Translator: Shizukuku

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 143 – In Case You Forgot, I’m a Pharmacist

Unconsciously, my hand moved, drawing letters in the air. 

The movement of my hand, not driven by my own will, felt as if I had forcibly activated a skill.

The next moment, I found myself in front of Vidello-san, who should have been far away, deflecting the monster’s tusk with my sword.

The sword flew out of my hand, and my arm tingled with numbness, but it was enough.

It seemed Vidello-san had recovered from his paralysis, and he slipped past me, slashing at the monster. 

I wasn’t quite sure how I had ended up in front of Vidello-san.

However, in that split second, my hand had completed drawing a magic circle, and I had teleported in front of Vidello-san.

I wondered why, but I had no time to waste. I ran to retrieve my flung sword.

The monster, now almost free of the black mist, was being relentlessly attacked by the gatekeepers. Its enormous HP bar steadily decreased with each hit. 

The black mist now covered only its left hind leg and tail. With more attackable areas exposed, the gatekeepers seemed to have an easier time.

Occasionally, I ran to aid those injured by the monster, applying high potions and holy water, which left me no opportunity to draw my sword.

However, since the corrupted parts still remained, any wounds inflicted by the monster became corrupted. 

I didn’t have much holy water left – only two bottles remaining. 

Vidello-san’s attacks finally pushed the monster’s HP bar into the final red segment.

In that instant, another roar erupted. 

Drool dripped from the mouth covering its face, and one of its tusks, already broken, had vanished into light.

This time, since the roar wasn’t as hair-raising; I only flinched slightly, and the gatekeepers continued their attacks without freezing up.

 [ Guaaaaah! ]

Without any warning, the monster turned its body and twisted forcefully. Suddenly, its previously short tail extended like a whip and slashed through the gatekeepers.

A heavy, tearing sound echoed as Vidello-san and the others were simultaneously sent flying by the tail attack.

Since I was at a distance, I wasn’t caught by the tail, but the chest plates of Vidello-san and the others, who took the hit directly, completely lost their durability. Through the tattered chest plates, their gouged chests were visible.

Without missing a beat, the monster launched a biting attack, but Blossom-san repelled it with his sword.

I knew that most bosses powered up when their HP bar reached the final segment, and this monster was no exception. Its defense had apparently increased as well. The amount of HP reduced by Blossom-san’s strike was a fraction of what it used to be.

The black mist of corruption clung to the bodies of Vidello-san and the others.

If I don’t do something about it soon, I don’t know what will happen with that corruption…

What should I do?

I quickly reviewed my skills.

Come to think of it, I had the doily on my arm.

It should be possible with reduced magic power. Right. 

I checked the spells in the magic skill column, then let go of my sword and pointed both hands at the demon.

“Free wind, gather there, take shape, and crush the target! Storm Press!”

I felt as if something was being drained from my body, and a mass of air shot out from my hand toward the monster.

The mass, visible as a disturbance in the air, flew forcefully toward the monster’s face.

Boom! The monster’s head shattered under the impact of the spell. 

The monster’s HP bar decreased rapidly. As did my MP bar.

Still covered in corruption, Vidello-san delivered the finishing blow! With a single, bold strike, he slashed the monster, which was still standing despite losing its head. With a pained grunt, the unique boss finally sank to the ground. 

Slowly, the body turned into light. Looking up at the fading sparkles drifting away, I opened my inventory and pulled out an MP High Potion.

Without pausing to take a breath, I downed the MP high potion in one gulp.

Alright, MP restored.

I wondered how far it was from here to Tre. Even with the doily, I didn’t know if I could jump all four of us at once.

I’m running low on holy water, so while I can heal wounds, I can’t cleanse the corruption.

“That thing was insanely strong. But more than that, I was shocked by Mac’s unexpected strength.”

Despite his pale face, Marcus-san complimented me with a grin. 

Vidello-san was standing there with his sword at the ready, but he still looked pale, was breathing heavily, sweating, and clutching his shoulder.

Not fully understanding what the corruption felt like only made me more worried. 

“I only have two bottles of holy water left, so let’s go to church.”

When I said that, Blossom raised an eyebrow.

“That’s not advice I can readily listen to.”

“But the corruption!”

“That’s a problem, but going to the church means we’d have to be prepared for an even more dire situation.”

“What? Why?” I asked in bewilderment. Vidello-san, panting, sheathed his sword at his waist.

“If we go there, even if the corruption is cleansed, they’ll take all our earnings.”

“Really?! Then can’t we just buy holy water without going inside?”

“First off, the moment we show up at the church with this kind of corruption, we’ll be captured immediately. They’ll forcibly cleanse the corruption and take our money. Besides, we can’t enter the town looking like this.”

