Chapter 16: Lounge Channel (1)

“Popo!”

The little guy jumped up and backed away.

If it had arms, wouldn’t it have wrapped them around itself?

“No, I just wanted to ask if you could give that healing power to someone else.”

“Popo!”

As I added that, Popo hopped in place once more.

Then it nodded its head up and down.

“Popo!”

With a cry, a jelly-like lump the size of a fist, mixed brown and green, popped out of its mouth.

“What is this…?”

I quickly picked it up.

A warm energy radiated from it.

[Gagia Slime’s Fluid, LV ???]

“Bodily fluid?”

“Popo!”

I asked Popo again as it kept hopping around.

“Can this heal others?”

“Popo-!”

Popo nodded.

Oh.

I only asked just in case, but this is amazing!

I immediately logged onto SuperNet.

Checked the to see if the item could be registered.

‘It can.’

My eyes sparkled.

If I use this right, maybe I can create something incredible.

What exactly?

That would be—

An Elixir.

Elixir.

A legendary potion said to exist only in records found in the upper floors of the Abyss Tower.

They say drinking it could grant immortality, or instantly recover you even from death.

Or it could awaken <Additional Characteristics>.

All sorts of rumors surround it.

It’s a legendary potion full of speculation and mystery.

‘Maybe I really can create an Elixir.’

I carefully stored the <Gagia Slime’s Bodily Fluid>.

Alright. I’ll take my time researching Elixir creation.

“Popo, can you take care of those herbs and crops too?”

“Popo-!”

At my words, Popo happily hopped toward the withered Lunadria and potatoes.

Ahh.

My Popo.

So reliable.

While Popo busied itself again…

I checked on the <White Sun Herb> Popo revived.

Its petals practically pulsed with life, as if they were breathing.

Whoa!

It actually looks fresher than the ones that hadn’t been near the Tai Yin Yang Essence.

“Laugh.”

I immediately picked one of the revived White Sun Herbs.

……….

[White Sun Herb, LV 99]

Imbued with great prestige.

Upon consumption, mana amplification rate increases for 45 minutes.

Thereafter, a slight permanent increase in mana amplification rate.

Life buff active. Consuming this grants a slight permanent increase to stamina.

……….

“Oh!”

Now it had a permanent stamina boost too!

Wow, Popo, you little blessing!

I combined the revived White Sun Herb and the Public Healing Oil in the Alchemy Furnace.

[Activating <Alchemy Furnace>…]

Fwoooosh!

[Congratulations! Tai Yin Yang Essence and have successfully fused.]

[Tai Yin Yang Essence, LV 99]

Another success.

With the buff active, I’ve become practically incapable of failing at elixir synthesis.

“Alright. Popo! Come here.”

“Popo!”

Popo, who had just revived the potatoes and sweet potatoes, hopped happily over to me.

“You did great. Time to eat.”

I poured the Tai Yin Yang Essence into a small bowl for Popo.

“Popo-!”

“Popo!”

“Popo-!”

The little guy spun around me gleefully, eyes smiling ^_^ as usual.

Totally satisfied, once again.

[Guardian <Popo>’s level has increased! 104Lv → 105Lv]

“Oh!”

I even leveled up.

Wow.

The effect of Tai Yin Yang Essence is insane.

The taste is already amazing, but now that it even boosts your level, no wonder Popo loves it so much.

“Now it’s my turn.”

I, too, immediately gulped down the Tai Yin Yang Essence.

Gulp, gulp.

A refreshing energy spread through my mouth.

The sensation of cold and heat at the same time—this was a flavor I could never get tired of.

Kah

As I marveled at the clean aftertaste of Tai Yin Yang Essence—

a system message popped up in front of me.

「Your mana has greatly increased.」

「Your level has increased.」

「Your level has increased.」

「Your level has increased.」

「Your level has increased.」

「Your level has increased.」

「You have reached Level 20.」

“Wow.”

So this is how the guy living in a Dragon’s Lair levels up!

