Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

A dusty cloud rose densely. Above the monochrome, sand-colored peculiar color,

『You are the first on Earth to summon ‘Ammit, beast of Duat’.』

『You have received 10 Death Energy Stats.』

『The stat points have been converted to Alchemy Energy.』

『You have received 5 Alchemy Energy.』

The first achievement reward appeared.

But that wasn’t all.

『You are the first on Earth to survive with ‘Tenfold Sin’.』

『You have received 5,000 Achievement Points as a reward.』

『You are the first to achieve ‘Constellation Intervention’ in a formal arena.』

『You have received 5,000 Achievement Points as a reward.』

Messages for consecutive first achievement rewards continued to pop up.

To that,

“So sweet!”

Shimun burst out a delighted laugh.

‘When I get back, I’ll receive the first formal arena completion reward as well.’

And he knew how significant that would be from the tales of his well-known brother from his past life, Shihyuk. Shimun’s smile deepened.

“This is why first achievements are so valuable.”

Was it worth risking his life for the arena?

On the other hand, it was a bit bittersweet.

‘The players who rushed into Semi-Arena before must have felt the same way.’

Those players who ventured into Semi-Arena before. Though they had all perished by now, they too must have hoped for such rewards. The only unfortunate part was the outcome of death. Shimun could completely understand the mindset of the players who ventured first.

‘It was a kind of benefits once enjoyed by the first generation.’

It was the same in any field, not just Galaxy Arena. Fields that were not well-known, and thus lacked competitors. The merit of being the first to step into such a field offered tremendous advantages across the board.

Indeed, first-generation players reaped substantial benefits from initial arena achievements. And many of them were still active based on the foundations they built back then.

Prominent examples included the Ironwood King and Dohu. Naturally, today’s Semi-Arena was no different from a land of opportunity like back then.

However…

‘The cost of entry being one’s life is a real issue…’

The problem was that enjoying such benefits required risking one’s only life. But this was merely an empathetic thought for those who had perished earlier. Shimun did not dwell on it.

‘I did share the information beforehand. Despite that, it’s a personal choice to take on the challenge.’

He wasn’t a dictator who could control each person’s decisions.

Moreover, ‘I too have risked my life.’

Shimun himself dove into this arena bearing the penalty of death. The Mask of Lifesaving, which prevents death, wouldn’t be available in the Achievement Store until exactly one week later.

Before him,

『Constellation ? says, ‘It’s truly enjoyable to watch up close. (Can’t believe they were keeping this fun to themselves!)’ gazing at you with sparkling eyes.』

The reaction of the Constellation who had pushed aside Osiris appeared. Shimun chuckled and responded.

“I will certainly create the artifacts next time. Please be patient until then.”

To this,

『Constellation ? says, ‘Of course. But… (Do you know who I am?)’ cocking its head.』

The question from the unknown Constellation appeared before Shimun. He nodded immediately.

“Of course.”

Leaving aside the reactions of the other Constellations,

A higher-ranking Constellation like Osiris. A Constellation that could grab Osiris by the scruff and throw him was rare in Shimun’s knowledge.

The decisive clue was, ‘From the moment Osiris mentioned his great-grandfather and the transfer of the Book of the Dead, it’s clear.’

The reactions of the previous Constellations were enough to deduce the identity.

‘In my past life, you were the backer of Egypt’s high-ranker, Pharaoh Khalid Sharif, right?’

He recalled the player with the distinctive Egyptian features and attractive bronze skin, and naturally, the powers used by his backer.

‘Given that it’s Semi-Arena, I needed such power anyway. This works out well.’

With a smile, Shimun reassured the unknown Constellation further.

“I even know what to create. Rest assured.”

This seemed to please the Constellation.

『Constellation ? says, ‘Impressive. I never operated in your dimension before. (Just as rumored? Pleasant surprise!)’ smiling contentedly.』

The Constellation responded with satisfaction. No further messages from the Constellation appeared.

Whooosh.

Only the barren wind whispered in Shimun’s ear. The dense dust cloud dissipated, revealing the desert marked by the aftermath of the cataclysm.

Shimun was about to turn his attention back to Ammit when,

“Hm?”

Something caught his eye – a commotion of lights from his peripheral vision.

“Oh right, I forgot to restart the broadcast.”

Earlier, Shimun had paused the broadcast to delve deeper into the motives of the two superior dragonkins. He recalled the information he had gleaned from them.

