Chapter 47
“Honestly, I don't know why you wanted to see something like this...”
First I went to the dwarves' restroom, then to the elves' restroom.
The dwarves' restroom wasn't all that different from a human one.
No, it was surprisingly clean.
I guess that's dwarf technology for you.
It was designed so the smell wouldn't escape outside.
The elves' restroom, on the other hand...
A barn...?
Why does it smell so much like the countryside...?
Ah, elves only eat vegetables.
Then the elves' side is probably better for making it.
Their digestive systems probably aren't ruminant like cows' or sheep's, but they'd still be better for producing methane.
I held up my staff and scattered the methanogens I'd gotten from the fire lizard before.
Methanogens probably existed there too, but the fire lizard's methanogens produced methane hydrate under high pressure—in other words, in solid form—making them more useful as fuel.
I could produce it from other organic matter, not just... waste, but this was the most efficient.
Before long, white chunks of ice floated up.
“Fish them out.”
Though frowning, she seemed curious and scooped out the ice with something like a net she'd prepared beforehand.
“Is this... ice?”
“Ice with methane trapped inside.”
This is why you need to learn science.
On top of getting tutored by Gyuseon these days, I'm studying hard.
If I'd studied like this, I might've gotten into Seoul National University... No, sorry, that was a ridiculous thing to say.
“Take this to the dwarves and tell them it's a new fuel.”
“This is fuel?”
“Yes. We're in a hurry.”
At room temperature, it'd melt and turn into gas in no time.
“If you have some kind of cooling magic, use it. It'll melt quickly at room temperature.”
“Ah, all right. Good grief, using magic to help dwarves...”
“If you keep complaining, I won't help your side either.”
“All right...”
Strictly speaking, I didn't need to help either side.
It seemed like helping just one side would fulfill the conditions.
Still, I wondered if there might be some special reward for helping both...
That sounds too selfish, so maybe I'll say I felt sorry for whichever side wasn't chosen.
Actually, I really did feel that way.
Even if they were just dungeon NPCs, they seemed like real people.
If I lacked the ability, that'd be one thing, but I couldn't abandon them just because it was a hassle when I could help.
When I went with Ellain to the dwarf village and casually handed over something that looked like ice, Dorin tilted his head and asked.
“You mean that's really such an excellent fuel?”
“It's much better than coal or charcoal, at least.”
Coal could only soften iron; it couldn't melt it.
That's because coal's burning point was around 1,200 degrees.
So for processes that actually required melting metal, the dwarves had no choice but to rely on magic furnaces.
“Hmm...”
“If you don't believe me, just take...”
A hand like a cauldron lid clamped around my wrist.
“Now, now, don't say I don't believe you.”
They say dwarves' curiosity is second to none.
Once he'd heard this was a new fuel, he was probably itching to try it.
“I'll give it a try, then.”
“You'd better be careful.”
“Who do you think you're talking to? We're dwarves.”
True enough.
There was no race more dependable than dwarves when it came to handling fire.
According to the clichés, anyway...
And a little while later...
“Incredible! What heat!”
Dorin came running out, eyes wide.
Of course he was surprised.
That was natural gas, a major fuel for modern thermal power generation.
Its use had dropped significantly now that nuclear fusion power was widespread, but in terms of heat output, it was nearly twice as powerful as coal.
But...
“Did you singe your eyebrows?”
“...The heat was much stronger than I expected.”
Can I really trust these dwarves?
Maybe embarrassed that a dwarf had failed to handle fire properly and singed his eyebrows clean off, Dorin turned away and cleared his throat.
“Ahem, anyway... With fuel like this, it should be possible.”
“Great. I'll leave it to you.”
Anyway, I'd already deployed Unit One, so the waves would keep evaporating before they even reached the village.
We'd already cleared up to Wave 10 in the blink of an eye.
In that case, I could relax and brew some liquor.
**
I returned to the elf village with Ellain and asked her,
“Do you have any fruit or honey here?”
“That's our staple food.”
“Then please bring me as much as you can that contains sugar, including those.”
A good number of fruits arrived and piled up at my request.
Along with some jars.
The stuff in the jars was probably honey.
They'd grown quite a lot of fruit in this little forest.
Was that the elves' ability?
Their main crop was grapes.
Grapes actually contain a lot of yeast, making them ideal for brewing fermented liquor.
I picked a grape and tried it...
“Wow, this is honey-sweet.”
Good heavens, I couldn't remember ever eating fruit this sweet and delicious in my life.
Elf-grown grapes. I almost wanted to take them outside and start a business.
They were almost too good to waste on liquor.
Still, grapes were essential.
And...
“You probably don't have sugar... Let's use honey.”
