46
Library Ghost Appearance Episode.
This is a crucial episode in the Eternity game.
Ghosts, ‘spiritual bodies’ formed by the combination of mana and consciousness, will knock out students with weak mental fortitude on sight.
Moreover, being spiritual entities, physical attacks are ineffective against them, and mana doesn’t affect them properly.
To capture them, a ‘Shaman’ who can convert mana into spiritual energy is needed, but it’s unlikely there’s a student treated as a minor shaman among them.
Here, only the protagonist Cheon Woo-jin, who possesses the ability to effortlessly slay aberrations, can vanquish ghosts.
However, as ghosts are elusive beings, to detain them, Elaine’s ‘curse confinement’ spell is essential.
While Elaine detains the ghost, Cheon Woo-jin defeats it, concluding the episode.
It’s a tale of the blossoming friendship between Elaine and Cheon Woo-jin in harmony, but…
“The problem is, this is a timed attack quest.”
If the ghost isn’t captured within the allotted time?
All students in the library will lose consciousness and collapse.
Though not life-threatening, students with depleted ‘mental fortitude’ suffer from lingering aftereffects for days on end.
Overall, symptoms like dizziness and anemia.
The Academy points to a lack of mental and physical strength as the cause of these symptoms.
The shift from a magic-centered curriculum to one focused on physical training at the Academy is causing this change.
For someone with a physical strength level of ‘4,’ it’s a terrible disaster that must be prevented at all costs.
Of course, this is a story that may change over time, even if one manages to catch the ‘dream ear.’
But what if one fails to catch the ‘dream ear’ and the quest fails?
Everyone dies together without regaining consciousness, leading to a total annihilation ending.
The ‘dream ear’ escapes the library and roams the Academy freely.
Anyway, the solution to prevent the aftermath under the premise of clearing the quest is the removal of ‘aftereffects’ by the saints.
Those who are bound to fall will fall, so fainting is inevitable.
“It seems like it could be resolved with energy.”
Aftereffects like anemia or dizziness vanish when the energy is replenished.
Even if it’s for precaution, a potion from Hansol should be more than enough.
Of course, it’s not free, and it was natural to charge for it.
“The problem is that for ‘aftereffect relief,’ you can’t rely on mass-produced goods; you need properly made potions…”
This is going to cost a fortune.
While money can be earned from selling to the saints, the issue lies in the production process.
It was impossible for Hansol, who was stuck in the workshop and running the store chaotically, to have the funds to mass-produce potions.
“Money…”
Money naturally brings to mind blonde hair, melon bread, and Amelia.
The plan was flawless.
***
After-school dormitory store.
Snack corner.
“So, you’re saying I should invest in potions?”
I nodded at Amelia’s words.
“Oh, I found an amazing artisan.”
“Is he so remarkable that he’s worth investing in? That alchemist?”
“I guarantee you, if you invest in that, your market share in the pharmaceutical industry will skyrocket.”
It wasn’t a lie. The alchemist I recommended was Hansol. If Amelia provided the funding, Hansol’s industry debut could be expedited.
Of course, Amelia didn’t seem entirely convinced by my words.
“Well, if Hesol is recommending him, he must be skilled. I have no doubts.”
Amelia made a sorry expression.
“However, pushing forward with the investment… Oh.”
I fed Amelia a bite of melon bread from the counter as she spoke.
“It’s a matter I can decide on my own… Oh.”
Two bites to recharge my energy.
“Um… O… Okay. It’s fine to check his skills once. But it won’t be easy. I’m quite picky about my potions.”
Talking with a mouthful of melon bread made her seem less convincing, but anyway.
“Let’s just give it a try for now.”
It’s been about 4 days since I returned from the black market.
The day before, I received a message from Han Seul that the red elixir was ready. Maybe just dissolve it in water. Well, Han Seul would know what to do up to that point.
“But did they allow the registration of sponsors for the Dawn Guardian?”
“They did, so we should accept it.”
“Hmm, well, that’s true.”
Then why the twisted expression?
“Anyway, when you’re ready, let’s go.”
“Alright. Thank you.”
“Just to make it clear, I have a picky taste, so it’s best not to get your hopes up too much.”
Got it.
***
The next day, Saturday morning at 11 o’clock.
1st floor of the black market, Main Hall in Downtown.
“Is there really a skilled alchemist in a place like this?”
“Well, you’ll see when we get there.”
