Chapter 44: The Alchemist and the Spendthrift (2)

After she was released from her seal in a few years' time, Lim Yun-Ju would grow to become the best potion brewer in Korea, no, in all of Asia.

The quality of her potions met every standard and she could brew a wide variety of potions using her Pharmaceutical Encyclopedia, so even people from overseas would come flying in to buy her potions for vast sums of money.

Cha Min-Ji would also grow to be quite famous.

She might have gained a good ability through her Awakening, but it was very difficult to satisfy the necessary conditions to unseal it. She would only begin to actively use her ability several years later, after the recipes for making magic parchment and mana ink had spread to Earth through trading with other races.

Kim Ki-Rok silently focused.

'Discernment, Cha Min-Ji.'

[

Cha Min-Ji

]

Ability: Scroll Creation (E)

Sealed Ability: Scroll Reinforcement (consumes mana stones in order to enhance a scroll's effects)

Unlock Condition: Scroll creation (0/10,000)

Just like her mother, Lim Yun-Ju, Cha Min-Ji possessed an ability that would only fully bloom after creating ten thousand scrolls. The new ability that she would gain after doing so was called Scroll Reinforcement.

Since her skill level was still low, the buffs that Scroll Reinforcement gave would naturally also be very low. Once her skill rose to B-Class, however, it was a completely different story.

The effects of her skill would end up doubling any scroll's power.

The only issue was that the cost of materials needed to raise her Scroll Reinforcement to B-Class was enormous. It was for this reason that, while training Cha Min-Ji who he had recruited along with Lim Yun-Ju during one of his previous Attempts, Kim Ki-Rok had left the following note in his Record.

The Spendthrift

[1]

.

He had given her this nickname because it had cost him an enormous amount of money to train her up, and because of how her mother, a potion brewer, could be considered a type of "Alchemist."

Kim Ki-Rok cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention. "

Ahem!

As you may know, I awakened with an ability called Discernment."

Lim Yun-Ju only now realized why her two guests had felt so familiar after her daughter had identified Kim Ki-Rok and the DG Guild. She and Cha Min-Ji both nodded their heads in response.

"However, there are some bits of information that the Hunters Association left out of their official disclosure regarding my ability," Kim Ki-Rok revealed.

"These were things that you wanted to keep a secret?" Cha Min-Ji guessed.

"That's right." Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "Discernment can identify a target's name and ability, but it can also detect the existence of any sealed abilities, along with the conditions needed to unseal said abilities."

Cha Min-Ji frowned in confusion. "Sealed abilities?"

Kim Ki-Rok slowly began to elaborate.

He told them about how certain individuals who awakened with low-class abilities might also possess a secret sealed ability. He also explained that sealed abilities could only be unsealed once the conditions were met.

"But why?" Cha Min-Ji demanded, seeming aggrieved by how restricted she was.

Kim Ki-Rok offered up his own explanation. "Earth's system can only assist us with our Awakening. It doesn't seem able to determine an Awakened's potential ability, nor does it judge whether the Awakened possesses a suitable personality for their ability."

Cha Min-Ji sighed. "So, in other words, the existence of sealed abilities is a safety measure meant to keep those who are lazy or have bad personalities from gaining access to more powerful abilities other than the low-class ability that they awakened with?"

"That seems to be the case." Kim Ki-Rok nodded before going on to fully explain to the mother and daughter the same hypothesis he had previously relayed to his guild members and the Five Siblings of Mapogu in the Fortress of Living Armor.

"So that's the reason why I would like to recruit you both, Mrs. Lim Yun-Ju and Miss Cha Min-Ji," he concluded.

Cha Min-Ji snapped out of her awe and asked, "So you're saying that both my mother and I have incredible abilities sealed within us?"

His eyes sparkling brightly, Kim Ki-Rok gave a wide smile. "That's right."

After taking a moment to gather herself, she then asked, "Ah... so what are the conditions needed to unseal them?"

Kim Ki-Rok calmly revealed, "Mrs Lim Yun-Ju needs to brew ten potions, each with their own unique effects. Then, she needs to brew a thousand for each of those ten unique potions."

