The Perk Skill
“What is all this?”
I swallowed hard as I stared at the countless symbols projected across the golden leaves.
While many of them gave me no clue as to what kind of perk skill they might grant, there were a few I could guess at intuitively.
A dragon. An angel. A demon. A sword. A staff. Symbols like those.
It seemed likely that the skill granted would relate to whichever symbol I chose.
Then wouldn't the dragon be the best pick?
The records of those races could be verified by the upper echelons of the Sky Tower.
And in those records, dragons were documented as the strongest, largest, and most fearsome living creatures to walk the earth.
Masters of all schools of magic.
Sovereigns of the Word of Command.
A single Ancient Dragon was said to rival a Demon King—the ruler of one of the Demon Realm's domains—which gave some sense of just how magnificent these creatures were.
Even if not a dragon, an angel or a demon would look pretty appealing.
I assumed Aleon would order me to choose one of those.
But Aleon gave me an answer I never expected.
“Choose that one.”
Aleon lowered his arms and stretched out a hand, pointing to the leaf at the very edge.
“That's...”
What even is that?
A triangular flask?
Yes. A triangular flask—the kind only alchemists ever used.
It was the exact same symbol.
“You want me to pick that?”
A question mark floated up in my head.
“Yes. That is the one you must choose.”
Haah.
What on earth is that supposed to be?
“That symbol signifies alchemy.”
Alchemy?
The actual alchemy?
“Indeed. Alchemy is an indispensable virtue on the path to becoming a Great Sage. You will need it to complete the Philosopher's Stone, to upgrade the grades of the Three Sacred Treasures, and to temporarily treat your mana leakage disorder.”
Whoa.
Well, that's a surprise.
So the Sage trait even lets you handle alchemy?
Alchemy was a non-combat field, yet it was one of the overwhelmingly rare and valuable traits out there.
And here I was, a combat-class trait holder, able to acquire a non-combat trait on top of it.
Even if it was a 10-star trait, wasn't this straight-up broken?
“Why do you think the Sage is a hidden, 10-star trait in the first place? The Sage trait carries the potential to encompass all things.”
If the Sage was this much, I couldn't even imagine what a Great Sage would be like.
Anyway, both my eyes lit up.
It felt like winning a lottery I never even knew I'd entered.
“If you dedicate yourself to alchemy from this moment, you will be able to scatter the breath of life over your withered mana circuits. Depending on how well you nurture them through your craft, one day your circuits may transform into soil so fertile that even Yggdrasil could take root within them. When the time comes to use the Philosopher's Stone, that will make all the difference.”
Yes, teacher.
I had no idea there was such profound wisdom behind it.
I look forward to your continued guidance and instruction.
Right—the other appealing symbols will be available every time I gain five levels from here on anyway.
So best to build a solid foundation first.
Without delay, I chose the golden leaf bearing the triangular flask symbol, just as Aleon had instructed.
You have acquired the perk skill Sage's Alchemy (10-Star).
Sage's Alchemy — A 10-Star perk skill granting total mastery over potion brewing, elixir crafting, artifact enhancement, and matter transmutation.
KWAAAAAH!
Along with the system message, a radiant golden burst of light exploded from my body.
Ah.
I realized that knowledge related to alchemy was now drifting through my mind.
“Wow.”
In that moment, I understood.
I understood exactly what he'd meant when he said alchemy would become the foundation of my growth.
Potions, elixirs, even the strengthening of magic tools and artifacts...
Among the elixirs were ones that could gradually soothe my parched, depleted mana circuits.
Mana potions might carry me through the early stages, but as my level climbs, their limits become crystal clear.
Right now, at my low level, I was still in the range where I could maximize the effect of mana potions.
But once I passed a certain level, the proportion of my mana they could restore would keep shrinking.
And I couldn't exactly spend the whole day chugging mana potions while running dungeons, either.
Exceed a certain daily dosage, and all sorts of side effects kick in.
Elixirs crafted through alchemy, however, revived the circuits at their very root, little by little.
