19

“Alchemy is a very broad subject. What field and to what level do you want to learn?”

“I don’t know anything about alchemy. I don’t even know what fields there are. I just want to learn the basics.”

Luna tilted her head at Minhyuk’s answer.

It was only natural to be suspicious when someone who had come to sell a high-level potion suddenly wanted to learn the basics of alchemy today.

“Someone who handles high-level potions doesn’t know anything about alchemy?”

I thought I’d ask another alchemy shop because of that reaction, but the other places nearby were the same anyway.

Yesterday, I went around from shop to shop asking if they could sell me a red high-level potion.

And while I was at it, I wanted to learn alchemy in a clean shop.

Other alchemy shops were messy and smelly, but this one was very clean.

“I really got the red high-level potion by accident. I didn’t make it. I really don’t know anything about alchemy.”

“But why do you suddenly want to learn alchemy? Like you’ve discovered a very rare potion recipe lately?”

Whether it was because her instincts were sharp,

or because she was a seasoned alchemist,

Luna immediately hit the nail on the head about Minhyuk.

However, Minhyuk took it calmly.

“That’s not it at all. And what good is a rare potion recipe? I can’t sell any potions I make anyway.”

“That’s true…”

It was Luna herself who told Minhyuk that there was no demand for potions these days and that the rarer the potion, the harder it was to sell.

When Luna nodded in agreement, Minhyuk continued.

“I’m just fascinated by the discipline of alchemy and I wanted to learn it properly.”

“You seem more scholarly than you look.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you were given a thick book, you’d probably use it as a weapon instead of reading it. Actually, I like men who are wild like that…”

Luna made a strange face.

Ignoring her joke, Minhyuk returned to the main topic.

“Please teach me alchemy. I’ll pay for the lessons.”

Hmm-

Luna thought for a moment and then spoke.

“Okay, I’ll teach you. First, I’ll teach you the basics, and if you want to learn more advanced levels later, I’ll teach you more.”

“Thank you, but how much will the lessons cost?”

“You don’t need money.”

“What? You’ll teach me for free?”

“Not for free, but instead of money, get me the materials I need. That’s enough for tuition.”

“What materials?”

“Get me some herbs that grow outside the protected area. I think that’s your specialty.”

Luna’s gaze briefly fixed on Minhyuk’s armor.

Minhyuk had only taken off his helmet, and the rest of his armor was still on.

Luna was no expert on armor, but she could tell that Minhyuk’s armor was no ordinary item.

‘It must be the equipment used by wanderers.’

Although they have now completely disappeared, there were people in the old days who worked outside the protected area.

Wanderers, hunters, warriors, etc.

Wanderers were among them, receiving money from people to deliver messages or items from one protected area to another.

In a nutshell, he was a deliveryman.

Armed with excellent armor, weapons, and survival knowledge, wanderers had a much higher survival rate than ordinary people outside the territory of Kaho.

Wanderers would also go outside the territory of Kaho to find the ingredients that alchemists needed and receive compensation.

At that time, the level of alchemy in Asdel had not declined as it had now.

However, as those who operated outside the territory of Kaho disappeared, it became difficult to obtain the ingredients necessary for alchemy.

Moreover, since there was no demand, there was no more work to be done to create alchemical products,

and since there was no work to be done, even the knowledge gradually disappeared.

Thud-

Luna took a very thick book out of the bookshelf and showed it to Minhyuk.

The shapes of the leaves, stems, and roots of various herbs were drawn in detail.

“This is a herbal encyclopedia. When I need a herb, please look it up in this encyclopedia and find it for me.”

“So instead of money, you want me to run errands for herbs?”

“That process will also be a very good study for you. Knowing about herbs in detail is the beginning of alchemy.”

It wasn’t a bad condition.

If you watch the drama Heo Jun, he also started out as a herb collector to learn medicine.

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Minhyuk agreed to Luna’s proposal.

However, the bargaining was not yet completely over.

“Teach me alchemy for an hour every time I bring you a herb.”

Luna waved her hand at Minhyuk’s suggestion.

“Nonsense! I’m not someone who has that much time to spare. How about one hour per errand, regardless of the amount of herbs?”

“Hey, that’s too much.”

Minhyuk and Luna’s bargaining seemed likely to drag on.

***

Not everything had regressed because of the flood.

Rather, there were a few things that had developed, and the castle’s sewage system was one of them.

As people who had been living outside the castle flocked to avoid the flood, the population density of the castle increased dramatically.

As the number of residents increased, a much larger amount of wastewater was naturally generated, and the sewage facilities for discharging it outside the castle had to be expanded.

Deep underground in Mangaji Square.

Two men were standing inside a large sewer.

One of them was a servant working in Drake’s mansion.

The other was a man wearing a hood.

He handed the servant a money bag.

The servant checked the amount and grumbled.

“It’s too little. I’ve been serving the general for over 10 years. At the very least, you should take care of the damage to my conscience.”

The hooded man handed the servant another money bag.

It was a smaller bag than before, but it was full of 10,000 krone gold coins.

A smile spread across the servant’s lips.

“After 10 years, it’s become annoying.”

The hooded man handed the servant a glass bottle.

Inside the glass bottle was a colorless, odorless poison.

