Volume 1 - CH 16

I am the travelling alchemist Mei. Departing from the village and entering the mountain. It would seem that I am completely lost.

How did I get lost even with the all-purpose map! While that was my thoughts, a map is meant to be read on a flat surface. When I actually go to the area it is three-dimensional so even if I think [This path will work!] the reality is often quite different.

Well, thanks to the witch's broom navigation is enjoyable and there is no lack of food too. The all-purpose tent also serves as a shelter. Using the enemy radar function of the all-purpose map, fortunately I will not encounter any dragon. All I have been doing is wandering around in the mountain.

[Uwaaah---! Where am I---!?]

In a cave that was too narrow for the usage of the broom, just when I thought I finally made it out I was greeted by a deep valley. Crossing mountains after mountains, I let out a cry of desperation and in return my voice was reflected as echo.

Hearing the sound made me calm down, and I sat down while catching my breath. No longer have the strength to return to the cave and the sky is getting dark, I have decided. This will be the camping ground.

Taking out the tent like I have done so a thousand times, I retreated into it. Incidentally, while the tent is occupied it seems that some kind of cognitive interference effect is applied and not once have been attacked by the monsters nearby. Well, I was prepared for death that one time I got out of the tent in the morning and a bear was sleeping right in front of it.

[Erm, how many days does this make? I feel like it's the third or fourth]

Inside the tent, I let the pen do its work on the notepad. As I was too bored in the mountain, I being recording a travel log. This was like my summer vacation's picture diary except that I already ran out of stuff to write.

After I am done with the diary, I made food with ingredient I picked without much thinking. Today's dish is Mapo Tofu. Authentic Sichuan-style. The taste is exquisitely delicious too. Just by tossing the beans and spices into cauldron and this was the result. I still do not get the mechanic up to this day but it's tasty so whatever.

Finishing my meal, I lied down on the sofa and gazed at the all-purpose map once again. The layout is so confusing, this mountain. Since it can even bring out weather information, I wonder if there is any function to search for a route. Even better if there a navigation function such as telling me that the shortest route is to go straight through the precipitous cliff, or something like that. I feel like the current me can find a way to cross the valley if I try hard enough.

[Haaa]

Closing the map with a sigh, this time I opened the recipe book. It's not as if there is an aircon but their temperature is kept constant so it feels really great. Now for the way to kill time, at time like this it's limited to flipping through the recipe book.

Going through the daily necessity category and what caught my eye was the fully automated bathtub.

[Bath huh]

Come to think of it, I haven't entered a bath ever since I came to this world. There was a sauna at the mining city but I gave up as it seemed to be male-only.

I do not know what the common sense of this world is but my heart is that of a modern Japanese. The urge to take a bath daily is there. Once I started on this line of thought, the fully automated bathtub was a every enticing item.

[Alright. Let's make the bath]

Even if I have the means of transportation, these few days I have been crossing the mountain by foot. The fatigue on my legs have been building up, and what is better than a bath to heal it.

With that, I step out of the tent for now and settled the cauldron. It's not like I can boil bathwater inside the tent. The tent will get drenched.

[Ok, the needed material are steel and gunpowder, also oil and water and......]

As expected of a large-scale tool, the needed material is a lot. I do not possess enough steel on hand so I had no choice but to recycle it from half of the fully automated pickaxe I have. Dear pickaxe, thank you for your service at the mine. It's regrettable but please sacrifice yourself for the sake of my bath.

[There we go, it's done-!]

Inputting all the material, eventually a big bathtub was born. Uwah, this is amazing.

If I didn't have the bag of unlimited capacity transporting his would be a chore. With that in mind I started unbuttoning my shirt from the chest area gleefully.

[......Haa]

Hold it. My tension was off the due to the excitement but this place is inside a mountain. I almost undressed in the midst of great nature.

All I have to do is craft an item to obscure the surrounding of the bathtub but such alchemy doesn't exist. I returned to the tent in a panic and returned robed in a single towel.

[The mountain breeze is rough but it's time like this that I have to be defiant and think of it as an open bath]

Swiftly pouring the hot water, I took a soak in the bathtub. Fuwaa, I am feeling rejuvenated.

It's not as if there was any kind of special adjustment but the temperature was just nice. My body all the way to its core was warmed and the sun begin to set. Wow! what a great view! What a great view!

[...Ah]

Now that I am warmed up, it's time to wash my head......or so I thought until I realized that I didn't have shampoo.

This pattern, it's asking to be made.

It's not like I have any basis but that's what I muttered. Turning the pages of the recipe book while still in the bath, there it was. The name is 「Rinse in Shampoo」. Literally.

[Ingredients are......vegetable oil, ash and salt are needed]

Confirming the ingredient and doing the familiar process of crafting. More like, what am I doing with nothing but a towel. I can't show anybody this appearance.

[Alright, complete! Ah-ahchoo!]

At the same time the shampoo bottle was created, I let out a big sneeze. The mountain breeze is cold and if I slip out, I might catch a cold. If I fell sick here it would be a life and death problem. Taking a brief rinse, I immersed myself into the bathtub once again.

◯ ◯ ◯

[Hmm? All-purpose map · Modified]

Getting out of the bath and looking through the recipe book, I spotted this page. Basically, if I fuse new material to the all-purpose map I have on hand, I can upgrade its function]

[Don't tell me, there is the possibility of a navigation function if I strengthen it! If that's the case, I can say goodbye to this labyrinth!]

With renewed hope, I started looking up the required material. If I can make it, I want to do it as soon as possible to test it.

[...The required material is, Drake's Eyeball?]

By drake's eyeball, it doesn't seem like it's a metaphor or something so does it mean, that drake......a dragon's eyeball. Such a material is needed?

It's true that dragon have the image of looking down from above with their eyes, so it's only natural that it is needed to strengthen the map.

Even still of all thing, a drake......I have been using this map to avoid any encounter with the dragon and now it's asking me to purposely find one? The irony.

[Uun, what should I do]

...That night, this was all I could think about in the tent.