There were even elixirs that could accelerate natural mana recovery.
And the starting point for upgrading the Sage's Tome began with Sage's Alchemy as well.
Of all the perks available, this was the one I absolutely had to take.
What if I hadn't picked it?
I'd have gone around in circles for ages.
As expected of Teacher Aleon.
Once again, I'm reminded that I really should listen to what you have to say.
But acquiring Sage's Alchemy didn't mean all my problems were solved.
“Hmm... but the ingredients...”
The cost of brewing even a single bottle of the most basic elixir that improved mana circuits exceeded my expectations.
True, I'd killed the Treasure Goblin and earned a mountain of gold coins.
But that was nowhere near enough to sustain me long-term.
Which means...
I glanced at the contacts list on my phone.
A short list—only a handful of names.
My eyes drifted to the most recent entry.
Han Gain...!
A daughter of the Seolhwa Clan.
She'd told me to contact her anytime if I needed anything.
Should I reach out?
Since the Mana Circuit Restoration Elixir only worked with long-term use, the sooner I started taking it now that I had alchemy, the better.
Alright. Then it's decided.
I'll give her a call tomorrow.
Han Gain.
Lately, she hadn't been able to sleep at night.
Tonight was no different—she was still tossing and turning in her bed.
Why do I keep thinking about him?
Not long ago.
A man who had shown the strength to walk out of that fortress.
The sight of his Thunderbolt had been so overwhelming that she doubted she'd ever be able to forget it.
It must be Unknown.
Thump—!
The moment she thought he might be Unknown—the man currently setting all the fortress talk abuzz—her heart raced without warning.
I know the identity of Unknown, whom no one else in the world knows!
He seems to be keeping his identity hidden on purpose, so I need to keep my lips sealed too.
She'd made Lee Naksu swear to silence as well.
For the time being, at least, Unknown's identity would remain a secret.
She knew it would come out eventually, but until then, a longing welled up inside her—a selfish wish to be the only one who knew Unknown's secret.
Search: God Tree Unknown.
The moment she searched for "God Tree Unknown" on her phone, a flood of articles appeared.
Every single one of them speculating about Unknown's identity.
Some articles even flatly declared him Chinese, citing the Chinese Embassy's claim that he was one of their nationals, and pieced together his identity from there.
Hah. Chinese? As if.
She snorted derisively, then opened a famous ascender Community.
Sure enough, a mountain of posts about Unknown leapt out at her.
The posts with the most traction were all arguing over whether Unknown really was Chinese or not.
Han Gain snickered as she scrolled past them.
I know exactly who Unknown is.
Smirking to herself, she skimmed through the rest of the posts.
That was when one particular post caught her eye.
She clicked on it immediately.
James Smith.
An American member of the Seven Ascenders, widely regarded as the strongest ascender alive.
He had taken exactly 89 days to climb from the 1st Floor to the 2nd.
No one had ever broken the wall of 100 days before.
James had set a record for the ages.
Which was why he commanded a devoted following across the entire globe.
The comments stretched on and on after that.
Could Unknown surpass James's record, or couldn't he?
It was a topic that had drawn unprecedented attention.
Some even claimed—admittedly with very low odds—that he might fail to reach the 2nd Floor at all.
And it wasn't an absurd argument.
Every now and then, a climber would slam into the wall of growth on the 1st Floor itself and find themselves unable to level up any further.
Park Changwon, who had entered a dungeon on the same team as Han Gain not long ago, was a prime example.
But Hajun is different.
The sight of him felling five Level 10 hidden bosses with just three casts of Thunderbolt.
Would someone like that ever slam into a wall of growth?
Even if he did, he was the kind of man who would shatter straight through it and still have power left over.
She placed her delicate fingers on the phone's keyboard.
Tap-tap-tap!
The replies came flooding in the moment she posted.
Every single reply was berating her.
No, seriously, it's completely doable.
She frowned.
Fine. I guess I'll have to help him myself. Maybe there's something else he needs, beyond the reward I already prepared.
She fiddled with her phone.
