WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Episode 11: Semi-Transaction, Normal Business Operations (2)

──────

Time was a truly strange thing.

Even within the same year, there were times when it seemed to pass terribly slowly, and times when it felt as though it was gone in the span of a single blink.

That was how Ise felt now.

Nearly two years had flown by since the Silver Dragon Mine mission.

Ever since entering the late Qi Condensation Realm, his sense of time had changed. Once he sank into cultivation, entire months vanished at a stretch.

A few missions, one regular mission, a bit of work correcting the skewed balance of yin and yang in his cave dwelling, and before he knew it, another year had come to an end.

As the time approached when the first digit of his age would change to two, Ise finally felt something unfamiliar in the face of time's passing.

It had already been three years and nine months since he entered the Great Exorcist Order at sixteen and began immortal cultivation.

Even the nine-year deadline Hall Master Haeil had given him as homework was drawing visibly closer.

Ise cleared his throat in front of the outer branch outpost in Namsangol.

An attendant peeked their head out, checked his clothing, then hurried back inside to call for Hong Sadeuk.

The sudden visit from a Great Exorcist Order cultivator threw the place into a stir, and once Hong Sadeuk confirmed who the guest was, delight spread across his face.

"Cultivator Ise! What brings you here without even sending word?"

"It's been a while."

Hong Sadeuk had aged noticeably.

It felt strange.

Most of the people around Ise were cultivators, and the passing of a mere few years did not show as age on them.

"You've grown quite a bit. I think you're at least a handspan taller. And... now you truly look like a cultivator."

"I suppose so."

"Oh dear, I nearly left such an honored guest standing outside. Please, come in."

Hong Sadeuk led Ise to the largest and most lavish room in the outer branch outpost.

He offered light refreshments and tea, but Ise declined.

"I don't eat mortal food anymore."

"Ah... that was thoughtless of me. I mostly deal with entry disciples, so this happens. Ha ha."

Hong Sadeuk chatted with him about their old mission as though speaking to a longtime friend after a reunion, then cautiously asked,

"Cultivator Ise, if it is not rude of me, may I ask why you came?"

"I was passing through on a mission, remembered you, and stopped by to give you this."

"...Pardon?"

What Ise took from his storage pouch and held out was a small wooden box. When Hong Sadeuk accepted it and opened the lid, there was a single silver medicinal pellet inside.

It was a lower-grade Longevity Pellet he had gotten cheaply from Hong Wonseo.

Even if he had practically robbed it off her for five Spiritual Stones, it was still a precious item to a mortal, one that would slow aging and extend life by ten years.

"It's a medicinal pellet called a Longevity Pellet. If you take it, your aging will slow down and your lifespan will increase by ten years."

"How could I possibly accept something so precious...?"

"I told you I'd repay you. A cultivator's promise naturally carries binding force of its own."

Kindness and grudges alike had to be repaid.

Quite apart from the old belief about the power of a cultivator's words, that principle was the guiding marker that ran through Ise's entire life.

"..."

"Take it now. If there are any side effects, I should be here to help."

"I merely fulfilled my duty. I am not worthy of receiving something like this."

"Would a mortal refuse a medicinal pellet bestowed by a cultivator?"

Hong Sadeuk flinched.

It had only been a few years since a boy had come here on small, quick steps.

Yet the young man before him now naturally carried the authority one would only expect from a high-ranking cultivator.

"You must have risen through many realms."

"I guess news doesn't travel well all the way out here."

"This is only a small outpost."

Ise smiled faintly, then raised his hand.

"Take it. Stop dodging the question."

"Yes. Then I will accept it gratefully."

Hong Sadeuk held the medicinal pellet in both hands, turned his head, and placed it into his mouth.

Only after seeing the wrinkles on Hong Sadeuk's face lessen and a sheen of vitality return to his skin did Ise rise with satisfaction.

* * *

"Contribution points above five hundred confirmed. Permission granted to browse Library Pavilion Two."

With this mission, Ise had broken past five hundred contribution points and met the entrance requirement for Library Pavilion Two.

Library Pavilion Two was divided into two floors, and its spells and cultivation methods were arranged according to tier.

Ise slowly wandered between the shelves.

The spells here were certainly more worthwhile than the ones in Library Pavilion One.

For the most part, they were not merely stronger in power, they opened up entirely different ranges of practical use.

