The Second Life of a Legendary Necromancer

Chapter 25: The Alchemist’s Street (4)

To officially register a potion with the Alchemist Association, it wasn’t just the efficacy that mattered; the side effects rate also needed to be less than 1%.

Of course, if the side effects were severe, it had to be reduced to 0%.

Countless potions existed in this world, each with various effects and side effects, so official registration was not granted lightly.

After thorough cross-verification and discussions by the Alchemist Academy and the Association, the registration would finally be completed.

As of now, no one doubted that NPCs were more skilled than users in every field.

While user alchemists were only beginning to research intermediate-level potions, actual alchemists could handle the highest-grade ones.

In other words,

the Alchemist Association’s ‘Genuine Certification Mark’ was far more reliable than any reviews by rankers dabbling with potions.

Naturally, the community was ablaze.

According to the reviews by the rankers, a common side effect of the potion was “reduced recovery when applied to body parts.”

But why was the same potion officially registered by the Alchemist Association?

If one of the two parties was lying…

could it be that the influencers, who were not public officials, were the ones fabricating the story?

[User67: If you watch old videos, you’ll see all the guys reviewing Yeonwol potions were previously sponsored by the Levian Guild.]

[User791: Why suddenly zoom the camera and guzzle down a Levian potion in situations where drinking a potion isn’t even necessary? What else could that be but an ad?]

[User614: Now I see why rankers were guzzling low or lowest-grade potions… suspicious as hell.]

Users quickly searched through old videos and uncovered the cozy relationship between Levian and the Eltubers.

Levian had bribed them to give false reviews of others’ potions!

It was revealed that they had exploited the fact that the potion’s creators were beginners, using public opinion to crush them and later trying to buy their potion technology.

Levian faced massive criticism once this came to light.

Naturally, a boycott against Levian ensued.

They were showered with harsh insults, and rankers who posted false reviews found themselves deliberately obstructed in hunts by other rankers.

Normally, people would have feared retaliation from a large guild, but this time, with public opinion backing them, the obstructing rankers were celebrated as heroes.

The guild had no choice but to expel the Eltubers involved in the false reviews.

As numerous rankers and alchemists fell into disgrace and Levian began to collapse, opportunists salivated and swooped in.

There were plenty of contenders eyeing Levian’s position at the top of the industry.

Far too many.

“This feels like a story from another world.”

Rapion, the operator of the small merchant guild Sellatan, shook his head as he scrolled through the community.

His tattered old suit, the crumbling old building, and the barely functional guild office…

In both reality and the game, his life was mired in poverty.

For someone like him, players like Yeonwol, who struck it big and rose to fame, were like stories from a distant land.

Sigh, an alchemist, huh.

I should probably secure some contracts in the production industry, too.

The production and merchant industries had always been closely intertwined.

It was difficult for an alchemist guild to handle mass production and distribution of potions entirely on their own.

Unless it was a large corporate-level guild, most mid-sized and smaller guilds left such tasks entirely to merchant guilds.

Since Elthera World was a game, the reliance on merchant guilds seemed particularly pronounced.

After all, alchemists also needed to level up, so it was impossible to manage everything alone.

Among merchants, it was often said that contracting a promising production user was far more profitable than partnering with an adventurer.

But why would a skilled user choose to contract with a small merchant guild?

Rapion had established the Sellatan Guild with the hope of starting fresh in Elthera after being forced out of his real-world job.

However, lacking initial capital and a solid business idea, he had barely leveled up.

He eked out a living by buying junk items from adventurers on the streets and reselling them to stores, slowly scraping together levels and funds.

If this small reserve of capital ran out, he would truly be at a dead end, so he was being as cautious as possible.

In this state, even if a user like Yeonwol approached me for a contract, I wouldn’t be able to accept.

Yeonwol would likely sign with a large-scale merchant guild.

After all, someone who could create potions capable of rivaling the Levian Guild would probably be snatched up by another major alchemist guild.

Whatever guild managed to lure him in would be sitting on a goldmine.

“This isn’t the time to be staring at this.”

Rapion closed the community and returned to his tasks.

Although he was currently leading a destitute small guild, he had once been an executive in a major corporation and believed in his own abilities.

Having been forced out of the company under unfavorable circumstances, he had started playing Elthera Online without any capital two years ago.

I may be poor now, but if I tackle small things one by one… someday…

As he organized small transactions to accumulate minor profits and experience points, a message popped up before his eyes.

[Message from Yeonwol#0104.]

“…Huh?”

Yeonwol?

Could it really be that Yeonwol?

“No way.”

Since duplicate nicknames were allowed in this game, it was hard to believe it was the same person.

How many users would choose a nickname like that?

[Yeonwol: Greetings. Are you Guild Master Rapion of Sellatan? This is Yeonwol, the alchemist. I’d like to discuss a potion contract. Do you have some time?]

Rapion’s hand trembled.

Could it really be true?

Is this a scam?

Why would a rising superstar like Yeonwol want to contract with a rundown guild like his?

It made no sense.

Certain it was a scam, his finger hovered over the [Block] button, but before he realized it, his shaking hands had already typed a reply.

[Rapion: yYes, I’m avaiLable.]

Yeonwol had made significant gains over the past few days.

Potions that originally sold for 10 gold apiece were suddenly being bought for 1,000 gold each.

Curious about who would pay such an absurd price, he checked and found it was the Levian Guild.

“They’re really pulling some scummy moves.”

Understanding their intentions, Yeonwol checked the community and laughed for a while.

