NOVEL WEB Chapter 22 - The Alchemist’s Street (1)
Chapter 22: The Alchemist’s Street (1)
If the efficiency of hunting alone is 100%, would the efficiency of hunting with two people be 200%?
No.
When two people hunt together, the synergy can increase efficiency by up to 300% if their combination is well-matched!
This is why people prefer party hunting.
It’s much harder to respond to danger alone, and hunting with others is faster and more efficient.
Even if experience points are distributed, solo hunters are rare unless it’s a highly unusual case.
In my past life, I naturally focused on party hunting.
Unless one was a melee class, it was nearly impossible for an alchemist to hunt alone.
“Having summons is such a relief.”
I couldn’t help but marvel at the excellent combat skills and intelligence of Eltis and Mad.
Their sense of judgment was so good that they instinctively positioned themselves perfectly without needing my instructions.
“Ah, I see. Summons ultimately follow the will of their master.”
The summons instinctively understood and acted upon my desires!
While this was impossible for a Necromancer, it was a type of signal unique to Summoner classes.
Summons that are personally cherished by their master can sense their master’s intentions.
Furthermore, verbal commands were followed with remarkable precision.
Mad, for instance, couldn’t yet grasp detailed commands like “bring me several,” but he understood simple ones like “attack!” or “retreat!” instantly.
What I liked most was that Mad diligently picked up loot from the monsters he hunted on his own!
“Maybe I should attach a bag to him. It’d be better if he could store it himself rather than bringing everything one by one.”
Most of the monster loot consisted of bone fragments or flesh, which were very useful to me.
Of course, it was disappointing when torn cloth or metal scraps dropped, but even those could be sold at shops for money, so I kept them.
Unlike typical parties that couldn’t hunt for long due to bag space issues, I had no such concerns and cleared dungeons repeatedly.
Whenever my inventory was full, I could just leave things in Goblin Sage Hills without worrying.
I even built a temporary shelter there.
There was no need for a door since I was the only one using it.
After diving headfirst into hunting, three days had passed, and my level had already surpassed 50.
Raising a level this high in just three days must be unprecedented.
With my base stats at the 60–70 range and boss-tier summons with 70–80-level stats, experience points skyrocketed.
“Summoner classes are totally overpowered, huh?”
Despite saying this, Summoner wasn’t exactly a good class.
The Summoner’s personal skills weren’t offensive at all, being entirely tied to summoning and synergy with summons.
A scenario like mine, where both the master and summons fought together, was unheard of.
Despite its mediocre performance, Summoner remained one of the most popular classes in Elthera Online, especially among female players, thanks to its appeal of not needing to fight directly.
Honestly, like Summoners, my class was supposed to have a weak main body.
But it was strange that I was fighting alongside my summons.
With my overwhelming personal strength, even if I played as an E-rank Summoner, I would still achieve a ridiculous synergy effect.
*Lv: 50 Combat Power: 99
Class: Necromaster (Unranked)
HP: 1,140 MP: 2,690
[Renown: 327]
[Strength: 187] [Agility: 156]
[Intelligence: 79] [Stamina: 112]
[Vitality: 97] [Willpower: 86]
[Dexterity: 90]
My stats had grown significantly.
I held back on investing too much in Strength, knowing that focusing on one stat wouldn’t yield the best results.
Strength and Agility needed to maintain a certain ratio to be effective!
I hadn’t invested a single point in Intelligence or Willpower, even though Necromaster was a class that directly utilized Mana and Wisdom.
Raising Intelligence would enhance the stats of my summons, and increasing Willpower would expand my Mana pool, but I prioritized strengthening my main body instead.
“I can boost Intelligence or Willpower stats through alchemy later.”
Vitality wasn’t heavily invested either.
Thanks to raising my physical and magical defense through countless deaths, my defenses were quite robust.
As a result, even at level 50, my Combat Power was nearing 100.
A common rule among players:
“Combat Power must not fall below your level.”
Combat Power represents the total effectiveness of equipment, attack power, defense, stats, level, and skill proficiency.
Many players, however, ended up with Combat Power lower than their level due to focusing too much on leveling.
This often happened when players skipped stat quests, used poor equipment, or lacked skill proficiency.
The ideal case was when Combat Power matched the level.
