Click.
Creak.
The familiar sounds of the workshop.
Within it.
“Wow! This is incredible, isn’t it?”
Along with a whistle.
“Hey, Kim Shimun. You really are an alchemist or something, huh?”
A playful voice echoed through.
Gold hair, tail, and the same-colored burning eyes.
Maybe it’s because this is the world of the living, not the afterlife?
“By the way. Is this really possible? I mean, it is possible, right?”
Unlike the time in the Speech Hell. Sun Wukong asked, now fully restored. Expecting eagerly.
“No, no. It must be possible if it’s you.”
Sun Wukong’s eyes gleamed brightly like a child with a gift box in front of him.
“Just looking at the structure here, I can already feel it!”
He poured his sparkling gaze. To that.
“I’ll say it again, I’m not confident.”
Shimun sighed as he replied. It wasn’t unreasonable.
“And Sun Wukong, this is the seventh time you’ve asked that question.”
This was already beyond the seventh time he’d asked the same question.
But did he care?
“Kyahah! If it’s you, it’s definitely possible! I have an incredible intuition about these things!”
“You’ve said that seven times as well.”
“What does it matter? If it means I can bring hyungnim back, I would say it a million or even ten million times!”
“That’s the seventh time you said that too… sigh, never mind.”
Shimun stopped responding to Sun Wukong’s repetitive words. Though he was getting tired of hearing it for the seventh time.
‘That guy could really say it a million or ten million times.’
Given Sun Wukong’s personality. And considering he is a celestial who stands up to primordial deities. His words were certainly not wrong.
Moreover.
‘Well, it shows just how desperate he is…’
The bond between him and the Bull Demon King seemed significant, didn’t it?
Shimun could fully understand Sun Wukong’s feelings. He also wanted to meet those feelings as much as he could.
But.
“Sun Wukong? There’s one thing I need to make clear.”
Reality and ideals were always different. It was necessary to look at realistic matters unemotionally.
“Although Nyx mentioned the possibility, it is just that—a possibility.”
Especially for an alchemist like Shimun. He had no choice but to look at it more realistically. And so.
“The creation of a homunculus is an area I have no experience in, so there’s a significant chance of failure.”
Shimun continued with a more serious expression than ever. Sensing this.
“I understand that much.”
Sun Wukong also responded, putting aside his playful demeanor and looking around the lab.
“I don’t know much about alchemy, but I do know how sublime the act of creation is.”
Birth.
If one looked at it more broadly.
“That’s within the domain of creation.”
Doesn’t it fall under the category of creation?
“It’s not something any celestial can do either. Guys like me are proof of that, aren’t we?”
Sun Wukong shrugged, gesturing to himself. Hearing this for the first time.
“Not just any celestial can do it?”
Shimun asked, looking intrigued.
And then.
“Of course not. It’s kind of like… what should I say… oh, right! It’s similar to having innate talent in dimensional realms or temporal realms for your kinds.”
“Oh, I see what you mean.”
Shimun nodded immediately at Sun Wukong’s continued explanation. It wasn’t unreasonable. Drawing a parallel to innate talents in dimensions or time realms made sense.
‘So that’s why angels were so sensitive about creation.’
When he had alchemized the Faerie Dragon, Kyung, before. He knew well how the reactions of angels and angels had been.
‘Even the Dragon Kings had a strong reaction to it.’
The Second Dragon Lord, Echidna. She had sent one of her most powerful assets, the Ancient Dragon. It seemed the ‘domain of creation’ carried substantial weight among angels.
As he thought that far.
“Hmm.”
Shimun’s face darkened a bit. The reason was simple.
‘At that time, it was still a chimera alchemy, so there was at least a foundation…’
The Faerie Dragon. The method of alchemizing Kyung was to make a chimera, and wasn’t there the body of a dragon hatchling and the power of the spirit king?
Of course.
‘Even now, there remains the body and divinity of the Demon King…’
The materials themselves still existed now.
‘But the level is different, and I have to shape everything from scratch.’
Unlike the previous time when the essence of the spirit king was enmeshed in the hatchling’s body. This time, he had to manually ‘create’ the entire creature from start to finish.
The difficulty level itself was different from the previous Faerie Dragon. It wasn’t unreasonable.
‘After all, there’s a reason why top-rank knowledge is required for human alchemy.’
The creation of new life is never a simple matter. With his thoughts organized, Shimun turned.
“Sun Wukong, you should head back.”
Looking at Sun Wukong, who was busily moving around the lab.
Naturally, “Huh? Why!”
Sun Wukong asked, his face serious. It was understandable.
“We’re talking about bringing my brother back to life!”