Not only did they charge to lift curses, but they also overcharged for cleansing corruption?! And on top of that, you didn’t even get a say?!

What was the church even doing? No wonder Regalo-san got fed up.

“Vide—”

“Don’t touch me, Mac.”

The moment I reached out to Vidello-san, he gently stopped me. 

Apparently, the corruption could spread through touch. I see, that’s why we couldn’t go back to town.

“Then I’ll go buy the holy water right away. Just wait a little while.”

If I was alone, I could easily teleport to the church. And since my inventory was still packed with MP high potions, the return trip would be instantaneous. I frantically scanned the map for the location and converted it into the Ancient Magic Language in my head. It should be fine; I was confident I wouldn’t end up in the wrong place as long as I included this general location and Vidello-san’s name.

“A splash of alcohol is a good first aid measure. Come on, everyone, pour the restorative alcohol on your bodies.”

As I was about to draw the magic circle, Blossom-san stopped me and took a bottle of restorative alcohol from his bag. 

When he spilled it on his chest, it seemed like the black mist had indeed receded.

Everyone followed suit and poured the alcohol on themselves. However, I could still see some purple discoloration through the gaps in their shirts.

“What kind of symptoms does the corruption cause? Can it be healed with a Cure Potion?”

“The corruption itself can’t be removed, but the purple bruises will disappear. However, we haven’t been provided with Cure Potions of that high rank.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m a pharmacist, you know?”

So, that meant that my Cure Potions could heal it? Even without holy water, if we had alcohol and high-rank Cure Potions, could this condition be fixed?

For now, I took out four Rank S Cure Potions and handed one to each person.

“It’s my best Cure Potion, so it should be fine. This rank isn’t sold anywhere else.”

“Are you kidding me? This is so expensive.”

“Look, no matter the rank, the raw materials are the same. If I were to sell this, the market price would be the same, too. If you’re still concerned, then just pay me back at market price. It’s about 100G for the whole batch.”

“Seriously…”

Blossom-san gave me an exasperated look, but I couldn’t imagine profiting from something like this. It was far more important that everyone was safe.

Still, this corruption, having to be treated with alcohol, Cure Potions, and holy water, seemed almost like a curse. Mixing them all together might just create an anti-curse item.

I handed out a full set of high potions to everyone and encouraged them to rest and focus on recovering.

Since we’d defeated such a big monster, there probably wouldn’t be any other major monsters around here for a while.

“Alright.”

With Blossom’s words, I decided.

I would definitely make a curse-breaking item.

If I could easily remove corruption and curses, Vidello-san’s life would surely be easier.

With my detection skill turned on, I took out a simple dispensing kit.

What I needed was holy water, alcohol, and restorative items. I took out some evening primrose and began grinding it.

Since the monster’s red dots hadn’t appeared in my view yet, the surroundings seemed safe for now.

Jhal Gar-san had mentioned that even ordinary people could make this very easily, so the recipe must have simply disappeared from this continent, and it should be simple to make.

I poured a bottle of holy water into a beaker, lit the lamp to bring it to a boil, and squeezed evening primrose into the holy water. As I stirred it, I looked up and saw the gatekeepers watching me closely.

“If there’s any alcohol left, could I have some?”

Vidello-san responded immediately to my request. He took out another bottle of restorative alcohol and handed it to me. I received it and poured in a little at a time.

As I stirred and observed the mixture, I checked the map to make sure there were no red dots. Doing alchemy outdoors felt oddly liberating.

“Be careful, there are monsters coming from behind.”

After spotting the red dots and informing everyone, I turned off the heat the moment the color changed and bubbles began to rise.

Then I filtered the mixture through a sieve and poured it into a bottle.

It wasn’t black and there was no smoke, so it seemed like I had successfully made something. From this one preparation, I produced enough to fill five potion bottles.

“Appraisal.”

[ Dispel Potion: Rank D. A potion that can dispel the corrupted status. Does not dispel curses. ]

“Wow, that was really easy… A low rank means the materials probably have room for improvement, and the ratios might be different too… There’s definitely room for research.”

Holding the finished Dispel Potion, I let out a sigh. Behind me, the boars were still being effortlessly repelled with a single blow, and I was even receiving the experience points as a benefit. It seems like we counted as a party.

I handed the completed Dispel Potion to Vidello-san, who had been watching from the side.

It looked like the corruption had been cleared, but since Blossom-san mentioned it was just a temporary fix, there might still be some residual corruption.

“Mac, what is this…?”

“It’s a prototype item for removing corruption. Could you be a test subject, Vidello-san? How does the corrupted area feel right now?”

“…”

Upon hearing my words, Vidello-san’s eyes widened in surprise, and he stared intently at the new potion in his hand without responding to my question.