Chapter 79
Chapter 79
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Paracelsus's Lament
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Paracelsus's Lament
* Myth Grade*
This item was born from the condensed lament of a now-forgotten being.
"Hm?"
It was because a material he'd never seen before had appeared right in front of him.
Normally, rumors about myth-grade materials would spread far and wide.
Even though Shin-hyeok had been in the Bronze Tier dimension before his regression, he was still among the top Challenger players.
That's why he had a decent knowledge of myth-grade materials.
"Myth-grade materials are usually byproducts of the constellations. In that sense, Paracelsus, huh. That's intriguing. Our alchemy guild is named Paracelsus too. So there was actually a constellation named Paracelsus."
In that regard, Paracelsus had been a historical figure, not a constellation.
Constellation: It's not that strange if you think of the owner of the turtle ship, but it's still fascinating.
"This isn't something for me to use."
That's why Shin-hyeok instinctively knew this didn't belong to him.
Paracelsus's Lament.
From the moment he heard that name, the item's owner had been decided.
"Hye-rin."
"Yeah? It's been a while since Dad came all the way to the forge~"
"I have something for you."
"Huh? I already got all the materials through Myth Distribution."
"It's from the myth-grade material draw—Paracelsus's Lament—"
"Dad's the best!"
Guild: Paracelsus.
The top floor of what had once been the Korean branch of the Alchemists, completely overhauled.
They'd gutted the entire place to turn it into a massive forge, and Hye-rin was its master.
He couldn't tell if she was excited about the name Paracelsus's Lament or just the fact that it was a myth-grade material, but Shin-hyeok easily caught Hye-rin as she leaped at him like a frog.
Rubbing her face against his neck wasn't exactly behavior for a grown woman toward a grown man, but since he saw her as his daughter, it didn't feel off.
After purring like a cat with catnip and rejoicing for a good while, Hye-rin suddenly lifted her head and locked eyes with Shin-hyeok.
"Show me quick! Don't you wanna see me go crazy?"
"Alright, alright. I'll show you, so calm down. Your heart's gonna burst."
If the little Diaochan went mad, she might pull a Lu Bu and try to ditch her dad, so Shin-hyeok hurriedly pulled Paracelsus's Lament from his inventory.
And the moment Paracelsus's Lament appeared from his inventory.
Whoosh!
"Huh?"
"Hye-rin!"
A sudden burst of light engulfed Hye-rin.
In this completely unexpected situation, as Shin-hyeok rushed toward her.
Hye-rin lightly waved him off.
"My trait is evolving. Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen. Well, something is happening..."
"Trait evolution? How?"
This was just a byproduct of her trait evolving.
Shin-hyeok tilted his head in confusion.
He knew Paracelsus was tied to alchemy.
Did that mean every alchemist would grow upon encountering Paracelsus's Lament? He thought that for a moment.
"Oh, I never told you. My trait is 'Paracelsus's Incarnation.' It's a growth-type legendary-grade trait."
"...Ah."
Her explanation made everything click.
Paracelsus's Incarnation.
A growth-type legendary-grade trait whose name perfectly matched Paracelsus's Lament.
And soon after, as the glow faded.
Paracelsus's Lament had left Shin-hyeok's hand and gone to Hye-rin.
"Wait, when did it move? It's mine."
"Why would it be yours, Dad? It's mine now."
"...Fine. I brought it for you anyway, so whatever."
Shin-hyeok let out a hollow laugh at Hye-rin, who spoke like a scam site, then got to the point.
"So, any changes?"
"It grew to Legendary+ grade. Kinda disappointing. I thought it'd hit Myth grade."
"You think one myth-grade material item would do that?"
"Dream big, right? And if I reach Myth grade, won't that be good for you too, Dad?"
"Well... yeah..."
Hye-rin's trait had evolved to Legendary+.
Knowing Se-jin had recently reached Legendary+ too, Shin-hyeok couldn't hide his swelling pride.
'To reach the realm I only got to before regression in just three months after... Lucky bastards.'
Se-jin and Hye-rin.