But my Combat Power was double my level, signifying twice the efficiency of the best case!
And this calculation didn’t even include my spirits.
Summoner-type classes should logically include summons in their Combat Power, but Necromancer classes didn’t seem to follow this.
“It’s no longer efficient to hunt here.”
I had cleared the Kulrak Tribe instance 10 times.
Clearing the same instance 10 times rewarded random special bonuses, and I received the [Kulrak’s Ring].
This level-70 accessory slightly boosted physical attack power.
After 20 clears, the [Kulrak’s Necklace] would be guaranteed, activating a 2-piece set effect, but I had already received the necklace as a bonus with the initial reward.
“There’s no reason to stay here any longer.”
With my Combat Power at a level comparable to most level-100 players, there was no point in staying at this hunting ground.
More importantly, I wanted to create a third summon.
“This time, I’d like to make a human-shaped one.”
Mad, being a wolf-headed creature, had trouble understanding human speech, while Eltis was much easier to command.
Of course, there were pros and cons.
Human-shaped summons had average physical abilities.
While they followed commands well and were good at miscellaneous tasks, monsters excelled overwhelmingly in combat.
“The boss here, Kulbriak, has the disadvantage of being unintelligent but the advantage of using ice attributes. Attributes are crucial. There’s a reason elemental enchantments become trendy in the future. Let’s resurrect Kulbriak first.”
But before creating the next spirit, another problem surfaced.
Money.
The issue of finances loomed large.
Except for my weapon, I barely had any equipment.
The gear I obtained from hunting Kulrak was practically junk.
Eltis was also barely clad in a makeshift trash armor.
Even a wolf-shaped summon like Mad could benefit greatly from custom-made equipment, boosting its Combat Power.
Acquiring such gear required a substantial amount of money.
Fortunately, I already had a plan for how to gather funds.
Surprisingly, the easiest way to make money was simple—hoarding.
“Soon, the Eagle Knights Guild will defeat the Demon Lord of Blenka Fortress. At that point, the Monster Tamer class will be unlocked for all players.”
When specific players triggered major events, all players benefited.
Starting points shifted, new areas opened, and new job advancements became available.
Tamer was one such profession.
Tamer became a popular class alongside Summoner.
According to Yeonwol, however, the average combat power of both classes was “utter trash.”
The major appeal of Tamers was the ability to avoid direct combat, which made them the second most popular class after Summoner.
Despite Necromancer, another summoner-type class, being vastly superior in performance, Tamer had one decisive edge.
“Because they could tame cute and cool monsters.”
Necromancers lacked popularity due to controlling grotesque spirits, which weren’t visually appealing.
In RPGs, aesthetics, or “the look,” is always critical.
“Tamer essentials include Fairy Dust of Illusion. Stockpiling it will require starting capital, but I should be able to secure that somehow.”
Luckily, Goblin Sage Hills had plenty of rare and valuable herbs, and Yeonwol knew how to turn them into expensive potions.
Although his alchemy was only at the [Basic] level, preventing the creation of high-grade potions, mass-producing potent potions for beginners would fetch decent profits.
“If I raise my alchemy proficiency now, the stats of my next summon will likely improve as well.”
Alchemy proficiency was directly tied to Yeonwol’s power.
“Well then… I’ve extracted all I can here. Time to head back.”
He had already cleared the dungeon 10 times.
The Red Flow Pavilion Guild was likely just waiting for Yeonwol to leave.
Since the dungeon’s entrance also served as the exit, stepping outside would mean being ambushed by them.
But Yeonwol had a better method.
By using the skill [Ruler of Death], he could revive at a temple once a month without any penalties, allowing him to teleport safely to the nearest city.
“Dying is no big deal now.”
He stared at the cliff.
It had been a week since a masked, mysterious player entered the instance dungeon.
Even after all that time, the Red Flow Pavilion members guarded the dungeon entrance.
“Damn it, if I’d been hunting instead, I could’ve gained 50% more experience by now.”
“At least we’re getting paid.”
“Don’t you know you can make way more money hunting? You could even strike it rich.”
“If you don’t follow the guild’s orders, you can’t hunt in prime spots. Earning more from those places is only possible thanks to guild privileges, so you’ve got to comply with orders like these.”
