Chapter 8
The spirit medicine I'm making right now.
It's a pill called a Bigu Pill.
The reason I suddenly started making pills was that Jade-Cold Ice Empress took an interest in the boar.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That demon boar looks nice and plump. It should make good spirit medicine.
"Spirit medicine?"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Yes. Didn't you say you didn't have enough to eat? Judging by the demon beasts that have appeared so far, I had a feeling a demon boar might show up.
"A boar... I mean, a demon boar? Are they good?"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: There's plenty of meat, isn't there? Anyway, I'm skilled in alchemy, so I'll teach you a thing or two.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: The Ice Empress is pretty good at alchemy. You won't lose anything by learning.
Even Blood River Patriarch, who doesn't get along with her, said that. Maybe it really was a good idea.
"So what do I do?"
The rest was nothing special.
When I infused the Red Cloud Thread with spiritual power, it moved like a snake, tied up the boar's legs, and hung it from a tree.
Then, when I infused the Three-Sword Ruler with spiritual power, it darted around on its own, draining the blood, slicing open the belly, and skinning the boar.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: What a waste! Why throw away the blood?!
Hmm. Blood River Patriarch complained, but everyone else was quiet, so I didn't think it was a problem.
Besides, Blood River Patriarch was a demonic cultivator, right?
Was he like a devil worshipper who liked blood?
Ignoring Blood River Patriarch's complaints, I hurried to finish preparing the meat.
I could easily buy the rest of the ingredients on the Heavenly Dao Network.
'And they're cheap, too.'
Maybe because it was the lowest-grade spirit medicine?
Most of the ingredients only cost one or two spirit stones.
Considering the pile of spirit stones I had now, they were hardly expensive at all.
'Does that mean I'm pretty rich for a cultivator?'
I thought they were just shiny pebbles that might be useful as ingredients. Who knew they were currency used for trading?
"Why don't people use money? Why use these stones as currency?"
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: There is money, but it can't cover the cost of a cultivator's goods.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: You'd need enough money to fill an entire house just to buy the ingredients you got.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: They can also be used to replenish spiritual power in an emergency.
=Thank you, Five Azure Demon King, for 100,000 low-grade spirit stones.=
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: I don't have much use for them.
=Thank you, Taehyun Zhenren, for 100,000 low-grade spirit stones.=
=Thank you, Taebaek Sword Lord, for 100,000 low-grade spirit stones.=
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Why do you keep giving her things? You'll spoil her.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Still letting a beast push you around. You've got a long way to go.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You broke-ass loser.
=Thank you, Blood River Patriarch, for 200,000 low-grade spirit stones.=
Huh. When I checked the Heavenly Dao Network earlier, I didn't see anything that expensive.
Even the priciest things were only in the thousands, weren't they?
So were my viewers all rich?
Were they all big spenders?
Aw, if these spirit stones were real money, people would be calling me rich, too.
What a shame.
While I was mulling over this and that, Jade-Cold Ice Empress urged me on again.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Let's do it right this time.
Honestly, I was getting tired of it.
I had plenty of money now, so I could just buy food.
And I'd received so much food from people that my storage pouch was full of it.
For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to say, 'I'll just buy something to eat.' I felt like I'd get scolded.
The other viewers might be disappointed, too.
'No! Streamers have to do what their viewers enjoy, even if they don't feel like it!'
With that, I stood in front of the pill-refining furnace again.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Do you remember what you learned earlier?
"Yes. I spread spirit charcoal underneath and heat the furnace, then put in the boar meat and pour in water with the Clear Water spell."
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: And then?
"Once the water starts boiling, I infuse the long spatula with spiritual power and stir the furnace."
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That's right. Your spiritual power is abundant compared to other Qi Refiners, so you must use less of it.
"Yes!"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: As if cleaving a vast sea beneath a clear sky. Stir gently, like rolling waves.
"Yes!"
I had no idea what that meant.
Whenever I stirred too hard, she complained so much that I just went by what my body remembered.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Good. Let's start again.
