Chapter 121
Chapter 121
Chapter 121: Things Gained (2)
Translation: godtl
Creak.
Clank.
The incessant noise coming at regular intervals.
The seamless workflow, like that of a cutting-edge factory, from production to transportation.
Even an amateur in alchemy could see there wasn't a single inefficient step in the process.
And then—
Clink, clank.
Golems made of silvery-white metal bustled about tirelessly.
Originally, they had only been assigned simple tasks like packaging and transporting materials, but...
"Hey, hey! Hold it steady and push! That one needs to spin round and round!"
A child seated on a central platform in the research lab.
Under Si-yeon's direction, her short arms waving about, the golems were now even handling the production line for healing potions.
How much time had passed like that?
"Unnie!"
Perhaps her task was finished.
She hopped down from the platform and dashed toward another production line.
"Unnie! I'm done!"
—Mhm, I was just watching. You did well~.
The eyeball floating inside the flask overseeing the area curved gently in approval.
Creak.
One of the nearby mechanical arms swiveled and gently patted Si-yeon's head.
—Aigoo! You little treasure. Now I see why Oppa kept calling you that. Thanks to you, work efficiency has doubled.
"Really?"
—Of course.
The Philosopher's Stone nodded at Si-yeon, whose eyes sparkled with delight.
It was true.
Perhaps because she was born a golem?
Aside from the behavioral patterns Si-mun had programmed into the Mithril Golems, Si-yeon was capable of issuing her own independent commands, enabling even more meticulous actions than usual.
Thanks to this, the Mithril Golems, which had previously only handled simple tasks, were now fully integrated into the healing potion production line.
—Because of you, Oppa can finally step back from controlling the golems entirely.
Except for periodic infusions of Transmutation Power.
Si-mun had reached a point where he could completely relinquish control over the Mithril Golems.
—Oppa doesn't know how to rest, so we have to forcibly lighten the load on his brain like this.
The Philosopher's Stone seemed immensely satisfied with this.
It stroked Si-yeon's head repeatedly, a warm smile spreading across its face.
"Heh. So Si-yeon is helping Daddy?"
—Immensely. You were a huge help in the last Arena too.
As it spoke, the eyeball inside the flask narrowed slightly.
At that—
"Heehee. I tried really hard to listen to Unnie!"
A glint of cruelty flickered in Si-yeon's otherwise innocent eyes.
—Hehe, you did well. Though really, Yuto-kun... it would've been better if he'd just run away. Well, I suppose being prettily killed by you was still better than being torn apart by demons.
The Philosopher's Stone, gazing down at Si-yeon, mirrored that sentiment.
—Si-yeon? Next time, try to keep the handsome ones as intact as possible....
Before the Philosopher's Stone could finish its sentence—
BOOM!
A dull explosion rang out.
The gazes of the Philosopher's Stone and Si-yeon naturally turned toward the source.
There, amidst a thick haze of translucent smoke—
"Ugh, another failure."
A strikingly handsome man with well-defined features scratched his head.
Attached to his left arm was a cylindrical device—
A syringe-like barrel with a somewhat pointed tip.
The eyeball inside the flask.
The Philosopher's Stone floated over using Transmutation Power, bobbing toward the handsome man.
—Oppa, are you okay?
"Yeah."
Without even taking his eyes off the barrel attached to his left arm, Si-mun nodded.
—Take a break. You've already mastered the basic usage anyway.
"I know, but it feels like I'm so close to getting it right, so I keep pushing."
Clicking his tongue, Si-mun fiddled with various parts of the barrel.
Each time his fingers brushed against it—
Huum.
A clear hum resonated as intricate patterns swirled around the barrel.
A Transmutation Circle.
"Compress here."
Muttering to himself, Si-mun pinched the circle between his thumb and forefinger and pressed firmly.
Ping.
The hum faded slightly as the Transmutation Circle, which had only covered half his chest, shrank to the size of a fist.
"A little more compression..."
His grip tightened further.
This time, the circle shrank to the size of a fingernail.
But compressing it any further seemed impossible.
The Transmutation Circle refused to shrink any smaller.
