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Chapter 273

Originally, potions were meant for consumption.

As defined in the dictionary, they refer to a potion or magical elixir of about a sip, so that’s a given.

However, the power of the Purification Potion, born from the collaboration of Yeon-woo, Sullivan, and the Magic Tower’s laboratory and library, transcended such common sense.

Of course, there had been attempts to develop throwable potions that were similar to the Purification Potion.

Such attempts had occurred several times throughout history but were buried without being commercialized due to their flaws.

Still, the reason why the Purification Potion crafted by Sullivan gained attention was simple: it was a problem of raw power.

The biggest disadvantage of liquid throwable potions was that they were cumbersome to store and use compared to typical throwable weapons with similar potency.

However, the Purification Potion overshadowed all those disadvantages with overwhelming power.

Its effective range was broad, able to reduce even higher-level undead to dust.

Though high-tier undead were out of the potion’s league, the benefits it offered compared to its flaws were immense.

Thus, the advent of the Purification Potion was nothing short of a revolution in the field of alchemy. Proposals for collaborative research or business partnerships were pouring into Riley’s laboratory every day.

Of course, the Purification Potion also had several areas that needed improvement.

For now, its effectiveness was concentrated on purification, but if it were to explode in one’s pocket, it would pose serious problems.

“Long live the Tree of Life!”

Indeed. The reason why the Purification Potion could unfurl its wings unlike any throwable potion before was due to the sap from the Tree of Life, specifically the “Mana Amplification Prototype.”

In particular, rather than using the sap itself, the plants cultivated using the sap proved effective.

This resulted in a tremendous enhancement of the inherent properties of the medicinal ingredients.

What that meant was simple.

“Let’s hold off on bomb-making until we improve durability.”

Hearing Yeon-woo’s judgment, it was clear that Sullivan would scream, but it couldn’t be helped.

Hearing that the party had been wiped out because of our products was a situation that anyone, not just Yeon-woo, would find troublesome.

While it was regrettable that Yeon-woo couldn’t make bombs, it was essential to avoid the potential of an innocent dying.

A hero must charge in alone, but knowing that people were behind them made it even easier to fight.

Anyway, it was time to gather sufficient information on how the Purification Potion and the events at the Ice Palace were progressing.

Awaiting Yeon-woo’s somewhat satisfactorily returning presence, Char and Tae-oh shyly presented a gift box.

“…What is this?”

“U-uh, just something.”

Yeon-woo felt immense anxiety upon seeing Char and Tae-oh avoiding eye contact.

In truth, the two kids didn’t have a personality that would cause trouble, but given their reaction, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but feel a bit suspicious.

“Okay, slowly tell me. Did you cause any trouble? Did you break something? If it’s about the glass, Dad can handle it somehow.”

“W-we didn’t…!!”

Ugh, if that’s not it, then what is it? Watching Yeon-woo stroke his chin deep in thought, Char’s face turned red.

It was embarrassing to say thank you to Father, though it shouldn’t have been, but for some reason, it made them feel shy.

As such thoughts crossed her mind, Char finally spoke up in a crawling voice.

“…I-I’m always thankful, Dad….”

“…Huh? What did you say?”

Yeon-woo hadn’t failed to hear Char’s words. More than disbelief, he was taken aback, wondering where that comment had come from.

Without revealing his feelings, Char threw the box at Yeon-woo.

“I’m always thankful!!”

Startled, Yeon-woo looked at Char and Tae-oh while he held the box. Seeing this, Char abruptly turned and ran toward the Ice Palace.

Tae-oh, who had been glancing back and forth between Yeon-woo and Char for a moment, hurriedly chased after Char.

“…O-oh, okay.”

Yeon-woo mumbled awkwardly into the air as Dawn approached him.

He thought about chasing after them but decided to wait until Char calmed down after seeing a familiar silver figure disappear in the direction Char and Tae-oh had run.

“So what happened, Dawn?”

“Actually….”

Dawn let out a heavy sigh before starting to speak. What could have happened that made them suddenly thankful and give a gift?

Scratching his cheek, Yeon-woo gazed at the direction the two kids ran. They were still visibly running.

If they were going to run away, they should have entered an alley… Why run straight like that…?

“I’m not raising them to receive thanks.”

“That’s possible. I suppose, regardless of the other person’s intentions, one should express gratitude if they feel grateful, right?”

“That’s true.”

Still, maybe it was due to the long life experience he had, but Dawn preached the wisdom of life that was surprisingly mature for his age.

Yeon-woo could only nod in agreement. Claire always said not to feel thankful, but he always struggled to express his gratitude, didn’t he?

Accepting thanks graciously was indeed a virtue of adulthood, but he had failed to do so.

“It’s a pity. I wish they had been a bit more perceptive.”

Well, it can’t be helped; he isn’t used to it. Yeon-woo thought so as he moved toward the Ice Palace.

All the tasks to be done at the Ice Palace had been completed, and now he just had to pass the time until returning.

“Since it’s come to this, I hope I can tag along when the cult branch gets attacked.”

Hoping for Lucrecia’s return, who had set out for reconnaissance, Yeon-woo went back to his room. He needed to think about what he would say when Char returned.

*

Hee hee, a woman was admiring the interior of the Sacred Grounds, her crimson hair having a striking charm, with a uniquely patterned eye patch.

Branch chief Mikhail was on guard at the sight of a woman he didn’t recognize, yet he slowly approached her, licking his lips.

