The Swordsman Genius Returnee Even Swallows Immortality

33

Sparring.

Testing each other’s strength.

I never thought I’d hear that suggestion from Dante.

At the same time, I realized.

This would be Dante’s final resolution.

‘He’s going to judge whether or not I can follow him based on the sparring.’

Habell looked at Dante for a moment.

Dante didn’t avoid his gaze at all and stared at Habell with firm eyes.

He’s a stubborn guy.

Habell, who knew that stubbornness well, nodded his head.

“Take care of the byproducts. In two days.”

Habell decided to accept Dante’s request.

“A duel.”

Dante’s eyes widened, then he bowed his head.

“I will do my best.”

After saying that, Habell parted ways with Dante to deal with the byproducts.

Judging from his steadyfast expression until the end, he’ll need some time to sort out his thoughts.

Habell, who had come down to the city of Babel, the Tower, saw people moving busily about.

Unlike him, those living in the present had busy days.

‘100 years ago or now.’

People still live busily every day.

And Habell had also made up his mind to live in the present.

Then he had to act accordingly.

‘If Dante leaves this time, I’ll have to move on my own.’

Habell decided to take care of the things he had been thinking about while climbing the 5th level.

First, information gathering.

He found out from the Necromancer that there was a group that worshiped the Whisperer.

It was 50 years ago that the Necromancer guy entered the Tower.

Information gathering could be difficult, but it was worth looking into.

Jingle~.

“Welcome! This is Astella’s General Store!”

So, Habell visited Astella’s General Store again.

Just as he had found it useful for finding information on Van Pelion.

He wondered if he could get help this time too.

“I’d like to search for information.”

“Ah, you’re using the scroll. Just a moment!”

The clerk quickly guided Habell.

Habell took the scroll from the clerk and typed in the Whisperer.

He was used to it by now.

[No search results found.]

But of course, no information came up.

‘Well, it’d be weirder if there was.’

If they were that sloppy, they would’ve gone bankrupt by now.

“Excuse me, did any information come up?”

An employee who happened to be next to me asked.

“No, there wasn’t.”

“Oh, in that case, you can also request information. Would you like to do that?”

Are all the employees at Astella’s General Store so dedicated?

“Yes, please.”

“Yes, then what would you like to set as the request fee and the client’s name?”

“Use this as the request fee.”

Habell put down a wad of money.

“Name.”

Habell thought for a moment.

Then, a good idea flashed through Habell’s mind.

Since they were guys who were around 50 years ago.

“Habell Vanpelioni.”

He might not know this name.

“Habell Vanpelioni, yes, I’ve registered it.”

Habell left the general store, hoping he might get some bait.

‘All that’s left is the type of elixir to feed the Dante kid.’

Regardless of whether Dante followed me or not.

Dante’s strength is the power of the Vampires.

So I was still thinking about the elixir I came up with back then.

That Dante kid probably won’t take it if he’s left to his own devices.

I’ll have to force it into his mouth.

‘I have to fulfill the role I raised him for until the end.’

Habell vaguely sensed that he wouldn’t be able to meet Dante for a while.

Ever since he became a diamond and his tenacity became steel.

Habell had truly and completely crossed the line of human good.

And I’m sure I’ll continue to experience things like this in the future.

Because his strength, agility, and aptitude were all close to four digits.

So Habell looked for the largest alchemy workshop in Babel.

Alchemy Workshop, Artemis.

It was an alchemy workshop that was even in Habell’s memories.

‘I think it was one of the workshops that first applied to open in our territory. Maybe.’

After the Unification War, a new era came.

Many people have opened their own stores here and there.

Among them, Artemis was a store that even Habell had paid close attention to.

It was only natural to take notice of the outstanding quality of the items created by Alchemy in this shop.

‘I never thought it would grow this big.’

It felt like only yesterday that the first shop was opened.

The alchemy workshop that appeared before Havel’s Eyes boasted an impressive size.

‘Wasn’t everything related to Pandemonium supposed to have fallen apart?’

Feeling that it wasn’t a bad thing after all, Havel let out a chuckle.

Despite trembling before him.

It was because he was reminded of Artemis, the owner of the workshop, who had spoken so confidently.

‘He was a capable guy. That’s why I thought he’d do well in a workshop.’

This was probably the result of that.

Of course, there was no way that Havel would be remembered.

Havel entered Artemis and looked for the elixir shelves.

And a moment later, he was faced with a problem.

‘I don’t recognize any of these.’

Havel grimaced as he looked at the elixirs.

Havel’s knowledge of elixirs was stuck about 100 years in the past.

In 100 years, countless new elixirs would have been developed.

Especially during the Great Cataclysm, when new materials appeared due to the emergence of Evils.

Elixirs were being developed and improved every single day.

As a result, all the elixirs that Havel remembered had become outdated products.

Havel let out a regretful sigh.

He felt a little sad at the realization that he had fallen behind the times.

He spent his youth in the Unification War, and his life in the Demon’s Palace.

It was only natural that he would fall behind the times.

‘So what do I do? I was planning to use the formula that the owner of Artemis’ workshop taught me.’

If it was an elixir with the same effect, he might be able to use it.

However, the names of the elixirs and the ingredients they contained were all different, which was a headache.

