Chapter 66

It has been a week since I first went to the Green Swamp.

I tried gathering materials twice in the rotation of <Green Swamp> → <Western Hill> → <Eastern Forest>, being careful not to over-collect.

The materials I brought back, I analyzed and experimented with at home, trying various things like identification, analysis, and potion-making.

Also, I spent my nights reading books, and it was fulfilling... but I had no results to show for it.

During this time, I leveled up and learned abilities like <Diagnosis>, <Botany Knowledge>, <Herbal Knowledge>, <Toxin Knowledge>, and <Medical Knowledge>. It turns out there were knowledge-based abilities as well. I learned a lot of things in a short time, but it wasn't a bad thing.

However, I made no progress on the <Poison Tea> from my brother.

Then, after a week, my master came to my house for the lesson day.

I had planned to show the results of my efforts, but I had nothing to show.

The lessons are now once a week so that I can think about what I lack and practice on my own, but my knowledge is still insufficient.

In fact, my high DEX and INT values are the reasons I can make advanced potions, but my knowledge hasn't caught up. I increased my study time while gathering materials, but...

"Well, a week has passed. Did you have any results?"

"I'm still wandering around..."

"I see. Well, there's no need to rush. Even if your potion-making skills have improved, knowledge doesn't come overnight. I think you're too anxious, but your skills are already sufficient. It's important to think for yourself."

"Anyway... I've thought about a lot of things. But when asked what I want to do, I don't even know what I can do."

That's right. I'm in a very half-baked state.

I can only follow my master's recipes. I don't even know what kind of disease the medicine I'm making is effective for, which is a pretty dangerous state.

Medicine can save lives, but it can also take them. It's not something to produce irresponsibly. ...Putting aside the items I deliver to the Adventurer's Guild...

"That's true... You've only been making potions for a month. It's amazing that you can follow recipes. Just making medicine as you're told is more than enough. I might have made you anxious."

"No... As an adventurer, I think I'm getting used to making the recovery potions needed. But when I see my master making them, I can't imagine the special antidotes or medicines for diseases that might be needed..."

"Well, that's to be expected. There's no point in rushing... I was scolded too."

"Scolded? By who?"

"Leo. While complaining about you being beaten up, he was angry that I didn't teach you. He saw you going out to gather materials every day and thought I wasn't teaching you. You still have a long way to go, both as a pharmacist and an adventurer. He was telling me not to abandon you."

I didn't think I was being abandoned... But I needed time to think, right? Maybe Leonis thought I was just wasting time every day.

By the way, Leonis often comes to my master's place. I've never run into him, though.

"Many people have high hopes for you. Anyway, in about 20 years, your body will start to feel the strain as an adventurer. From there, you can work as a pharmacist for 30 years. There's no need to rush, but... you have that look on your face like you can't leave it alone."

"...If I do nothing, my brother will keep drinking the poison... I don't want to allow that."

That's right. My master says there's no need to rush, but it won't be enough. In the first place, my brother shouldn't be drinking poison... But he won't listen to me or Naga. If he listened, he would stop. He sends it because he will drink it again. I think he wants me to make an antidote if possible.

"Leo is a troublesome one."

"I know, but... he won't listen... In the past week, I've done a lot of research. But there are no results from just researching."

"It's important to try things out yourself. So, what did you find out?"

"The main reason the tea is poisonous is that the toxins from the <Poison Chrysanthemum> and <Spotted Wheat> remain. The other ingredients are either non-toxic or neutralized. ...I tried to make an antidote... but I couldn't find a way to neutralize the toxins."

I tried using neutralizers to neutralize the toxic components, but when the toxins disappeared, the materials lost their value. They became neither medicine nor poison... In this state, they are meaningless.

In terms of the tea being a way to deliver the medicine, it's a very well-balanced method. The materials that would be completely toxic if ingested directly are reduced to a level that would only make you sick for a day... and the medicinal effects are still active... I think it's quite impressive.

"...That's true. The two ingredients also make it easier for magic to flow through the body. Eliminating the components would make the medicine meaningless... To neutralize them, you would have to counter them with other toxins, right?"

"Yes... So, I thought, if I can't eliminate the toxins, what if I could prevent them from being absorbed and promote their expulsion?"

"Hmm... What do you mean by promoting expulsion?"

"Even if you ingest it, it won't be absorbed and will be expelled from the body... That's what I thought. I prepared materials that wouldn't be digested in the stomach or intestines... and just expel them?"

I poured the liquid from my water bottle into a cup.

Each purple petal was thinly coated.

"What is this...?"

"I used the components of the water plants I gathered from the Green Swamp to coat the petals."

"Water plants? ...But, how did you manage to get them in this state?"

"I heard that raw seaweed can't be digested without digestive enzymes. I thought that if I could wrap the toxins in the components, they wouldn't be absorbed by the body... Since there's no sea, I tried all the water plants I found in the Green Swamp. I boiled the water plants with <Citronelle> from the Eastern Forest and then quickly froze the petals after coating them."

I don't have much knowledge about medicine... But I've heard that some medicines are coated to dissolve in the intestines rather than the stomach. If that's the case, it should be possible to expel them without having an effect... Even if it's not 100%, it would be better than having the body absorb everything.

