Chapter 54: The Blueprient for a Monopoly

The next morning.

Lee Tae-sung visited the Chief Administrator as soon as dawn broke.

The Chief Administrator looked tired, as if he had only just woken up.

“Yawn. You’re here quite early.”

“Elder Dam requested it.”

“I heard. It seems he spoke very highly of you. A request for an escort came in from the Golden Alchemic Cauldron.”

— Ding!

**[A quest has been triggered]**

**[Quest: Golden Alchemic Cauldron Commission]**

**Details: You have built a reputation in the Flying Dragon Pavilion and received high praise from Elder Dam Ho-poong. The alchemist organization ‘Golden Alchemic Cauldron’ needs a reliable warrior like you. Find them and carry out the request.**

A quest window appeared, and the Chief Administrator smiled.

“Congratulations. Those people have plenty of money, so they’ll pay well. They might even pay better than the Red Magic Tower.”

No matter how much money one had, it was difficult to buy elixirs above a certain level.

From that point on, it was more accurate to say that one only encountered such elixirs if they were fated to.

High-grade elixirs made by such alchemy organizations carried an enormous premium.

Naturally, the Golden Alchemic Cauldron had so much money it was practically all they had!

‘It’s a really good place.’

Lee Tae-sung felt lucky.

After succeeding in a series of requests recently, his assets had grown quite a bit.

Having received a portion of the weapon sales from Rodon, the gold coins in his possession had exceeded ten.

Not long ago, he had been nearly penniless, but he had reached this point before he knew it.

Since he had a decent amount of money now, he could form a connection with the Golden Alchemic Cauldron and perhaps purchase high-grade elixirs that were otherwise difficult to obtain.

‘And since it’s a request from a hard-to-access organization, the basic rewards will be substantial.’

Basic rewards didn’t just mean experience and commission fees.

Skill points — those were important.

Not long ago, hadn’t he struggled to learn the Heavenly Fire Star Art because he lacked skill points?

By now, Baek Woon-ho would be busy searching for another one of the Flame Emperor’s hideouts.

Since he didn’t know when he might need them, he had to gather skill points in advance.

“I’ll be going now, Chief Administrator.”

“Right. I’m counting on you again.”

Lee Tae-sung set off toward the Golden Alchemic Cauldron.

***

The Golden Alchemic Cauldron was one of the top five alchemy organizations in the metropolis of Elrn.

The front of the building was crowded with people.

Thanks to his request form, Lee Tae-sung was guided inside immediately.

The person who had posted this request was Elder Miginick, a friend of Elder Dam Ho-poong who had shared a drink with them.

“Are you First-Class Member Lee Tae-sung?”

“Hello. I’ve come after receiving a designated request.”

“Welcome. I am Miginick, an Elder of the Golden Alchemic Cauldron.”

Elder Miginick was an old man with a long white beard, wearing an elegant robe.

At a glance, he exuded the aura of a master well-versed in alchemy.

“My friend Dam Ho-poong praised you extensively. I have high expectations, as that fastidious man spoke so well of you.”

“I won’t disappoint you.”

“Good. What I’m asking is for you to escort our people while they gather herbs.”

“I take it they’ll be gathering in an area where many dangerous monsters appear?”

A group like the Golden Alchemic Cauldron would need many precious herbs.

Such things usually required going to rugged areas like deep mountains, which were naturally the territory of powerful monsters.

However, Elder Miginick shook his head.

“That’s not it. Rather, people are the bigger problem.”

“People?”

“As many customers as we have, we have just as many enemies.”

Elixirs, alchemy pills, and alchemy in general — these were things everyone needed, whether they were mages, warriors, or hybrids.

Customers wanting to buy them were always lined up, and potential bandits wanting to steal them were hundreds of times more numerous.

“Even people in the same industry can become enemies. It’s not uncommon for them to attack to learn the secrets of what ingredients we gather.”

Therefore, the reliability of the escorting warrior was more important than anything else.

This was where the trust Lee Tae-sung had built shone through.

Although he hadn’t completed many requests yet, his success rate was 100%.

On top of that, he had even received designated requests from large-scale factions like the Red Magic Tower.

If it had only been Elder Dam Ho-poong’s recommendation, he might not have met the Golden Alchemic Cauldron’s strict criteria, but Lee Tae-sung was already qualified.

“I understand. I will do my absolute best.”

“I’m counting on you. It won’t be a very difficult request. The main items are things that can be found in nearby mountains and fields, though they aren’t common. Nine-Node Grass, Erestine Petals, Active Red Seeds…”

“Oh. Active Red Seeds? I have some of those.”

“?”

As Elder Miginick tilted his head in confusion, Lee Tae-sung pulled a herb basket from his bag.

Miginick examined the herbs and looked at Lee Tae-sung with a surprised expression.

“Three-year-old heshouwu, Blue Steel Herb, Nectar Herb, and even Active Red Seeds. Were you a herb gatherer?”

“Not exactly, but I learned a bit by watching over someone’s shoulder.”

Baek Woon-ho knew herbs quite well.

While wandering around together under the pretext of finding the Flame Emperor’s hideouts, the harvest had been quite large.

He had just been carrying them around, but he hadn’t expected to sell them like this.

Elder Miginick burst into laughter.

“It’s truly hard to find an escort who also knows herbs well. Our young ones will be much more comfortable thanks to you.”

If a battle broke out during an escort, the surrounding area was often destroyed, and herbs were frequently ruined.

While it was unavoidable during escort duties, an escort who knew herbs well would be less likely to let that happen.

Miginick felt that he had chosen the right person this time.

***

As with any organization, tasks like herb gathering were performed by those in the lower ranks of the faction.