"A-a thousand

each

?"

As Lim Yun-Ju gasped in shock, surprised by the huge numbers required, Cha Min-Ji's body shook in nervous anticipation as she felt Kim Ki-Rok's gaze turn toward her.

"What about me?" Cha Min-Ji fearfully asked.

"You need to create ten thousand scrolls," Kim Ki-Rok answered simply.

"Ah..." Her face paled in shock.

Kim Ki-Rok raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"G-Guildmaster?" Cha Min-Ji showed an embarrassed expression on her face and she hesitated to meet Kim Ki-Rok's gaze as her shoulders slumped in depression. "I, I have something to confess. Like you've said, Guildmaster, I have awakened with the ability to create scrolls, but..."

"Go on," Kim Ki-Rok said encouragingly.

Cha Min-Ji quickly blurted out the rest, "But I can't use it."

Kim Ki-Rok nodded knowingly. "Because you need magic parchment and mana ink, correct?"

"Huh?" Cha Min-Ji was taken aback by Kim Ki-Rok's response.

Kim Ki-Rok reminded her. "As I said, Discernment allows me to determine someone's name, ability, any sealed abilities, and the conditions needed to unlock them. I have also determined that there will be no problems with meeting the conditions needed to release your seal."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Cha Min-Ji asked hopefully.

Kim Ki-Rok smiled as he revealed, "I already know the recipes."

"

Kyaaah!

" Cha Min-Ji let out a joyful shout that was almost closer to a scream.

Kim Ji-Hee, who had been diligently munching on her cookies, widened her eyes in surprise at the sudden commotion. After blinking her eyes at the sight of the still cheering Cha Min-Ji, Kim Ji-Hee nodded her head with a serious expression.

Crunch crunch.

Then she turned her full focus back to the cookies that she was holding in her hands.

"In any case, my ability is the reason why I can confirm that both of you do possess immense potential. That is why I have come here in order to recruit you. So would you two like to join the DG Guild?" Kim Ki-Rok offered once more.

"That's..." Lim Yun-Ju hesitated.

It wasn't just the unexpected visit, but the way that her guest had suddenly offered to recruit them into his guild and informed them of the sealed abilities that they possessed, it had all left Lim Yun-Ju feeling flustered.

"Mom. What's there to consider? We should agree to join right now," Cha Min-Ji urged impatiently.

"Min-Ji," Lim Yun-Ju softly chided her daughter.

Cha Min-Ji tugged on her mother's arm. "Mom. This is an opportunity. A chance of a lifetime."

And like her daughter was trying to tell her, Lim Yun-Ju instinctively knew that this was an amazing opportunity for the both of them.

"This is our guild's membership application form." Kim Ki-Rok was now sitting across from Lim Yun-Ju and slid the documents across the table.

Meanwhile, Lim Yun-Ju closely examined Kim Ki-Rok.

Unlike what his nickname suggested, Kim Ki-Rok had both an ordinary appearance and an ordinary voice. He looked like someone one would normally bump into on the side of the street.

"We don't need you to sign the membership application right away, but we will give you the document now so you can take your time and look through it. But is there anything that you would like to ask me beforehand?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

As soon as Kim Ki-Rok had finished speaking, Cha Min-Ji eagerly raised her hand. "Oh! Oh! Me! W-what is the name of my sealed ability?!"

"It's called Scroll Reinforcement," Kim Ki-Rok informed her.

"Reinforcement?" Cha Min-Ji repeated with a quizzical expression.

"Yes. It's an ability that will allow you to consume mana stones in order to enhance the effects of scrolls," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

Cha Min-Ji raised her hand once more as soon as he had finished his explanation.

"Yes, Miss Min-Ji," Kim Ki-Rok addressed her patiently.

"Will I need to purchase the mana stones myself?" Cha Min-Ji inquired, a bit hesitant.

"No. The guild will purchase them for you," Kim Ki-Rok assured her.