“True. Just wait patiently.”
Most guild members didn’t mind following orders from above.
But after ten days, dissatisfaction started to grow.
No matter how many people entered an instance dungeon, it was impossible to hunt for over a week.
Yet that guy went in alone and hadn’t come out for ten days.
At this point, suspicions arose.
“Isn’t he already dead in there?”
“Should we report this to the guild?”
The response was fiery.
The guild’s pride was at stake, and they were ordered to capture him at all costs!
But how could they capture someone whose nickname and face were unknown?
If he exited just once, they could PK him and identify his face, but he didn’t show up, forcing dozens of members to waste their time here.
“I can’t believe we’re stuck doing this nonsense while the higher-ups are out hunting in prime spots.”
“What? Those bastards.”
It was clear the higher-ups didn’t care whether they wasted their time or not.
After two weeks, the guild concluded that the mysterious player was likely dead and lifted the order.
By then, the Red Flow Pavilion members’ resentment had reached its peak.
“Just wait, you damn higher-ups!”
While the Red Flow Pavilion members were wasting their time, Yeonwol was elsewhere.
In Parun City, on Alchemist’s Street.
Today, the bustling street was packed with players eager to buy potions and alchemists and merchants trying to sell them at higher prices.
Parun City’s diverse hunting grounds, catering to beginners and high-level players alike, naturally attracted a large crowd.
“Ugh… this is so boring.”
Mejiram, a level 93 alchemist, was working part-time for the Swallowfire Clan.
Joining a well-established clan like Swallowfire was the only way to learn alchemy and access decent research facilities.
Still, his relatively low level often relegated him to menial tasks.
Today, he was stuck manning the counter again.
“I’m a high-level user among players, but NPC clans treat me like this. Sigh… well, NPC alchemists are still better than players at this point.”
He clenched his fist.
Even though NPC clans didn’t offer the same perks as player guilds, their alchemy skills were unmatched.
Receiving training from NPCs was the surest path to a successful future.
“Still, this busywork is tiresome.”
Not long ago, a beginner alchemist dressed in shabby cloth armor visited to register a potion.
Mejiram had struggled to suppress his laughter.
Some idiots think they can register anything and have it accepted.
“Dealing with such low-level beginners is humiliating.”
He prided himself as a high-ranking alchemist.
At almost level 100, and with training from the Swallowfire Clan, he considered himself accomplished wherever he went.
Crash!
While absentmindedly watching the counter, a loud smashing noise came from upstairs.
What the…?
As Mejiram turned his head, the clan leader of Swallowfire came rushing out, holding a potion with a terrifying expression.
“Mejiram! Mejiram!!”
“Y-Yes, Clan Leader!”
“This potion sample! Who brought it in?”
“Uh, um… just a moment.”
Hurriedly checking the code on the bottle, Mejiram realized it was from the beginner alchemist earlier.
“Damn, is he mad about me accepting a beginner’s sample?”
Awkwardly, he smiled and explained.
“Oh, a beginner alchemist brought it in. Don’t worry! I only kept one sample and threw out the rest. I even chased the beginner away and scolded him so he won’t come back!”
“You fool!”
Smack!
Mejiram’s world spun as he realized his cheek had met the clan leader’s palm.
“You idiot! Check this potion sample right now!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Fumbling, he examined the potion.
[Lesser Potion (Yeonwol)]
*Restriction: Level 10
*Recovers 570–630 HP
“…What?”
He couldn’t believe his eyes.
A level-10 potion restoring 600 HP?
This was over 20% more effective than the renowned Levian brand.
“H-How is this possible…?”
“Do you understand now? This potion surpasses current alchemy standards. It’s at least five years ahead of its time!”
The potion’s value wasn’t just about outperforming Levian.
Uncovering the technique behind it could revolutionize high-grade potions, dominating the market!
The potion wasn’t just innovative; it could shake the alchemy world and monopolize the potion industry.
“M-Master, this…”
“Bring me that alchemist immediately. If you fail… I’ll ensure you never work as an alchemist in this city again.”
“I-I’ll find him!”
Mejiram scrambled out into the street, panicked.
But how could he find a beginner alchemist in such a crowded area?
“I’m ruined…”
Mejiram knew his alchemy career was over.