Chapter 70

 

As he was besides Lim Cheong and Zero, I had completely forgotten about Yang Su-cheol’s presence. 

 

Ahn Song-ah looked at him with eyes that couldn’t dispel suspicion and asked, “I didn’t quite catch your answer earlier. How did you come in?”

 

“Since there were many people at the main gate, I came in through the back gate…”

 

“You seem to know the layout of the workshop well.”

 

“Uh, I have been here once after the notice was posted. …I mean, not just me, but others must have come too!”

 

I raised an eyebrow at Yang Su-cheol’s words. No visitors had come to the workshop during that time. I had never seen anyone wandering around either.

 

‘Isn’t it the elf neck’s job to chase away guests?’

 

Although he wasn’t even supposed to be here as an interviewee, I scratched my head and asked out of courtesy, “You saw the notice, right? What’s your rank? If you have loot, why don’t you show it?”

 

“I’m… C-rank. As for loot…”

 

“What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

 

“C-c-rank. As for loot, I haven’t obtained any yet…”

 

“As we mentioned in the notice, we need strong hunters.”

 

As disappointment briefly crossed my face, Yang Su-cheol quickly made excuses, sensing the disappointment that had been evident in many recent interviews.

 

“I will work my best!”

 

“You will…”

 

Seeing Yang Su-cheol shouting confidently without any basis, my expression tightened. With no low-rank loot, it was safe to say that he had never killed a monster. Even dungeons, where skilled hunters died, were out of reach for someone with such a low rank and no skills. Baseless confidence was poison for a hunter.

 

‘Just a gust of wind from the side, and he’d come out as a corpse. Although it’s none of my business.’

 

Dealing with the inexperienced hunter wasn’t a priority right now. There were still contract issues with Lim Cheong and Zero, and the people crowding the workshop entrance needed to be cleared out.

 

I was about to stir my hand and tell him to leave, but Yang Su-cheol placed his hand on his chest and spoke without taking a breath.

 

“Can’t you just give me one chance? I may be C-rank, but I’m more passionate than anyone else. It’s been three years since I awakened, but I still haven’t been able to join a proper guild, and I’ve been a disappointment to my parents. I came here this time to really try something, I can’t just go back like this. I’ll really work hard, so please, just give me a chance, believe in me, Yang Su-cheol, just this once!”

 

“Sigh, you’re no use as a mercenary, right? Can you enter the dungeon with Lyker’s Fang and Siren’s Feather, which are urgently needed?”

 

As I sighed and spoke, Yang Su-cheol’s eyes widened to the point where they almost popped out.

 

“L-Lyker and Siren are both boss monsters, aren’t they? You want me to kill them?”

 

“Don’t bother me, just leave. Besides, the conditions don’t even match.”

 

“Y-Yes. I’ll leave now…”

 

“Even a contract job is fine!”

 

“Mercenaries are usually contract workers.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“Please leave now!”

 

As an exasperated Yeon Seung-yeon clenched his fists and stepped forward, Zero, who had been openly watching with amused eyes, intervened.

 

“Would you like some help with chasing him out?”

 

“Zero nim…! Even part-time work is fine! Please let me do some cleaning or something! I really want to contribute to the development of this workshop. I want to be part of its history!”

 

It was unclear why he was so desperate for our workshop, considering he wasn’t even at a level where dungeon work was out of reach for him. But there was one thing I noticed about him… despite his rough appearance, was he surprisingly perceptive? He seemed to recognize my aura.

 

I raised my hand to stop Zero from approaching Yang Su-cheol.

 

“We do need someone for odd jobs.”

 

Yang Su-cheol didn’t miss the opportunity and rushed forward, nodding vigorously in front of me.

 

“I’m good at those tasks. Just tell me what to do!”

 

“You go over there and write up the contract.”

 

And so, two mercenaries and one slightly less capable part-timer joined our workshop.

 

***

 

“These are the items we need to obtain. These top seven items particularly need to be acquired within the next 10 days.”

 

As time passed while we were recruiting mercenaries, there were only 24 days left until the quest deadline. Suppressing the growing sense of urgency, I asked Lim Cheong and Zero.

 

“Are you two going to work together? Or…”

 

“I’ll move alone.”

 

“Hmm, I think it’ll be more convenient for me to move alone too.”

 

Lim Cheong, who was earnestly scanning through the list spread out on the table, pointed to one item with her finger.

 

“We can’t obtain this one.”

 

“Why can’t we get it?”

 

“The Windstorm Crystal only drops from monsters in places where blizzards occur. In Korea, it was only obtainable in the Baek Ryeong Island Dungeon, which is currently closed beyond the Gate Wave.”

 

“What? Is this also because of the Gate Wave issue here?”