At this, the Philosopher's Stone's eyes widened in astonishment.
-It's half the size from yesterday? With double the compressed Transmutation Power.
"Yeah. But this is the limit. I couldn't compress it any further than this."
Yet, as if dissatisfied,
Si-mun's face was filled with regret.
The Philosopher's Stone shook its head at this.
-Brother, it's only been three days since you obtained Paracelsus' Cylinder. Reaching the compression limit of the Transmutation Circle already is incredible. I thought it'd take at least a month to get this far.
"Is that so?"
Even with the Philosopher's Stone's consolation, Si-mun's regret didn't easily fade.
Rather than lecturing about 'how amazing our brother is,'
-Where are you stuck? Let me see.
it chose to move on to the next step.
Perhaps it worked.
"Look. There's no issue up to storing the Transmutation Circle, right?"
Si-mun's previously regretful expression instantly turned serious,
fully absorbed in storing the Transmutation Circle into Paracelsus' Cylinder.
Si-yeon, who had quietly approached at some point, rested her chin on her hands and watched Si-mun's focused form with sparkling eyes.
-That's right? The storage is perfect.
The Philosopher's Stone also alternated its gaze between Si-mun and the Cylinder where the compressed Transmutation Circle was being infused.
"But manifestation is the problem."
-Manifestation?
The Philosopher's Stone inside the flask tilted its head in confusion.
And understandably so.
-Why is manifestation difficult? You've already done the transmutation, compression, and storage. All that's left is to manifest it, isn't it?
Si-mun had neatly completed all the steps required to use Paracelsus' Cylinder—transmuting the circle, compressing it, and storing it.
To put it in terms of a gun, he'd finished everything from assembly to loading.
All that remained was to pull the trigger.
So why was manifestation an issue?
The Philosopher's Stone's puzzled expression changed in an instant.
"But when I do it like this, manifestation becomes difficult."
The moment Si-mun finished speaking,
Ziiing.
From the front of the Cylinder—
the pointed part resembling a syringe's needle—the compressed Transmutation Circle began to form.
The problem was...
Zzzing!
Behind the manifesting circle, another Transmutation Circle rose into view.
-No way...
And before the Philosopher's Stone could even react,
BOOOOM!
With a familiar explosive sound, the two manifesting circles detonated.
A translucent gas—
vaporized Transmutation Power—billowed up thickly.
Cough!"See? It doesn't work."
Watching Si-mun calmly cough and lift the Cylinder from within the haze,
-...You insane brother!
the Philosopher's Stone swung its mechanical arm straight at Si-mun's head.
-I can't even live like this!
Its voice brimming with exasperation,
the Philosopher's Stone grumbled as it cleared the surroundings wrecked by the Transmutation Power explosion and the vaporized energy.
-It's only been three days since you got the Cylinder. What's with attempting dual manifestation already?
"But I just had a feeling."
-A feeling? What feeling?!
"Hard to explain... It was like when I did dual transmutation—that 'Ah, this should work!' kind of feeling?"
It was true.
Whether it was regular transmutation or physical transmutation,
Si-mun had always easily achieved dual transmutation whenever he followed his instincts.
So with the Transmutation Circles stored in Paracelsus' Cylinder, he'd thought, 'Dual manifestation might be possible too,' and tried it.
"But since it keeps failing, it just makes me more determined."
He wouldn't have attempted it if there hadn't been any hint of success.
It definitely felt like it should work,
but something always seemed to malfunction at the very end of manifestation.
The manifestation would arbitrarily block itself and explode, which only made Si-mun want to try again and again.
Pouting in frustration, Si-mun stuck out his lips.
Though such an expression on a grown man wouldn't normally be appealing,
his handsome face—proving once again that good looks are universal—made it incredibly charming.
Perhaps because of that,
-That's understandable. I get how you feel, brother.
the previously agitated Philosopher's Stone noticeably calmed down.
-It's all because you're just too amazing.
"You don't have to force yourself to compliment me."
-No, I mean it sincerely.
The Philosopher's Stone let out a deep sigh.
-You know this too, brother, but Paracelsus' Cylinder scales with the wielder's level, right?
"I know."