I rocketed past the level 20 threshold in the blink of an eye.

It was lightning-fast leveling—so fast it felt almost unfair.

“It really hits different once the first digit changes.”

Truly, upon hitting level 20, my body felt almost weightless.

They say superhumans get noticeably stronger with each milestone digit, and now I could finally feel what that meant.

「 <Trait Grade-Based Lounge Channel> has been unlocked.」

Then, another system message popped up.

“Oh!”

I let out a gasp.

Right—there was this.

Upon reaching level 20, a new communication hub opens up beyond just SuperNet.

It’s a lounge channel assigned based on the grade of your awakened trait.

What’s special is that each grade comes with a badge.

Gold.

Silver.

Bronze.

The Gold badge—known as the “Heavenly Class”—is given to those with SSS to S-grade traits.

Only a few ever receive it.

Next is Silver, the mid-tier, given to those with A to C-grade traits.

Finally, Bronze, for those with D to F-grade traits—the majority fall into this category.

And then there’s an All-grade lounge channel accessible to everyone regardless of badge.

‘So which one am I?’

My trait grade is EX.

Surely… there’s a separate EX-grade channel?

Tilting my head in curiosity, I tried to get my channel assigned.

「To enter the lounge channel, you must purchase a badge.」

「Trait Grade: EX」

「Lounge Grade: Platinum 」

「Platinum Badge Purchase Cost: 1,000,000 Coins」

‘……!’

My eyes widened.

One million coins?

That’s… a billion won?!

Why is it so expensive?

‘Search SuperNet.’

Stunned, I started searching SuperNet.

……….

Gold badges cost 100,000 coins.

Silver badges cost 10,000 coins.

Bronze badges cost 5,000 coins.

……….

Hmm.

They’re definitely expensive.

100,000 coins would be 1 billion won, 10,000 coins is 100 million, and 5,000 coins is 50 million won.

“Search: Platinum badge.”

Just in case, I tried searching on Supernet.

The result?

Of course, nothing came up.

I clicked my tongue and stood up from my seat.

“Guess I need to collect more coins.”

This time, I’d received 500,000 coins from Hong Seol-hwa.

To buy the badge, I needed another 500,000 coins.

Honestly, it’s not hard.

Even if I just sell a few of the spirit herbs I already have, I can easily collect a million coins.

“Now, what should I sell this time?”

I paused, gazing at the herb garden in thought.

“Hmm.”

Soon, I made a decision.

Alright. This time, I’ll sell the Public healing Oil.

I was curious to see how much value this Public healing Oil would be recognized for.

Once I decided, I moved swiftly.

I Opened the <Auction>.

Then listed a bottle containing 50ml of Public healing Oil.

[Public healing Oil, Lv ??? has been listed on the auction.]

Once again, I set the auction time to the minimum duration: three hours.

I planned to sell it quickly and then use the proceeds to buy a Lounge Channel badge, so there was no need for a long listing.

“Let’s see.”

After thinking for a moment, I posted another message on Supernet.

……….

Username: Archmage Emperor

Title: Selling a unique Public healing Oil

Tags: Interested

Content: This time, I’ve brought Public healing Oil.
Not the usual milky-white one, but a crystal-clear variant that’s so transparent you can see right through it. It contains a strong yin energy.

……….

That should attract some attention.

Alright!

I’ve listed it on the auction.

Now… time to eat something.

I casually turned my head.

Ten Thousand Year Mushroom.

Yeah. Let’s try that today.

***

Supernet.

As soon as Archmage Emperor posted the message, a flood of users swarmed to it.

Why?

Because he was the very same person who caused the infamous special Lunadria, potato, and sweet potato frenzy.

……….

[Mandara]: What’s this now? Public healing Oil?

[OakTree]: If the yin energy is stronger, shouldn’t it be more opaque, like a deeper milky white?

[Carbonara]: It could actually become more transparent.

[Epokuta]: Whoa, the starting bid is 500,000 coins.