Those in high positions couldn’t go out for such work.

As he was being led to the meeting place by Elder Miginick, an alchemy workshop caught Lee Tae-sung’s eye.

A blue magic circle was spread across the floor, and a large cauldron sat atop it.

Three people were stirring it continuously with giant ladles.

Another person was turning a faucet-like device to transfer the contents of the cauldron into small bottles.

A golden liquid sloshed inside.

“Elder. What is that?”

“It’s an elixir.”

It was the answer he had expected. One thought crossed Lee Tae-sung’s mind as he saw it.

‘They’re really sweeping up the money.’

How many elixir bottles could be made from that one large cauldron?

It looked like at least several hundred.

“But is it all right to show this to an outsider like me?”

The alchemy workshop was very open.

It was at a level where any visitor could easily see it.

Miginick smiled broadly.

“That workshop makes the lowest-grade elixirs, so it’s fine.”

The advanced processes naturally involved their own secrets, but the lowest-grade elixirs were different.

Therefore, the basic alchemy process could actually be shown to the public for promotional purposes.

They could show that ‘even our lowest-grade elixirs are at this level!’

At that moment, a brilliant idea occurred to Lee Tae-sung.

‘Wait. Could I… possibly take that to the real world?’

He could take items from the game using the Dream Realization Rune.

Originally, he had planned to find and take elixirs, but what if he took an entire alchemy cauldron instead?

What if he succeeded in building a factory and mass-producing them in the real world?

The description said that not all items could be taken and that it might be impossible depending on the item’s level, but wouldn’t a basic alchemy cauldron be possible?

‘If I take that and manufacture elixirs in the real world to sell… it’ll be incredible.’

There were many hunters who staked their lives on becoming as strong as the warriors in this Dream World.

From those who practiced their abilities simply because they liked being strong, to those who wanted to clear more missions and earn more money, and those who wanted to gain honor by becoming rankers.

To such people, those elixirs would be something they couldn’t buy enough of.

Having organized his thoughts, Lee Tae-sung spoke.

“Elder. If I succeed in this request, would it be possible to receive my reward in items instead of a commission fee?”

“Of course. We can do that if it’s of equivalent value. In fact, many people choose to take elixirs. Is that what you want?”

“No. I don’t want elixirs; I want to receive that alchemy cauldron.”

Elder Miginick was startled. It was an unexpected request.

“The alchemy cauldron?”

“Yes. Would that be difficult?”

“Hmm. Not necessarily. It’s a basic cauldron, so it’s not particularly important. But why do you need it?”

Miginick wore a puzzled expression, as he had never seen an escort make such a proposal.

“If you’re thinking of taking the cauldron to make and consume lowest-grade elixirs yourself, it’s not a very good choice. Elixirs have their limits, so after consuming them more than once, their efficiency drops to the point where they have almost no effect.”

“It’s fine.”

“Hmm…”

“If it’s too expensive to give as a reward, I am willing to pay an additional amount.”

Since he had some gold coins, he wanted to buy it even if he had to add them to the reward.

‘If I can just take that to the real world, I don’t care if I spend all the money I have.’

There were still mountains of problems to solve afterward.

Whether it would actually work in reality, and how to handle distribution or security after that.

However, as long as he had the cauldron, he would likely be able to solve most things.

Miginick nodded.

“Let’s do that, then. I’m counting on you for this request.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Elder Miginick was a straightforward person.

Lee Tae-sung made up his mind to work truly hard.

***

Virangse Canyon, located near the metropolis of Elrn.

In this place where biting winds blew, members of the Golden Alchemic Cauldron were gathering herbs that bloomed on the cliffs.

Lee Tae-sung kept his eyes wide open, scouting the surroundings while they carefully moved about to pick the herbs.

The other escorts were passing the time idly at the top of the cliff.

They had focused on their duty during the journey here, but they felt they could relax their guard while the herbs were being gathered.

Unless someone accidentally fell in the middle of this cliff, what could possibly happen?

However, Lee Tae-sung repeatedly moved up and down the cliff, even utilizing his lightfoot technique.

“Hey, friend! Why are you working so hard? There won’t be any problems here anyway!”

One of the escorts shouted toward Lee Tae-sung, but Lee Tae-sung simply gave a dismissive wave and focused on his work.

‘I must not fail this mission.’

An alchemy cauldron was on the line as the reward.

Therefore, he moved restlessly with the mindset that he was also practicing his lightfoot technique.

He also thought it wouldn’t be bad to save any Golden Alchemic Cauldron members if they happened to slip and fall.

And perhaps because of that effort…

‘!’

Something was caught in Lee Tae-sung’s golden eyes, which were active with Hidden Detect.

A faint murderous intent.

— Spak!

“Guk!”

When he threw a dagger toward the shadowed side of the cliff, a masked man was hit and fell.

The masked man plummeted far below, screaming.

“!”

“……!”

The gazes of the Golden Alchemic Cauldron members and the other escorts working above snapped toward the sound.

“Damn! We’ve been spotted!”

“Attack!”

Then, masked people began appearing from various spots on the cliff.

Only their eyes were visible, but their panic was clear from their gaze alone.

“Blast it. We followed them by hiding on the cliff, yet we were discovered…!”

It seemed they hadn’t expected to be caught here.

“It’s an ambush!”

“These crazy bastards, attacking like this?”

The escorts who had been at the top of the cliff pulled out their weapons and began descending.

The warriors and hybrids used lightfoot techniques, while the mages floated down using Fly spells.

— Whoosh!

And at the very front was Lee Tae-sung.

Lee Tae-sung’s eyes flashed as he charged toward the masked men, covering the cliff in flames.