Ch.111111. Hope for the Bald

Evaporation Herb is classified as a rare medicinal herb.

It got its name because it grows only for a certain period before evaporating like smoke. The actual blooming period isn’t very long, and it’s not even easy to find.

The effect of this Evaporation Herb is typically to place a time limit on the effects of potions when making medicines.

One might wonder why such limitations are necessary, but surprisingly, pharmaceutical companies often purchase Evaporation Herbs at high prices.

Especially for medications that need temporary effects.

There are various examples, but the most popularly known one is Viagra.

Well, Viagra isn’t meant to be permanently effective anyway, but when this Evaporation Herb is added, it can definitively limit the duration of the effect. Additionally, depending on the grade of the Evaporation Herb, it can maximize the potency during that limited time, making it essentially a doping potion.

The same applies to hair loss treatments.

They set a one-year time limit, forcing those with hair loss to seek out the treatment again after a year.

It’s essentially like getting them addicted to a drug.

If people could just buy it once and be done with it, the price could be higher, but it would be difficult to consume the continuous supply of hair-growing fruit.

In the end, even if the dream of those with hair loss is to cure their baldness even if it costs their entire fortune, that “entire fortune” is limited. If the price is ridiculously high, many would just think, “I might as well wear a good wig,” and move on.

Many would also wait for the price to drop.

So they produce a one-year version, manage the supply, and secure loyal customers.

Once you try it, you won’t want to go back.

And occasionally auctioning off permanent hair loss treatments without Evaporation Herb would be a win-win situation—good publicity and profitable.

“There it is.”

Fortunately, there were spots where Evaporation Herbs bloomed on the western mountain, and I, remembering what they looked like from Farming World, had been mapping and marking each location.

This is the basics of mapping.

If you just think, “Oh, there’s something interesting,” and move on, you’ll waste time searching the area later wondering, “Where was it again?” So if you’re not going to harvest rare resources right away while mapping, make sure to mark them on your map.

After circling the mountain, I found quite a lot.

Jihyun said this amount would be sufficient to make hair loss treatments with the hair-growing fruit we currently have.

Then I went to a test subject to experiment with the sample hair loss treatment.

You should always test before selling anything.

There’s nothing worse than selling everything only to have to refund because the effects don’t work properly. Since it’s an item, there shouldn’t be issues with it working differently from the description, but the interpretation of the description could lead to different results than what we expect.

The test subject was quite close by.

Black Monkeys couldn’t be used for testing since they already had hair-growing properties, and while Goblings were somewhat bald, I decided to go with a test subject who would value this spray-on hair loss treatment more.

“Hmm. What brings you here?”

Kukum, who had been making something in the village, came out wiping his sweaty, balding head.

With just a few strands of hair.

When you think of dwarf characteristics, you might imagine bushy beards and hair, but surprisingly, Kukum was a dwarf with bronze skin and not a single hair.

It wasn’t particularly awkward, but he was the perfect test subject for the spray-on hair loss treatment.

I casually probed:

“Are dwarves naturally hairless?”

“What? You fool. Dwarves are naturally hairy. It’s just that spending a lifetime in front of hot furnaces has melted away our pores.”

“Then wouldn’t it be nice to have hair grow back?”

“Hmm. Abundant hair is a symbol of dwarf health. But even if hair grows, it would just melt away again, so it’s pointless.”

“Try this.”

I handed him the spray-on hair loss treatment.

“What is this?”

“Spray it on your head, and it turns your scalp into a hair-growing medium.”

“No thanks. Dwarves… well, it all melts anyway… but you’re saying this will make it grow despite that?”

“That’s right. Just try it, you’ve got nothing to lose.”

“Hmm.”

Kukum reluctantly accepted the spray-on hair loss treatment and carefully applied it to where his hair used to be.

Not missing a single drop.

Only after emptying the container did he massage his moistened scalp.

“Feels refreshing.”

“Right?”

“When will the hair grow?”

“Well, shouldn’t be long now.”

It’s not like Jack and the Beanstalk where things grow immediately after spraying. If that were the case, we’d be selling it as “Grow, Hair, Grow” potion, not a hair loss treatment.

