Chapter 12: Alchemist (3)

As he continued forth, an altar came into view. The altar was wrapped in steel and copper and had a crude appearance. Two Magic Golems were standing on either side of the altar. A message popped up as he approached.

[Open the Tome of the Alchemist over the altar.]

Sungchul’s eyes turned towards the altar. A considerable amount of Mana could be felt coming from it. However, it felt different from a Mage’s Mana. If a Mage’s Mana could be compared to the constant rhythm of breathing, this Mana had a consistent presence with no fluctuations. Sungchul recalled the mechanical noise of a flat-lined heart monitor coming from an emergency room. A similar steady flow of Mana could be felt from the Golems.

‘This is a proper altar. It could almost sell me on this class all on its own.’

Eckheart the person, was interesting, but Sungchul was not so interested in the Alchemist Class itself. He simply passed by the altar into the passage beyond. As soon as he entered, a message in red brought him to a stop.

[Only those with Alchemic abilities can challenge the trials which lay beyond.]

Several blades and hidden traps made intimidating noises as they activated from all sides. Looking at the message, Sungchul felt despondent. Only allowed to advance after becoming an Alchemist. What a childish trick.

Sungchul could pass through the traps with his own strength, but he felt like playing along for at least a little while longer, and so he retrieved the Tome of the Alchemist and opened it.

[Class Change Tome of the Alchemist]

Grade: Rare – Hidden

Type: Class Change (Compact Form)

Effect: Acquire Hidden Class Alchemist

Restriction: None

Requirement: 20x Palace Token

Everything else was fine, but the Palace Tokens made him hesitate. Sungchul had 36 Palace Tokens. He needed 14 more to become an Echo Mage. It wasn’t like these Tokens were very easy to get, and there was the chance that he could be hit by some misfortune and miss his mark for becoming an Echo Mage if he were to spend 20 Tokens here. Taking this was like stuffing oneself on ramen before going to a high-class restaurant and then missing out on the main course due to being too full.

‘Mm…what to do…’

He didn’t hesitate for too long. Sungchul reached into his pocket for 20 Palace Tokens and placed them, along with the tome, onto the altar.

The reason he was confident in doing this was simple. He was humanity’s greatest warrior. There were at least two more Rank Matches left, and he could earn more than enough Palace Tokens just by maintaining a good ranking. There was the risk, however, of being noticed by the spectators, but missing out on this curiosity would linger too much in the back of his mind.

‘What’s there to life? Might as well bet it all.’

A lengthy message then appeared.

[You have felt the breath of truth.]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the Hidden Class, Alchemist!]

Reward: Class – Alchemist acquired

A wind, interwoven with Magic, blew out from the altar and wrapped around Sungchul’s body. The wind grew brighter and brighter and flowed even faster before finally disappearing into his body. He immediately opened his class window to take a look.

[Class]

Main Class – Primordial Warrior (Legendary)

Sub Class – High-Class Chef (Rare)

Sub Class – Alchemist (Rare)

*2 Additional Sub Class slots available

He had acquired the Alchemist Class. There were two Sub Class slots left; more than enough room for the Echo Mage Class. Personally, it bothered him that he had wasted two of his precious Sub Class slots for personal hobbies. But hadn’t he done fine without worrying about his Sub Class slots so far? He reassured himself with these thoughts and continued past the altar, into the corridor. Unlike before, none of the traps were activated.

Past the hostile corridor sat a table and a stone cauldron. The hole under the cauldron lit up with bright, orange flames and heated itself, while different kinds of minerals, plants, and shells from unknown organisms could be seen on the table as he stepped closer. A purple Magic Golem appeared on the other side of the room, but it appeared to be tightly wrapped in something similar to a spider’s web.

[The Fundamentals of Alchemy: Synthesis]

[Combine the prepared ingredients on the table and synthesize an item capable of freeing the Magic Golem.]

[Being unable to free the Magic Golem will result in disqualification.]

[Time limit is 10 minutes. There will be no second chances.]

As expected of a trial for Alchemists. Sungchul glanced over the ingredients on the table. There was some grass, a rock, a vial of water, some pieces of a shell, and other tedious bits of junk. He was at a loss regarding what he should do with the ingredients in front of him.

Sungchul continued to stare thoughtfully at the ingredients before holding up the grass, then took a whiff.

It smelled just like grass.

After he’d finished smelling it, an unexpected message appeared in front of him.

[Blindman’s Grass]

Level: 1

Grade: E

Attribute: Wood

Effect: None

Note: It is a commonly seen grass, but due to its agreeable nature, it is generally used as a buffer during Alchemic experiments.

Here in Other World, appraisals were usually limited to weapons or potions that had some practical use. Grass, stone, or other natural objects could not be appraised at all, but more than that, only a few books, meant for herbalists and the like, contained any information regarding these.

‘Is this a basic skill for Alchemists?’

Sungchul checked the fine details of the Alchemist Class window.

[Class: Alchemist]

Class Skill: Synthesis

Class Skill: Inspection

After reading about Inspection, Sungchul understood what had just occurred.

‘I must have gotten the message screen because of the Inspection skill.’