Hajun's contact information.
I should message him first thing tomorrow morning.
Around that same time.
At the Korean branch of Tiamut, an executive meeting was underway.
“The being He spoke of was present at the scene that day.”
“Yes—Unknown. It must have been him.”
“We failed. The fact that he escaped our notice entirely suggests he possessed a top-tier artifact of concealment.”
“Then there's a good chance he belongs to a famous clan.”
“The Chinese Embassy did claim him as one of their nationals.”
“Hmm. That's odd, though. He clearly said Korea, didn't He?”
“It's unclear whether He meant the location was Korea, or that the man was Korean.”
“We'll have to ask Him for clarification the next time He awakens from His slumber.”
“In any case, since there's a real possibility he's Chinese, we should keep that avenue open while tracking him.”
They had put their heads together to hunt down Unknown.
“For the time being, finding him inside the Tower has become difficult.”
The Tower was vast.
The 1st Floor alone swallowed the entire African continent without so much as a burp.
“If we want to find him in the Tower, we'd have to wait for the Ascension Exam—at least three months away. That would be far too late.”
“While researching through the Community, I found someone claiming he'll climb up in just one month.”
“Isn't that gibberish? Tell the fool that gibberish belongs in the doghouse.”
“Oh! That's a good line. I'm leaving that as my reply.”
“In any case, we focus on tracing his movements outside the Tower for now. Given that he's likely under the protection of a famous clan or the Chinese Embassy, we concentrate our search on District S. Or District A.”
“Agreed. I'll redirect our manpower there immediately.”
Sadly, their deductions were miles away from the truth.
But as of now, they had no way of knowing that.
And so they threw themselves into the hunt, chasing the very shadows of their own mistaken reasoning.
The next day.
I found myself with a sudden appointment before entering the dungeon.
Never expected her to reach out first.
Han Gain had contacted me first thing in the morning.
When she asked if there was anything I needed, I told her about the ingredients required for my alchemy.
Unlike the several days I'd assumed it would take, she said that if it could be handed over immediately, we should meet today.
And so the sudden appointment came about.
I just wait here, right?
She'd said she would send a car to pick me up.
Since I'd arrived a little early, the car apparently hadn't shown up yet.
I was waiting there idly when I ran into someone completely unexpected.
“Oh, aren't you Hajun?”
Bleached-white hair.
Eyes slitted long and narrow.
My old high school classmate, Kim Hakseon.
What's this guy doing here?
He was an acquaintance I had zero desire to see again.
Korea was currently divided into Districts S through F by region.
Hajun had grown up in District F from the day he was born.
In high school, he'd attended a school for residents of Districts D, E, and F—and back then, this guy had looked down on him relentlessly, all because he lived in District F.
“Man, so you still live around here, huh?”
The look in his eyes as he said it was pure condescension.
“Well, it's not exactly easy to get out of here even if you try. So what do you do these days?”
“Oh, you know. Getting by. What about you?”
I gave him a suitably vague answer while sizing up his outfit.
A faint trace of mana clung to him, and his clothes were combat gear—he'd apparently become an ascender.
“Can't you tell from my outfit? Ah, right, you might not know. I'm an ascender. Ever heard of the Hanbit Clan? You know the Seolhwa Clan, one of Korea's Five Great Clans? I'm with a subsidiary clan under them.”
In a nutshell, he belonged to a place people called a Seolhwa Clan subcontractor.
Worth a little pride, I supposed.
“Tsk tsk. Keep at it. You ought to get out of this place someday too, shouldn't you? Here's my card. If anything comes up, give me a call.”
With that, the guy pulled out a business card and held it out to me.
Ha. The nerve on this one.
I shook my head and was about to tell him to forget it when—
Glidddde.
A massive black limousine pulled up in front of us.
A limousine bearing the Seolhwa Clan logo.
“Th-the Seolhwa Clan?!”
The guy's eyes went wide the instant he recognized the logo.
About time.
I knew instinctively that the people in that limousine were the ones Han Gain had sent.