 

Facing an unexpected dilemma, I felt quite perplexed. As I pondered whether to search at Wolgye Naru or the auction house for available items and if they could be obtained within our budget, Zero let out a suspicious chuckle and muttered for everyone to hear.

 

“If we use that method, we might be able to get it…”

 

“What method?”

 

“Oh, it’s just a mutter to myself, but you heard it anyway.”

 

“You said it to my face. What is it?”

 

“It’s something I heard when I briefly helped out at the Hunter Association, but it’s still confidential information… I’m not sure if I should leak classified information. Haha.”

 

Observing Zero’s thoughtful expression as he surveyed the lobby, I leaned forward and spoke.

 

“Zero. You’re now a mercenary of our workshop, right?”

 

“Yes. Boss.”

 

“That means you’re my guy, not someone from the Association.”

 

“Is that so? Um… I guess so.”

 

“In that case, spill the beans.”

 

There was a glint in the eyes behind the glasses. Since Zero had initially intended to speak up, he continued without hesitation.

 

“Isn’t the World Atelier Expo going to be held in Seoul soon?”

 

“Oh, is it our turn this time?”

 

The World Atelier Expo was a gathering of craftsmen from all over the world, showcasing the creations and products of awakening artisans every three years while boasting that they were the best. I remembered the hassle of receiving cooperation requests from the Hunter Association every time it was held, asking me to make potions befitting my status. I couldn’t just carelessly make them… Of course, since I participated, the potion category awards were all taken by Korea.

 

Despite that, I had never personally attended the Expo, so I couldn’t immediately understand Zero’s intention.

 

“What does the Windstorm Crystal have to do with the Expo?”

 

“The newly appointed director of the World Atelier Organization Headquarters is Russian. It’s their first official event, so they might put in extra effort… I’ll leave it at that.”

 

“I see. So it’s going to be a prize at the event?”

 

Zero brushed off my question as if it was something I didn’t need to know.

 

“In that case, I’ll look into the Windstorm Crystal, and you two can get the rest. Decide who will handle what. The potions in the safe are all yours, so feel free to take them out and use them. If you need any specific potions, let me know. I’ll make them for you.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“We’ll do our best not to disappoint you.”

 

It seemed like I had chosen my mercenaries well. I needed to go and find out more about the World Atelier Expo right away.

 

Leaving Lim Cheong and Zero behind, I stood up from my seat. As I headed for the stairs to the workshop, I heard a voice calling out to me from behind.

 

“Boss, Boss!”

 

Turning around, I saw Yang Su-cheol following me. Tilting my head as if to ask why he called me, Yang Su-cheol spoke up.

 

“Boss, what should I do? I’ve already finished cleaning.”

 

“Take a break.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Your job is to sell potions when customers come, but we don’t have any customers yet. So, take a break.”

 

“Haha, what a sweet… job.”

 

Yang Su-cheol’s expression dumbfoundedly changed. He waved his hand and turned around.

 

I lay down on the sofa in the workshop and searched for information about the World Atelier Expo on my phone. As I browsed through the promotional pages that popped up, I suddenly sat up in disbelief.

 

“What? It’s in a month?”

 

The opening ceremony of the expo was exactly 30 days away. But my quest…

 

“Quest Log.”

 

{ Main Quest }

 

#4. Create the ‘World’s First S-Rank or Higher Potion’ that has never existed before.

 

Success Condition: Successfully create the first S-Rank or higher potion.

 

Difficulty: A+

 

Time Limit: 24 days, 7 hours, 32 minutes

 

Reward: ??? Skill Recovery

 

Failure: Quest permanently deleted

 

※ Rejection impossible

 

“The timing doesn’t match…”

 

Considering the time needed to research and create the potion recipe, I had to gather all the ingredients within two weeks at most. The expo was already out of reach. I scratched my head in frustration at this troublesome situation.

 

“Ugh. I really need that Windstorm Crystal.”

 

With the main quest intertwined and no assistance available for the Guiding Potion, it was a task I had to solve on my own. I first sent a text to Baek Da-in and Kim Jin-myeong asking if there were any listings at the Wolgye Naru, but then my phone buzzed with an alarm. It was time to report my location to Seong San-ha as agreed in the contract.

 

“How long do I have to keep doing this? Like I’ll be anywhere but the workshop.”

 

Grumbling, I typed the message.

 

「I’m at the workshop.」

 

After sending the text, I stared at my phone blankly. Usually, when I send a text, I’d get a quick reply like ‘^^’ or ‘You’re so kind.’ But today, oddly enough, I received no response even after a while.

 

“What’s going on…”

 

Even the strange behavior of Seong San-ha earlier in the morning added to my unease. I considered sending another message but I ended up just closing my phone.