Turtle Gui
“Welcome, Jehyun. Haha!”
Choi Deok-hwan, whom he hadn't seen in a while, wore a face full of bliss. Exhausted, yet beaming like he owned the world.
“Getting to know you has been the opportunity of a lifetime!”
“Looks like you've had some great results.”
“Haha, why bother saying it? This is the pinnacle of my career.”
“Oh, that good, huh?”
At Jehyun's question, Choi Deok-hwan flashed a grin. He grabbed Jehyun's hand and pulled him along.
“That's right. Come on over here. I wanted to show my life's masterpiece to you first.”
Jehyun followed Choi Deok-hwan's lead into his personal lab. The place was a glorious mess. Especially the remnants of materials for this golem, scattered everywhere like they'd been tossed aside.
“Wow, you really gathered all these materials in the end?”
“Haha, don't even ask. To get these... I even emptied my own pockets.”
“Your own money too?”
Jehyun looked at him in surprise. The Magic Tower provided massive research grants every quarter by default. The Golem Faction was upper-tier and always produced solid results, so they got plenty of funding—or so he'd heard.
'And he still had to dip into his savings?'
That doubt was cleared up by Choi Deok-hwan's next words.
“Truth is, I didn't make just one golem core. I made two.”
He wiped his nose and continued.
“The first one naturally had to go to you. But damn, I found myself wanting one too.”
“Ah, I get it. Makes sense.”
“Heh heh, sure, I poured every penny I'd saved into it, but I'm satisfied.”
Choi Deok-hwan's face shone with genuine contentment. Seeing that expression made it clear just how passionate he was about golems.
“Here it is—the result.”
He pointed to two cases on the desk, handing one to Jehyun.
“Open it up.”
“Got it.”
Jehyun took the case and flipped the lid open right away.
◈ [3rd Generation Golem Core]
◈ The core for an all-purpose golem capable of form changes and growth.
◈ Employs ancient lost magic rituals that birthed the primordial Golem King.
◈ Can achieve awakening that transcends its tier upon meeting specific conditions.
◈ Form transformation possible
◈ Ego implantation possible
◈ Growth possible
◈ Owner imprinting possible
'Oh! Legendary?'
Jehyun's eyes widened at the grade. It was way beyond what he'd expected.
'Actual legendary grade?'
He alternated stares between the golem core and Choi Deok-hwan in shock.
Choi Deok-hwan grinned.
“What do you think? Looks extraordinary at a glance, right? I can guarantee it's better than any golem core our faction has ever made.”
He apparently didn't know the core's grade yet. Makes sense—it was made with Alkasha's knowledge, and right now it was just a core without a golem body. Even an appraisal scroll wouldn't reveal the grade properly. Not that he'd necessarily tried one.
“You implemented my blueprint perfectly, without a single error.”
“Of course! This here's Choi Deok-hwan, head of the Golem Faction. Top artisan when it comes to golem crafting.”
He puffed out his chest proudly. The look was so childlike, like he was fishing for praise, that Jehyun couldn't help but chuckle.
'But Alkasha, doesn't this mean we can raise a legendary golem? Won't that skyrocket golem standards overnight?'
Jehyun suddenly worried he'd disrupted the golem ecosystem too much. There were all sorts of magical combat constructs out there—if this got mass-produced, golems might reshape the whole field. Legendary grade had that kind of value.
No Need to Worry
☐ The materials aren't cheap enough for mass production. Making even these two is a miracle.
☐ High failure rate in manufacturing. Only someone of his skill could pull off two.
☐ Humans' current magic level can't mass-produce this.
☐ Plus, this legendary grade is half-baked. Growth potential earns the rating, but without growth, it's ambiguous.
☐ Growth requires specific conditions at key points... that humans won't figure out. Heh heh.
Alkasha continued, floating in the air.
'So... your knowledge is needed for that growth too?'
—Haha. Exactly. Only with this body's knowledge can it grow stage by stage.
'Oh ho.'
Alkasha sounded smug, and Jehyun's eyes sparkled. Making the core was tough enough, and only he could raise it properly.
“This is one hell of an item.”
Jehyun grinned at the core again. Choi Deok-hwan wiped his nose proudly.
“You think so too, eh? Anyway, this one's a gift for you.”
“I'll take it gratefully.”
