Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

Chapter 7. Another Alchemy (2)

TL: xLordFifth
ED/PR: The reader

A cramped studio apartment.

The air was thick with stifling silence.

‘Not a word.’

It was about time someone broke the silence.

Without uttering a word, Kim Shimun simply gazed quietly at the very center of his chest.

The Philosopher’s Stone remained silent as if it were a sage guarding its vow of silence.

‘Well, it must be in a dilemma.’

It had only been a day since the Philosopher’s Stone had merged with him.

But even in that short time,

Kim Shimun had realized that the Philosopher’s Stone possessed significant intelligence.

And he could understand why the Philosopher’s Stone maintained such a prolonged silence.

‘Transmutation involving the human body is taboo in alchemy.’

The Emerald Tablet contained knowledge of alchemy.

Most of its content was dedicated to the knowledge needed for creating the Elixir and the Philosopher’s Stone.

However, there were also warnings about certain taboos.

‘When I first obtained the Emerald Tablet, I found such warnings laughably trivial.’

Even in the early days when the world had entered the official arena,

The risk of losing one’s life had just emerged,

But the majority of players still treated the Galaxy Arena as if it were a mere game.

Kim Shimun was no exception,

And he didn’t give much thought to the taboo of human alchemy warned about in the Emerald Tablet.

By the time nations began to collapse one by one, he had been so engrossed in creating the Elixir that he simply forgot about it.

But now.

‘It’s different.’

He was well aware that chimeras were a typical result of human alchemy.

And that they often appeared as monsters in the arena.

Probably, the Philosopher’s Stone was being cautious about that, maintaining its silence.

However.

‘The same could be applied to modern science in a sense.’

Imagine science as merely a tool for killing.

There wouldn’t be a more creative and excellent tool for murder.

The same goes for human alchemy.

If the user employs it for beneficial purposes only?

Just as science progressed Earth to this extent in the 21st century,

It could certainly be used beneficially.

Perhaps reading Kim Shimun’s thoughts,

Hmmm.

After a long silence, the Philosopher’s Stone conveyed its thoughts.

“Are you really going to use it for good only?”

To that question, Kim Shimun responded quietly.

“That’s the plan. Ultimately, I intend to use it to become stronger. However.”

He could’ve just offered up simple, sweet words.

“In unavoidable situations, I can’t make any promises. I have goals that I need to achieve.”

Kim Shimun was brutally honest about his intentions.

Out of a clumsy sense of guilt?

Or because he felt the Philosopher’s Stone could read his heart?

Neither.

“Philosopher’s Stone, you’re the only entity that knows about my regression.”

Regression isn’t always miraculous and blissful.

Even if one knows information that doesn’t exist in the present and has the corresponding experience,

Having the will to carry it out oneself is never easy.

“In that sense, you’re practically the only companion I can rely on when things get tough.”

Therefore,

He didn’t want to lie to the Philosopher’s Stone.

“I believe you’d understand. We’ve experienced that future together.”

Hmmm.

The Philosopher’s Stone’s humming seemed to waver uncertainly.

It was contemplating.

Kim Shimun waited patiently without hurrying.

‘If it’s not possible, then I can’t help it. Human alchemy isn’t the only way.’

It was simply one path to rapid growth.

Even without human alchemy, there were plenty of other training methods to compensate for his physical strength.

After all, he knew all the methods revealed in his past life.

A brief silence persisted, and then,

Hm.

Finally, the awaited response came.

Kim Shimun smiled at the clear humming coming from his chest.

“Thank you for understanding.”

Hmm.

“I’m aware. I’m fully aware of the dangers of human alchemy.”

Though it might have been more superficial,

He was aware that human alchemy was closely related to dark magic.

However.

“What? That’s not what you’re warning about?”

The Philosopher’s Stone’s warning was about something completely different.

Hmmm.

“A counterpart to the Emerald Tablet? What do you mean by that?”

Hmm.

“Are you saying, like the Emerald Tablet, there’s an item that consolidates that body of knowledge?”

Hm.

The Philosopher’s Stone conveyed a positive response.

Kim Shimun blinked blankly for a moment before nodding.

‘Right, it’s not strange. There was nothing related to human alchemy in the Emerald Tablet.’

The Emerald Tablet contained only warnings about human alchemy, didn’t it?

Kim Shimun rested his chin on his hand.

‘When I first obtained the Emerald Tablet, I had to undergo a qualification test.’

The message that appeared as soon as he held the Emerald Tablet.

[Testing qualifications for the possession of the Emerald Tablet.]

How could he forget? It wasn’t simply because the item was putting its owner’s qualifications to the test.

In fact, for high-grade items,

it was quite common to examine the qualifications of the person.

