Fire Dragon's Elixir (2)
Kim Shin-ho's eyes widened in shock.
Fire Essence. It was an elixir whose existence was known only within the Phoenix Faction. Or more precisely, it was only just beginning to trickle down to the upper echelons.
There had been no official announcement about the Fire Essence yet, so it was standard for lower-floor mages to have never even heard of it.
"You know what Fire Essence is, and you're still asking for it?"
"Yes. The elixir that enhances fire attribute power. That's what I need."
"Hah... "
Kim Shin-ho stared at Je-hyun with a dazed look.
Je-hyun clearly knew exactly what the Fire Essence was before opening his mouth.
"How did you find out about it?"
"Who knows."
Je-hyun flashed a grin at the question.
There were a dozen excuses he could make for how he knew about the Fire Essence. But since it wasn't completely top secret—it was already quietly spreading among the upper-level mages in the Tower—it was better to dodge the question and let him come to his own conclusions.
—Still, won't they find it strange that you know about it?
'No. The official announcement comes years from now, but within the Tower, word was already spreading. By the time of the announcement, pretty much everyone in the Tower knew it existed.'
It had even reached Je-hyun's ears back then, before the official reveal—which said it all.
In other words, at this point in time, anyone with connections to someone in the know could have heard about it.
"Hmm. Looks like you heard it from somewhere... Mages these days sure have loose lips."
Kim Shin-ho didn't seem too bothered. He'd just been startled by the unexpected term coming from Je-hyun's mouth.
"Fire Essence... well, it's beyond my authority, but I'll put in a request with the higher-ups."
"Yes, please do."
Kim Shin-ho excused himself briefly and made contact with someone—probably reaching out to the superiors right away.
—Efficient worker.
'Yeah, he gets exactly what I want right now.'
Goodwill flickered in Je-hyun's eyes. He was thoroughly impressed by Kim Shin-ho's handling of things.
"Je-hyun. I checked with the higher-ups, but they can't give a firm answer yet. You'll probably have to wait a few days."
"Got it. I'll wait."
He'd expected they wouldn't hand it over easily, but the disappointment was inevitable.
—What if they say no? What's your plan then?
'I'll play the cards I have.'
Je-hyun had more cards up his sleeve than one might think. Right now, all anyone saw was a mage with immense talent. But he had future knowledge and advanced magic he'd been learning from Alkasha. Even a fraction revealed to the world would make mouths water.
'Anything that's going public eventually can be one of my bargaining chips.'
Je-hyun had laid out plans to accelerate his growth, many leveraging future knowledge. He'd claim what he could first, of course, but turn the rest into weapons for his use.
'Which card to play...'
He was pondering his response if they denied the Fire Essence when—
"I'll contact you the moment I hear back. In the meantime, want to tour our Phoenix Faction branch with me today?"
An unexpected invitation. A flicker of surprise crossed Je-hyun's face.
Branch Chief Kim Shin-ho. His youth and friendliness masked it, but he was a high mage who could command respect anywhere. A genius who'd reached 5th Circle in his thirties, and head of a major faction's branch to boot.
Each title alone made him someone a newbie on the 1st floor like Je-hyun could barely face. For such a figure to personally escort and introduce his branch?
It was an offer that didn't match their stations.
—That's how highly he values you.
Je-hyun nodded inwardly at Alkasha's words. His rapid rise hadn't fully sunk in until now, but Kim Shin-ho's attitude made it real—skin-crawlingly so. An unfamiliar but pleasant itch.
"Sure. Lead the way."
Je-hyun replied with a smile tugging at his lips.
* * *
"This is our Phoenix Faction's training room on the 2nd floor."
He'd been explaining as they descended from the 5th floor, and they arrived at the magic training room on the 2nd.
Unlike the other floors with multiple rooms, the entire 2nd floor was one massive training space—which made sense. This was where 1st Circle mages of the Phoenix Faction honed their spells in practical combat drills.
"Branch Chief, hello."
"Had lunch yet?"
A few mages who recognized Kim Shin-ho greeted him. The commotion drew eyes from those training, turning toward Je-hyun's group.
"Who's that next to him?"
"Kim Je-hyun, I think?"
"No way, the guy from the 1st-floor Ascension Tower exam recently?"
"Yeah, that's him."
"Damn, the branch chief personally escorting him. What a guy."
"Jealous. And he's ridiculously handsome too."
Curiosity gathered on Je-hyun, laced with envy and admiration. He'd once found such stares awkward, but now he was getting used to it.
"Now, shall we check out our faction's pride and joy—the workshop next?"
After touring from the 2nd floor down to the 1st, Kim Shin-ho suggested the workshop.
'The workshop.'
The workshop. Where magic tools and artifacts were crafted. If you named the world's best, it'd be the dwarves—their products were on another level.
'But the Tower's no slouch.'
Not quite dwarf-quality, but the Tower was renowned for its top-tier magic tools and artifacts. Inevitably so, since magic was essential to their creation, and no group held more magical authority than the Tower.
'Among them, the Phoenix Faction's workshop was the best.'
Handling fire mana gave a huge edge in crafting. As the premier fire-attribute major faction, Phoenix boasted the Tower's finest workshop.