Cha Min-Ji leaned forward. "As an investment?"

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "As an investment."

Cha Min-Ji took a deep breath. "There doesn't seem to be an exclusive membership clause in this application, so what can you offer me if I agree to be bound to only your guild for a certain period of time?"

"Oh?" Kim Ki-Rok leaned back, impressed by her business attitude.

What was the most important thing to Cha Min-Ji?

That was the question that Kim Ki-Rok had asked Cha Min-Ji when he had first met her, and Cha Min-Ji had immediately answered his question without a second thought.

My mother and money.

For her, it had all started in middle school. Growing up in a single-parent household, she realized that earning money was necessary to pursue her dreams of happiness. Given her family circumstances, she concluded that the best way to earn a stable income would be to graduate from a good university and join a large company.

After her Awakening, she had obtained a "crafting" skill, a category of skills known for making their owners a lot of money.

Upon reading the description of her skill, Cha Min-Ji had immediately sought out ways to make money through it. However, she had not been able to acquire the necessary materials to use said skill. She therefore had to redirect all her efforts back into studying, eventually getting admitted to a good university.

In the distant future, she had finally secured the necessary recipes and quit the large company she had been working for to begin walking the path of an Awakened.

Cha Min-Ji called out to the absent-minded Kim Ki-Rok. "Guildmaster?"

Kim Ki-Rok shook himself out of his memories. "Ah, my apologies. Let's see now... Give me a few moments to do some calculations."

Kim Ki-Rok began thinking about how much to reduce her debt to the guild by given the additional clause. Unlike other members who were free to leave the guild at any time, she was offering to tie herself to the guild under a long-term contract! That way, she could offset some costs she had to reimburse the guild later for their initial investment in her, as it was a debt that she would eventually have to repay anyway.

It wasn't exactly a loan with interests, but the guild was still investing its money into her. As the recipient of that investment, she had the obligation to return that favor in some form or another.

So Kim Ki-Rok could understand why Cha Min-Ji would be willing to place herself under such a restraint to reduce her prospective debt.

Though... it's not like I really

need

to bind her up in an exclusive membership period,

Kim Ki-Rok admitted to himself.

Five years later, A-Class Gates would be sprouting up like mushrooms.

And five years after that, the first S-Class Gates would appear.

Just when everyone had believed that the crisis would be over once the S-Class Gates were destroyed, the whole world was turned on its head by the Hell Gates.

Long story short, the Earth would become a complete mess five years from now.

However, Cha Min-Ji didn't know anything about such a future and was willing to make such a sacrifice in order to reduce her debt for the future. Kim Ki-Rok admired her willingness to sacrifice herself and offered her generous terms.

"For a ten-year exclusive membership period, I can offer you a fifty percent reduction," said Kim Ki-Rok.

"

Hurk!

" Cha Min-Ji gasped in shock.

In ten years, she would still be twenty-seven years old.

During that time, she wouldn't be filling a dangerous combat role, as she wasn't one of the Awakened that actually fought against the monsters. She would instead be a craftsmen who made items in the rear, and as long as the threat of the Gates and monsters continued to exist, her value would only appreciate from here.

"Eighteen years," Cha Min-Ji eventually came up with a counteroffer.

Taken aback, Lim Yun-Ju tried to scold her daughter, "Min-Ji!"

"Mom. Even if I'm locked in for eighteen years, I'll still only be thirty-five by the time the contract is over," Cha Min-Ji reassured her.

"B-but still..." Lim Yun-Ju weakly protested.

"On top of that, just look at this membership application," Cha Min-Ji eagerly insisted. "It's a contract specifically tailored for craftsmen, so it includes a requirement for a set amount of items that must be produced per day. Their guild only requires its crafting members to produce a hundred items per day."

Lim Yun-Ju turned her head to check if her own application form really did have the same contract terms that Cha Min-Ji had just pointed out. The last term that Cha Min-Ji had brought up meant that, as long as she could meet her daily production quota, she was free to leave work at any time after doing so.