Amelia looked skeptical amidst the hustle and bustle of the first floor, where hawkers were active even in broad daylight.
Taking Amelia away from the square on the 1st floor, men dressed in black suits approached.
Among them, the middle-aged man standing in front seemed quite familiar.
“Oh? You’re…”
“I heard you were coming and came to greet you. Please get in. I’ll even deliver the elixir to you.”
The man who opened the door of the black sedan and spoke was Ha Jaemyung, the guild master of the Bazerd Guild, who had fainted in front of me.
He came to pick me up after I informed Han Seul that I would be going today.
Since that day, the Bazerd Guild had become so loyal that they volunteered to guard Han Seul’s shop.
The influence of the nobles on the black market was indeed significant.
“But who’s the person next to you?”
“My friend.”
“Ah, your friend. Nice to meet you. I’m Ha Jaemyung.”
Ha Jaemyung tactfully responded when I implied not to ask any questions.
“Let’s go. Get in.”
I took Amelia and got into the sedan. If they say get in, you get in.
This is not the time to refuse.
***
Arriving at the Alchemy Pharmacy Hanul in Ha Jaemyung’s car.
“If you contact me, I’ll come to pick you up.”
“Thank you, but you don’t have to come. I’ll go right now.”
“Oh, okay. Then, see you later.”
Ha Jaemyung and his guild members nodded and left in the car after showing me a Blue Marble.
“You knew about the guild on the 1st floor too?”
“Yeah, I visited the black market a few days ago.”
As we entered the shop in response to Amelia’s question, a shop assistant recognized me and hurried into the workshop.
After a while, Han Seul appeared with a head full of messy hair. It seemed like he had been immersed in making red elixirs without even bothering to wash up.
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“Ha-ha, Hae-sol-nim. Have you arrived?”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
“Has it already been that long? Spending all my time in the workshop, I lose track of the dates.”
Scratching his head, Han Seul looked at me and his eyes sparkled.
“Is the person next to you Lady Romano?”
“Nice to meet you for the first time. I’m Amelia Romano.”
“I’m Han Seul.”
After the two exchanged pleasantries, Han Seul asked Amelia to wait for a moment, and we entered the workshop together.
“Where is the red elixir?”
“Here it is.”
“Oh.”
Han Seul handed me a small wooden box. Inside, the red elixir was neatly stacked.
【Red Elixir (Blaze)】
-This is the red elixir of Eternity made by the Alchemist Han Seul. When ingested, it increases stamina by 4 for 10 minutes.
“There are a total of 8 pills.”
“Wow, that’s great.”
I was quite satisfied. Although the increase value was 1 lower than the original red elixir, which was 4, it was still a remarkable number.
Potions in this world could only raise stats by 1 to 2 at best.
The red elixir was truly an extraordinary potion that defied existence.
It was only 8 pills, but with Han Seul, he could continue to produce more.
“You’ve prepared the potions for Amelia, right?”
“Of course. I’ve prepared them.”
Han Seul showed me a long glass bottle with red liquid sloshing inside.
Since I had mentioned it the day before, he knew that Amelia would come to make her investment decision.
Of course, what Han Seul had prepared was not the red elixir, but a potion of much lower grade. Still, it should be sufficient.
“Can I try it for a moment?”
“Yes.”
Taking the potion, I infused it with vigor. Nowadays, potions had to not only be effective but also taste good to sell well.
“Here.”
As I briefly held it before passing it back, Han Seul looked puzzled.
“Go ahead.”
“Oh, yes.”
As we left the workshop, Amelia, who had been browsing the store, approached.
“It’s nothing special here. Everything is mass-produced.”
“Can you tell just by looking at it?”
“Yes, of course. Even without tasting the potion, you can tell. The color and scent are different.”
As if asking for more praise, Amelia proudly shared her knowledge.
And I wasn’t pretending to be impressed with Amelia; I was genuinely surprised.
How many drinks have you had to be able to distinguish the color of a potion? To me, it all just looks like red liquid. This isn’t some wine tasting.
Is this a golden spoon? Well, whatever.
“You’re selling a commodity, but what that person makes is different.”
“If Hasol says so, then it must be. We’ve come this far, so we should confirm.”
“Here it is.”
When Hansoul handed the potion over, Amelia narrowed her eyes as she shook it.
“Hmm, this is definitely different.”
As she finally opened the potion’s lid, she made a dumbfounded expression.