He did not bother looking closely at the cultivation methods.

The two branches of cultivation method he already possessed, the Dokkaebi Shadow-Hunting Demonic Art and the Demon Hunting and Spirit-Sending Art, were already more than enough for raising his realm.

Poking around at other cultivation methods was usually something done by cultivators who did not engage in demon hunting, or by those whose talent had left their realm advancement completely blocked.

There were exceptions, of course, such as those with special spiritual roots.

'A cultivation method for a special constitution is tempting.'

A method such as the Thunderclap Divine Art, which those with lightning spiritual roots learned.

If he mastered one of those, he would be able to use lightning-aspect spells in addition to Five Elements spells, which would greatly widen his combat options.

The price was a little steep, though. This was not the time to invest around a hundred Spiritual Stones into a cultivation manual.

'Let's not get greedy.'

Rather than broadening his range of spells horizontally, he needed to raise his realm vertically.

The time limit Haeil had set for him to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm weighed heavily on his shoulders.

He did not have the leisure to poke into this and that. He would choose based on what was cheap, easy to learn, and useful, and if there was nothing worthwhile, he would move on from Library Pavilion Two without hesitation.

'...This is.'

[Giant Weapon Art.]

It was a metal-aspect spell that temporarily enlarged a weapon.

Thirty Spiritual Stones. The price was manageable, and paired with the Telekinesis Art he had acquired as loot from the previous mission, it seemed it would be quite useful.

If he enlarged a weapon with the Giant Weapon Art, then swung it through the air with the Telekinesis Art, wouldn't the power be tremendous?

At the very least, it seemed useful when facing a large number of enemies.

Ise pulled out the jade slip and at the same time weighed the pouch of Spiritual Stones tucked into his clothes.

Nine hundred Spiritual Stones.

He was about a hundred short of his target of one thousand.

The reason he was aiming for one thousand in the first place was because he had heard that was the maximum price of a Qi Condensation Realm treasure artifact, and the minimum price of a sacred relic.

'If I hadn't gotten gouged like that.'

Feeling impatient with the speed at which he gathered spiritual energy, he had been fleeced for several hundred Spiritual Stones at the auction house in a lay branch market for a single medium-grade Qi-Condensing Pellet.

When he finally took it, it turned out to be a Qi-Condensing Pellet so clogged with turbid qi that calling it medium-grade was embarrassing.

If not for that, he would have reached his goal long ago.

The real culprit was having tasted the effects of medicinal pellets in the first place. It might have been better if he had never known.

His plan was to first add a useful sacred relic or treasure artifact to his collection, then see if he could acquire medicinal pellets with whatever money remained.

'Should I buy it, or not?'

Ise agonized over it for a long while, then felt a surge of self-loathing at seeing himself hesitate over a spell that cost only thirty Spiritual Stones, and impulsively bought it.

After finishing his look around Library Pavilion Two, Ise headed back to his quarters.

It was the time when Park Gangseo and Buchun were supposed to gather after going out to sell immortal cuisine.

"Senior."

"Senior, you're back?"

As soon as Ise walked in, the two greeted him.

"How much did you make?"

The moment he got straight to the point, the two poured out Spiritual Stones. Added together, there were two hundred and twenty.

He distributed ten to Buchun and forty to Park Gangseo according to sales performance, then put the remaining hundred and seventy into his own pouch.

At last, he had done it.

One thousand Spiritual Stones.

Quite apart from the satisfaction of reaching his goal, two hundred and twenty was a meager sales result.

Once the cost of the demon beast carcasses and the price of the extra ingredients were taken into account, they had made only around thirty Spiritual Stones.

It was a business that did not even cover labor costs.

"Why were sales this bad?"

Park Gangseo and Buchun exchanged looks, and Park Gangseo spoke first.

"First of all, word hasn't spread. Our peers already know about it, but most of them are out on missions. If we price it too low, people doubt the effects. If we price it too high, they accuse us of gouging them."

"I don't know many cultivators... And because of my realm, even when I show them the lunchboxes, they scold me and tell me to eat it myself and raise my realm first..."

"Hard to argue with that when they're right."

"..."

This would not do.

The situation called for drastic measures.

To fill the amount of internal qi needed for the ninth star, demon hunting, cultivation time, and resources all had to align perfectly.

But medicinal pellets were precious, and they cost a great many Spiritual Stones.