Si-mun nodded and opened the information window for Paracelsus' Cylinder.
[Paracelsus' Cylinder]
Grade: (Old) Mythic
A creation of Paracelsus, the vanished god of alchemy.
Can store transmutation circles and manifest them at will.
Options vary according to the wearer's level.
The information window had changed due to the Philosopher's Stone's emotions.
The altered window now included the phrase:"Options vary according to the wearer's level."
"So at my current level, dual manifestation of transmutation circles is impossible?"
Si-mun's face grew even gloomier as he read the text.
The Philosopher's Stone shook her head.
Well, yes, but it's impossible in a slightly different way.
"Different way?"
Mm. You must have some idea too, Oppa. The options change as your 'level' increases, right?
"That's right. If my level gets higher, not only will the storage capacity increase, but other options will probably be added too..."
Si-mun's voice trailed off as he answered.
"Wait."
He looked at the Philosopher's Stone with a slightly flustered expression.
"Don't tell me dual manifestation is a new option that gets unlocked?"
Yep. It's a locked option for now. The second option that unlocks at level 100 is dual manifestation.
In other words, if he grew just a little more, the dual manifestation option would open on its own.
As the Philosopher's Stone added this, Si-mun blinked blankly.
"So I've been wasting my time all this while?"
Pretty much. Honestly, when I made this, I never imagined an alchemist not even level 100 could achieve dual manifestation.
"I see."
In short, his alchemy skill far exceeded his level.
Meaning Paracelsus' Cylinder couldn't keep up with him.
The minimum level Paracelsus, its creator, had anticipated for dual manifestation was level 100.
"Ha..."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
No wonder it seemed possible every time but stubbornly failed at the last moment.
Si-mun stared at the Philosopher's Stone with incredulous eyes.
"You could've told me sooner."
That's what I want to say, you monster of an Oppa.
The Philosopher's Stone shook her head vigorously.
Who could've guessed you'd try it with items too when you already know how to perform dual transmutation?
"......"
Si-mun had no retort.
Even he found it absurd when he thought about it.
'Right. This all stemmed from my own greed.'
Thanks to Si-yeon's help, Si-mun had nearly stopped working on the healing potions.
He'd poured all that freed-up time into mastering the Cylinder's usage.
In the end, his excessive greed had outpaced the item's capabilities.
But Si-mun didn't seem too disappointed.
"Well, it's not a total loss."
He merely shrugged lightly.
Though he'd failed at dual manifestation with the Cylinder,
Hadn't he maximized transmutation circle compression in just three days because of it?
Since the power of stored transmutation circles grows stronger with compression,
He could say he'd perfected the Cylinder's manifested power to its limit.
"Not to mention..."
Si-mun turned toward a corner of the laboratory.
There,
Sssssss—
Amidst a slowly oozing dark energy,
Grrrrrl—
The ominous growl of a beast could be heard.
"At least my other attempt was a definite success."
The corners of Si-mun's mouth curled up in satisfaction.
Honestly, I never imagined you'd use the Cylinder like that.
The Philosopher's Stone in the flask also formed smiling eyes upon seeing it.
"Hehe! Si-yeon too! Surprised!"
Even Si-yeon, who had been quietly sitting nearby, raised her eyes and mouth in imitation of her father and sister.
Patting Si-yeon's head, Si-mun said:
"Well, I've pretty much finished what I needed to do. Should I check out Si-hyeok's stream?"
Young Master's stream?
"Yeah, the National Tournament qualifiers are starting soon."
Just as Si-mun smirked and took out his phone—
Knock knock.
"Oppa?"
A clear voice accompanied the knocking.
With a wave of his hand, Si-mun erased the dark energy spread across the laboratory corner.
"Yeah, Yu-jeong. Come in."
He turned his gaze toward the entrance.
A stunning beauty to whom the word "clear" suited perfectly—
Lee Yu-jeong entered the laboratory.
Her face bore an unusually dark expression rarely seen on her.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Si-mun tilted his head in question.
"We have a visitor."
"A visitor?"
Lee Yu-jeong nodded with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.
"Yes. The Association President's chief secretary has come to see you."