CHAPTER 20: 70 Million? Are You Kidding?

Day 6. Half an hour after Ethan started making the potion.

The liquid now turned crimson red, bold and striking. Ethan had put out the fire and was stirring the potion with a metal spoon, letting it cool down.

"Is it done already?" Mary asked, peeking over his shoulder.

"Yeah. It's finally done." Ethan replied.

"Isn't half an hour kinda short for something like this? I mean, I thought this would take at the very least a few hours." She questioned, clearly skeptical.

"Like I said, not all alchemy is dramatic. Sure, some are exactly like the ones you see on shows, flashy and time-consuming, but not all. Some are way more down-to-earth. They are simple and practical." Ethan said as he brought out five empty vials from his system storage.

"This is how I made all the potions and explosives back in my house. I used the regular plants and ingredients you can find anywhere. Otherwise, I would not dare to come here, as that would just be suicidal."

"I did wonder how you made such dangerous and amazing stuff. So… anyone could make the explosives and potions you used, seeing how the plants you used are that common?"

"Not exactly," Ethan said, still stirring the potion. "The ingredients are easy to find, sure, but that doesn't mean just anyone can use them properly. You need the right recipes and the exact steps. Mess up one part, and it won't work. Worse, it may blow you away from the face of the earth."

Mary clasped her hands, grinning. "I know, this is the usual trope of using powerful recipes that you acquired in the future, right? Like the one you see in anime?"

Ethan sighed. "Okay, first off, for the millionth time: real life is not anime. It's not like you forgive someone for killing your parents, your teacher, and starting the fourth great war just because they had a tragic past in real life, right? You have to admit that's just plain stupidity, even if you enjoy that anime."

Mary blinked. "...Okay, fair."

"And second, no. I didn't find these recipes in some ancient tomb or mystical future ruin. Nor did an old man just come and graciously gift them to me. I made them. They're my original recipes."

"Must be worth quite a lot if you can make potions and explosives from just herbs and regular stuff," Mary said, curiosity rising.

"If I had to guess, each one would probably sell for around 50,000 Jerald. And considering a family of four can live pretty comfortably for a year on just 20,000 Jerald, yeah... It's worth a lot." Ethan replied casually,

Mary's eyes widened. "That's a shit ton of money!" she practically shouted. "Why don't you just sell a few of those recipes? Then you can pay off your debt and finally focus fully on getting stronger."

Ethan shrugged. "That would be great. There are just two problems. One, I don't want just anyone knowing how to make my explosives. That would be a disaster waiting to happen. Two, my total debt was 70 million. Even after all these years, I still owe around 60 million. Selling a few recipes won't even scratch the surface."

"Seventy million?!" Mary yelled, shocked. "What did you do, blow up the whole world or make love to someone you should not have?"

Even though Mary was not from this world, or the brightest bulb in the room, she could still understand that it's a lot of debt, especially considering that Ethan was just an 18-year-old kid. So it was obvious that Mary wondered just how he got in so much debt.

Ethan didn't answer. Instead, he continued to silently stir the potion mixture, cooling it off. It was clear he didn't want to talk about it.

Mary caught the hint and let it go, trying to change the topic. "Okay, okay, so selling recipes is a no-go. How about selling something else then? I'm sure you've got something valuable lying around. I mean, even if it did not wipe the whole debt off, it could still let you breathe, you know?"

"I do have something like that.

"Oh, what is it?" Mary asked, her eyes expectant.

"This," Ethan reached into his storage and pulled out a familiar, sleek, dark sword, placing it in front of her. "If I sold Nightbane, not only could I clear my entire debt, but I'd probably make another 50 million on top."

"What?!" Mary screeched, leaning forward to get a better look.

The sword looked simple at first glance. Its blade was black and smooth, with a strange shimmer that twisted the light around it. The handle ended in a pommel set with a deep, dark gem that gave off a faint pulse like a heartbeat.

Mary squinted at it, unimpressed. "This old thing? It looks like it would break with just the slightest hit. It doesn't even look cool to be a collectible. Just why would it be worth so much?

"Who knows?" Ethan replied casually.

"What does that mean? Hey! Ethan!"

Ethan just smirked, stirring his potion. He poured the cooled mixture into the set of vials. Four of them filled up nicely and fully, but the fifth was only filled up halfway.

"Huh. Must've messed up the measurements," he muttered, setting the cooker aside and storing everything away in one swoop.

"Aren't you gonna wash that?" Mary asked, a hint of disgust in her voice.

"I'll get to it later." Ethan raised the half-filled vial and drank it down. A warm wave spread through his body. The bleeding, although already stopped quite a lot, is now totally stopped. The wounds are also healing and closing up.