According to its description, an Alchemist could determine the attributes of an ingredient after having a sniff. Sungchul continued to investigate the other materials in the same manner: Vaporizing Liquid, Riverside Stone, Glacial Crab’s Shell Fragment, etc. They all had their own description and effects.

Sungchul obtained all the information and paused to ponder briefly before tossing the Vaporizing Liquid into the cauldron. The Vaporizing Liquid was the base, the foundation for the ingredients. The Riverside Stone with its polar attribute was pulverized by his fist and then tossed in afterwards. The Vaporizing Liquid emitted a white light as the stone powder began to react with it.

Next, he pulverized, then added, the crimson wings of a butterfly. They were called the Wings of the Infernal Butterfly. It contained a fire attribute that could be used to amplify a weaker ingredient. The Riverside Rock essence flared up as the crimson powder entered the cauldron and the liquid turned a bloody red. However, the Riverside Rock, added before the wings, had an earth attribute and began to emit a black smoke once it started mixing. To neutralize this, Sungchul added the Blindman’s Grass which acted as a buffer. Once added, the black smoke stopped, and the cauldron turned purple.

Sungchul began to stir the cauldron with the large spoon next to the it. This was when the Alchemist’s next skill, Synthesize, would start to be useful. Every time the cauldron was stirred, he could feel a small amount of Mana leaking out of him.

‘This must be why the Alchemist Class remains unpopular.’

After several minutes of stirring, a bright light came pouring out of the cauldron.

[Synthesis Complete]

For the first time in a long while, Sungchul felt his heart race in excitement as he checked his work. The product was a sticky, colorless liquid. He collected the liquid into a provided container then inspected it.

[Low-Grade Acid]

Level: 1

Grade: F

Attribute: Fire

Type: Common Clutter

Effect: It melts sticky substances.

This was exactly the result he was looking for. He was slightly bothered by having used only some of the twelve ingredients on the table, but he’d still managed to make something as he had intended. Sungchul took the low-grade acid and poured the liquid over the Magic Golem.

Ssssss

The spider web emitted white smoke before slowly beginning to melt. Sungchul watched his success with smug eyes as he waited for the web to melt away completely, but it didn’t dissolve any further. He had used all of the acid but had only managed to melt some of the spider web. It seems he actually needed to use all of the ingredients provided to him. He stood still for a moment to consider his options when a message popped up before him.

[30 seconds before time limit ends.]

[Acid of Rank D or higher required to melt the spider web.]

[Before the road of truth, a peerless mind is required. Those without talent shall be turned away.]

There was no more time or ingredients to spare, but it was also a waste for him to turn back now.

“…”

Another message appeared as if to mock him.

[10 seconds before time limit ends.]

[Turn back, you who lacks talent!]

It was once said, a man will be more willing to make promises when he needs to use the bathroom, than after he’s already relieved. Sungchul couldn’t help but feel this was an apt saying to describe his current feelings. He stood over the Magic Golem, and looked over the spider web, before roughly spitting out a single phrase.

“Aaaah, fuck it!”

He pulled apart the spider web covering the Magic Golem with his bare hands.

Rip!

It was something that could never be pulled apart by an ordinary human being, but it was no different than any other type of spider silk before Sungchul’s god-like strength. The Magic Golem’s eyes lit up as the spider web covering it was harshly pulled apart.

“Thank you for freeing me. You have great talent as an Alchemist. I will lead you to the next test.”

[You have torn the Spider Queen’s silk, which even a legendary blade could not sever, using your knowledge of Alchemy.]

Reward: +2 Intuition

The end justifies the means; freeing the Magic Golem was the only requirement for the test. Creating the acid was only one of the methods to passing the test. Of course, this probably wasn’t the intention of the Quest-Host who had created this Quest because no matter how sharp or powerful the weapon, it would still take no less than ten minutes to unravel this web. The host could not have possibly foreseen Sungchul’s overwhelming strength.

After passing the first test with ease, Sungchul headed towards the next course. Another trial, similar to the previous one awaited him. He’d failed the first time, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Sungchul used his wealth of experience and adaptability, and his occasionally surprising innovation to move forward. If all else failed, he temporarily unsealed his massive strength to brute-force through each one of Eckheart’s tests. Now, as he approached the final trial, a massive three-headed golem stood to block his path.

[Eighth Hero, Eckheart’s final exam]

[The ingredients prepared before you is a seed of possibilities.]

[No questions asked. Destroy the Three-Headed Golem!]

The requirements were simple, but by now, Sungchul had also become tired of needing to think and create items to pass the tests. He immediately pulled out Fal Garaz and smashed the Golem across the chest.

SLAM!

[You have completed all of Eckheart’s exams and come to accept the glorious potential of Alchemy.][Eighth Hero Eckheart could not be more excited to bestow his inheritance on you who has completed all of his tests.]

Reward:

Tome of the Creationist

Familiar: Living Book Bertelgia

Eckheart’s Portable Alchemic Cauldron

+ 5 Intuition

The rewards fell in front of Sungchul. There were two books. One of which was significantly larger, but as he reached for it, it floated into the air as if to reject him.

“Ah…what a blatant scam artist…”

A depressed and cold voice of a little girl could be heard, but it wasn’t coming from a human.

“…This is the worst. This kind of person is my owner…”

The voice was coming from the book.