Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 311

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Don’t Know About Being a Successor, But I’d Like to Heal — Chapter 311

The next morning.
Lion’s eyes opened slowly at the scent of dawn drifting through the window.
The sky was still that murky gray before true morning, but he rose carefully from his bed.

‘It’s been a while since I woke up at this hour.’

In the old days, he would have been awake at this time without question.
Back then, he would have been sitting there with dark shadows under his eyes—worse than the dawn sky itself—pounding energy drinks and burning the midnight oil.
If he wasn’t asleep by now, it usually meant something serious had happened.
Of course, things were different now. The situation, the surroundings—everything had changed considerably.

“Peep!”

Splash!

As Lion sat there in a daze, Nature summoned a stream of clear, transparent water and flung it across his face.
The cool touch was pleasant, and the water moved with delicate precision to wash his face clean before falling away.

‘Wow. Best automatic face washing ever.’

His skin felt dry and fresh, with no lingering dampness.
Nature had even dispersed the remaining droplets in midair, and they vanished without a trace.

“Thanks. I’m wide awake now because of you.”
“Peep-peep!”

Nature circled once through the air and settled onto his shoulder. Lion gladly donned the outer robe Elvia had prepared for him and stepped out of the cottage.

Click.

As the door opened, a crisp chill greeted him—the kind of cold that felt refreshing now.

“Squeak!”

Pus came bounding over from a distance, already starting his day and looking decidedly grimy.
He charged forward with such speed that from the front, all four of his paws seemed to be suspended in midair.
He took one final leap and launched himself into the air with a whoosh.

Thump!

He landed perfectly in Lion’s arms and immediately showered him with affection.

Pant, pant!

“Well, look at you. Feeling energetic this early in the morning.”
“Grr, squeak!”

As Lion ruffled his fur indiscriminately, petting him with obvious affection, Pus seemed pleased and dropped something from his mouth onto Lion’s palm.

[Labyrinth Amber (★★)]
-An amber stone crafted from the sap of a tree that grows only within the Labyrinth.
-Faint but present—a good quantity of Mana can be sensed within the raw stone!
-This feels more suited for use as a pigment than for cutting into a gem!
[Application — Master Craftsman (Gem Cutting)]
[☞Click here to view the recipe.]

“Oh.”

How resourceful, venturing out alone and bringing back something like this.

“Are you cheering Dad on? Oh, you’re such a good one.”

After lavishing praise on Pus, Lion collected the amber stone and turned toward the materials he’d laid out the night before.
Looking at the supplies arranged so carefully by type and size for his convenience, Lion smiled awkwardly.

“My family must have gone to such lengths.”

The quantity was far more than he’d expected.
These were items treated as simple inventory objects In the World, but at their actual size, their presence was extraordinary.
Looking at the materials stacked like a mountain, Lion clenched his fists lightly.

‘This much should… do the trick somehow.’

And if it wasn’t enough, he could always strip down the items the Elf King had brought.

“Though I’ve got to say, even this much barely seems like enough.”

He’d been building his foundation far more thoroughly than he’d realized.
Of course, it was only possible after countless hours of grinding and Gathering.

“Well then. Shall I begin?”

The first goal was to raise all his levels to Proficiency rank!
Fortunately, there were very few skills still stuck at Apprentice.

Coloring.
And Fishing.

‘I pushed Sewing to Proficiency last night.’

I’ll show how that happened in due time.
But first—
Coloring should be quick to solve, given all the support materials on hand.
Though I suspect everyone’s wondering the same thing:
How in the world is he planning to raise Fishing?
In most games, the way to level up Fishing goes like this:

-Ugh, Fishing’s not grinding at all.
-I’ll just leave the console on and sleep.

You repeat this endless cycle: go to sleep while leaving it running, wake up, repeat.
Your inventory gets cluttered with all manner of junk as a bonus.
But—

“Hehehehe.”

Lion picked up a round fish tank sitting carefully to one side.

[Aquarium Lens (★★★)]
-A unique item commissioned from the Magic Tower by a certain wealthy collector who wanted to possess every fish in the world.
-On the surface, it appears to be a small aquarium, but inside unfolds an enormous natural ecosystem!

That limitation existed only because fishing grounds weren’t private property, after all.
This Aquarium Lens, which Grandfather had procured through some channel or other, contained most of the fish species that could live in a lake.

‘I’ll scatter this into the lake.’

A notification had appeared warning against bringing creatures into or out of the Labyrinth.

‘But if I just catch them all, it doesn’t matter.’

Lion was confident.
In his strength?
Well, that too, of course.

‘But mostly it’s the gear. The gear makes the difference.’

Lion headed toward the Lake and pulled out something he’d prepared beforehand from his Inventory.

“Nature, I need your help.”

And then.

Whoosh!

With Nature’s assistance, he installed the object throughout various points in the Lake.
That’s right. This was none other than!

‘A net.’

A net made from a material that wouldn’t snap under any ordinary amount of force!
In other words, this Lake itself had just become the perfect farming spot for Lion to level up his Fishing skill!

An ultra-luxurious private fishing pond.

“Of course, if I do this, I’ll be eating grilled fish three times a day from here on out.”

There was a time he’d survived on fish alone for nearly a month anyway — this was nothing.
And if it got too much, he could always gather the Village folk for a grilled fish festival or something. Whatever.
With his preparations complete, Lion dumped a small fishbowl into the Lake.
And then.