"Higher ingredients sure do hit differently," Ethan said as he stretched and moved his whole body. He then moved all the vials into his storage and looked as if he was ready to fight.

Mary narrowed her eyes. "Uh, you do know that just because you healed a little doesn't mean you can go out and start picking fights again, right?"

"I know, I know." Ethan said casually, as he jumped a few times to warm up.

"Then why are you stretching?" Mary asked, raising her brows.

"Because we have company." Ethan said as he pointed towards his back. Mary looked at the place he pointed out and saw something that made her freeze.

There was a massive serpent with crimson stripes among the bushes, staring them down. Its tongue was flicking as it slowly hissed.

It was a C-rank Stormfang Serpent, a hulking beast with shimmering ice-blue scales, lightning-shaped spines along its back, and wings like stormclouds torn open by thunder. Electricity crackled faintly across its body.

Without warning, the serpent lunged straight at Ethan, jaws wide enough to devour him in one bite. It probably let his guard down, seeing how injured Ethan was, and wanted to eat him as quickly as possible. But this was its fatal mistake.

It should've used its tail or wings, its weapons that it used to secure a spot among the C-rank beasts, but trying to swallow him whole? Not a good call, considering its mouth, especially its jaws, were its weak points.

Ethan didn't flinch. He waited, calmly. And when the beast came right in front of him, he unsheathed his sword in one clean motion and sliced the serpent's open mouth straight down the middle.

The massive creature dropped like a stone, landing at Ethan's feet with a heavy thud. It did not even have the time to show off its true abilities and just died as cannon fodder.

"Guess you were hungry, huh?" Ethan said softly to his sword. "Don't worry. Rest today, and I'll take you out hunting again soon."

Mary shivered. "Okay, and I thought hisoka was creepy. Who talks to their weapon like it's a person?"

"The kind you made a contract with," Ethan said with a smug look, sheathing his blade and storing the serpent's body in his system storage.

"Yeah, yeah. Show-off. Now get some rest. Your wounds are starting to open up a bit."

Just as Mary finished saying that, little droplets of blood started flowing from his dormant hand. The wounds that were not completely closed were opening up again. Ethan looked at his hand, clenching and opening repeatedly.

"Looks like I really do need to rest today." Ethan said, almost whispering as if not to let Mary hear. But that did not escape her ears.

"Wow. Would you look at that? You are finally taking my advice. Mr. All-knowing is taking my advice." She teased. Ethan, being the type of person he is, did not want to be teased more. So he started moving around, giving the excuse of finding a resting place.

But the rest didn't come easy.

Just as Ethan started to relax, three more Stormfang Serpents attacked him one after the other. They did not attack together. Each of them attacked just as he began to let his guard down after defeating the previous ones. Each made his wounds open bit by bit, until some of the wounds completely opened up again.

Mary screamed and circled around, her eyes wide with annoyance and concern. "Just where are these beasts coming from? And just why does this keep happening to you?"

"Because the forest hates me," Ethan muttered, pushing himself to stay upright despite the pain in his muscles. His vision blurred for a moment, but he stayed on his feet.

Mary rushed to his side, grabbing his arm in an attempt to support him. "That's it! I'm done with this! We're building a shelter, now!"

Ethan gave her a tired smirk. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Fine?! You're barely standing straight!" Mary snapped. "No more of this 'I'll be fine' crap, Ethan. You need a safe place during your stay in the forest. A real shelter. Not some place where you must be on the constant lookout for beasts. I don't care how strong you think you are or if you think you need to be in constant danger to grow stronger. You can't just keep going like this. You will collapse."

Ethan did not immediately reply. He looked at her for a long moment before sighing. She had a point, and it's not as if he did not know this. He knew it from the beginning.

It's just that he's been so focused on fighting, surviving, and training that he didn't really think about resting. Not really. He just did not feel the need to. He thought he would do it like he did in his last life. Keep moving from one place to another and keep hunting without stopping.

Does this plan sound crazy? Obviously. That's because it was crazy. But it worked in his past life. This is exactly how he survived so long, even more than people who had more strength or influence than him.

But perhaps it was time for a change. Because he could not expect to become stronger than in his past life by doing the same thing he had been doing.

"…Alright," he said finally, rubbing his forehead. "We'll set up a shelter. Tomorrow. I'll just rest here for today."

Mary let out a breath of relief, her glare softening as she put on a smirk. "Good. Because if you keep acting reckless, I swear, I will actually talk your ears off until you beg for mercy."

Ethan chuckled, wincing slightly. "Now that's actually terrifying."