Cha Min-Ji passionately persuaded her mother, "Mom, they're even offering us a place to live. They do charge a monthly rent, but that's a steal at less than 50,000 won."

The other terms of the contract were also quite generous.

"We can make use of their in-house restaurants for free, and we can buy any of the items sold in their convenience store at a 30% discount. Though that's limited to the convenience located directly inside the guild. To be honest, with a contract this generous, I'd be fine with staying in their guild for the rest of my life," Cha Min-Ji confessed.

But it was only after Lim Yun-Ju had finished thoroughly inspecting the membership application and looked up at Kim Ki-Rok. "A-are these terms correct?"

"Yes, it's correct," Kim Ki-Rok assured her.

As Lim Yun-Ju was lost in thought, her gaze falling back down onto the membership application, Cha Min-Ji urgently persuaded her once more, "Mom. There's no need to even think about it. They're giving us shelter, food, and training for our skills. There's nowhere else like this. The guild's reputation might be a bit rocky, but not in a bad way."

"Rocky, but not in a bad way?" Lim Yun-Ju repeated doubtfully.

Cha Min-Ji awkwardly looked away. "Well, you've heard what our future Guildmaster's nickname is, haven't you?"

Kim Ki-Rok was widely known as the Crazy Bastard.

Because of the Guildmaster's unusual nickname, the reputation of the guild itself wavered between being that of a strong guild and that of a funny one.

Lim Yun-Ju had a few things to ask Kim Ki-Rok. "Sir—no... Guildmaster."

"Please, go ahead and say whatever you need to," Kim Ki-Rok encouraged.

"If we do fill out this membership application, will we be able to move into your offered accommodation immediately?"

"I have a subspace pocket on me. We can move right now if you want to," Kim Ki-Rok freely offered.

Lim Yun-Ju moved on to her next question. "Would my daughter have to drop out of her school?"

Kim Ki-Rok shook his head. "She's joining us in a crafting role, not in a combat role. Her only requirement will be to meet her required production volume, so there's no need for her to drop out of school. After all, if she decided to work during her school breaks, that would already give her enough time to create a hundred scrolls. Though I don't recommend doing so, as there would be an issue getting the materials into her school."

He paused before continuing, "We also happen to operate an exclusive commuter bus service for all our employees, and we can just add another stop outside of the school that Cha Min-Ji is currently attending. So transportation won't be a problem. Also, I can guarantee that once the guild purchases any of the potions and scrolls that you two produce, the money will be deposited into your accounts that very same day."

The guild was being so generous, it seemed like something right out of a dream.

"As expected, there's a reason why they're rated 4.9 points for job-site," Cha Min-Ji muttered to herself.

Kim Ki-Rok turned to her with a curious expression and asked, "4.9 points? Not a full 5 points?"

"Yes, that's right." Cha Min-Ji nodded.

"Why isn't it 5 points?"

"That's..." Cha Min-Ji hesitated.

"I can find out anyway by checking the job site, so please just tell me," Kim Ki-Rok politely requested.

"...rassing," Cha Min-Ji muttered in a low voice.

"Pardon?" Kim Ki-Rok leaned in closer as he tried to hear her speak.

Cha Min-Ji was struggling to answer and tried to get out of it by mumbling her response. Kim Ki-Rok refused to back down, so with an awkward smile, she eventually admitted, "They say it's because they're embarrassed by their Guildmaster..."

***

December 9.

Kim Ki-Rok, who had been killing time by watching TV, checked the clock on the wall for the current time.

"It's 11:30 p.m.," he muttered to himself.

On December 10, at 12:30 a.m. in Korean time, about five hundred Gates would suddenly appear all across the world.

But because some of them were located in awkward spots, the times of their discoveries would end up varying by a lot.

"Should I just go to sleep?" Kim Ki-Rok wondered.

In any case, all of the fifty-six Gates that would appear in Korea had ended up being reported, so it was only a matter of time until the Hunters Association discovered them. It wouldn't change anything if he didn't stay up to wait for the Gates to appear. After all, clearing all of those Gates wasn't something that he could manage on his own.

