In actual combat, especially when clearing dungeons, the importance of potions could hardly be overstated.
No matter how good the plan was, unexpected situations were bound to arise.
You might suddenly find yourself facing a powerful enemy, the dungeon clear might take longer than planned, or one of your party members might be incapacitated by an injury or some other problem.
That was when consumable items like magic scrolls and potions came into play.
They could drastically boost your fighting power for a short time or serve as an extra life in a pinch.
And by producing these kinds of consumable items, the Alchemy Club had earned a reputation as one of the most prominent production-related clubs.
It was popular enough to be right on the heels of blacksmithing, magical engineering, and the like.
Even now, countless club members were hard at work in the laboratory.
Some were making potions they had been commissioned to produce, while others conducted all kinds of experiments in an effort to improve existing potions or discover new formulas.
The club president Yang Gu-won belonged to the latter group.
First, he lined up a row of test tubes filled with a clear, water-like liquid and carefully examined them one by one.
“…….”
Before long, his hand began to glow brightly, signaling that he had activated a skill.
As he touched each test tube in turn, the once-clear liquids changed into different colors.
Purple, pink, green, yellow…….
“…….”
After touching the final test tube, Yang Gu-won stood motionless for a long while, staring at them.
Apparently dissatisfied with the results, he let out a low groan and cleared everything away with a single wave of his hand.
Then he asked over his shoulder,
“Why’d you all come crowding in here?”
Just as he said, several second- and third-year club members were standing behind him.
They had arrived quite some time ago but had waited until now so they wouldn’t interrupt his experiment.
In other words, whatever had brought them here was important enough for them to come and wait.
Among them, the Alchemy Club’s vice president spoke up.
“You know that thing we talked about a while ago.”
“What, the potion?”
“Yeah. We got one.”
He then pulled a tiny, finger-sized vial from his inventory.
It was [D.E.B – 001], currently the hottest topic at Dragon Slayer Academy.
Yang Gu-won took the vial and held it up in front of his eyes.
After studying it closely for a moment, a flicker of interest appeared in his gaze.
“……This definitely is unusual. Mind if I experiment on it?”
“That’s why we brought it.”
A potion’s effectiveness decreased as its contents fell below the prescribed amount, and once it dropped beneath a certain threshold, it ceased to function as an item altogether.
The potion before them contained barely anything to begin with, so taking out even a few drops would probably be enough to render it useless.
But if they could figure out how it was made, or at the very least identify its ingredients, it would still be a worthwhile trade.
And the club’s senior members had gathered here in droves despite their busy schedules because they wanted to watch that process firsthand.
While Yang Gu-won and the others prepared various pieces of experimental equipment,
Dang Eun-bi sat not far away, her ears perked up.
As she listened, she recalled a conversation she’d had with Shin Byeong-cheol not long ago.
– I’m thinking of slipping a few to the Alchemy Club and the Disciplinary Committee too.
– ……Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t see how anything good could come of it.
Wouldn’t that just be stirring up a hornet’s nest for no reason?
Shin Byeong-cheol had answered in an unusually serious tone.
– I gave it some thought myself and asked around too. In the end, I figured we’re better off doing it.
– …….
– Sooner or later, we’re bound to cross paths with those two anyway. Especially the Alchemy Club, since they’re basically in the same business as us.
– ……That’s true.
– So if it’s inevitable, we might as well lay the groundwork ahead of time.
The plan was to steer the Alchemy Club into acquiring one of the potions, then gauge their stance and see what they did afterward.
And since Dang Eun-bi was already a member of the club, she was perfectly positioned to spy on them.
Before long, Yang Gu-won and the others’ hushed voices reached her ears, filled with admiration.
– You can make a potion this way?
– This is incredibly original.
– Oh…… I learned something from this.
– Whoever made this has to be a third-year.
– Is there even anyone that good?
Hearing such lavish praise from seniors she looked up to made Dang Eun-bi’s shoulders bob with pride all on their own.
She couldn’t keep a goofy grin off her face either.
“Hehe.”
Then the club member sitting beside her gave her a suspicious look, and she quickly corrected her expression.
Meanwhile, Yang Gu-won and the others continued with their experiments.
– I figured out one of the ingredients. They boiled crocodile flower petals and added them in.
– One of these is a medicinal herb? Seems like some kind of elixir ingredient. Fo-ti root?
– Could be some type of ginseng.
– Is this a monster material?
– Why did they throw in so much random, unnecessary stuff?
– There are some surprisingly amateurish aspects to it.
“…….”
Dang Eun-bi pursed her lips, as if she hadn’t been grinning just moments ago.
Though her hand was still busily jotting down every bit of feedback from her seniors.
The experiments continued for a while longer until Yang Gu-won finally reached a conclusion.
“It’ll be hard to replicate.”
“We’ve figured out about seventy percent of it, but the rest is a complete mystery.”
“And the process seems pretty different from ours too.”
Next, the vice president of the Alchemy Club brought up the most important question.
“So, what are we going to do about this potion?”
“We’ll have to find whoever made it.”
“And once we do?”
“I’d rather keep things amicable if we can. I feel like there’s a lot we could learn by talking to them.”
“Bringing them into the club would be ideal. Striking a deal doesn’t sound bad either.”
At that, Dang Eun-bi was seized by the urge to jump in and declare, “Actually, it was me……!”
A freshman had achieved something this impressive. Just imagine how much they would dote on her.
Maybe they would even lift those frustrating restrictions on her ingredients.
But Shin Byeong-cheol had warned her not to reveal herself, and the discussion didn’t seem to be over yet, so she stayed quietly in her seat.
Sure enough, the second- and third-years voiced different opinions.
“Aren’t we being a little too optimistic?”