“No need—I'm the one who's thankful. Oh, and I succeeded with that next-gen golem using your ritual tweaks. Should be mass-producible. So, about this contract...”
He pulled out a contract and shoved it at Jehyun.
Jehyun scanned it.
'50% royalty on the ritual.'
Extremely generous. He'd only suggested minor tweaks to Choi's ready-made ritual.
“You sure about giving me this much?”
“Of course. Your tweaks played a bigger role than expected. Without you, who knows when that blueprint would've seen light. No need to feel burdened.”
Jehyun nodded. The golem market would reorganize around it, and 50% royalties would mean massive income.
'Might be time to buy a place in the Magic Tower's top floors soon.'
Adding his overlapping magic array earnings, he could afford the priciest central spots even high mages dreamed of.
“Alright, now let me explain how to use the golem core I gave you.”
Choi Deok-hwan excitedly rattled off instructions. Jehyun already knew it all but nodded along.
That day, Jehyun gained a medium for Soul Collect.
* * *
Medium for Soul Collect acquired.
—Is this the place you mentioned?
'Yeah.'
Jehyun arrived at a coastal village on the west sea. The village sat in a bay where the shoreline curved inward like a crescent.
Locals made their living harvesting 'jogalpi'—marine creatures in the bay.
Jogalpi. Post-cataclysm, clam-like sea life in this bay. Adults averaged 50 cm, much bigger than clams. Magic stones often turned up inside when pried open. The flesh was a popular food, and the shells had high mana conductivity for magic tools.
'But there was that incident where they nearly got wiped out.'
Jehyun eyed the bay entrance. Something island-sized blocked the strait dead-on.
'That's the culprit.'
Top-tier sea king. Turtle Gui. Jehyun's target today.
* * *
Turtle Gui.
One of the pinnacle sea king monsters. Fully grown adults could rate SSS. Among the ocean's strongest.
Especially, it could rival 'Leviathan'—one of the dragon-called sea rulers—'Gui' stood unmatched.
Gui boasted peerless defense. Its massive turtle-like hide shrugged off most attacks. Its signature: Absolute Defense Mode. Once triggered, even Leviathan's breath couldn't pierce it.
Absolute Defense Mode
Blocks even dragon breaths. Silver dragons once used Gui as lair guardians.
—That's why silver dragons, who usually made ocean lairs, often picked 'Gui' as guardians.
—For a dragon to choose it proves its prowess by their standards.
—But one showing up here? Weird.
Gui normally lurked in ocean depths, rarely surfacing near land. Hence Alkasha's surprise.
'There's a reason... because...'
Jehyun was about to explain when—
“Huh? Jehyun-ssi?”
A clear, melodic voice rang from behind. Jehyun turned, startled. He'd sensed someone approaching, but not her.
“...Long time no see, Shin Yerim.”
The one behind him: Nature Clan's Shin Yerim.
* * *
'Damn, didn't expect her here today.'
Jehyun muttered inwardly. He'd figured Nature Clan would come. They were central to the pre-regression incident.
'And they're already here.'
Memory fuzzy on timing. Roughly around now. He'd rushed over after getting the golem core—a perfect Soul Collect target.
'Thought the timing lined up, but it's off a bit.'
If he'd beaten Nature Clan here, it'd be smooth sailing. But seeing Yerim's face, plan A was scrapped.
“You're all done here? Long time no see. Doing well?”
“Yeah, I've been fine. You too, Yerim-ssi?”
“As you can see, doing great.”
Shin Yerim smiled brightly. More beautiful than before—like a flower on the verge of full bloom. Dazzling.
'Her looks are insane.'
Even compared to high elf Soruk, who transcended mortal beauty. With Dragon Eye inherited and aesthetics heightened, Jehyun was momentarily awestruck. Plenty must've fallen for her.
“Join us for now?”
“Hm...”
Jehyun pondered. After greetings, chatting purpose revealed Nature Clan was here for Gui too.
They'd gotten reports days ago and came to claim it—and its corpse.
'Soul Collect might damage the body, right?'
—Yeah. High chance. Soulless bodies decay fast.
Goals clashed. They wanted the corpse intact.
'What now.'
As Jehyun racked his brain, Yerim suddenly wrinkled her nose, eyes widening.
“No way, that scent... Jehyun-ssi, could it be?”
She stared at him in disbelief.