It was about creating a new life, wasn’t it?
Having himself called it the domain of creation.
“I need to help with whatever I can!”
He was filled with a desire to help in any way possible. However, “You said you have no talent in creation.”
“T-That’s true, but…”
As he had admitted himself earlier, he had no talent for creation.
Most importantly, “Moreover…”
Crackle.
Sparks flickered around Sun Wukong. He had experienced this with other angels before.
“Just by being here, you’re incurring great penalties.”
Even maintaining a clone on Earth was already leading to considerable restrictions and resource consumption.
“……”
Sun Wukong fell silent.
Then.
Wooong.
The sphere of light with two horns—the Demon King’s divinity. He handed it to Shimun.
『Constellation Great Sage Equal to Heaven bestows 100,000 achievement points.』
A staggering amount of 100,000 achievement points.
“This is all I can give according to the current causality and Galaxy Arena regulations. Please…”
He bit his lip briefly.
“Take good care of my brother.”
He bowed his head slightly. Watching him silently, Shimun accepted not just the valuable offering.
“… I’ll do my best.”
He received the sincerity contained within it.
*
Scratch.
The sound of a pen drawing something could be heard. For the past few days, that sound had been constant at regular intervals.
Scratch.
As always at the end.
“This isn’t it either.”
Snap.
A sighing voice accompanied the snap of fingers.
Whoosh.
All sorts of shapes and patterns vanished in an instant.
Looking at the piece of paper, or rather, the fragment of the Bull Demon King’s body,
“Sigh…”
Shimun let out a deep sigh.
‘No matter what alchemy formula I try, there’s not even a twitch.’
Over the past few days of all-nighters, he had been working flat out, maximizing his capabilities as a player, reducing sleep to a minimum, and yet.
He hadn’t even started the first step.
Moreover, ‘Is it because it’s a celestial body? Human alchemy doesn’t work at all…’
Even with the Obsidian Tablet nearing 80% completion, the Bull Demon King’s body showed no alchemy reactions whatsoever.
‘Even if I increase the completion rate of the Obsidian Tablet to above 90%, I doubt it will cause a alchemy reaction…’
Not that he had enough achievement points to do so anyway. Judging by the current situation, even if he increased the Obsidian Tablet’s completion to above 90%,
He wasn’t confident that a alchemy reaction would occur with the Bull Demon King’s body.
“Sigh, is this really because it’s a homunculus…”
A sigh naturally escaped him.
Then, from his left eye,
-Hyung, do you really have to use the Bull Demon King’s body?
A young voice was heard.
“Lucifer, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”
It was Lucifer, residing in his eye.
-You know, I’m not really talented in creation either, but do you really need to stick to the form?
“The form?”
Shimun’s brow furrowed slightly.
-Yeah, isn’t it more about fulfilling that damn monkey’s request to bring the Bull Demon King back?
“It’s a little different, but… the context is similar.”
-Then just put the Bull Demon King’s divinity into any vessel.
Lucifer replied indifferently.
-Why bother recreating the old body so perfectly?
He seemed quite displeased with fulfilling Sun Wukong’s request.
-Plus, even angels find it hard to control another celestial’s body.
Lucifer continued to grumble in a sharp tone.
However, to the person in question, Shimun, it came differently.
‘That’s right… why didn’t I think of that?’
Shimun stared at the fragments of the Bull Demon King’s body as if he had been struck by a hammer.
‘Originally, a homunculus is new life. That is, knowledge to create an entirely new entity, isn’t it?’
In any form or direction. He could design everything down to the last hair strand, after all. That’s why the alchemy difficulty of a homunculus was beyond imagination, wasn’t it?
‘I never needed to be fixated on the body of a celestial that has already died once.’
No matter how powerful the Bull Demon King was as a celestial, and even if the body possessed exceptional strength, that was all.
‘Anyway, that body is gradually dying.’
Perhaps because the seal was broken. The fragmented body of the Bull Demon King was deteriorating like a decaying corpse.
Even at this moment, its divinity was dissipating. That’s why he had been so desperate to attempt the alchemy.
‘I was too greedy for the celestial body as a material.’
Instead, it backfired. If that’s the case.
‘I just need to design a vessel to contain the Bull Demon King’s divinity, piece by piece.’
It would indeed be a laborious task.
But it wouldn’t be as daunting as it had been so far.
‘Anyway, I have a prototype to refer to as a base.’
Though it wasn’t a homunculus yet,
He had already created a basic foundation once. Jumping up from his seat, Shimun immediately headed to a corner of the laboratory.
And in Shimun’s inner thoughts, “Geez.”
A black-haired boy with heterochromatic eyes, one blue and one red, smirked.
