ALL NOVEL Chapter 221
Fortunately, the journey back to the human realm was uneventful.
As a reward for treating the Heavenly Dragon, the Dragon Race gathered supplies for us, so we had plenty of provisions.
The unusual thing was that we encountered the recently departed wizard unit from the Mage Nation along the way.
“Can you believe we’d run into the former country’s forces out here? I thought we were dealing with wild enemies without a doubt.”
The Imperial Knights escorting them were pretty startled and offered greetings. When you see the Thunder Tribe’s guardians from a distance, it’s nerve-wracking – riding mammoths, bears, wolves, it’s a wild scene!
“Looks like the dwarf craftsmen are with you too.”
“They’re transporting materials for the Teleport Gate. This journey will easily take a year. It’s taking longer than planned, and twenty units have set out for the Demon Realm, but who knows how many will make it.”
“I wish you good fortune. Ah, the Dragon Race lives on that iceberg over there. If you happen to make contact, mention my name and show this. You should be able to receive supplies.”
I handed the commander a Storm Stone. I figured I wouldn’t need it anymore.
“Thank you. I’m always indebted to the hospital director.”
After exchanging pleasantries, we parted ways with the wizard unit. In the future, only three teams would have survived to successfully establish a gate in the Demon Realm. I wished them luck on their important mission.
However, there was one familiar face among the wizard team.
‘Sumaya?’
She was wearing a mask, but I was pretty sure it was her. If nothing unusual had occurred, she would have been assigned to the Hero Party. I wonder if the Mage Nation recommended someone else.
[No. 005 Demon King’s Army Victory 21%]
Currently, the probability of the Hero Party defeating the Demon King is four out of five. Little by little, they were making steady progress towards victory. I thought replacing the wizard member was an acceptable variable.
After traveling, we returned to the human realm. The central border between the human realm and the intermediate realm is mostly under the kingdom’s jurisdiction, with dungeons widely distributed across the terrain. There are large lakes and rivers that help defend against demon intrusions.
The source of this river flows from the northern sea. The northwestern part of the human realm has a complex terrain with dozens of small countries clustered together, while the large sea acts as a buffer against the intermediate realm.
Our destination, the former country, lies to the north of the human realm. We would have to pass the northern small countries by the sea, go through the principality, and then cross the imperial territory to finally reach it.
Therefore, we entered the small country on the seaside, the 7th Wharf, instead of the kingdom’s border. We passed this route on our way out to the intermediate realm as well.
Since it was night, we decided to stay at an inn for a day before departing. With a large group, we had to split up into several inns. Gishta and I shared a room.
“There’s a problem.”
“Lars, what’s the matter?”
I had just placed the Dragon Scale I received from the Heavenly Dragon on the table and was examining it.
“Gishta, what do you think?”
“The Dragon Scale? Hmm… Has the color changed slightly?”
“Right?”
“Yeah. It looked like the rainbow on a clear day when we started, but now it seems cloudy.”
Gishta’s metaphor was easy to understand. The Heavenly Dragon’s scale was losing its color.
“I didn’t think about the expiration date. This is bad.”
Since the branches of the World Tree had remained unchanged since I obtained them, I thought the Dragon Scale would be the same. But apparently, it seems to have a shelf life.
“It will take time until I can raise the alchemy level further.”
If I had known this would happen, I should have visited the Heavenly Dragon later.
Is it possible that it can’t be refilled if it’s still active?
“For now, we’ll have to wrap it in ice as much as possible. Let’s look for preservation methods.”
After spending the night, the next day, Gishta went to the fish market at dawn and brought back a haul of seafood.
“This town might lack vitality, but there are a lot of fish, and I like that. Look! This fresh herring can’t be seen in the former country.”
Seeing her hold the squirming fish made the other Thunder Tribe members salivate.
“Commander, we’re eating fish too.”
“I want tuna.”
“Buy and eat it. You get a salary, right?”
“I don’t have money. I need to buy a house.”
“I bought an axe from the Dwarf Kingdom.”
The guardians were getting fair pay, but the fact that everyone was broke meant they had been living in the wild and couldn’t handle spending after tasting capitalism.
I decided to give them economic education later and while I was planning on treating them, Gishta suddenly spanked the rear ends of the members.
“You guys have it easy! When did we ever buy food with money?”
“That’s a good point.”
“Fish! Let’s catch it!”
The Thunder Tribe tossed their armor off and dove into the sea with just spears in hand.
