The Golden Crucible recruited outstanding guards thanks to its size and wealth.
They were individuals who had made names for themselves even in the metropolis of Elen.
Among them were powerful figures whom Lee Tae-sung might not be able to defeat in a direct confrontation.
Their reputations were too great for mere guard duty, but they had hoped to establish a connection with the Golden Crucible in this manner.
*Tap, tap, tap!*
Lee Tae-sung pushed forward, leading the way more than anyone else.
“That fellow’s movement technique is no joke.”
“I heard a rumor about him recently, but I didn’t realize he was that good.”
The other guards marveled as they watched Lee Tae-sung practically fly across the cliffside.
The Flying Flower Shadow technique he had learned was a hybrid movement skill left behind by the Fire Emperor himself.
Ordinary movement techniques couldn’t even compare to it.
Lee Tae-sung rushed toward the masked attackers, his sword flashing.
Red Cloud Seven Forms — Sky-Soaring Form.
*Whoosh!*
A sharp sword wind was unleashed.
He wasn’t at a high enough level to project sword qi yet, so he could only produce sword wind, but at close range, it possessed more than enough lethality.
“Aaargh!” “Kugh!”
On a cliff with almost no foothold, even a minor wound meant the end.
They simply couldn’t hold on and fell.
Using his superior movement technique, Lee Tae-sung moved across the cliff as broadly as possible while setting fires.
Since grass grew even between the cliff’s crevices, the sparks blooming from his footsteps spread quickly.
The attackers, whose movement skills were inferior, would find it difficult to maneuver.
Indeed, panic flickered in their eyes.
“Sir Guard! Please be careful! You mustn’t burn the medicinal herbs!”
“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind!”
Lee Tae-sung immediately responded to the urgent shout of the Golden Crucible’s herb gatherer from above.
Naturally, he avoided the herbs and only set fire to the weeds.
He even focused intently on controlling the sparks to ensure the fire didn’t spread to the valuable plants afterward.
Sweat poured down his face as he performed such a feat on the cliffside.
*Ping!*
**[The proficiency of Flying Flower Exploding Shadow has increased.]**
**[The skill level of Flying Flower Shadow has increased.]**
**[Flying Flower Shadow (Lv. 2) -> Flying Flower Shadow (Lv. 3)]**
Thanks to his careful movements, the proficiency level of Flying Flower Exploding Shadow had gone up by one!
With a slight smirk, Lee Tae-sung approached the masked men again and unleashed the Swift Sword Form and the Heavenly Net Flame Palm.
The men couldn’t properly deflect the strikes and fell off the cliff one by one.
Whenever a fierce counterattack came his way, he used his superior movement technique to quickly pull back before approaching again the moment he saw an opening.
‘The effects of the Flying Flower Explosion are incredible.’
He had already thought it was good, but he hadn’t realized that the difference in mobility would make combat this easy.
When the situation turned dire, one of the attackers shouted urgently.
“Hey! You! You don’t look like you belong to the Golden Crucible! Am I right?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Let’s make a deal. We only need the herbs those gatherers found and their knowledge. If you look the other way while we kidnap them, we’ll pay you handsomely!”
‘?!’
What a crazy proposal…
*Ping!*
**[A quest has been generated.]**
**[Quest: Negotiation and Betrayal]**
**- Description: The masked men who attacked the Golden Crucible have offered you a new request. If you ignore their attack, they will provide a large reward.**
**- Acceptance Reward: The promised quest rewards (Experience, Skill Points, and commission fee) will increase by three times.**
**- Penalty: If this fact becomes known, the Golden Crucible will become hostile toward you.**
Lee Tae-sung’s eyes widened.
‘So these kinds of quests exist too.’
Betrayal.
True to the quest’s title, the reward was sweet.
The original reward was already substantial, and this would be three times that.
To Lee Tae-sung, who was desperate for Skill Points, it was the best possible reward.
For a moment, his gaze wavered, but… ‘It’s a poisoned honey pot.’
He couldn’t accept this.
If he wavered for an immediate gain, he might end up as an enemy of the Golden Crucible.
If that happened, there was a high possibility that the Flying Dragon Sect would cut ties with him as well.
The sect wouldn’t fight the Golden Crucible just to protect one of its members, would it?
Of course, there was a way.
He could kill everyone else here so there would be no witnesses, but… ‘Even if I did that, I’d just be dragged around by those guys.’
Even if they offered ten times the amount instead of three, he had to refuse.
Besides, the most important reward—the crucible—would disappear.
“I refuse! Did you think you could bribe Lee Tae-sung of the Flying Dragon Sect with such pittance?”
Lee Tae-sung roared, thrusting his sword even more fiercely, as if he had never wavered for a second.
The herb gatherers above and the guards nearby looked at Lee Tae-sung with eyes full of trust.
“What a reliable fellow. A young man like him is bound to succeed.”
“Lee Tae-sung of the Flying Dragon Sect. I shall remember that name.”
Along with the other guards, he continued to drive the enemies back.
*Ping!*
**[You have defeated an enemy.]**
**[Level Up!]**
By the time they had dealt with almost all the masked men, he had even gained a level.
It was a very satisfying harvest.
***
After defeating all the attackers, the eventful herb-gathering mission came to an end.
Lee Tae-sung subsequently returned to the Golden Crucible.
“Thank you. I heard from my disciples that you played a major role this time. You even refused the enemy’s bribe.”
Elder Mi Gi-nik expressed his gratitude to Lee Tae-sung.
“I only did what was expected of me as an employee.”
“That may be true, but there are many who don’t follow such expectations. As expected, you are someone worthy of Elder Dam Ho-poong’s recommendation.”
The way Mi Gi-nik looked at Lee Tae-sung became even warmer.
