Chapter 145

 

The next day, as soon as dawn broke, I started a meeting with Seung-yeon about our potion inventory.

“Let’s include the three basics—health, mana, and vigor potions—but what else do we need?”

“According to our research, other workshops also offer status effect removal and buff potions.”

“Really? Should we make those too then?”

“But considering your research schedule, the three basic types will already be tight.”

“I can push myself a little.”

“No, absolutely not! I can’t let you overwork yourself…!”

Seung-yeon exclaimed firmly with determination in his eyes.

‘I would really be fine though…’

Seeing his stubborn expression, I didn’t argue further and just nodded.

“My potions come with additional options, so that should be enough for regular hunters.”

Most master craftsmen only run their workshops on custom orders. Custom orders have higher commission fees, and clients provide all the materials, making it much more convenient and profitable. There’s no real reason to make basic potions. But since this was my first workshop, I didn’t want to rely solely on custom orders like I did at Nox.

However, even if I increased the proportion of basic potions, there was a limit—with my mana, I could only make about 100 low-grade potions at most.

I could recover mana by drinking potions, but it wouldn’t be cost-effective. I couldn’t keep making only low-grade potions forever, and as I moved to medium and high-grade, the number I could produce would significantly decrease…

No matter how I thought about it, there was only one solution: increasing my mana capacity itself. This was a moment when I needed equipment upgrades.

‘The question is where to get them…’

In the past, Tae Jae-heon would bring me whatever I asked for, so I’d never had to worry about this. Now that I actually needed to find equipment, I had no idea where to go.

‘Should I ask Seong San-ha…’

As I drummed my fingers on the table, Seung-yeon, who was reviewing documents across from me, said.

“Attorney Ahn has sent several sample potion request forms. They’re perfect, so I’m planning to post them on the site as is, but how should we prioritize requests?”

“I like anything new and challenging! Also mention that if we can’t source the materials, it might be delayed indefinitely.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Oh, and we’ll reject potions with already discovered recipes. Actually, should I just write it myself?”

I felt confident since I’d written a job posting before. As I asked with gleaming eyes, Seung-yeon frantically waved his hands.

“Ah, no! I’ll take care of these minor tasks! You should only focus on important matters, Eui-jin nim!” 

“It’s really fine….” 

Seung-yeon quickly ran out of the office. As I was scratching my head and about to get up from my seat, a bell jingled from below, and I heard a voice calling me. 

“Is Eui-jin here?” 

When I came out and looked down to the first floor, Lee Cho was looking around for me with something in his arms. 

“Eui-jin nim~ Are you here? Eui-jin nim!”

“Lee Cho? What’s the matter?”

“Eui-jin nim! Hello.” 

Lee Cho looked up and greeted me with a pleased expression. I unconsciously checked behind him, but Seong San-ha wasn’t there. Sensing my gaze, Lee Cho smiled awkwardly and said.

“The Guild Master left the country briefly at dawn.”

“Where did he go?” 

“He just went to Switzerland for a bit. Hunters started entering dungeons in Switzerland from today.” 

“What do you mean ‘briefly’… He’s traveling all over the place.” 

I grumbled as I went downstairs. As I guided him to the sofa, Lee Cho handed me the box he was holding with a smiling face. 

“Here, please accept this.” 

“What is this?” 

“It’s Cheon Rang’s congratulatory gift for your shop opening.” 

I looked suspiciously at Lee Cho’s beaming face and accepted the box. As I sat down and opened the top cover, a dazzling light reflected and pierced my eyes. 

With trembling hands, I took out what was inside the box. It was something forearm-sized and flat; it was so thin I was afraid it might break. 

“This is a signboard!” 

There’s already a signboard hanging in front of my workshop’s main entrance. I mean that wooden board with the terrible word ‘6th Grade’ written on it. 

But this was different. 

It was the same size, but it had a transparent frame with thin, shining letters engraved inside. I didn’t know what the material was, but the signboard emitted a soft glow on its own and even had a couple of magic stones embedded in it. 

As I stared with my mouth open, Lee Cho shrugged and added.

“The exterior is crystal, and the center is made by thinly slicing and connecting moonstone. It’s a mineral that’s as strong as diamond while also containing magical power itself.”

“Isn’t that a mineral that can only be gathered in underground dungeons? I’ve heard blacksmiths search for it with burning desire in their eyes.”

“That’s right. In fact, it was made by Cheon Rang’s blacksmiths with tears in their eyes.”

