Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Gunpowder Unveiled
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"...Your Majesty?"
Hwimun froze in place, unable to move.
Kyle was followed by Deanin, who stepped in after him and closed the door.
Deanin spoke.
"His Majesty was waiting for Hwi Ravina Muel and came here in person, eager for an urgent meeting."
Kyle nodded and took a seat beside Ravina.
Then he turned to Hwimun.
"I'll explain everything, so have a seat first."
"Your Majesty, is everything this alchemist claims true?"
"Whether it is or not, it doesn't seem like something the Left Minister needs to fret over."
"It's the Left Minister's duty to safeguard Your Majesty's well-being."
"Reading a few more books won't put my safety at risk."
"However..."
"Sit down first. You too, Deanin—don't just stand there; find a seat anywhere."
"Yes."
Hwimun couldn't help but worry about Kyle.
Every nation had grown through the blessings and miracles bestowed by the gods they revered, and they still relied steadily on their priests' aid.
As such, heretics were never welcomed.
In Heukrin, they were merely outlawed by national law and punished accordingly, but in countries like Danyeom, heretics were frequently beaten to death.
'The law may be stern, but no one can punish His Majesty. Still, it gives the other ministers ammunition to attack. Many have sided with His Majesty, but a few have not.'
Hwimun had long known that Kyle's cleverness bordered on true wisdom.
That was why, when the Minister of Hunting Deanin insisted on making Kyle king, Hwimun had agreed—and why his influence had helped persuade King Anpyeong in the end.
'But for His Majesty to take an interest in something as perverse as alchemy... It was all that white lizard's doing.'
Hwimun shot Deanin a glare, but Deanin averted his eyes.
Kyle said to Ravina,
"You must be the alchemist."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Kyle simply nodded and turned to Hwimun.
"I'm sorry for keeping it from you, Hwimun. But you're a bit rigid, so I figured even if I explained, you'd just lose sleep over needless worries."
"...Your Majesty. I appreciate the concern, but alchemy? What would our ancestors think?"
Kyle shrugged.
"Who knows? There was no such thing as alchemy in the old days."
"They claim to make gold and elixirs of immortality. Surely Your Majesty knows how absurd that is?"
"Honestly, I have no idea if they can make gold or immortality elixirs. But there's plenty of useful knowledge among theirs."
"Even so, merely studying alchemy violates national law. No one would dare punish Your Majesty, but the other ministers will take issue with it. Is that knowledge worth such risks?"
Kyle, who had been responding amiably until then, gave a curt reply to that.
"It is."
Ravina followed up.
"Elder, allow me to explain."
Hwimun clamped his mouth shut and looked at her.
Ravina continued.
"Forbidden knowledge doesn't emerge just from studying it in the Tower. So if an alchemist like that exists, the Tower sends gifts via messengers to curry favor and acquire their knowledge. There was one such alchemist living alone in the deep northern mountains of enemy territory."
"And?"
"One day, word from that enemy alchemist stopped coming. The Tower thought he might need help and sent a messenger to check. When the errand boy reached the house, nothing seemed amiss at first glance. The house itself was so well-hidden that no one had visited in ages."
"So what calamity befell him?"
"The messenger had to break down the locked door to get inside. Only then did he smell the stench. The alchemist was dead."
Hwimun scowled.
"No one visited the house, so he died alone?"
"Yes."
"Because of forbidden knowledge?"
"Yes."
"Hah, I've heard such tales. Among the ancient evils, some grant power in exchange for one's soul. Wasn't that what happened to this alchemist?"
Before Hwimun could blame alchemy again, Ravina pressed on.
"No, it's not that sort of story. The alchemist was found in his own laboratory. But he hadn't sold his soul or anything. It was an accident. He was mixing various reagents to make gold, and when certain ones were added and heated, it exploded. In truth, accidents like that happen in the Tower from time to time, so it wasn't particularly bizarre."
Hwimun was relieved it wasn't a soul-selling incident, but he couldn't relax hearing such accidents were commonplace.
"An enemy alchemist died. What's worthwhile about that?"
"It wouldn't be if it were ordinary. But when it involves alchemy, it's different."
Kyle nodded as if he understood, leaving Hwimun puzzled.
Ravina went on.
"The alchemist was dead, but before dying, he'd meticulously recorded what experiment he'd conduct that day and exactly how much of each material he'd use. Alchemists who die in accidents while experimenting write even more meticulously for that reason."
"Records of failure hold meaning?"
"Elder, strictly speaking, alchemists have no failures. The fire-spitting potions and flesh-melting acids you mentioned were discovered in those very 'failed' processes. And the 'gunpowder' discovered by that enemy alchemist was greater than any prior alchemical breakthrough."
"A danger that can kill people?"
"Yes."
Hwimun belatedly grasped her point.
An alchemist meticulous enough to document every experiment in writing wouldn't be careless.
'That means...'
