Chapter 75

Good morning from the underground room. It's the 10th of September, just a regular day. I'm Herman. Even if I don't have any particular results, I want to try making something, so I'll make something. ...I have no idea what to make, but since I don't have much time, I'll just mix things randomly.

So, I mixed various things until noon, but, hmm, nothing much came out. Probably a failed attempt at an alchemical weapon, some kind of dark matter. I made more than ten of these dark matters. A lot of elemental materials were also consumed by the darkness. ...Can't we do something with this dark matter through alchemy? ...Well, let's just try making something. I'll add magic stones to the dark matter. Ten dark matters and ten magic stones, I'll try the same method as when I made a slime. ...Black smoke came out. Is this a bad one? Well, it's not decided yet. Let's keep mixing. ...It took 15 minutes, but... what is this? It's something like a mix between toilet slime and a slime.

...Is it a monster? It feels like a monster. But it's different from a slime. Let's put it in a preservation bottle. If it goes in, it's different from a slime. If it eats the preservation bottle, it's a type of slime. ...If it's a type of slime, it's no good. I can't tame it because I don't have the talent for taming. ...It doesn't seem to melt the preservation bottle. I can store it in the 'Extended Space.' It seems it's not a slime. Anyway, it's more like toilet slime, so let's name it Wuz.

Well, if it's more like toilet slime, there should be some food for it. What does it eat, and what does it excrete, or not excrete? Let's experiment right away. ...It ate the dark matter. And what came out was... a magic stone? It's very dark inside, but... magic flows through it. A magic stone-like object was created. ...What is this? It's not something more fundamental and unpleasant than the dark attribute, right? It's a mysterious object, but what can it be used for? ...Let's distill it? No, if it's something that should be purified, wouldn't it be interesting to distill it? Maybe one is too few, so let's prepare about ten.

Well, let's distill it. Can we distill it? If it's successful, I don't think it will be a magic stone. ...But then, what is it? Let's distill it for an hour. ...An hour has passed, but only water came out. Hmm, a miss. I learned that distillation is a meaningless act. Let's move on to the next thing.

This magic stone, somehow, isn't something impure, is it? It feels like it belongs to the Nethermancers. If I could summon undead, I might understand, but that's a December class. It might be the residue of an attribute, but I don't know what to use it for. ...Let's try making a goblin. I went to the magic realm the other day, so goblins are available. Let's try making a monster goblin.

I put one goblin corpse and something like a magic stone in the alchemy pot. It feels like it might succeed. Let's keep mixing. ...I've been mixing for about an hour. My arms are getting tired. ...Oh, the goblin corpse is starting to solidify. Mix it with something like a magic stone. ...It came out. I made a monster, but... it's a zombie. I made a goblin zombie. Why? Was it impure after all?

Well, let's defeat it. ...What should I do with this zombie? It's good that I defeated it, but it needs to be purified... Should I hand it over to the Nethermancers? They seem to be the experts. ...Am I involving the Nethermancers again? It feels like I'm the eye of the storm, but I don't like it. But it's not something that can be purified and finished at the church, right? I made a goblin zombie as a monster. It attacked, after all. Although I don't feel like it, I'll write a report and involve the Nethermancers.

So, it's the 12th of September, seminar day. It's in room 0304 of building 5 as usual. This is probably our regular spot. Today's seminar is about preparing to invite the Nethermancers. It's about whether this provisional name, dark magic stone, is confirmed to exist. Well, let's see how it goes.

Serena has arrived, and the Abundance Meeting has started.

"It's time. Let's start this month's Abundance Meeting. First, from me, the reward for the distiller has been confirmed. It's the equivalent of 20 large magic gold coins. Half of it is for Herman, so please take it."

"Thank you."

"Good. Then, one more thing. I've made the slime public. I haven't made the seasoning that Herman mentioned public, but you can use it freely. The alcohol didn't get a reward, but the Creationists gave a gratuity. It's 10 large magic gold coins. Half of it goes to Herman. ...It's already in the bag you received, so don't worry. That's all from me. Is there anyone else?"