Of course, that glory faded when it merged with Ignis later.
"A chance to see the famous Phoenix workshop? I couldn't pass that up. Please."
Kim Shin-ho grinned at Je-hyun's praise.
"Then let's head straight there."
The workshop was a bit away from the branch—a sprawling site like a factory packed with production facilities. This was the Phoenix Faction's workshop.
Stepping inside hit them with sweltering heat, reminiscent of old forges.
Clang. Clang.
Amid the humid blaze, hammer strikes echoed.
"This area makes the base forms for magic tools and artifacts."
Craftsmen sweated through the heat, shaping and refining their works.
"Impressive."
Je-hyun voiced his honest awe. Watching them absorbed in their craft sparked something inspirational. A corner of his mind tingled, on the verge of insight.
"They're the pride of our faction."
Even among mages, there were combat specialists and support types. These were support mages carving their own path.
"This is our workshop lab."
Kim Shin-ho showed them a cluster of rooms where mages were deep in experiments.
It struck Je-hyun that this was valuable intellectual property—did it make sense to show an outsider like him?
"But is it okay to show an outsider all this?"
"No issue. We're all Tower mages under the faction label, after all."
Kim Shin-ho smiled brightly at the question. Not wrong—factions divided them, but they were all part of the same Tower.
Je-hyun figured this mindset had helped elevate Phoenix to major faction status.
'But that's why Ignis swallowed them whole.'
Years from now, entanglements would lead to Phoenix's dissolution, its assets flowing to Ignis. Conspiracy theories abounded about Ignis pulling strings—now, seeing this openness, it seemed plausible.
"Oh! Branch Chief, hello."
A mage from the lab spotted Kim Shin-ho late and greeted him.
"Hello."
"It's been a while."
Warm exchanges all around—a scene brimming with humanity.
"How's the research going?"
"Ah, we can't find a solution to this."
"No progress on that part you mentioned?"
"Yeah... It's frustrating. Feels like there should be a way, but we're stuck."
Asked about progress, the lab chief—fidgeting with a robe in hand—vented.
'That.'
A thought flashed through Je-hyun's mind.
"Is that research on engraving overlapping magic circles into robes?"
"Uh... yes, it is. And you are...?"
The abrupt question from Je-hyun left lab chief Han Eun-ho staring blankly. He'd assumed an assistant to Kim Shin-ho at first glance—but no.
'Handsome guy.'
Slim build, small face. Even a man like Han Eun-ho thought so on first sight.
"Oh, my manners. Haven't introduced you. This is Mage Kim Je-hyun, who just passed the 1st-floor Ascension Tower exam. And this is our workshop lab chief, Han Eun-ho."
"Oh... wait, you're that guy! The one who chained Lightning Bolts together!"
Han Eun-ho exclaimed in surprise. The noise pulled other researchers from their work, eyes on Je-hyun.
"It's the super rookie."
"Yo, Lightning Man's here."
Murmurs rippled. Amid the bustle, Je-hyun reintroduced himself.
"Drawing a crowd. Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Je-hyun, fresh on the 1st floor after the Ascension Tower exam."
"Ooh."
"Nice to meet you, Lightning Man!"
"How'd you chain those Lightning Bolts?"
As lab mages, they fixated on Je-hyun's Lightning Bolt feat.
But Je-hyun's focus was elsewhere.
"Chief, right? Mind if I see the open-source formula for overlapping circles on that robe?"
"Uh... well, it's unfinished, so even the open source is a bit..."
Han Eun-ho stammered at the sudden request.
"Je-hyun, got an idea?"
"Yes. Seeing the source will confirm it."
"Then by all means."
Kim Shin-ho stepped in supportively. Open-source formulas were shared publicly upon development. Even pre-core versions had no reason to hide.
"Here. This section from here to here is our overlapping circle formula."
Je-hyun took the source and examined it intently. Everyone watched in hushed anticipation.
'Aha.'
Insight struck. Back in his pre-regression 2nd Circle stagnation, he'd devoured theory—including this formula.
'Didn't memorize it all.'
But with his heightened magical intuition, the flaws jumped out.
'Yeah, the issue's right here and there.'
—Correct. Your intuition's sharpened a lot.
Confirmed by Alkasha, Je-hyun gained full confidence—even piercing the unpublished core.
"I think I see the problem."
"...?"
Incredulous stares all around. Sure, Je-hyun had wowed the Tower exam, but a 1st Circle solving what they couldn't?
"Could you explain? We'll credit you properly."
Kim Shin-ho accepted it immediately. Je-hyun nodded.
The formula would soon be patented by Ignis minus the core—he might as well claim it first. Plus, solving it could snag him the Fire Essence.
"It's like this..."
Je-hyun presented his fix.
"Nah, no way. Spotting the flaw at a glance?"
"He's riding high from that record-breaking exam. Confidence boost."
"Yeah, doesn't make sense logically. If he fixed it first try, I'd change my name to Kim."
"Core formula's hidden, right? Can't find flaws without it."
Skepticism reigned. Still, lab chief Han Eun-ho and a few rushed a test with Je-hyun's version.
And the results came.
"Th-this..."