And so, I started working again.
A little while later.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Good. The heat is just right now, so add the spirit herbs.
"Can I just toss in whatever?"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: No! There's an order. Add the spirit ginseng first.
"Okay."
Following the Ice Empress's instructions, I tossed the spirit ginseng into the furnace.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Next, add Azure Spirit Grass, White Jade Root, and Purple Cloud Flower, in that order.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Heh heh, the child has a knack for this. They're doing well this time.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: The flame is stable, too. It looks like this will succeed without trouble.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Everyone, quiet down!
They were all praising me.
Well, even I could tell this time felt promising.
Just then, Five Azure Demon King spoke up.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: I wasn't paying close attention to the stream while multitasking, but there is a reason these guys are drooling over you.
"What is it?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: It's obviously a healing stream.
"A healing stream?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: These guys have lived such shitty lives that they've got nothing but enemies around them. Watching you cultivate peacefully is healing them.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Silence, beast! Shut your mouth!
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: What nonsense has the Demon King come here to spout now?
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Lord Demon King, quiet down, too! The child needs to concentrate!
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: AFK (Away From Keyboard)
Those people really did fight every time they met.
Still, Five Azure Demon King had given me some useful information.
'So our viewers have miserable real lives.'
Then I didn't have to go out of my way to show them fights.
Maybe my skills would improve if I just did a good job teaching.
No! I needed to focus on this right now.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Ignore the noise and focus! You're doing well!
"Yes!"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Add more spirit charcoal to raise the heat. Now you must extract the medicinal liquid in one go.
"Yes!"
I grabbed another handful of spirit charcoal and tossed it in.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Now cover the furnace. Don't take your eyes off it for even a second.
"Yes!"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Now stabilize your vital essence, and when the medicinal power boils, draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and pour it into the furnace!
"Yes! Draw in the spiritual energy... Like this?"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That's right! Now be careful. If you make a mistake, the furnace could explode again.
"Explode? Like before?"
That was a little scary.
From what I'd heard earlier, I'd get badly hurt if I made a mistake.
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: Heh heh, don't worry. You're doing well.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: It looks promising.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Quiet!
Just as the chat quieted down at Jade-Cold Ice Empress's command,
the flames beneath the furnace began to surge wildly.
ㅡ Fwoooosh!!
After I added more spirit charcoal, vivid blue flames shot up like a rocket launch.
The entire furnace began to glow red-hot.
ㅡ Whoooosh!
The steam pouring out of the furnace changed color by the second.
First red, then yellow, jade green, and finally a deep brown.
At that moment, Jade-Cold Ice Empress's messages grew urgent, too.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Now! Put out the fire!
I hurriedly withdrew my spiritual power and removed the spirit charcoal.
ㅡ Sssssss.
The furnace, which had been burning hot, slowly cooled down.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Open the lid.
I carefully opened the lid and peered inside.
A brown, mud-like substance was steaming inside the furnace.
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: Ooh! You did it!
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Our little one has a talent for pill refining.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Well done.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Good work.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That's the first pill you've made.
"My first pill..."
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That's right. You've made a Bigu Pill. Now you've set foot on the path of a pill refiner.
"But what exactly are Bigu Pills used for?"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: They're pills cultivators eat instead of meals. Just one will take away your hunger and replenish your energy.
"Ohㅡ So... um... Mortals! Can mortals eat them, too?"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Mortals who work for sects eat them, too, so it should be fine.
A pill you could eat instead of a meal.
Technologia?!
It'd be nice to have emergency rations, too.
Anyway, when was I going to get a home again?
It felt like I was getting more and more adapted to the tower.
No, more importantly! I wanted to know what the pill I'd made tasted like.
I tried to scoop out a bite with the ladle, just to satisfy my curiosity.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Don't!! It would be disastrous to eat it like that.
"Disastrous?"
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: A Bigu Pill should be about the size of two finger joints.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That's right. With your hands, two finger joints should be enough. Tear off an appropriate amount, roll it into a ball, and make it into a pill.
