Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Chapter 54: Dragonkin (1)
Translation: godtl
The sudden reaction from the Constellations.
In response, Si-mun once again scanned the information of the reward item.
[Corrupted Serum]
Grade: F
A serum that has transformed over countless eons.
The description window still showed it as an utterly plain, common F-rank material item.
But now, having witnessed even the Constellations' reactions—
One particular part stood out to Si-mun's eyes.
'Countless eons?'
Eons.
A word commonly used to signify infinite time.
Yet despite enduring such immeasurable ages, it remained merely in the form of a serum?
'Does that mean it was something extraordinary before enduring those eons...?'
If it were ordinary blood, shouldn't it have vanished without a trace after such an unfathomable span of time?
Moreover.
"The vial is incredibly unique too."
Like that of a serpent.
The glass vial, segmented like the scales of a reptile, was a form Si-mun—who had handled countless materials in his past life—had never seen before.
And that mystery—
-That's because it's an item of the Dragonkin.
—was answered by his companion nestled at the center of his chest.
The Philosopher's Stone.
"An item of the Dragonkin?"
-Mhm. Whether it's a glass vial or whatever, the Dragonkin engrave things they consider valuable in that manner. Though personally, I think it looks tacky.
"I see."
Nodding slowly, Si-mun studied the scale-engraved glass vial containing the Corrupted Serum.
'Why would they give an item of the Dragonkin as a reward?'
And an F-rank item at that.
Though according to the Philosopher's Stone, the serum inside that vial must be incredibly precious.
Or rather, 'must have been precious,' no?
"Wait."
As his thoughts reached that point—
Si-mun hastily opened his inventory and retrieved another item.
[Dragon Blood]
Grade: C
Blood of a lower Dragonkin.
Acts as poison to races other than the Dragonkin.
A smooth glass vial—yet despite being a higher grade than the F-rank [Corrupted Serum], this Dragon Blood.
'I also got this from an arena related to Marnel, didn't I?'
The [Nightmare of the Heated Mine]—his first Special Arena and where he'd first met Marnel.
At the time, having cleared it in a way even the Galaxy Arena hadn't anticipated, he'd obtained both Dragon Blood and a Mithril Bar.
And both the Dragon Blood and Mithril Bar had been carefully stored in his inventory for future crafting purposes.
Si-mun's eyes narrowed as he examined the two items.
'There's something here.'
The Galaxy Arena was a place that reliably provided substantial rewards.
For such an arena to give Dragonkin-related items as rewards twice in a row—
It was highly likely they were signaling something.
'But what?'
Chin resting on his hand, he pondered at length—yet no matter how much he thought, nothing came to mind.
"Ugh! My head hurts. Let's grab a drink first."
Yelling in frustration, Si-mun roughly tousled his hair before shuffling weakly toward the bar.
-No alcohol, Oppa.
"I know. I'm just feeling stifled and need something cool to drink."
Grumbling under his breath, he opened the fridge door.
The beverage section was packed with dairy products and an array of carbonated drinks.
'Those brats. They didn't just spend money recklessly.'
His two siblings had clearly seen right through his preference for fizzy drinks.
Feeling a renewed sense of gratitude for their thoughtfulness, he reached for a drink—when suddenly.
"Hm?"
His gaze fixed on the milk carton on the shelf above.
There, printed as usual on any milk carton—
[Expiration Date: 02. 29. 22:30]
—was the expiration date.
'Why didn't I think of this before?'
The corners of Si-mun's lips naturally curled upward.
"Philosopher's Stone."
-Yes?
"Let's perform one transmutation. Like this."
Immediately, Si-mun conveyed the idea that had just struck him to the Philosopher's Stone.
-Hoh. Our Oppa has come up with quite a clever thought, hasn't he?
"How about it? Is it possible?"
-If Equivalent Exchange holds, there's no reason it can't be done... but...
Contrary to his expectation of immediate agreement, the Philosopher's Stone's tone took an odd turn.
-You may or may not know this, Oppa, but items that manipulate time aren't exactly common.
"That makes sense."
A power that influences time.
Naturally, items containing such power couldn't possibly be commonplace.
