Chapter 12 – Alchemist (3)

As he continued forth, an altar came into view . The altar was wrapped in steel and copper and had a crude appearance . Two Mana Golems, sitting beside the altar, abruptly stood up .

[Unfurl the Alchemist’s Scroll over the altar . ]

Sungchul’s eyes turned towards the altar . A considerable amount of mana could be felt coming from it . However, it felt different from a magician’s mana . If a magician’s mana could be compared to the constant rhythm of breathing, this mana had a consistent presence with no fluctuations . Sungchul began to picture the heart monitor at an emergency room .

‘This is a proper altar . It could almost sell me on this class all on its own . ’

Eckheart, the person, was interesting, but he was not so interested in the alchemist class itself . Sungchul simply passed by the altar into the passage beyond . As soon as he entered, a message in red brought him to a stop .

[Only those with Alchemic abilities can challenge the trials which lay beyond . ]

Several blades and hidden traps made intimidating noises as they activated from all sides . Looking at the message, Sungchul felt despondent . Only allowed to advance after becoming an Alchemist . What a childish trick .

Sungchul could pass through the traps with his own strength, but he felt like playing along for at least a little while longer .

[Alchemist’s Class Scroll]
Grade: Rare – Hidden
Type: Class Change (Compact Form)
Effect: Acquire Hidden Class Alchemist
Restriction: None
Requirement: 20x Palace Token

Everything else was fine, but the Palace Tokens made him hesitate . Sungchul had 33 Palace Tokens . He needed 17 more Palace Tokens to become an Echo Mage . It wasn’t like these Tokens were very easy to get, and there was the chance that he could be hit by some misfortune and miss his mark for becoming an Echo Mage . Taking this was like filling up on ramen before going to a high-class restaurant then missing out on the main course .

‘Mm… what to do…’

He didn’t hesitate for too long . Sungchul reached into his pocket for 20 Palace Tokens and placed them along with the scroll, onto the altar .

The reason he was confident in doing this was simple . He was humanity’s greatest warrior; there were two more rank matches left, and he could earn more than enough Palace Tokens just by maintaining a good rating . There was the risk however of being noticed by the spectators, but missing out on this curiosity would linger too much in the back of his mind .

‘What’s there to life? Might as well bet it all . ’

Before this man, who has more enemies than friends, a lengthy message appeared .

[You have felt the breath of truth . ]
[Congratulations! You have acquired the hidden class, Alchemist!]
Reward: Class – Alchemist acquired

Wind, interwoven with magic, blew out from the altar and wrapped around Sungchul’s body . The wind grew brighter and brighter and flowed even faster before finally disappearing into his body . He immediately opened his class window to take a look .

[Class]
Main Class – Primordial Warrior (Legendary)
Sub Class – High-class Chef (Rare)
Sub Class – Alchemist (Rare)

*2 Additional Sub Class slots available

He had acquired the Alchemist class . There were two Sub Class slots left; more than enough room for the Echo Mage class . Personally, it bothered him that he had wasted one of his precious Sub Class slots . But hadn’t he done fine without worrying about his Sub Class slots so far? He reassured himself with these thoughts and continued past the altar, into the corridor . Unlike before, none of the traps were activated .

Past the hostile corridor, there sat a table and a stone cauldron . The cauldron lit up with bright orange flames and heated itself; while different kinds of minerals, plants, and shells from unknown organisms appeared as he stepped closer . A fearsome Mana Golem appeared on one side of the room, but it appeared to be wrapped tightly in something similar to a spider’s web .

[The Fundamentals of Alchemy: Synthesis]
[Combine the prepared ingredients on the table and synthesize an item capable of freeing the Mana Golem . ]
[Being unable to free the Mana Golem will result in disqualification . ]
[Time limit is 10 minutes . There will be no second chances . ]

This was a trial for Alchemists . Sungchul glanced over the ingredients on the table . There was some grass, a rock, a vial of water, some pieces of a shell, and other tedious bits of junk . He was at a loss with what he should do with the ingredients in front of him .

Sungchul continued to thoughtfully stare at the ingredients before holding up the grass then took a whiff .

It smelled just like grass .

After he’d finished smelling it, an unexpected message appeared in front of him .

[Grass of the Blind]
Level: 1
Grade: E
Attribute: Wood
Effect: None
Note: It is a commonly seen grass, but due to its agreeable nature, it is generally used as a buffer during alchemic experiments .

Here in Other World, appraisals were usually limited to weapons or potions that had some practical use . Grass, stone, or other natural objects could not be appraised at all, but more than that, only a few books, meant for herbalists and the like, contained any information regarding these .

‘Is this a basic skill for alchemists?’

Sungchul checked the fine details of the Alchemist class window .

[Class: Alchemist]
Class Skill: Synthesis
Class Skill: Inspection

After reading about Inspection, Sungchul understood what had just occurred .

‘I must have gotten the message screen because of the Inspection skill . ’

According to its description, an alchemist can determine the attributes of an ingredient after having a sniff . Sungchul continued to investigate the other materials in the same manner: Vaporizing Liquid, Riverside Stone, Glacial Crab’s Shell Fragment, etc . They all had their own description and effects .

Sungchul obtained all the information and pondered briefly before tossing the Vaporizing Liquid into the cauldron . The Vaporizing Liquid was the base, the foundation for the ingredients . The Riverside Stone with its polar attribute was pulverized by his fist, then tossed in afterwards . The Vaporizing Liquid emitted a white light as the stone powder began to react with it .

Next, he pulverized then added the crimson wings of a butterfly . It was called Wings of the Infernal Butterfly . It contained a fire attribute that could be used to amplify a weaker ingredient . The Riverside Rock essence flared up as the crimson powder entered the cauldron and the liquid turned a **** red . However, the Riverside Rock, added before the wings, had an earth attribute and began to emit a black smoke once it started mixing . To neutralize this, Sungchul added the Grass of the Blind which acted as a buffer . Once added, the black smoke stopped, and the cauldron turned purple .

Sungchul began to stir the cauldron with the large spoon next to the cauldron . This was when the Alchemist’s next skill, Synthesize, would start to be useful . Every time the cauldron was stirred, he could feel a small amount of mana leaking out of him .

‘This must be why the alchemist class remains unpopular . ’

After countless minutes of stirring, a bright light came pouring out of the cauldron .

[Synthesis Complete]

For the first time in a while, Sungchul felt his heart race in excitement as he checked his work . The product was a colorless, sticky liquid . He collected the liquid into a provided container then inspected it .

[Low Grade Acid]
Level: 1
Grade: F
Attribute: Fire
Type: Common Clutter
Effect: It melts sticky substances

It was exactly the results he was looking for . He was slightly bothered by having used only some of the ingredients on the table, but he’d still managed to make something as he had intended . Sungchul took the low-grade acid and poured the liquid over the Mana Golem .

Ssssss-

The spider web emitted white smoke before slowly beginning to melt . Sungchul watched his success with smug eyes as he waited for the spiderweb to melt completely, but it didn’t melt any further . He had used all of the acid but had only managed to melt some of the spider web . It seems he still needed to use the rest of his ingredients in some way .

[30 seconds before time limit ends . ]
[Acid of Rank D or higher required to melt the spider web . ]
[Before the road of truth, a peerless mind is required . Those without talent shall be turned away . ]

There was no more time or ingredients to spare, but it was also a waste for him to turn back now .

“… . ”

Another message appeared as if to mock him .

[10 seconds before time limit ends . ]
[Turn back! You who lacks talent!]

It was once said, a man will be more willing to make promises when he needs to use the bathroom, than when he’s already used it . Sungchul couldn’t help but feel this was an apt saying to describe his situation . He stood over the Mana Golem, looked over the spider web, before roughly spitting out a single phrase .

“Aaaah, **** it!”

He pulled apart the spider web covering the Mana Golem with his bare hands .

Rip!

It was something that could never be pulled apart by a normal human, but before Sungchul’s divine strength, it was no different than any other type of spider silk . The Mana Golem’s eyes lit up as the spider web covering it was harshly pulled apart .

“Thank you for freeing me . You have great talent as an alchemist . I will lead you to the next test . ”

[You have torn the Spider Queen’s silk, which even a legendary blade could not sever . ]
Reward: +2 Intuition

Getting lost is fine as long as you didn’t end up in another city; freeing the Mana Golem was the only requirement for the test . Creating the acid was only one of the methods to passing the test . Of course, this probably wasn’t the intention of the quest-host who had created this quest; because, no matter how sharp or powerful the weapon, it would still take no less than 10 minutes to unravel this web . The only thing the host could not have foreseen would be Sungchul’s overwhelming strength .

After passing the first test with ease, Sungchul headed towards the next course . Another trial, similar to the previous one awaited him . He’d failed the first time, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice . Sungchul used his wealth of experience and adaptability, and his occasionally surprising wit to move forward . If all else failed, he temporarily unsealed his massive strength to brute-force through each one of Eckheart’s tests . Now, as he approached the final trial, a massive three-headed golem stood to block his path .

[Eighth Hero, Eckheart’s final exam]
[The ingredients prepared before you is a seed of possibilities . ]
[No questions asked . Destroy the Three-headed golem!]

The requirements were simple, and by now, Sungchul had also become tired of all of the tests . He directly pulled out Fal Garaz and smashed the Golem across the chest .

SLAM!

[You have completed all of Eckheart’s exams and come to accept the glorious potential of Alchemy . ]
[Eighth Hero Eckheart could not be more excited to bestow his inheritance on you who has completed all of his tests . ]

Reward:

1 . Creationist’s Scroll
2 . Familiar: Living Book Bertelgia
3 . Eckheart’s Portable Golden Cauldron
4 . + 5 Intuition

The rewards fell in front of Sungchul . There were two books . One of which was significantly larger, but as he reached for it, it floated into the air as if to reject him .

“Ah… what a blatant scam artist…”

A depressed and frosty little girl’s voice sounded out, but it wasn’t coming from a human…

“… This is the worst . For such a person to now be my master . ”

…the voice was coming from the book .