Yet, the reason Shimun couldn’t forget that moment was distinct.

[Qualification confirmed. The Emerald Tablet recognizes you as its owner.]

It was nothing more than a slight tingle, like static electricity.

Once he became its owner, the Emerald Tablet did not cause any phenomena.

Instead, it showed only its owner the recipes for the Elixir and the Philosopher’s Stone on its smooth surface.

‘Thanks to that, it wasn’t even stolen.’

The reason Shimun, a level 1, could fully own the Emerald Tablet wasn’t because of connections with Kim Shihyuk, Korea’s strongest player, or Go Malsuk.

It was due to the binding condition that no one else could use it, and a theft prevention feature that would ‘burn’ the thieves.

‘To be precise, it killed those who weren’t qualified to own it.’

Thinking about it now, it was somewhat creepy.

If he had been unlucky enough to not qualify,

like those thieves, Shimun would have been burnt to a crisp as well.

It was truly a stroke of luck.

As these thoughts crossed his mind,

he also got a grasp on his worries about the Philosopher’s Stone.

“The Philosopher’s Stone, you’re worried about me not being qualified for those concoctions, aren’t you?”

Hum.

A short affirmation was conveyed.

Shimun bit his lips with a serious expression.

‘Well, if the Emerald Tablet, which only contained knowledge on alchemy, had such a feature.’

It was unlikely that an object containing knowledge on human alchemy would not consider qualifications.

‘Sigh. Should I just filter it out?’

There was no need to risk his life on other stats.

Since he knew about more efficient training methods,

if he started working hard from now as a low-level, he could acquire enough.

Then,

Hum hum.

The Philosopher’s Stone initiated conversation once more.

“What? You mean to say you can prevent the penalty for being unqualified to a certain extent?”

Did the Philosopher’s Stone even have such a feature?

‘Well, given it minimizes rebound too, it’s not strange.’

After a brief moment of contemplation, Shimun spoke.

“Just make this clear. You can prevent death, right?”

Hum.

“Good.”

With the Philosopher’s Stone confirming positively, Shimun nodded.

“Now that I’m officially a player, as long as I don’t die, I can somehow recover.”

He had already been through the tutorial.

He could also use the player exclusive hospital.

There, they could likely heal a player who just finished the tutorial without much issue.

‘If all else fails, I’ll just ask Shihyuk.’

Even though he was currently living day-to-day in this humble room as a level 3 Alchemist,

his brother from this time was a top-ranked power-user, wasn’t he?

Besides, as the rightful heir of the Kim family, unlike himself, the medical standard he could access was on another level.

‘I really have changed a lot.’

They say people change when they face death.

The help of his younger brother, which he wouldn’t even have dreamed of relying on before, was now something he considered.

Shimun looked at the somewhat stained mirror next to the wardrobe.

‘Looking back, it was quite foolish.’

He could have leaned on his family sometimes.

Isn’t that what families are for?

Then why did he clench his teeth and go through it alone?

Because he was a rare bastard child in the 21st century?

Or because it was hard to see his brother, who only rose while he only fell?

‘Probably all of it… I guess.’

In truth, it wasn’t until his forties in his past life that he was able to get his act together.

Now, in this time,

at 28 years old, all of those were painful even to recall.

However,

“It’s different now.”

What was past is past.

Those were merely regrets of his younger years, a common torment anyone would face.

With a tiny smile, Shimun arranged his emotions and opened his status window.

“Let’s see. First, I’ll invest all remaining stats into Alchemy Energy…”

The higher the Alchemy Energy, the more advantage he’d have in alchemy.

Shimun increased his Alchemy Energy from 11 to 13 and then closed the status window.

Then he asked,

“Philosopher’s Stone, could you give me a rough image of the other tablet?”

Hum.

“Just a different color from the Emerald Tablet? Got it.”

Shimun immediately envisioned a light green tablet.

Like the screen of the latest smartphone,

the Emerald Tablet allowed him to conveniently access the knowledge he wanted, using the tablet as a screen.

Reminiscing that familiar image and structure,

‘But make the color dark purple instead of light green.’

He conceptualizes in detail with the color advised by the Philosopher’s Stone.

Then, by drawing up the Alchemy Energy flowing from the center of his chest and flicking his finger,

Click.

[Your Alchemy Energy is insufficient for the required concoction.]

A message window pops up as if it had been waiting.

But,

‘I already expected this.’

Knowing it was of the same or higher tier as the Emerald Tablet, Shimun calmly waited for the next message.

[The Philosopher’s Stone requests 10,000 achievement points to facilitate the necessary equivalent exchange.]

[Do you accept? (Yes / No)]

Like when he alchemized Astrape, the Philosopher’s Stone naturally requested achievement points for the equivalent exchange.