"Especially reversing time is the hardest part. And going back eons? That would require an absolutely enormous price. You know what I'm talking about, right?"
"Ah."
Si-mun sighed and nodded slowly.
'She's talking about when I regressed.'
The Equivalent Exchange used for his regression back then had been none other than the Philosopher's Stone itself—or more precisely, the legendary elixir that served as its main power source.
But.
'Making an elixir right now is impossible.'
Even in his past life, he had only managed to create it after an unbelievable streak of luck. The basic ingredients alone were so rare that they could only be obtained after the official Arena opened. Just knowing the recipe wasn't enough to craft it at this point.
Had the Philosopher's Stone read his thoughts?
-Don't worry. We won't need the elixir.
The stone reassured him.
-There are two methods, actually. The best one is receiving the item from someone who already has it.
"Receiving it?"
Si-mun had expected the answer to be alchemy, but this was completely unexpected.
-Yep. And as luck would have it, one of the beings watching you closely happens to have exactly that.
At those words, Si-mun's gaze naturally drifted upward.
-Right, Zeus?
As the Philosopher's Stone posed the question,
[Constellation Zeus silently gazes down at you.]
A message window popped up.
Then,
[Constellation Zeus shakes his head. 'I do not have the Hourglass of Cronus.']
A disappointing message appeared.
-Huh?! You don't have it?!
[Constellation Black Goat shouts, 'Damn playboy, how do you not have it?!']
[Constellation Odin squints his eyes. 'You didn't lose it or have it stolen, did you?']
[Constellation Zeus firmly draws the line. 'I have no obligation to explain myself to you.']
As if it were some earth-shattering revelation that he didn't have the item, the Constellations expressed their shock one after another, following the Philosopher's Stone's lead. Si-mun, relatively unfazed, shrugged.
"Too bad, but what can we do?"
-No, we can't just leave it at that! Do you even know what that thing is?!
"He said he doesn't have it. You think a Constellation would lie about something like this?"
-Well, no, but... he doesn't have it? How...?
The Philosopher's Stone rambled incoherently. Si-mun calmly tried to soothe it.
"Didn't you say there were two methods?"
-That's true. We can just synthesize it ourselves. But hey, do you know what form the Hourglass of Cronus takes?
"No, not at all."
-Right? As you know, the better you understand an object's structure, the lower the cost of synthesis.
"So we just synthesize it the same way we've been doing until now?"
-That's the idea, but the Hourglass of Cronus is a different story.
The Philosopher's Stone let out a deep sigh before continuing.
-To synthesize it, you'd need at least 500,000 Achievement Points.
"Whaaat?!"
Si-mun's eyes widened like a startled rabbit. And for good reason.
"Not 50,000, but 500,000?"
Half a million points just for one synthesis? And that was the bare minimum?
-There's no way around it. The Hourglass of Cronus affects even the time of gods.
'It affects the time of gods?'
Just hearing that was enough to tell him how extraordinary the artifact was. Yet, Si-mun's expression grew calmer.
"But what we're trying to reverse is just this serum, right?"
-That's right.
"Then can't we synthesize a scaled-down version?"
After all, the Mythic-grade equipment he synthesized was already a nerfed version, wasn't it? The Hourglass of Cronus shouldn't be any different.
-Even then, the cost is too high. The very mechanism of manipulating time demands an enormous price.
"Then what about synthesizing just a part of it?"
-Just a part?
"Yeah. It's not like we're going to use it as a weapon, right? Just a tiny fragment—say, a grain or two of sand from the hourglass—should be enough, no?"
The moment Si-mun finished speaking,
[Constellation Zeus lets out a hollow laugh.]
[Constellation Odin and Heavenly Demon stare at you with dazed expressions.]
[Constellation Black Goat cackles with laughter.]
The Constellations' reactions flooded in.
'What? Why are they all acting like this all of a sudden?'
As if it had read Si-mun's thoughts.
-Seriously...... To even think of transmuting it like that.......
"Uh...... Was it really that strange of an idea?"
-No, it's brilliant. It's just so far beyond imagination that even those guys are reacting like that.
The Philosopher's Stone replied in a hollow voice.
