A Chimera in a Flask

Beneath the Hunter Bureau building lay an expansive underground training facility reserved exclusively for affiliated hunters.

Even on her scheduled days off, Kim Yumin showed up without fail, throwing herself into relentless training. As an S-rank hunter, she had access to an individual private training hall specially prepared by the Bureau, but lately, her routine had taken an unusual turn: she was sparring with Jeon Jaewoo. Having inadvertently awakened as a fellow swordsman, Jaewoo had crossed paths with her several times on his way down to train.

"If you're heading down to train anyway, would you care to spar with me?" she had asked.

"A sword spar? With me?"

"Yes. I would be grateful for the opportunity to learn a thing or two from you, Hunter Jeon Jaewoo."

And so, one thing leading to another, they had been practicing together for several days. In truth, however, Jaewoo was the only one learning anything. In terms of pure swordsmanship, he stood no chance against Kim Yumin, an elite powerhouse backed by an S-grade sword trait.

Clang!

With a sharp metallic ring, the Ego Sword was knocked clean from Jaewoo's grip, tumbling across the reinforced floor.

Kim Yumin's brow furrowed slightly.

"Hunter Jeon Jaewoo... you wouldn't happen to be going easy on me, would you?"

"Not a chance. Does it really not look like I'm doing my absolute best?"

He certainly looked like he was pouring everything into it. And that was precisely why she found it so utterly baffling.

Is a sword really his primary weapon?

How could someone fight this clumsily? In Yumin's eyes, Jaewoo's combat prowess wasn't completely abysmal, but it fell strikingly short of her own S-rank standard. It was almost impossible to believe this was the capability of a hunter who had solo-conquered Legendary and Ancient-grade ruins.

Jaewoo retrieved his fallen blade, offering an apologetic excuse. "Swordsmanship isn't my specialty. I'm sorry if I disappointed you."

"I'm not particularly disappointed. The prowess you displayed during the conquest of the Tower of Babel was more than enough to leave me in awe. But if it isn't your forte, why insist on wielding a sword?"

"That's a secret. Isn't prying into another hunter's abilities considered bad manners?"

At that, Yumin's frown deepened. "I believe you already know practically everything about my abilities, Hunter Jeon. Don't you think it's a bit unfair that I'm kept entirely in the dark?"

"Every citizen in South Korea knows your abilities, Hunter Kim Yumin, so that's an exception. It's not like I personally pried into your profile, right?"

Since Jaewoo adamantly kept his lips sealed, she couldn't fathom what his core ability actually was.

Is he primarily support-oriented, just like what he demonstrated back at the Tower of Babel?

Yet, as extraordinary as support abilities could be, they alone wouldn't allow a hunter to conquer top-tier ruins entirely unassisted.

Regardless of her confusion, the sparring sessions were a tremendous boon to Jaewoo. True to her stature as an S-rank hunter representing the nation, Kim Yumin possessed magnificent blade technique. Thanks to her guidance, Jaewoo's skills advanced by leaps and bounds even while Myeolgeop was away.

Meanwhile, another detail caught Kim Yumin's attention.

"That weapon in your hand... it seems quite unusual."

She eyed the Ego Sword, which was trembling faintly. A true swordsman indeed; she had immediately picked up on the fact that the sentient blade was far from ordinary.

"Ah, yes. Though rather than unusual, it's closer to having a foul temper..."

"Pardon?"

"Ah, never mind."

The subtle vibration was simply because the Ego Sword hadn't shut its mouth throughout the entire spar. Fortunately, the blade's telepathic voice seemed completely inaudible to anyone other than its master.

—I'd be far better off entrusting this magnificent body to that lass instead!

For once, Jaewoo and the Ego Sword shared the exact same sentiment. If he had his way, he would gladly hand off this foul-mouthed nuisance to anyone willing to take it.

Just then, a translucent notification window materialized before Jaewoo's eyes. The moment he read the prompt, his eyes widened.

"Hunter Kim Yumin, I apologize, but let's call it a day here. An urgent matter just came up. I'm truly sorry."

"Oh? Of course."

Offering a swift bow of farewell, Jaewoo sprinted straight home.

When Jaewoo arrived home, the combat golem Myeolgeop had already stepped out of Heaven's Box. The automaton, which had completely depleted its energy and shut down during the brutal confrontation in the Ancient-grade ruin, was now moving without the slightest hitch.

Projecting its prompt, Myeolgeop bowed with crisp, disciplined precision. It was merely a construct of earth and machinery rather than a creature of flesh and blood, but having spent so much time side by side, Jaewoo felt genuine warmth upon seeing it again.

He stepped closer, checking the golem from head to toe. "Are you feeling completely fine now? No trouble moving your body?"

"That's a relief. A huge relief."

Having confirmed its master's well-being, Myeolgeop wasted no time getting to business.

The abrupt inquiry caught Jaewoo off guard, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine.

What are you, an elementary school homeroom teacher checking summer vacation homework?

Why was it that he, the creator and master, felt intimidated every single time?

At any rate, unlike the Lich King or Novum, Myeolgeop had not undergone a rank upgrade after emerging from Heaven's Box. That was only natural, as this cycle had been dedicated purely to repairs rather than enhancing its specifications.

Myeolgeop scanned the other summons in the room, whose auras had grown significantly more potent, and inquired:

"Yeah."

