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Memorize - Episode 48
048 Dungeon Of Alchemist
"Oppa. What are you doing?"
Yoo-jung peeked her head in to confirm I was there, then quickly entered. Her voice was subdued as if she had some complaint. The sullen look on her face seemed to me like a signal that she was going to be troublesome again. I put down one of the records I was holding in my left hand and opened my mouth with a sigh.
"What is it now?"
When I spoke in a gruff tone, Yoo-jung immediately became dejected. However, even as she pouted her lips, she still opened her mouth to speak.
"You allowed Sol to do different training, and she keeps bragging about it. Throwing and catching coins alone... it's not like she's showing off."
"What is there to show off about? And Sol isn't the type to brag about such things."
"No, really. She keeps throwing and catching coins..."
"She's practicing the Shackles spell. I told her to do that."
When I casually cut off what Yoo-jung was saying, her face clearly showed disappointment. Just as I was about to pick up the record again, Yoo-jung's grumbling voice reached my ears once more.
"Oppa, you're too much. You told me and Hyun to only do sensing training."
"I tell you to do what's necessary. Close-range types only need sensing training in the early stages."
"Still..."
Despite clearly setting boundaries before, Yoo-jung whined in a drawling voice. I felt my already complicated thoughts becoming even more tangled.
"What do you mean 'still'? Sol's basic magic ability score is higher than yours to begin with. That much is enough for support types. Besides, coin training wouldn't be very helpful for you."
Four days later, the holder of the longest sensing time title(?) among the kids was Ahn Sol. After I guided her, Sol was making full use of her vast mana. Seeing her skills improve in just one day after my teaching, when she couldn't progress even with the instructor's guidance, Sol was looking at me as if I were some kind of god.
In my first run, I achieved the realm of Sword Master with 48 mana points. As such, I'm more confident than anyone when it comes to mana operation efficiency. And I taught Sol part of that know-how. As I know well the efficiency of that operation technique, in some ways, it could be said that I favored Sol a little more.
Yoo-jung seemed quite upset about being overtaken by Sol. After that, she often came to find me when I returned to the inn, insisting that I give her private lessons too. It would be manageable if it happened once or twice, but it became quite tiring as it kept repeating.
"I just taught her a little about how to control mana. Anyway, go back and do more sensing training. Look at Sol. Once she set her mind to it, she's practicing hard."
"Tch. You always favor Sol. And I'm taking a little break too."
Yoo-jung let out a sigh with an unsatisfied face, then shuffled over and stuck close to my side. I shrugged my shoulders and turned my attention back to the map. Yoo-jung stared intently at my face and picked up a piece of paper lying around.
"Ancient... alchemy's... rise and... fall? Oppa, what's this about?"
"There's not much to it. Just put it in a corner somewhere."
As I was reading a record about ancient alchemy documents, I picked up a pen and drew a circle on one part of the map. Yoo-jung looked at the map covered in circles and spoke in a small voice.
"What's this? And what are these circles on the map?"
"Records. Map analysis."
"Oh come on. I'm curious about what you've been doing lately."
Frustrated by my short answers, Yoo-jung pleaded in a whining voice. I continued speaking without taking my eyes off the map.
"I'm investigating records. Just hunting monsters around the city isn't efficient. I'm looking at records from the distant past of Mule city and trying to find clues about locations."
"I see... But can you find clues by looking at these things?"
"It might be easier to go to the sky and pluck stars."
While I felt bitter about it, Yoo-jung chuckled carefreely. Having gathered all the records related to the alchemist and the laboratory, the pile of records on the table was quite substantial.
There are cases where you look at records to gauge more detailed information when you have some information. But searching through records to find clues is a foolish task. This is because the amount of records is too vast and extensive. It could be considered a foolish judgment to blindly follow records when you can't even be sure if they're based on real events or not.
And yet, I was currently making that foolish judgment. That's why I wasn't paying any attention to other records. I was doing this because I was certain that the laboratory and alchemist dungeon were in Mule; otherwise, I would have just headed straight for the Cave of Screams.
I continued speaking in a tired voice.