‘The Two Dragon Emperors had the Four Dragon Emperors expedite Earth’s Semi-Arena.’

Moreover, ‘They instructed all dragonkin to harm me in any way possible if they encountered me in the arena.’

A command that made him chuckle in disbelief.

‘Advancing Semi-Arena is beneficial for me, but I didn’t expect such tactics.’

Since it was difficult to harm him directly on Earth, they had planned to lure him into the formal arena and target him there. It was a meticulous yet cowardly strategy.

‘Still, I should remain cautious.’

After all, they were dealing with dragonkind.-Having composed himself, Shimun reactivated the paused broadcast.

-Bang! Bang! Open up!

-What’s with the broadcast crashing at such a crucial moment?

-Probably because of Ammit, right? The presence is overwhelming even through the screen.

-Yeah, Ammit and that giant eye both had an insane presence.

-Oh? It’s back up!

-Shimun, are you okay?

The chat filled with messages, despite the slow mode, due to the abrupt pause in the broadcast.

Shimun casually addressed the most prevalent speculation,

“Sorry for the delay. It seems there was a temporary issue with Arenia, causing the broadcast to stop briefly.”

– I knew it!

– See? I told you it was a broadcast issue.

– Leoni couldn’t even breathe, so it makes sense the broadcast went down.

– But Leoni’s stream was fine?

– So what? It just showed her passed out, lol.

– Right? But the pressure felt from the broadcast alone was immense. How is this dude still fine?

– Because he’s ‘Shimun,’ obviously.

– Damn, can’t argue with that.

Fortunately, the viewers quickly bought into the explanation.

Then,

Rumble.

A minor earthquake struck.

“K-Kim Shimun!”

Ammit was lowering Leoni down gently.

With the oppressive presence now lifted,

Tap.

She regained her original condition and sprang into the air to land in front of Shimun.

Then,

“I…”

Leoni Wolf hesitated, her lips quivering, unable to speak easily.

After a few false starts,

“Th-Thank you.”

She managed to begin.

“If it weren’t for you, I would have died early in the arena.”

Shimun silently watched as she struggled to express herself.

“Moreover, externally and internally, I’ve learned so much.”

As she spoke, she seemed to reflect on her experiences.

“This is something I will repay with the honor of the Wolf family.”

Regaining more of her usual confidence, she finished her statement.

To her heartfelt gratitude,

“If you put it that way…”

Shimun replied softly,

“I won’t decline.”

With a playful smile.

Leoni responded with the same gaze as she had in her previous life,

“… Of course.”

But with a subtly different stare.

*

Click.

Creak.

The familiar sight of his workshop.

Along with it,

『You have successfully cleared the arena ‘Desert on the Scale’.』

『You performed incredibly in a two-person cooperation setting.』

『Clear rewards increased according to performance.』

Familiar messages appeared.

However, something was different this time.

『You are the first to clear a ‘Formal Arena’ in NO. 274.』

『Experience points greatly increased.』

『The value of reward items greatly increased.』

First-clear rewards related to the formal arena had been added.

As a result,

『The bound trait ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ receives a portion of the experience points.』

『Your level has increased by 25.』

『Philosopher’s Stone level has increased by 20.』

『You have obtained ‘Ankh of Duat’ as a clear reward.』

“Holy…!!”

An exclamation of shock escaped him naturally.

“25 level-ups!”

25 level-ups.

Considering the shared levels with the Philosopher’s Stone made it even more astonishing.

‘Gaining 45 levels from a single arena match?’

Even considering his excellent performance in the arena, such a rapid level increase was unprecedented for him.

Then,

-Wait, what’s happening? Suddenly a 20-level up?!

The Philosopher’s Stone in the flask, busy with alchemy, flew towards him.

The numbers seemed unbelievable even to it.

-Oppa, did I feel that right? This is real, isn’t it?

The Philosopher’s Stone asked again, seeking confirmation. But the first-time rewards were far from over.

『You have achieved the achievement ‘First Formal Arena’.』

『One randomly owned trait’s grade will be increased by one level.』

“Just as Shihyuk said.”

He recalled the reward Shihyuk had mentioned from his previous life for clearing the arena first.

“Trait growth… This is a reward hard to come by even in the formal arena.”

Since this reward elevated the trait’s grade itself, it was a rare and significant opportunity, even within the formal arena.

Reflecting on this,

“Wait a minute.”