Shin-hyeok's one-two punch.
He could handle combat himself, but gear and elixirs were definite weak points.
In that sense, the two reaching pre-regression levels signaled a lot.
Of course—
'Compared to before regression, they're still lacking. No experience. But whether it's body or soul, once one reaches there first, the other follows naturally. Give 'em time, and they'll get there on their own. All I gotta do is provide infinite support for that.'
They weren't the Cheonggyecheon Bang clan with over a decade of experience, nor Lu Bu's little Diaochan, Baek Hye-rin.
But reaching that realm was inevitable.
All Shin-hyeok could do was help them gain experience faster to get there sooner.
Infinite support for that experience was a given.
"Now go."
"Huh?"
"I'm gonna do some alchemy now. I can't lose this feeling. The sensation that swam through the air, always slipping away—now it's fully in my grasp. I won't let it go. So get out!"
"O-okay. I'll leave on my own two feet. On my own!"
Thud!
Of course, he got kicked out of Hye-rin's forge in the process, but Shin-hyeok smiled.
"Feels like raising a teenage daughter. Is this right?"
Never imagining he'd feel like a dad booted from his 20-year-old daughter's room, Shin-hyeok glanced once at the firmly shut forge door before leaving the Paracelsus building without regret.
"Time for me to do my job."
All rewards had been settled.
Hye-rin was even closer to her pre-regression self, so the elixir business would skyrocket.
So Shin-hyeok decided to do what only he could.
[National Confrontation Preliminary Registration]
National Confrontation.
The preliminary to participate in what could be called the world's festival—that was the start.
"Let's start by crushing the Platinum players in the opening match."
And here, Shin-hyeok planned to purge the rot that had once plagued Korea's National Confrontation team.
National Confrontation.
The new festival succeeding the World Cup, once called the world's festival.
Though "succeeding" might not fit, as it wasn't the second World Cup but the first National Confrontation.
It boasted as many viewers as the World Cup and Super Bowl combined.
Truly, the whole world watched, making it a top national priority.
A country's prestige and rewards depended on its performance.
In that sense, Korea's national representatives were—
No hope.
National teams usually rotated periodically, if not frequently.
Like the Yangtze's waters pushing out the old—like natural generational turnover.
Players valued talent and time, so veterans stayed in national teams.
But most yielded spots for the nation's future, sacrificing personal gain.
Today's win was for future tens, not their aging selves against rising juniors.
Compared to that, Korea's team, decades after formation, had barely changed.
No voluntary retirements ever.
Most "exits" were forced by their own crimes.
Even then, many slinked back in later, so no real newbies.
But Korea's national team problems didn't end there.
They just plain sucked at fighting.
Frankly, Korea's team quality wasn't bad.
They had two king-grade players others lacked, and the rest were decent.
But amazingly, they turned good materials into bizarre Netherworld Twisted Bibimbap.
This incident involved two female national reps fighting over a male teammate.
Surprisingly, that guy had a hidden real girlfriend besides them.
Endless scandals chaining together.
Team atmosphere was the worst.
Teamwork was trash.
Some hogged limited resources.
Some treated it like their playground.
Some ignored teammates.
Dozens of variations made it baffling how the Korean team survived.
But even this was minor compared to the Platinum squad for opening matches—the second string.
"What, another preliminary?"
"Same old faces anyway."
"Alright? No attacking each other. Just dunk on newbies to drop 'em?"
"One-two day? You do good."
They were one massive cartel.
Mad dogs barking and biting inside the fence, but fiercer to outsiders entering.
They pre-teamed and shoved out newbie applicants.
Countless talents failed prelims that way.
No matter the talent, shaking off veteran seniors with years more playtime was impossible.
"Nice to meet you, seniors. I'll kill you all today."
"...?"
"Ahh, this chilling sensation. Been a while. Time to return as Senior Smasher, Rot Purger Choi Shin-hyeok."
"You mad bastard!"
Of course, none of that applied to Shin-hyeok, who entered today's preliminary.
A nuke had dropped on the Platinum National Team preliminary.