It was not an ordinary poison but a dreadful deadly poison that could kill you without even knowing that you were poisoned.

“There should be absolutely no mistakes.”

“Do not worry. Even if I am caught, I will never, oh my, my mouth is slipping. I will never say his name.”

The hooded man looked at the servant and smirked.

Then he warned in a chilling tone.

“The moment you make a mistake, you will not be able to speak anymore.”

***

Minhyuk came out of the alchemy shop after finishing the deal.

In the end, he decided to receive alchemy lessons for half a day for each errand of collecting medicinal herbs.

And he decided to collect up to two kinds of medicinal herbs for each errand.

If he collects four kinds of medicinal herbs at once, it would count as two errands.

‘Shall I go and learn swordsmanship now?’

Minhyuk moved from Mangaji Square to General Drake’s mansion.

The General had just returned from the Imperial Palace as well.

Swordsmanship lessons began right away.

The lesson that started at sunset ended after midnight.

Today again, like yesterday, Minhyuk achieved a lot.

It was a satisfactory lesson for both the learner and the teacher.

“I have something to do in the evening tomorrow, so let’s meet the day after tomorrow morning.”

As the General was about to leave, Minhyuk opened his mouth.

“I have a question.”

“What is it? Feel free to ask me anytime if you have any questions about swordsmanship.”

“It’s not about swordsmanship, I’m curious about Taydon. Have you ever seen it in person?”

He could not help but be curious about Taydon, the target of the expedition.

He did not know how long it would take to form an expedition, but he would have to face it eventually.

After facing the Giant Duck today, he became even more curious about it.

He was lucky to have found the cave and obtained the magic armor there, otherwise he would have been defeated by the Giant Duck.

Such dreadful monsters appeared just a little further away from the Sanctuary,

From Noble mtl dot com

He wondered how strong Taydon, the king of the forest, would be.

“I have never seen Taydon in person either. But I have something that can indirectly show you its strength.”

“What is that?”

“Follow me.”

Minhyuk followed the General to the annex on the north side of the mansion.

When he entered the building, a large object was hanging on the wall as decoration.

It was a beast’s claw.

It was long like an elephant’s tusk and as sharp as an awl.

<Claw of Taydon.>

-Can be processed to make weapons or crafts.

-Requires very strong materials when processing.

One claw was that big, so I couldn’t imagine how big Teidon would be.

As expected, it was a huge monster.

But there was something strange.

I couldn’t understand why the princess led a small number of people on an expedition to take the heart of such a huge monster.

As if reading Minhyuk’s mind, the general opened his mouth.

“To face Teidon head-on, even if we mobilized all the military power of the empire, it would be difficult. But Professor Raymon found a way to kill Teidon with a very small number of people in a very old book. Well, there’s no guarantee that the method will work for sure.”

“I see.”

I was curious about the easy way to hunt Teidon, but I didn’t ask right away.

The general continued.

“But Teidon failed to even get a glimpse and the expedition failed. The princess was on the verge of death. I should have followed her…”

The reason General Drake did not participate in the last expedition was because the emperor did not allow the expedition itself.

So not only the general, but no other nobles participated.

The emperor did not allow the princess to go on the expedition until the end.

In the end, the princess left on an expedition without permission with only the troops she could mobilize.

When General Drake heard the news of her departure,

The expedition had already disappeared into the forest.

.

.

.

Minhyuk, who had parted ways with the general, returned to his bedroom.

The bathwater was ready, so he washed himself comfortably.

And lying on the bed, I looked through the illustrated book I had received from Luna.

I had already received a request to find two kinds of herbs.

‘Tiger lily and swamp frog’s food.’

Looking at the illustrated book, I felt like I had seen swamp frog’s food while hunting a cottonmouth.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tiger lily.

Anyway, I’ll have to pick herbs while hunting tomorrow.

And since there was no swordsmanship training tomorrow night, I could also go night hunting.

Knock, knock-

Someone knocked on Minhyuk’s door.

“Who is it?”

“I’m coming in.”

It was the voice of the attendant who had told him the location of the forge.

Minhyuk asked, still lying on the bed.

“What’s the matter?”

“I brought you a table of alcohol.”

“Why a table of alcohol?”

“It’s a table of alcohol that the general sent down. He told me to tell you, ‘You must have worked hard learning swordsmanship, so if you have a drink and go to sleep, you’ll sleep well.'”

It was a bit strange.

The table of alcohol was appreciated, but it was not something the general would normally do.

Upon entering the room, a servant stood holding a tray.

On the tray were a bottle of liquor and meat appetizers.

Information about the liquor bottle appeared before Minhyuk’s eyes.

<Venom-Tainted Liquor>

– Liquor contaminated with a colorless and odorless deadly poison.

– Death will occur within 3 seconds of consumption if not detoxified.

– Can only be detoxified with an intermediate or higher green potion.

The servant entered the room and set the drinks on the table.

“Please enjoy your meal and have a comfortable rest.”

“Wait!”

Minhyuk stopped the servant who was about to leave.

“Why?”

Minhyuk smiled and said to him.

“I’m not very good at drinking alone.”

“Yes?”

The servant’s face was visibly confused.

Minhyuk smiled even more slyly and said.

“So let’s have a drink together.”

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