To earn Spiritual Stones, he had to carry out missions, but carrying out missions only caused more demonic qi to build up.

But if he did not feast, he could not strip the demonic qi from demon beast corpses.

He was cornered.

The efficiency of feasting was almost too good, and that was the problem.

He needed a source of Spiritual Stones, one that would reliably bring in a great many of them.

"I think we have to reopen Dine and Go."

Open a fixed shop, secure regular customers, and sell immortal cuisine at high prices.

That was the only answer.

"Finally..."

"What do you mean, finally? You failed the cook position."

"...Urk."

There was another problem.

Buchun, whom Ise had originally planned to put in charge of cooking... had no talent for making immortal cuisine.

Perhaps it was because of Buchun's low realm, but even when using the exact same ingredients, proportions, and methods, what Buchun made had less than half the effectiveness of what Ise made.

Buchun had even less talent than Park Gangseo, so there was no way Ise could trust the job to Buchun.

"From now on, you only handle extra ingredient procurement and regular customer management. Use the spare time to cultivate."

"Yes, Senior..."

"Park Gangseo, you handle attracting new customers. Considering the miserable conditions, you've done well enough."

"Yes. Leave it to me."

"The problem is the cook. Is there anyone usable?"

At Ise's question, Park Gangseo spent a moment running through everyone he knew, then spoke.

"You know Jangsaeng, the Spirit Wine Master? How about that Fellow Daoist?"

"No. That Fellow Daoist is suspected of trying to solicit a bribe from me. I question the character there."

Jangsaeng was just right as a business contact for getting spirit wine supplied. He could not entrust money-making work to someone he did not trust.

After thinking for a moment, Ise went outside and brought back two people.

"...Why did you bring us here?"

The two Ise had brought were Seolryeong and Hong Wonseo.

His reasoning was simple. Both of them were good with their hands, so they would probably be good at whatever they did.

"Take charge of cooking at Dine and Go. Either one of you. I'll give you thirty percent of the earnings."

"Wow, thirty percent! That's a really good deal!"

Buchun eagerly fanned the flames from the side.

But the expressions on the two of them only worsened.

"The first thing you say after seeing us in so long is... no, wait, why did you get so tall...?"

"You look like you've gotten even shorter."

"I'm not doing it. I'm leaving."

"Ah, I'm joking, joking."

Ise caught Seolryeong and made them sit back down. Where did they think they were going, trying to run off while an eighth-star senior was speaking?

Watching Ise and Seolryeong bicker, Hong Wonseo spoke up.

"Senior."

"You can address me more casually."

"This is how I'm comfortable."

"...Fine, then."

"Sorry, but among the arts of immortal cultivation, the Four Arts have overwhelmingly better prospects and earning power than other skills. Your immortal cuisine is certainly excellent, Senior, but for a cultivator with talent in the Four Arts to become a cook is too great a loss, even by the Order's standards."

"..."

"Then I'll be going."

Hong Wonseo left after saying what she came to say.

Seeing Ise's dejected look, Seolryeong seemed briefly flustered and awkwardly tried to speak.

"Uh... that's unfortunate. Still, there are lots of disciples, so couldn't you find a talented cook?"

"What's Pi Garam been up to these days?"

"Very active in the Formation Research Society, from what I hear. Looks like Pi Garam is pretty capable. Formation specialists are rare, after all."

"My late adoptive father always said there was no high or low among professions. Father, you were wrong."

"Using your tragic family history like that is underhanded...!"

If only he had made more friends.

Ise regretted it now, but it was already too late.

Then suddenly, he thought of the one person among his friends who had no talent for any craft.

Someone who seemed like they would be good at anything, had a high realm, and liked food.

"What's Hae Unchan doing?"

"What? You're not thinking of asking Hae Unchan to do it, are you? No!"

"Why?"

"Th-that, anyway, not Hae Unchan. Do you have any idea how much pressure Hae Unchan is under?"

"What pressure? Who's putting pressure on Hae Unchan? Hall Master Haeil?"

Seeing Ise's indifferent expression, Seolryeong let out a faint sigh and shook their head.

"Honestly, you're dense. There are things like that. Anyway, I'll also look around and see if there's anyone nearby who could do it."

"All right. Thanks."

After Seolryeong left as well, Ise asked Park Gangseo,

"What's going on with Hae Unchan?"

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried