Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

Chapter 8. Another Alchemy (3)

TL: xLordFifth
ED/PR: The reader

“This is……”

Shimun gazed at the information with eyes wide in astonishment.

[Obsidian Tablet]

Grade – Replica (20%)

A collective of human alchemy.

Contains various knowledge including human alchemy, however,

For some reason, it cannot fully exert its power.

The description isn’t much different from that of the Emerald Tablet.

But that wasn’t the problem.

“This is also a replica?”

What immediately caught Shimun’s attention was the. ‘Replica (20%)’.

“No, I’ve put in ten thousand achievement points, and it’s only at 20%?”

Even the Astrape had a completion rate of 10% for 500 points.

A feeling of futility washed over him momentarily, but it was brief.

Shimun’s expression became decidedly firmer.

‘There’s something more here.’

The Philosopher’s Stone he had experienced so far was not an entity that would engage in such inefficient alchemy.

As Shimun calmly observed the Obsidian Tablet, he clapped his hands.

“I see. So, this time there’s no rebound effect?”

Hmm.

An affirmative resonance emanated from his chest.

Shimun’s eyes curved in realization.

It had to be.

Despite being a replica grade, the absence of a rebound effect meant,

‘It’s going to last forever!’

Just like the replica Astrape before.

It implies that it won’t disappear after some time.

‘Assuming it only increases by 20% every ten thousand achievement points…’

Four more times.

With 40,000 achievement points,

It meant he could possess a mythic-grade item.

‘This is incredible!’

Shimun reached for the Obsidian Tablet with glittering eyes.

Hmm.

As if to ask if he had already forgotten its warning,

An unsettling tinnitus from the Philosopher’s Stone tickled his chest.

Shimun nodded calmly.

“Don’t worry. I’m prepared for any penalties due to insufficient qualifications.”

He would have liked to make a moderate paralysis potion,

But without the ingredients on hand, he had Shihyuk’s number on his phone.

With a single touch, he could immediately contact his younger brother.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t mind pain much.’

Someone once said,

Pain is something humans can never get accustomed to.

Yet, Shimun was all too familiar with pain.

‘It’s not just the numbers in the status window that mana inability is eating away.’

When his vitality, agility, and strength stats decreased,

Severe pain followed in his body.

Of course, it wasn’t so from the beginning.

When the first stat decrease occurred, it was merely a feeling of slight fatigue.

However,

‘Everything changed with the start of the regular arena.’

Deaths in the regular arena, as well as the decline in stats, led to actual physical decline.

Naturally.

‘It was the beginning of a nightmare for patients with arena diseases like me.’

Without reason or warning,

Muscle spasms would occur, or intense neuralgia would take over the body.

Only painkillers, paralysis potions, or comparable drugs could endure the intense pain.

At least in Shimun’s case,

He managed by making his own paralysis potions.

When he didn’t have a potion, he had to grit his teeth and bear it through sheer will.

‘I’ve lived with such pain all my life.’

It was painfully unbearable.

It’s no wonder his previous existence as Go Malsuk was teased as a living undead.

‘I do seem like an undead, thinking about it.’

With a lifelessly thin body, suddenly convulsing, screaming without warning.

He looked no different from an undead.

Hmm.

“Eh? Oh, it’s not because I’m scared.”

Perhaps sensing his fear of revisiting past emotions,

The Philosopher’s Stone let out a concerned tinnitus.

“It’s just that. I remembered the old days for a moment.”

Shimun smiled gently and shook his head.

“Anyway, don’t worry too much. I’m better at enduring pain than you think.”

Hmm.

“I know, I don’t know how painful it will be. But you said it would prevent death, right? That’s enough.”

Though he said so,

‘I still don’t like pain.’

Being accustomed to pain didn’t mean he liked it.

Nonetheless, Shimun wasn’t very worried because of something else.

‘If my prediction is correct, there won’t be any penalties at all.’

It won’t even ask about the qualifications for ownership.

Shimun confidently reached out his hand towards the Obsidian Tablet.

The moment the soft, warm sensation typical of flesh touched his fingertips.

Chuaaak.

Like flowers in full bloom,

The tablet’s gravestone shape unraveled, and obsidian tendrils reached out.

Yet, Shimun showed no sign of panic or fear, merely standing still.

Chururuk.

As the tendrils swiftly wrapped around Shimun’s entire body, gradually tightening like a snake enveloping its prey,

‘As expected.’

Surprisingly, as it wrapped around him, he felt no pain or pressure.

He could even breathe freely.

Everything was as Shimun had predicted.

‘The original owner, the Black Goat with a Thousand Young, shows deep interest in me; it’s unlikely that its relic would harm me.’

Even though it’s a replica, its effectiveness is undoubtedly real. It wasn’t for no reason that figures like Zeus or the Black Goat showed their interest.

Touched.

“Something about this is cute.”

Shimun was surrounded by pets, it seemed.

He smiled broadly, feeling the tentacles nuzzling and rubbing against his body warmly.

Suddenly.

[The Obsidian Tablet (Replica) is requesting a. ‘fusion’ with the Philosopher’s Stone.]

“Huh?”

Things didn’t quite go as expected.

Squirm.

“Ugh!”

The tentacles that had been wrapping around his body began to form a circle around the center of Shimun’s chest.

Woong!

[The Philosopher’s Stone accepts the request of the Obsidian Tablet (Replica).]

“Wa, wait! What is this……?”

Before Shimun could finish his sentence.

Ssslurp.

The mass of tentacles that had been twining around his body started to burrow into the very center of his chest.

“Ah, Ahh!”

Shimun couldn’t help but let out a groan.

It was inevitable.

‘The tentacles… they’re spreading throughout my whole body!’

It wasn’t just burrowing into the center of his chest.

Just like when the Philosopher’s Stone first became bound to him.

It was extending throughout his entire body via his blood vessels.

‘Ah, no! If this goes on, my whole body will be…!’

To be precise, it was following the path carved out by the Philosopher’s Stone.

“Haaaah!”

It wasn’t the familiar pain, but a completely unfamiliar tickling sensation that raced through his body, making its home there.

“Stop, stop it! This kind of thing… Ahh!”

As the tickling sensation increasingly resembled pleasure, his body started to heat up with fervor.

[The Obsidian Tablet (Replica) successfully fuses with the Philosopher’s Stone.]

[Small changes occur in the Philosopher’s Stone.]

[A new option is added to the Philosopher’s Stone.]

[The grade of the Philosopher’s Stone increases.]

[The level of the Philosopher’s Stone increases.]

[The level of the Philosopher’s Stone…]

Shimun lost consciousness without being able to check all the flooding notifications.

***

[Welcome to the Galaxy Arena.]

[The event of this arena is. ‘Offense’, with a participation of 50 people.]

[‘Cooperation’ condition is added.]

[Teams of 5 people each will be formed among the participants.]

[The arena will start once all participants are present.]

With those messages floating in the air, a small-statured man appeared.

Kim Minhyung frowned.

‘Right after finishing the tutorial and it’s an. ‘Offense’ event? Plus, with a cooperation condition attached?’

Attack.

A lower ranked event than the Conquest Battle he experienced in the tutorial, starting from the Silver rank. this was clearly not suitable for Kim Minhyung, who had just completed his tutorial.

Moreover.

‘I was eliminated right in the first tutorial…’

Although he had managed to secure some kills before quickly being eliminated by the monster Kim Shimun.

‘I’m still in the placement test phase, never thought I’dd be matched in a Silver rank event.’

Kim Minhyung’s eyes narrowed even further.

There were two things he could surmise.

One was that due to his B-class trait of fast movement and equipment sponsored by Holy Trinity, he still maintained a high MMR.

And the other,

‘That must be thanks to that monster Kim Shimun, who made a spectacular performance in the tutorial.’

Of course, Kim Minhyung leaned towards the latter explanation.

And why?

‘Sure they said it was 15 kills, right?’

The day he reported the end of the tutorial to Manager Park Minchul of the HR department.

He had heard the report of a fellow rookie guild member who had survived longer.

‘Being eliminated by such a person means naturally that the drop in MMR would be minimal.’

Such fairness was expected in the Galaxy Arena, right?

It’s like getting hit by an 8-ton truck out of nowhere anyway.

His MMR drop would have been considerably small.

‘This is an opportunity!’

Kim Minhyung clenched his fist.

Even though he lost the chance to be a promising rookie after two tutorials,

That was the same for the other newcomers who encountered the truck called Kim Shimun.

Having scored high ranks in the tutorials afterwards,

if he performed well in this Attack event, he might have a shot at reclaiming his status as a promising rookie.

Or so he thought.

Woong.

“What, Attack?”

“Ha! Talk about bad luck. Why isn’t it Defense instead of Attack?”

“It’s probably because of my MMR. Haven’t I been top-ranking since the tutorial?”

“Damn bastard, you’re laughing now? It’s going to be tough because of you!”

“Don’t worry. Bastard. I’dll hard carry again this time.”

That was until he checked the three new participants.

‘That emblem is!’

Kim Minhyung’s eyes widened.

The scorpion-patterned emblem on the armors of the three men.

If you were a member of a major guild, no, if you were at all familiar with the arena, it was an emblem you couldn’t not know.

‘The bastards from Scorpio Guild!’

Kim Minhyung bit his lip hard.

In every rank of the arena, there were notorious trolls and trash, but

The Scorpio Guild was a different story.

Firstly, they were a huge collective that couldn’t be ignored, and

Their manners (or lack thereof) had its own philosophy and logic.

‘What was it, something about rigorous utilitarianism for victory?’

They say a believer in their own convictions is to be feared, right?

That made them even more dangerous.

‘And it looks like they’re a party…’

Parties were allowed only after the placement test phase was over.

In that sense, these three were very likely to have been assigned ranks already.Kim Minhyung lowered his head in gloom.

“Ha! So much for being a promising candidate.”

He had hoped to appeal as a promising candidate by performing well on this placement test. But running into the Scorpio Guild’s party from the start?

“If it were just an ordinary troll, I could’ve handled it and moved on.”

The number of cooperative members would be reduced from five to four, but still.

Kim Minhyung, who had received training at the Awakeners’ Academy and was confident in handling the role of two with his B-class traits and equipment, found a three-person party to be an insurmountable challenge.

“They’re probably going to start provoking soon.”

With a gloomy look, Kim Minhyung observed the three members of the Scorpio Guild. Right then, the trio, having looked around, noticed him and approached.

“What’s this, supposed to be five of us, and it’s just this guy?”

“Must not have matched yet.”

“Wonder how great they think this guy is to keep us waiting like this~.”

One of them, a man with short hair, scanned Kim Minhyung and twitched his eyebrows upon spotting the blue emblem on his shoulder.

“Isn’t that the Holy Trinity mark? Are you from Holy Trinity?”

“What? Holy Trinity?”

“Hey, Choi Kiyeol. Really?”

The man identified as Choi Kiyeol, followed by the two guild members who had rushed over making a fuss, was a natural reaction given Holy Trinity’s reputation as one of the top five guilds in the country.

“Hey, Holy Trinity man. What’s your name?”

“Ki, Kim Minhyung.”

“Kim Minhyung? Kim Minhyung, huh….”

Choi Kiyeol rolled his eyes.

“You don’t look familiar, and your name doesn’t ring a bell.”

Even the Scorpio Guild, known for looking out for their own interests, would be cautious. Especially since entities like Holy Trinity had been powerhouses in Korea long before Galaxy Arena made its appearance, wielding influence in both political and financial circles.