Despite the cold water temperature like an ice sheet in the northern sea, they all looked quite healthy.
“Stop! Illegal fishing is prohibited!”
The fishermen were shocked to see the scene.
However, a moment later.
Boom!!
The Thunder Tribe began to haul up a massive octopus demon from under the sea that looked like it weighed several hundred tons, and their attitude completely changed.
“They captured the sea’s ruler!”
“Wait, is that the worst demon that has taken a hundred fishermen?!”
“Now we can finally set sail with peace of mind!”
“Welcome, heroes!”
Thanks to the Thunder Tribe, I suddenly received VIP treatment. But in reality, they were only interested in eating the seafood they caught.
Seeing thirty strong Thunder Tribe members in their underwear making a fire on the sandy beach made me feel like I was back in a primitive civilization.
“Fire! It’s hot!”
One of the members who got injured battling the sea’s ruler needed some light treatment, so I helped him out.
I applied the ointment and gave him a little tap when a girl from a distance was staring at me intently.
“What? Are you also interested in the Gothberg Guardians?”
Jokingly, I asked, and the girl quickly approached me. She lived in the northern region, had pale skin, and wore fur like an Eskimo. She looked about seventeen or eighteen.
“That’s from Gothberg Pharmaceutical’s ointment! You shouldn’t just use it like that!”
She shouted and snatched the medication from me, immediately beginning to cast a spell.
It was a familiar spell. An alchemy spell, [Property Change].
“Uh, huh?”
Then she tilted her head in confusion.
Feeling intrigued, I approached her.
“Why shouldn’t I use it as is?”
“Well… This medicine seems okay, but generally, Gothberg’s medicines are all extremely toxic. No, they’re not medicines; they’re poisons. People don’t really know, and they just believe the rumors, but if you use it as is, it’ll be a disaster. You must weaken it with a property change.”
“Hmmm. That’s an interesting story.”
This girl seemed like a rare alchemist. Given her ability to use Property Change, she must be well-informed about our medicinal products.
“Do you have any more medicine on you?”
“I have Aspirin.”
She pulled a small, worn box from her pocket, handing it to me.
It was Gothberg Pharmaceutical’s Aspirin. Six pieces. I opened the box and inspected the contents without needing to look too closely.
“And it’s a counterfeit.”
“What?! A fake?!”
“The packaging’s color is off from the start. The dye used is different. The printed part on the corner is misaligned as well. And the contents? What is this? The packaging capsule doesn’t even make an effort to look similar to the original. Let’s see the important ingredients.”
I lightly cast a spell to analyze the components. The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Indeed, you’re right. This is poison. It seems like they used an alchemical spell on willow, but the synthesis was poorly done. Even a few months of taking this could cause blood serum disease. Our factory hasn’t sold aspirin for pain relief in at least a year.”
“Um, excuse me…”
I asked the flustered girl.
“Who’s selling this?”
“Um, all the medicines at the 7th Wharf can only be purchased through one merchant guild.”
“But the 7th Wharf is definitely a participant in the alliance. So, they’re diverting incoming drugs to the black market while distributing fakes to their own citizens at a low price. What’s your name?”
“Marsha.”
“Marsha. How long have you been studying alchemy?”
“I’ve been self-taught since I was a child. I have friends who learned with me.”
“Did you all know this medicine was dangerous and tried to help people by neutralizing it?”
Marsha nodded vigorously.
“That’s impressive. Since the raw materials are the same, they can be made usable with just a little tweak.”
I used Property Change on the fake medicine. The chemical formula appeared as a molecular model above the spell circle. I removed the components that could become poison and used Enhancement to eliminate side effects.
“Wow.”
Marsha’s mouth dropped open as she watched my spell.
“Um, are you a great alchemist?”
“Haha, no.”
I replied while handing the medicine back to Marsha.
“I’m a doctor. Marsha, are you interested in pharmaceuticals?”
“About these medicines? Well… alchemy is fun.”
Hmmm.
I had a gut feeling this could be a great opportunity to increase talented individuals in the pharmaceutical factory…
“By the way, you said you’re a doctor, what does that mean?”
“Here’s my business card. I’ll come by in the afternoon, so wait with your friends. We’ll talk about work.”
I handed Marsha a business card. Her mouth fell open in surprise as she read it.
“G-Goth… Hospital director?!”
“For now, my morning schedule is set. Gishta!”
“Lars, did you call?”
Gishta dropped in front of me in mid-air.
“There are some bad guys. Grab your axe.”
Gishta’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she grinned widely.