I haven't actually tested the poison, but there are materials that the body can't properly extract nutrients from and expels undigested. I plan to conduct an experiment to see if coating them makes them harder to digest... I haven't succeeded yet.

"The idea of preventing the medicine from being digested is interesting. Indeed... Even if the tea leaves are finely ground, if they are coated, the toxins won't be released. However... if the tea leaves don't release their components, the tea loses its meaning. And it would be difficult to coat the tea after the components have already been released."

"Um... As another idea, I thought about creating such a substance through alchemy... I considered modifying resistance potions and such, but I don't have many alchemy recipes, so I couldn't make any progress..."

"The idea is interesting. Indeed, preventing the effect from being released in the stomach might not be a bad idea. Only Gra would expel it... But I've heard that the lower abdomen, around the navel, is where magic accumulates in patients. I've never thought about preventing the components from reaching there."

My master seems to be enjoying it.

He's reading the materials I compiled and scratching his head.

"Where did you get this information?"

"Um... This is from this book. And this is from an old book I read at the church..."

I handed over the notebook summarizing the contents of the books I read. I also gave him the medical books from Raz. The professional books would be better for my master than my scribbled notes, but...

"You borrowed them from Raz. Hmm... I only read them in the past... I'll take a look. In the meantime, you can make copies of the recipes."

The recipes my master gave me... They are from beginner to intermediate levels, and he brought the ones I use often.

He taught me how to make copies, and I wrote the contents on magic-infused paper and made copies. Writing one is difficult... but it's necessary, so I'll do my best.

Wait, it feels like we're not having a lesson at all?

By evening, my master was still engrossed in the books. I was making copies of the recipes... I feel like I'm getting tendonitis. No, my master's recipes are very educational... I want to learn as much as possible, even if it takes time.

"Master, let's take a break. I've prepared dinner."

"Ah, already that time?"

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Hmm... I want to summarize this book, but it's not a good idea to take it out. Can you lend me an empty room?"

Hmm? Can't the books from Raz be taken out?

Is there a location tracking enchantment to prevent loss? ...That's it.

Is there something that shouldn't be shown to others? But he knows that my master comes and goes, so it should be fine, right?

"Now that Gra and the others are gone, the rooms should be empty, right? It would be faster if I stayed and summarized it."

"Sure, that's fine... but..."

"Also, there are some materials I need you to gather. They can be found in the Border Mountains... Can you go there?"

"I've never been there, but I've heard that it's difficult for ordinary people to cross the mountains, but adventurers often travel there."

"Yes. The dungeons on the other side are good for business. If you don't cross the mountains, it takes about a month to travel between the kingdom and the empire. There are simple checkpoints at the tunnel entrances to prevent illegal entry. The materials I need you to gather are on the kingdom side, from the mid-slope to the summit of the mountain."

The monsters in the mountains are quite strong, so they are rarely used by anyone other than adventurers. For merchants, the cost of guards is high. Moreover, there is no town near the empire side... only dungeons.

However, there are a certain number of merchants who do business in the dungeons. I've seen them at the entrance to the Mushroom Forest, selling potions and medicines at higher prices than in town. I've only seen them, not bought from them.

This time, it's not the dungeon, but the monsters in the mountains.

Unlike dungeons, there are no bosses, but it's a world of the strong preying on the weak. There are certainly strong monsters. However, for ordinary monsters, my skills should be sufficient. ...I just need to avoid the strong ones.

Since it will be an overnight trip, I need to prepare in advance. But since my master is at home, there's no waste of food, and I can leave the response to him if something happens.

I've heard that there are many <Sage Leaves> in the forests around the mountains, and I still need them, so I'll gather them along with other materials.

The next day, I informed Marry at the Adventurer's Guild of my destination and accepted a quest.

"So, I'm going to the Border Mountains to gather materials. I'll accept a long-term hunting quest as well."

"Yes, but be careful, Klein. Since it's the Border Mountains, it will be an overnight trip..."

The hunting quests around the Border Mountains are mostly C-rank. I'm E-rank, so I can only accept up to D-rank quests, so I'll accept a D-rank quest that appears on the way to the mountains. The distance to the mountains is... further than the Mushroom Dungeon, so it will take a day to arrive.

Marry looks worried... but I think it will take two or three days, even if I spend a day gathering materials.

"I'm going solo, but I have a plan. I'll be fine. Oh, if Leonis is around, I'd like to say hello."

"He's in the back... go ahead?"

I'm getting used to going to the back... but I didn't expect to be led to the guild master's office.

Well, Leonis is writing documents at a desk next to the guild master, so he must have some work to do.

"What's up?"

"My master is at my house now, so I thought I'd let you know."

I greeted Leonis and informed him about my master. Leonis seems to visit my master's place every few days, so he might worry if my master isn't there. Just in case.

"Hmm? Why?"

"For medicine research, I guess? I was thinking about it too... but my master seems to have come up with something. He's working on it day and night. Also, he needs more materials, so I'm going to the Border Mountains to gather them."

"I see... I think he'll be fine, but I'll keep an eye on him."

Yeah, I think my master will be fine too. It's just that, considering his age, I'm a bit worried about him working day and night... But I don't think he'll overdo it.

Just in case, I wanted to let him know, not to ask for anything. Besides, the guild master is listening to our conversation. My master will be fine. I'll do what I can.

Well, let's get going. Off to the Border Mountains.