TRHSOS 11

Chapter 11

Kaak! Ptoo!

Is this person really alive?
“Hey?”
I tried speaking, but there was no response.
I cautiously approached the man and placed my hand on the tip of his nose.
He was still breathing.
It was a relief that he was alive, but what if this man was a Hunter looking for the hot springs?
If that were the case, things could get really complicated.
…Still, I couldn’t just leave him like this. If I did, he’d probably die without fail.
The man had already lost a lot of blood.
If I delayed any longer, he might become just another corpse in the hot springs.
Seeing the man collapsed and bleeding reminded me of my missing parents.
Damn it!
“Yeonggye.”
After hesitating, I had no choice but to call Yeonggye.

[Guide ‘Yeonggye’ turns to look at me, abandoning her care for Haeryeong, who is bedridden with diarrhea.]
“Where’s the pharmacy?”
[Guide ‘Yeonggye’ says, “Go up to the second floor; it’s the first room on the right that you’ll see immediately.”]
“Can you make medicine that stops bleeding or heals wounds?”
[Guide ‘Yeonggye’ replies, “There’s no medicine I can’t make in the Apothecary Jar.”]

Alright, let’s just save him first.
Future me will deal with the aftermath!
I dashed straight to the pharmacy on the second floor.

[Enter Hidden Field ‘Apothecary Jar’s Pharmacy’.]

One side of the pharmacy was filled with drawers that seemed to store medicine, and on the opposite side was a large white jar, shaped like a storage pot.

“Yeonggye, do you know how to make a medicine that stops bleeding?”
[Guide ‘Yeonggye’ says, “If you put the herb ‘Saesal’ into the Apothecary Jar, you can make the medicine.”]
So I just need to find the herb called ‘Saesal’.

Since I didn’t know what it looked like, I had no choice but to open each info panel and search one by one.
I pulled the handle of one of the lined-up drawers.

[You do not have permission to open the drawer in the Apothecary Jar’s Pharmacy.]

What permission do I need to open a drawer?
The man is about to die right now!
I braced one foot against the wall and yanked on the handle with all my strength.

[You do not have permission to open the drawer in the Apothecary Jar’s Pharmacy.]

No matter how hard I tried, the same message kept appearing.
Calm down. I needed another approach.
As I scanned the area, something caught my eye.
Next to the jar on the table was a tall pile of herbs.
I immediately checked the information on the herbs.

[Herb picked by someone for use: ‘Saesal’]
[Stops bleeding at the wound and rapidly regenerates new flesh.]

Nice!
Found it! Saesal.
Now I just needed to put the herb into the Apothecary Jar.
Without hesitation, I tossed the herb into the white jar.
That was when it happened.

[Apothecary Jar (EX): Kaak! Ptoo!]

The Apothecary Jar spat the herb juice right in my face.
I trembled as I wiped the thick liquid dripping down my cheek.
“Sh*t! That’s really spit! Even a thug wouldn’t spit like this, and this is a jar?”

[Matches the code for ‘Hot Springs Master Key (EX)’]
[Exit Hidden Field ‘Hot Springs (EX)’]

What? I can exit too?
That wasn’t mentioned!
In an instant, I left the pharmacy and returned to my room.
Oh my god! This is driving me insane.
“Hey, Park Dondon! I almost peed myself because you kicked the door! Hurry up and open it!”
As I touched my forehead, Park Siwoo kicked the door.
I could feel the intense frustration in his voice.
And my registered mate’s misfortune is…?
“My happiness!”
“No!” I shouted, “F*ck!”

[Matches the code for ‘Hot Springs Master Key (EX)’]
[Move to Hidden Field ‘Hot Springs (EX)’]

“Ugh!”
The sight of the collapsed man’s miserable state always shocked me.
After confirming he was still breathing, I ran back to the pharmacy and grabbed the herb.
“Good boy, alright? Chew the herb well to make the medicine.”
If direct force didn’t work, coaxing would be my strategy.

[Apothecary Jar (EX) shouts, “Hot springs people! A bleeding kid like you is trying to make an elder work!”]

Ah, so it was an elder.
No wonder the way he spat showed experience.
“I’m sorry, Elder. Do you like airplanes? Here comes a plane. Wooosh~”
Like a parent coaxing a child who refuses to eat, I pretended the herb was an airplane and brought it to the jar.

[Apothecary Jar (EX) shuts the lid, saying, “Put it away immediately.”]

It even had a lid?
For something old, it was in surprisingly good condition.

[Apothecary Jar (EX) scolds, “Who forces people to work nowadays without a labor contract?”]