Shimun paused, tilting his head.

‘Among the traits I have, there’s only one that can level up, right?’

As if on cue,

『The grade of Philosopher’s Stone has increased to A.』

The Philosopher’s Stone’s grade increased.

-Huuuh! A sudden level-up and grade-up! I’m on cloud nine!!

Its excitement sent it rolling around the floor in its flask.

“…”

Shimun looked down at it silently for a moment.

“Good grief.”

He sighed softly and picked up the rolling flask.

Apparently sincere about its gratitude,

Bzzzz.

He felt a continuous vibration, like a phone alert, in his hand.

“Tsk.”

Finding the sensation annoying, he quickly placed the flask back on its stand.

‘Right, there were items too, weren’t there?’

He promptly opened his inventory to check the reward item.

『Ankh of Duat』

Grade: SSS

A divine relic of Duat symbolizing eternal life.

It can be used to manipulate life depending on how it is utilized.

A description that was sparse, almost ambiguous.

However,

“Jackpot!”

To Shimun, it was anything but unclear.

And rightly so.

‘The concentrated life force is incredible!’

The Ankh of Duat contained an immense amount of life force. Based on the homunculus knowledge etched in his mind,

‘This alone could cut the homunculus creation process in half!’

It could significantly simplify the complex process of creating a homunculus.

“Hyunah! Look at this! Homun…”

Shimun called out excitedly to the Philosopher’s Stone, but… nothing.

-Ugghhh…

The Philosopher’s Stone on its stand was still out of sorts.

“Never mind. Just stay there and rest.”

Shimun clicked his tongue and opened his inventory. Even as he returned the Ankh of Duat to his inventory,

“Heh!”

A smile never left his lips.

It was no wonder.

‘At this rate, I might be able to create a homunculus before reaching Diamond rank!’

The artificial lifeform known as a homunculus. Creating new life was an extremely complex task. But this item alone could halve the difficulty. However, he couldn’t afford to be complacent.

‘The difficulty hasn’t entirely disappeared. If I’m going to create one, I should use all the precious materials like Shihyuk did.’

In the grand scheme of things, creating a homunculus or golem required high-quality materials. After closing his inventory, Shimun opened his status window.

“Let’s see. First, I’ll allocate the remaining stat points…”

His original Alchemy Energy was 219.

Including the 5 stat points from the arena achievement rewards and 25 stat points from level-ups,

“Alchemy Energy is now 249.”

Adding the +5 from the Chosen by the Constellations,

“So, a total of 254 Alchemy Energy.”

In terms of pure levels, that equates to level 254.

Alchemy Energy alone rivaled the mid-Platinum range stats.

But, ‘If I add the three times the value of bound stats…’

With bound stats included, it would result in figures that could compete with high-ranked Diamonds.

Shimun eventually abandoned further calculations.

“Honestly, this feels almost too good to be true.”

He chuckled to himself. Even he found his specs ridiculously high. After a quick shake of his head, he looked towards the bottom of his status window.

“I have acquired the achievement points total 53,300. That’s a bit awkward.”

He checked the achievement points.

‘The requirement for Heavenly Demonic Art 5th-level upgrade is 50,000 points.’

Shimun had once asked the Philosopher’s Stone about the estimate for a 5th-level upgrade.

‘Also, it would add a new technique and further enhance Heavenly Demonic Dominion. It’s worth the cost, but…’

With 53,300 points currently, he could allocate all of it without being unable to do anything else.

However, ‘Now that I’m in the regular arena, it’s wise to save at least 10,000 points for emergencies.’

No matter how overpowering his specs were, each arena entry now meant risking his life. Even high-ranked players were dying in these arenas.

Shimun acquired the achievement points, directly linked to his combat ability, needed to be reserved. Saving at least 10,000 points for the Arcanum and other critical uses was prudent.

Shimun’s brow furrowed slightly.

‘Hoarding 50,000 points feels wasteful, though…’

As he tapped his chin thoughtfully,

Ding-ding.

His phone rang.

Shimun glanced at the caller ID and answered immediately.

“Hello, Olivia.”

– Hello, Shimun-ssi. I enjoyed your broadcast. Truly, every aspect was astonishing.

She quickly continued,

– I have a lot I’d like to discuss, but first, we need to settle our accounts, don’t we?

“Ah, right. The buff rental period is ending soon?”

– Yes, there are exactly two days left.

He had found an efficient use for the 50,000 points.