"Oh..."
After hearing the warning, I broke off a suitable piece and tried it.
"Ahㅡ Hot."
I blew on it and carefully chewed. It was kind of like chewing caramel....
"Munch, munch."
How should I put it? It was definitely a flavor I remembered....
A little savory but also a little bland, with just a hint of porky funk....
'Dog jerky?'
If someone asked, 'How would Namgung-hyung know what that tastes like?'...
I couldn't exactly tell them that, on my way home, a new pet shop in the neighborhood had handed out dog jerky as a promotional freebie, and—purely by coincidence—I had nothing else to eat at home, so I ate it instead.
But... something... felt...
Suddenly, my stomach filled up as if I'd eaten a proper meal, and my energy started surging.
It felt like I'd eaten a meal with an energy drink poured over it.
If someone else asked, 'How would Namgung-hyung know what that feels like?'...
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Anyway, hurry and shape it into pills, then let's try again.
"We have to do it again?"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: You may not reach the stage of consummate mastery, but you should at least become proficient!
"Okay..."
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: From now on, we'll make other spirit medicines, too. We'll try everything that can be refined at the Qi Refining stage, so be prepared.
"Okay..."
It suddenly felt like heading to cram school after classes.
This was tiring....
1.
A few days later. Fourth-floor public field.
"I don't think there are any on the fourth floor."
O-tto, a low-tier streamer, panted heavily.
ㄴ Didn't you check behind that rock over there earlier?
ㄴ Did you think a one-million-won mission would be easy?
ㄴ O-tto! You made bank off that last video, so you should do it again!
ㄴ Just give up, lol. Guess today's not your day.
She was looking for the NPC because of a mission.
Normally, a hunter should prioritize leveling up... Or she would have, but...
The amount her viewers had offered for the mission was too much to turn down.
A mission to find the NPC, for a whopping one million won.
On top of that, the mission itself was tempting.
It was related to the NPC.
Thanks to that NPC, she'd raised her profile, too.
Now her viewer count was holding steady in the hundreds,
and her video from before had gotten five million views.
Even though it was in Korean, lots of people overseas had found it, too.
Maybe she could call herself a mid-tier small streamer now?
Anyway, perhaps because everything involving the NPC had gone well for her so far, she'd easily taken the mission her viewers gave her.
'More importantly, my finances are in bad shape....'
The public thought every hunter drove a foreign car and lived in an apartment overlooking the Han River, but that was just the top one percent.
You had to be a capable hunter to earn at least as much as a large-company employee.
Until then, weapon repairs, armor maintenance, potions, and everything else ate up money even if you just sat still.
She streamed like this to help cover even a little of those maintenance costs.
"Sigh... I'll eat first, then keep looking. I haven't even had breakfast."
She settled on a rock where monsters wouldn't be drawn to her, then took out her lunchbox.
ㄴ Whoa, look at how pink and girly that is, lol.
ㄴ O-tto's a girl, too!
ㄴ O-tto, did your mom pack your lunch?
"My mom didn't pack it! I got up this morning and packed it myself!"
ㄴ You can cook, too?
ㄴ Is it homemade poison?
ㄴ Big-brain plan: eat that, die, and warp back, huh? Yikes.
"I'm a pretty decent cook, okay?!"
She'd started packing lunch every morning to save a little on food, and she'd naturally gotten better at it.
She'd heard high-level hunters bought hunter-specific convenience meals based on MREs....
'Because they're insanely expensive.'
Low-level hunters couldn't afford that.
The standard was to pack food from home or bring takeout.
Even that only worked in low-level areas, since monsters could smell the food and come running.
Once you climbed just a few floors higher, all the nearby monsters would come charging the moment you opened the lid.
It was only because she was in the relatively safe fourth-floor plains that she could eat her lunchbox so casually.
'Should I check the places I haven't looked after I eat?'
ㅡ Grrrrr.
Her stomach was already clamoring for food.
And so, she started eating.
"All right, I'm starting my mukbang now!"