As Shimun confidently reached to select ‘Yes,’ he flinched.

“Wait. Ten thousand points?”

Kim Shimun blinked several times and even rubbed his eyes vigorously. But the message window remained unchanged. “Ten thousand points? The Philosopher’s Stone, it really takes ten thousand points?”

Woong.

“And this is considered cheap?”

Astrape is only 500 points? At the Philosopher’s Stone’s affirmative, Kim Shimun let out a hollow laugh. After all the effort to accumulate 12,300 points, it looked like he was about to suffer a significant loss.

“Ah, it can’t be helped.” There’s no gain without taking risks. If safety had been a priority from the start, he wouldn’t have even considered the direction of human alchemy. Having made up his mind, Kim Shimun selected. ‘yes’.

[10,000 achievement points will be deducted.]

As the achievement points were deducted, a familiar energy that compensates for the lack of alchemy energy gathered at his fingertips. Flicking his finger with that energy, whoosh, a purple aura appeared from nowhere, gathering around Kim Shimun.

It coiled around his hand like a serpent, and there was a crunching sound, as if flesh, or something similar, was being crushed. This bizarre sound grew louder until it finally transformed into a square shape.

“This…” Apart from the color, it was a tablet indistinguishable from the Emerald Tablet. Well, there was one difference.

“It’s alive, isn’t it?”

The tablet, pulsing like the vein or heart of a living creature. Though it was in the shape of a tablet, the transmuted object before him was as if it were a living being.

Then,

[You have created an unregistered mythical product.]

[You have gained 5,000 achievement points.]

[The option for the title ‘Pioneer of Alchemy’ has grown.]

[A new option has been added to the title ‘Pioneer of Alchemy’.]

“A title growth?”

Conquering points by 100% after 15 kills. Even with such overwhelming performance, the title. ‘Pioneer of Alchemy’ hadn’t grown.

Kim Shimun immediately opened the title window to check. ‘Pioneer of Alchemy’.

[Pioneer of Alchemy]

– Growth Type A title given to an alchemist who has transmuted all mythical alchemical products.

– Receives a very small bonus related to alchemy.

– Reduces alchemy energy consumption by 5%.

“Wow.” An exclamation naturally escaped him. A 5% reduction in alchemy energy consumption. It might seem small because it’s a single digit, but as one reaches higher levels, the efficiency of the percentage increases, of course.

If the title continues to grow, that number will gradually increase as well. It was a clear cheat option to focus on. ‘reduced alchemy energy consumption’.

“Malsuk didn’t mention the growth-type title for nothing.”

Kim Shimun smiled contentedly.

Before him,

[The Constellation of the Black Goat greatly rages at the birth of a creation she has never made.] [The Constellation of the Black Goat widens her eyes at the mark you’ve left.]

[Instead of wrath, the Constellation of the Black Goat shows deep interest.]

The sudden message popped up.

‘The Black Goat? That’s a constellation I’ve never heard of.’

The Constellation of the Black Goat. He hadn’t heard that name even in his past life when the regular arena had started.

At best, if he guessed, ‘A constellation from beyond… Could it be because of that title?’

The title he had unwittingly received, ‘He Who Attracts the Gaze from Beyond’.

The response shown by the constellations of Olympus, and although the title had no options, it seemed it wasn’t just a title bereft of any ability.

‘Anyway, it’s a relief. The wrath of a constellation can be quite dangerous.’

Although it wasn’t the regular arena yet, so major damage was unlikely, Kim Shimun knew that the constellations were beings on par with gods. Therefore, there was no need to unnecessarily make an enemy of a constellation.

[Galaxy Arena discusses player Kim Shimun due to the incredible achievements one after another that have caught the attention of the unregistered Constellation, the Black Goat.]

Following the message, Kim Shimun’s eyes calmly settled.

‘One after another… Does that mean this has happened before?’

It couldn’t have been Astrape. The constellations of Olympus showed interest then, but such a phrase did not appear.

‘Then, it must be due to the last transmuted object in my past life.’

Regeneration and magic disability recovery. Fitting two requirements, and even sacrificing his own sensation to transmute it, that very thing.

‘Thinking about it now, it seems it wasn’t the aftermath of the alchemy that took my sensation.’

It was his life. In essence, the Philosopher’s Stone had used not only its power but also his life in the equivalent exchange for alchemy. And the outcome must have been something so magnificent that he received a million achievement points.

However, “What’s important now is this.”

Though past mysteries had been unraveled, it was all water under the bridge. Kim Shimun looked at the pulsating purple tablet in front of him. Then, information about the tablet appeared before him.

“This is…” Kim Shimun’s eyes widened as he read the information.