Humans often did foolish things, even those who were successful.

Influencers, CEOs of major corporations, heads of state, high-level rankers, and even masters of large guilds… they all made mistakes.

And those singular mistakes often destroyed everything they had built.

By delaying registration, I managed to bait a fool like this. It’s a good outcome. Levian has always been a gathering of trash and a corrupt organization, anyway.

Levian had stifled the progress of player alchemists by over a year, dominating the market with poorly performing potions.

Their downfall would only benefit the future.

Instead of issuing a clumsy explanation, Yeonwol simply registered the potion as genuine.

Half-hearted clarifications would have little impact on public opinion.

To deal a decisive blow, he needed to fuel another controversy.

This incident would likely topple not only Levian but also the rankers who had sided with them.

Yeonwol felt no pity.

In his view, those who buried others for profit deserved to experience the same.

[User174: So these guys reviewed potions without even understanding them? LOL.]

[User109: A compilation of Eltubers who falsely reviewed Yeonwol potions.jpg]

[User612: How much did they even get paid? Shameless.]

Yeonwol reviewed the Eltubers involved in the incident.

If any of them were destined for great success in the future, this incident could alter that destiny.

He didn’t remember the names of all the rankers, but he did recall the nicknames of the high-level ones at least once or twice.

‘There are a few familiar names, but none of them are important figures.’

In any case, even if they fell now, the incidents caused by false reviews would eventually blow over after about six months.

The six-month rule.

During that time, they would secretly continue leveling up.

Of course, while they were taking a break, other Eltubers would capture their audience, so they wouldn’t regain their former popularity.

‘Levian was destined to collapse in a few years anyway.’

They were a guild specializing in the lowest and low-grade potions.

As long as beginner users kept joining and they didn’t get greedy, they could have run a massive operation.

But the Levian of his past life had destroyed their business because of their greed.

Back then, they had tried to do to another user what they were now attempting with Yeonwol—and failed.

“At least I’ve secured the item I need to duplicate money… all that’s left is to finish the final steps.”

Yeonwol checked his private messages.

Among them was a message from a certain businessman with whom he had a deep connection in his previous life.

“Hoo…”

Rapion walked through the Artisan’s District with a tense expression.

In the streets, named alchemist users, wealthy merchants, and even rankers from famous guilds were running around trying to find Yeonwol.

Amid the chaos, he walked leisurely, feeling as though he had fallen out of sync with the world.

‘Should I turn back now? Should I be running around like them?’

A message had recently come to him.

The sender, using the nickname ‘Yeonwol,’ claimed to be an alchemist and had reached out to propose a deal.

No matter how he thought about it, it seemed strange.

Why would Yeonwol, a supernova who lacked nothing and wanted for nothing, reach out to him?

Yet for someone like Rapion, who had lived a struggling life, the opportunity was far too sweet to ignore.

‘I’ll just treat it as killing time. My time isn’t exactly valuable anyway, and I don’t have anything else to do.’

Thinking this, he adjusted his collar to hide his worn-out suit and entered the pub where they had agreed to meet.

Perhaps because of the pandemonium outside, the pub was quiet and sparsely populated.

Looking around, Rapion spotted a man seated in the farthest corner and cautiously approached.

“Excuse me… are you Yeonwol?”

The man pulled out a sword from his possession and showed it.

It wasn’t meant to be a threat.

‘T-That’s the Tutorial Sword!’

The beautiful blue blade with the wave-like pattern of azure ripples on its surface was recognizable to any user familiar with the community.

“Yes, I am Yeonwol. Nice to meet you.”

“P-pleasure to meet you! I’m Rapion, Guild Master of Sellatan!”

Rapion bowed his head enthusiastically as he shouted, his awkward manner causing Yeonwol to chuckle involuntarily.

Yeonwol got straight to the point.

“Did you bring the contract we discussed via DM?”

“Yes… of course. It’s a very favorable condition for us. You’ve agreed to grant our guild the technical rights and exclusive sales for any recovery or buff potions you develop in the future.”

The deal allowed the Sellatan Guild to mass-produce and sell Yeonwol’s potions while Yeonwol earned passive income without the hassle of making potions himself.

For Yeonwol, who had no interest in spending his time on potion crafting, it was the easiest way to make money.

“But I’m curious. What made you trust our guild with such an important product? It must be valuable to you.”

The question hit the mark.

Sellatan hadn’t achieved any significant accomplishments yet, so it seemed odd to entrust them with such faith.

Yeonwol answered honestly.

“I’m entrusting it to you because of the future. Among all the guilds I’ve seen, none compare to Sellatan.”

“Haha, I appreciate the compliment, but Sellatan hasn’t had any remarkable achievements yet… Still, this is great! I’d be foolish to reject such good fortune.”

As Rapion eagerly signed the contract, Yeonwol smirked.

Rapion was one of his closest comrades.

In his past life, Rapion—far into the future—had become a veteran businessman completely disillusioned with the world.

Though he couldn’t claim to have earned the most money globally, he had spent his entire fortune promoting world peace after the Synchronization Catastrophe.

‘Yeonwol, please! If it’s your alchemy, you can make something work! Hilinea! If the saintess can save her, I’ll pay any price! Please save this child!’

The image of Rapion wailing in despair over a young girl dying before his eyes was seared into Yeonwol’s memory.

‘If someone as kind as you had more wealth and power, such a tragedy wouldn’t have happened.’

As Yeonwol signed the contract with Rapion, he made a firm vow.

‘I won’t let you be powerless like that again.’