The Scorpio Guild was one of those advised to minimize friction whenever possible.

“‘Thanks to that, we almost memorize players from Holy Trinity’s side….’

Given his small stature and slender eyes, along with equipment that’s somewhat ambiguous to be considered top-tier even for Holy Trinity, it would be hard not to notice.

Realizing this, Choi Kiyeol smirked.

“Ah, I get it.”

“Our Holy Trinity man just got through the tutorial, huh?”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, kiddo. Look at this.”

Choi Kiyeol ran his finger from the top of Kim Minhyung’s head down to his toes.

“Even in the depths, Holy Trinity wouldn’t issue C-class gear to its guild members.”

“That’s true.”

“Considering their corporate pride.”

Despite the era of players, Holy Trinity’s influence was acknowledged by all, having been a global conglomerate even before the inception of Galaxy Arena.

Especially since they had hoarded expensive equipment available in the early days of Galaxy Arena and actively recruited and trained lifestyle players,

They had reached a point where they could supply their own equipment.

Naturally, even lower-ranked players, colloquially known as. ‘abyss’ players, were decked out in B-class gear or higher.

Such was the current stature of the Holy Trinity Guild.

But what about this player named Kim Minhyung?

“If you perform well in the tutorial, they even push A-grade gear at you. Guess our Kim Minhyung-ssi didn’t make the cut?”

“Hey!”

“Why are you mad at the facts? Get mad at them if you want~. I’m too cool to care about that stuff. Of course… Minhyung-ssi might be worried about his placement test results. Ka-hath!”

‘This son of a b***h!’

Kim Minhyung’s face turned beet red.

But he couldn’t retaliate against Choi Kiyeol’s mocking.

Simple reason.

‘He’s stronger than me….’

Although Kim Minhyung was not lacking in stats within his level range, Choi Kiyeol, who had already finished his placement test, was superior in every aspect – level, equipment, etc.

Moreover, weren’t they a three-person party?

If he dared to challenge them alone and got killed in the placement test area?

‘It’s only my loss.’

Kim Minhyung closed his eyes tightly and silently looked away.

“As expected, our Minhyung, you didn’t join a conglomerate for nothing. Quick on the uptake.”

“Little guys are always quick on the uptake, aren’t they?”

“Who? Like you?”

“What you saying, man?”

“Sorry. Did. I hit a nerve? Ki-hat!”

The trio laughed among themselves, aiming to assert dominance beforehand.

While they had no intention of tangling with a member of Holy Trinity, there was no reason to yield to a newbie fresh out of the tutorial. If anything, now was the perfect opportunity to lord over the prestigious Holy Trinity Guild.

“So, Minhyung-ssi. We’ll ensure the clear, so just do as you’re told, okay?”

As Choi Kiyeol casually slung his arm over him, Kim Minhyung clenched his fists.

‘They’re planning to hoard all the rewards, the bastards.’

It was dirty and petty, but unavoidable given his predicament with the placement test.

Frustrated as he might be, he had no choice but to quickly secure his rank and form his own party.

Just then.

Swoosh.

A man appeared with a small flash of light.

“Gasp!”

Kim Minhyung inhaled sharply upon seeing the man.

It wasn’t because the man appeared in just a gray hoodie, devoid of any equipment.

‘Why is he here!’

How could he forget?

Like a certain infamous hero from a popular movie, this monster had eliminated him with a mere finger snap.

“Oh, this is annoying.”

Choi Kiyeol’s voice, full of laughter, echoed.

However, Kim Minhyung knew.

It was filled with immense annoyance.

And at the same time, he felt relieved.

“Arena matchmaking is something else, eh? To team us up with a Holy Trinity man and then stick us with this bottom-feeder.”

“Bottom-feeder? Are you referring to me?”

“Then who the hell else. Right?”

The fact that the heavens had not yet abandoned him.