When Jaewoo nodded, Myeolgeop projected a distinctly sharp notification window.

Whenever it concerned its master's security, Myeolgeop never minced words.

"I could only synthesize one at a time anyway, so either the Lich King or Novum was always by my side."

"Right, right. Well, now that you're back, everything's fine."

Even with Myeolgeop's return and both Novum and the Lich King having evolved to higher trait ranks, they were still far from ready to challenge a Mythic-grade ruin.

"Do you want to enter the box one more time?" Jaewoo suggested. "If we upgrade your specs, clearing a Mythic-grade ruin might actually become possible."

"How long are we talking?"

Yeah... let's push upgrading Myeolgeop to later.

Since the golem already possessed two Transcendent-grade traits, its required synthesis period was on another level entirely. For now, feeding Novum or the Lich King into the box yielded a far greater return on growth. Yet, having both attained Transcendent traits as well, their future upgrades would likely take massive chunks of time too.

It's about time a new summon showed up...

While Myeolgeop was undergoing repairs, Jaewoo had continually loaded raw materials into the spare synthesis slot, but all that ever came out were magic tools. The item nearing completion right now was almost certainly just another magical contraption. Tired of getting his hopes up only to be let down, he simply stared at the timer with numb indifference.

And the moment Heaven's Box ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finished its crafting process—

The completely unexpected outcome caught Jaewoo wide-eyed. At long last, the new summon he had awaited so eagerly had emerged from the box. The detailed profile window that accompanied only newly created summons hovered brightly in the air.

...Does the probability of getting a summon go up when you expect absolutely nothing?

Pushing aside his bubbling joy, Jaewoo carefully examined the new summon's profile. First off, its name was Homunculus—a moniker that sounded like it belonged to some bizarre medieval alchemy experiment. Its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appearance was equally eccentric. In fact, compared to a skeletal undead, this entity felt bizarre in an entirely different way.

The creature called Homunculus was literally a head-sized glass flask floating gently in midair. Suspended inside the translucent flask was the faint silhouette of a tiny, human-like figure. Seeing it squirm softly, it was evident that the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠miniature being inside was the core entity.

Jaewoo offered an awkward wave to the newborn summon. "Uh... nice to meet you."

To his astonishment, the miniature person inside the flask waved its hand in return. Beyond that gesture, however, the Homunculus appeared incapable of expressing itself. Unlike Novum or the Lich King, it couldn't speak, nor could it project text prompts like Myeolgeop; any direct communication seemed entirely out of reach.

...And who on earth is this 'Chief God' anyway?

Created for the purpose of storing knowledge... did that make this creature something like a living biological supercomputer? In any case, much like Novum, it appeared to be a synthetic lifeform crafted by someone from ancient antiquity.

Another peculiar detail was that it possessed only two S-grade traits. Its baseline specifications were lower than Myeolgeop's, Novum's, and even the Elder Lich's prior to evolving into the Lich King.

Feeling a momentary pang of disappointment at its comparatively modest stats, Jaewoo quickly shook his head.

Look at me getting spoiled.

How many hunters in the entire world possessed two S-grade traits when even acquiring a single one was a national event?

Meanwhile, the Lich King seemed utterly fascinated by the new arrival.

"Ho-ho... what an intriguing little fellow has emerged."

"Do you know what a homunculus is, old man?"

"Naturally. The homunculus's aptitude for alchemy shares certain fundamentals with my sorcery. I once dabbled in alchemical research myself, you see."

In truth, whether it was the Lich King's Sorcery or the Homunculus's Alchemy, to Jaewoo—who lacked any occult foundation—it all seemed roughly equivalent to the magic utilized by hunters. He didn't understand the exact mechanisms behind either discipline. Even in the case of the Lich King's Sorcery, he hadn't had a proper opportunity to test it out yet.

"Hmm... do you still possess the elixirs harvested from the ruin of The Unsetting Sun?" the Lich King asked.

"Of course. I kept everything I didn't consume myself."

"Splendid. Feed a few of those elixirs to the homunculus. The fellow shall show you something quite amusing."

Wondering what kind of talent had earned such keen interest from the skeletal elder, Jaewoo retrieved one of the miraculous fruits from the World Tree and brought it over to the Homunculus.

Among the various wondrous fruits harvested from the World Tree, this particular elixir possessed the restorative power to mend permanently crippled bodies. Had Myeolgeop been a human capable of ingesting medicine, Jaewoo wouldn't have needed to wait a whole month for Heaven's Box to repair it; feeding it this fruit would have sufficed.

The Homunculus accepted the elixir from Jaewoo. More precisely, it absorbed the fruit directly through the glass into the floating flask.

Whoooooosh...

A moment later, dense white smoke began billowing from within the flask. As the thick vapor obscured the interior, the tiny silhouette inside vanished from sight.

What's happening? Did something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go wrong?

Yet before his worry could mount, the smoke abruptly settled, and a sleek glass vial filled with a peculiar, shimmering liquid emerged from the flask.

He had clearly fed it a fruit, so why had a transparent bottle and liquid come out?

When Jaewoo inspected the finished item, his eyes widened in sheer astonishment. The Homunculus had taken an elixir of the World Tree—notoriously volatile and near impossible to refine—and brewed it into a flawless potion.