I caressed the signboard with careful hands. It was beautiful to look at, but what I liked most was the engraved lettering at the top. In the place where the grade would normally be written, it said ‘Potion Master Kang Eui-jin.’ 

This was a privilege given only to masters who weren’t bound by grades. The space below where the workshop name should go was, as expected, empty.

“We left the workshop name blank since you might want to choose it again. There’s a Cheon Rang artisan nearby, so if you let me know, I’ll call them right away to engrave it for you.”

I quietly looked down at the signboard in my hands. Actually, I had planned to name the workshop when my grade went up, but I’d been too busy to think about it. I didn’t have a name that attracted me enough to say “I definitely want to use this one.”

The names that came to mind immediately were ‘Potion Empire,’ ‘Chaos,’ ‘Place of the Strongest Potions,’ and so on. They were cool names, but they didn’t match the image of a workshop with beautiful elven trees and green grass.

Finding names for potions had always been harder than discovering unknown potion recipes. It made my head hurt.

“Can I decide on this later?”

“Since the workshop is nearby, it doesn’t matter when, but… are you going to leave the workshop name blank? It would be better to have one.”

“Yeah. It’s my workshop, so I need to think about it more. Anyway, thanks for the gift. I really like it.”

Since I spent most of my time inside the workshop, I had completely forgotten about the signboard at the main entrance where customers came in, so it was fortunate to be able to replace it like this. As I gratefully hugged it preciously with one arm, Lee Cho also smiled with satisfaction.

“We’re also resolving the land issue. We’re lobbying the government and association to convert the land to national property. They plan to lease the land indefinitely with conditions to selected workshops, so renowned craftsmen will gather here.”

“Really? But there’s a separate broker owner for this place.”

“We already took care of that. Before he realized that the workshop owner is a Potion Master. He was quite excited about selling a ‘fly-infested’ workshop at a high price.”

Lee Cho winked. However, hearing the description “fly-infested,” I felt offended and responded curtly.

While I was contemplating how to chase him away, Lee Cho pointed at the signboard and asked.

“Eui-jin nim. Do you see the magic stones there?”

“What about them?”

“We’ve engraved a robust protection skill by combining the magical power of the moonstone and magic stones. It also self-illuminates at night, glowing in the dark.”

“You engraved a skill?”

Surprised by Lee Cho’s words, I immediately appraised the signboard. Just as she said, a protective skill covering the entire workshop was cast on it. I didn’t need to ask who had personally cast this shield-like skill.

***

After Lee Cho left, I called Seung-yeon, who was in the basement, and Su-cheol, who was tending to the garden, to show them the new signboard.

“Potion Ma-Master Kang Eui-jin…”

Su-cheol couldn’t take his eyes off the signboard, as if enchanted. After taking a moment to admire it, Seung-yeon whispered excitedly in a small voice.

“I’m really excited. Since we’ll be officially opening soon…”

“Is everything prepared for that? What was it called, reservation applications?”

“Yes. We’ve registered for 150 people per day, divided into five time slots. When the reservation site opens tomorrow, pre-applications will begin, and those who apply then will be our first customers the day after tomorrow. We have awakening verification at the desk outside to ensure only the registered person can enter, and to prevent fraudulent reservations…”

Following advice that we couldn’t handle just opening the doors without preparation, we decided to accept pre-applications. Since I had completely entrusted this to Seung-yeon, I didn’t understand everything, but I nodded vaguely and got up from my seat.

“Well then, shall we go hang up our signboard?”

The wooden signboard that had briefly been with our workshop was removed, and in its place, the gorgeous, sparkling moonstone and crystal signboard was hung.

The moment we inserted the signboard outside the arched entrance, a faint wave of magical power swept over the entire workshop. 

As we stood dazed, looking at each other’s faces after the energy that had briefly touched us disappeared, light began climbing up the elven tree past the lawn. 

The light that brushed over everything from the base to the thick trunk, split branches, and lush leaves scattered like mist and disappeared at the tips of the branches.

The elven tree, which shook slightly, also underwent changes. Blue glowing leaves appeared between the lushly hanging branches, and the trunk darkened further, looking like an ancient tree.

“Wha-what’s happening to the elven tree?”

Although I didn’t know exactly what was happening, I was satisfied with its seemingly strengthened appearance, so I put my hands on my waist and looked at the entire workshop. My workshop—now it would be perfect once customers arrive.