[You have discovered a new recipe.]

[You’ll succeed in producing basic stamina potion.]

[Your intelligence will increase by one point.]

[Combining Poisoned Herb and Troll’s Blood. You have successfully created a new catalyst combination.]

[Your intelligence will increase by one point.]

[Combining Poisoned Herb and the Essence of Magic. You have successfully created a new catalyst combination.]

[Combining Poisoned Herb and Orc’s Molar. You have failed to create a new catalyst combination.]

Being an alchemist wasn’t difficult, but it didn’t mean that skills weren’t used at all. The timing to use an alchemy magic circle, the type of magic circle that varied based on the catalyst ingredients, the amount of mana required to create a magic circle, and the synergy of catalysts and ingredients. I need to go about it while thinking about those things, so this was very much like an experiment. An experiment with a high risk of failure. This was why an alchemist had to be cautious.

Most alchemists knew that the ingredients themselves were very expensive. Thus, every piece of gold mattered when they had to spend it. They first had to come up with several hypotheses after digging deep into potion-making and the theory of catalyst combination. Based on those hypotheses, virtual experiments could then be conducted. Afterward, the actual experiment could then be done based on the results of the virtual experiments.

Of course, it didn’t apply to me.

Why?

“Because I have a lot of money.”

I didn’t even bother doing virtual experiments. I continued with the catalyst combination and potion-making. I didn’t bother with the theory or hypothesis and only focused on the results of the experiment. After getting results through the experiment first, I thought about how I got this result. Compared to the other alchemists, of course, mine was more effective since those alchemists prepared themselves for a month while shuddering at the sight of one rare-ranked catalyst.

[You have failed.]

[You have failed.]

[You have failed.]

‘Does it not work?’

I didn’t waste time trying to find the reason because I just needed to change the method a bit.

[You have succeeded.]

I was reaching the peak of prodigality. In the past week, I was sure that I spent about 1,000 gold, but it wasn’t like I didn’t obtain anything. There weren’t immediate results, but I already memorized the potion recipes that were being sold in the market, but more than that, I was able to increase my intelligence and magic stats. Simply put, I bought my stats using gold.

When I was about to pour gold into the alchemy kit again, I heard a voice from outside.

“Hyung-nim!” Park Deok-Gu called out.

“Yeah, come in. Don’t forget to disinfect using the artifact…” I said.

“Got it,” he replied.

When the door slightly opened, of course, Park Deok-Gu was the one that I saw and Jung Ha-Yan was next to him. When I saw the handful of packages they were carrying, I had an idea as to why they came here.

“Why did you bother coming here? The other normal guild members promised to help me with the package. I even told the receptionist in the lobby, so you don’t have to move them yourself,” I explained.

“Ugh, we’re doing this because if we don’t do this at least, then seeing your face won’t be easy. I don't understand how despite living in the same house, it’s so difficult to see your face. Can I place the packages here?” he asked.

“Just leave it anywhere. Thanks, Deok-Gu,” I said.

“Hehe, this is nothing,” he said.

“O-Oppa, have you eaten yet?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

“Oh.”

When I looked at the time, I noticed that a lot of time had passed. I was so focused that I forgot the passage of time.

“I-I made something…” she said.

“Oh, then let’s eat it together,” I suggested.

“Yes!” Park Deok-Gu yelled.

I couldn’t help but smile after seeing the overly excited Park Deok-Gu and Jung Ha-Yan.

When I glanced over at the packages, the items that I ordered had arrived correctly.

“By the way, what are you planning on using all the items that you ordered for?” he asked.

“They’re all catalysts that are going to be used for alchemy,” I answered.

“Wow, this is the potion that you made…can you save a dying person hyung-nim?” he asked.

“It can’t, but it can heal ordinary wounds. Oh, Ha-Yan, don’t touch the items that are over there and don’t think about drinking them either,” I told her.

“Oh…okay!” she answered.

“I don’t know much about this stuff, but I know you’re trying to do something amazing, hyung-nim. But, what are you trying to make?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Well…first…”

“Yeah?”

“Something that’ll make money,” I replied.

I noticed that both Park Deok-Gu and Jung Ha-Yan looked slightly absent-minded and it was to the point that I started laughing, but it wasn’t something that I thought about out of the blue. Like I said, money was the most important to me because it was natural for me to have an income based on the amount of money I spend. The amount I made had to be just as much as my investment. Simply put, I would become Kim Hyun-Sung party’s financier.

Of course, I had to show results so that Cha Hee-Ra would keep investing in me. I did provide her with the list of names, but I had to keep showing her that I was useful.

What I was making was a secret and there wasn’t a reason for Park Deok-Gu and Jung Ha-Yan to know.

“By the way, what is Mr. Hyun-Sung up to lately?” I asked.

“Now that I think about it, it has been a while since I’ve seen him,” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

“Well, he’s like you hyung-nim. We do train together at the practice sites, but once we are done training, he runs towards the slums. He even packs a bunch of food,” Park Deok-Gu answered.

“What?”

“I mean, I knew he was a kind-hearted dude, but there isn’t an angel like him. I’m not sure if he’s doing some kind of charity work, but it’s already been a week since he’s been doing that…ahem, well, I do respect him for that though,” he explained.

“Really? Every day?” I asked.

“It seems like it. Oh! I also heard him talk about a new dungeon or something…anyways, the way he walks around the city makes it seem as if he’s looking for someone or gathering information…one thing that I’m sure of is that bro, Kim Hyun-Sung is a really nice guy,” he said.

‘Charity work?’

It did fit him.

I thought that maybe he was going to bring a new talented member that he knew of, but it was taking longer than I thought. Seeing as how he constantly visited the slums, it seemed like something was there, but I guess it wasn’t really working out. If he was able to recruit them right away, then there wouldn’t be a reason for him to continue doing charity work over there.