The jar even knows about labor contracts?
Living long really does pay off.
“Alright, we’ll write a labor contract! Just write it!”
Even if I had to pay a salary, having the EX-class jar make medicine that I could sell would be far more profitable.

[Apothecary Jar (EX) pretends to ignore, “Why should I?”]

You asked me to!
I realized the jar was as stubborn as Park Siwoo.
“Elder, someone downstairs is dying. They’re losing so much blood, and without your medicine, they could die.”
I carefully explained the situation to persuade the frustrating jar.

[Apothecary Jar (EX) asks, “How is that any of my business?”]

Well… it isn’t.

[Apothecary Jar (EX) asks, “Why bother saving someone who isn’t even your concern? Wouldn’t it be better for the hot springs if they just died?”]

I wondered if the jar even had shoulders to shrug, but I put that curiosity aside for now.

“I know it’s not beneficial, but what can I do? Seeing this collapsed man reminded me of my family, and I couldn’t ignore it. My family are all S-class Hunters.”

[Apothecary Jar (EX) chuckles, “Bragging about S-class Hunters in front of an EX-class jar?”]

I couldn’t laugh like the jar.
I didn’t want to reveal this story, but it seemed inevitable.
“My parents went missing in a Dungeon Break when I was young. It’s been over 15 years, and we still haven’t found them. The government gave up long ago, but I still believe they’re alive. I’ll keep waiting for them to come back.”
That’s why I couldn’t ignore this bleeding man.
“Someone downstairs must have family waiting for them too. I know how it feels to wait for someone who never returns… so I couldn’t just pass by.”

Then, water suddenly began overflowing from the jar.

[Apothecary Jar (EX): Heh! Hic!]
[Apothecary Jar (EX) sobs, saying, “A heart-wrenching story you can’t hear without tears.”]

Ah, it was crying?

[Title ‘Woman with a Story’ acquired.]
[Effect of title ‘Woman with a Story’: Listening to the story makes you cry.]

A woman with a story… another useless title.

“Elder, the water is overflowing. Could you stop? Otherwise, the hot springs will be flooded.”
[Apothecary Jar (EX) cries “Stop!” trying not to cry.]

Surprisingly soft-hearted, weren’t you, Elder?

[Apothecary Jar (EX) recognizes me as the ‘Owner of the Pharmacy’.]
[Hidden Skill ‘Wise Pharmacy Life (EX)’ acquired.]
[All pharmacy drawers are unlocked.]

Great! The skill is unlocked.

“Now, you’ll take it, right?”
[Apothecary Jar (EX) requests a plane again.]

You said you wouldn’t before and even closed the lid, but now you seem excited.
“Here goes the herb. Wooosh, airplane!”
[Apothecary Jar (EX) swallows the herb ‘Saesal’.]

“Is the ingredient preparation done now?”
[Apothecary Jar (EX) says, “You need ‘Solsul Powder’ to complete the medicine.”]
“What’s that?”
[Apothecary Jar (EX) says, “It’s in the fifth drawer from the top, third on the right.”]

Following the jar’s directions, I opened the drawer and saw a sparkling light green powder.

“Elder, is this it?”
[Apothecary Jar (EX) nods, saying, “Grab a handful and put it in.”]

I grabbed a fistful of powder and tossed it into the jar.

[Apothecary Jar (EX) swallows ‘Solsul Powder’.]
[Apothecary Jar (EX) makes the medicine.]

Soon, the jar tilted forward and produced the potion.
I picked up the potion.

[Master Potion ‘Saesal-i Solsol’ acquired.]
[Saesal-i Solsol (S)]
[Stops bleeding and regenerates flesh.]

They called it a master potion—an S-class potion, indeed.
My heart raced at the first S-class potion I’d ever held, but I focused.
“Thank you for the medicine, Elder!”
After thanking the Apothecary Elder, I rushed downstairs to check on the man.
Fortunately, he had held on until the medicine was ready.
“Take this.”
I placed his head on my lap and slowly fed him the S-class potion.
The bleeding stopped as the medicine took effect.
S-class indeed—its effect was incredibly fast.
I should ask the Apothecary Elder to make a few more just in case.

Feeling relieved that the immediate danger had passed, I set the empty bottle down.
But somehow my lap felt empty.
I turned my head at the strange feeling, and the black-haired handsome man, who had been collapsed, had suddenly raised his upper body and closed the distance to me.
His intense, deep black eyes, like a sea at night, were fixed on me, the beauty mark beneath them now more prominent.
From a breath’s distance, his mouth curved slightly.
“See you again, Park Suon.”