with the blessing of insight, she couldn’t read his thoughts, so there was no further questioning.

[The magic stone will be sent through Assistant Vincent.]

[Yes.]

About 30 minutes had passed since the conversation with Professor Elisha ended.

Knock, knock.

There was a knock on the dormitory door.

‘That was quick.’

When I opened the door, I saw Vincent, the assistant, holding a square box.

“Professor Elisha asked me to deliver this to you.”

“You came quickly.”

“It’s the professor’s order.”

In Vincent’s brief reply, I could sense his unwavering loyalty to Professor Elisha.

I let out a small laugh and took the box from Vincent.

When I opened the box, there was a dark, ominous stone emitting a black glow.

I nodded as I held the stone, which was about the size of a fist.

“Good, it’s here.”

“So it was a magic stone.”

“Did you run this errand without even knowing what was inside?”

“…….”

Is this what happens to all assistants?

As I looked at him with a hollow laugh, Vincent stared back at me and spoke.

“These days, the professor seems very interested in Cadet Dale.”

“Yes, well, it seems that way.”

Was it because of his appearance?

It was an absurd reason, but I could tell from her actions that Professor Elisha had some affection for me.

“Are you perhaps jealous?”

“No way.”

When I asked playfully, Vincent gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

“To me, Professor Elisha is like a mother. She took me in when I had lost all hope and was wandering aimlessly.”

“A benefactor?”

“I, too, am a survivor of a demon attack, just like Professor Elisha.”

Vincent’s expression turned wistful as if recalling the past.

“There are many others who have benefited from the professor’s kindness. She even runs a foundation for victims who lost their homes and families to demons.”

“…I see.”

I had never known that Professor Elisha ran such a foundation.

“The professor donates all the money he earns as a hero for the foundation and his salary as a special professor. He insists on using only cheap brands, saying that even spending money on cigarettes is a waste.”

“……”

“He lives his life sacrificing himself for others.”

Assistant Vincent continued, his eyes filled with respect for Professor Elisha.

“Honestly, I think it’s a relief.”

“A relief?”

“That Professor Elisha has another interest, a candidate named Dale.”

Assistant Vincent smiled faintly as he looked at me.

“I…”

“Haha. You don’t need to take it so seriously. A person’s heart doesn’t change just because it’s forced.”

Assistant Vincent laughed softly and shook his head.

“But, please remember this one thing.”

For a moment, Assistant Vincent’s eyes flashed fiercely.

“If you hurt him… I won’t stand by.”

Assistant Vincent stroked the hilt of the sword at his waist.

I swallowed a chuckle and nodded.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

Assistant Vincent bowed his head and turned around.

“Oh, by the way, about that magic stone. Are you thinking of selling it? Or do you have a use for it?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure.”

It’s an expensive item that could fetch at least 5 million gold if sold.

‘It’s better to use it than to sell it.’

High-grade magic stones could also be made into ‘elixirs’ that increase magical power.

‘I still have the elixir I got from Yuren.’

With Professor Jade’s skills, it would be possible to mix the magic stone into the existing elixir to amplify its effects.

“If you use it, you’ll need to go through a ‘purification’ process first.”

Assistant Vincent pointed to the ominous black aura emanating from the magic stone as he spoke.

As he said.

A magic stone freshly harvested from a beast’s body couldn’t be used without being ‘purified’ by holy power.

“If necessary, I can introduce you to a purification sorcerer from the Holy Kingdom who can purify the magic stone.”

“No, it’s fine.”

I shook my head with a sly smile.

Why would I need to entrust the purification of the magic stone to a sorcerer?

“I already know someone who can purify the magic stone.”

Someone incomparable to a mere sorcerer from the Holy Kingdom. I have the ‘Saintess’ blessed by the seven gods.