Since many of those hired as mercenaries lacked loyalty, the organization greatly favored consistent people like Lee Tae-sung.
*Ping!*
**[Quest Completed!]**
**[As a reward, you have obtained four gold coins, five skill points, a large amount of experience, and a reward from Elder Mi Gi-nik.]**
**[Level Up!]**
The Golden Crucible was certainly a wealthy organization.
To give a reward of four gold coins… It was a bit disappointing that there were only five skill points, but it couldn’t be helped. More importantly, the crucible was the real prize.
In fact, if the crucible hadn’t been on the line and the bribe had been larger, he might have actually been tempted…
“We are currently investigating the corpses. We must find out who dared to attack us.”
Mi Gi-nik’s gaze turned cold.
It was the result of his anger toward those who dared to strike at the Golden Crucible.
“I hope you get good results.”
“If we ever need a mercenary again, I would like to call upon you, Lee Tae-sung.”
“Anytime. If I’m not busy, I’ll come running.”
This was exactly what Lee Tae-sung wanted. He would be happy to take as many quests like this as possible!
“You said you wanted a crucible as your reward, right? Is your mind still set on that?”
“Yes.”
“I understand. Follow me. I’ve already prepared it.”
Lee Tae-sung followed Mi Gi-nik to the warehouse.
There, he was finally able to receive the crucible as planned.
***
*Hiss!*
Lee Tae-sung opened his eyes and sat up.
Next to the capsule sat a large crucible.
To be precise, it was the alchemy pot, the base plate, and even the mana stones that would be used for the crucible.
‘To think I’d use all three Dream Realization Runes just to bring this one thing…’
Lee Tae-sung looked at the crucible with complicated emotions.
It was a basic crucible, an item capable of manufacturing the lowest-grade elixirs.
Simply bringing the pot wouldn’t have been enough.
The pot had magic circles densely engraved inside, creating a structure that turned herbs into elixirs when added.
The base plate was also engraved with magic circles.
Therefore, he had to bring the alchemy pot, the base plate, and even the mana stones—the energy source to power it all.
He had purchased the mana stones for fifteen gold coins before bringing them over with a Dream Realization Rune.
In many ways, the investment was large.
‘But the return should be worth it.’
He had received a recipe for making elixirs, and he was told that the ingredients used in this crucible weren’t strictly fixed.
Since the elixirs were created through magical processes, even if the recipe varied slightly, adding medicinal herbs with similar properties would result in an elixir.
Herbs that boosted vitality, herbs that enhanced energy, and so on.
‘I should invite a traditional doctor for a consultation.’
He decided to look for suitable substitutes in the real world.
Lee Tae-sung sent a text to Kang Woo-joo, asking if he could borrow a truck and come to his house.
It would be difficult to work with the crucible in his home, so he needed to move it somewhere spacious.
He could have asked Manager Song Sang-yeop, but Song was technically a member of the National Hunter Association.
He couldn’t treat him like an employee.
In fact, Song had already done more than enough by helping him this much.
An immediate reply came from Kang Woo-joo.
That was a relief.
Afterward, Lee Tae-sung pondered where he should move the crucible.
‘Placing it in the office is a bit much.’
The National Hunter Association had provided him with an office for free since he was a top-tier rookie.
Kang Woo-joo and the other new hires were using it now, but it was a bit too small to house a crucible as well.
‘I might need to rent a factory site or something.’
Considering future production and sales, it would be best to look for a factory that offered facility rentals from the start.
He had a mountain of work to do.
With nothing left to do until Kang Woo-joo arrived, Lee Tae-sung examined the crucible in detail.
He had been so focused on bringing it into reality that he hadn’t looked at it closely yet.
“Wait, does this always manifest right next to me?”
It didn’t matter much now, but his house would be too small if he brought over larger items later.
This crucible alone already took up most of the room.
‘I should move soon, or buy something like a subspace pouch in the game.’
Ah, wait.
If subspace pouches were for sale, there would be plenty of people willing to buy them.
He needed to check the price in the game… ‘No. Let’s think about that later.’
Focusing on the crucible was the priority right now.
Lee Tae-sung peered at the magic circles densely engraved on the pot and the base plate.
He couldn’t understand a single thing, so he stopped observing after a short while.
Kang Woo-joo arrived quickly.
After parking a spacious truck in front of the house, he hopped out and stood at attention, giving a salute.
“Loyalty!”
“…Woo-joo. You haven’t been to the military, have you?”
“Oh. How did you know? I was exempt.”
“You’ll get cursed at by veterans if you salute at that angle.”
It was a salute that practically showed the entire palm of his hand.
“Yes! I will correct it! Loyalty!”
Kang Woo-joo said, changing his hand to look as sharp as a blade.
“……”
He was certainly doing his best, but his attitude was strangely… ‘No. That’s not what’s important.’
Pushing aside useless thoughts, Lee Tae-sung spoke.
“Woo-joo. Can you look for a factory site? I need to move a large pot that’s inside my house. Also, I’d like to invite a traditional doctor for a consultation, so please look into that as well.”
“Yes. I’ll look into it immediately. And regarding traditional medicine, I know a bit about it.”
“Excuse me? You do, Woo-joo?”
“My mother studied traditional medicine deeply. I helped her out and learned a bit about acupuncture and herbalism over her shoulder. I even memorized the *Dongui Bogam* when I was bored.”
“…Didn’t you say before that your mother was a shaman? That’s why you know how to read faces…”
“In this day and age, having two jobs is the standard.”
‘But isn’t that practicing without a license…?’
He couldn’t bring himself to ask, but Kang Woo-joo grinned as if he knew what Lee Tae-sung was thinking.
“The village elders don’t care about licenses as long as the doctor is skilled.”
“……”