“I think they’re more of a competitor.”
“Exactly. They knew full well we were here and still moved into our territory.”
“They could’ve at least given us a heads-up. It’s just bad business etiquette, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think bringing them into the club will be easy.”
In the span of just a few words, the mood had completely reversed.
With the hardliners gaining momentum, they pressed their case even more forcefully.
“Why should we be the ones bending over backward? We can just drag them in.”
“Then we can sit them down and have a nice, leisurely chat.”
Of course, if the conversation didn’t go their way, there was always a chance it wouldn’t stay so leisurely.
Dang Eun-bi privately hoped that Yang Gu-won or the vice president would vote against the idea, but instead, Yang Gu-won leaned into it, asking another question.
“But how are we supposed to find them? I heard nobody knows who they are.”
“We’ll put in a request. If we really set our minds to tracking them down, we’ll find them for sure.”
“The Thieves’ Club?”
“No, I was thinking of asking the swordsmanship side.”
Dang Eun-bi’s face went deathly pale.
***
A meeting was in full swing in the Disciplinary Committee room.
Seated around a large table were the committee president Kwak Seung-jae, along with third-year Sa Gong-dam, second-years Jo Byeok, Lee Seul-bi, Geum Jo-han, Song Cheon-hye, and several others.
“—Let’s move on to the next topic.”
At Kwak Seung-jae’s words, one of the members opened their inventory and carefully placed a small potion bottle in the center of the table.
Needless to say, it was D.E.B – 001.
“……!”
“…….”
Apparently, this was the first time even the Disciplinary Committee members had seen one in person, and every one of them looked intrigued.
Kwak Seung-jae asked a question to keep the meeting moving.
“How did we get our hands on it?”
“It was left near the committee room, along with this.”
The committee member then pulled out a note and showed it to everyone.
Only two words were scrawled across it in crooked handwriting.
– Voluntary payment.
Kwak Seung-jae repeated the words under his breath before asking another question.
“Voluntary payment…… What do you think they meant by that?”
A brief silence followed before Lee Seul-bi and Song Cheon-hye each offered an answer.
“Maybe they’re trying to show us it isn’t dangerous.”
“I think they’re trying to delay the search.”
Kwak Seung-jae gave a slight nod.
“My guess is much the same. Either way, we need to identify the person who made it. That way, we can respond immediately if anything happens.”
Given that it bore the serial number 001, anyone could predict that more versions would follow.
But there was no guarantee that 002 would have similarly minor side effects.
The creator could have ulterior motives, or they might be pressured by outside forces into crossing a forbidden line.
If they put the creator under surveillance ahead of time, they could apprehend them immediately if necessary or deter them from harboring any such intentions in the first place.
Kwak Seung-jae continued.
“However, we lack sufficient grounds to launch a formal search. While it may cause some disruption, there’s no denying that it contributes significantly to the students’ growth.”
“…….”
“Therefore, we need to secure the creator as discreetly as possible. As far as everyone else is concerned, the Disciplinary Committee must appear to be taking no action.”
“Understood.”
With that, their course of action had been decided.
Just then, one of the members cautiously asked a question.
“What do we do…… with that?”
“…….”
“…….”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward it, D.E.B – 001.
Kwak Seung-jae, however, gave a surprisingly casual answer.
“If anyone wants to drink it, they may. Either way, it would benefit the Disciplinary Committee, and there’s no harm in experiencing the side effects firsthand.”
“…….”
“…….”
None of the members volunteered, exchanging only glances with one another.
Song Cheon-hye was equally torn over what to do.
The things Kim Ho had told her not long ago flashed through her mind.
– Your rank goes up. And there’s even a high chance of it happening.
– For the record, Hong Yeon-hwa’s went up too.
– She’s going to keep taking them from now on.
– So even if you train just as much as she does, she’ll keep pulling that much further ahead.
I can’t afford to fall any further behind…
Song Cheon-hye’s hand slowly rose, trembling slightly.
And just as she was about to reach forward, Lee Seul-bi picked up the potion bottle first.
“I’ll try it.”
She normally wasn’t one to volunteer, but after getting thoroughly crushed by Seo Ye-in not long ago, she had realized she needed to improve her stats.
When Kwak Seung-jae tilted his chin in approval, Lee Seul-bi brought the potion bottle to her lips, looking slightly nervous.
Then after taking a deep breath, she downed it in one gulp.
“…….”
“…….”
As everyone watched with equal parts tension and curiosity, Lee Seul-bi’s eyes widened.
“……It went up.”
“Congratulations.”
Starting with Kwak Seung-jae, the other members each offered a few words of congratulations.
Geum Jo-han was no exception.
“Looks like the side effects haven’t kicked in yet.”
At that moment, Lee Seul-bi’s expression suddenly hardened, and she shot back in a stern tone.
“Who said you were allowed to speak?”
“……What?”
“I never gave you permission to speak.”
“Why would we need your permission to……?”
Geum Jo-han started to retort in disbelief, only to stop short.
There was something almost queenly about the air Lee Seul-bi gave off.
It felt as though she might start trampling him underfoot and lashing him with a whip at any moment.
So after opening and closing his mouth a few times, he finally said,
“……My apologies.”
Without even realizing it, he had switched to a deferential tone.
Lee Seul-bi was about to say something else in the same haughty tone when—
“Ah.”
She sucked in a startled breath, apparently coming back to her senses.
Then she stiffly turned around and hurried out of the room.
“……Excuse me.”
“…….”
“…….”
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the room had turned ice-cold as if someone had poured cold water over everyone.
But rather than being shocked by the side effect, Song Cheon-hye was more disappointed that she had missed her chance.
That left only one option.
Should I…… try to get one on my own?
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