Krick.
Thud.
A constant noise echoed at regular intervals.
The seamless, advanced factory-like operation continued without any inefficiencies from manufacturing to the transportation process. Even to an outsider of alchemy, there was not a single inefficient section to be found.
And there. The golems made of Baiun’s metal tirelessly moved around everywhere. Originally, only simple tasks like packaging and material transport were supposed to be carried out.
“You there! Hold that handle firmly! It needs to spin around and around!”
A kid stationed in the center of the laboratory. Following Shiyeon’s short commands with her outstretched arms, she reached out to touch the assembly line for the production of the cures.
Time passed by.
“Unni!”
Seemingly having finished her task, she hopped off the stage and ran to another production line.
“Unni! I’m done!”
-Yeah, I was watching you. Good job~.
The eyeball in the flask managing that area softened slightly.
Krick.
An arm from nearby swung around and gently ruffled Shiyeon’s hair.
-Oh my, you little troublemaker. Now I understand why Oppa called you that. Thanks to you, work efficiency has doubled.
“Really?”
-Yes.
The Philosopher’s Stone nodded approvingly at Shiyeon’s sparkling eyes.
Maybe it was because of her innate nature as a golem, but Shiyeon, aside from the behavioral patterns input by Shimun into the Mithril Golems, gave independent commands, allowing for more meticulous actions than usual.
Thanks to this, the Mithril Golems, who were usually assigned simple tasks, were able to actively participate in the production line of the cure.
-Thanks to you, oppa can completely step away from golem control duties.
Except for periodic injections of energy. Shimun had reached a point where he could completely let go of controlling the Mithril Golems.
-Oppa doesn’t know how to rest, so I have to relieve some of the burden on his brain, even if it’s by force.
The Philosopher’s Stone seemed very satisfied with this. Continuously petting Shiyeon’s head, he let out a hearty laugh.
“Hehe. So, is Shiyeon a big help to appa?”
-Tremendously. Last time at the arena was a big help too.
The eyes of the Philosopher’s Stone in the flask narrowed slightly at this. Meanwhile.
“Hehe. I really tried hard to listen to Unni!”
A trace of cruelty passed through Shiyeon’s innocent pupils.
– Hehe. Well done. Yuto, if he just ran away from there, it would have been better. Well, instead of dying badly at the hands of demons, dying at your hands is better, I suppose.
The Philosopher’s Stone, looking down at Shiyeon, felt the same way.
– Shiyeon? Next time, try to keep the good-looking ones as intact as possible…
Before the words of the Philosopher’s Stone could come to an end, a dull thud was heard. The Philosopher’s Stone and Shiyeon’s gazes naturally turned towards the source of the sound. There, a faint, translucent smoke was dispersing.
“Well, failed again,” a handsome man with distinct features scratched his head. His left arm held a cylinder with a slightly pointed end, resembling the front of a syringe. And an inside the flask.
The Philosopher’s Stone used alchemy energy to float towards the man and approach him.
– Oppa, are you okay?
The Philosopher’s Stone asked.
“Yeah,” he nodded, his gaze fixed on the cylinder attached to his left arm.
“Take a break and try again. You’ve mastered the basic usage anyway.”
“Yeah, but it feels like it should work, yet it doesn’t, so I keep trying,” he replied, scrutinizing the cylinder.
Shimun explored the various parts of the cylinder with his fingers, and with each touch, a clear humming sound filled the air, as intricate currents revolved around the cylinder, an alchemy energy.
“Compress it here,” Shimun muttered as he firmly pressed a specific part of the cylinder with his thumb and forefinger, causing it to shrink in size.
“Let’s compress it a bit more…”
Shiyeon applied more force to the alchemy energy, making it shrink to the size of a fist. However, further compression seemed futile as the energy no longer diminished in size.
The Philosopher’s Stone’s eyes widened in amazement.
“It decreased by double in size compared to yesterday? The compressed alchemy energy has doubled.”
“Yeah, but this is the limit. It’s impossible to compress it further,” Shiyeon lamented.