“I see someone I’ve never seen before. Still, there’s no mistaking it; you’ve surely been blessed by the Demon King.”

“Ah, yeah, kinda.”

The eye-patched woman casually replied. Mikhail, taken aback by her attitude, hid his surprise.

To seduce a woman, power, wealth, and confidence were crucial. As the branch chief overseeing a division of Oblivion, Mikhail held confidence in those aspects.

“Take a look around. You won’t regret choosing the 5th Northern Sea branch.”

As Mikhail smiled and stepped away, the woman, Lucrecia, scratched her head with a sour expression.

“Geez, this guy’s popularity… Just because it’s the Cult of Oblivion, behaving like they’re all wise men of the world while acting like the same.”

Ugh, Lucrecia shivered. Though almost half a year had passed, she still wasn’t used to such sticky stares.

In her past life, given her status, she was never bombarded directly with such interest.

“Well, it seems I can also use the enemy’s power.”

Lucrecia’s “infiltration” was an idea proposed by Yeon-woo and Seol Gi-ryeong.

Since Lucrecia bore the Saturday Curse, pretending to be a demon might allow her to infiltrate the cult without much difficulty.

To be honest, Lucrecia didn’t want to do it, but she had no choice but to accept.

If she could reduce the chance of people dying or getting hurt due to what she disliked, then she could gladly accept it.

Fortunately, it seemed Oblivion, like Mikhail, had a strong sense of rivalry between its branches.

Therefore, the sharing of information didn’t seem to occur actively. If it had, Lucrecia would have been caught the moment they saw her.

“It’s typical of necromancers to not care if the side members all die.”

They likely wouldn’t have imagined that such thoughts, typical of a necromancer, would become the reason for their deaths.

This would be the reason why the average lifespan of demon folks was so short.

Scouting the general structure of the Underground Tomb, buried beneath the ground, Lucrecia stepped out.

Nonetheless, no one tried to stop her. It seemed they could hardly imagine that someone blessed by the Demon King would betray them.

“Ugh….”

Emerging from the dusty underground, Lucrecia stretched and inhaled deeply of the fresh air.

Having been undead for a while, she was well aware of how precious this sensation was.

“Maybe I should go back and gather people to kill those guys….”

Even though she thought about trashing a moderately sized branch alone, having seen its considerable scale and the level of the undead, she thought it better to call in reinforcements.

Especially that branch chief, Mikhail: despite being a fool, his skills as a necromancer were probably decent.

From her observations so far, she suspected he might be among the top ten skilled members within the cult.

In such cases, not pushing too hard and safely gathering people was the best course of action.

Had she been the hero from before, she would have charged in immediately, causing ruckus, but she was no longer the hero in this world.

“This’ll also be a good experience for the juniors!”

Ha ha, laughing heartily, Lucrecia took her leave. Following her, shadows stretched forth, figures clad in white clothes moved ahead.

*

“Yeah, I see. Got it. Dad’s sorry?”

“Just knowing is good… I’m sorry for throwing the box too….”

Tae-oh wiped his eyes watching the heartfelt reunion between Char and her father. In truth, he wasn’t crying. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since they ran away;there was no time to shed tears.

As Yeon-woo gently stroked Char’s head, who was burrowing deeper out of embarrassment, he struggled to hide the smile that was creeping onto his lips.

“Then can I open the gift? I really wanted to see it, but I thought I should wait until you guys were around.”

“Open it! We saved our allowance to buy it for you.”

“Tae-oh contributed too!”

“Ooh, I see. Thanks, both of you.”

Smiling broadly, Yeon-woo patted Tae-oh’s head as well. Dawn looked at that scene with some envy.

Of course, he was envious not of being patted but of seeing Tae-oh being patted.

Withdrawing his hands from the two kids, Yeon-woo picked up the box and pulled off the wrapping. What emerged from the simply designed box was a red scarf.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked…”

“I felt like I saw a lot of people with red necks in the Northern Sea, so I chose a scarf!”

With the kids’ spirited remarks, Yeon-woo felt his nose get a bit prickly.

Regardless of how things turned out, it was moving, knowing the children had put in the effort to think of a gift for him.

Come to think of it, he might have liked red. While it’s true he decided to start liking it now as the kids gave it to him, he remembered having admired the color red of the leader in the superhero series he watched when he was little.

“Thank you, kiddos. I mean it.”

“Hehe, it’s nothing. We’re happy that you liked it! Want to try it on?”

“Put it on quickly! It will look great on you!”

“Shall we?”

As Yeon-woo wrapped the scarf around his neck, it matched well with his black coat, giving off an oddly stylish vibe.

He liked it. Just as he thought this, someone knocked on the door of his room.

Opening the door, he was greeted by Baek In-hwa.

“I saw your neck looked cold, so I brought this as a gift… You don’t need it then. I’ll be leaving.”

Hastily hiding the shimmering silver scarf behind her back, Baek In-hwa turned on her heel. Yeon-woo, tired, rubbed his temples and said,

“…Just give it to me.”

Just a bad timing, huh? It can’t be helped; he’ll wear both. If Nea gives him a scarf too, he’ll put on all three.

If he wore three, perhaps even a blade aimed at his neck would be blocked once.

Yeon-woo couldn’t even fathom refusing Baek In-hwa’s gift in the Ice Palace, where Baek Joo-han’s eyes were wide open.

(To be continued in the next chapter.)

 

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