Soon after.
-Alright. Transmuting it grain by grain would reduce the cost. Besides, since it's serum, even a grain-sized amount should have an effect.
The Philosopher's Stone seemed to have finished its calculations and gave its answer.
Without hesitation, Si-mun raised his hand.
[Insufficient Transmutation Power to meet the required transmutation conditions.]
[The Philosopher's Stone demands 5,000 Achievement Points to compensate for the insufficient Equivalent Exchange.]
[Will you accept? (Yes / No)]
'5,000? That's quite steep.'
Even divided grain by grain, it still cost 5,000.
Still, compared to 500,000 points, this was nothing. Si-mun immediately selected Yes.
Whoom.
The energy filling the deficit surged through Si-mun's body and gathered at his fingertips.
The moment he flicked the finger holding that energy—
Sssk.
Golden particles, so fine they could be mistaken for flour, settled onto his palm.
[Cronus's Sand]
Grade: Myth
The time-altering sand that formed the core of the Hourglass of Cronus, the vanished God of Time.
Though usable, its power is inexplicably dissipating in real-time.
Not even a pinch—barely visible to the naked eye.
Perhaps it was because he had transmuted only the sand, not the hourglass itself?
-Oppa! Use it quick, or it'll disappear!
Cronus's Sand was losing its power in real-time.
Si-mun hurriedly uncorked the Corrupted Serum and let the sand trickle in.
Then—
Sssssshhh!
With an eerie sound, the Corrupted Serum began to vibrate.
Its murky color gradually cleared, and the coagulated solid form bubbled violently like boiling water, liquefying before his eyes.
[The watching Constellations collectively sigh.]
A quiet message window appeared.
As the changes in the serum gradually settled, Si-mun checked its new information.
[Blood of Tiamat]
Grade: Myth
The blood of the Dragon God Tiamat.
Though restored to its original form through imperfect time reversal, it will soon revert.
- Time limit: 59 seconds.
"No way!"
Shock escaped him involuntarily.
Not just because that worthless serum had turned into the blood of a Dragon God—
"59 seconds?!"
Well, 57 now, to be precise.
Was it because of Cronus's Sand, which had been losing power in real-time?
The Corrupted Serum he'd barely restored—
No, even the Blood of Tiamat had a time limit.
'What do I do?'
He'd managed to reverse it, but—
He never imagined there'd be a time limit.
And now, of all things, it was a blood-type material item—where was he supposed to use it right now?
Then—
Splosh.
The deep crimson blood inside the vial sloshed—
"Whoa!"
Before suddenly streaming out of the opening.
Si-mun hastily cupped his hands to catch it, but—
Plop.
The Blood of Tiamat gathered like a kind of slime, forming a taut, cohesive mass.
The upper part—presumably its head—stretched out, swiveling around as if searching for something.
Then it froze when it spotted Si-mun.
And then—
Splurch!
It suddenly elongated and plunged straight into Si-mun's chest.
"What the—?!"
He frantically clutched at his chest, but—
No wetness, no rubbery texture—nothing.
Then—
THUMP!
"Ghk—!"
An overwhelming surge of agony and heat hammered through his entire body.
['Blood of Tiamat' has begun assimilation.]
A single line of text floated before his eyes.
"Ghh—kuh!"
But the pain and heat were so immense he couldn't even muster a proper scream.
Drenched in sweat, he collapsed to the ground.
'H-hot......! So hot......!'
It felt like every drop of blood in his body was boiling at an unbearable temperature.
Worst of all, the Philosopher's Stone embedded in the center of his chest pulsed like an overclocked engine on the verge of exploding.
How much time had passed like this?
[Trait 'Stigmata' reacts to 'Blood of Tiamat'.]
[Conditions unmet. Trait 'Stigmata' remains inactive.]
['Blood of Tiamat' seeks an alternative path.]
A line of text appeared before his vision, already darkened by pain.
-Damn it! The hell?! Just attacking outta nowhere—typical Tiamat, even her blood's a f*ing menace! Hey! You—get over here!
Along with the Philosopher's Stone's furious voice—
Si-mun's vision went black.