"If it could be discovered this easily, it would have been thoroughly uncovered already. For now, we can only try everything we can."
Seeing interest rise in Yoo-jung's eyes, I could see them becoming lively. When Yoo-jung offered to help, I readily accepted her goodwill. After all, I could clearly see what situation would unfold in 5 minutes.
As expected, after 5 minutes passed, Yoo-jung started checking my mood. Then, after mentioning Ahn Hyun and Ahn Sol, she made an excuse about training and left as if escaping. With Yoo-jung's character and disposition, there was no way she could endure this tedious process.
Watching her leave, I smiled wryly and then turned my attention back to the map and records.
How many more days had passed? While I was analyzing, the once clean map was now densely filled with circles. At a glance, it might seem random, but there were several places where the circles were particularly concentrated. Of course, I couldn't know for sure until I visited, but I had a rough idea.
Anyway, thinking it was finally over, I sank into the chair. Looking out the window, I saw that night had already fallen. Suddenly thinking of the kids, I raised my sensing and heard steady breathing from the next room. It seems the kids had finished training and were sleeping. Thinking about the progress they had shown so far, a slight smile came to my face.
Within a week, the kids showed the passion to reach the level I had demanded. Although they occasionally showed signs of wanting to leave the city quickly, fortunately, they followed my words to prioritize training.
There was only one reason why the kids were following what I said now. It's not that the kids didn't think for themselves. They believed that my decisions were always right, to the point of jokingly saying, "If we just listen to oppa (hyung), rice cakes appear even when we're sleeping." From the Trial of Passage, through the User Academy, and up until now, they had never lost out by listening to me.
This training too, although there were some complaints, there were clear results. Even though they only did sensing training, not only their mana but also other ability scores increased evenly. Seeing Hyun excited about his mana increasing by 2 points after just 8 days of training made me feel a bit envious.
Initially, I entered the academy looking at the 4 mission reward points. But I couldn't help feeling disappointed seeing that not even 1 point increased in vitality despite training really hard.
Anyway, since the issue of my ability scores wasn't something I could solve right now, I quickly put the thought aside. Returning to the topic at hand, I thought it was about time we could leave the city. However, there was still one last issue to consider.
It was whether to form a caravan or not.
Beating up monsters around the city is fine regardless of what users or composition you have. However, once you set exploration or conquest as your goal, forming a balanced caravan was common sense in the Hollow Plane. While close-range types were abundant, archers (rangers) and priests were essential for caravan composition.
But I wondered if we really needed that now. A priest was absolutely necessary, but we already had Sol. A mage could be useful but wasn't essential, and I could guide the kids in place of an archer's pathfinding role. With my Third Eye and memories of activities in Mule, the possibility of getting lost could be considered to converge to 0%.
However, if the current composition becomes a habit for the kids, it could become a troublesome problem. There will surely be opportunities for high-difficulty explorations or expeditions in the future. Even if I can cover many aspects now, I can't look after the kids forever. As this is their first exploration, they will learn and experience a lot, so it would be problematic if they accept the current composition as normal.
Knock knock knock.
It was while I was organizing my thoughts about the caravan. Hearing a quiet knock on the door, I spread my sensing and caught the presence of a woman outside the door. I raised my head and opened my mouth softly.
"Yes. Who is it?"
"It's me. You already know it's me anyway."
"..."
Without even waiting for my permission, the woman opened the door and entered. Of course, knowing the woman's identity, it was difficult to see her as just a simple innkeeper. To be honest, I couldn't understand why a user with this level of skill was in Mule now.
The woman who had briefly appeared in Mule had vanished suddenly and then reappeared just as suddenly. And when she reappeared in the Hollow Plane again, she had become an enemy of the clan I belonged to.
I still remember what the woman in front of me said before.
Judging from what she said then, it was highly likely she didn't have a clan she was following yet.
Suddenly, the Ragnarok Encirclement and Annihilation Battle flashed through my mind. The woman ended up being literally executed by the Princess of Execution, who was an ally at the time. However, the terrifying power the woman showed then was still clearly imprinted in my mind.