“He understands everything so quickly just from that little hint?”
Lucifer let out a chuckle.
Shortly, “Or maybe I’m overthinking the domain of creation? I should give it a try once I regain my powers.”
Lucifer mumbled and glanced.
“But why is that perverted hag acting so suddenly?”
He glanced at the dark red stone behind him.
Of course,
Rumble!
“N-No, I was joking! Nunim, it was a joke! Haha!”
Lucifer quickly waved his hands at the trembling inner world.
As the vibrations subsided,
“Ahem! Nunim, did you have a fight with him or something?”
Clearing his throat, Lucifer asked casually.
-Not really. Why would I fight with oppa?
The Philosopher’s Stone replied dryly.
“Really?”
Lucifer tilted his head.
It was understandable.
“Then why make me do it? That wasn’t a particularly profound piece of advice. You could’ve just told him directly.”
The advice not to be fixated on the form. It was the Philosopher’s Stone that had instructed Lucifer to pass on that message, wasn’t it?
As the topic continued,
“Plus, you seem like you wanted to tell him since day one… why say it now?”
He even asked about the previous few days of Shimun’s sleepless nights.
But that was it.
-That’s…
The Philosopher’s Stone seemed to want to say something.
-I shouldn’t interfere. And there are some things I haven’t quite let go of yet…
“Huh? Nunim?”
-Even though he’s so different from that bastard…
“What are you saying? Let me in on it.”
Lucifer could barely catch the hushed muttering that even he couldn’t hear distinctly.
Soon after, the Philosopher’s Stone fell completely silent.
“Ahem! By the way, nunim. They say you were quite the looker back in the day?”
Feeling awkward, Lucifer added.
“Why stay in that form? Let me admire you a bit~.”
He responded in his usual playful manner.
*
Clang!
Movements too precise to follow with the eye continued incessantly. A monochrome doll without hair, eyes, or any facial features.
“Done!”
Shimun, who was crafting it like an artisan, announced, and wiped the sweat off his forehead with brightened eyes.
Considering his current specs were beyond human, and that he was in his Dragonoid form, it was clear he had put in considerable effort.
“Phew.”
Taking a step back to regain his composure, Shimun took a deep breath.
“Now I just need to infuse and secure it…”
He retrieved the sphere of light with two horns, the Bull Demon King’s divinity, from his inventory.
Then, he approached the monochrome doll, staring at the concave spot in its chest with a somewhat tense face.
The reason was simple.
‘Will it work…?’
The emotions he had forgotten while being immersed in the work slowly resurfaced.
‘I designed it to the best of my ability, checked each part more than ten times…’
Though it looked like a featureless monochrome doll,
Kiiing!
in the activated Eyes of Odin, it appeared as though—
no, even more so than a human’s—
numerous blood vessels and internal components were displayed in a complex and precise three-dimensional hologram.
Even Shimun himself felt dizzy looking at it. It couldn’t be helped.
‘I poured in all the top-grade materials I had saved.’
To create the homunculus, he used materials hoarded from the arena and periodic purchases. S-rank was the baseline, and he spared no expense in using those rare materials that exceeded SSS-Rank. Thanks to that, half of his material storage was now empty.
Hence.
‘I’ve done all I can.’
Even if he wanted to do more, there was nothing left he could do.
So now.
‘It’s time to believe.’
It was time to trust and proceed.
‘Trust in my design and skills.’
With that resolve, Shimun stepped closer once again.
As he approached the monochromatic doll,
Wooong.
The Bull Demon King’s divinity in his hand emitted a faint response. Following what seemed to be its intention, Shimun placed it in the designated spot at the center of the doll’s chest.
Or rather, it smoothly absorbed itself.
“Philo!”
As soon as the Bull Demon King’s divinity seeped into the monochromatic doll, Shimun immediately called out.
Was it because it was such a critical moment?
-…Okay.
The Philosopher’s Stone, replying more calmly than usual, pulled a nearby lever.
Then,
Whirr.
Had there been transparent lines connected from the beginning?
Numerous red lines that hadn’t been visible before, specifically the blood within those lines, flowed into the doll.
Testifying to the hard work he’d put in,
Sssrrrr.
As if a new life was being formed in real-time, the blood traced through and connected the intricate and complex lines within the doll.
The sight, which could be described as magnificent, made his nose tingle for a moment.
‘Good. The blood has settled successfully.’
Shimun observed no issues as his blood filled the monochromatic doll stably.
‘Now, I just need to settle the Bull Demon King’s divinity.’
Reaching towards the only white-tinged spot in the doll’s crimson chest, Shimun summoned the force of the Grand Truth, the power of Ars Magna fusion, and snapped his fingers.