‘Should I ask an employee?’

Havel looked around.

But the employee seemed to have stepped out for a moment, and was nowhere to be seen.

“Hmm, are you looking for something?”

At that moment, Havel turned his head towards the voice that had spoken.

There, he saw a boy who looked to be in his mid-teens.

He had an unusual light blue hair color.

Unlike his boyish appearance, his topaz eyes are bright and sharp.

And for some reason, the boy was stroking a non-existent beard with his hand.

Havel’s eyes widened.

It was because the boy looked exactly like someone he remembered.

“Young people like you usually prefer these.”

The boy said he picked up a few elixirs.

“I see you’re thinking of climbing the Tower? Since the pandemonium these days, there’ve been so many youngsters eager to climb the Tower.”

Even though to anyone else, the boy looked considerably younger.

The boy paid no attention and handed Habel an elixir.

“Here, if you take this, it’ll be easy to break through at least the 1st stage. Hehe, go ahead and try it.”

The boy smiled brightly, as if he had done something good.

Habel, who had been staring at the boy, put the elixir back.

“Huh? Weren’t you going to take it?”

“No, Dalrum Artemis.”

The boy stopped short when Habel called out that name.

“That’s my father’s name.”

The name Artemis is famous.

His real name is not so well known, he is the former owner of the Alchemy Workshop, Dalrum Artemis.

The boy’s eyes opened wide when Habel mentioned his name.

“You know my father’s name too.”

At the same time, he patted Habel on the waist with a bright smile.

“You seem very interested in our workshop! Here, let me do you a favor! Go ahead and pick a few!”

He looked very excited.

‘He’s not the one.’

They looked so like that he had blurted out the name, but it seemed he was the wrong person.

‘Rather, he’s the son.’

His appearance was exactly like a young boy.

He was surprised to hear that he was a son.

“Grandpa!”

At that moment, another voice was heard.

There was a grown man standing there with an awkward expression.

He had the same amber eyes as the boy, and he quickly approached.

“Really, I told you to stop coming to the shop! The alchemy addicts are losing their minds because of you!”

“Hey, kid, it’s my shop, so I can come whenever I want.”

“You gave the shop to me!”

“I’m not dead yet. Kid.”

The two of them continued to argue for a while.

Then the grown man came to his senses first.

He looked back at Habel with an apologetic expression.

“Ah, I’m sorry for the disturbance, customer. I hope my grandfather didn’t cause you any inconvenience.”

“If he’s your grandfather.”

Habel glanced at the boy.

“Ah, he’s the former owner of the Artemis Alchemy Workshop, Dalrond Artemis.”

He introduced his grandfather with a bitter smile.

“He experiments with various drugs, so he acts like that sometimes because he’s a bit senile.”

So that’s why he was like that.

He seemed considerably older than his appearance suggested.

Considering that Dalum was unmarried at the time, he must have been at least ninety years old.

‘It’s not my place to say, but he lived a remarkably long life.’

Even though the average lifespan had increased quite a bit, people in their sixties were considered old.

Perhaps the secret to his longevity was alchemy.

“You brat! How dare you call me old! Is that how you speak to your grandfather!”

“Yes, yes, but Mother was looking for you. Is it alright if you don’t go back?”

“Humph, my own daughter, keeps looking out for her father.”

Dalond grumbled and grabbed his luggage.

They were quite noisy.

“But that young man is quite capable. Look after him.”

Young man.

If he knew his real age, Dalond would be furious.

Habell didn’t say much.

It’s good to look young, isn’t it?

“I’d like to find something with a similar effect among your elixirs.”

“Ah, yes, as my grandfather says, please feel free to ask.”

The current owner of the alchemy workshop, Dallain Artemis.

Habell took this opportunity to ask him everything he could think of.

He soon kindly found all the elixirs.

Then, Dallain’s face, which had been sorting the elixirs, gradually hardened.

This was because the elixir combinations were familiar to him.

‘This combination is…’

It was definitely a combination that had been secretly passed down in the Artemis alchemy workshop.

The first owner of the alchemy workshop, Dalum Artemis, had put it in, saying that it was only for one person.

Since the elixir was state-of-the-art, some of the ingredients had been changed.

However, the effects were definitely the same.

A look of bewilderment crossed Dallain’s face.

How did the man in front of him know this?

‘My grandfather seemed to like him so much. Did he tell him about this too?’

Confused, he looked back at Dalond.

But contrary to his expectations, Dalond’s face was hard.

As soon as he saw that, Dallain knew.

That his grandfather had not told him.

“Well, you.”

Then Dalond opened his mouth.

I thought he was going to ask how he knew.

But what he said was something completely different.

“Take these too. It will help if you take them before the previous ones.”

“Don’t mind him.”

Habel had also dutifully taken all of the elixirs he had recommended.

After calculating the price, he left the alchemy workshop.

Daline watched him in a daze and then looked back at Dalrond.

“Grandpa, who on earth is that guest…?”

“Don’t ask unnecessary questions. Keep today’s matter a secret.”

Dalrond slowly loosened his grip on his back.

“Oh my, I wonder who he was being so cheeky to.”

He just chuckled to himself, thinking that he couldn’t just treat young people casually in the future.