"What should I do with Ji-Hee?" Kim Ki-Rok muttered thoughtfully.

Should he just take her with him?

Kim Ji-Hee hadn't visited a Gate since the last time that they had entered the Fortress of Living Armor together. That was why her level was still very low.

Driven by the hopes of her spirit friends, however, Kim Ji-Hee had never missed her daily skill training. She also wanted to quickly increase the number of spirits that she could contract.

Contrary to how strict training regimens were to the average Hunter, all Kim Ji-Hee had to do was lend mana to her contracted spirit, Kan Cho-Woo, or practice her spiritualism skills with the help of the spirits now settled in the Spirit Lounge.

Kim Ki-Rok considered his only other option. "Leaving her at the guild would be..."

He felt a little reluctant to even finish that thought.

In order to keep the guild defended, there was a rotation set up so that one team would always be stationed at the guild at any one time. But no matter how much he tried to keep that fact in mind, Kim Ki-Rok still couldn't shake the feeling of leaving his child alone in an "empty" house.

Kim Ki-Rok gave up. "

Ugh!

I guess I'll just have to take her with me."

That would give Kim Ji-Hee the chance to level up and grow her skills through actual combat.

He had been planning to film the guild's next Gate clear and upload their hunting strategy to the channel, so Kim Ki-Rok decided that he would tag along with Lee Ji-Yeon and the Mapogu team on their next expedition. Kim Ji-Hee also happened to be fond of them, so that would be another positive.

Tick-tock.

The seconds passed one by one.

Kim Ki-Rok, having finished the arrangements for their impromptu team to start clearing Gates from tomorrow, checked the time once more.

It was now 12:12 a.m. on the next day, the tenth of December.

The Gates would appear in eighteen minutes.

"Hmmm..." Kim Ki-Rok pondered the matter for a few more seconds.

As he leaned back into the sofa, Kim Ki-Rok glared up at the clock. Then, once it had passed half an hour, he immediately picked up his smartphone.

—This is the Hunters Association, Gate Management Department. How may I help you?

"Oh my, still hard at work I see."

—-Ah, it's Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok.

The staff at the Gate Management Department immediately recognized Kim Ki-Rok through his unique way of greeting them.

"Sorry to disturb you at this late hour."

—Oh, not at all. What can we help you with?

"I've received a call from a guild member who was on a visit to the neighboring province, saying that they've discovered a Gate. I've also received some news from a few acquaintances."

—Could you please tell me the Gate's location, name, and class?

"It's located at Bibongsan Mountain, in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. The Gate is named the Contaminated Orc Garrison. It's a C-Class Gate."

—Alright. Thank you for reporting this to us. We will contact you again after confir—

"They also discovered another Gate near Sujeongsan Mountain in Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk Province. Its name is the Contaminated Hanan Fief. The Gate is a B-Class."

The Association staffer fell silent following Kim Ki-Rok's interruption.

"Then there's another Gate near Toemaesan Mountain in Cheongyeong County in South Chuncheong Province. It's called the Contaminated Lizardmen's Underground Ruins. That Gate is C-Class."

—So there are three Gates?

"That's right. Like I said earlier, I received a call from a guild member as well as a few other acquaintances."

A total of three Gates had appeared at the same time.

The staff at the Gate Management Department fell silent for a few moments, then expressed his gratitude to Kim Ki-Rok in a stiff tone of voice.

—Thank you for your report. After confirming the details, we will be sure to contact the DG Guild once more.

"Yes. Thank you for your service."

The call was abruptly disconnected.

Since the staff member hadn't raised any suspicions about how Kim Ki-Rok knew about the occurrences of three separate Gates simultaneously, it seemed like the Association was not interested in finding any issues with Kim Ki-Rok. Instead, they most likely deemed him as quite the useful individual.

Feeling slightly relieved at having done something about the forthcoming crisis, Kim Ki-Rok headed back to his room in order to get some rest.

1. As mentioned in the previous chapter, this nickname is a pun based on the word "alchemist." ☜