Then,
『Insufficient alchemy energy to accomplish the alchemy as requested.』
『The Philosopher’s Stone demands 100,000 achievement points to establish equivalent exchange.』
『Do you accept? (Yes / No)』
Perhaps because it was related to the creation of life?
‘100,000 points…’
Unlike the previous requests for 3,000 points, the equivalent exchange window now demanded a staggering 100,000 achievement points.
However, since he had obtained 200,000 achievement points from Sun Wukong alone.
‘Well, creating a new life, this amount is rather cheap.’
Shimun unhesitatingly chose ‘Yes’.
Ars Magna Fusion (融合).
Using the Grand Truth he had comprehended, he fused the Bull Demon King’s divinity with the prepared vessel.
Then,
Crackle!
An immense alchemical spark shot up from the center of the chest where the Bull Demon King’s divinity was positioned.
In response,
Boil!
The blood within the vessel began to bubble and churn like lava, driven by the Grand Truth and the celestial divinity.
But then, “No, this can’t be…”
Shimun’s face was consumed with bewilderment. The reason was simple.
‘The Bull Demon King’s divinity!’
The core component of this homunculus alchemy, meant to serve as the source of life and the heart, ‘Why isn’t it beating?!’
It wasn’t moving in the slightest.
‘Why? The blood and the divinity settled properly, didn’t they?’
As Shimun continued to examine the Bull Demon King’s divinity in confusion,
-Oppa! It’s because of me! Because of me!
The urgent voice of the Philosopher’s Stone, which had been silent, echoed.
Though the statement was cut-off, “What are you suddenly… Ah!”
Shimun quickly exclaimed in realization.
‘That’s right! This vessel is based on me and Shiyeon. I have the Philosopher’s Stone!’
The Philosopher’s Stone. Not only a mythical artifact, but also a second heart that had allowed him to time-slip.
No, it was perhaps even more crucial than a heart.
Having based the vessel on himself, ‘The Bull Demon King’s divinity must have settled in the Philosopher’s Stone, not just the heart!’
The Bull Demon King’s divinity had anchored itself in the Philosopher’s Stone, an even more critical component.
Shimun immediately reached into his inventory.
‘Indeed, having a contingency plan is always necessary.’
The special reward he had saved for emergencies
‘Special Random Box’ was promptly opened.
Click.
The familiar sound effect resounded. With urgency in his eyes, Shimun stared into the box, akin to a pocket dimension.
And as it had always been, “Galaxy Arena! If you don’t have anything to give me, I’ll request…”
Just as he was about to demand a reward, 『An appropriate item has been found for Player Kim Shimun.』
At last, the same message appeared,
『As a reward from the Special Random Box, you receive ‘Paracelsus’ Artificial Heart.’』
A monochromatic heart floated inside the box. Seeing the item, Shimun’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘Paracelsus had something like this?’
Though astonished, it quickly made sense to Shimun since Paracelsus was a celestial of alchemy. Without wasting any time, he grabbed the artificial heart.
Crackle!
He extended it towards the turmoil of the Bull Demon King’s divinity.
Then, as if it had been waiting for this moment, the body, opening wide like a slime latching onto its prey, engulfed ‘Paracelsus’s Artificial Heart.’
Snap!
Immediately,
Wooooooong!!
No longer were there alchemical sparks.
With its characteristic hum, the Bull Demon King’s divinity exploded with an immense light, Shimun, engulfed by this light, experienced once more what he had felt only once before.
“Aah…!”
He marveled at an indescribable, immense ecstasy. He still couldn’t fully grasp it, but perhaps because he had experienced it once before, ‘The realm I felt while alchemizing Kyung… Yes, this is the domain of creation, another truth…’
With clearer understanding, Shimun realized its nature.
At the moment of realization,
『You have birthed a new dragonic species.』
『Please name the dragonic species.』
A series of messages floated before him, drunk with ecstasy, Shimun absentmindedly watched and then uttered.
“Demon Dragon (妖龍族)…”
Thus, instinctively naming it.
『The dragonic species is named Demon Dragon (妖龍族).』
『Seven Constellations watching you express their astonishment.』
『Constellation Great Sage Equal to Heaven breaths a sigh of relief and cheers.』
『Constellations of the celestial realm frown at the sudden birth of life.』
『Constellations of the Demon Realm frown at the sudden…』
『Constellations of the Vedas frown…』
『Constellations of the Netherworld…』
『Constellations of the Otherworld…』
A forgotten myth was reborn.
TL’s Corner:
Another dragonic species.
I low key wanted to name the new species as Dragon Bull. Lol