Shimun seemed unsatisfied as his face exuded regret. The Philosopher’s Stone lowered its head.
“Oppa, it’s only the third day since obtaining Paracelsus’s cylinder. Achieving the maximum compression of the alchemy energy you’ve done is already remarkable. It took me a month to reach this point.”
“I see,” Shimun replied, his face filled with disappointment.
The Philosopher’s Stone decided to move on to the next step.
“Where are you stuck? Let me see.”
Shimun’s expression shifted from disappointment to seriousness as he focused on storing the alchemy energy in Paracelsus’s cylinder. Shimun’s diligent endeavor caught the attention of Shiyeon, who had quietly approached and was now observing him intently with sparkling eyes.
-Is that so? The storage is perfect.
The Philosopher’s Stone alternated between looking at the cylinder permeated with such condensed alchemy energy and verse.
“But the manifestation is the problem.”
-Manifestation?
The Philosopher’s Stone inside the flask smirked. But of course.
-Why is manifestation difficult? You’ve compressed the alchemy energy, stored everything. You just need to manifest it.
Shimun had neatly completed the process of transmuting and compressing the alchemy circle for using Paracelsus’ Cylinder. It was like having assembled and loaded a gun, just needing to pull the trigger. So why was manifestation a problem?
The doubt in the Philosopher’s Stone’s smirk vanished in an instant.
“But when done this way, manifestation seems to be difficult.”
As soon as Leeha finished speaking,
Zing.
From the front of the cylinder, the compressed alchemy energy, formed like the tip of a syringe, manifested.
The problem was,
Zing!
As the alchemy energy was about to manifest, another one rose behind it.
-No way….
And even before the Philosopher’s Stone could say anything,
Boom!
The two alchemy energies that were manifesting exploded with a familiar loud noise.
Translucent gas.
The vaporized alchemy energy rose thickly.
“Cough! See? This won’t work.”
Watching the ineffectual manifestation, sneezing casually, Shimun raised the cylinder.
-… You crazy oppa!
The Philosopher’s Stone lunged its mechanical arm being worked on at Shimun’s forehead.
* * *
– You really can’t live like this!
A voice full of absurdity. The Philosopher’s Stone cleared away the chaotic surroundings and the vaporized alchemy energy as it spoke.
– It’s only been 3 days since I got the cylinder. How come you’re already having issues with dual manifestation?
“But I had a feeling.”
-What kind of feeling?
“Like… just a feeling that says, ‘Oh, this should work when done this way, right?'”
It was the truth. Whether it was regular alchemy energy or physical enhancement, Shimun easily achieved dual manifestation by following his instincts.
Therefore, attempting to use the alchemy energy stored in Paracelsus’s cylinder with a feeling of ‘It should be possible to manifest it in doubles’ was just an action based on a hunch.
“But it keeps failing, so it fuels my determination.”
Without any sign of success, he wouldn’t have attempted it at all. It felt like it was going to work, but something went wrong at the end of the manifestation. The manifestation got blocked somehow and kept exploding, leading Shimun to keep trying.
Shimun’s lips pouted in regret. Such a sight of a grown man was not generally pleasing to the eye. But his handsome looks was incredibly charming for some reason.
Maybe that was the reason.
-It could be. I understand your feelings, oppa.
The excitement in the Philosopher’s Stone’s voice subsided noticeably.
-It’s because you’re so talented, oppa.
“You don’t have to force yourself to praise me.”
-No, I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
The Philosopher’s Stone let out a deep sigh.
-I’m sure you know this, but Paracelsus’s Cylinder adjusts to the wearer’s level, right?
“I know.”
Shimun nodded and opened Paracelsus’s Cylinder information window.
『Paracelsus’s Cylinder』
Grade: (Former) Myth
A creation of the god of alchemy Paracelsus, now lost.
It can contain alchemy circles and manifest them at will.
The options vary depending on the wearer’s level.
-Number of alchemy circles that can be stored: 3
The information window had changed from before due to the Philosopher’s Stone’s emotions.