"Then, I have a request. The seeds of crops from the east—"

The Abundance Meeting is progressing. The way they buy seeds is quite bold. They ask for everything that has been confirmed in the east. They ask for it every time, but apparently, there are quite a few omissions, and new crops are found. ...They don't know every village, so new ones are found. Also, due to the talent of farmers, crops are improved, and there are many discoveries. I don't understand water management. I understand small ponds, but that's it. Changing the course of large rivers and such large projects are beyond my knowledge. ...Apparently, one of the kingdom's rivers should flow in a different direction. The flow has increased recently. It's due to the influence of a sacred site, but if left alone, it will flood, so they say we need to increase the tributaries and create escape routes for the water. The topic is too big. We talked for about two hours. Is it about time to wrap up?

"Then, is there anyone else?"

"Then, from me. I made something like a magic stone from some slime."

"Slime? Are you going to talk to the Creationists again?"

"No, the magic stone-like object is more important. Do you have the actual item?"

"This is it."

"...This is an impure magic stone."

"I've never heard of it."

"What is an impure magic stone?"

"An impure magic stone is dropped and disappears when you summon an undead, but it's extremely rare. It doesn't usually drop from classroom-level undead. The last time I saw one was about six years ago. Didn't you buy a lot of dark attribute materials and summon undead? The one that dropped from the high-level revenant you defeated should be the recent one."

"Do summoned undead disappear?"

"Yes, you'll summon them in class, so it's good to know. Summoned undead disappear when defeated. ...Sometimes this impure magic stone drops when they disappear. ...I don't know what it's used for. It's the domain of the Nethermancers."

"Are the Nethermancers collecting these impure magic stones?"

"No, I don't know. ...What about the others?"

"Nethermancers, I do know some, but I haven't heard of them collecting them, and the ones I know aren't specialists in summoning."

"...I don't know anyone in the Nethermancers. There are more in the Iron Summoners."

"I know some. I don't know if they do summoning, though."

"I also know some. I don't know if they collect them, but since they graduated from a seminar that does summoning, that might be a good place to start."

"I know some, but I don't know what they do."

"...Let's go with Deborah's acquaintance. If it's a faction that does summoning, they might need it. ...Can you invite them to the next seminar?"

"I can contact them. ...I don't know if they'll come, but is it okay to mention the impure magic stone?"

"Yes, if it helps them come, that's better. It's not a secret, so it's better if they come."

"Understood, I'll try to invite them."

"So, Herman, do you have a report? I assume you wrote one?"

"Yes, here is the report."

"Thank you. ...Hmm, you used a failed item. And a goblin zombie? Did you create an undead while making a monster?"

"Yes, I defeated it. It needs purification. Should I take it to the church?"

"No, hand it over to the Nethermancers. It can be a research material. ...If they don't want it, take it to the church. Do you know where the church is?"

"I confirmed the location when I saw the map."

"Let me give you the exact location. There's a back gate between the Clear Water Dormitory and building 6. From there, the Southeast Church is right there. They often use it for undead disposal, so they should know it well."

"Understood."

"...Still, the Nethermancers this time. You really involve a lot of people, don't you?"

"...I didn't mean to involve them."

"Well, it can't be helped. Is there anyone else to report?"

The Abundance Meeting continues. But the only ones not involved are the Eternal Light and... the Iron Summoners, right? It feels different to say they're not involved, but the two factions I haven't involved are those. I involved the Illusionists before becoming an alchemist, the Dawn faction right after entering, the Creationists the other day, and the Nethermancers next time. How big will this storm get? While listening to various reports, the Abundance Meeting passed.

Whether you found it interesting or not, I don't mind.

I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating.

If you could also provide feedback, I think it would help me improve my writing.

...Probably.