Yeast consume sugar and excrete alcohol.
In other words, the amount of sugar added determines the alcohol content.
Normally, yeast died at around 18 percent, so fermented liquor stopped there, but my yeast wouldn't stop, boy.
Just like making wine, I crushed the grapes and put them in a vat. Normally, the grapes' natural sugar would be enough to produce alcohol, but I needed liquor strong enough to get even a dragon drunk, so I'd have to keep adding sugar to raise the alcohol content.
“But making liquor takes quite a long time. No matter how much you speed it up...”
“Then we'll speed it up more.”
There were only so many ways to accelerate ordinary yeast...
But my yeast were an undead legion that obeyed my commands.
“Let's start by preparing some crushed grapes.”
“All right.”
I'd already revived the huge mass of grape-yeast sediment—the corpses, that is—from wine the elves had made before.
I dropped those yeast into the freshly crushed grapes and gave them an order.
Turn the sugar into alcohol as quickly as possible.
Then, in less than three minutes, the wine began to bubble.
“T-That's impossible!”
A reaction that should have taken at least dozens of hours happened in an instant.
After about twenty minutes, I scooped some liquid floating on the surface and tasted it.
Despite being made from grapes that sweet, there wasn't a hint of sweetness.
It had turned into a perfectly dry red wine.
When I handed the cup to Ellain beside me, she took a sip and her eyes widened.
“G-Good heavens. I can't believe someone can brew liquor this quickly.”
Right? Come to think of it, couldn't I take this outside and make a business out of it?
Well, I'd think about that later.
“Now let's add sugar. Honey, grape juice, anything sweet. All of it.”
Honey, with its overwhelming sweetness, was probably best if I wanted to raise the alcohol content quickly.
Pure honey normally had excellent antibacterial properties, so adding it would wipe out all the yeast! But...
My yeast army was happily gobbling up the sugar and multiplying instead.
Since I couldn't let them multiply too much, I used reverse summon to control the excess population, then kept adding honey and fermenting, adding honey and fermenting.
The result.
“Whoa, shit, this is...”
It had an unbelievably high alcohol content, enough to kill you on the spot if you drank it.
I couldn't tell exactly how strong it was without equipment to measure the alcohol content, but my eyes stung just from standing close.
I scooped up a little and rubbed it on my hand, and it evaporated in an instant.
At this point, wasn't it poison instead of liquor?
Not just a dragon—even the dragon's grandfather wouldn't be able to avoid getting drunk.
“Now we just need to filter out the sediment and leave the pure liquor.”
“Yes... I really can't understand how this is possible...”
Ellain was practically dazed.
“Ah, and what should we do now?”
“If we place the finished product on the Altar of Offering, the dragon will come and test it.”
“Then let's wait a little. We should present them together with the dwarves.”
“Yes, understood, benefactor.”
So my title had changed?
“Let's see whether the dragon drinks that and keels over before calling me a benefactor.”
“...Even if it's a dragon... that might be a bit much...”
That's true.
At that point it was practically a chemical weapon, not liquor.
It wasn't just highly alcoholic; impurities specific to fermented liquor, such as methanol and esters, hadn't been filtered out and had instead been concentrated, so a human could die from drinking it.
Whether the dragon died was none of my concern.
If it drank itself to death, that'd be pretty impressive...
Surely a dragon wouldn't die from it, would it?
While we waited for a bit, word came from the dwarves, too.
“This is the masterpiece of my life. To think I could make something this magnificent without a magic furnace.”
Dorin was weeping profusely.
He grabbed my hand.
“I don't know how I can ever thank you, benefactor.”
“No need to thank me. Just don't fight with the elves. Same goes for you.”
“Of course. We'll get along with those pointy-ea—no, the elves.”
“We are ashamed. We will reconcile and trade with the dwarven clan as well.”
After bringing the two sides to reconciliation, Dorin placed his masterpiece on the Altar of Offering at the same time Ellain set down a jar of poison... I mean, liquor.
It was then.
[The Trial of Pride begins!]
[Examiner ‘Verkirel’ descends!]
Along with an enormous gust of wind so strong I couldn't open my eyes, a huge body appeared in front of me in an instant.
Shit, so that's a dragon.
It looked exactly like the dragons I'd seen in media, which was almost more startling.
They depicted an imaginary creature that accurately?
The elves and dwarves were nearly pressed into the ground, unable even to raise their heads.
I wasn't affected that badly, so I just looked up at it.
─Hmm, you completed it much faster than I expected. Let's see... I suppose you made your offerings at almost the same time.
The dragon's voice drove straight into my mind, as if I were hearing Zephyros through an Ansible Earring.
