Woff, Age 13 ⑥
I have to buy a knife.
That thought weighed heavily on my mind.
The loss of my favorite knife and the unexpected expense made me slightly nervous.
I felt like taking a break… but I still had to work.
I entered the Junkyard.
Super Ultra Rare.
Heading towards the blue light, I chipped away using the Relic [Vanish].
Right now, this Super Ultra Rare is my only hope.
If I sell this, I can buy a knife.
I can buy a knife.
“Whoa…”
The area above shook slightly, making me jump.
Was I rushing too much?
The shock of losing my knife was making me lose my composure.
But still, this is pretty tough. Knives are weapons, so they’re expensive.
Even a used iron one costs over 1000 Oro.
With what’s in my wallet right now… I can afford it.
But that would mean living penniless starting tomorrow.
No, actually, I still have some money.
But that’s the savings for the registration fee to become a Seeker.
I really don’t want to touch it if possible.
“—Maybe I should consult someone.”
I’ll try talking to Arifa-san.
Once I decided that, my heart felt strangely lighter.
Is it a sense of relief?
“…………”
I focus. Chip away with [Vanish]. Carefully, cautiously chip away.
Chip, chip, chip, chipping away… How much time had passed?
Finally… I reached the blue light.
What lay there was a black box covered in white cloth.
It was made of metal, but strangely, only the corners of the box used wood.
On the surface of the box, a large white tree was depicted in relief.
A magnificent and intricate great tree.
What could this be? In my past life memories, Yggdrasil? Like the World Tree, but I don’t know if something like that exists in this world.
The box was locked.
“…………No choice.”
Making a painful decision, I used [Vanish] to chip away at the box.
Inside the box was… an egg? No, it was a bottle shaped like one.
“How intricate…”
It was an egg-shaped bottle so realistic it could be mistaken for the real thing.
I knew it was a bottle because the texture when I touched it wasn’t like an egg’s.
Also, it had gold trim and glowing letters engraved on it.
It was an ancient language, but the characters were readable.
“…Huh? Elixir…!?”
That’s what it read.
There was liquid inside the egg-bottle.
Elixir. Legendary. A miracle drug from the Age of Gods.
The mystical water of life that can even resurrect the dead.
I can tell it’s not fake.
It’s a Super Ultra Rare.
It can only be the real thing.
Besides, there’s this overwhelming aura.
A mere bottle and its contents shouldn’t possess such an otherworldly presence.
But I understood instantly.
This is…
“What should I do? I can’t sell this.”
I felt dejected.
More than that, I can’t show this to anyone.
An Elixir is a consumable Legendary.
It’s far too precious and rare; its value is immeasurable.
People would definitely die over it.
Not just a few, potentially thousands—it could even lead to war.
“…!”
I shuddered at the thought, but it wasn’t just a fantasy.
Therefore, no one must ever know.
I can’t consult Arifa-san about this either.
If something happened and word of the Elixir got out,
Arifa-san would be put in danger too.
The only other person I could consult—one person crossed my mind, but… I decided against it.
I have a feeling it would just bring more trouble.
“………… Haaah…”
I let out a deep sigh and put the Elixir into my pouch.
Even so, I couldn’t just leave behind something I’d struggled for months to obtain.
Or rather, I shouldn’t leave something this incredibly dangerous lying around.
I’ll decide what to do later.
When I exited the trash heap, there was no sign of anyone in the Junkyard.
Damn. Did I take too long?
Just as I hurried to leave the Junkyard.
The ground trembled violently.
The trash and I were spectacularly blown away as the ground undulated like a tsunami.
Heaven and earth reversed, and a deluge of armor, swords, and junk rained down.
Ah, a knife.
I saw something glint. That’s a mithril knife.
Just as I reached out my hand, my vision went black—I don’t remember anything after that.
I think I heard the sound of a lot of things falling.
When I woke up, my whole body ached and creaked.
I waited a bit until the pain subsided enough for me to move, then slowly got up.
“Th… This place is…”
A ceiling of rock glittering like lamé. A floor of rock. A Cave… yes.
A Cave? That’s strange.
There’s no place like this on the first floor—Besides, I was in the Junkyard.
The Junkyard is a space made of stone.
Not a place like this with cave walls and stone pillars standing everywhere.
Then where is this place?
Where am I?
As I looked around and noticed it,
My heart pounded (Dokun!) and goosebumps rose on my skin.
“—!?”
Two girls and one woman were lying collapsed.
And they were covered in blood.
Just from the bleeding, a large pool of blood had formed.
Huh? Why…? A-Anyway, they were lying in pools of their own blood.
Then, it hit me.
I recognized them.
“The Tier III… Why are they here?”
The Tier III Seeker party, Torquetum.
The beautiful Cat Beastman girl with light green hair and white streaks.
The beautiful blonde elf woman.
The beautiful girl with pinkish-white hair who looked like something out of sci-fi.
There’s no mistake.
And this bleeding… This is bad. Ah… They’re beyond help.
I know this state.
On the verge of death. Dying.
A state where nothing can be done.
Potions are useless, and even a Relic [Heal] wouldn’t be enough.
For me, who possesses none of those… there’s nothing… No. There is something.
From my pouch, I took out the egg.
The intricately crafted bottle that looked just like a real egg.
The golden letters engraved on its surface spelling ‘Elixir’.
The miracle drug from the Age of Gods. The miraculous water of the soul.
With this, surely… Without hesitation, I looked for the lid and opened it.
I dripped its contents onto the lips of the Cat Beastman girl, whose complexion was the worst.
She’s in pretty bad shape. Let’s use a little extra.
Next, the beautiful elf. I’ll use a bit extra on her too.
There’s not much left.
Finally, the sci-fi-looking beautiful girl… Hmm?
She’s… uh.
“She’s unconscious.”
Only she was unconscious.
There were no visible external injuries.
Probably. It must be thanks to this white bodysuit.
It might just be harder than anything else in this world.
“She seems okay, but I’ll use the rest anyway. Just in case.”
I used it on her too, just to be safe.
When I looked, the complexions of the other two had improved.
They were breathing peacefully, looking comfortable.
“…Are they saved?”
It certainly looked that way. Relieved, I sat down.
Thank goodness.
“As expected of an Elixir.”
Realizing it was empty, I closed the egg-shaped bottle.
I wasn’t sure how much to use, so I ended up using it all.
It might have been wasteful.
But there was also a part of me that felt relieved it was gone.
It’s empty, but it’s a memento in its own way.
I put it back in my pouch.
I hadn’t hesitated at all to use the Elixir.
That’s probably because I have memories of my past life.
I have memories… I think I was probably a doctor.
Rewards and such don’t matter.
I just couldn’t bear to abandon a life that was about to end.
There were many lives I couldn’t save. That’s precisely why.
And there’s also the truth that I wanted to get rid of the Elixir.
Using it to save someone and having it gone. That’s much better.
Grrrrrroooowwwl
“!?”
What was that?
The growl of a beast echoed from behind the cluster of stone pillars.