Sage's Alchemy (2)
"Measurement team, start the measurements immediately!"
"Yes, sir! Moving in now."
At Director Choi's command, the researchers who had been standing by swooped in. Their eyes were no longer dead the way they'd been at first sight—the light of anticipation and excitement brimmed in them, unmistakably alive.
"Beginning tensile strength measurement."
"Compression strength measurement is ready as well."
"Proceeding with flexural, shear, and impact strength tests in order."
They moved with remarkable speed. Watching them, Aleon murmured quietly.
— Now that's starting to look like real expertise.
He had a point. Seen like this, they genuinely gave off the impression of researchers from one of the Five Great Clans.
"D-do you think it really worked?"
"It has to!"
"Please, please!"
Those not taking part in the measurements had clasped their hands together and were literally praying. It was a moment that showed, once again, just how desperate they had been.
Meanwhile, the results began to come in.
"Tensile strength result is in. 1,520 MPa...!"
"What? Did you say 1,520?"
Director Choi's eyes went wide. Apparently an astonishing figure—but what was truly worth being shocked about was only just beginning.
"Yield strength, 1,231 MPa!"
"Final elongation, 23 percent!"
"Good heavens!"
So stunned was Director Choi that he clutched his chin with both hands and let out a cry.
— So it came out at alloy-steel level.
'Oh, really?'
The efficiency was better than I'd expected. Even low-carbon steel would have been enough for commercialization, but the result had landed at the hardest grade of alloy steel—well above that. No wonder Director Choi was shrieking.
"The—the duration?"
"Mana cohesion has dropped only 5 percent over ten minutes. Assuming no impacts, we expect the effect to last roughly two and a half to three hours."
"......!"
Director Choi froze with his mouth hanging open. He didn't move a muscle—honestly, I half wondered if he'd died standing up.
'He must be really shocked.'
Fair enough. A typical buff potion lasted less than ten minutes at the short end, thirty minutes at the very most. But this one had a minimum duration of two and a half hours—an absurd figure. For a potion crafted through Alchemy, this was revolutionary.
— Heh heh. Let the humans know. This is what they call Sage's Alchemy.
I couldn't help but smirk at Aleon's posturing. The guy really did love to preen.
But honestly, Sage's Alchemy was on a completely different plane from ordinary Alchemy—that was exactly why Aleon could talk like that. If I had to put it in a metaphor, Sage's Alchemy would be a dragon and ordinary Alchemy a goblin. That was the scale of the gulf between them—an unbridgeable chasm.
"H-Hajun, sir!"
Han Gain, finally snapping out of her shock, ran over to my side.
"It—it really worked. It really did..."
"Yes. I could tell it was possible the moment I first saw it."
"Ahh! I knew it. Hajun, sir, I believed in you!"
Overwhelmed with emotion, her flushed face quivered, lips fluttering. Then she bowed her head to me in a deeply respectful posture.
"On behalf of the Seolhwa Clan, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thanks to you, Hajun, sir, the Seolhwa Clan has been saved from a serious management crisis."
"Oh, come now. I was paid for everything I did."
"Still! We'll need to take more precise measurements, but this goes far beyond merely making the project a success!"
In other words, they'd hit the jackpot. She bounced up and down, offering her thanks over and over.
By the time her expressions of gratitude finally wound down, Director Choi—who we'd assumed had died standing up(?)—had caught his breath and stepped in front of me.
"Ascender Kim Hajun, thank you. Truly. And I am so deeply sorry."
He seized my right hand with both of his, and tears streamed down his face. An indescribable storm of emotion was churning across his features.
"Director Choi was planning to retire from the industry and take responsibility if this project failed," Han Gain whispered beside me.
Ah. So this man was about to retire? That's why he was reacting so intensely now—it made perfect sense.
For an alchemist, retiring from the industry was essentially the same as retiring as an Ascender. And for a man of Director Choi's age, that would have meant losing his direction in life altogether.
"Thank you. And I sincerely apologize for being so prickly when we first met. I owe you an enormous debt, Ascender Kim Hajun."
Sobbing, Director Choi repeated his thanks and apologies over and over like a parrot.
Watching a man old enough to be my uncle carry on like this made me feel a little sorry for him, somehow.
"Director Choi, you're not retiring now, right?"
"N-no, of course not. How could I possibly retire after incurring a debt this large?"
"Then you simply must fulfill that dream of yours to create an Elixir someday, and pay back that big debt you owe Hajun, sir today!"
"Ahaha. You're too kind."
The sight of Director Choi laughing through his sobs was rather comical, but not a single person in the room cracked a smile at him.
"So... we can keep doing research going forward, right?"
One of the researchers spoke up then, and Han Gain nodded in reply.
"Of course. Hajun, sir saved us, but I know full well how much hard work all of you put in as well. I'll speak with the Clan Master and push to make sure you can continue on with other projects continuously from here on out."
"WOOOAAAH!"