[Do you wish to import 284 species of external aquatic fauna into the Labyrinth?]
[Some aquatic fauna may undergo mutation and grade changes.]

A notification popped up asking if he really intended to bring fish into the Labyrinth.

“Yes.”

Lion affirmed, and only then did water and fish begin pouring from the small fishbowl.

Splash!
Flop! Flop-flop-flop!

An astonishing number of fish that seemed impossible to have fit in such a small bowl migrated to their new home.
And that wasn’t all.
At first glance, he could see what looked like crabs and crayfish among them.

[The 284 aquatic species imported from outside are being classified and mutated into ‘Common’, ‘Rare’, and ‘Legendary’ grades.]

And once they adapted to the Labyrinth’s environment.

Something whispered through the water.

A massive shadow flashed across the quiet Lake for a moment, then vanished.

“Oh.”

A fish that size would be better caught by hand than in a net, I think.
But the majority of them—

-Oh, there are already plenty of fish caught in the net?
-Why don’t we try pulling out the one at the front first?

“Let’s wait a bit longer. The fish are probably startled by the new environment and hiding down in the lake right now.”

-Tch. I was curious, though.

Tieramatrak seems to want to taste the dopamine rush of net fishing already.
I understood the craving—the thrill of catching fish was exhilarating enough that even Lion acknowledged it.

“Skip breakfast and Ricshel will come rushing at us, demanding we stop right this instant.”

-Fair point…….

“First, let’s make just one pigment from the stone Pus gave us, then eat breakfast from the start.”

Lion placed a Spirit Stone of water and tea leaves into the kettle resting by the lake, and while it heated, he drew out the amber stone.
Bydentis’s mother, having heard that Lion was taking his belongings, had thoughtfully included lapidary tools with the package.
There was also a letter thanking him for looking after her son and thanking him for showing her such a dear grandchild.

‘So this is how connections expand.’

Lion smiled softly to himself and began polishing the amber stone on one side.
Since it was amber stone from the Labyrinth and not ordinary amber, it was hard without any softness—solid enough to brush away the dust and soil on its surface.
Moreover—

‘I thought amber stone wasn’t normally used as a pigment…….’

Yet the description here said it worked well as a pigment, and the recipe became perfectly clear in Lion’s mind.
The method was easy—no need for an Alchemy pot.
Lion took out a ladle, placed the amber stone on it, and with Nature’s help, applied heat.
As the chunk of amber stone on the ladle began to melt slowly, he stirred it gently with an Alchemy muddler so it wouldn’t burn.
Working over the ladle like this…….

‘Somehow this brings back memories.’

He was reminded of the time he made honeycomb candy.
The color itself looked quite appetizing.
The amber stone, showing no discoloration, looked exactly like sugar syrup just before you’d dip in the baking soda.

Whoosh. Swish.

As Lion continued stirring, the color grew darker and darker.
It had the mouth-watering hue of a snack that would make any child want to pop it straight into their mouth.

-Wow. Amber doesn’t usually melt like this. This really is a strange environment.
-I want one!
-Hey! Find one for me too!

“Crung!”

Pus whipped his head away as if to say such nonsense was out of the question.
It was a rather cold reaction, but given how much Tieramatrak usually teased Pus, it was understandable…….

“That’s why you should treat him better.”

-Hmph. What’s so cute about it?
-Just because it’s fluffy and small?

“…….”

He clearly liked it far more than he was letting on.
Lion said nothing, simply extracting the liquefied amber and decanting it into a potion bottle.
The caramel-sweet liquid pooled thickly inside the glass.
He drizzled binding oil into the mixture, stirred it well, then gave it a few light taps—and the pigment set perfectly.

[Labyrinth Amber Pigment (★★★)]
-It resembles caramel melted to sweetness, and when applied thickly, it takes on the color of golden-baked lasagna!
-Moreover, with waterproofing and preservative properties both, I suspect many painters would find it quite desirable.
-It yields a fine hue whether applied to canvas, wood, or even unfired ceramics!

[Coloring Proficiency Apprentice Lv.8 reached.]

“Hm.”

The level rose quickly, thanks to the materials sourced from the Labyrinth.

‘Well, I did combine Alchemy with Spirit Summoning for it.’

It was a pigment that normally couldn’t be made at all.
Of course, Lion had only whipped it together before breakfast.

‘At this rate, I could make a few more pigments without breaking a sweat.’

The tea hadn’t even cooled—no, hadn’t even finished brewing—before it was done.
Lion paused to think, then shook his head.

‘Settle down.’

After so long without crafting, surrounded by materials, his dopamine was riding high without him meaning to.
But he had to restrain himself.
Burning through everything now would leave him exhausted when it came time to raise Alchemy later.

‘That won’t resolve itself so easily.’

Master Craftsman.
That was the tier he had to reach.

Not as closed-door training, but as content to be enjoyed!

Square-cut ham and cheese. And good quality eggs.
Lastly, bread for sandwiches—English muffins as they’re sometimes called.
Yes, Lion’s breakfast today was none other than!
The fast food that busy people grab on their way to work.

And it was black tea as strong as coffee.
Lion cracked an egg into the hot skillet with a sharp tap and let it fry.

Sizzle.

The egg white, soaked in oil, popped and crackled, and soon the rich, savory aroma began to spread through the Labyrinth.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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