Ravina clenched her pinky finger.
"The gunpowder that enemy alchemist tested was just this much. But when flames touched it and it exploded, the tiny lead box containing it tore apart and flew, slashing the alchemist's throat."
Hwimun looked at Kyle.
"A weapon?"
Kyle nodded.
"A weapon."
Hwimun imagined it.
He knew little of alchemical knowledge.
But Ravina said the powder was easy to make and could kill with a tiny amount.
He didn't know what form the weapon would take, but if Ravina and Kyle valued it, its danger was obvious.
'Alchemy truly is forbidden knowledge.'
Hwimun worried Kyle might be enamored with the danger.
"Your Majesty, Heukrin may be small, but its standing surpasses any other nation. No one can deny it's a great power. Why take such risks?"
"Hwimun."
"Yes?"
Kyle lowered his gaze.
"Regrettably, this knowledge isn't some grand secret. I wasn't the first to notice it, nor was Heukrin the first to bring an alchemist into the palace. The alchemists in the Tower are cursed wanderers from all over. Some still hold sway from their homelands and yearn to return with their knowledge."
Ravina added,
"And other nations don't want those alchemists going back home. I nearly died ten times on the journey."
Deanin said,
"Mercenaries hired by other countries, or locals disguised as bandits—actually soldiers."
Hwimun said to Deanin,
"...So?"
"Yes. Soldiers under His Majesty's secret orders had to escort Ravina all the way from the Alchemist's Tower to Orajan. The Tower faced an unprecedented dismantling because of this knowledge, and by now, it's fully conquered by Sekmyeon's trolls."
Kyle raised his head.
"You thought this era was peaceful, Hwimun. But not anymore. Heukrin's spies embedded in various nations are sending urgent reports. Prices for gunpowder materials are skyrocketing, and secret facilities are being prepared. To craft weapons using gunpowder."
Ravina said,
"Gunpowder is alchemy, but it also belongs to ancient knowledge. Similar powders have been found in ancient ruins, along with weapons that used them."
Hwimun's voice trembled.
"Your Majesty, does that mean war will break out? Just because weapons exist doesn't mean..."
"There's no law saying war must happen."
But Kyle added,
"What if that weapon proves extraordinarily superior? What if an utter novice who's never drawn a bow can hold their own on the battlefield, sink ships, and topple walls? If we have it and they don't? They'd think they could win the war."
Hwimun pondered deeply, then slowly nodded.
"I can't fully accept it in my heart. But I understand with my head that Your Majesty's path is right. Your humble servant has no reason to oppose, so if you need aid, say the word anytime."
Kyle smiled at that.
"Since it came up, I do need your help, Hwimun."
"With what?"
"You've voiced your concerns, and we must proceed secretly to avoid foreign spies. We've borrowed from the Hunter Corps funds until now, but with your permission..."
"...You'll use the inner treasury."
The nation's taxes were managed by the Ministry of Finance, but the king's personal assets fell under the Left Minister.
As talk turned to business, life returned to Hwimun's eyes.
"They are Your Majesty's assets, but I trust there's clear justification for their use. Have you decided what, where, how, and at what cost?"
For the first time since entering, Kyle's voice wavered.
"Hem, well, you see..."
A window appeared before Seong-un's eyes.
Seong-un let out a sigh.
'Done.'
Inventions and discoveries tend to scale with population size.
In that regard, Heukrin—pursuing political stability and excelling in food production over other nations—had sustained a large enough populace to refine and perfect various technologies.
But some discoveries don't work that way.
Things like mixing sundry materials in bizarre ways are only achieved by those obsessed with such pursuits.
'Refining arts, or alchemy.'
In Lost World, the path to such esoteric technologies was inevitably fraught.
The more devout a nation's people, the more they abhorred advancing such scientific knowledge.
For one, the very lore branding it 'ancient evils' instilled hatred for such pursuits. Moreover, those wielding such power and knowledge tended to lord over the common folk.
Simply put, the more faithfully a society worships its gods, the harder it is to discover esoteric tech.
But conversely, tolerating more heretics just to chase such tech weakens the player's control.
No build is without trade-offs.
Yet Lost World players mostly shaped devout societies.
Scientific knowledge is impartial: one player creates a hub for alchemists, and everyone benefits from the output.
'That's why the Alchemist's Tower in Sekmyeon was a NIMBY outcome.'
Of course, Sekmyeon could access gunpowder fastest and most abundantly from its own territory.
Distant Heukrin had no choice but to acquire it later—and if unlucky, the knowledgeable individual might die, making it impossible.
If Seong-un hadn't sent Hwi Ravina Muel—the child with the 'horn,' wielding probability manipulation for high survival—into the Alchemist's Tower.
As Seong-un gazed contentedly at the message, Eldar beside him spoke up.
"That aside, when Kyle and Ravina discuss gunpowder, they won't mention 'that knowledge' as well?"