The woman wore her usual languid smile. She was a woman exuding a decadent charm, with slightly drooping eyes and a teardrop mole under her eye. The woman spoke to me in a gentle tone.
"Hello. May I come in for a moment?"
What nonsense, when she's already come in. I nodded with a skeptical face.
"...It's late at night, what brings you here?"
The woman didn't answer. However, she was slowly closing the distance between us. The woman in front of me now was someone who could take my life in an instant if I let my guard down. Because I couldn't completely relax, I also quietly raised my mana.
The woman's face still wore a languid smile. And for a moment, I could see her eyes turn a grayish color. I, who had been on high alert from the start, reflexively activated my Third Eye.
『Activation of unique ability Lure Eyed confirmed.』
『Third Eye has been activated. Lure Eyed is seen through.』
Well, well.
"My... Do I need to distinguish time when seducing a man I like?"
"...The kids are in the next room..."
She's playing around. I've experienced this kind of attack to the point of boredom while operating in the shadows. So I know all the response manuals, but I deliberately made my eyes hazy and blushed as I answered. I wanted to see what she would do first.
"It's okay... don't worry about that. By the way, today is the last day of your room rental period, what are you going to do?"
There's no way she'd come at night just to ask this. She must have another purpose. She probably asked this question now to check if I had fallen under her charm. I opened my mouth readily. Of course, I added a hesitant attitude for seasoning.
"I was thinking of leaving the city tomorrow morning..."
"Leave...?"
At my words about leaving, the woman glanced over my table. Soon after, I could see the woman's expression change strangely. Even though she just took a quick look, it seemed she had guessed what I was trying to do from the map.
"User Kim Su-hyun."
"H-how do you know my name...?"
The woman mentioned my name and took a step closer. Now the woman and I were close enough to touch if we just reached out our arms.
"The newly arrived rookie user. The super rookie of the User Academy."
The woman didn't stop and took another step forward. I sat in the chair while the woman stood directly in front of me, facing each other. The woman was now staring at me with eyes that had turned ashen gray.
"All in all... you're still a rookie user who hasn't even been here for four months, right?"
The woman's hand reached out and gently cupped my face. I could feel the woman's soft touch on my left cheek. I deliberately breathed heavily and panted slightly.
"That day. I was really surprised. Why... even though I had applied weak mana. I never expected a chick who just left the academy to be able to use Break up."
"That's..."
"So I've been looking into it and watching you... but I don't understand. It's really puzzling. This is the first time I've encountered something like this, so I'm very confused too. But the more I look at you, the more my intuition rings alarm bells... that there's something different. That you're hiding something."
Oh, is that so.
Thinking I was completely under her charm, the woman's movements became even more uninhibited. Just as her hand, which had been gently caressing my entire face for a while, was about to fall away, I hurriedly grabbed it. Seeing my action, the smile on the woman's face deepened.
"My intuition has never been wrong."
I deliberately burrowed into the woman's embrace. Like a baby snuggling into its mother's arms. To be honest, I had a hidden desire to be held by the woman in front of me once, from my first run. Not knowing my dark intentions, the woman hugged my head with a satisfied expression. I buried my face in her chest to my heart's content.
"Hoho."
I savor the woman's soft and supple breasts and fragrant body scent. Watching me, the woman smiled contentedly. After stroking my hair for a while, her hand suddenly stopped, and then I heard the woman's subtle voice in my ear.
"Are you hiding something? From the kids or...?"
"A little..."
"Then why don't you tell just me what you're hiding...?"
"That's..."
The moment I showed a slight resistance, the woman hugged me tightly again. And in a coaxing voice, she spoke again.
"It's okay... tell me."
At the woman's urging voice, I gently opened my eyes. After pretending to contemplate for a moment, I opened my mouth quietly as if giving in.
"Actually, I..."
"Yes, yes. You?"
Looking at the woman watching me with an excited face, I calmly opened my mouth.
"I like shadows."
"...What?"
I glanced at the woman's shadow cast in the room. The woman's shadow on the floor entered my eyes. At the woman's questioning, I answered with a slight smile.
"Your shadow is quite pretty."
After finishing my words, I turned my gaze back to see the woman's face frozen in fear.
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