─Was it... that human who helped you?
The dragon looked at me and asked. I nodded and answered confidently.
“That's right. There didn't seem to be a condition forbidding outside assistance...”
─Without outside help, they could never have managed it with their stubborn minds. Well done, human. What is your name?
“Kim Segyun.”
─Kim Segyun. The one who sees and governs the little things the whole world overlooks.
What the hell is that lizard?
This was the first time the origin of my abilities had been exposed.
So it really was a dragon, after all.
─Just as you don't overlook the tiny creatures, you didn't overlook their suffering either. Well done.
Thankfully, it was praising me instead of nitpicking.
“Thank you.”
─Now then, let's see if you properly passed the test.
As it spoke, the dragon gradually shrank and changed into a human form.
Whoa, it can even polymorph...
Is this fantasy world just one cliché after another?
It really feels like reading an old fantasy novel.
When the dragon finished polymorphing, a slender red-haired woman stood before me.
“Ma'am... no, you're a dragon, right?”
“Indeed. I am Verkirel, ruler of the Great Mountain.”
Then she slowly approached the dwarves first.
“It is clear that no magic was used. Strictly speaking, one might say magic was applied in producing the fuel, but since the manufacturing process itself involved no magical intervention, I shall overlook it. It is certainly the finest work your clan has ever produced.”
“W-We are grateful for the blessing of your great presence!”
We are grateful for the blessing!
The dwarven clan's booming shout rang in my ears.
“And as for the elves...”
The dragon glanced at the liquor jar and nodded, turning a little pale.
“P-Pass.”
“Pardon? Th-Thank you!”
The elves, including Ellain, cheered as well.
I alone stared intently at the dragon and asked,
“Wasn't the test to make liquor that could get a dragon drunk?”
“Hmm?”
“You have to drink it, right?”
I went through all that trouble to make it.
You have to drink it.
“Shouldn't we make sure it actually gets you drunk?”
“No, well...”
“Come on, ma'am, bottoms up. I made a lot to match your true form's size.”
I'd made roughly a thousand liters.
“I-I will take it with me and drink it.”
“You might say later that you couldn't get drunk, and declare the test failed...”
“Do you not trust a dragon's word?!”
“But the test itself is a promise, isn't it?”
“No, that's...”
What if we just let this slide and it didn't properly register as a clear?
I had to make her drink it somehow.
“Sigh... Fine.”
Sure enough, that had been the completion condition.
After pressuring the dragon, who'd tried to get out of it half-heartedly, into drinking...
She reacted after just one swig.
Those sharp reptilian eyes were going hazy?
[You have achieved the first subjugation of the Stage 27 Gate, ‘Trial of Pride.’]
[As a first-clear reward, your maximum mana increases.]
The Gate was finally cleared.
I knew making her drink was the right call.
Oh, and maximum mana, huh?
I like that reward.
For me, whose mana pool was basically my stats, this was great.
[By completing a hidden quest, the Gate changes to a Stage 1 Gate, ‘Completed Trial.’]
[You have liberated a Gate for the second time.]
[As a reward for liberating the Gate, a Subclass Slot is created.]
The Gate was liberated and its stage changed, just like in Russia.
I guess that was because I'd cleared both gimmicks.
But a Subclass Slot? What was that?
[Subclasses can be acquired through achievements, missions, rewards, and so on.]
[You may freely change your subclass. However, the skills of the subclass you change from will disappear, and its proficiency will reset.]
Just as I was pondering what a subclass was, a string of bonus messages appeared before I was ejected from the Gate.
[A Great Achievement! You are the first human to get a dragon drunk.]
[You are awarded the title ‘Dragon Drunker.’]
[The title ‘Dragon Drunker’ causes the proficiency of all brewing-related skills to start at S rank.]
Oh, there are achievements like this, too.
The problem was I didn't have any brewing-related skills... but they might come in handy someday.
[A Legendary Achievement! You are the first human to cause a dragon great pain.]
[You are awarded the title ‘One Who Greatly Tormented a Dragon.’]
[The title ‘One Who Greatly Tormented a Dragon’ increases your attack power against all draconic monsters by 10%.]
...Pain?
“My throat! My guts! They're burning up! Gaaah!”
Hmm, I should get out of here before she gets drunk and starts thrashing around.
“Exit dungeon.”
And so, I left the dungeon, abandoning the dragon writhing on the ground in agony.
As I emerged from the dungeon amid a burst of light, the final achievement appeared before my eyes.
[A Divine Achievement! For your indescribably great achievement in brewing, an unknown god grants you a reward.]
[You may acquire the Subclass ‘Nectar Brewer.’]
A brewer?
...Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life brewing liquor now?