[Espie]: 500k for 50ml is expensive… but if it’s Archmage Emperor selling it, maybe it’s actually cheap?

[Jackal]: This one smells fishy though; lol, transparent Public healing Oil? Hmm. I’m sitting this one out.

[GayaSon]: Ugh, should I go for it? I still regret missing the sweet potatoes and potatoes last time.

[RymeHigh]: Oh? Price is rising already. Bidding war started!

……….

Someone began bidding.

Starting at a whopping 500,000 coins.

As if that price were nothing, it shot past 1 million coins in under an hour.

Archmage Emperor’s third elixir offering:

Public healing Oil.

Since his previous products were anything but ordinary, this one too was sparking intense competition.

***

[Kkyuuuu. I’m hungry. Feed me!]

While I was harvesting the Ten Thousand Year Mushroom,

Dania woke up.

Ah, my precious treasure.

She asks for food as soon as she wakes up.

I quickly finished gathering the fungus and stood before Dania with a bottle of .

“Here. Tai yin yang Elixir. You liked it last time, right?”

「Kkyu? Tai yin yang Elixir. That was yummy.」

I chuckled at Dania’s words.

She somehow remembers everything she’s ever eaten.

Well, I suppose that’s natural for a dragon.

They must be far more intelligent than humans.

Anyway, I poured the remaining Tai yin yang Elixir into her bowl.

Her body’s grown, so her appetite had also increased.

「Kkyuuuuuuu— Yummy! So yummy!!」

Dania let out a happy cry.

Wooooong.

At the same time, that radiant glow surrounded her again.

It was the same phenomenon I’d previously assumed meant leveling up.

It seems Dania is also leveling up after consuming the Tai Ying Yang Essence.

Whew.

It definitely has gotten a lot bigger.

To think it would grow this much in just a day.

The size, which was slightly smaller than my upper body at first, now reached from my feet up to my chest.

“At this size… isn’t it about time for it to hatch?”

It’s grown considerably.

And its pronunciation had also become clearer than before.

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like it was going to hatch soon.

[Kkyu! That’s right, Dania! I’m going to hatch soon!]

“Yeah. You’re going to hatch soon… Huh? What? For real?”

『Kkyuu! That’s right! Roasted sweet potatoes! I’m going to eat them!』

Ohhh.

Alright, I’ll prepare not only roasted sweet potatoes but also a whole bunch of roasted potatoes.

『Dania. I’m hungry. Give me more food.』

“Alright. I’ll make something different this time.”

What I had prepared was Ten Thousand Year Mushroom and White Sun Herb.

This time, I was going to mix the two and make a stew.

“Fire.”

Fwoooosh!

I lit the firewood.

Then, using the pot I had bought previously, I began boiling water infused with Clearwater Grass.

Bubble bubble.

The water with Clearwater Grass began to boil slowly.

Into it, I tossed the Ten Thousand Year Mushroom and let it simmer gently over low heat again.

This was the process of drawing out its life essence.

Fwoosh—

As the Ten Thousand Year Mushroom boiled, it gave off a deep and calming aroma.

Strangely, it smelled similar to when beef bone broth is simmering.

Immediately, I added the White Sun Herb.

The heat surged up in an instant.

The cold Ten Thousand Year Mushroom and the hot White Sun Herb began to neutralize each other’s chill and warmth.

‘Oh. It’s really working?’

This recipe, actually, was one I got from the Bangbaedong Gourmet.

I simply followed his instructions, and already, the aroma alone made it seem like a legit dish.

‘It really feels like I’m boiling bone broth.’

Swallowing the saliva pooling in my mouth, I finished the final steps of cooking.

『Mmm! Smells delicious! I wanna eat it!』

Dania was already throwing a fit, wanting to eat.

“Haha. Just wait a little longer.”

“Popo!”

Popo had crept up at some point too.

Alright then, shall we see how it tastes?

The moment I took a spoonful of the finished stew and put it into my mouth—

“……!”

My eyes widened at the unexpected flavor.