The phrase ‘Options vary depending on the wearer’s level’ was now written on the window.
“So, does that mean it’s impossible for me to manifest two alchemy circles at my current level?”
As Shimun checked the window, his expression became more gloomy.
Philosopher’s Stone lowered his head.
-Well, technically yes, but this is impossible in a different way.
“A different way?”
-Yes. You probably have a sense of it, but as your ‘level’ increases, the options change, right?
“That’s correct. Maybe when my level rises, not only the number of circles I can store, but other options will be added…”
As Shimun spoke, his words began to trail off.
“Wait a minute.”
Shimun glanced at the sage with a slightly puzzled expression.
“Could it be that dual manifestation will be a newly added option?”
-Yes, it is. It’s still a locked option. Dual manifestation becomes available as the second option that unlocks when you reach level 100.
In other words, a little more growth will automatically unlock the dual manifestation option.
Upon hearing the Philosopher’s Stone’s explanation, Shimun blinked in a daze.
“So, have I been wasting my time until now?”
-It seems so. In truth, when Paracelcus created this, he never imagined that a mere alchemist below level 100 could achieve dual manifestation.
“I see.”
In other words, Shimun’s alchemical skills were too advanced compared to his level.
Paracelsus’s Cylinder cannot keep up with that. The minimum level at which the creator Paracelsus expected dual manifestation to be achievable was level 100.
“Ha….”
A bitter laugh escaped unintentionally. Even though it seemed achievable every time, it always fell short in the end. Shimun stared at the Philosopher Stone in disbelief.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
-That’s what I’m saying, you monstrous oppa.
The Philosopher’s Stone in his possession shook its head with a jingle.
– You already know how to manipulate dual alchemization, but who could have guessed you would even try it with an item?
“……”
Kim Shimun couldn’t say anything in response. Even he found it hard to believe when he thought about it himself.
‘Right. This all started because of my greed.’
With Shiyeon’s help, Kim Shimun had mostly stepped back from making the cures. He had redirected his focus to mastering the usage of the Cynlinder. In the end, his excessive greed surpassed the performance of the item.
However, Kim Shimun didn’t seem too disappointed.
“Well, it’s not a total loss, anyway.”
He shrugged nonchalantly.
Although he didn’t achieve the dual manifestation of the Cylinder, hadn’t he compressed the attribute energy to its maximum capacity in just three days? As the compressed attribute energy stored increased, the power it would unleash also became stronger.
Therefore, it could be considered that he had mastered the power that the Cylinder could manifest to its maximum capacity.
“And also….”
Kim Shimun pointed towards a corner of the research lab.
There.
With a flowing alchemy energy and a creak. An eerie beast’s howl echoed through the room.
“Since I’ve clearly succeeded in other attempts.”
Kim Shimun’s mouth lifted up with satisfaction.
– Well, I never imagined you would use the Cylinder like that.
The Philosopher’s Stone in the flask also seemed to smile knowingly.
“Hehe! Shiyeon is surprised as well!”
Shiyeon, who was sitting aside, also followed suit and raised her eyes and smile, imitating her father and sister.
Kim Shimun stroked Shiyeon’s head and said, “Then I guess we’ve roughly finished what we had to do. Should we watch Shihyuk’s broadcast?”
– Shihyuk’s broadcast?
“Yes, the National Preliminary Round is about to begin.”
Just as Kim Shimun, smiling, was about to take out his phone.
Knock, knock.
“Orabeoni?”
With a soft voice, Lee Yujeong’s voice could be heard.
Kim Shimun waved his hand, dispersing the alchemy energy in the corner of the lab.
“Oh, Lee Yujeong. Come in.”
He turned towards the entrance.
A beauty to whom the word “innocence” suited perfectly, entered the lab. Lee Yujeong’s expression was unusually dark.
“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
Kim Shimun smirked.
“A visitor has come.”
“A visitor?”
Lee Yujeong nodded her head, responding with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
“Yes. The Chief of Staff of the Association President has come to see you.”