Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 32 (Part 1)

The desire to know more runes had been present since the first year. The 7,816 runes listed in the dictionary couldn’t quench his thirst. He desperately, really desperately, needed more runes.

Especially, creating intermediate or higher-level cultivation techniques required runes with different meanings.

In the meantime, he discovered about 50 new runes.

It was only 50 characters, but by adding them one by one, he could eventually reach the desired level.

Acquiring new runes and continuously reading mysterious books. He read the damaged parts by guessing the content.

‘There are too many books written in ancient languages.’

The ancient language did not refer to the language of any one country. It was a term that collectively referred to all the languages used more than a thousand years ago, before the Demon King descended and drowned the continent in blood.

So, there were a huge number of languages classified as ancient languages. More than 60 ancient languages appeared in damaged books. He encountered more than 30 ancient languages even in the advanced section of the library.

‘The words are scattered in pieces… I can’t say I’ve learned the ancient language, nor can I say I don’t know it at all.’

The knowledge he gained through the books was inconsistent. It was mixed up and difficult to use properly.

Approximately two months passed. Today, he was reading a title-less book as usual.

“Hmm?”

He unconsciously let out a sound. It was because of the content of the book.

‘A potion?’

It was a book with the recipe for the wound healing potion he had restored two months ago. But the ingredients and method of making the potion were different.

‘Is this cheaper?’

The herbs had changed, but Rodin didn’t know the current prices of the herbs.

There was no book in the library that recorded the current prices of herbs.

‘The production method is much simpler. I’ll have to make and compare the effects. The price of the herbs is the problem.’

Rodin decided to remember it for now and moved on.

He planned to check the prices later through either an assistant or the committee.

—

Reading books in the advanced section of the library made time pass quickly. Six months had flown by since he decided to share the original potion recipe.

‘Let’s reveal the method I restored first.’

He conveyed his wish to meet a committee member through an assistant. Committee member Kser appeared two days later.

“I heard you wanted to meet me?”

“Yes, I have somewhat restored the potion making method.”

“Somewhat? I told you to call me when you’ve completed it.”

Kser spat out the words and glared at Rodin. His face was full of dissatisfaction.

“While the theory is somewhat complete, we need to make it to determine the exact recipe.”

“Somewhat complete? What’s the progress?”

“I think it’s about 70% complete. The rest involves selecting ingredients and adjusting the precise ratios.”

“So you need to experiment.”

Rodin didn’t care whether Kser was in a good mood or not.

As long as he had value, Kser wouldn’t harm him.

Unless there was no progress at all, or a better talent was found, he could speak confidently.

“Here are the ingredients.”

He handed over the list of herbs he had prepared in advance. Kser glanced at the list of dozens of herbs and closed it immediately.

“Hmm… there are too many ingredients.”

“Some are overlapping ingredients. I don’t know the prices of the herbs. So, it would be good if you could write the weight and price when sending the herbs.”

He listed both the ingredients for the restored wound healing potion and the ancient wound healing potion from the recent book.

He planned to make and disclose the recipe of the expensive and less effective potion.

“What do you mean by overlapping?”

“It means any herb can be used. So, cheaper herbs would be better, right?”

“Hmm, I don’t know the prices of herbs, but it looks like it would cost thousands of gold. Even if I remove the overlapping herbs, it’s too expensive.”

Kser took out a small glass bottle from his bosom and placed it on the desk. Rodin immediately recognized it as a potion.

“That’s a potion.”

“You know well. This bottle costs 10 gold. Do I have to make a potion with ingredients costing thousands of gold?”

“Ah! There seems to be a misunderstanding. The potion made with the listed herbs amounts to 10 liters. This potion is… about 25ml, right? That would make about 400 bottles.”

Rodin placed the potion Kser had brought on his palm.

A slightly reddish liquid sloshed inside the well-sealed glass bottle, emitting a refreshing scent.

“Oh, you’re making it in bulk?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Making it one bottle at a time is too inefficient.”

“If it’s 400 bottles, it’s worth 4,000 gold. The cost of ingredients must be lower than that to make it worthwhile. If it’s expensive, there’s no reason to make the potion.”

“I’ll select the cheapest ingredients as much as possible.”

Rodin maintained a calm expression. He was confident the cost would be lower than the selling price.

“Alright. How long do you need to complete the recipe?”

“Once the herbs arrive, I think it will take about two months.”

“Can’t it be done faster?”

Seeing Kser’s impatient look, Rodin felt a surge of irritation.

He wanted to argue back, but it wasn’t the right time yet. Repeating the cliché ‘I’ll get you later,’ he suppressed his anger.

“It takes a month just to make the potion without any mistakes. Considering trial and error, it can’t be done in less than two months.”

“Two months… I’ll prepare the herbs as soon as possible. Anything else?”

“No.”

“You must complete it. If you deceived me, I’ll make you suffer for life.”

Kser disappeared swiftly. He was a man with nothing to like.

—

Hyung_Otaku2

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