The moment she said it, a roar of cheers burst from the researchers. It was a cheer steeped in three years' worth of pent-up frustration and stress.
"Ahh! It still doesn't feel real. We owe you so much. Thank you, Ascender Kim Hajun."
"How can we ever... ever repay you. Thank you so much, Ascender Kim Hajun."
"As of today, the number one spot in my heart no longer belongs to Hermagnon. It belongs to Ascender Kim Hajun."
"Same here!"
"Kim Hajun! Kim Hajun! Kim Hajun!"
When someone chanted my name, everyone joined in, calling it over and over.
I felt like a national hero. And to these people, in this moment, I really was one—probably even more than that.
In the middle of receiving their thanks, I was ushered by a secretary who had hurried down to escort me to the very top floor of the Seolhwa Clan building.
And there—
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Han Sangcheol, Clan Master of the Seolhwa Clan."
I found myself face to face with Han Sangcheol, head of one of the Five Great Clans that held sway over South Korea.
"You are the benefactor of our clan."
A single weighty word from Han Sangcheol's mouth: benefactor. That one word carried a great deal of meaning.
"Would you perhaps consider putting your roots down in our clan? Join us, and I will award you the Lotus badge."
"......!"
It was extraordinary treatment. The Seolhwa Clan had eight ranks within its hierarchy, each symbolized by a flower badge. Of these, the Lotus badge was the third-highest in the entire clan. The first badge, Snow Flower, belonged to the Clan Master, and the second, Lily, went to the elders and department heads—meaning that, in effect, they were offering me the highest badge attainable by an ordinary clan member.
'That's genuinely unprecedented.'
It was a sensational enough proposal that it might set the entire Ascender society ablaze with debate for a while.
'But...'
I shook my head. The Seolhwa Clan was impressive, no doubt—but not big enough to hold me.
"I'll graciously decline. Thank you so much for the generous offer."
"A shame."
Han Sangcheol must have expected me to refuse, because he wore a briefly regretful expression before accepting it without fuss.
"Then let's discuss your compensation. I've organized it in my own way—would you care to take a look?"
He held out a document envelope. When I opened it, beyond the Flower of the Wind I had originally asked Han Gain for, additional rewards were listed in an unbroken chain.
'What is all this?'
A reward payment of 10 billion won. VVIP membership at every Seolhwa Clan affiliate. Lifetime access to the clan's vacation properties and exclusive resort. A lifetime advisory position. A Essence of Snow Flower badge signifying honorary clan membership—and more.
And the final item on the list, the one that shocked me most of all—
'Transfer of a 25 percent stake in the Steel Skin project.'
I stared at Han Sangcheol with wide eyes. He was offering to transfer 25 percent of a project that had swallowed a full 10 trillion won. From what I'd heard earlier, the Seolhwa Clan's own stake didn't even reach 50 percent—meaning he was giving me more than half of everything they held.
"I regret that we can't transfer more, but our own holdings are smaller than they might seem."
Listening to Han Sangcheol, I marveled inwardly.
'Wow. No wonder he's the Clan Master of one of the Five Great Clans.'
Enormous generosity aside, the man's vision was exceptional. Right now, Han Sangcheol was roughly gauging my value and committing to a massive investment based on it.
— Indeed. He's read the situation well.
Aleon chimed in, echoing my thoughts and confirming that my read wasn't wrong.
"Doesn't this seem a bit too much for me?"
"Not at all. Without you, Ascender Kim, this project would almost certainly have ended in failure. And the stake transfer is also our way of asking you to remain our partner going forward. Please don't feel burdened by it."
Truthfully, if they transferred this much of the stake to me, it wouldn't really cost them much in the long run. The more effort I put into the Steel Skin Potion, the proportionally larger their own profits would grow.
"And the truth is, this was a project that even Hermagnon turned his hand away from. Your success here, Ascender Kim, carries extraordinary significance."
Oh. That was a surprise. Even Hermagnon failed?
It hadn't seemed all that difficult to me, honestly.
— Heh heh. Didn't I tell you not to think of Sage's Alchemy as being on the same plane as mere human Alchemy?
He had a point. Hearing that even Hermagnon had failed made the majesty of Sage's Alchemy sink into my skin all the more vividly.
"If you're comfortable with it, may we inform the media that you were the foremost contributor to our project's success?"
In other words, they wanted to milk the publicity for all it was worth. The story of a rising star in alchemy appearing like a comet and rescuing a 10-trillion-won project would make for sensational material. Especially if word got out that even Hermagnon had turned the project away—the media attention on me and this project would be beyond measure.
'Exposing my name to the press, huh...'
It actually didn't sound bad at all. While China and Tiamut were hunting for the true face of Unknown, if my name became known as an alchemist, it would keep me far off their radar for a good long while.
"Deal."
"A bold decision."
At my words, Han Sangcheol beamed and extended his hand, and I smiled and clasped it in mine.
And that very afternoon—
Amid the flooding deluge of articles, my three-syllable name began to burn bright across every news outlet and every Ascender community.