“I’m not sure how much he thinks about the people there, but when I see him frowning, I guess there’s a lot of things that he’s worried about,” Park Deok-Gu said.

‘What is it?’

Maybe there was a problem.

‘Should I visit him?’

It wasn’t a bad idea. I was in the final stage of the products that I was making and I was also curious about the kind of talent and nature that our future comrade would have. Of course, I also had to know more about them since I had to become close with them.

When I took a bite of the food that Jung Ha-Yan made, I noticed her happy face.

“I should try going there too…” I said.

“Huh? Really?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“I’m a bit curious and I’m also curious about what the slums are like…” I replied.

“I-I want to go too, oppa,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“You want to?” I asked.

“Y-Yes!” she answered.

Park Deok-Gu looked like he wanted to go, but he seemed like he didn’t want to be the third wheel. Rather, he probably thought that he should quickly leave as I saw him quickly finish his food.

“Should we go now, Ha-Yan?” I asked.

“Okay!” she answered.

It was good to put thoughts into action right away.

It only took a moment for me and Jung Ha-Yan to leave the guild together.

I had gotten used to the sights that I found interesting at first and even though I had never been outside of the square, I think we had to walk for a while. I wanted to hurry up, so when I got on a carriage, I grabbed Jung Ha-Yan’s hand and saw her pleased and joyful expression. It felt like we were on a city tour and the scenery that was passing by was fun to watch.

The slower the carriage started to move, the more the atmosphere changed. It went from a bright, clean atmosphere to a dark and dirty one and even the coachman that was driving the carriage wore a dark look. I think he was thinking that it was either kind of humid or maybe the air itself was unpleasant.

More than that, what made the people here different from the people in the western region were their appearance and expression.

“What brings you all the way here?” the coachman asked.

“Nothing special. It hasn’t been that long since I entered the city, so I am just curious to see what this place is like,” I answered.

“Oh, I guess you got an offer with good terms from a guild,” he said.

“Haha, it’s embarrassing, but that’s right,” I said.

It felt like I was looking at a typical failure because not only were they walking with their heads down, but they looked nervous, as if they were afraid that they were going to cause us harm. They didn’t have the confidence to go out to hunt and joining a guild or clan was scary for them. I didn’t know what each and every person’s reason was for coming and settling down here, but I knew that the place didn’t have a positive atmosphere at the least.

“The atmosphere is a bit different from the western square, oppa,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Yeah, I agree,” I said.

I felt dumb for being worried that it could be dangerous.

The way we rode the carriage around the slums made us look like an upper-class couple in this area. The people here neither had the stamina nor the tenacity to cause us harm and all they did was tussle with each other.

The situation was the same even after we got off the carriage. I guess they were even scared of begging because they stood far from us and were wary of me and Jung Ha-Yan. That was when I noticed people gathering. Among the people that were wearing scruffy clothes, there was one woman who looked clean.

[Checking Player Sun Hee-Young’s Status Window and Stats.]

[Name - Sun Hee-Young]

[Title - Saint of the Forsaken]

[Age - 32]

[Nature - Ideal Volunteer]

[Job - Priest of the Sun - Epic Rank]

[Job Effect - Acquired basic holy power knowledge]

[Job Effect - Acquired intermediate holy power knowledge]

[Stats]

[Strength - 30/Below average growth limit]

[Agility - 28/Above average growth limit]

[Stamina - 30/Below epic growth limit]

[Intelligence - 45/Above epic growth limit]

[Endurance - 32/Below rare growth limit]

[Luck - 45/Above epic growth limit]

[Holy - 69/Above legendary growth limit]

[Gear]

[None]

[Attribute - Saint’s Prayer]

[Overall Review - It’s not an exaggeration to say that Player Sun Hee-Young was born to be a priest. The difference between you and Sun Hee-Young is very distinct since you have a shitty personality. Don’t even think about approaching her. She’s too pure to be contaminated by you.]

‘Wow…’

After ignoring the overall review that I was now used to, I looked at the woman’s stats again.

‘Damn…’

Unless I had holes in my eyes, I was sure she was the one.

The legendary ranked holy stat…

She looked like she had been here for a while, but for some reason, her potential reminded me of Jung Ha-Yan.

Although I didn’t see Kim Hyun-Sung, I could see the others gathered around that woman. They weren’t vagrants since they had the same clean appearance as her. They didn’t seem like they were in the same guild either because their clothes and flags were different.

One thing I was sure of was that they gathered with that woman named Sun Hee-Young in the center and was buttering up to her. It was pretty obvious.

‘Recruitment war?’

I was certain of it.

I guess the talented person that Kim Hyun-Sung wanted to recruit was someone that others knew as well. A talented person that everyone wanted and had a guaranteed future. Despite that, she wasn’t affiliated with any guilds.

I realized why Kim Hyun-Sung visited this place often and why the recruiters of other guilds gathered here when they had nothing to do with charity work.

They were all busy pretending to be nice and the way they did volunteer work in order to catch her attention was a sight to see.

‘Saint of the Forsaken?’

They looked nothing more than pushovers of lazy bastards that didn’t like to work and it was to the point that I unknowingly mumbled to myself.

If there was one thing that I didn’t expect, it was Jung Ha-Yan who was trying to be positive about my opinion.

“They’re lazy bastards.”

“I agree, oppa. T-They do…look like lazy bastards!”

I guess she felt anxious about how we stopped talking for a moment that she released a desperate cry of affirmation. Compared to my quiet voice, Jung Ha-Yan’s voice was a bit loud, which caused everyone to look at us.

‘Damn it…’