“···Huh?”
“See, isn’t it different?”
Indeed, Hansoul. As soon as she opened the potion’s cap, a strong scent of elixir wafted out.
“Umm······”
After sniffing, Amelia cautiously took a sip of the potion. Then, she widened her eyes.
“This, this is···! I will invest in this for sure! No, can we sign a distribution contract right away?”
“Excuse me? In terms of distribution, we still lack facilities or production capacity······”
“Just tell me, I’ll provide everything needed. Even manpower and sourcing of reagents······”
Amelia, as if determined to grab onto it no matter what, even laid down conditions, saying she would accommodate everything as requested.
It was clear that making a call to headquarters was necessary to move things forward.
“Alright.”
Investment from the grand guild, Stella Sedes.
It was time for the pension pharmaceutical Hanwool to take flight.
***
Amelia, right there, concluded everything from investment with Hansoul to the necessary facilities, manpower, and distribution contract. Thanks to that, fortunately, gathering potions was resolved before the ghost incident.
It could be said that the unfortunate event of the students suffering from aftereffects and ‘physical training’ becoming a daily occurrence was prevented.
“The problem is there seems to be no way to clear the quest.”
I looked at the notification window that popped up and made a bewildered expression.
[Subquest: Eliminate the Spirit Ear in the Eternal Library of the 1st Eternity!]
– As the righteous sword, you can subdue all beings of different forms. Remove the Spirit Ear and save the students from the threat!
[Reward: 1000SP, 3% Satiety of the Phoenix]
“What do they want me to do?”
Go into Noahland and bring Cheon Woojin?
I briefly considered it, but that would be like jumping into the fire to put it out.
You never know what might happen once you go in, so why bother going crazy there.
The problem is, being a main character exclusive quest, the only key to capturing the ghost is Cheon Woojin.
Without that key, no matter how hard you hit, you can’t catch the ghost. And it’s not like the Academy has a shaman, who can’t even be considered a mediocre profession······
“Well, it’s not like there’s no way that comes to mind······”
If the door is locked, breaking it down and going in was also a kind of solution.
A bit, well, quite ignorant though.
***
Ghost.
One of the random thoughts I let out by chance was the birth of a spiritual being formed by the fusion of magic.
Therefore, their characteristics and types are diverse, but these creatures share one common trait.
That is purity. However, it was difficult to consider them pure even for humans just because they were pure.
They simply approach people with pure intentions, but since those pure intentions have a negative impact on people.
As spiritual beings born from the dense magic of Eternity Academy, novices with weak mental strength can experience disorientation or a decrease in motivation just by encountering spirits.
And the spirits appearing in the library this time were beings that spread disaster beyond ‘negative influence.’
A young Dongjagwi born from the concept of ‘Memory Play.’
I don’t know who came up with the idea that created this lunatic, but this guy is simply a disaster.
Beyond throwing tantrums, he even takes novices and starts a game.
What happens if you lose the game?
You faint right away.
***
The day of the library ghost incident.
······The first library night study session, four days before the midterm exams. First-year novices gather for night study. Nikolai, the top student, is in charge of organizing the study session.
“Hey, Nikolai. I want to sit by the window on the right.”
“No. The balance will be off.”
“Huh? Balance?”
“Yeah. If you move to the right, there will be 35 students on the left and 37 on the right.”
“···Oh.”
What’s the problem with that? Despite feeling a strong sense of doubt, the female novice reluctantly gives up on her firm request and returns to her seat with drooping shoulders. Nikolai nods satisfactorily.
“36 students on each side. Perfectly balanced.”
Inner peace is restored.
Looking back, his obsession with ‘balance’ started when he experienced a minor game for the first time in Korea.
During the game of ‘Mugunghwa Blooms,’ he was caught because his ‘balance’ was off.
While playing hide and seek, his heart raced when hiding, leading to being caught due to irregular breathing sounds.
He even became the tagger in the game of ‘Ice Tag’ by shouting and moving on the ice.
Due to the influence of his household, Nikolai, who had a meticulous personality that couldn’t overlook even trivial matters, was shocked by such playful culture in Korea, which significantly impacted his personality formation.
With a wry smile at his silly thoughts, Nikolai opened his textbook.
And so, the night study begins.
【······Mugunghwa Blooms.】
Except for the tagger, everyone faints,
In this night study session where everyone is scheduled to die.