Chapter 15
Woo Min-cheol led them underground.
The area had originally been used as a parking garage.
After buying the entire building, he converted the parking area into a laboratory.
"More importantly, why is that guy following you?"
Woo Min-cheol looked at Jang Byeong-jun, who stood behind Seong-un with his arms crossed while observing the surroundings.
"He's the money."
Ten billion won.
And the source of that enormous sum was apparently the man behind him.
The aura around Jang Byeong-jun was anything but ordinary.
He had probably climbed to at least Floor 15.
Woo Min-cheol decided not to care.
All he needed to do was hand over the elixir and receive the money.
He picked up a glass bottle filled with purple liquid and handed it to Seong-un.
"This is it."
So this was Tears of Bellos.
The name came from combining poison extracted from a venomous snake called Bella and a highly poisonous toad called Rosto.
It's still incomplete, though.
Seong-un already knew that Tears of Bellos wasn't finished.
If I remember correctly, he only completes it around the time I originally start climbing.
The reason it remained incomplete for so long was simple.
Woo Min-cheol's recipe wasn't perfect.
Breath of Illipia.
Breath of Illipia possessed healing power.
Healing in an elixir whose main focus was poison?
Ironically, when Illipia's healing energy reacted with Rosto's venom, it amplified the poison's toxicity and lost its own healing properties.
Two years from now, this would become common knowledge.
At the present time, nobody knew.
"Are you sure this works?"
Seong-un looked at the elixir and tilted his head.
"What do you mean?"
"Is this really one hundred percent complete? It doesn't look like it."
Damn it.
How did a brat who hadn't even dried the blood behind his ears figure that out?
Woo Min-cheol decided he needed to push harder.
The one who needed something wasn't him.
It was this brat.
"If you don't want it, give it back!"
"Sure."
Contrary to his expectations, Seong-un agreed without hesitation.
"Huh?"
Woo Min-cheol was the one caught off guard.
"I don't buy elixirs that haven't been properly tested."
"Hah. Are you saying my elixir has a defect?"
"I'll provide the materials."
"What?"
"I came here because I believe in your alchemy, old man. If I provide the materials, you can finish it, right?"
"Well... yes."
Woo Min-cheol nodded without realizing it.
"So it really wasn't complete."
Seong-un chuckled as though he'd known all along.
Only then did Woo Min-cheol realize his mistake.
His face reddened.
"Ahem. So you're saying you'll provide the materials?"
"Yes. But reduce the price to two billion won."
"What?!"
He wanted to cut eight billion from the original ten?
Asking for a reduction of one or two billion might've been understandable.
But eight billion?
That was practically robbery.
Woo Min-cheol was about to explode when Seong-un raised one finger and added another condition.
"From now on, I'll also provide any materials you need at a low price."
"A low price?"
"Yes. I'll arrange it so you can get them at half the market price."
The Association would be paying for all of it.
At the Association's scale, this amount of money was nothing.
"Are you serious?"
Woo Min-cheol's eyes widened.
Aside from Tears of Bellos, he had dozens of unfinished elixirs.
Trial and error was one issue.
But the biggest problem had always been acquiring materials.
If that problem disappeared, and materials became half-price on top of that, he could begin experimenting on all the other elixirs as well.
It was far too sweet an offer to reject.
"Yes. In exchange, let me receive the completed elixirs first. I'll pay a proper price for them."
Woo Min-cheol's alchemy was genuine.
Just like in Seong-un's previous life, those elixirs could dramatically accelerate his climbing speed.
"Fine. We'll do that."
The deal was made.
Interesting.
That was Jang Byeong-jun's brief impression as he watched everything from a short distance away.
Seong-un's behavior was hard to believe for someone who had only just finished Floor 1.
How did he even know about a place like this?
An elixir that increased poison resistance.
Seong-un was probably planning to use it against the Floor 2 boss.
If the effect was powerful enough, the difficulty of Floor 2 would drop significantly.
Could he possibly achieve another unbelievable result?
"Mr. Seong-un."
Jang Byeong-jun approached and spoke quietly.
"Yes. You're wondering how I know all this?"
So he had noticed exactly what Jang Byeong-jun was thinking.
After considering for a moment, Jang Byeong-jun slowly nodded.
"Yes. To be honest, I'm curious."
"It's information I obtained while struggling in many different places because I wanted to survive."
"...I see."
Jang Byeong-jun nodded.
It wasn't a completely satisfying explanation.
But he decided not to press further.
"More importantly, the finances are fine, right?"
The materials alone had cost 2.5 billion won.
Seong-un had also promised to pay another two billion here.
And that wasn't all.
He had promised to provide every material Woo Min-cheol requested at half its current market price.
The Association would have to absorb the entire loss.
Even so, Jang Byeong-jun answered as if it were nothing.
"Of course. This is an investment in you, Mr. Seong-un. This amount is nothing."
Seong-un chuckled.
There's weight behind those words.
From the Tutorial through Floor 1, Seong-un had proven himself clearly enough that the Association was willing to invest billions without hesitation.
If he'd produced disappointing results on Floor 1, they wouldn't have been this bold.
All the more reason to take full advantage of them.
"Learn this properly."
Seong-un turned toward Han Geon-woo, who was standing beside him looking blank.
"Huh? Learn what?"
"Why do you think I brought you all the way here?"
All Han Geon-woo had done was receive materials from the Association and deliver them to Woo Min-cheol.
"Uh... material delivery?"
He squeezed his brain for an answer.
Fortunately, it was correct.
"Exactly. From now on, you'll bring him whatever materials he needs."
"Then when am I supposed to climb...?"