“Let’s wait a bit. By tomorrow morning, something should change.”

In Farming World, hair loss treatments usually showed dark spots emerging the next morning, and within 3-4 days, you’d have a buzz cut worth of hair.

If things work the same way here, Kukum should notice changes by tomorrow morning.

But…

“Suhyun! Suhyun!”

When I returned from a walk around the village, contemplating which farms to open first, Kukum urgently called for me.

“It’s growing! It’s growing!”

Looking at the dwarf’s head, I could see something brownish sprouting all over.

“Already?”

“What is this… what on earth…”

“How do you like it?”

“This is revolutionary. Why would you mix something like Evaporation Herb into such a revolutionary product?”

“So bald people like you don’t get cocky after using it once. Stay humble for life.”

“…”

The experiment was a success.

The hair growth was faster than expected, but no one would complain about that.

Kukum kept touching his rough scalp.

After marveling at it for a while, he grabbed my hand.

“How much?”

“I haven’t set a price yet.”

“You have one without Evaporation Herb, right? Bring me that.”

“Look at this guy, I give him a free sample, and now he’s getting greedy.”

“I’m not asking for it for free.”

And then a quest appeared.

[Hidden Quest]

[Blacksmith-Kukum]

[For over 5,000 years, Kukum has had one dream: abundant hair. Beards and hair, symbols of dwarf style and sources of health, unfortunately melt away mercilessly in front of the all-melting furnace fire. No dwarf was an exception. But there is one exception: hair-growing medium. Infinitely proliferating hair roots and sturdy roots that don’t melt under any heat are the only lifeline to fulfill the ancient dwarf’s eternal wish.]

[Help him become a stylish dwarf with a permanent hair loss treatment that can achieve permanent hair growth]

[Reward: 20 Farming Ability Points, SS-grade Weapon Crafting x1, 100% Kukum’s Affinity.]

“Why is there a hidden quest here?”

I came to test the hair loss treatment on a random bald guy, and suddenly he’s threatening me with a hidden quest demanding a permanent hair loss treatment.

And the rewards are substantial too.

No farm yet since he hasn’t been an NPC for long, but 20 farming points, SS-grade weapon crafting, and 100% affinity.

Having 100% affinity with a village NPC comes with various benefits.

Basically, items you can buy from NPCs get significant discounts, quest rewards increase, and they sometimes offer quests that would normally be difficult to access.

And all this just for helping him grow hair, not through building deep friendship or extensive conversations.

“Suhyun, you are the hope of bald people.”

“You’re not human, you’re a dwarf.”

“Hahaha! Other dwarves need to see this. Coming here for my people in my later years, and receiving such a gift. Hahaha!”

Anyway, from my perspective, there was no reason to refuse this quest.

“Wait a bit. I’ll make one without Evaporation Herb and bring it to you.”

Making it without Evaporation Herb isn’t difficult.

It requires a bit more hair-growing fruit, but since I have plenty of that, Evaporation Herb is actually the harder ingredient to obtain, so in terms of cost, the permanent hair loss treatment is actually easier to make.

Originally, I was planning to get something in return for the sample, but since he’s offering rewards that more than compensate for it, I’m feeling generous.

I need to ask Jihyun separately to make this, so I told him I’d bring it once it’s made and headed to the village hall.

Earlier, I had spotted something in the village hall while looking around but got called by Kukum before I could check it out.

In Farming World, the village hall is where you put various materials to restore the village, but since restoration works differently here, it was empty.

Only objects showing traces of long years remained.

I had just glanced over it before, but today I noticed a large jar-like object tucked away in a corner.

I thought it was just an old, cracked decorative piece, but out of curiosity, I checked it out.

[Chaos Stone Purification Cauldron]

– Grade: SSS+

– Absorbs chaotic energy and releases purified energy.

– When absorbing and purifying a certain amount of chaotic energy, it releases more concentrated purified energy.

– Current Purified Energy Level: 1

– Purified Energy Effect:

1. [Deactivated]

It felt like finding a hidden treasure.